Another chonker of a chapter. Probably filled with horrid grammar and spelling mistakes no mortal should ever bear witness to... or not.

Either way I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5: Headshot

Leanne was excited. She'd been called to gear up for her first mission, and an assassination at that. It had only been 2 days since she joined X-COM which in itself was a major thing. Watching the giant alien transport land near their haven had been a heart attack and a half to everyone, even more so when it turned out to be X-COM operating it. A giant alien transport as a mobile headquarters it was genius, no other word for it. Leanne knew X-COM existed, resistance radio mentioned them a few times over the years but actually meeting them like this was a dream come true. She had started fighting for humanity when she was 12, well fighting might a bit of a stretch, but she participated in any way she could. Growing up in the resistance, away from the big cities and ADVENT propaganda gave a certain... clarity to the state of things.

Leanne had helped setting up a water purification system, building shelters and scavenging supplies. Even went on scouting parties to nearby ADVENT routes, gathering information they could then relay to others who might be able to act. Groups like X-COM or other more aggressive resistance groups. But it was the best they could do, scouting, scavenging and surviving. Leanne wanted to do more, to fight back, to live even if only for moment. Without fear of ADVENT finding them, without counting food rations and prioritizing medicine to the most sick. But making too much noise risked revealing themselves. If they raided nearby ADVENT controlled facilities, sabotaged or caused any kind of trouble... Well they had all heard the stories, armoured vehicles arriving in the dead of night, ADVENT troopers clearing out entire camps and disappearing again. No one knew what had happened until they found the empty haven ransacked and empty a few days later.

Leanne had thankfully never experienced it for herself, but 3 from their camp had been a scouting party stumbling upon such a sight before. She shuddered.

When a man in a grey uniform came to their camp, looking for recruits for X-COM the choice had been easy. She wanted to act, to fight back and do something. And what better place for that than X-COM?

There were some tests, a physical, a few tours at the shooting range. But she was as prepared as it was possible to be, they had a few hunting rifles at the haven, and Leanne was the best shot by far. She had taken any opportunity to train and improve her skills, hunting at longer ranges and then once she was confident she started hunting birds. It took her a while, targets were small and moving, but after a few years she had it down to an art form. The hunting rifle was old and leaned to the low right, but she knew that and adjusted her aim accordingly.

She trained as much as she could with their limited food supply. Construction work and long hunting trips meant there was not a gram of fat on her body.

She was the only one who qualified too, and while she knew the haven would miss her... She had to do this. For herself and the world, dramatic as that sounded.

She had only had a day and a half to gather her things, 'essentials only' the recruiter had said, weapons, clothing and gear would all be supplied. The barracks on the base had been... better than she expected, it was compact sure, but for a repurposed transport ship the accommodations were impressive. Plus it was a hell of a lot better than the rundown shed she was used to.

The barracks was split into four, 8 beds in each for a total of 32. Not exactly an army she had thought, the haven Leanne had come from had been bigger than that. But X-COM had proved they could do much with little. Resistance radio had made that much clear, several destroyed convoys, an attack on an ADVENT facility and they somehow even managed to blow up a monument. A monument inside an ADVENT controlled city, nothing but rouble and alien blood splatters left behind.

But she had little time to get comfortable in her new surroundings. A woman had come in, a fellow soldier called Blackwing, Leanne wasn't sure if that was her last name or a nickname but had quickly concluded that it didn't matter. Blackwing was a sharpshooter, a veteran from the invasion. A fact that immediately gave her all the respect Leanne could muster, how someone survived that long fighting the aliens... over 20 years in the field plus whatever she did before the invasion.

They had gotten of well enough, at least Leanne thought so. Blackwing was difficult to read and seemed to mix and match between criticism and compliments at random. But Leanne had quickly gotten comfortable around her. The same went for her equipment and rifle, despite how much of an upgrade it was. And it really was an upgrade, a world apart from the old hunting rifle she had used.

It was definitely made for long range engagements. Heavy and sleek design, chambered in .50 BMG a round that seemed ridiculously big compared to the .308 she used before. A series of different scopes and ammunition types and all the bells and whistles you could want, silencers, muzzle brakes, hand guards and stocks.

Apparently soldiers were allowed to name and colour their weapons as they saw fit, something Leanne was very much looking forward to trying out.

She had also been given a pistol, much more compact than the almost 18 kg sniper. Leanne wasn't sure about the calibre but it was light and easy to use. Quick and accurate option in case someone got close.

Her hands were trembled slightly as she fumbled with the straps of her vest, she was still getting used to the uniform and armour. At the haven they'd be lucky to had a Kevlar vest. Here they had full set of everything, plated vest, Kevlar padding and even some fancy new 'nano-scale' vest as Shen had called it. Leanne had no clue what it was made off, but it was light and flexible and if it helped stop a bullet then that was all the motivation Leanne needed.

Boots where comfortable and helmet fit perfectly. She double checked that she had everything she needed in her backpack, because they had made it clear that she had to bring one. Apparently that was not standard for missions, but if they didn't stay away for long, then there was no need for rations, bed rolls and all that stuff.

And so she quickly went over the list.

Ear plugs check, camo net check, spotting scope... check. padding and a fancy looking measuring equipment...check. She hadn't really had the time to try out much of the stuff yet, but Blackwing would no doubt fill in the blanks.

With that Leanne swung the backpack over her shoulder and moved for the armoury. Beeping her access card on the console the door slid open and she walked in. It was late evening so the place was pretty empty aside from Blackwing already sitting ready at the Firebrand.

A smile crossed her lips, Firebrand was such a cool name.

A quick final look around the armoury and she turned left towards the weapon storage room. The lights were on and just as she was closing in on the door Shen appeared in the doorway, nearly walking face first into Leanne. "Ah sorry" was all she said before continuing towards one of the backrooms.

Leanne blinked in surprise as the chief engineer disappeared behind a corner.

She hadn't been here for long sure, but she'd never seen Shen in such a hurry. Dismissing the thought for now she moved through the door and then stopped.

There was a woman, a woman in a soft orange sweater at least 3 sizes too big. She was tall, at least 190 centimetres if not more, dark brown hair reaching her lower back. The sight was so out of place Leanne didn't even know how to react. Maybe Shen had gotten an assistant? No that didn't seem right, the clothing and that long loose hair would be a nightmare in any kind of engineering work. Shen had left in a hurry and she was just standing there, looking over a rifle. Was it one of the soldiers? She hadn't seen her before but then again, Leanne had only been here a few days. Plus she reminded herself, there were large areas of the Avenger she didn't have permission to enter. Rule of thumb was that she could move freely between the barracks, bar, living quarters and armoury, rest needed special permission access cards or an escort. No exceptions.

Leanne looked to a cabinet on the left were her rifle and pistol was stored and was just about to walk forward when she looked up to meet the steely grey eyes of the woman. Her head was tilted slightly, eyes clearly looking her over.

Leanne felt weirdly uncomfortable under her gaze. Despite the overall out of place looking clothing she... had a presence to her, and a formidable one at that. Leanne couldn't figure out if it was the body language or the steely eyes but it was like the woman was staring right through her.

Leanne cleared her throat a bit uncomfortably before braking the silence.

"You new here?"

The woman put the rifle down turning to face Leanne fully, a weird smile crossing her lips. "You could say that, came in a few weeks ago." She answered before asking "What about you?"

Leanne crossed her arms slightly "About 2 days ago, about to go on my first mission. It's - A bit nerve wracking to be honest" She almost blurted out the last part, not realizing how much she needed to share it. "Everything's has gone so fast, left the haven, going straight into training and now my first mission. I excited to go, don't get me wrong but..."

"You're going out with Blackwing right?" The woman asked, voice soft but clear.

"I- uh yeah, yeah I am. How did you know?" There were only the two of them gearing up in the armoury but still... The answer to her question came the moment the words had left her, though not from the one she had expected.

Shen came barging back into the armoury. "Commander, I found the schematics you where - Oh hi Leanne, thought that was you I saw before."

There was a moment of silence, Shen looked happy to see her. They'd had few good talks after she arrived, not exactly on close friend level but friendly might do it.

But that wasn't the present issue.

Leanne looked to the woman.

"Commander?" She asked a bit hesitantly.

The woman nodded, giving her a half apologetic look.

And you just blurted out all your problems to the highest ranking person on the ship, well done Leanne. Well done. "Oh... sorry I just uhm..."

"No harm done." The commander said. "You didn't ask, and I didn't tell... If anything I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should've told you the moment you walked in."

There was a moment of silence as Shen was obliviously rummaged through some papers.

Leanne licked her lips, trying to think of something to say.

"So uh, just Commander or?"

"Just Commander." The woman replied simply, leaving a small pause before continuing. "You should get your things, firebrand is set to take off in 15."

Right, so much for starting a conversation.

But the Commander was right Leanne reminded herself, she did need to get her things.

She quickly turned and went for the weapon rack, grapping a pistol as well as the accompanying ammunition. She put it in the holster before pulling out her sniper. The pistol felt small and weird in her hands, so costumed to the bulk of a rifle. She was looking forward to using it, but Blackwing would be taking the lead on this mission. Ideally there would only be a single fired shot. In and out before ADVENT knew what hit them.

The Commander and Shen where still talking behind her, but she tried not to pay it much mind. It felt wrong to listen in on their conversation, but then again... they where having it right behind her in the armoury.

As she was leaving she caught a few words "...short to medium range?"

followed by an "uhuh" from Shen.

She left the room heading straight over to Blackwing. Sitting down on the chair beside her, she placed the backpack and rifle at the table. She stared ahead for a moment, breathing slowly as she tried to rid herself of the tension.

"Don't worry about it." Leanne turned to find Blackwing staring at her knowingly.

"What?"

A half smile. "Everyone feels like that the first few missions, nervousness, excitement - terror even. You are going into battle against literal aliens. Trust me, not having any of those feelings would be weird."

Leanne just stared, but before she could respond or Blackwing continue the Commander came up behind them. A few silent steps and she dropped a data pad on the table.

"I'll make this quick since we are short on time. Mission is fairly simple. Just the two of you, we'll drop you off in a clearing about a kilometre from the compound, you will then move to take up position at an outcropping direct north. From there you should have a clear view of the compound."

The data pad showed a top down view of a heavily forested area, a few roads and a big series of buildings gathered within a square area.

"The target is a new ADVENT field general. According to our intel, they will be arriving at the compound in about 2 hours. Taking transport and travel time into consideration gives you about 20-30 minutes to set up and get ready. Convoy consists of 6 armoured vehicles with a full troop attachment. In other words... the enemy force is significant - hence the need for more discretionary approach."

The Commander zoomed out on the map before focusing on a long winding road.

"They will be arriving from the east, open terrain, clear sky and minimal wind. It's the best opportunity we're going to get. Your callsign will be Ghostlight. Once the general is taken out you will proceed straight to evac."

A small pause.

"Any questions?"

Leanne looked to Blackwing, finding her to be observing at the map with a thoughtful look.

"How does the compound look?"

"We don't have much on it, detailed visuals will have to wait until we have eyes on site. I'd say the windows are bulletproof, but it's just guess."

Blackwing nodded, eyeing Leanne as she gave a nod in return.

"Good, then you two better get going."

"So... let's see what we have here." Blackwing spoke silently, as she turned her gaze to the compound with a predatory glint.

Leanne followed her example and looked through the scope.

Blackwing started muttering as she spotted things, though Leanne wasn't sure if it was meant for her or simply out of habit.

"Double door front entrance, large panel windows... Sentry guns on the roof along with several troops on overwatch. What's that, 3 patrols too? This place is a dam fortress."

And she was right, Leanne had never seen this many ADVENT troops in one place before, from what people at the haven had told her they never had this kind of security in the open. But then again... this facility was pretty isolated, only ones who would stumble upon it were people moving outside of the sanctioned cities. Rebels and fugitives, neither of which advent seemed to have any quarrel dealing with as they saw fit.

"Well let's get ready shall we?" Said Blackwing, adjusting herself slightly so that she was perfectly positioned behind the rifle.

"Range?"

Leanne double checked before responding. "670 meters."

"Wind?"

She looked at the device. "Uhm, point-71 meters per second from north east."

"Excellent." Blackwing simply said, turning a few pages in a notebook.

"What's that?"

"It's my DOPE book, Data On Previous Engagements. Think of it as a reference point on previous shots I've made. I'm pretty sure I made a similar shot... maybe half a year ago. Oh here it is." She looked at bit back and forth before adjusting another click on the horizontal wheel, or whatever it was called.

Some time passed quietly while they waited for the convoy to arrive. The woods around them were thankfully quiet. A few small animals moved on their left and some insects bussed around. The sun had gone down some time ago, so she figured the team on the Avenger had a better view with the drones than she ever would.

Another patrol apeared from around the corner of the compound, 3 troopers and what Leanne could only describe as a giant snake-human hybrid. The group had only just walked into their view when the coms sprang to life. "Of the many alien species we can encounter in the field, I always found the prospect of facing an intelligent snake standing over 2 meters tall to be the most disturbing."

"You an me both Doc" Followed a second voice, Central she recalled. Central Officer Bradford, her direct superior and the man she should turn to should any problems arise. She wasn't sure who the first one were but she couldn't agree more. Leanne didn't have anything particular against snakes, but any alien creature of that size made her a bit... jumpy. The patrol spread out in front of the building, and another moment passed in silence before the commander spoke up.

"Ghostlight can you give me a close up on that viper?" The commander said. Vipers, so that's what the big snake things were called?

Leanne fiddled a bit with the scope before she got a clear line of sight. The creature was standing guard near the main entrance, plasma rifle in hand it was looking towards the tree line.

It seemed... normal. Well as normal as a giant snake with a plasma rifle could be. "Something wrong?" She called in questioningly, sure she had missed something.

"I don't know, she's looking for something." The Commander sounded unsure, but now that she mentioned, it Leanne saw it as well. The viper did seem intensely focused, eyes scanning the trees and bushes, tongue flickering out near constantly. Like the Commander said, it wasn't watching or guarding, it was searching, like it knew they were there - except it didn't look in their direction but instead at the wilderness surrounding the base.

This time Blackwing called in. "Think the mission compromised?"

There was a short silence, Leanne wasn't even sure what that would mean. Headlights had just emerged from the road, signalling that the convoy was here. If it was a yes then they'd turn tail and run? Or take the shot and then run?

"Continue mission as planned. Ghostlight weapons free, take out the general and return to the extraction point ASAP." The Commanders voice rang out over the coms, leaving no room for argument.

Leanne looked over to Blackwing only to see her already back in the zone, taking aim.

The ADVENT general stepped out of the vehicle and Leanne couldn't help but take in the sight. She'd never seen a general before, only the normal grunts and an officer one time. This one was quite similar though, most of the body was covered with angular grey armour plating with green markings and what looked like the ADVENT logo plastered around on the breast plate, cape and... maybe the shoulders but it was difficult to see at that range. The helmet seemed to have a similar if not identical design to the officers, but she could be wrong. Leanne could only make out the colours because of the very convenient spotlights surrounding the entire base. It seemed to use the standard mag rifle though.

The escorting troops took up positions around the area, forming a professional looking line of body guards as the general moved towards the front doors.

"A body shot would be ideal but..." Blackwing said casually, making Leanne look over to see her adjust the scope another click. "But the weather is too good not to take advantage. Plus I always wanted to dome a field general." She ended in a casual but almost excited tone.

Always wanted to dome a field general.

Not a sentence you hear everyday Leanne thought, even thinking stuff like that was asking for trouble in the haven and it was probably enough to get you killed in the cities.

And with X-COM you can shout it to the heavens.

Leanne smiled to herself. Despite the macabre nature of the comment, it represented a freedom she had sought for so long.

She turned her attention back to the mission and looked through the scope, carefully trying to keep an overview of the area and the target. The general had entered the compound and was standing by the big windows exchanging words with someone.

"Ever seen a match grade round travelling at 3000 feet per second pass through a window?"

That was a... very specific question.

But Leanne had the distinct feeling it was rhetorical as Blackwing seemed completely focused on her aim. There was a short silence, a calm before the storm as Blackwing finally pulled the trigger.

Boom - A bright flash and a gust wind blowing away dust and leaves.

Leanne watched through the scope, less than a second after and there was a shower of sparks, glass and blood as the bullet punched right through the plane window and straight into the generals helmet. Leanne wasn't sure if it was the helmet or the generals head, but bit's and pieces flew everywhere as the body toppled sideways to the floor.

"No one ever does" Blackwing finished, answering her own question and delivering a solid one.. well two liner really. In any case Leanne was impressed.

"Ghostlight to Avenger, target is down permission to evac?"

"Kill confirmed Ghostlight, good shooting. I'm giving a round when you get home" Central called out.

Upon hearing the confirmation they both switched to a low crouch and rapidly packed everything in the back. Blackwing had made it very clear that as soon as the job was done they left. Any second longer than necessary was time for ADVENT to retaliate. And they had both heard about and seen the force on the base, plus whatever else they could call in on short notice.

Leanne slung the backpack on while Blackwing carried the rifle and padding. And with that they took off back towards the clearing, leaving behind an ADVENT base in chaos.

Hrefna Leaned back in her seat yawning as she did. The drones returned to the drop ship and they took off back to the Avenger. A flawless mission by every metric.

Blackwing was just a good a shot as Hrefna remembered, if not better. Achieving a headshot through a window at 670 meters was no small feat, escaping from the site without a trace even more so.

But she would be lying if she said she did not feel a little sorry for ADVENT. Loosing a number of battles against the renewed resistance, then sending in a general to solve things - only for them to be executed the moment they arrived. Hrefna let out a sigh.

There were so many steps they could've taken to avoid this. Secure location for the base, better surveillance - Hell a simple perimeter wall obscuring vision would at least have forced her to get creative... But this, leaving the general out in the open like this. It was almost like they were asking for it. It was dump, a military blunder of spectacular proportions, and Hrefna could not be sure if it was just incompetence or perhaps part of some obscure scheme that transcended her understanding.

She welcomed it of cause, made X-COMs job a lot easier. Hrefna did however not expect it to continue like this, or for this to happen at all. There was a reason she had a potential plan B and C in the works for taking out the general. But no, all it took was a little patience, a single bullet and the new ADVENT general had their head scattered across the compound.

She would have to give Leanne a promotion as well, personally she was still a bit on the fence regarding her abilities, but Blackwing spoke highly of her - and with Blackwing and Stick being the only veterans going on missions she held her words and recommendations in high regard. Now was just the matter of what speciality to choose. She was allegedly an excellent shot, so It seemed only natural to put her in as a backline support. Either as a marksman like Blackwing or all-round fire support. In either case every soldier was expected to be able to perform a variety of roles.

The only limiting ones where marksman, due to the complications of long range shooting. Technicians due to them requiring extensive knowledge in the field, both to operate the gremlin support drone efficiently, but also in case they needed some field work done that Shen couldn't do remotely. Maybe medic as well now that she thought of it, the med kits were advanced and basically made it a point and click adventure to patch up wounds. But that only really applied to open physical wounds acquired in battle. Psychological problems, internal damage and such required a bit more knowledge to deal with.

Bit of a side-track.

Leanne was a hunter, in every meaning of the word. She would be a Marksman like Blackwing, it wasn't often they needed 600+ meters shooting anyway but in case it happened Hrefna new Blackwing would be training her for that as well.

Then lastly there was the case of the Viper. Hrefna had found it funny how uncomfortable Central and Tygan found them, but what caught her attention was how out of place it acted. Like it either knew or highly expected someone to come storming out the undergrowth and start mowing down ADVENT left and right. Which to be fair, had been Centrals first suggestion, one that Hrefna had quickly dismissed.

The snake like creature had Hrefna both suspicious and curious for the same reason. How did she know they would attack, and why did she seem to be the only one? But Hrefna had quickly dismissed anything down that road for now. She would need more than a suspicious awareness from a Viper to have anything solid to act on. It could just have been a bad day, or maybe they had been attacked before by some independent resistance group?

Hrefna pushed the thought to the back of her mind. For now there were too little to go on, but it had her more interested than she expected. Maybe it was what the spokesman had said, about there being ADVENT deserters.

She would find out in time no doubt.

For now she needed a talk with Central about that very same subject.

Two independent resistance factions who helped break her out, one of them ADVENT deserters. She got up from the chair and moved towards the door, she'd directed this mission from her quarters, not entirely sure why but her head seemed a bit less... distracted when she wasn't surrounded by people.

The walk to the bridge was short, two doors and a short hallway and she was there, the door sliding open. Central looked up as she entered, quickly saying something to an operative at a terminal before turning and walking towards her.

"Commander, excellent work with the general. I am relieved we don't have to storm the compound, it would have been ugly." He finished with a pleasant smile.

"I just planned the mission Central, Blackwing and Leanne were the ones who took out the general." She pointed out a bit coldly. Hrefna wished he would stop congratulating her that much on stuff she really wasn't responsible for. Central merely nodded, as if he had expected her to respond like that, but before he could say anything she continued.

"The Spokesman called, and he mentioned 2 other independent resistance groups. Reapers and skirmishers anything I should know about them?"

Central looked a bit flustered but recovered quickly. "Yes, they provided the intel and confirmation that allowed us to free you." He turned and gestured to a terminal.

"The skirmishers, so far as we've gathered are a group of ADVENT deserters, now giving their life to fighting the Elders, but we don't know much more than that. The reapers are, well they are an interesting group for sure. They specialise in infiltration and assassination and live outside of ADVENT controlled zones. Their leader is called Volikov or Volk for short. Met him shortly before the surrender was called. They are survivors by any means necessary and can be a bit... rough, but they hate ADVENT as much as anyone. We've been trying to re-establish contact with the reapers over the last week, but they are an elusive group."

"There's also a third group the closest one to our current position. They call themselves the Templars. Rumour is they are holding up somewhere in northern Europe, but exact location is a mystery."

Hrefna wondered if the historical context of the name had any specific point but Central continued a bit hesitantly before she could ask.

"I will be honest Commander, the Templars got me a bit on the robes. Their leader calls himself Geist, he was an X-COM psionic operative from the invasion era." Central stopped for a moment, seeming to consider his words carefully.

"From the few reports we've gathered they seem more like a cult worshipping psionic powers than anything else. But they are extremely capable soldiers and like the reapers they have made it their calling to throw the aliens from the planet. I'm personally not sure how I would feel about having them on the Avenger, but in any case tracking down these groups will require dedicated time. So the choice is up to you Commander."

A psionic cult. Well she wasn't really surprised, people had constructed cults without any kind of special powers so many times through the ages. All it really required was a charismatic leader and people desperate enough to listen. But here there were actual psionic powers, powers that could be called forth with little more than a thought to shape the world around them. Yeah Hrefna would have been surprised if a cult hadn't shown up, the one consoling factor for her was that this 'Geist' was apparently a former X-COM operative who - despite the circumstances kept fighting.

And they no doubt has a much deeper knowledge of psionics than X-COM currently did.

Knowledge that X-COM desperately needed. Hrefna like the rest of X-COM had no clue as to ADVENTs long term plans and designs, but psionics seemed to be at the foundation of it all. They still needed confirmation on the exact purpose of the chip she had been implanted with, but Hrefna knew enough to understand it was part of a bigger system. It was the only thing that made sense. The aliens already had overwhelming forces, they could easily destroy any opponent in a direct engagement. But the enemy they were fighting were using hit and run tactics, sabotage and assassinations. There were no direct engagements and you could only spread your forces so thin before creating weak points. No they didn't need her to figure out big pre-planned battles, they could brute force those with ease.

They needed her for the small, unexpected strikes, were the aliens were outnumbered and outgunned. To figure out how best to use their forces, how best to counter and defeat the resistance fighters. To crush the resistance without loosing any unnecessary troops.

Hrefna turned her gaze to the floor, sometimes she hated how pitiless her mind was in it's search for solutions. Hated herself for how exceptionally efficient she'd been, conscious or not - in her extermination of the humans fighting against ADVENTs rule.

They had used her.

They had used her to fight a war against her own kind while they set up their dystopian police state. Killing millions, if not billions in the invasion and they still had no clue why.

Her fists were clenched, nails painfully digging into her palms. For all her praise and strategic experience, had she really made things better? They had fought the enemies during the invasion, but even then it had been clear they were facing an enemy that was superior in every way imaginable, with technology so advanced it might as well have been magic. They had lasted all but a few months before the counsel broke under the pressure.

And now here they were, with Hrefna having spent the last 20 years crushing the resistance and humanity locked in chains.

Why would they put their trust in her? Why would the resistance look upon her in such high regard that they, across multiple independent groups decided to mount an almost suicidal rescue attempt?

Why would they...

And then her mind returned to the room. Her fists unclenching and her eyes looking up to find

Central waiting for her.

They didn't know.

They did not know that the one they were now relying on to lead them... had spent the last 20 years killing them.

She could have laughed at the absurdity of it.

Or cried.

Maybe both.

But everything was seizing up in her in head. She needed to get out, she needed to breathe. To feel some fresh air in her face and not be surrounded be people who had every right to demand her execution.

She clenched and unclenched her fists again, struggling to keep her breathing steady. She looked to Central, briefly trying to remember what they had been talking abou- the resistance factions, the Templars.

She forced a thoughtful expression on her face, taking care not to let her inner turmoil show in her voice. "I'll consider it, lot of moving pieces." She stopped briefly, taking another deep breath. "For now I think I'll return to my quarters, I have... things to need to figure out." She ended a bit cryptically, starting to walk before Central had a chance to respond. It was late anyway, so it hopefully didn't seem too out of place. If not she would take that talk another time. She left the bridge and took a right before the door had closed, she walked faster than she should have, at this rate she would be about to pass out by the time she reached the roof, or observation deck, whatever it was called.

She speedily made her way down the empty hallway, almost running at the end as the feeling of desperation only seemed to grow. She climbed the ladder faster than she knew possible, she threw open the door and stumbled into the roof deck.

Hrefna only managed a few steps before she fell to her knees, lungs burning for air and her mind desperate to escape. To not be here at all, to just...

She looked up at the dark grey clouds as rain gently fell around her. She closed her eyes, her arms hanging limb by her side, as the slow rain and wind brushed over her.

They were near a forest, the distant low rustling of trees - pines maybe she thought. it was February after all, it would be some time before the other plants fully sprang out.

She took a few deep breaths of the fresh evening air, her lungs slowly filling and chest no longer heaving for air. Her legs however felt wobbly from the sudden use... wobbly was a word right? She opened her eyes and wiped some water from her face, slowly pulling herself back up, leaning on the wall for support. She ever so gently made her way to the railing on the launch pad. It was the first time she had been out here, seeing the view from the top of the Avenger.

There were indeed forests around most of the backside. Pines too, she smiled a bit. The dark grey and green blended together in the rain, a few hills rolling in the distance with what looked like old ruins.

It was beautiful.

And it was calm.

Hrefna cast her gaze over the massive grey transport ship. She hadn't really considered the sheer side of the ship before now, it would easily have dwarfed out any airborne vessel humanity had ever constructed. Even some of the more silly prototypes she'd seen couldn't challenge this.

Turning her eyes back to the horizon she breathed out. Between the clouds, the forest and the rain she could almost forget what had brought her here.

She let out a deep sigh and shivered a bit. It was cold outside, and despite how mild the rain was she was drenched. Hrefna didn't even know how long she had been out here, it was still dark, and it was still raining.

But... She looked back to the door, open and empty as before. She needed sleep, maybe a warm bath before that, if only to stop her body from shaking. She winced a bit as she returned to the door and climbed down the ladder. Thankfully Hrefna didn't meet anyone on her way back to her quarters. She did however leave a small trail of wet footsteps, hopefully Central wouldn't brake down her door thinking someone had infiltrated the ship.

She entered the bathroom, turning on the shower and letting out a painful hiss as she pulled off the drenched sweater. She dropped it on the floor and slowly rubbed the left side of her chest, trying and failing to sooth the pain.

She blinked tiredly as she stepped under the almost scorching hot shower, enjoying as the cold fled her body.

Hrefna wasn't sure how to move on from here, but in the end she settled for just dealing with it all as she got around to it.

Her eyes slowly opened to find herself back in the woods. She was curled up by the base of a large copper beech. The blood red leaves swaying calmly in the soft breeze. She smiled sadly, it had been too long since had been beneath one of those beautiful trees, the solid trunk and massive crown sheltering her in a blanket of shadows.

It brought back memories, memories of a childhood no one should ever have been forced to live. Memories of long days spent hiding away in the woods, exploring in the silent calmness that only the deep forest could provide.

A few unseen birds cheeped somewhere as the long grass swayed back and forth.

Some people who would say a vivid mind was a blessing, But Hrefna wasn't so sure. Remembering your dreams and having them be so...real that you in the moment struggle to distinguish it from reality. Her own memory had naturedly helped her succeed in her work. But there were some things Hrefna wished she could forget. Thoughts, feelings and memories that would likely follow her for the rest of her life.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and a sad smile crossed her lips. She always had too much time to think, slowly and systematically picking her life apart to explain every bit of who she was and why. It gave a certain solace of cause, however a degree of cynicism always seemed to follow. But it was who she was, and it was where she where in her life.

Every word and scar had shaped her.

And there was something beautiful about that, how far she had come, the power she now held despite never actually asking for it or seeking it out. But she was fragile and she knew it. She'd gotten good at hiding it, pretending to be confident and strong in the face of overwhelming odds, when in reality she felt just as clueless and lost as everyone else.

But they drew strength from her she knew, they needed her to be unfaced, an unbreakable and immovable bastion in the storm that was the world they found themselves in.

They believed she could do anything.

Hrefna let out a small sad chuckle.

They counted on her to lead them to a glorious victory against a superior enemy. And here she was, curled up beneath a tree in the lonely safety of her forest.

What would they think if they saw her like this?

She pushed the thought aside. No use in dwelling on it. The only other creature she had ever seen here were animals and the elder from before. The latter was thankfully absent this time around, with her newfound knowledge she wasn't sure how she would react, or how she could react for that matter. She hesitated to think of how it had even found this place, what it had been attempting when it shot out what Hrefna now knew had been a psionic stream.

She closed her eyes, intending to just stay like that for however long she could.

But the forest was fading, she knew. The grass disappearing and the earth dissolving.

There was a rushing sensation, before everything melted away.

Hrefna breathed slowly for a moment before opening her eyes.

Rolling over she sat up and brushed the hair from her face, letting out a tired sigh as she did.

She'd been having these dream more and more often lately. Hrefna wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. It was better than nightmares for sure, anything was better than those.

But while the dreams of the forests brought with them a certain... tranquillity, she had nothing to do but think. A sweet empty darkness would've been preferable. To just close her eyes and wake up in the morning, no dream, relived memory or strange visits from alien overlords.

Just peaceful sleep.

But there were no use in wishing for what she could never have.

Things are starting to pick up ever so slightly. Another missions, another dream and another choice to make.

Hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you like, they help a lot with motivation ^^

updates will be slower and a bit more sporadic. School/studies started back up so free time is in short supply. Writing 2 stories at once probably doesn't help but it is what it is.