Summary: Jynn reads up on the Skirmishers again just before her meeting with Betos.
Another day. Another meeting. At least Jynn had some hours to prepare for this one. Some time to better familiarize herself with the Skirmishers with the information they had in the archives, and from what she had heard from some of the personnel that met and interacted with those ADVENT rebels.
Currently, she was in her quarters, fully dressed and parked at her desk. Eyes scanning through the archives on all the information they had on the Skirmishers. Just a quick refresher before the meeting.
"Wonder if there were any 'freethinkers' before Betos?" If there were any, she wondered what those "freed" were doing before Betos gathered them under her wings. "Possible. I know some were originally converted humans, and the process didn't always hold."
Heavy genetic manipulation and mind control to fully indoctrinate them to the Elders' will. It always led to the death of a personality, as many memories were suppressed, if not outright altered to ensure obedience.
"But most, if not all, are most likely those vat-grown clones now as there is only a finite amount of humans to turn and can't make that 'missing' persons number get too high." A mild relief, but there were still so many people missing. "Also, the costs to 'impersonate' those volunteers in the beginning would have been tedious. Can't make a clone of every human that 'volunteered'."
She wondered how many clones They had made in the early days. How many of them lasted before their friends and family started asking questions? One could never perfectly clone a person. Even if they had all the memories of the original, something was always off. She had faint memories of ADVENT peacekeepers removing "emotionally" distressed people from their homes and reassuring family and friends all would be alright. Of course, that was a lie. Terminate the clone and send in another replacement. Repeat when needed.
"Though I feel like They used something else… an infiltration unit, but can't remember." There was another faint memory from the Psionics Network, but it hung just outside her grasp. The feeling wasn't helped by some reports they had been hearing from various groups that there were some "shape-shifters" roaming about. "That would be the next logical step for the Elders to cut down on wasted resources." She wasn't looking forward to meeting the shape-shifters and hoped they could figure out a way to detect them in the future.
"Back to the Skirmishers."
Time to refocus her thoughts.
A few taps on the keyboard and a few clicks, she brought up profiles of several of Skirmishers. A quick glance through the more notable ones several XCOM personnel had met over the years, just in case Betos brought them up in their conversation.
"They are a diverse bunch." Her eyes scanned through the images before. Though most had abandoned — or heavily redesigned — their old ADVENT gear, she could see the subtle, and not so subtle, differences between each unmasked soldier. An image of three Hybrids proudly raising their modified stun batons together caught her eye.
"Former Stun Lancers." From their thinner physic, and lighter gear, she was able to quickly deduce that. "I see they had more than the usual infusion of Chryssalid DNA into their systems for that soldier variant." She noticed the purple and white discoloration on the trio's skin, especially their heads.
"Wonder if they were elites? Those usually have more modifications than the base soldiers." One could see similar chitinous plates to those ravenous bugs on their heads and forming around their exposed forearms.
"Going to be fun dealing with more Elites and God knows what variations the Elders will throw at us in the future." Jynn rolled her eyes at the mere thought of that. "Such a pliable base the Elders made, allowing them to quickly modify soldiers existing soldiers besides produce various base variants. And I know They're still tweaking it."
"I see the Skirmishers have gone native, trying to differentiate themselves from their enslaved brethren. Something makes the locals less trigger-happy." She quietly chuckled, noticing the various tattoos and other markings the Skirmishers decorated themselves with as she looked at the images. Each were unique to the individual and then the clan they called home.
"Kestrel." She recognized that clan name and the symbol of the bird tattooed on the back of some Hybrids heads. She had heard several stories from Bradford and the others about some joint operations they had done.
"Amazed to see what they've managed to reverse engineer and cobble together since they no longer have a connection to the Network." She took note of their gear. That was something she could always praise.
"Wonder if they have any ideas on how to safely bypass that genetic-verification system on their old equipment." She saw a few images of those that held onto their ADVENT weapons, redesigning and repurposing them. She wondered if the disconnect from the Psionic Network ever caused problems with them operating their weapons. Or was the genetic-verification system something separate from the Network?
"Our current tests ended in failures. Best for dismantling and repurposing the scrap." Thankfully, there were only minor injuries when that lethal security sub-system would activate and detonate the things. After a few more failed tests, the engineers stuck to dismantling the weapons, as there was less risk.
"Now, who are the most notable ones amongst you?" Best to get those names and looks drilled into her head before her meeting with Betos. A bit of typing and clicking, and she had the respective files pulled up.
"Tenzin Zahra." He was a former Stun Lancer from the looks of it. Well, technically he was still doing the same job but a differently. His primary target was to capture and free his enthralled brethren. From the records, he and his squad had a high rate of success.
"Note: Bane of the Assassin's existence as he and his group travel from clan to clan across many regions, making him hard to pin down." What a delightful note. She wondered if XCOM would cross paths with him and his group at some point.
"Nicknamed Whispering Death. Huh." She couldn't help but chuckle at the name. She wondered if part of the name came from the gray-ish white armor he wore. "Seems like he gives the Assassin a run for her money on appearing out of nowhere and striking like lightning."
"Now, Mala'tek Ti'zo. Been hearing stories about this Mala'tek off and on."
Mala'tek Ti'zo and her right-hand man Har'luk Theyn. Head of one of the South American branches, if not the main head over every clan there.
"Interesting armor she has." Jynn noticed the scorched orange armor she wore.
Almost like a hazmat suit, a heavily armored one at that. Every seam and joint locked and secured from the outside world. And from how the back was designed, looked like a canister could be attached to the armor.
"Perhaps something related to fire?" Those scorch marks really stood out to her besides Mala'tek having some features that reminded her a Muton.
"Though why the white discoloration and red hide growths?" She didn't remember any Mutons having white skin. Then again, who knows how many variations of Mutons, natural and unnatural, the Elders employed in Their army.
So far, XCOM hadn't seen many ADVENT with the armor like Mala'tek's that often. If they did, it was usually a Skirmisher and then the armor was heavily changed from its original design.
XCOM had heard stories from various dealers that traveled deep in the hearts of abandoned cities who had said they had seen ADVENT with such armor. Something about ADVENT purging something from the cities and needed a specialized unit for that. Purging with lots and lots of fire. A purifier, one could say.
"Wonder what's infesting the old cities? Chrysalids?" She knew those things hated fire. "Can't be, unless they're building nests by gathering bodies." She shuttered just visualizing such a sight. Reminded her too much of the fishing village they had to firebomb back in the day. Hell, it wasn't just that one fishing village that became infested. They had several more they had to clear out with firebombing them.
"When we get the world back, making extermination squads for those things will be a top priority." She wasn't sure how much the Elders had tweaked those things over the decades. Read and heard from a few who survived their homes being easily overrun by the newer generations. Just a few bodies and a swarm of those things would be born. Looked like the Elders had fine-turned and carved out the "zombie incubation" step.
"And supposedly there's a good chunk in the ocean." She remembered a story John and a few others had told her. A story dealing with that Radio DJ. She couldn't wait to meet the guy one of these days, much to John's resistance to the idea. She could understand why with how much hell the guy put John and his crew through to get that mess cleaned. And the guy still ran his mouth with some things he said on his Resistance Radio.
"Chrysalids in the ocean… who knows how many variations of those things exist." The very thought of that made her shutter. A variation that could survive in depths of the ocean just fine… Where else could they survive? Just how many of them were around? How was the ecosystem of the ocean?
"The Elders really don't care… but could be a fail-safe if us humans get too rebellious." A thought crossed her mind concerning the Psionic Network and the one relay that the Radio DJ had used. Possibly how the Elders were keeping those things in check to not overstrain Themselves. Maybe it kept some hives dormant.
"Need to make a side note. Have our network and respective engineer crew research that part of the Psionic Network some more for that contingency. Just in case we find a way to truly disrupt that Psionic Network one day."
"Okay, refocus."
She pushed those thoughts aside. Not the time to get sidetracked. "One more person to look at." She was already bringing up their file. "Last but not least, Pratal Mox. Betos' right-hand man."
Pratal Mox and his jet-black to onyx armor. A rather imposing figure, which was enhanced by his armor. The last time anyone had met him was in the United States.
"That quarry and other operations. Why XCOM is on friendly terms with the Skirmishers." She quietly mumbled to herself as she read the file. Many lives were lost, but an alliance had been forged.
"You were a former Captain. An Elite one at that." She saw a few images of his ADVENT days; proudly patrolling one of those golden cities. "A pain for many 'illegal' Havens. And a complete nightmare for the Reapers."
There were a few stories they managed to get from a few Reapers that described how Mox's cleansing campaigns went. Like another one of the Elders' shadows that hunted them. When Mox and his army arrived, it was a fight for survival and a fight to run. Trying to hold out against the onslaught would lead to brutal deaths.
"Nice for you to be on our side now… though there are thousands to millions of replacements the Elders could easily produce." One glimmer of hope was always quickly snuffed out by reality. "We need to find a way to disrupt their production of ADVENT soldiers. There have to be numerous facilities around the globe producing Hybrids since they can easily replace any slayed by the resistance."
"Each death to them is just a drop of water into an endless sea." She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. Just like the Old War. An endless army of clones.
"To think we were going to test the route of biological warfare when we noticed a majority of the Elders' forces were clones and had a better grasp on how to use that MELD." She shook her head. A desperate idea for some that got quickly scrapped when reports of human DNA started showing up in some of the newer variants. How quick the Elders worked when the Old War started to go wayside.
"We didn't want to chance it with whatever we came up with coming back to bite us by jumping the species barrier." She muttered. Personally, she thought it was a bad idea in the first place and should be only used a last resort. "And, thankfully, Moria was able to convince a majority of the Council it was a bad idea… though I still think a few continued that route off the books."
"And to think that may still be an issue." She raised herself back up and looked at the files once more. "Have had reports of strange diseases afflicting Hybrids here and there. Including aliens." She brought up a picture of a Sectoid one of the scouting groups had come across. They found the thing in an abandoned house. Cowering in a corner. Barely able to move its swollen body that was covered in large pustules and boils. The team put it out of its misery and carefully procured a sample for the Research team to check out.
"Another contagion to investigate and keep an eye out for. More decontamination protocols to think about."
Stories of zombies not born of Chryssalids, crystal infestations, strange afflictions to Hybrids, and who knows what else. Repairing the Earth was going to be a long and tedious task.
"Hm, time?" She mumbled as she started closing the files. A quick glance at the top of the screen and she had her answer. "Time to head down to the new meeting room."
The Resistance Ring. Though the new room was still under construction, it was in a developed enough to state that they could start holding more private meetings with various faction leaders they were in contact with. Which was a good thing, as some personnel were still not fond of the idea of working with the Skirmishers in a more active manner. The last thing needed was unwanted interjections during a meeting.
"In absentia lucis, Tenebrae vincunt."
That familiar flanging voice all ADVENT Hybrids shared came through the speakers. On the back wall, on the center screen was Betos. Head of the Skirmishers. Orange eyes shimmered with excitement as she looked at the Commander head to toe.
Latin? Commander Reeves couldn't help but raise a brow at that. She knew what it meant. Just why start their meeting with that? She glanced at Central, who only returned a shrug. Perhaps it was a test?
"In the absence of light, darkness prevails."
Betos nodded, smiling widely. Guess it was. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Commander Reeves."
"Likewise."
There was a slight dusty haze to her feed. The opening of the tent flapping back and forth from a dusty breeze. Commander Reeves knew the Skirmishers didn't have the luxury of finding permanent encampments as they had to move around like all the other factions if not more with how the Assassin hunted them.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, it didn't take long for them to get down to business.
"I, we, are looking forward to working with XCOM in a more official capacity." Betos said. "And are interested in forging peace with the Reapers… to stop the needless bloodshed and focus on our true enemies. The Elders."
"We are too." Commander Reeves nodded. The more to the Resistance the merrier. "Hopefully, our peace meeting tomorrow will go without a hitch. Though I don't expect a decade of tensions to disappear immediately."
"Hm, yes. Right." She nodded. It would be nice, but was highly unrealistic. But it would be a start to hashing out their differences.
"You have the location and updated intel on where the meeting is taking place?"
"Central has kept us up to date." She nodded once more before letting out a rough snort. "The abandoned city. Be prepared for it to be crawling with the dead and my Kracsad brethren cleaning up the Elders' mess."
"We're preparing for anything." One never knew if their communications could be spied on. And the constant talk of the walking dead had Commander Reeves concerned about Chryssalids. Needed to get to work on some fire based weaponry to kill those pests. Thankfully, the new generation was still vulnerable to that.
The conversation drifted away from the meeting for the time being. Talks of supply caches, prison liberations, and potential raids became the dominant topic. The Skirimishers had a few raids planned in the region and wouldn't mind the backup for the potentially tricky ones. And they were willing to share the spoils. The mention of derailing a train once more with the support helicopters got a laugh out of Central.
"The helicopters aren't happening again." Central chuckled and Betos laughed in turn. They were nowhere near those at the moment, nor had the resources and manpower to divert to that. And ADVENT would shoot them out of the sky in an instant if they tried that again. They would just have to settle on carefully planted X4 on the tracks and rockets.
As the conversation shifted back to the meeting, Betos gave her a warning of a potential headache.
"Vox Prima. Jax-Rai. Elder Chosen Assassin." A grimaced appeared on her face as she looked away from the screen.
"Jax-Rai?" Finally a name to the one that hunted the Skirmishers. Something about the name tickling the Commander's brain. It was new information to her, but oddly familiar.
"She's been more active in this region as of late."
"I've heard."
"So, I will be sending one of my best for the meeting. Just in case." Betos smiled proudly. "They will not disappoint."
"Care to tell me who you are sending?" Commander Reeves asked. Just curious who it would be. So far, Betos hadn't hinted any of her more notable Skirmishers would be the ones.
"For their safety, no. But you will not be disappointed in them."
"Hm." Commander Reeves didn't like that. A possible wild card to a delicate situation. Something told her the Reapers may not be fond of this individual. "I see we'll be doing some 'quid pro quo' work, then."
"You could say that." She chuckled. "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc!" She raised a fist.
"We gladly feast on those who would subdue us." Commander Reeves couldn't help but chuckle at that. Sounded more like something the Reapers would.
"Til next time, Commander Reeves." With that, Betos cut her feed.
"I feel like I know who's she's sending." Central said as soon as the feed was cut.
"Who?" She turned to him.
"Pratal Mox. One of her top men, a former high-ranking Officer. With how she withheld their identity for their 'safety', I feel like it's him as he led several targeted cleansing campaigns against the Reapers."
"Ah…" Looked like her negotiation and peacemaking skills would be put to the test when everyone met. "Well, that's going to make this meeting more pleasant."
"I'll give Volk a warning, sans saying who it is, may help temper who he's sending."
"Good idea."
The last thing they needed at this peace talk was a fight.