XCOM: The Advent Directive

by Xabiar

Australia has been annexed, the United Nations is in chaos, the world is under siege and the Ethereals have taken the field. Facing the full might of the Ethereal Collective, the Commander must rally XCOM, the newly formed ADVENT, and several other allies and rivals to unite the divided nations by any means necessary, for failure now will mean the fall of humanity once and for all.

4. Brought to Light

Brought to Light

---

The Praesidium

This was admittedly not what he was expecting. Although to be fair, Oliver Ilari had no idea what to expect from XCOM. Perhaps a base of clear alien design should have been obvious, but he'd always thought that XCOM had operated from a…well, human base.

Well, then again, the Commander had said that XCOM had been attacked, so it was plausible that this was a recent move. In which case it raised the question of just how exactly XCOM had an entirely alien base as a backup.

The discussions about XCOM itself had been wide and varied within NATO. No one could decide if it was UN-run or not. Some days it seemed to be, then the next it seemed completely independent of them. No one could figure out where they were operating out of, or who they answered to. The most common theory had been that XCOM was some American program, and Oliver had personally supported that.

None of them had actually given any legitimacy to the possibility that XCOM was independent.

And now all evidence seemed to point that it was, which was legitimately shocking for him. Although it only made him suspect that it was a recent development, since something this large couldn't just come out of nowhere. Well, now it looked like he was going to get some of his longstanding questions answered.

The irony did not escape him.

"This is amazing!" Analyn Roxas said as they descended the ramp, her eyes widening as she looked at the glittering alien metal. He wondered if it would be enough to make her pause for a few seconds. The Filipino woman had chatted with him the entire flight, especially once she'd learned he'd been with NATO. She was in rather good spirits considering the state of the world at the moment.

"It certainly is…interesting," Anna Pavlova said softly, hugging her pack to her chest. The muscular American was surprisingly soft-spoken, especially considering she part of the Air Force TRF. "I wonder if this base was once run by the aliens."

"Wow, I wonder how you could come to that conclusion," Nati Avraham commented brusquely, striding down without giving the architecture a glance. "Does this look human?"

Anna opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, her lips morphing to a disapproving frown as he clearly wasn't interested in an answer. "Don't pay him any mind," Analyn said with a smile, nudging her as they began moving deeper into the base. "Israeli Military doesn't have a sense of humor."

Oliver snorted behind them. He couldn't really contest that too much. The few encounters with the IDF that he recalled had been strictly business and the soldiers had treated it as exactly that. Not that he minded, it was one of the things he admired about their country. But it also seemed hard for them to switch 'off' when it was appropriate.

"Everything you hoped and dreamed?" Another soldier asked, walking up beside him. Another one who hadn't spoken much on the flight over. He was definitely Asian, a bit smaller than Oliver and had short black hair.

"It's certainly something," Oliver agreed, now acutely aware of the pulsing he was feeling as they walked down the shimmering hallway. "I don't believe I got your name?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. "Sai-Kee Tan, Republic of China Armed Forces."

Taiwanese then, interesting. "Oliver Ilari, NATO."

Sai-Kee's face grew somber. "Ah, I see. It's unfortunate what's happened."

"That it is," Oliver agreed with a sigh. "All indications are that NATO is going to be reformed into whatever ADVENT wants."

Sai-Kee adjusted his pack as he looked over inquisitively. "You don't approve? It seems logical."

"Yeah, it's logical," Oliver agreed reluctantly. "But I'm not sure it's what NATO should be doing. We were created to stand against Russian aggression, not fight aliens and definitely not answering to an unproven organization."

"Isn't that…" Sai-Kee looked forward, pausing a few seconds. "Somewhat…obsolete? Russia isn't really a threat anymore. Don't we have bigger issues to deal with?"

"Tell that to Iran right now," Oliver said, shaking his head. "But you're also right. I guess I'm sort of stuck in the past. Probably best to listen to the new Chancellor and the Commander and move past that. Seems petty when compared to the aliens."

"Can't disagree," Sai-Kee nodded. "Even China doesn't seem like such a big problem now. Guess realizing how small we are in the universe puts things into perspective. I mean," he shrugged. "The aliens probably outnumber us a million to one. Even if every human were able to fight, we're one planet. They have…well, we don't know."

Oliver noted a couple of XCOM soldiers walking past in full armor. "Maybe," he said as they rounded a corner, somewhat keeping up with Anna and Analyn. "But I'm definitely not convinced their soldiers are better. XCOM has what? Under a hundred people? And by all accounts they've managed to hold on until this point."

"True," Sai-Kee agreed with a smile. "And we're part of it now. Feels good."

"Well, it should be an experience in any event," Oliver said as they entered a room he assumed was the barracks. There were conventional bunks that seemed at odds with the alien architecture of the base. He found an unclaimed one and tossed his pack onto the cot, wondered where to go next. Oddly enough there had been no welcoming committee, just instructions from the pilot on where to go.

It was interesting how…non-military it was. Which struck him as odd since by all accounts the Commander was a very organized person. Or maybe he just expects you to be able to find the damn barracks without an entire escort. He probably has more important stuff to worry about.

That rationale made quite a bit of sense. Although it was still unusual for new soldiers to be trusted like that with no guidance. Maybe it was even a test…

He grunted. Drop the conspiracies. You're too old for that. "They're still sending more," a voice commented, and he looked over to see it belonging to a young Asian woman with her arms crossed and a wry smile on her face.

He raised an eyebrow. "How many have come so far?"

"Nearly thirty, by my count," she answered. "Definitely not complaining though. We need everyone we can." She extended a hand. "Shun Anwei, welcome to XCOM."

He took it and gave a firm shake. "Oliver Ilari, NATO," he paused and appraised her. "Hmm…let me guess. Japanese Intelligence?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Close, actually. How did you guess intelligence?"

He nodded towards her. "Your body. Not quite that of a soldier, even if that's been your job recently. I've worked with enough soldiers and agents to know when one is transitioning to another. You must be skilled if someone thought you'd fit here better."

She smiled. "I'm flattered. But not Japanese. Former Chinese Intelligence, the more militant aspect, anyway."

Well, wasn't that interesting. "Former Chinese Intelligence," she emphasized. "Before you get too suspicious or excited," her tone grew a little colder. "I'm not exactly welcome back in China now."

That was even more interesting, though he could guess the reason. "You prioritized XCOM over China."

"How observant," she commented dryly. "Doesn't help that I was essentially sent as a political pawn and set up. But I don't regret it. It's nice working for someone what actually has an interest in your well-being."

Oliver nodded. "You mean the Commander."

"Correct," she said. "Probably not obvious right now, but you'll understand when you meet him. You're in good hands. All of us are."

It must be true on some level; he must have had some kind of effect if he'd somehow convinced a Chinese agent of all people to virtually defect. Very curious. Oliver leaned against the bunk. "Well, you seem to know your way around. So what stuff should I know?"

She smiled. "You want the tour?"

"I think I would."

"Then follow me," Shun said, motioning for him to follow. "I should warn you that XCOM isn't like anything you've been in before."

"I'm getting that impression." Oliver said, and followed her as she began showing him around the base.

---

The Praesidium, Training Area 1

Nuan Kun sized up the two people before her, one looking at her with outright hostility and the other appraising her with a cold impersonal stare. North Koreans were so easy to provoke, and she didn't feel particularly bad about it. Chan Jin-Taek stood several inches taller, but if he hoped to intimidate her, he was sorely mistaken.

Iida Keyoko was roughly her height, and was managing to only stand there and look both annoyed and furious, but clearly trying to refrain from something she'd regret. Chan wasn't so restrained. "[Careful what you say, puppet. You're not in China anymore.]"

Nuan didn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction, only crossing her arms. "[And I'm not one of your brainwashed citizens. Or soldiers.]"

"[You're one to talk,]" Iida almost spat. "[It's not like China is known for its intelligent and independent populace…oh wait-]"

"[At least our citizens knew about the alien threat,]" Nuan said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "[How long did it take you to tell them?]" She clicked her tongue. "[I'm disappointed. All the money we sent to you, and your citizens probably can't operate a computer, with how sheltered they are.]"

Iida took a step forward and this time it was Chan putting a hand on her arm to restrain her. "[No answer?]" Nuan asked with a raised eyebrow. "[I'm sure you've spent your whole life being told you're some kind of superpower. Maybe you believe it. But you all tend to forget that the only reason your "great" Supreme Leader is in charge is because we allowed him to be.]"

"[Then that proves just how decrepit your idiot leaders are,]" Chan spat, no longer restraining Iida. "[Supreme Leader Gwan hasn't been on your side for decades.]"

"[Oh, but he never acted on his traitorous urges until he was protected,]" Nuan pointed out with a smile. "[He wouldn't have dared go against us unless he got protection from XCOM. He is a coward and an insignificant tool. We should have just annexed your country instead of trusting it with Gwan.]"

Her smile faded slightly as she noted both of them tense and ball up their fists. Perhaps she shouldn't have said that. "[Remember what I said,]" Chan hissed, taking a step forward and Nuan resisted the urge to step back. "[You're not in China anymore. And the Commander probably won't mind if we teach some insolent Chinese agent a lesson.]"

"[Brawling is unbecoming of a soldier,]" Nuan warned. "[At least don't act like savages.]"

She was hoping they actually listened, since she knew quite well that if it came to a fight, she wasn't skilled enough to reasonably defend herself, especially against two. She hadn't intended on this ending up quite so…volatile, but they had truthfully brought it on themselves. She'd just heard them commenting on what role they thought the Supreme Leader was going to play in ADVENT and she'd chimed in something along the lines of "Probably one that doesn't require a lot of thought."

How exactly was she to know they would become so offended? She'd heard of how bad North Korean brainwashing was, but this was ridiculous. And people called the Chinese indoctrinated communists, ha.

Although her ignorance of that little fact might now lead to her getting beaten up, and that was not exactly how she wanted to spend her first days in XCOM. As it happened, it seemed her appeal to their better natures was not working and they were coming in.

"Hey!"

The words yelled in English caught her attention and she looked to the right to see a small young Asian woman with cropped black hair storming up. There was something in the way her body was moving that immediately put Nuan on alert. It was like watching a predator approach, in complete control and bearing an expression devoid of any sympathy.

Nuan didn't recognize her, but the two North Koreans clearly did and immediately pulled back. Now that she was closer Nuan noted that something was wrong with her eyes, they had some kind of golden rim to them that gave her an almost…demonic appearance. The fact that she was clearly angry didn't dispel that image.

"[What is going on?]" She demanded in Korean, looking between the three of them.

Well, she could answer that. "[I believe the two of them were about to, ah, "Teach me a lesson"]"

The woman fixed her with unsympathetic and cold eyes. "[I could have guessed as much. What exactly prompted that?]"

"[I may have insulted them,]" Nuan admitted.

"[And just why would you think that is a good idea?]" The woman asked softly, Nuan just now realizing how melodic her voice really was.

Nuan shrugged. "[In retrospect, it wasn't.]"

She narrowed her eyes. "[It usually isn't. You're one of the new recruits, correct?]"

"[Yes. Nuan Kun, Liberation Army Strategic Support.]"

"[Carmelita Alba,]" she answered in response. "[So here's how it works. The general rule is not to insult people here, which should be common sense, but apparently something that some people need to be told. Stop provoking people.]"

Nuan felt herself flush at the reprimand, but then Carmelita turned to the North Koreans. "[And both of you need to stop getting offended every time someone says something vaguely negative about your precious country or Supreme Leader. Some people don't like North Korea. Suck it up and deal with it. The world doesn't revolve around you, so stop getting provoked over infuriatingly small things. It's insulting to everyone else here.]"

Carmelita now looked between both parties. "[Where you come from doesn't matter here. I don't care what either country did to you in the past, but here you will be working with each other so you better get used to it. They-]" she pointed to the North Koreans. "[Are not your enemy. She-]" she pointed at Nuan. "[Is not your enemy. Our only enemy are those aliens coming from space. Nothing else matters. Do I make myself clear?]"

"[Yes, sir,]" Iida and Chan said instantly.

"[Understood,]" Nuan conceded, feeling somewhat mollified after that speech.

"[Good,]" Carmelita said, stepping back. "[I don't want to have to find this again. If you must beat each other up, do it in the ring.]" At that, she abruptly turned away and strode off. Iida and Chan did the same, clearly wanting to get as far away from her as possible. Nuan just stood there, watching the space where Carmelita had walked off.

Who exactly was she? Probably a ranking soldier, especially since the two North Koreans had reacted so strongly and deferred so easily to her. Carmelita…an interesting name. Didn't sound Korean, but exceptions existed, and the amount of immigrants that knew Korean was limited, so probably not from the west. Didn't talk like a North Korean either…so…South Korean then?

Maybe?

It would seem exceptionally unlikely that such a woman would be able to tolerate North Koreans, let alone them actually deferring to her. "Ah, I see you met Carmelita," a new voice said and she turned to see another man walking up, tall, with black hair and most interestingly, a metal hand. "She can be intense, but she's one of the best soldiers I've worked with."

"I can believe it," Nuan said, turning to him. "And who might you be?"

"Mordecai Korhn," he answered smoothly. "I must say I didn't expect the Chinese to send anyone else. I assume you are here to to replace Miss Anwei?"

"I am here because China desires to be represented in the leading anti-alien defense," Nuan answered carefully, trying to ignore mention of the traitor. "While XCOM and the People's Republic have had differences-"

"Spare me," he interrupted bluntly, raising his metal hand. "I was Kidon, and I know China quite well. And I can tell you that you're going to make enemies if you flaunt who you are. We don't care." Mordecai crossed his arms. "We fight aliens, and that's what's important. All of us hate politics at this point since it's sort of why this mess exists in the first place, and yes, that includes China. But do your job and we won't judge you."

He paused. "And if you think that's too difficult, remember that Carmelita came from South Korea. If anyone has a right to be resentful of the North Koreans, it's her, but she lost someone she cared about to the aliens. Most of us have and that puts things into perspective. As far as we're concerned, this is a fresh start for everyone and we're all working to the same goal. Understand that?"

Nuan narrowed her eyes. "I understand the reasoning."

He gave a humorless smile. "You probably won't for some time. But you will eventually. We all do," he began walking away, then paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Oh, and don't hesitate to challenge someone to spar if you feel like a fight. You'll find plenty of takers. And if you don't know how…" he gave her an amused shrug. "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone to teach you."

He walked away and left her standing alone again. After a few minutes she scowled and strode over to the treadmills, thinking furiously. This was definitely not how she expected XCOM to be, so she would have to adapt as always.

At least it was more exciting than Beijing.

---

The Praesidium, Barracks

Patricia did really wonder what the Commander was waiting for. It was well past time they properly interrogate Aegis, but he was still apparently discussing something important with Saudia, though he'd presumably be back within several hours. In the end it probably didn't matter, since Aegis clearly wasn't going anywhere.

In the meantime, she was rather comfortable resting against Creed on the couch. "I assume you watched the address?" She asked as he adjusted his arm around her.

"Of course I did," he answered. "Not bad ones, from either of them. I should really ask you what you thought of the whole thing, since you can read minds and all that."

She shrugged against him, feeling several people have their curiosities piqued as they saw them together. Do something else, she sent more as an afterthought, not really relishing having anyone eavesdrop on their conversations. Privacy was unfortunately something of a luxury that only a very few had here.

"It seemed positive overall," she answered, sounding vague even to herself. "You know I don't read specific thoughts unless I have reason to. Iseul might be a problem later."

"No surprise," Creed grunted. "He is the dictator of North Korea."

"Not that," she sighed, sitting up straight. "He's very…distrustful of psions. Me in particular. He clearly thinks I'm a security risk and have "too much influence" over the Commander."

Creed didn't exactly feel surprised at that. "Only because he doesn't know you. It's a fair concern though, and then I assume he doesn't know the Commander…"

"Doubt it," Patricia said. "In any event, I made sure he won't be causing problems for the time being."

Creed looked down at her, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"I psionically suggested to him that it wasn't an issue and he should focus on more important things," she answered absentmindedly. "Worked surprisingly well."

"Patricia…" Creed said slowly. "That…was probably something you should not have done. You do realize that is the reason he might have concerns?"

Patricia frowned and looked up at him, not having expected a rebuke. "No, it was justified. We have more important things to worry about now, and Iseul is the type that would start some kind of witch-hunt against all psions based on things he can't prove. I prevented that from happening, at least for a while."

Creed didn't exactly seem convinced. "Maybe," he admitted. "But that isn't going to make people more…accepting of your abilities."

"It's not like I mind-controlled him," Patricia defended. "But I'm not going to refuse to tamper with minds if I feel it's warranted."

"I'm not saying you're necessarily wrong," Creed placated, sighing. "At least in this case. But I'm just telling you how it might be perceived."

Patricia appraised him for a few seconds, biting her lower lip. "You're uncomfortable," she said slowly after sensing his discomfort with the conversation…or with her. "With me."

Creed snorted. "Come on, you know it's a bit more complicated," he said, picking up her cold hand and placing the palm against the side of his head. "You don't have to try to figure things out from just my emotions. You've been in my head before, I don't mind you checking occasionally. Prevents misunderstandings."

She gave a warm smile. "I…thanks for reminding me. You're-" she cut herself off as she sensed a sharp and familiar mind coming up, unfortunately focused on them. She let her hand fall to his chest and let it trail down.

"That really is rather sweet," the familiar accented voice said, which might have been mistaken for mocking had Patricia not sensed that she was just very amused. "I wouldn't have expected it from either of you to be honest. Had no idea you were even a thing."

Creed looked up in annoyance at the comically small woman walking around the couch, a face lined with scars and chopped brown hair framing it. "Hello Zara," Patricia muttered as the soldier took one of the chairs opposite them. "Took you long enough to get here."

"Wait…" Creed muttered, his features clenching as he pinned Zara with a hard stare. "We've met, haven't we?"

"Do I really look that different without the bandanna?" She asked sarcastically. "Or is it the XCOM uniform?"

"You have got to be kidding me," Creed stated flatly, disbelief emanating out of him. "You're that EXALT soldier."

Zara gave him several mocking claps. "Well done. In all seriousness, this base is really nice. Even better than the Bastion."

Creed glanced at her, then at Patricia, then back at Zara. "Sorry, but what the fuck are you doing here?"

Zara leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Well, when the Commander came to us with his oh-so-generous offer to disband, I didn't want to get stuck in some officer position in ADVENT, so I asked if I could join XCOM. And here I am."

"You forgot to mention this to me," Creed muttered to Patricia. "Just slipped your mind?"

"Somewhat," Patricia admitted, realizing now that she probably should have said something. "But for what it's worth, I did approve it."

"She killed our soldiers!"

"Of course I did," Zara said, raising an eyebrow. "We were enemies. Now we're allies. Simple as that. And don't hide behind dead soldiers as a reason to dislike me, since by my count, XCOM killed a lot more of my soldiers that we ever did yours. So as far as I'm concerned, we're even. Sound fair?"

Creed closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes. "Well even if I wasn't, I don't think I have much choice here."

"Nope," Zara nodded. "But I don't intend to betray you. We have a common enemy in the aliens and I'll fight just as hard for XCOM as I did for EXALT to defeat them."

"And after the war?" He asked.

"You expecting something to change?" Zara asked bluntly. "EXALT is dead and is never coming back if that's what you're worried about. Besides, I have no intention of making an enemy of the Commander."

"Smart," Patricia commented. "But I do think you'll fit in provided you can follow orders."

Zara pursed her lips. "Provided they don't get me killed."

Patricia's wristband buzzed. Ah right, that would likely be Jackson wanting to discuss some recent developments. "Well, you two get to know each other," she said, leaning up and giving Creed a quick peck on the cheek. "Duty calls."

---

The Praesidium, Situation Room

Jackson had one finger to her headset as they gathered around the holotable. It was somewhat strange doing this with the Commander not being present, but it needed to be done and he'd be sure to catch up later. "Big Sky just checked in," Jackson informed them, letting her hand fall to her side. "Commander's on his way back. Should only be a couple hours."

"Then we interrogate the Ethereal," Zhang grunted. "Should be illuminating."

"Should be," Jackson agreed, pressing several buttons on the holotable. "In the meantime, we need to be ready to respond to the aliens."

Which was something Patricia was also acutely aware of. "What's the status of Australia?"

Jackson brought the hologram to rest on the continent, which was covered in varying shades of orange and red. "The status is bad," Jackson said unhelpfully. "The aliens have cut outside internet access and disrupted most forms of communication. They've taken the major cities and are beginning a concerted effort to annex the nearby cities."

"The ADF is doing its best," Zhang said, pointing at the center of the continent. "More of the army survived than it should have and they're at the northern center to be evacuated. What's left is being transitioned to a guerilla force. They know the area much better and can turn the land to their advantage."

"They'll still need support." Patricia reminded him.

"Correct," he nodded. "I'll be sending them some additional agents. I know ADVENT will be supporting them as well. The information they've gathered so far has been…interesting, to say the least."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

Zhang picked up his tablet he'd set on the edge of the holotable. "Such as that Australia isn't exactly being kind to them. The integration seems to be going slower than they'd like, and the aliens seem to be avoiding specific wildlife like spiders and oddly enough, bees."

"Bees," Patricia repeated skeptically. "Why?"

"Unknown still," Zhang shrugged. "But it does seem to indicate that the aliens might be more susceptible to wildlife than we assumed. They also avoid the seas altogether. Smart considering the kind of life that inhabits them."

Jackson scratched her chin, looking thoughtfully down at the holotable. "That is interesting. Do you think Vahlen…"

"Vahlen's actually been working on some new genetic mods," Patricia interrupted, picking up her own tablet and handing it to Jackson. "It is somewhat…invasive, even for her. She's also been adapting some of the ideas EXALT had for genetic modification."

Jackson looked up, her eyebrows scrunched together. "EXALT? They didn't ever really apply MELD to their soldiers, correct?"

"We never fought them," Patricia corrected, recalling reading the descriptions of the various EXALT projects. "But they definitely tried. Actually got pretty far along in some of them. Once they transitioned into ADVENT, they send all their files to us. Vahlen took the most promising and has been working on them, in addition to her jellyfish project."

"And the Manchurian Project, correct?" Zhang said.

"And that," Patricia confirmed. "But the Commander wants most, if not all of our soldiers to get genetic enhancements. So Vahlen's been trying to expand the pool of modifications." Patricia sighed. "We're going to need to get a new shipment of test subjects soon, make a note of that, Jackson."

"Will do," Jackson said wearily, dutifully making a note. "Does the Commander want to make modification mandatory? I thought he was against that."

"He won't make it mandatory," Patricia shrugged. "But he's going to push for it, at least the small ones. The Secondary Heart in particular is probably the least impactful, but will increase the stamina and survivability for all our soldiers. Vahlen's also looking into…uh, generic, modification that just does something simple, like increased strength or reflexes. Weaker mods, but not as extensive as the muscle density one."

"Seems fair enough," Jackson nodded, rubbing her forehead. "I'm also going to suggest sometime that Vahlen focus her genetic programs beyond external. I wouldn't turn down a modification that could let me function without sleep."

"Go for it," Patricia suggested. "But from talking with her, modifications directly to the brain are extremely difficult. It's why she's been hesitant on researching ways to try and enhance my psionics. She just doesn't have enough information and we can't really experiment on psionic prisoners."

"EXALT tried that, apparently," Zhang noted.

"And look how that turned out," Patricia countered. "We can focus on psionic testing once Vahlen launches the Manchurian Program. In the meantime…"

"In the meantime, we need to prepare for when the aliens attack," Jackson redirected, moving the map further north. "The next major attack will probably be Japan, China or somewhere in Africa. The aliens were smart in choosing Australia. They have a staging ground to launch attacks almost anywhere in the world."

"China isn't going to be much of a help." Zhang grunted. "But they can hold their own, especially since they've got that dreadnought."

"We can't worry about China," Jackson agreed with a nod. "But it appears that Saudia is sending quite a few soldiers to the Korean peninsula and Japan. They're still not fully transitioned yet, so they're relying on local ADVENT garrisons for the main defense. Several US carriers are also near Japan."

Patricia looked at the map and frowned. "Why would the aliens attack there first? Wouldn't it make sense to take the Philippines, New Zealand or any other nearby country?"

"It would," Zhang confirmed somberly. "And I believe they will. But we don't have any way to reasonably combat them. There aren't enough soldiers that could be moved there, and the proximity is too close to Australia to be held for long."

"So they're being sacrificed."

"Correct."

Patricia sighed, but it unfortunately made sense. "What about the Americas?"

"If they really wanted to cause issues, they'd attack South America," Jackson said, moving the map to the respective continent. "Marshal Luana is continuing her borderline illegal invasion of the neighboring countries and if reports are to be believed, the power has somewhat gone to her head."

Zhang didn't show it outwardly, but Patricia definitely sensed his agreement. "Luana may become a problem soon, and the contingent of Peacekeepers ADVENT is sending may only make it worse. I may send some more agents to determine exactly what she hopes to accomplish with this war. Retribution has already been taken, this is just overkill."

"I could go," Patricia suggested. "She wouldn't be able to resist me, or any psion."

"I agree," Zhang nodded with a scowl. "But this is ADVENT's jurisdiction now. Brazil is officially an ADVENT nation and is now subject to their laws, and there are specific conditions that allow the removal of heads of state, and the usage of psions. But XCOM is not to get officially involved."

Patricia smirked on his emphasis on "officially." "And unofficially?"

"Unofficially, this will be a good test for Saudia," Zhang stated emotionlessly, though she sensed an iron resolve within him. "But I would not expect this to be resolved for a while. We and ADVENT have more important issues to deal with."

"True," Patricia muttered. "We also need more psions. I have a couple candidates I'm going to bring to the Commander."

"Good to hear," Jackson nodded. "And in other good news, Shen confirmed that the Goliath is ready to deploy."

"Not a moment too soon," Patricia said approvingly. "Let's hope it works as well as he simulated."

Jackson snorted. "You seen that thing? If there's going to be anything the aliens will be terrified of, it's a twenty-foot tall robot of death."

"Don't forget that the aliens also have their own vehicles we haven't seen yet," Zhang warned, narrowing his eyes. "And a target that big might would attract air attacks, not to mention the Ethereals will prioritize it with their psionics."

"Stop killing our dreams," Jackson chided. "Besides, Shen put quite a few anti-air countermeasures in the suit, so those should help."

"Keep your expectations in check," Zhang said. "That's all I'm saying." He picked up his tablet. "I have to delegate some assignments for my agents. Let me know when the Commander returns."

"Will do," Patricia promised as he walked out the door.

"Do you have your list of candidates?" Jackson asked once he'd left.

Patricia nodded, and sent another file to her. "Yes, here they are."

"Thanks," she answered, focusing on her tablet while Patricia rested her hands on the holomap, trying to envision how this world could be defended, and where the aliens would strike next.

---

The Praesidium, XCOM Intelligence Control

This was such a substantial upgrade that Abby wasn't even sure she was in the right place. While the original Intelligence Control had been functional, but very small, this was almost on the level of Mission Control. There were quite a few analysts in front of several of the dozen computers, with more hooked up to analytical and cryptanalysis equipment she still wasn't sure how to work.

Soft white light illuminated the room, making the alloy the base was made of sparkle and reflect, further increasing the illumination. In the center was the now-expected holotable, at which Director Zhang was standing in front of now.

Abby took a breath at the entrance, then moved forward. An ironic metaphor right now for where she was emotionally. Don't think about it. Not yet. Just keep pushing forward.

Move on. But even if psychology wasn't her field, she knew it was only temporary and running away from what she'd done wouldn't work out in the long run. But she really didn't have a choice, or so she thought now. XCOM needed her now, there wasn't time for periods of reflection. Zhang didn't exactly seem to buy her explanation that she was 'fine' but he'd just frowned and told her to get some rest.

Although that wasn't easy either. She never remembered her nightmares when she woke up, but she knew she had them because she would always wake up either nauseous or terrified, usually some combination of the two. It wasn't hard to pinpoint the cause, and as a result any sort of rest she got was shot to hell.

If it got worse, it was eventually going to impact her performance in which case her options would likely be limited officially to some kind of psychiatrist. Which might help, but she felt…reluctant to share anything she was feeling with a stranger, even if objectively she knew that it was the best thing for her.

Unofficially…something in her needed to be removed. Her memories or feelings, because she couldn't continue unaffected with both in her mind.

But that raised a host of new issues, so she was keeping psionic intervention as a last resort. But it was good to know that option existed, should it become necessary.

"Director," she greeted, giving a brief salute. "What's the assignment?"

He pressed a button on the holotable and the colored hologram of Australia was brought up. "If you were unaware, Australia is now alien-controlled territory," he began, moving around the table until he was opposite her. "Based on the location, we can safely assume that the aliens intend to use it as a staging area for their future assaults."

Abby nodded, she'd assumed as much when she'd heard about the attack. "Do we have an idea where they'll strike next?"

"We have some guesses," Zhang admitted. "In a few hours we might have more. But that is irrelevant to why you're here." He zoomed the hologram deeper into the continent, near the center north. "Our issue is that we don't clearly know what is happening, and knowing how the aliens treat captured cities would be invaluable to our efforts to combat them, because more will fall."

"And you want me to infiltrate one of the cities?" Abby asked. "Pose as a civilian?"

"Not until we have a reliable means to exfiltrate you," Zhang disputed, shaking his head. "For all we know, once you are in their territory, you can't get out. No, initially you'll be working with the ADF, or what's left of it."

"Understood," she nodded. "Who's in charge?"

"Lincoln Harper, ADF Field Marshal," Zhang answered, motioning her to a beige file that was resting on the holotable corner. Abby picked it up and one of the first images was of a man with graying hair, haggard face and weary blue eyes. Appeared to be the one, according to the note on the side. "He's been rallying the ADF and transitioning the best soldiers he has into a guerilla force."

"What about the rest?" Abby asked, looking into the passionless face of Zhang. "I doubt all of them would be suitable for guerilla tactics."

"Correct," Zhang confirmed. "The majority of the surviving military has evacuated with what civilians they could rescue. They are being integrated into ADVENT now, though most of them are still in Japan. What remains is mostly special forces, ones who know the territory and will exploit it as much as possible."

Abby tried not to sound skeptical. "I somehow doubt the aliens are going to be scared by the wildlife."

"That's one reason I want you there," Zhang continued, looking slightly amused. "Because the one agent I have there already does confirm that the aliens are definitely being more cautious in the wilderness than should be expected. If the aliens are concerned about the environment, we need to know exactly what that is."

"What else?" Abby asked.

"We need to know the forces they are deploying, and how they're keeping the cities under control," Zhang said. "There are reports of new alien types we haven't seen before."

"Any Ethereals?"

"My contact there did appear to find one," Zhang confirmed grimly. "Unfortunately we have no idea what it can do, except some kind of mass mind control. Furthermore, it hasn't been seen anywhere since. But it's entirely possible that there is at least one Ethereal in Australia…" He paused. "Speaking of which, there has been a development you need to keep in mind when discussing matters with Marshal Harper."

Abby waited. "What is it?"

"Shortly after the first attack in Australia, we received reports of another abduction and quickly responded," Zhang said, his piercing eyes pinning her own. It was an intensity she was unprepared for. "Psion Trask led a team and it turned out to be exactly what we didn't expect. There was no abduction, the citizens were simply knocked out."

Abby went cold. "It was an Ethereal. Did we…did we kill another one?"

The first thought had actually been to ask if everyone had survived, but since Patricia was clearly still alive, that was a silly question. But if it had gone wrong or right, she thought there would have been something said.

"It was an Ethereal," Zhang confirmed slowly. "But no, we didn't kill it. The Ethereal surrendered."

Abby coughed, mostly out of not knowing what else to do. Zhang was the least humorous person she'd ever met in her life. He would not start making jokes now. "Sorry, sir…but…what?"

Zhang snorted. "About my reaction as well, Agent Gertrude. But yes, the Ethereal surrendered and is currently being held under heavy guard in the labs and the new alien containment, for what little good it does. He will be thoroughly interrogated within a few hours, which was delayed since we needed to execute both the Demeter Contingency and Advent Directive, but if he is to be believed, he wants to help."

"And just why would you trust an Ethereal?" Abby demanded. "You do remember what they can do."

"I don't trust him," Zhang growled at her, making her take a step back. "Give us some credit, Agent. But there are several reasons we believe he is mostly genuine. Patricia engaged the Ethereal at first and he beat the entire team with ease. The Ethereal that attacked the Citadel was apparently one of the weaker ones."

"Damn it," Abby muttered. "Of course it was."

"The second reason is that this Ethereal is…known to us," Zhang continued. "Aegis, he calls himself. He's had intermittent telepathic contact with the Commander over the past few months, which he has kept us updated on."

"The Commander somehow managed to convince an Ethereal to defect," Abby said flatly. "You're kidding."

"That remains to be seen," Zhang cautioned. "It is more likely that this Ethereal has an agenda of his own, and we are his best chance to enact it. We know very little about the Ethereals and their culture, this could be genuine or it could be a political move. They don't think like us." Zhang clasped his hands behind his back. "The point is that if Aegis' defection is genuine, we will likely make rapid advancements and learn things we likely shouldn't. Until the Commander deems it important, this information is not to be shared with anyone. Given what the public knows about the Ethereals, as well as ADVENT, the last thing we need is to have people believe we are compromised. Understood?"

"Understood," she confirmed. "But what about the soldiers? They deserve to know we have an Ethereal here. How don't they know already?"

"Because Aegis is in an area only very few can enter," Zhang said. "Rest assured the Commander agrees. But he wants to interrogate Aegis first, learn what he knows, before sharing it with the rest of XCOM. So don't mention it to anyone else at this point."

"Got it," Abby said. "When am I leaving?"

Zhang glanced at his watch. "One hour. Pack what you need and go to the Hangar. Shattered Sky will be taking you to Australia."

Abby raised an eyebrow. "New pilot?"

"One of several," Zhang confirmed. "And a slightly modified skyranger for intelligence operations."

"Sounds good," Abby said, saluting him. "I'll report as soon as I arrive."

"Understood, Agent Gertrude," Zhang said, returning her salute. "And I will update you with any pertinent information once Aegis is interrogated."

"I almost wish I could watch." Abby said.

"Be careful what you wish for," Zhang said, his lips curling up. "If it goes well, you might have a chance to talk with him."

Abby thought about what she would ask an Ethereal, shook her head and turned to exit. That train of thought would only lead to a bunch of questions she really didn't have the energy to ponder. The revelation alone was enough to process, which she had a feeling she was going to do the entire ride to Australia.

---

The Praesidium, Alien Containment

The Commander held his hand over the sensor which displayed the XCOM logo as a hologram and drew upon his psionic power. The air around his hand distorted and the hologram flashed to a solid blue, and the door opened up.

"Do you want me to protect you from his aura?" Patricia asked as they walked into the containment areas. The room had once held likely dozens of alien species, prone as the Sectoids were to experimenting on them. They had prepared well. Each cell was designed with a kind of one-way substance, was completely isolated from each other, had complete environmental controls over temperature and oxygen and most interestingly, several had some kind of stasis generator that completely froze a subject in place.

Shen was still analyzing those machines to reverse-engineer them so they could be applied elsewhere. As of now there was no alien being held that warranted that, and though there were several Vitakara who hadn't been sufficiently useful or trustworthy enough for Vahlen to use, there were a good amount of them working with her.

He still wouldn't trust them until the Manchurian Project was finished, but until then, the chips in their brains and organs should be enough to deter any foolish rebellion. Not to mention Vahlen had made it very clear that should any one of them go against her orders, they would be the next test subjects.

As it was, she was standing in front of the circular glass container containing their Ethereal friend. It was almost the same as the one in the Citadel, but built from purely alien materials and created specifically for holding psionic individuals. Four arms extended from the ceiling of the cell with oval sensors that emanated a faint pulsing blue light, a form of disruption, Vahlen claimed, that would make it difficult for a psion to concentrate enough to unleash their powers.

The only issue he had was that, when the concept of alien containment had been created so long ago, it had been designed to hold a Sectoid. Not even a Hive Commander. Still, Vahlen had stressed that the cell was more to disrupt the psion, not suppress them. Even still, in the future that wouldn't be good enough.

And it didn't exactly appear to be working either. The unnatural sensation of embodiment and assurance was…not unpleasant. But he could sense the psionic suggestion affecting his mind, reinforcing those feelings. While he doubted that Aegis did it intentionally, he didn't want to have his judgement impaired, nor anyone else's.

"Shield us if you can," he told Patricia as he approached them. She nodded and he immediately sensed power gathering around her. Luckily she'd told him that it wasn't particularly difficult, especially if she concentrated on an area, not specific people. All of them were here too, good. Time to get some answers.

"Has he done anything?" The Commander asked Vahlen. She turned, smiling as she saw him, though knew this wasn't the time for any intimate moments.

"No," she answered. "He's just sat there, barely moving at all."

The Commander looked into the white cell, at the true form of Aegis who'd taken an interest in him for unknown reasons. Like all the Ethereals they'd encountered, this one had a kind of robe that hid the body itself completely. Unlike the Ravaged One, Aegis' was a navy blue, with what looked like silver embroidery running down the robe.

It was pristine as well, or just extremely well preserved like it had never been worn. Perhaps it was a quality of the material itself, or Aegis just preferred keeping his clothing in top shape. Either way, it only added to his intimidating appearance, culminating in the helmet.

The helmet itself seemed to have been based on the Ravaged One; at least it was very similar with the curved angles and edges hiding the eyes, and of course the gaping hole in the middle that he still wasn't sure was supposed to represent a mouth or not. Like the rest of him, it was pristine and shining in the harsh light of the cell.

"Do we talk now, or should we let him out?" Zhang asked, his arms crossed.

"Does it make a difference?" Jackson asked. "Didn't we only put him there because we didn't know where else?"

"Good point," Patricia said, her irises a deep purple as she suppressed Aegis' aura which was fading almost instantly. "I think that if he wanted to hurt us, he would have done it by now."

"If you decide to hold our conversation with this glass between us, I would ask you please shut off these…disruptors," Aegis said, his deep echoing voice as loud and clear as if he was standing next to them. "It is an irritant that I have tolerated, but does nothing to limit my powers, Doctor Vahlen."

Vahlen's only response was a sigh and she moved to adjust the cell controls. "I suspected as much," she muttered. "Unfortunate, but something to improve in the next iteration." She looked behind her to the Commander. "Should I let him out?"

Objectively, the smartest thing to do would be to still hold this with some barrier between them, but the Commander saw no reason to actually do so. Whatever would happen, Aegis was unlikely to attack them. If he did, it was doubtful that any of them would survive, glass or no. "Do it." he said.

A door behind Aegis opened and the Ethereal stood, and with a surprising amount of fluidity for an alien his size, turned and exited and walked down the ramp to face the small council. He really was extremely tall, the Commander noted, acutely aware of having to look up at the Ethereal. It was…strange being so close to not only an alien, but learning the secrets of what was likely the most powerful alien species in the galaxy.

"All of you have questions," Aegis began, looking at each of them. "That is apparent, and I will answer what I can."

All of them exchanged glances, and unconsciously waited for the Commander to continue. He supposed it didn't make much of a difference who went first, as they wouldn't be leaving until they had a reasonable amount of information. "Very well," the Commander said. "Who are you, really?"

"Who I said I was," Aegis said. "I was the Aegis of the Skyllian Sector, once the domain of the Ethereal Empire. Now I am simply Aegis, again once of the Ethereal Collective."

Already interesting information. "Aegis is a title then," the Commander noted. "Not a name."

"We have discussed this, Commander," Aegis said, looking down at him. "Much like how your title is interwoven into who you are, so it is with me. An Aegis was…is a defender, protector and watcher, as am I. I would not have taken this as my name had I not embodied those ideals to the fullest."

"You were once," Patricia said. "I suppose your…Ethereal Empire…doesn't exist anymore?"

"No." Aegis said flatly. "It does not."

"The Ethereal Collective is the successor to it, I assume?" The Commander guessed.

He sensed the Ethereal hesitating. "Yes and no, Commander. It is true that we are the leaders, but the Collective is no longer mostly comprised of Ethereals, nor is our directive the same."

Vahlen raised an eyebrow. "And what directive is that?"

"To protect this galaxy and avenge our species," Aegis answered. "The story is a long one, so I suggest you ask unrelated questions before I tell you."

"Why are you here?" Zhang asked bluntly.

"The Collective or myself?"

"Both."

Aegis nodded his helmet. "Because we were instructed to go here."

Even the Commander felt the shock run through each other, as it did with him. If the Ethereals were instructed to come here… "When you say that you were instructed to come…"

"I mean my species, the ones you call Ethereals," Aegis confirmed. "We received no explanation, no reason, just several sets of coordinates. We sent scouts which found your world and believed we had simply been given another species for our Collective."

"Wait," Patricia said, raising a hand. "You answer to another alien species?"

"Yes…and no," Aegis said. "We are working towards the same goal. These aliens suffered a similar fate to our own and want to prevent it from happening again. We do not answer to them, but they are…suggestive. The Imperator suspects they may be as old as the galaxy itself, perhaps more. Billions of years, compared to our relatively short existence."

"And what exactly do you know about them?" The Commander demanded. "How could you know that?"

"Because of their interactions with us," Aegis said. "They are not the ones of a species that is concerned with even the affairs of our own species. There is an arrogance to them, a dismissal, they certainly have their own agenda and likely view us as a means to carry out their defense of the galaxy. They have no name for themselves, only identifying themselves as the Sovereign Ones."

"Perhaps you should tell the whole story," Vahlen suggested slowly. "From the beginning."

"I will start where it is relevant," Aegis stated. "Approximately two hundred thousand years ago the Ethereal Empire spanned roughly a quarter of the known galaxy, with further expansion against other alien races planned. Compared to your world, it was a utopia. Our mastery of genetic engineering had enabled us to eradicate disease, disability and undesirable traits that plague underdeveloped species, such as your own. All Ethereals were driven by one goal and one goal only: The ultimate perfection of our species."

"So like the Sectoids." Jackson commented. "An Empire dominated by those in charge-"

"Do not compare us to those beasts," Aegis growled, his voice deepening. "Contrary to what you understand, Ethereals were not forced into achieving this goal, it was a natural desire. Selfishness, greed, hate, those traits we simply removed, leaving only the ones that would allow a positive impact. And it was working. Each generation of Ethereals was stronger, smarter and better than the last."

"How was this achieved?" Vahlen asked curiously. "Was your species grown, or did modification happen in the womb…or however you gave birth?"

"Most Ethereals were grown, created from a combination of various stored DNA," Aegis answered. "Natural births are rare for Ethereals, even before we developed technology allowing us to grow more of our kind. It was offset by our long lifespan, but true Ethereal children are gifts; and they were often the purest of us. Our biology naturally took the superior DNA from both parents and distilled it into the child. But as I said, it was very rare, even at the height of the Empire, but it was what all Ethereals strove for."

"Out of curiosity, how long is your lifespan?" Patricia asked.

"Our natural lifespan was roughly one thousand years," Aegis answered. "However, once we mastered genetic modification, aging was a problem we negated completely. Every Ethereal alive today is effectively immortal. We will never die of old age."

"How?" Vahlen and Shen asked at the same time.

"I am not a scientist," Aegis said, with what appeared to be a mimicry of a shrug. "But it was described once as a…switch. A genetic switch hidden within us that dictated our aging. Our modern bodies are simply engineered to never wear out or become slow. There is a…maintenance process of sorts, required genetic upkeep. But it is a trifling annoyance at worst. It is also not something we have been able to replicate with any other species. The Vitakara, Mutons, Andromedons…and Humans."

The Commander frowned. "Andromedons?"

"The aliens in the armored suits who are fond of toxins," Aegis explained. "I will describe them later. Only the Sectoids have a similar mastery over themselves, and even the Hive Commanders will only live for five thousand years."

Andromedons. Huh. The Commander wondered if it was possibly related to the Andromeda galaxy. That would be an extremely massive coincidence if it wasn't the case. "Nartha said there were rumors that the Ethereals were suffering from some kind of genetic disease," the Commander recalled. "Is that true?"

"Ah, the defector," Aegis mused. "A rumor that is based in truth. Yes, some of us are beginning to exhibit signs of genetic breakdown. Should it go untreated, we will all perish, it is true. But what Nartha did not know was that this is not the first time we have been afflicted with this "disease." I believe that it will be the two hundredth and second time it has arisen, and we will cure it as we have before. It is related to our immortality, and the genetic maintenance I was referring to. Even if we did nothing, it would take nearly a century to actually kill us."

"Fascinating," Vahlen murmured. "You mentioned that your biology naturally takes the superior genetics to create a better Ethereal. Was it discovered your species was engineered by outside forces? Because I don't know how you could find a switch on aging, not to mention the ability to remove unsavory traits, if you were completely natural."

"It is not secret," Aegis said. "It was… commonly accepted that we were the result of tampering from outside forces. Perhaps an attempt to create a perfect species, or perhaps a failed experiment. It mattered little to us, as whomever had created us was long gone. We simply continued their work."

"And did you manage to do it?" Shen asked. "Create the perfect Ethereal?"

"The Empire was close to creating them," Aegis said slowly. "Upon some reflection, I do not believe we would have ever reached our goal. 'Perfect' is subjective. A warrior will have a different idea of perfection than a scholar and so on. I now know that we didn't create the perfect Ethereal, just yet one more superior iteration. Had we not been attacked, I believe these debates would have quickly consumed the Empire as the commonly accepted 'perfection' became splintered and divided."

"Who were you attacked by?" The Commander asked. "A rival alien species?"

"Initially, yes," Aegis confirmed. "All of them at once. Lesser species, of course, and we easily repelled their inferior numbers and technology. But it was a surprise, and it was also clear that there was something wrong with them. All of them had at one point been subjected to some kind of mind-alteration and were either driven insane or were autonomous versions of themselves, driven by some kind of mental programming."

Aegis paused for a few seconds. "The attacks continued ceaselessly, as they threw their numbers against us with no regard for their own lives. By now we knew that these attacks and coordination were being orchestrated by something else, so we launched our own offensive into one of the territories and saw what had happened."

"Which was?" Patricia asked.

"The first attacks were distractions, as we'd suspected," Aegis continued. "The rest of the species were being converted into much more powerful and altered versions of themselves. Mixes of prosthetics, cybernetics and extensive genetic modification. All of them were designed specifically to nullify all of our advantages. Armored brutes to withstand our weapons and psionic storms; soldiers without brains to resist our mind control; psionic abilities we didn't know existed and tools that nullified our weaponry. Discovering the first converted planet was a bloodbath, and we were easily destroyed. That was when the war began in earnest."

Aegis' tone grew more somber. "The attacks caught us flat-footed, as we knew there were no other species even close to us, and were too arrogant enough to treat this as a serious threat. Many outlying worlds fell to the Synthesized army, for that was the only term we deemed appropriate for what was described. It was an unending horde being produced from within the inner galaxy, and even with our weapons and psionics, one that began overwhelming us."

"How did you have no idea this was happening?" Zhang demanded. "Did you not have spies? Any sort of reconnaissance?"

"We did," Aegis admitted. "But we were not interested in the other species unless it suited our interests. Several lesser species once made the mistake of attacking us, and we responded by wiping out their species, stripping their genetic code, taking their traits and improving our own. Over time the other species learned to avoid us, unfortunately to our downfall."

"Arrogance," Zhang muttered under his breath.

"It was," Aegis agreed. "But arrogance borne out of generations of being the apex species of the galaxy. It is irrelevant now, as a concerted war effort began within the Empire and we went to war."

"And what does that look like?" Patricia wondered.

"It would be easier to show you," Aegis said, withdrawing a purple hand, palm loosely raised in their direction. "A memory of what we once were."

The Commander exchanged a look with Patricia, and she gave a nod. Aegis had been relatively straightforward so far, so this likely wasn't a trick. "Go ahead," he told Aegis. "Show us."

"Then watch." Aegis said, and his palm flashed purple and everything went white.

---

He stood in front of an army of ten thousand strong, the Ethereal soldiers standing in gleaming chrome armor, capes flapping in the wind as their unified helmets looked towards the Battlemasters and the ranking Aegis of this sector. Each soldier was armed according to their station, denoted by the colored stripe across their armor.

Blue denoted the defenders he would be leading, psionic masters specializing in defense on a smaller scale; green and yellow denoted the mid and long-range fighters, plasma and beam weapons in their hands, enhanced with cybernetics and focused by the aura of the Overminds. Purple revealed the destructive psions, whose power would rip this world and the Synthesized in it asunder; black showed the assassins, the ones who clouded the sensors and minds of the enemy and systematically slaughtered them.

And finally, those in red would be the ones fighting and dying on the front lines, under the directions of the Battlemasters, the large arrays of blades they wielded would soon be tested in a battle many were unprepared for. He stood on the elevated balcony, the spires of the Watchtower behind him as the Battlemaster of Skyllian stood to his right, and the respective Overmind further still. Behind them were still more; the elite of each, the lesser Overminds cloaked in orange robes and the disciples of the Battlemaster bearing greatswords and distinctive helms, a symbol of how far they had come.

The electronic scream that resonated in their ears far longer than it should have tore across the atmosphere, and he extended his power to the fleet above, discovering it was losing to the twisted ships of flesh and steel. He looked up and saw the first of the ships approaching, all on a suicide path to the Watchtower, and behind them was what they had dreaded.

A Director Flagship, what they all suspected to contain the leaders behind the Synthesized. It functioned in ways beyond simply a capital ship that dwarfed their own, but also had leg-like appendages that allowed it to land on planets and directly command the forces, and its unique brand of the Gift was enough to test that of the Overminds.

He raised his hand, knowing what needed to be done and his hand flashed and a purple-tinted bubble formed around him, and expanded to encircle the entirely of the Watchtower within seconds. Ships crashed against his barrier or were shot out of the sky by the soldiers who were already moving towards the Director Flagship which had landed what appeared to be several miles away.

And with a roared command from the Battlemaster, the army of Ethereals began to wage war on the scourge that had come to take their home.

---

The Commander blinked and was suddenly back in the cells. The rest of them appeared similarly disoriented at first. "That…was certainly something," Jackson coughed. "That Battlemaster…was he-"

"As it happens, yes, that is the same one alive today," Aegis confirmed. "We were victorious that day, though it was one of the few victories we enjoyed, and most of those were early in the war. As more Ethereals fell to the Synthesized and their forces, our control became less and less."

"The flagships," Shen said, frowning. "What was special about them? Aside that they could operate in space and land."

"Because they were somehow conduits for the Gift," Aegis explained. "It was an amplifying force beyond anything we could conceive of, and it allowed unprecedented control over their own forces, and not even Ethereals were immune to its mental power. And roughly about mid-way through the war, a new problem emerged."

"What was?" The Commander asked.

"Ethereals suddenly began betraying us," Aegis said sadly. "For no explained reason they began fighting, sabotaging and killing us. Not just regular soldiers and citizens. Battlemasters, Aegis' and Overminds were corrupted somehow, and it was only after capturing and analyzing them did we figure out that their minds had somehow been altered by the Synthesized themselves, psionically, though we never did learn how it was accomplished."

Vahlen frowned. "Why not? That would seem to be rather important."

"Because of two reasons," Aegis explained. "A new tactic was being utilized, and it was, simply put, the destruction of worlds. The Director Flagships were the key, but waging conventional battle was costing too many Ethereals, so a way had to be devised to destroy the Flagships without sacrificing too many Ethereals. And a way was discovered."

"You baited them to a planet?" Zhang guessed.

"Yes," Aegis said. "Or we moved many Ethereals there and quickly evacuated them, or left civilian colonies or city planets mysteriously undefended, hoping that would bait them into landing and capturing the population."

"And it worked." Shen muttered under his breath.

"Initially, yes," Aegis said slowly. "They would land and we would use one of the Reapers, Ethereals engineered for maximum psionic destructive potential. Their power was strong enough that those around them would begin disintegrating from the sheer power they wielded, and they used that power to warp the worlds they faced, creating devastating psionic storms that wiped out planets in a matter of hours-including any Flagships on the surface."

The Commander furrowed his eyebrows. "And just why didn't you use them in conventional warfare? Why not against a fleet or army?"

"Because they were not fools," Aegis hissed. "They knew the Reapers were the greatest threat they faced, and they prioritized them above all others. One Reaper might destroy a fleet, but the Flagships had an uncanny ability to pinpoint the location of one and kill them. It didn't help that at their height, only one thousand Reapers existed. It was all that could be created because the remainder of resources had been poured into what was deemed the only hope for the Empire."

"And what was that?" Zhang asked.

"The Imperators," Aegis revealed. "The quintessential Ethereal, as perfect as it could be. The power of a Reaper, the defensive talent of an Aegis, the dominating telepathic might of an Overmind and the physical prowess of a Battlemaster. We knew the Imperators could turn the tide of the war and initially…they did. We regained ground, killed thousands of Flagships under the direction of the Imperators."

"I am going to guess it didn't work forever," Patricia guessed. "Since you're here right now."

"No, because they adapted," Aegis said. "Worlds were ignored in favor of Imperators, they continued somehow converting Ethereals into traitors, used for assassination and spying. It was costly, but they were killing Imperators faster than they could be regrown. We were going to lose everything, and finally one Imperator created a contingency plan for the species to survive."

Aegis paused. "He persuaded several various Ethereals, the best, brightest and most powerful to give up the war and preserve themselves in cryostasis until the war ended and they could rebuild and analyze the threat unhindered. Some turned him down, and others, like myself, joined as we had realized that all that remained was a slow and agonizing defeat forestalled by each brief Imperator victory. And so we gathered on an unnamed planet hidden from even the other Imperators, with all the gathered knowledge the Imperator could gather, and froze ourselves and the war passed in an instant."

"And when you woke, everything was gone," Patricia whispered.

"Barely ruins remained," Aegis confirmed. "We had been resting for nearly two hundred thousand years, far beyond what was likely necessary, but the last Imperator had apparently taken no chances. Equipped with our knowledge, purpose and remaining technology, we began exploring what was equivalent to a new galaxy."

"I expect that was…difficult," Vahlen said. "Did you even have a plan? Or did you plan to wander aimlessly?"

Aegis fixed her with a helmeted stare that reeked of condescension. "Perhaps you should think about that for several minutes, Doctor Vahlen. Yes, the Imperator had a plan. We would locate other species, uplift them into soldiers with our knowledge with the ultimate goal being to prepare them for when the Synthesized would return, because we knew they would. We quickly found evidence of other alien species that had been destroyed in the centuries we were asleep, which told us that they would come again, but this time we would be prepared."

"Which species did you encounter first?" The Commander asked.

"The Sectoids we made contact with accidentally," Aegis said. "The Imperator sensed psionic potential and we found the Sectoids. They initially were…resistant to us, though the Overmind bent the minds of the Hive Commanders to work with us, a fact they are unaware of to this day. We quickly discovered that despite their potential, they lacked the psionic ability to be worthy commanders in our new Collective."

"And the Vitakara?" Shen asked.

"They fulfilled the role of spies and intelligence quite well," Aegis explained. "Though they are ultimately viewed as disposable due to their lack of psionic sensitivity, their genetic malleability and heightened intelligence makes them a worthwhile investment, and they are loyal to us as we saved them from their genetic plague."

"A question," the Commander interrupted. "Just how large is your Collective? In terms of planets or army size."

"Not nearly large enough to wage a dedicated war with the Synthesized," Aegis revealed. "The current size of the Collective is roughly one thousand occupied planets, with many being small colony worlds. It is enough to easily overwhelm your planet." He shook his head. "But the size is less relevant than you think. Because soon after uplifting the Vitakara, we were contacted by the Sovereign Ones, who demanded to know what we were doing."

Aegis' tone was slightly amused. "They were apparently surprised that we were survivors of the Empire, much less that we were planning to rebuild an army to oppose the Synthesized. Once it was clear what our intentions were, they offered to help us, provide their knowledge and own technology to improve beyond what we currently had. We accepted mostly out of necessity, as their knowledge helped us map out the current galaxy, including what new alien species have advanced to the point of space travel, but those are irrelevant at the moment."

"You don't seem to know much about them," Patricia noted. "Despite seemingly working with them."

"Because we don't," Aegis said. "And that is a point of conflict within us. The Imperator does not trust them, and believes they are attempting to use us in some larger plot. I don't dispute that the Sovereign Ones have their own agenda, but the fact is that they suffered the same fate as us once, and I believe they are fully committed to destroying the Synthesized. Not all gain their attention, and out of all the advanced species in the galaxy, they chose us to be the vanguard."

Aegis looked directly at the Commander. "Or so I had thought. When they revealed the location of your world I wondered why they were intervening now, as they had not done so before. As the testing of your kind progressed, I believed it was because they had successfully identified a superior soldier species to our others, one that was capable of wielding the Gift…" Aegis trailed off.

"In some ways…the Imperator was justified in his sacrifice of the Ravaged One, because it confirmed to me why we had been shown your world. Why your species was important. It is because we are not the species that is destined to lead the defense of this galaxy," he said, withdrawing a hand and pointing a finger at the Commander. "It is yours who is to be the vanguard."

There was dead silence at that. Simply put, the Commander wasn't sure what exactly to feel. On one hand, he doubted Aegis was lying, Patricia or Vahlen would have sensed something, and it explained why an Ethereal would defect to them. But on the other hand it seemed…frankly unbelievable, even with what they knew now. If what he was saying was true though…they were in way over their heads.

And at the same time, it would explain why the Ethereals were so desperate to control them…or ally with them, as the case may be. "I suppose this particular theory isn't exactly popular?" The Commander guessed.

"The Imperator flatly disputes it," Aegis said. "But his judgement is…clouded. He has yet to come to the realization I have: Our species is dying. He believes eventually we can rebuild the Ethereals, rebuild the Empire of old, but I know better. Even clones would take half a century to grow at the minimum, and there are simply too few of us left. We may be among the most powerful beings in the galaxy…but humanity has the potential to be just as great as us. No one disputes that, the only question is what role we believe your species should play in the future. I happen to believe it should be as allies to us, with yours taking the lead while we advise from behind. The Imperator wants a subservient psionic army, one as powerful as the Empire but his to command. However, I fear he is no longer objective when it comes to preparing for the future. He is too suspicious of the Sovereign Ones, too certain of our own superiority, too arrogant to see the threat you pose not just to our species, but to others as well. If he missteps here, the galaxy will feel the repercussions for decades. I do not want to see the galaxy consumed by a pointless war several centuries in the future."

"Unless he just decides to come down and end this quickly," the Commander said. "We've done well, but an Ethereal that can destroy a planet is something we have very few defenses against."

"You're both underestimating and mischaracterizing," Aegis hissed. "He does not want a mindless army of Humans. He want to shape your species into what he views as a superior iteration of yourselves, ones rivaling us, but completely loyal to him. You do not accomplish that by destroying the world of the species you wish to use! He has a plan to accomplish this, and unfortunately, I do not know what that plan is. His contact was…intermittent recently, and by the end, I believe he suspected my loyalties were wavering. But by taking this drastic step I do believe that several others will begin to ask questions."

"Such as what?" Vahlen asked.

"Such as why we went to Earth," Aegis said. "The Sovereign Ones told us, yes, but the Imperator took the credit himself. His word is considered above reproach and I was the only one who went to confirm myself and found the truth. He will ignore the concerns of the others at his own peril."

After a minute or so of silence, the Commander finally spoke again. "Well then. That was informative, and explains why this happening. The question now is where to go forward. How is the Ethereal Collective going to take Earth?"

Aegis audibly breathed heavily. "I do not know. Battle operations were obscured to me before I left, likely on orders of the Imperator. I can only speculate based on what I know of the Ethereals behind the invasion."

Not what he was hoping for, but far better than nothing. "We can discuss specifics later, but what exactly did you bring to help us? Aside from your own skills, we did find that cube on you that we assume holds information."

"If you wish to wage war against the Collective, you will need to be as advanced if not more than them," Aegis said. "Within that cube are schematics for Sovereign-level plasma weapons, armor, aircraft, as well as several additional schematics that I believe you will find a use for. You have been…innovative with the substance you call MELD, though lack a way to recreate it. That is now corrected."

Vahlen's eyes widened and the Commander felt the excitement grow in the room. With the ability to manufacture MELD at will…that alone could change the course of the war. Of course there were probably drawbacks such as a lack of resources…but those were issues that could be circumvented.

"In addition, you will need access to the Gateways," Aegis said. "They were given to us by the Sovereign Ones, a method of instantaneous travel between two points. It is our main method of transportation in the Collective. Our fleets do not travel thousands of light years over the course of weeks, but simply configure the nearest Gateway to the one built on the edge of your solar system."

"Teleportation," Shen breathed. "How-"

"You would likely be able to answer that better than I, Engineer Shen," Aegis said. "The theory is…beyond me. Even Revelean, our leading scientist does not fully understand how it works, which naturally makes him suspicious. But they work, I can assure you, and with Gateways configured at the right points, XCOM would have the ability to reinforce anywhere in the world."

The Commander smiled. Regardless of if the story Aegis had relayed was true or not, this was where his specialty was. He would sort out what to make of Aegis' belief of humanity being some kind of chosen species to defend the galaxy later, but the fact remained that they were at war with the Ethereal Collective, and these were the kind of tools he would use to orchestrate their defeat.

They refused to simply conquer with force? Fine, he would play the Imperator's game.

Then make him pay dearly for it. Willingly or not, he would not let Humanity become a pawn in an intergalactic game between species hundreds of thousands of years old. Perhaps it was arrogance to believe that he could overcome them despite their age, knowledge, technology and power, but he also knew that there was no other choice.

"Finally," Aegis finished. "Your psions will need to be properly trained. They have made impressive strides, but there is no time for natural learning. You and your psions must become powerful enough to rival Ethereals, Patricia Trask, and I will provide the means to do so."

Patricia smiled, her eyes glowing purple. "That, I look forward to."

"I think I've heard enough to make a decision," the Commander said. "We can debate the intricacies of our role in the greater galaxy later, but as it stands now, we have a planet to defend and a war to win. You can clearly help us, and seem to want to, so will you assist us against the Ethereals?"

Aegis inclined his head. "I will fight on your side, and protect your soldiers and species. But I will not kill an Ethereal. But I will not stop you from doing the same."

The Commander nodded. "Acceptable enough, Aegis. Welcome to XCOM. We have a lot to do now."

---

Supplementary Material

The Advent Directive

Subsection 1.2: Legislative, Judicial and Executive Structures

Legislative Structure:

Overview: The purpose of the ADVENT legislature is to provide each member nation with an equal voice in matters affecting the entire ADVENT state, and to ensure that misconduct, interference and obstruction are kept to a minimum:

Number of Representatives: Each member nation shall be limited to 1 representative in the ADVENT Congress of Nations. Each representative will have equal rights and privileges, and this status can be transferred between the current Head of State of a member nation and the representative under highly specific circumstances.

Head of the Congress of Nations: The Chancellor of ADVENT will act as the head the Congress of Nations, though will only be permitted to vote in the event of a tie.

Appointment: The representatives will be decided via a democratic election, with the candidates being approved by the current Executive Branch before such an election takes place. Representatives will hold their position for four years, up to a maximum of twelve. After this they are approved for several restricted State positions which are detailed further on.

Military Intervention: The ADVENT Congress of Nations does not have binding authority on the ADVENT Military, as well as the executive branch, though laws can be passed that can affect the military itself.

Bypassing of the ADVENT Chancellor: In the event that the Chancellor of ADVENT vetoes a passed bill, it can be overridden by a three-fourths majority. In addition, the overturning of executive actions by the chancellor must simply pass a majority vote.

Judicial Structure:

Levels of Judicial Courts:

- City

|- The lowest court that will deal with local disputes and minor crime.

- Ward

|- An equivalent court to the City level, but encompassing large cities with a population size of larger than 500,000

- Region

|- The court that deals with disputes and crime that affects multiple cities in the designated region.

- Nation

|- The highest court in the ADVENT member nation that holds court on issues and crime affecting the entire nation.

- Sector

|- The court that deals with cases that affect an entire continent mass, or equivalent area.

- Global

|- The highest court in ADVENT, settling disputes and issues that affect the entirety of ADVENT.

- Supreme

|- The court that hears challenges to laws to determine if they are in accordance with the Advent Directive. Note that this court is not higher than the Global Courts.

Types of Courts:

- Civil

|- Handles non-Criminal civil disputes such as vehicle accidents, divorce, etc.

- Non-violent Crime

|- Handles non-violent crime including financial crime, white-collar crime and illegal drug usage. Covers juvenile and adult cases.

- Violent Crime

|- Handles violent crime, including murder, rape, domestic abuse, armed robbery, etc. Covers juvenile and adult cases.

- Financial

|- Handles various financial cases, including bankruptcy, contract disputes, etc.

- Appeals

|- Hears closed cases where an appeal is made to reconsider the outcome.

Judge Appointment: Judges are appointed by the Executive Branch (See Section 3 for more details), which specifically is Mayors for City and Ward-level judges; Governors for Region-level judges; Heads of State for Nation-level judges; and the Chancellor of ADVENT for Sector, Global, and Supreme-level judges.

Executive Structure:

Authority: The level of authority largely depends on the current position of the executive in question. The main ranks are as follows:

- Mayor: Oversees a city, answers to the regional governor.

- Governor: Oversees a region, answers to the Head of State.

- Head of State: Oversees an ADVENT member nation, answers to the Chancellor of ADVENT,

- The Chancellor of ADVENT: Oversees the entirety of ADVENT and the military.

Appointment: Each will be chosen via democratic election with all candidates approved by ADVENT Election Oversight (See Section 5.7).

Cabinet Selection: All overseeing members of the Executive Branch are permitted to choose their own cabinet, as long as candidates are screened and approved by their respective Agencies as well as ADVENT Intelligence.

Agencies: The Chancellor of ADVENT has the authority to appoint the heads of the various ADVENT Agencies, pending approval from the ADVENT Congress of Nations, XCOM Intelligence and the respective agencies themselves (See Section 5 for more details).

Military Usage: The Chancellor of ADVENT has command over the entirety of the ADVENT Military, Intelligence and Peacekeepers, though can be overridden in specific circumstances by all three (See Sections 6, 7 and 8 for more details).