"The UFO is going to be a hard target, Lily. Advent doesn't just abandon its crashed vessels." Bradford was unsure of Shen's newly proposed mission. He was just debriefing with Greene on Jade squad's last mission when XCOM's chief engineer and wraith squad's leader had come running into the armory.

"What we need is a distraction. My father's work will go to waste if we don't recover this power stabilizer. I'm sorry Greene, but we need it if the Avenger is ever going to become airborne." She replied in a tense voice. Greene nodded as Ramirez and Smith stood behind him. Fox, Turner, and Jun entered the room a second later to retrieve their gear before the five members of Jade squad moved for the hangar to finish their preparations. Meanwhile, Dalton was standing to her left and nodded at Greene.

"That's why you're hitting the supply outpost. While Advent's stuck trying to deal with you, Wraith can breach the UFO, get to the objective, and leave before reinforcements arrive." Shen agreed with Wraith leader.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Central. This operation is risky, but it needs to happen. Greene already knows about the hazards involved. That's why I chose Jade squad." Bradford shook his head.

"What you're asking is that I send Jade squad on a suicide mission. They can't outrun Advent in the desert. They'll be sitting ducks out there. Is that power stabilizer worth Jade squad's loss?" Shen looked at Greene for a moment before meeting Bradford's eyes with the same determination that was a staple of XCOM's members.

"We are so close to finishing the Avenger and the Skirmishers have a lead on the Commander. If they are still alive and willing to help us, they'll need all the resources that we can provide. I believe that the Avenger is our best option. It has to be finished." Bradford sighed.

"Get Firebrand the coordinates, we'll be underway as soon as we resupply." Shen smiled in gratitude.

"Thank you, Central." The old veteran scoffed, not to anyone's surprise, however.

"I just hope your stabilizer is worth the risk." He didn't give her the chance to respond as he and Greene walked away. Jade leader only made it a few steps before his surroundings changed around him. Greene looked around in shock, noticing the menacing gunmetal grey of Advent buildings and their shattered crimson windows. Fire was everywhere, with fuel tanks erupting in awe-inspiring explosions. The deafening booms almost drowned out the magnetic tracer rounds going over his head. With a start, Greene realized that he was taking fire. He quickly dove to the ground, snapping his rifle into the pocket of his shoulder and firing off an initial burst of suppressive fire. Greene's burst was met with a scream from one of the troopers. Then a neon laser beamed beside his face, forcing him down as he barked into his radio for support. The scenery changed abruptly for the second time as a distant berserker let out a blood-curdling roar and smashed its fists into a nearby wall. The vibrations were easily felt by Greene and his squad as they set up a hasty ambush. Jun and Smith would hit the enraged beast with grenades and machine gun fire as Greene and the others aimed for the limbs. If they could only immobilize the creature long enough for their heavier weapons to get a chance to work, they'd survive against the monstrous hulking mass of muscle and hatred that was the alien berserker. The berserker rounded the corner, roared in anger, and charged. Jade squad opened fire as soon as the alien saw them, seemingly slowing it down with their bursts. Eventually, after what was the longest ten seconds that Greene could remember, it fell inches from where Turner stood. The squad cleared the area as Fox began hotwiring a relatively intact Advent van. Greene walked over to the prone sharpshooter, about to ask how long until he finished with his task. Prior to Jade leader even opening his mouth, a deep boom resonated throughout the area and a piercing scream followed. A distinctly human one.

"Jade squad! Report in!" The Staff Sergeant automatically barked into his radio as he ran towards the source of the screaming.

"Jade two accounted for!"

"Jade three alive!"

Jade four still breathing!"

Jade five! I found Jade six! He's hurt pretty bad! I need help over here!" Greene cursed, one of the other fuel tanks must have caught fire while Smith was patrolling past. The medic didn't expect a thing. As the squad leader neared their location, he could hear Ramirez trying to converse with Smith.

"C'mon man, stay with me. We're getting you home. Just help me get you better!" Greene could see blood everywhere. He knelt by the wounded Smith, grabbing for a tourniquet as he looked for the wound. He swore loudly as he discovered what happened. Severe burns covered the top half of Smith's left side, but even worse was a large gash running down his thigh. He was losing blood at a lethal rate.

"Put pressure on his leg! Now!" The native Latino didn't need to be told twice as he placed his hands over the laceration. Greene then looped his tourniquet around the leg, placing it above the bleeding and cinching it as tightly as he could. The bright red blood spurted onto Greene's face as he worked. The grizzled veteran from a world long gone ignored the feeling of the warm blood and remained calm. The tourniquet only took a few seconds to apply and Greene leaned away as Ramirez eased up the pressure. Smith's cries of pain were reduced to groans while his friend ripped off his jacket and shirt and placed them over the wounded medic.

"It's cold..." Greene leaned forward again, checking the tourniquet and going down the leg to check for a pulse. He nodded to the others when he was satisfied.

"Just keep talking. We stopped the bleeding. You'll be okay. We'll get the Hamburglar to look at you." The grenadier mumbled.

"I'm scared, Hightower... I don't wanna go out like this." Ramirez replied incoherently in what had to have been Spanish.

"Listen, Deadeye. You'll make it, just stay awake for us." Fox's voice suddenly spoke over the radio.

"I've got it! Let's get out of here!" As soon as he finished speaking, the Advent van drove out of the blackened sand towards them, coming to a stop while Jade squad opened the rear doors and lifted the incapacitated medic into the back. Unfortunately, Smith never made it back to the Avenger. About an hour and a half into their journey, he fell unconscious and slipped away from them despite their best efforts.

Greene suddenly became aware of his labored breathing pounding heart as he remembered that mission. The Staff Sergeant slowly calmed his airflow and forced his heartbeat to settle back into a steady rhythm as he began listening to nearby voices.

"So what's your story? We're gonna be here awhile, might as well pass the time." Jade leader recognized Alpha's confident voice and relaxed.

"Well, I was in a camp not too dissimilar from yours. We were attacked, airstrikes blew us to pieces and then the ground troops came... I never had to kill before. There were so many of them that I didn't feel like I had a choice. Only five of us got out before XCOM found us." Turner's voice responded, growing quieter as he went on.

"I'm sorry. It may not seem like much, but I can understand what that must feel like." Alpha sounded genuine, and Greene knew he was after the talk they had earlier.

"I know. I joined XCOM with the hope that I could make Advent pay. Same as anyone else."

"Oh, we will. Advent will not win this war. As long as there's at least one wolf left, we are still in the fight." Greene shifted his weight and picked up his rifle, not really caring enough to join in their conversation. "And what about you?"

"Huh? Oh, I was recruited by Central shortly before Lonewolf over there." Fox answered Alpha's question as Greene looked up, the others seemed to be unaware of the fact that he was awake.

"Isn't he in charge of your team?"

"Yeah. He is." Fox's voice came in reply.

"He may be a hardass, but you saw how he is under pressure. The man is ice cold." Turner stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, our first mission with the skyranger almost ended in complete disaster, he took charge when I froze up and got the survivors out safely." Fox agreed with the breacher's assessment. Alpha chuckled dryly.

"I don't doubt it. I mean, he does have the gnarly burn on his face. You wouldn't happen to know what caused that beauty would you?"

"He doesn't like to talk about it. Rumors are that a laser hit him in the face and he fought a muton in hand to hand. All I know for sure is that he is pretty tough, he must've got burned real bad and fought through the pain to survive. I'd believe it." Greene grimaced at Turner's words, knowing that the guess wasn't far off. Feeling that it was time he got up and did something more productive. He sat up, alerting the three.

"Hey Warhorse, could I talk to you a sec?" Kaizer turned from his position on the other side of the cave as Turner stood and shuffled over to him. The grenadier glanced up at him expectantly as Turner put his hand behind his head.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I let the stress of losing another group get to me. I'll try not to let it happen again."

"That's fine man, I didn't take it personally. I was wrong either way. Those 'faceless' really do exist I guess." Turner nodded.

"I know, but still..." Fox and another wolf stepped outside, replacing the current two wolves standing watch over the entrance. The pair walked back in, they laid down, and fell fast asleep. Greene looked over at Clayman, who was sitting beside the still unconscious Dunn and organizing his medkit.

"He's still unconscious?" Clayman nodded.

"Yep, He has an egg on the right side of his head. His heart rate and breathing are still normal and I'm checking every few minutes just to be safe." Greene nodded.

"Warhorse. How's the arm?" Kaizer winced at the mention of his injury.

"Brother's a damn miracle worker, but even he has his limits. I'm going to have to get medical from the doc back on the Avenger." Clayman chuckled.

"Oh ho, don't you worry, Warhorse. I will see to it that the whole squad gets a nice cozy vacation with Hamburglar on me." Not even Greene could avoid a grimace at the prospect of a visit with Doctor Tygan. The man was as intelligent as they come, but just like it was before the invasion, there was nothing more terrifying than a medical professional getting rather intimate with a grunt. Despite their aversion to his calculating persona and previous medical experience under Advent, Doctor Tygan had certainly proven that he was worth the effort of rescuing him. Greene looked up and locked eyes with Turner.

"You still have severe dust inhalation? Any more coughing attacks?" Turner shook his head.

"I feel fine for the most part, my lungs just needed some time to sort themselves out." Clayman chuckled.

"Yeah, and while they're at it, try not to get yourself buried under a building again." Turner shrugged.

"Maybe if Advent stops sending high explosive projectiles into our cover, I can avoid it." Clayman grinned as he performed another check on Dunn's vitals. Greene finished cleaning his weapon, waiting several minutes as Alpha sat beside him.

"So." He began. "When is that help coming? It's been around a day and I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but it probably isn't the wisest idea to shelter in place for too long." Greene shrugged.

"They'll get here when they get here. Besides, if Advent was truly looking for us, they'd have found us by now." Alpha pursed his lips.

"I get that, I'm just saying that we should probably move soon, leave some sentries here for when they arrive, and move everyone else somewhere safer." Greene raised his brow.

"And where would that be, exactly? Advent annihilated your camp and decimated your people. Unless there's somewhere else we can go, we're stuck here until the survivors get medical." Alpha crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe you could get on the radio and tell them to hurry up? We're running dangerously low on water and we never even had enough food or ammunition to begin with." Greene sighed.

"The longer I use that radio, the more likely Advent can trace it back to us, even if it's encrypted, they'll see the transmission and pinpoint our location eventually. That not only gets us killed, but it also leaves the relief team exposed." Alpha shook his head.

"Fine. I'm sending out three of my guys to find a reliable source of water at least. We won't last long without it." Greene nodded slowly.

"Good thinking. We can make do without food for a while." Alpha pursed his lips and left to assemble the team. Each of them had several water sources and one received a weapon.

Two of them returned forty minutes later, while Greene was on watch, wordlessly entering the cave and passing around the bottles and canteens. When asked where the third was, one recounted that an Advent patrol had almost stumbled upon them and they separated to remain hidden. The soldiers came dangerously close to the team as they picked their way through the woodland. Greene motioned for Ghost to follow him and left the cave. He glanced back at the cave's entrance and lowered his head as he spoke.

"We can't afford an ambush. I need you to find the missing wolf. Get him back here if you can, but you know what to do if you can't." Ghost nodded, shouldered her rifle, and quietly left. Jade leader then turned to see Alpha watching him with a pensive expression. He approached the Staff Sergeant and crossed his arms.

"Did you really just order your assassin to kill Fulcrum?" Greene didn't respond at first, instead pursing his lips and looking out into the wilderness.

"If he is captured, he could expose our location. Advent would be on top of us without warning. He can't talk if he's silenced." Alpha narrowed his eyes in confrontation.

"Yeah? And what would you do if one of your own was captured? 'Silence' them too?" Greene looked Alpha dead in the eyes.

"Yes." Alpha snorted and shook his head. The newly elected leader opened his mouth to respond several times but seemingly wasn't able to find the words. He finally stopped and looked at Greene's uniform.

"What happened to you? I thought that Marines were trained against leaving people behind." Greene widened his eyes in surprise. Alpha laughed harshly.

"Oh yeah. I recognized that uniform. I've also noticed that you ripped off your name tapes. What's your reasoning, hmm? Couldn't handle fighting for a lost cause?" Greene frowned.

"I am not that person anymore." Alpha glared at him.

"Whatever happened to 'once a Marine, always a Marine' huh? Did you abandon that concept just like you abandoned the other survivors in the Wolfpack? Like you're abandoning Fulcrum? Where's the rest of your unit eh? Did you abandon them too?" Greene's expression became dangerous.

"They're gone." Alpha nodded at Greene's scar, either not noticing or not caring about Greene's glower.

"I heard that you got it before you joined up with XCOM. From a muton, right? They're dead and you aren't. Let me guess, you survived because you hid your tail between your legs and ran? Are you that much of a heartless coward? That you ditched everythi..." Greene didn't let Alpha finish that sentence as he threw a single punch into the wolf's face. The man was sent to the ground instantly, grabbing at his face as he scrambled back to his feet. The Staff Sergeant stared down at Alpha, not moving as the stunned wolf backed away in shock.

"No one else is allowed to leave this cave until help gets here. That includes you. We are done here." Greene walked back into the cave without saying another word. Alpha came in a few minutes later, now sporting a new black eye as he stayed on the opposite side of the cave to Greene. An hour and a half passed before Ghost came back alone. She nodded stiffly at Jade leader's silent question before taking a seat. Sometime after the reaper returned, Dunn woke up. He awoke slowly and painfully, hissing and grinding his teeth as if he were in agony before Clayman got to work on him. Their medic calmly and skillfully took his vitals and gave him a controlled dose of morphine to ease the gunner's suffering. Dunn unfortunately fell back into unconsciousness shortly after, mumbling something incoherent before his eyes shut.

Greene nodded at Turner before resuming his watch. He and Turner took their positions once more at the entrance and carefully scanned the wilderness around them for any signs of movement. Greene heard Turner edge closer to him and turned his head towards the noise, alerted when he instead saw the custom ballistic helmet of the Skirmishers. The unique body armor was camouflaged with a green and brown pattern, and a bolt-action sniper rifle was slung around the skirmisher's back. The signature bullpup SMG was raised in a prepared, but not quite threatening way as the hybrid stared at Greene.

"We were expecting more of you." Greene nodded as he noticed Turner come up behind the skirmisher with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Wasn't Quiet coming to help us?" Jade leader shook his head.

"They must have asked the entire network to help bail us out." The skirmisher glanced back and forth between the breacher and team leader.

"That is correct. When the slaves of Advent attack one of us, they will receive all of our might." As he finished his sentence, three more skirmishers appeared from behind him. One was wearing tan and brown armor with a large shotgun in her hands, while the other two both had the Skirmisher's standard submachine gun. The hybrid wearing grey and black armor also had a grenade launcher slung around his back, and the skirmisher beside him sported almost a dozen knives along her white and tan armor. Greene took a closer look at the four, realizing that they all had similar body armor and gauntlets equipped with grappling hooks and two wrist-mounted blades. He briefly wondered if Shen could reverse engineer the blades or grapple and incorporate them into XCOM's loadouts. Maybe their new skirmisher liaison could assist with that.

"We were informed of twenty-six Wolfpack survivors and seven XCOM soldiers. Where are the rest of you located?" Greene nodded at the cave's entrance as Fox and Alpha stepped out.

"There's twenty-five now, we lost one since the initial report." The skirmisher nodded smoothly. Alpha, meanwhile, merely glared at Greene for a moment before focusing his attention on the hybrids.

"Understood. Their death will not be in vain."

"So help's finally arrived. Let's get the pack out of here." Alpha said as he looked over the skirmishers. The hybrid glanced at his companions.

"He is correct. Advent is still hunting you. It is only a matter of time before we are discovered. Your destination is seven kilometers North. We will take you there, then we will take the survivors to a safer location." Greene turned to face Turner.

"Go grab the others. We are leaving." Their breacher nodded as he complied with the order.

"We must make haste. Your Commander is waiting for you." Jade squad was joined by the remainder of the Wolfpack outside. Clayman was carrying Dunn with Turner's aid as the group began moving in a single file. Kaizer took up the rear with Fox as Greene, Alpha, and the skirmishers led the formation. Ghost was far ahead of them, moving quickly and covertly.

Greene constantly looked back to check on the civilian's status as they walked, making sure none of them fell behind. Even accounting for the wounded, none of the wolves had too difficult of a time keeping up. Still, their progress was too slow for his liking. It would only become easier for Advent to stumble upon them the longer they stayed in the open. He looked around before settling his vision on the green skirmisher.

"We've got to move faster. This pace isn't good enough." Alpha scowled.

"Are you forgetting about our wounded? Not all of us are as cutthroat as you... Lonewolf." He emphasized Greene's callsign, almost as if insulting the man's callsign.

"We are concealed for now. We will make it to your rendezvous." The skirmisher stated matter of factly. The group continued as the hours passed uneventfully. Greene found himself almost reliving his life decades ago, where he would be on patrol in the field for days. The platoon would maintain complete silence as they walked, watching for danger in every direction. They would only communicate using hand and arm signals to avoid telegraphing their position to potential hostiles. It didn't take long for Greene to get uneasy, after all, he lost his entire platoon on a patrol much like these ragtag rebels were attempting to perform. It would be so easy for them to be ambushed. Not just by Advent either. Not every Resistance group was aligned behind XCOM's cause, some were merciless raiders, others bandits, and many simply merchants or travelers trying to live out their lives without walls to keep them in.

Nevertheless, the group arrived at Jade squad's LZ and set up a small perimeter. Ghost returned to the larger group as they settled in for a long wait. Greene and the green armored skirmisher who identified himself as Wild met in the center while Alpha checked in on his people.

"Thanks for getting us this far. You should get these civilians out of here." Greene thanked Wild. The hybrid simply nodded and wiped a leaf off of his bullpup before moving to gather up the other skirmishers. Alpha joined Greene and looked him in the eyes.

"I have to admit that I thought we were dead if we stayed there for much longer. You were right though, much as I loath to admit it." Greene didn't respond at first, choosing instead to meet the wolf's gaze.

"Be careful not to let your personal feelings overtake your logic. You're a hell of a fighter, but you will get yourself and everyone around you killed if you hesitate to do what is necessary." Alpha pursed his lips before waving his hand towards the waiting skirmishers.

"We're splitting up here folks. Get up and keep walking." Jade squad hung back and reestablished a perimeter as they waited for extraction. They didn't have to wait long, however, as Brown broke the radio silence and requested their location.

"Firebrand to Jade squad. Can you confirm that you've got a visual before I come in for a landing? Over." Greene looked up, not seeing the skyranger for a few seconds before he noticed a spec floating in the distance. He instinctively checked his watch's attached compass and responded quickly.

"We have eyes on, Firebrand. Proceed East towards the large clearing. We'll rendevous there. Over."

"Roger that, Lonewolf. It's good to hear from you." The skyranger hovered over the clearing until Jade squad arrived. As soon as she saw them, Brown descended and opened her hatch for them to get aboard. Clayman and Turner helped Dunn get strapped in and sat in their seats as Greene moved for the cockpit.

"We're secure, Firebrand. On you." The woman nodded, although he couldn't see her expression through the reflective visor. He sat down in the cockpit, shielding his eyes while she rocketed into the sky and began flying for the Avenger. Once they were cruising, Greene stood and entered the blood tray, steadying himself with one of Kaizer's seat handles.

"I cannot wait to get some sleep in my bunk. It feels like we were out there for months." Turner laughed at Clayman.

"Just be glad that Jade squad's intact. And on that subject, none of you are doing anything until after we're cleared by the doc." The team collectively grimaced, much to Clayman's amusement.

"It's not my fault that one of you got shot in the arm and two others had a building dropped on them." He feigned a disappointed look at the three in question. "And to think, faceless do exist!" Kaizer pointed his good arm at both Turner and Clayman accusingly.

"Hey! It was never proven before today. How was I supposed to know that they existed?" Turner raised his hands with his palms facing out.

"Easy, at least that's better than someone almost dying to a trio of vipers." The breacher side-eyed Fox and smirked as the sharpshooter sputtered.

"I'm a sniper. I have to be at a distance to be effective." His desperate attempt at defending himself only served to make Turner and Clayman laugh. Their radios crackled to life a few moments later, making the team quiet down.

"Good Afternoon Jade squad. This is Central. We'll debrief while the good doctor checks on you. Good job out there. Get home safe." The entire team groaned at the mere mention of a medical examination. This time, even Clayman winced in discomfort.

"Anybody care for drinks when we get back?" Turner asked before Greene responded.

"Medical and debrief first, then reports and gear maintenance. No R&R before those are finished. Understood?" Jade squad gave their affirmations as they settled in for the long ride. Relieved at the very least to be out of the wilderness.

Author's note:

Sorry for the long wait. I recently started a third job and that took away all of my free time for over three months. Nonetheless, here's the admittedly rushed chapter seven! I'm satisfied enough with it at this point to post it, although I'll probably edit it later when I hopefully have a bit more time.

As always, please leave criticism in the comments or PMs and I'll see you in chapter eight.