I know it's been like... a billion years or something, but I got distracted writing a litrpg, a cyberpunk fanfic and two other story projects that will likely never get anywhere.

But now it's here, mostly some build up, but nessesary for the chapters ahead.

Hope you like it~

The Avenger - Classified Location

early March 2035 - Midday

Hrefna stood by the door to the Vipers cell, it was midday, but the Avenger was unusually silent all things considered. They had, after 4 days of throwing out a metaphorical net to get in contact with the Templars, made a momentary break to trade supplies with a local haven and strike an ADVENT supply train. In the opposite order, the train had mostly been transporting advanced components. Shen suspected them to be part of a larger system or machine, but any further details were beyond them at the moment. It was something for her team to look into, but most was salvaged for raw materials, alloys, rare minerals and the like. They needed all they could get, constructing rooms and equipment took plenty of both. The mission had only suffered one mistake, a new recruit who took a few rounds to the chest from an ADVENT trooper. Medical had informed Hrefna that the plate had caught all but one of the rounds, which by some stroke of luck passed clean through without killing them. They were still out cold, would've bled to death within the hour if not for a quick evac.

Hrefna didn't envy them, she knew all too well what a ruptured lung felt like, broken ribs and internal bleeding. She still wasn't looking forward to the day they lost a soldier in the field, but for now she was savouring the streak of victories. Morale was high, training strong and aside from establishing contact with the Templars, there was a steady progression in all parts of the operation.

She'd just finished a meeting with Shen and Central with central mainly being concerned with the interrogation of the VIP. He'd wanted her input on how to proceed, but while Hrefna's skill set was vast, interrogation was a subject she preferred to leave to others - a luxury of her position really, but one that she was thankful for. Not that Hrefna was unfamiliar with the... techniques. She'd both seen and ordered things than danced the fine line between necessity and the unthinkable. A few quick words and a suggestion to find Blackwing in her quarters and he'd left shortly after.

Shen thankfully had a much lighter subject, that being the proving that the ground was almost finished. That and the delivery of the first batch of disposable Anti-Tank weapons, ideally they'd have one on each team. They were lightweight, compact and the multipurpose rocket meant that it could be used on infantry and vehicles alike. The skull jack could soon be fabricated and tested so they could continue their move on the ADVENT network that Tygan theorised about. Hrefna had ordered clearing another room for future expansion since there where still so many things they needed. An expanded infirmary, more expansive training facilities as well as a new power relay - as they where already pushing the system to it's limits. That and the need to improve the resistance communications in the future, meant the competition was strong. For now though, Hrefna settled on getting the room cleared out and making the final choice when the time came.

Now she once again stood by the Vipers cell, but at least this time it was with an invitation. An invitation to officially join XCOM.

Central had seemed more at ease with Hrefna's decision after delivering the new uniform to the Viper. It made Hrefna feel at bit more at ease. She knew central accepted her commands, almost regardless of how insane they might seem in the moment, but it was the time after the choice she cared for. It was there that Hrefna really had a chance to see the effects, his almost stubborn belief in her abilities

With a small sigh she pushed the thoughts away, swiped the door open took a few steps into the cell. Hrefna knew the Viper was waiting by the far wall, cameras told her she'd been there, staring at the door for a good two hours. A commendable focus if nothing else.

At the sound of the door and Hrefna's footsteps the Viper, Sandra straightened her posture, standing to her full height at a solid two meters. It was rare that Hrefna had to look up at someone, but this was one of those cases, even if the difference was only a a few centimetres.

At first it seemed Sandra was about to speak, but just as her scaly lips started to part she stopped. Flicked out her tongue and crossed her arms, defensive or defiant.

Hrefna looked the Viper over, the oddly human gesture of crossed arms wasn't lost on her. It did however strike her how... well boring the grey XCOM uniform was, especially with how the Avenger was all cold, grey steel. It was such a stark contrast to the otherwise bright scales. However they were at war, an alien invasion seemed as good a reason as any to stop caring about colours. Even ADVENT had gone with an ominous grey and red combo, so maybe Hrefna just didn't see the appeal. With a small shake of her head she dismissed the thoughts, they hardly mattered right now. With the Viper choosing silence, Hrefna decided to start. "Too big, too small?"

At the puzzled expression she clarified. "The uniform."

"It's acceptable." Was all Sandra said, a quick and simple reply, probably eager to move on to the point of her visit.

"Good." She started before moving to the topic at hand. Hrefna already knew what the Vipers answer to her question would be, but asked regardless.

"There's a squad ready for you to join... unless you changed your mind?"

The was a small twitch as the Vipers eyes seemed to harden, "I have not."

Hrefna gave a half smile in response before nodding her head towards to door. "Then follow me and I'll get you settled."

"You did not bring any soldiers with you." As much a statement as a question. Hrefna stopped and looked to the Viper at the comment. The tall snake like alien held a cold glint in her eye, but also curiosity.

She decided to entertain the comment. She knew Sandra wouldn't attack her, but while Hrefna felt a certain understanding of the Vipers intention, she couldn't help but want to hear her voice them. Sandra could kill her right then and there, her bite would be more than enough, and Hrefna was hardly in any shape to fight back.

"You going to make me regret that choice?"

Sandra let out what might've been a dismissive snort before she responded. "Pretending I was still with ADVENT, we had orders to bring you back, alive. So much as a scratch and we'd be executed on the spot."

Hrefna tilted her heard in part curiosity and part surprise at the open statement. They'd been wondering what ADVENT was trying to do but...

"Why?"

The Vipers reply was short and simple.

"They do not say why. They command, and if you value your scales you obey."

"But you did not obey. You killed the ADVENT troopers and gave us the VIP."

"I had different orders. Orders far greater than escorting some stupid biped."

That drew a smile to Hrefna's face. Stupid biped. First time she'd heard biped used as an insult. However she let the smile fade before she gestured for Sandra to walk as they spoke, well slither in her case.

"From your matriarch?"

There was a small hesitation in Sandra, the Viper giving her a look Hrefna couldn't quite place. The reply eventually came, a bit lower but with no small amount of pride in her alien and yet familiar voice.

"Yes. From my matriarch."

The silent cell gave way to the steady hum of the ship's interior, and the dimly lit corridors. The improvised cell was near the top of the ship, close to the barracks, and research labs. The placement was largely random, they just so happened to have have a few small clear rooms in that area. The larger ones were reserved for ship facilities, but using a random side storage room as an improvised prison cell... well it was bigger than Hrefna's first apartment. The bar for beating that one room excuse for a living space was extremely low, but still.

The walk wouldn't be long, and they'd take the lift to the fifth floor were the armoury was located. Hrefna had to admit she was rather curious to see how Sandra would handle a ladder, but that curiosity wasn't burning enough to make Hrefna drag her own scared body up said ladder to see the results. Knowing her luck she'd pass out from exhaustion and lack of oxygen on the fourth floor- then poor Viper would have to explain how that whole scene came to be.

No, Hrefna could satiate her own curiosity another day. Approaching the end of the hall near the lift, two people rounded the corner. They wore the same uniform as everyone else, but Hrefna recognised them from mission control. They where part of Central's team, communicating, gathering and filtering through information given to them by the resistance. The two people in question froze at the sight, but despite the Alien by her side they quickly composed themselves with a small salute before disappearing towards mission control.

Central had briefed everyone on the situation, but words only did so much. Part of Hrefna wanted to see how XCOM staff would react to the Viper without their Commander standing by said aliens side- but in all actuality she wouldn't have to wait long for it. She pressed the panel to call the lift, a faint mechanical wiring sound could be heard as it started moving.

"Are they all this... Sensitive?"

Hrefna looked up to see Sandra staring at the closed door the two operatives had left through. "Aliens don't have a habit of being friendly with us, Sandra. Everyone on this ship is a sworn enemy of ADVENT. They're actively hunting us this very moment."

"And?"

Hrefna wasn't sure if that question qualified as ignorant, but it was definitely another point for the Viper being a fool. She leaned against the wall, looking the Viper in the eyes as she spoke.

"You know you are the first alien, with whom we've shared a meaningful conversation? ADVENT loves to kidnap, interrogate and kill people, and ADVENT is build on the millions of people who died during the invasion. Some of the people here where children during the war, many have scars and even more lost family and friends."

"The invasion might've been twenty years ago, but the war never stopped for these people."

"They're on edge. They don't trust you, some of them never will. You remind them of everything they've lost, everything they're fighting against"

The words seemed to hit a cord as Sandra looked away with a thoughtful expression. A long moment of silence followed, the steady hum of the lift the only sound filling the room. Then with a slight jarring motion it stopped and the door started to slide open. Hrefna turned to move as the Viper spoke up again.

"Is that where you got your scars? The invasion?" The question cut through the air, whirlpool of emotions rising to the surface of Hrefna's mind.

She let out a small, resigned sigh, the mere mention once again bringing a steady throbbing pain to the forefront of her mind. She kept her face neutral as she turned to Sandra, knowing full well that letting the pain- physical or otherwise shine through would only make the Viper more curious.

"No, I got those before the invasion." Hrefna replied, the words measured and low.

A searing white flash, a burning numbness and ringing ears. A distant scream as someone dragged her through the flames. She forced the memory aside with practised ease. The pain receded somewhat, but the emptiness remained as always. 'Scars from another life'... She pondered the words, the practised reply never quite catching the weight of the truth. Despite her best efforts a weary sigh escaped her lips. The statement had been authentic, but also a glaring lie. It felt so far away, the memories distant and yet still so vivid. It was another life, but one that followed her everywhere she went, like a shadow trailing her mind.

Without looking to the Viper she walked to the door of the door to the armoury. At the soft sounds of Sandra slithering up behind her, Hrefna spoke up again.

"We're converting you cell to be your room for the moment, getting you a bed, a table and the like." Sandra gave no response, only giving Hrefna a quick glance before returning her gaze to the grey door in front of them.

Hrefna pressed the small screen on the wall and the door slid open with a low electronic hiss.

The armoury came into sight, one of largest rooms on the Avenger. Research, engineering and the bridge where the only ones to rival it, but none of them had a transport plane stashed in them. The middle of the room, standing around and sitting on some crates, where the Blackstone squad. Hrefna scanned the faces of the squad that turned at the sound of the door. Tense, unsure, embarrassed, the latter caught her slightly off-guard, but when the soldier glanced at Sandra and then swung his head away quick enough to get whiplash - the mystery solved itself.

A curious development, but not entirely unexpected. From the quick, furtive and mildly humorous glances from of the rest of the squad they knew full well too.

"One last thing." Hrefna said, turning to the Viper. "You'll be going to engineering tomorrow, to test and get familiar with your gear. Someone will come get you, for now you should get to know the team."

With that Hrefna gave a slight tilt of her head to the squad before giving a look to Celia. The squad leader looked tense, but determined, she gave a quick nod at Hrefna's unspoken question. She was ready, with that Hrefna turned around and left, slow steps carrying her towards her quarters.

Celia looked to the all too human snake in the doorway and, for twelfth time that day, she wondered just how on earth the Commander had managed to convince her this was a good idea. Johannes, or Burger as he was called now after a particularly weird talk between him and Clyde- was badly trying to hide his embarrassment over some... comments on the aliens anatomy last night.

Stevens, ever vigilant had smacked him a few times and given him a long, thorough lecture on the subject of decency. Celia had almost burst out laughing at the time, the whole thing had seemed so out of place... But now?

Now that the alien in question was about to join their squad, join XCOM? It all seemed a bit more real, and while the Commander had done a good job of soothing Celia's nerves, she wasn't about to forget who and what they were dealing with. An alien, a deserter perhaps, but an alien none the less. Celia didn't know how much the Viper had been involved with ADVENT, if they'd killed civilians and resistance soldiers or stayed on the back lines doing whatever equivalent ADVENT had to a desk job. If the Commander knew she hadn't said, so Celia just hoped this would all go smoothly. Hoped this was in fact what the Commander and the Viper laid it out to be, that they were right and that it wasn't some elaborate trap that would get them all killed or worse.

The squads had been shuffled around a bit with Alva being moved over to lead another one. It seemed they were pushing for more structured strike teams, something Celia welcomed. There weren't that many of them on the Avenger, but even so it was nice to know exactly who were in your group. Who you would be fighting side by side with. It gave them more time to improve their teamwork, to learn each others strengths and weaknesses and how to compensate.

Celia heard the Commander speak a few words to the Viper, but couldn't quite make out what. She then looked to Celia, in what she could only assume to be confirmation. She nodded, they were as ready as they would ever be, and with that the Commander simply turned and walked out of sight. That just left the five of them in the armoury, the Viper still standing in the doorway looking at them. It cast a final look in the direction the Commander went before returning it's attention to them.

Celia exchanged furtive glances with her fellow teammates, noting the shared apprehension. However knowing full well the three others wasn't going to do it, Celia spoke up in what she hoped was a casual tone.

"Names Sandra right?"

"Correct." The Viper paused for a moment, looking between the four of them before her reptilian eyes landed on Celia again. "And you are Celia, yes?"

"Yeah." she responded with a quick nod, "I'm the squad leader. The embarrassed idiot over there is Burger-"

"Like the food?" The Viper cut in with a very human like look of confusion.

Celia flashed a smile. "Yeah, exactly." Before adding some context because she had a feeling the Viper would ask anyway. "He really likes burgers."

"Then we have Stevens, recently promoted medic-" Stevens gave a nod, and a thin smile at the mention. "-and lastly Clyde, our in house tech specialist." Clyde gave a wide smile as he raised a hand. "If your data pad is working he can mess it up for you in no time." The smile turned to a look of mixed horror and embarrassment as he he loudly proclaimed "It was one time, one time. I even fixed it again!"

Celia fully ignored the outburst and turned her attention back to the Viper, Sandra. "I uhm... Not sure how much the Commander told you?"

"She informed me that I will be joining your team. That and that I'm going to engineering tomorrow to test some gear."

"That... well I suppose it enough to get us started. Anyway, I can give you a brief tour of the things we use, our routines, that sort of thing."

The Viper gave a nod that almost seemed courteous. With that Celia gestured for Sandra to follow as she walked over to the rows of equipment and storage boxes that made up the bulk of the armoury. "Our gear is in our quarters, but when we need to stock up on grenades, ammunition, maybe get assigned a new weapon and armour - this is were you find it. Chief engineer is usually around to assist with any questions, if unsure then grab a squamate and they'll show you where to find things."

"Your weapons are... different, and your armour?"

"Uhuh, weapons and gear is delivered, but if we want a certain cammo, insignia, so on and so forth we, just do it. Shen's a damm wizard, want a grey-black jungle pattern with a white skull plastered on your helmet? She got you covered."

Sandra gave her a long, unblinking look which prompted Celia to add the small caveat of limits.

"I haven't actually asked if there's any limits buuut, got a feeling it's free game so long as you don't compromise the mission. Like... bright pink alloy plating on your armour probably doesn't improve your chances of survival." The comment earned a light chuckle from the group, aside from Sandra who seemed unsure if she was serious or not.

"Anyway." Celia started as she moved out of the armoury.

"We have a common room one floor down, good place for when you need to relax for a bit. Engineering and the shooting range is on the floor beneath that."

Sandra then spoke up, a question that seemed so basic that Celia would've never even considered it relevant to explain. "What is a common room?"

"Oh, uhm. Well, each squad has their own room in the barracks, the common room is for everyone. You can get a drink, chat with the others, play a few games. A public place."

"I see. So where is your nest?"

"Our...?" Celia trailed off before her brain caught onto what the Viper must have been referring to. "Oh you mean where we sleep? That's the room in the barracks I mentioned."

"But the Commander has already given me a room..."

The comment came as a surprise, but also brought a wave of relief with it. Celia was still fighting to get used to an Alien being on the ship, no less working with them. Sharing a room was so far beyond was Celia felt ready for right now.

"I'll ask her about being moved, do you know where she is?"

Celia froze for a second.

"I uh... probably but - well." She spared a quick glance between the three others, trying to gage their opinions. Horror, confusion and surprise. An almost perfect mirror of her own emotions at the moment.

"I think it's... better this way. At least until we've gotten a bit more used to each other."

Sandra blinked at the comment, reptilian eyes briefly darting between everyone on the team. Her gaze then returned to Celia, looking at her for a long moment, long enough to make her start feeling uncomfortable. The alien seemed deep in thought, but what the contemplation was cantered around was anyone's guess. Then Sandra's eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly. "Trust... I need to earn your trust, prove that I'm an ally." The last words where spoken as she looked Celia in the eyes.

She only nodded a but dumfounded in response before answering. "Yeah. Something like that."

Sandra straightened slightly, raising her already imposing height before... closing her eyes and giving a deep nod.

Celia was about to speak up, but her words stopped as something the Commander had said returned to her.

It could be nothing, or it could be everything

Celia felt no closer to answering that question, if anything she was more unsure than before. It seemly only right to give the Viper the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven otherwise - at least as innocent a member of an invading force could be.

"Right... Well, it's getting late and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Well meet you in engineering around noon."

"As you say." Sandra spoke the words as she turned smoothly on the spot before stopping. Turning her head so that a single eye caught Celia's

"It has been... a pleasure to meet you."

Next chapter will be out at some point between next week and the heat death of the universe.