It ended up taking over a day to locate where Mox was being held prisoner. A full day of unspoken tension and silence from Outrider as The Commander worked around the clock to find their ally. Otherwise, it was a day to recover from last night's mission, which was something they all needed. Leonidas was constantly annoyed by his wound, concluding that the blade had not been designed with the intent of leaving targets alive. It constantly itched and caused discomfort, and the area around it was extremely tender. Quite bothersome, to say the least, but the Spartan was somewhat thankful that it was relatively minor and by no means debilitating.
Doctor Tygan was able to create a finished model for the venom rounds a few days ago, and the Commander had ordered the science team to start work on a more advanced type of armor to replace their kevlar. They hoped to finish their research and produce this new armor before the Spartans' next mission since making another kevlar suit for Alia would be wasteful if it was just going to be replaced anyway.
Practicing his unarmed combat in the training center, Leonidas wondered if Spartan Squad would be sent to retrieve Mox after all. The Commander had decided to move the Avenger to the country where the prison was located, then wait until nightfall to deploy the rescue team. That would make two days that Mox would be spending in prison. Which squad would be sent in was TBA, though, which bothered the Spartan leader more than it should have. The reasonable conclusion was that one of the other fireteams would be called upon, but he still disliked not knowing for sure. While the Spartans were picked and trained to handle repeated deployment, he was dreading such a responsibility due to his annoying wound and Alia's lack of armor.
He sensed a presence behind him and turned to see the viper watching him work the bag. Leonidas waved a quick greeting, twisting into a kick as he did so and striking the large polymer sack. "Need something?" he asked between punches.
"If you do not mind," Alia hissed. He motioned for her to continue, and she moved forward, "I wish to ask why―or rather, how―you did not... stare at me last night? It was embarrassing, but I am not offended by the reactions of the others."
He shrugged, "They're probably just surprised that you have breasts like a mammal." Upon seeing her expression, he added, "Oh, come on. My eyes are drawn to motion―of course I saw what was underneath that kevlar. I just chose to look away and focus on making sure you didn't get killed."
The serpent nodded. "Well, I thank you. You saved my life."
"I did no such thing," Leonidas answered indifferently as he threw two kicks before switching his leading hand, "The only thing I did was my job. Eagle was already taking care of you, so I focused on fighting the psychotic super-soldier trying to kill us all."
Alia watched as he continued to pound the heavy bag with his gloved fists, occasionally breaking the punches with a kick then continuing with his other hand in front. "May I request that you teach me to fight like this?" She asked after a minute.
"You never got any CQC training?" the Spartan leader asked.
"A little bit," the alien operative said sheepishly, "Vipers such as myself were primarily trained to either bind our enemies with our tails―a tactic that you are already familiar with―or bite them. Otherwise, we were instructed to outmaneuver opponents and use either our rifles or our venom."
Her leader's brow furrowed. "That's it? The whole bind-and-crush thing is effective, admittedly, but do they really not teach you guys any hand-to-hand combat?"
"Have you ever seen a viper throw a punch?" Alia asked rhetorically.
Leonidas broke away from the bag, catching his breath as he thought it over for a moment. He shrugged, removing the boxing gloves, "Fair enough. I've got nothing better to do right now. We'll go through some of the basics." The senior Spartan moved to a more central location in the room, and the viper mirrored his position. They would not actually hit anything for now, since he just wanted to teach her the proper method before actually applying it. While the Ranger didn't really see the application of this in missions, since Alia would be staying farther away as a marksman, he welcomed the distraction from his anxiety. Plus, shadow boxing was as easy as it was enjoyable.
As Leonidas got ready to show some basic moves, he realized that what he knew relied on having legs. "Please do your best to adapt it," Alia suggested, obviously realizing the reason for the pause, "And what you do not adapt, I will."
"Alright," the Ranger agreed, "So first off, we have our leading hand. I don't know if that's what they call it in proper boxing, but that's what I call it―the hand that you have in front, and therefore lead with. In a fight, this should be your non-dominant hand, since that tends to provide more power, or at least in theory. When practicing, you should alternate between them like I was doing on the bag, so that one arm isn't way stronger than the other. I'm right-handed, so I'll be leading with my left. You want to have your torso at an angle to your opponent; not quite at ninety degrees, but close. Your chest should be facing forward with that angle, as opposed to your back. That way you have a good range of motion with both hands."
"We'll start with the basic jab. Pretty simple, this one: just punch forward as straight as you can with your leading arm without bending your wrist too much." He demonstrated by jabbing twice at the air, "And as with any punch, you want to use your whole body. For me, I have to use my rear leg to push forward, moving toward my opponent by a few inches. This puts a lot of extra momentum behind the blow. You shouldn't have much of a problem with this, but don't throw yourself forward; for me, that means keeping my rear foot on the ground."
Alia mimicked his movements as he demonstrated again, doing an excellent job at adapting his instructions for use with her tail in lieu of legs. They went over a few more basic attacks, including the hook, cross, and uppercut, and adapting punches based on the distance to your opponent. Leonidas then demonstrated stringing several punches together. He started with a jab, followed by a cross, then a hook with his left hand and ended the string with an uppercut. Alia mirrored the moves perfectly, using her tail to push herself forward more efficiently than Leonidas could.
Just as the duo was finishing up, Moose made his way into the room, scoffing at what he saw. "How can you even stand being near this thing, Leonidas?" He said in disgust, "You might as well teach her how to use a knife next, so that she can stab you in the back."
The Spartan leader moved to stand between the two, facing the larger man with a stony expression. The two squad leaders were long-time rivals, and it was not uncommon for them to fight. Moose was just under two centimeters taller than Leonidas' 191-centimeter frame, and weighed an additional ten kilograms. He was stronger, too―but not by much. Despite the fact that the Rhino leader could break his spine over his knee if given the chance, the Spartan Captain had never been intimidated by him.
"I don't know, Moose," Leonidas retorted, "Aren't you due to welcome an alien into your squad, too?"
Moose scoffed again. "That's different."
The Spartan raised an eyebrow. "Of course it is. They're both turncoats; Mox just killed dozens of humans before he defected. Clearly, that makes him more trustworthy than the viper who hadn't killed anything until earlier this week."
"Come on," the Rhino leader said, not acknowledging the statement, "we all know that the only reason you're just acting nice is that you're under orders from the Commander. Mox is a real fighter who can take care of himself―your little pet can't even throw a grenade properly."
"You want me to break your arm again?" Leonidas rumbled grimly, "I'd offer to have my 'little pet' bite you, but she wouldn't enjoy it."
At that, Moose stepped back. An echo of fear flashed through his eyes for an instant. "Fine," he said, turning to leave, "Have fun with your scalebag. I need to go and prepare to rescue my newest teammate."
"Come back alive," the Spartan King said under his breath, "so I can kill you myself."
As he watched the other man depart, Alia appeared at his side, "Are you alright, Leonidas?" She hesitated for a moment, then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine," he said dismissively, furious at the Rhino's behavior, "Moose just... there are billions of nerves in the human body, and he gets on every single one of mine!"
"If I may ask," the viper said cautiously, "What did you mean by 'break your arm again'?"
The Spartan leader took a deep breath and visibly calmed himself. He then let out a small chuckle as the memory came to him. "About two years ago," he explained, walking toward the door and motioning for her to follow, "before we were old enough to see real combat, Moose challenged me to a full-contact sparring match during training. It was a total accident, but I ended up breaking his humerus. He cried like a little bitch, and I've never let him forget it."
As the operatives made their way to the Spartans' quarters, they were stopped by the Commander. "I was just about to send for you two," he said with a smile, "There is an assignment that you would be perfect for."
Leonidas raised an eyebrow, "I thought that you were sending the Rhinos on the mission tonight?"
"Moose told you, huh?" the Commander chuckled, "Yes, I am, but this is different. In a few days, there's going to be a party hosted in one of the minor cities. ADVENT officials are going to be there, and they're letting people come in with open doors as a propaganda thing. Heavy security, but it might be a good chance to gather some intel."
"A spy mission?" the Ranger asked, "Why not send the Jackals in on this one?"
The Commander grinned, "Not spying; espionage. We need a pair of units to hide in plain sight for this, and you two are perfect. Alia, they won't even recognize you if they don't look too closely. And Leo, let's just say that the fact you always hide your face in the field is about to pay off."
Leonidas and Alia exchanged a glance. "Uh... Commander, not to question your judgment, but what exactly would we be looking for at this... party?"
"Protected servers containing potentially sensitive information," the Commander answered, "You'll be going as a guest, while Alia will be disguised as a guard. You'll be accompanied by a Resistance agent, who will help you extract the data that we need. While your presence isn't strictly necessary, Leonidas, I want you on-site in case things go sideways. That said, you're just there as backup, so you don't need to chat anyone up. And you're one of the only people I know who can go from slow-dancing to gunfighting without batting an eye, so it's really up to you."
He then walked away, leaving the two of them to figure out what just happened. This was unusual, even for the Commander. But then again, it was rare that XCOM operatives did anything that didn't involve killing in general. Chances were good that parties like this had happened before, but the Resistance had been unable to infiltrate them due to the lack of a decent cover. Any operatives experienced enough to handle it had their face on wanted posters in every city, with the exception of Leonidas, since he wore his aviators and bandanna in the field. He could walk into a place like that and no one would be any the wiser. And nobody would ever suspect that a viper would be working with Resistance forces, let alone the infamous XCOM.
When they entered their quarters, Alia asked almost immediately, "Leonidas, what is slow-dancing? I believe that I have heard of it, but I am unaware of how it is done."
Leonidas sighed, "It's the one kind of dancing that I can actually do without making a complete fool of myself. I just taught you how to use your fists, and I guess now I'll teach you this, too. C'mere, let me show you." They stepped into the space between the couch and the bunks along the wall, where there was enough room to practice. "Alright," the senior Spartan said as he stepped toward the viper, "First, you put your hands on my shoulders, and I put my hands here..."
It was somewhat awkward to figure out how to adapt his knowledge to be able to dance with a woman who had a tail instead of legs, but eventually, the duo started getting the hang of it. This day was only getting weirder with time, but it was like Leonidas always said: different was his normal. The Ranger knew that this would never have any application in a mission, but he had done stranger things for worse reasons. This was his life in a nutshell; nothing was ever consistent except the fact that things were constantly changing around him. It was certainly chaotic, but at least it never lacked for excitement.
As the two of them swayed with each other slowly, making a small circle in a very basic dance, Leonidas found himself making direct eye contact with Alia. She was looking at him with wonderment in her obsidian eyes, and with his hands on her waist, he could feel that her breathing was deepening. A burst of adrenaline entered his bloodstream at this realization, making his heart pound. The serpent's hands began inching their way up to his neck and toward his face. The pair stopped dancing, which was just as well since Leonidas had frozen in place. He was unable to comprehend what was happening, his mind racing to explain her current behavior.
"Uh," a voice came from the entrance, breaking the moment, "Am… I interrupting something?" The operatives turned their heads to see Ghost standing in the doorway, holding a mug of tea in one hand. He had simply walked in on them, completely unaware of what had been going on. It was rare that the old sharpshooter had such a confounded expression―Leonidas would have laughed, had the circumstances not been so awkward.
They broke apart, and Alia looked away in embarrassment. "No," the Spartan leader explained, doing his best to sound casual, "Alia wanted to know what slow-dancing was. I was just showing her how to do it." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth. Though, looking back, Leonidas still had no idea what the entire truth even was. The viper had been about to do something, but he didn't know what.
Ghost looked between the two with one eyebrow raised, "I mean... I can just come back later if you want. Are you sure that I'm not-"
"It is fine, Ghost," Alia hissed quickly as she slithered into her bunk, "Your presence was simply unexpected."
The sniper was silent for a moment, then shrugged, "If you say so. We'll be landing in about an hour, and then the Rhinos will be deploying to the prison shortly thereafter. I'm going to read for a while, but I suggest that the two of you aim for an early curfew. You'll need your rest, after last night's mission. I'm going to tell the birds the same thing."
Leonidas nodded, hopping up into his own bunk to rest until the evening meal, after which he would simply go to sleep. He was certainly tired, that much Ghost had nailed, but now his mind was working to figure out what the serpent had been planning to do. He and Alia had only known each other for nearly a week, so anything in the way of... feelings was out of the question.
As for Alia, her mind was racing for a different reason. What had she been thinking!? Was it just a spur-of-the-moment thing, or did she actually have feelings for this human? No doubt, Leonidas was constantly nice to her, and even intervened when Moose had started trying to intimidate her. It seemed like the two men had a pre-existing feud, but the serpent appreciated his actions regardless. Then when they had been dancing, she had just been swept up in the moment. The Spartan leader had been so gentle with her, and they had been standing so close. His scent had been intoxicating, and all she had been able to imagine was what those hands would feel like elsewhere on her body.
He was an odd man, that much was well-proven. Leonidas hadn't shown any hesitation to dance with her, and she knew that he was just being himself, but the Ranger did it so... she could not find the words to describe it, but it was embarrassing that she had acted without thinking. Alia had let her impulses get the better of her, and she shuddered to think of what she might have done, had Ghost not walked in. It worried the viper that she could not decide if the chill down her spine was from fear, shock... or delight.
A/N: I don't have much commentary on this one, except that things should be slowing down a bit story-wise from here on out. Next chapter is soon to follow, so stay tuned and leave a review to tell me your thoughts!
As always, have fun and stay safe out there! -VV