"Move move! Central, this is Jade one. We've been compromised and need immediate extraction!" Lorath called into his radio as a stray round impacted right above Greene's head. He returned fire through a window as the glass shattered and littered the ground. The floor gleamed red from the countless shards.
"Ah, shit! Incoming!" Greene ducked and covered his head when neon green lasers tore through the front door.
"On the left on the left!" Lorath jerked his head left as Johnson cried out in pain and fell.
"Scorpion is hit! He's gone!" Their squad leader cursed.
"Lonewolf! Get away from the window! Cover that left side!" Greene dove from the window as an explosion pulverized that entire section of wall. He immediately began firing on the left side, being rewarded by an inhuman scream of pain.
"Argh!" He glanced back to see Lorath get thrown to the ground with a massive hole in the side of his head.
"No no no... Apex is dead!" Turner knelt behind a desk desperately trying to avoid the withering fire. Ramirez pulled out his frag and threw it, accidentally bouncing it off of the door frame and barely landing it outside. Greene turned to face Fox behind him.
"What are your orders, Marshal?" Their sharpshooter didn't respond, his eyes were wide and glazing over in panic. Greene swore and dashed to the younger man's position.
"Marshal! We need you! Get your head in the game!" He slammed a fist into Fox's shoulder, pushing him down behind cover as more rounds and lasers impacted the wall behind them.
"I... I can't. They're gone..." Greene covered the back of his head when another explosion sent up a cloud of dust in the room.
"I'm running low over here!"
"Where's Firebrand!"
"Ahh! I'm hit!" Greene felt something inside of him snap. Fox was far too panicked to be of any use. Panic would only serve to get the survivors killed. He snapped his head up and called out loud enough for the entire team to hear him.
"Alright, everyone listen up! Stiff, Fall back! Romeo, secure the back exit! We'll take cover in the sewers and wait for extraction!"
"On it!"
"Moving!" On the ground beside him, Fox remained in an unsteady daze.
"Let's go, Marshal! We are leaving!" Greene roughly grabbed him by the armpit and hauled him bodily onto his feet.
Hours later, Greene found himself standing in front of Bradford. The man looked exhausted. Still, he put on a brave face and smiled at Greene.
"In recognition of your quick thinking and willingness to seize the initiative, I am promoting you to Staff Sergeant. Congratulations, Jade one. Go earn your revenge, kid. Just like I promised ya." Greene glanced over at Fox, who had since recovered from his panic attack.
"I'm sorry for freezing up back there. It won't happen again." Greene crossed his arms at the junior Resistance fighter.
"Make sure it doesn't. You could've gotten the entire team killed with your inaction. Remember that when shit hits the fan, it's always better to do something than nothing."
Greene awoke with a start, startling the man next to him as he shot up in a cold sweat. He usually didn't remember his dreams. The aging Staff Sergeant was often too exhausted from running constant missions to even be capable of dreaming. Turner shuffled over from the other rack and called out to him.
"Hey, Greene. Are you good?" Greene scoffed.
"I'd be more worried about yourself, kid." Turner raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay okay. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Greene shook his head and stood. He quickly stretched the sleep out of his limbs and went to the newly established gymnasium. Although it was originally intended to be strictly for maintaining fitness standards, the gym unofficially became a classroom for martial arts and small-scale tactical maneuvers. Many of the crew even began referring to the gymnasium as the guerilla tactics school, or the GTS for short. Greene had to hand it to the Commander, the gym was sorely needed since the Avenger was now airworthy. A pair of treadmills were stuffed into the corner, with several large weights on poorly built racks across from them. An improvised bench press was placed in front of the weight racks. Pull-up bars decorated the center alongside a series of mats placed haphazardly along the floor. Beside the door, someone put a recently cleaned five-gallon jug of water on a small shelf with towels and reusable cups. There was even an Invasion-era sectoid-shaped punching bag in the third corner. Next to it was a standard punching bag that was previously located in the barracks. Across from them was a large whiteboard that currently displayed a series of squares representing tightly packed buildings. Greene observed the drawings for a moment, taking the sawed plank of wood off the floor and going over various formations in his head quietly.
"Reliving old memories?" Greene turned around to see Kelly, Longshot, and Riot standing in the doorway. Longshot was leaning heavily on Riot's shoulder, the grenadier nursing his unused arm that was stuck in a cast for the next few days. He shook his head.
"No." Kelly shrugged, taking a seat on a nearby bench and gesturing for her team to do the same.
"Mind telling us what you're thinking? It could be useful info." Greene spent the next few minutes going over various formations and what they were best for. Longshot yawned and began to close her eyes as Riot tapped her on the shoulder with a smirk. Kelly rolled her eyes at the pair and stood.
"Thank you, Greene. You really know your stuff, don't you?" Greene let out a quiet sigh.
"All of this was considered common knowledge before the invasion." Kelly winced.
"I know. I'm sorry, Greene. We'll honor their memory. I swear it. Greene shook his head.
"It's too late for that now, and besides, we've got a war to fight." Before Kelly could respond, the intercom buzzed to life.
"WRAITH ONE TO THE BRIDGE. WRAITH ONE TO THE BRIDGE. JADE ONE TO THE BRIDGE. JADE ONE TO THE BRIDGE." Greene stood immediately, moving for the ladder well in nearly perfect sync. Before he reached the door, Kelly called out to him.
"It's never too late to remember, Greene." He didn't look back as they reached the ladder and began to climb. Jade squad's leader nodded at Dalton as he stood up from the ladder. Greene stopped at the door and looked over himself. Ragged and worn fatigues from a life he hasn't lived in two decades. He frowned and proceeded to smooth out his ancient uniform as best as he could. Not at all satisfied with the uniform's condition, Greene looked up at the patiently waiting Dalton. He pressed a button on the nearby control panel. Both squad leaders quietly entered the room, taking note of the shift in atmosphere since there was now a reaper and a skirmisher on the bridge. Greene noticed the reaper to be the same one who had extracted alongside them. The skirmisher, however, was new, with black and red armor and a maroon-painted bullpup submachine gun attached to his hip. Strangely, he couldn't recognize the model. Greene suspected that the Skirmishers took over a small foundry and manufactured their own designs. Bradford looked over at the pair and smirked.
"The Commander has chosen both of your squads to implement a seventh member as part of the alliance between all three of our Resistance groups." He nodded to the skirmisher. This is Aleel Calopei. His callsign is Raider. As of today, he will be placed under your command, Sergeant. As for you, Staff Sergeant. You will be placed in charge of Ghost. Any questions?" The grizzled war veteran glanced between the two squad leaders. Greene nodded at Bradford.
"Wouldn't Ghost be better placed with Wraith squad? Chatterbox has proven time and again to be proficient in stealth operations and intelligence gathering." Bradford shook his head.
"That's not up for me to decide, Staff Sergeant. It's the Commander's decision." Greene nodded. "If there are no more questions, you are free to return to your squads." Bradford turned away as Greene and Dalton left the room with their new squadmates in tow. The group made their way to the crew quarters, where the majority of XCOM's fighters were resting.
"My squad's over there. There should be an empty bunk at the far end. Get yourself settled and then I'll introduce you to the team." The skirmisher nodded and moved to comply as Dalton left the room. Greene stepped in front of his rack and pointed to an empty one near the couch.
"These six racks belong to us. The empty one right there is now yours." He glanced around to see three members of his squad looking at them curiously. She looked him in the eyes
"Volk said I am to obey." The reaper tentatively approached her rack and placed her rifle beside it. She then turned to face Greene after taking off her belt and harness, leaving her trench coat and mask on.
"Ghost is our new squadmate. She'll be the seventh member. This is Clayman, Turner, and Fox. Their callsigns are Brother, Stiff, and Marshal respectively. You are free to do as you wish, Ghost, I'll go find Kaizer and Dunn." Greene left as the three invited her to sit next to them. He soon found Dunn in the armory, happily taking his LMG apart and cleaning each and every piece with surprising care and caution. He looked up as his leader walked into the room and raised his weapon's bolt in greeting.
"Hi there, boss!" Greene groaned as he retrieved his own rifle and inspected the chamber. It needed to be cleaned, so he grabbed a nearby brush and cloth and got to work taking apart the weapon.
"So what did you and Chatterbox get called up to bridge for?" Greene didn't look up as he worked.
"Ghost is now our seventh squadmate. She will be acting as a permanent liaison between us and the Reapers." Dunn whistled.
"Well I won't complain, from what I heard, she's impossible to keep track of." For once, Greene found himself agreeing with the possibly deranged gunner.
"Yes. She will be an asset. I just wonder why it was Jade and not Wraith who received her." Dunn shrugged.
"I dunno boss, maybe it's because the Commander wants to even out the capabilities of each team. Make Wraith better able to do extensive close combat, make Jade even better for remaining undetected." Greene stopped cleaning his lower receiver and blinked at Dunn.
"I think you might be right." the gunner grinned.
"I may be cheerful and a bit of an earful, but I'm good at what I do." he declared proudly as Greene immediately regretted saying anything. Half an hour passed before Greene was satisfied with his rifle's condition enough to set it back in the rack. With a stretch, he glanced down at the man beside him, who had begun humming a small tune to himself.
"I'm going to brief Kaizer. Once you're finished, tell the others that I want them to meet us in the gym." Dunn nodded.
"Of course boss. You mean the GTS right?" Greene nodded. "We'll be there, Lonewolf." Greene sighed as he walked out. He searched for Kaizer all across the Avenger, eventually coming across him in the storage bay of all places. Hiding in the corner with Cormier. Greene just barely caught the two out of the corner of his eye, having approached when he heard whispering.
"I'm only telling you that you should meet our new guy. He's a bit of a nutcase, but he kinda reminds m..."
"Please don't. Just don't. You're all I have left, George. Nathan can't be replaced. I just can't replace him." Greene then heard crying.
"I know. Come here..." The whimpering became slightly muffled as Greene coughed to alert the two of his presence. The pair jumped out of their skin and separated quickly. Greene raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything as he looked at Kaizer.
"We have a seventh squadmate. It's Ghost. I'm gathering the squad in the gym." Kaizer nodded quickly, his face a burning red as he let out a breath.
"When is it?" He then said with far too much air as Cormier quietly slinked off deeper into engineering.
"As soon as everyone's there." finished with what he wanted to say, Greene turned and left. Kaizer jogged up behind him and copied his pace.
"Hey, listen, that wasn't what it looked like. Cormier's grieving and I wanted to..." Greene tuned him out as he walked, already not caring. Jade squad leader waited for the grenadier to finish rattling out incoherent sets of various excuses and promises and put up a hand.
"Does it compromise your mission effectiveness?" Kaizer shook his head shyly. "Then I do not care. Now get your ass to the gym, Jade two." Kaizer complied. Moving for the elevator and passing through a debris-filled room that had yet to be fully cleared. They soon arrived at the gym and saw the others already waiting there. Greene walked over to the whiteboard and began going over various drills he wanted the team to know. The next few hours went by relatively productively, with the team listening intently to their squad leader. Once finished, Greene gave a nod to the team.
"Always remember Jade squad. In combat, doing nothing is the absolute worst thing you can do. It is always better to at least do something." The six members stood and dispersed. Fox, Clayman, Dunn, and Turner laughed as they went to the armory to clean their weapons. Greene opted to join them as Kaizer trailed behind. Ghost went back to the barracks to maintain her hunting rifle.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Greene eventually found himself resting in the bar with most of his squad. They and Wraith were the only two squads able to go on missions since Menace was still recovering from their close call. Cobalt squad was currently embedded with a small Resistance cell. Their goal was to rally as many groups as they could against Advent. If the Commander could establish a large enough alliance, there was a very good chance that the Resistance would prevail. Greene was beginning to understand why Bradford held the Commander in such high esteem. They have consistently made substantial progress in remarkably little time. Still, Greene wasn't sure how they could win. Sure, things looked less bleak now, but the aliens have proven to be just as resourceful and ruthless as they were in the invasion.
"JADE SQUAD TO THE ARMORY. JADE SQUAD TO THE ARMORY." Greene sighed and got the team organized for the mission instantly. He got his gear on and drew his rifle.
"Wait in the hangar. I'll see what's going on." He met the familiar sight of the command deck shortly after. glancing at the screens in surprise. Images of a burning Resistance haven decorated them. It seems Advent was making a retaliatory strike. Bradford was standing near the Commander, Kelly, and Dalton. The three senior members were leaning over a map and heatedly discussing a new plan with Wraith leader. Bradford looked up and noticed Greene immediately.
"Staff Sergeant." he greeted. "Advent has discovered the Wolf's Den and they launched a raid. I need your team to gear up and get on the skyranger ASAP." He didn't say anything else as he turned back to the others. Greene immediately turned on his heel and left the bridge. He arrived in the hangar right as Brown exited the dropship.
"All systems are green and I'm fueled up. Ready when you are, lead." Greene nodded.
"You heard Firebrand, get on board." The team obeyed swiftly, with Greene going to the cockpit alongside Firebrand since the other six seats were full. The elevator gave a familiar jolt as Brown nodded at Greene. The skyranger lifted off and swiftly picked up speed as Brown calmly handled her controls. Shortly into the long flight, Bradford's voice came over their radios.
"Advent is currently raiding the Wolfpack. They scratched our backs during your convoy ambush last week, so we're going to scratch theirs. I'm not going to lie to you. It's hell down there, but they need our help. If the people in the Wolf's Den are massacred while we do nothing, then it'll be much harder to convince other groups to join our alliance." Bradford paused. "Advent came in hot and so will we. You will not be concealed once you hit the ground. Move carefully and get as many Resistance fighters out as you can. If possible, you also need to locate the Wolfpack's leader. her callsign is Denmother. She'll be vital in establishing good relations with other groups. They're all counting on you. I'll debrief you personally once you're back on the Avenger. Central out." Greene stood and moved into the blood tray.
"You heard him. Check your aim and pick your shots. That AO's going to be densely packed with friendlies." Dunn straightened in his seat.
"Oh, I'm gonna make those hybrid bastards pay. They'll learn not to mess with the pack." Both Kaizer and Turner glanced at each other uncertainly.
"You came from the Wolfpack? Didn't you?" Clayman voiced his question right before meeting Dunn's glare. "I guess that answers that then."
"Hey, Kaizer. Aren't there reports of a new infiltration unit in some of the groups?" the grenadier shook his head.
"I wouldn't believe those rumors. Haven't you heard of that rogue viper slithering around in the desert? Nobody's been able to confirm it. Just a baseless myth, nothing more." Greene raised his hand to get a better grip on Fox's seat. He didn't want to be blinded in the cockpit as Brown soared above the clouds.
"Myths have to start somewhere, Jade two. There's always some measure of fact to fiction." Kaizer shrugged.
"Well, I sincerely doubt that Advent has shapeshifting spies in the Resistance." Clayman perked up.
"They have thin men. Why wouldn't they also have shapeshifters?" Turner countered as he finished loading his sidearm.
"It doesn't matter either way. We're going to save as many wolves as we can." He fist-bumped Dunn and received a stern nod from Kaizer as Greene sat on the floor. An hour later, Jade leader noticed Brown ease up on the thrusters, stretched, and moved into the cockpit. The pilot glanced at him. He couldn't make out her expression under the golden visor but understood that they were closing in on the target. Greene thumped his fist off of the door, alerting the team of their proximity if they didn't already realize. Brown then pulled an abrupt maneuver, dodging past an Advent dropship that seemingly came out of nowhere as Greene was almost thrown to the floor.
"Shit that was close," she murmured as she drastically lowered her speed. "You're going to get out here. It doesn't look good down there. Good luck, lead." Greene nodded as he stepped into the blood tray again. Brown opened the hatch and Jade squad was hit with the acrid smell of burning tires, buildings, and corpses. The only thing Greene could even see through the smoke was fire in every direction as he leaped out of the skyranger and slid down the rope. Gunfire and explosions deafened them as they posted security for the rest of the team to land.
"No..." Dunn was the last one on the ground. "We gotta help them! Come on!" Kaizer grabbed their gunner by the arm and pulled him down. Turner wore a permanent grimace as if this place brought him back to a time he'd much rather forget. The skyranger flew away as quickly as it had arrived. Brown wasn't willing to allow possible shootdown attempts to take one of the fastest aircraft in the world out of the sky. Greene only had one way to describe the firestorm of death and destruction around them. It was literal hell on Earth. He grimaced and snapped his team into action. They didn't have time to sit around and be shocked. It was time to work.