Barracks, Praesidium

6/1/17- 6:30 AM

I woke up that morning unusually happy. Totally not because it was my birthday that day.

Each day since I'd started serving in XCOM, I'd woken up somewhat worried or stressed, due to the fear of new developments in the war or whatever mindfuckery T'Leth had cooked up for us puny humans. But as I'd been there longer and longer, I'd begun to feel more at home. It'd been somewhat difficult for me to integrate into the military environment, as the nature of all of it had been much more intensive and serious then the PRIESTs.

But, knowing my fellow soldiers, they helped me get into the flow. I'd gotten more comfortable being around these women. They'd let me shower first before them, taught me ways to manage my somewhat limited personal space, and in general used their previous military experiences to help me fit in.

I wouldn't say that they were taking pity on a kid, they were genuinely being helpful.

Don't know where I'd be without them, to be honest.

I followed my regular morning routine of navigating the small army of trained killers to shower, dress, manage my hygiene, and what have you, I got many 'Happy Birthdays' here and there. It wasn't a gift, but you know what? I really didn't need any. Being at XCOM alone at this point in my life was pretty much the biggest gift I'd ever been given.

As I chowed down on a larger-than-life cinnamon roll, my portal-making friend sat down besides me. I hadn't seen him for a day or two, probably had been busy. I'd heard that Fiona had been recovering from her fight with Queen Bitch, so it sounded like he'd be having to teach himself for now. Privately, part of me had wondered if they…

"I heard it was your birthday, Dawn! Is that true?"

"Oh!" He startled me. "Um, yes it is! I'm officially nineteen! Well, I really turn nineteen at 11:30 today, but still!"

"Congratulations!" He patted me on the back.

"Thanks." I blushed. "It's uh...well, I feel really happy about it. I'd normally be celebrating with my family, but they're not here. So, yeah." My shoulders slumped at the image of my parents at home, lonely, with both of their children in XCOM. If anything, they could take solace that Grace would never have to fight.

The morbidity of that thought really hurt.

"Hey. It'll be okay. You've got us here, Dawn."

"I know," I said quietly. "But it's the first birthday I've spent away from home, and well, I've told you about how my parents feel about this whole thing."

He gave me a sympathetic look. "Is there any way you could call them or they could call you?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "They probably will today at some point. I'll probably visit Grace in my free time today, if there is any. But, training is training, I guess." As I dug more into the roll, I felt a little sore. About rejecting my parents, my old life, and everything.

What would my party have been like? No invasion, no XCOM...nothing. All of my girlfriends having one last hoorah before heading off to college, the military, or whatever life had in store for us? What kind of presents would I have gotten? Money? New clothes? Maybe even a car?

Well, I could use a part of my paycheck to buy a car. Not that I would right now (obviously), but if I survived this war, I sure as hell could probably buy shit I definitely wouldn't have been able to given the size of my paychecks right now. No, I wasn't planning on buying a mansion or something like that. Maybe a nice car or something. I'd decide later.

My phone buzzed, which was from, right in the nick of time, from my parents.

Hey baby! Happy 19th birthday! A birthday cake with confetti emoji accompanied the words. I continued reading.

Although we may not agree on some things, we still love the both of you. Stay safe.

Dad & Mom

I stared at the screen blankly.

"Dawn?" Kunio asked, but I didn't pay attention to his words.

"I need to go." My voice cracked, a tear slipping from my eye as I picked up my tray, and headed off to see Grace.

Praesidium, Family Reserve Section

Grace's Quarters

"Dawn! Holy shit!" Sister and sister embraced one another for the first time since I'd joined up. She didn't seem that surprised by my augmentations.

"You're...bigger then I remember, sis!" She laughed, indicating my clearly enlarged muscles and body structure.

"Yeah, like my new makeover?" We both laughed, though in reality I was laughing more to cover up the pain I was feeling. But we'd known each other for a long time - all the way back to the womb, in fact.

"I do! I really do! I mean, no offense, but those yellow eyes look really cool on you! Your skin, too! It's unique!" She was being positively enthusiastic. A trait I'd come to know her well for over the course of my life. Sometimes, when I'd have a bad day, we'd just sit on her bed and talk. Laugh. For only a moment, not give a single fuck about the world and everyone in it and just be us. Sisters.

Would we ever be able to have those moments again?

"Yeah. It's definitely new. But happy birthday to you too, sis. It's just as much your birthday as it's mine." I gave her another hug.

"Fuck, you're strong. Jeez. Anyway, so how're you feeling?"

"I'm doing pretty well." Again, trying to hide it in front of her. Put on a happy face, damnit. "The people are really nice. Aegis is, too."

"That's great! The people here are nice, too. I can't really get a job because of my age, so I've been helping the care people take care of some of the younger kids. There are other teenagers too, I've been hanging out with them, they're nice." I smiled.

At least Grace didn't feel so, well out of place as I do.

"That's wonderful, sis. How's your birthday been so far?" She asked.

"A few wishes here and there. And from Mom and Dad." She nodded. There was a distant expression on her face.

"Let me guess. Short but sweet, yet also saying that they didn't agree with your choices?" Grace inquired.

"Yep."

"I'm sorry Dawn. I know you must feel so many things right now with all this shit." She gestured to the room around us.

"I'm adjusting." I said in a confident tone. Yet she could tell, and she wasn't even a psion. She took my hand, staring me right in the eyes.

"What's wrong, sis?" I try to hold back a tear. "Is it mom and dad?" I nodded. My grip on her hand tightened. I gulped.

"It's just-I want this. I just wanted to go in here and do - learn all of this shit. Become better. Help people. Kill some fucking aliens. And they don't...they don't get it, Grace. They. Just. Don't. Fucking. Get. IT!" All the anger, the sadness, I'd been holding in that day, just came out. Grace yelped as my eyes glowed a furious purple, scooting away from me.

"Dawn!" I paused in my fit of anger, looking at my sister, on the other side of the bed, staring at me with a look of pure fear. I looked down at myself. The air around me was heavily distorted with a clear purple tinge, the source of an engine of fear and anger.

"Grace…" I weakly said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to- I didn't want to scare-"

Then I cried. I sat back down on that bed and just bawled. I felt her embrace me as the tears flowed down my cheeks, and onto my shirt. My face was red, my cheeks were wet, and my head was in my hands.

It just came out.

And she just held me.

I would be lying if I said I was feeling 100 percent better that day. But after the crying session, I felt a little bit better. Geist, Carreria, and Aegis all wished me a happy birthday in some form, and I was grateful. Yet it felt like something was missing.

After dinner, I headed back to my bunk, ready to write another entry in my personal record. Geist had suggested the idea to me as a way of putting my thoughts onto paper. Surprise suprise, I kind of enjoyed it. I wasn't that great of a writer, but it was enjoyable.

When I got to the room, I noticed that the lights were off. What? Was there some kind of lighting problem or something? Odd. I shook my head, and walked in, fumbling for the light switch.

"Surprise!" The lights came on, revealing my squadmates, hiding behind the bunks and tables.

"Oh shit!" I jumped back in surprise. "I-what's going on?"

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" laughed Cassandra, with her Mexican accent.

"I-I mean, yeah, I guess-"

"Your sister baked you a cake behind your back, so here!" Two soldiers brought forward a chocolate cake, with the words Happy nineteenth, Dawn! in red frosting. I gasped, putting my hands over my mouth. "Ohmygod! You guys! That's so sweet of you! I don't know what to say right now!"

"You don't have to say anything, Dawn. It's your birthday. Sit back and relax a little," Lian said. A chair was pulled up, I sat down, and an Aegii barrier, probably from Chisa, sliced a piece, which I took. I took a bite.

It was delicious.

"How is it?"

"Vilhelmina, it's amazing. All of this, it's wonderful. Thank you guys so much. I love you guys!"

"One more year, and you won't be a teenager anymore! You'll be an adult, just like us!"

Just like them...all grown up. But I didn't think about it then. All I thought about was living in the moment, enjoying what was in front of me.

Research and Demonstration Room 4

6/2/17- 11:32 AM

Caelior held a basketball in his hands, which he was easily able to palm, aiming it for the hoop all the way across the room. He took aim, and shot.

Boom. A three-pointer.

"Not bad, Caelior."

"Thank you." He recalled the ball to him before passing it to me. "This 'sport' is very enjoyable. You humans seem to have a lot of ways of passing the time. Many are enjoyable."

"Oh yeah, we most certainly do," I nodded. "I don't have a lot of experience in this myself, actually. I wasn't on the school team or anything. But it's enjoyable, and when I got the notice, I couldn't say no. Sure, I'm a soldier now, but that doesn't mean that I can't have a little fun."

"School team?" Ah, that's right. I'm sure that Ethereal high school (if they even had an equivalent like ours) was quite different.

"Ah. Where I come from, sports like this are very important," I explained. "They're seen as a popular pastime, but also as a way to have fun and get some exercise. My high school had a basketball team, a soccer team, a football team, and a bowling team."

"I am not familiar with many of those terms. 'Bowling'?"

I chuckled. "It's basically a game where you have these big, heavy balls. You have to roll them down a lane and into a line of pins. If you can time and land your roll right, you can knock over all of the pins. Basically, whoever knocks down the most pins and earns the most points wins." If this was the Dreamscape, I could've easily visualized it for him. But oh well.

"A precision game then? I enjoyed such exercises. In a way it sounds like the earliest telekinetic exercises." He shot off another hoop, this time hitting the backboard. He slightly grunted, retrieving the ball again with a pull. "One reason I find myself enjoying this particular activity."

"Cool. I'm not much of a sports person, but I dabbled in them occasionally. It's a good way to relieve stress and have fun." A thought occurred to me. "Did you, ah, have anything like a sport in the Empire?"

"Many of our psionic exercises seem to resemble your 'sports, but the closest equivalent in terms of purpose is closer to a... competition. Every year, Ethereals from across the Empire would gather on the homeworld to do great feats with their powers and perform in various competitions of psionic skill.

"So…a psionic Olympics?"

"A what?"

"It's sort of...well, a worldwide sporting competition. The best from around the world compete in one place. It's a big deal."

"Ah. In which case, that sounds like an apt description."

"Sounds fun," I nodded. "Y'know, some days after I was first awakened, I'd wished I was a telekine. I was always jealous of how they could lift and crush things just like that."

"But you are not anymore?" He passed the ball to me, where I shot again. Barely missed. Damn.

"No," I answered. "I've been comfortable with my abilities for a long time now. Priest training really helped. Now that I'm here, and the first human to do biopathy, it's...a little different."

"Why?" He seemed curious. I could pick up more emotion in his voice than Aegis', oddly enough.

"How do I explain this? Well, first off, realizing just how powerful I was kind of gave me a rude awakening. I didn't even know people could score that high, honestly," I shrugged. "When I walked into the PRIEST facility that day, I was split. Half of me wanted to test positive, the other half didn't. The psych test went by okay, but I was really nervous throughout the whole thing. I was afraid I'd fail, or I'd think of something really fucked up accidentally."

I chuckled. "I still remember the look on the nurses' face when he saw my test result. His eyes were wide open, like he'd seen a ghost. Then...then the main guy came in, gave me the laydown of how I was a fucking telepath, and one of the strongest ones ever awakened in humanity's history. Even more powerful than goddamn Patricia Trask."

I looked at Caelior, and instantly realized my mistake. "Ohmygod, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

He lifted a purple hand. "You are fine."

Whew.

"But yeah, I would be lying if I said it wasn't overwhelming. I thought about it, and said yes. One thing led to another, and I'm here in XCOM."

"And you are doing well?"

"Yeah. I guess you could say that. My sister's here. We're twins."

"Twins?" Caelior seemed more interested all of a sudden.

"Well, she's not psionic. I'm sorry, but refresh my memory. Twins were really rare in your Empire, right?"

"Very rare. Only four pairs of twins were ever born. I sometimes forget that this is not typical in other species."

My eyes went wide. "Four? Out of how many years of the Empire? Thousands of years? Tens of thousands?"

"The latter, yes," he answered. "Sana and Mortis were the last ones born. Each pair of twins born were...special in some way. Sometimes intellectually, sometimes psionically. Sana and Mortis effectively pioneered the field of biopathy for the Empire."

"Doesn't the Imperator have biopathy too, though?"

"Yes, but I have never seen him use it personally," Caelior said. "I suspect Patricia now also possesses the skill, though both Twins are more skilled than the both of them."

"Did you know Sana or Mortis personally?"

"I have never met Mortis. Sana…" he briefly paused. "Yes. Better than most of my brethren. She is kind. Not just to me, but everyone. Isomnum and the Creator are perhaps the only exceptions. She would not be pleased that you are fighting in this war, though she does not approve of war altogether."

"So Mortis used to be...like a zombie? But he's apparently just fine now? How the hell does that work?"

"You are implying that he was dead?" He cocked his head. "Mortis was injured, but placed in stasis. He was very much alive, though I do not know the full extent of his injuries. It is not out of the question that he simply healed over time."

"Huh. He seems...oddly human in a lot of his beliefs and views. Not like most Ethereals. His mindset is so similar to your 'typical rebellious teenager' trope that it's not even funny." I shot again. Right through the hoop. "It's almost creepy how alike it is."

"He is unique. Ironically more aware than I was of the nature of the Empire."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "But I have...had my eyes opened since Korea, to borrow a term you may be familiar with. I hope I have matured beyond what I was. A willing tool of the Empire, incapable of reflection or critical thinking. Defeat taught me more than all of my time in war. A lesson you fortunately appear not to need."

I nodded, recalling his file. Caelior back then, in a way, was like me - a young prodigy. Only that I was a telepath and he was a telekine, and that XCOM definitely did not trick or use me in the way the Ethereals did.

Was there one thing the Ethereals could touch that they wouldn't inevitably fuck up? Looking back, I kind of felt bad for Caelior. He was a kid, taken from his home when he was definitely not ready to fight, and his whole life and all of his 'achievements' were a manufactured lie.

How do you even recover from something like that? If that'd happened to me, I doubt I'd even be able to handle living from day to day.

"I'm sorry that that happened to you. It must've been really hard, adjusting to who you really were."

"It was difficult, but necessary," he nodded. "But you humans have been very helpful to me, as has Aegis, despite my previous actions against your species." His voice got a little quiet when he said that.

I admittedly didn't know how to respond to that. He'd been through so much compared to me. I'd been in XCOM for like a month and in real life had only killed a few people. Not even people, just Sectoid drones. He on the other hand had fought the freaking Synthesized, which I didn't even want to imagine what horrors those things had in store.

Best not to think about that now.

"Well, um, how do I say this," I thought for a second. "Humans are compassionate people. We're very understanding, and willing to forgive. In my opinion, the reason the Commander and Aegis kept Patricia from killing you was because you were young, and had a lot to learn. Besides, you're really powerful - there's no one else that we have here that can do telekinesis like you can."

"And I am grateful for your people treating me as such. But what about you, Dawn? Why are you here?"

"Well, my biopathy."

"I did not phrase that correctly. I meant your personal stake in this conflict."

I paused, staring at my hands. "To do my part. When I joined the Priests, I thought I could use whatever psionics I hopefully had to help in the fight against the Collective. But when I accidentally melted that Sectoid, I realized that I was different. And when I learned what exactly I did, well there was no doubt about it. I felt like I could do the most in XCOM, even though I was only eighteen."

Caelior nodded. "I can understand such. Even had I not been used by the Empire, I would have sought to join the fight against the Synthesized."

"I guess for me it's more of a responsibility thing, too," I admitted. "It just wouldn't feel right for me to say no and stay in the Priests. There's so much more opportunity for me here. The armor, the psionics, the intel, even the guns. And I didn't even really like guns that much before coming here. And with XCOM, I can do so much more than what the Priests do. I can go on missions off-world, hit 'em where it hurts, if you know what I'm saying. Plus - T'Leth. You really can't beat the Dreamscape and what it can simulate."

"You seem to have a lot of this thought out."

I snorted. "Honestly? Not really. I saw an opportunity, and took it. What happens next depends on where this war goes. I'll train the best I can, and when I'm eventually deployed, I'll see how well I do. For now?" I tossed him the ball. "Basketball. Keep our minds on something more fun."

"Very well. Let us see who is better at this."

"Don't make me blush, Caelior." I snorted, hitting the backboard again. "Now, you ready to beat old man Aegis on the court?"

Project Nolan Training Center

6/3/17- 11:01 PM

"I'm telling you Geist, I think I'm onto something here!"

He simply raised an eyebrow at the two plastic bricks in my hand, courtesy of the Shoggoths.

"Explain, then."

"Okay, so let me explain. Remember when you were talking about the Sussan woman, that Armenian woman who did whatsit with graphs?"

"Yes."

I nodded. "And you told me she visualized her psionics like on a 3D plane, correct?"

"Yes."

"So she made her psionics easier by associating that thought process with something she was familiar with. Experienced with."

"She did."

I held up a finger. "So, Lego bricks, right?" I held up two, one in each hand. "I'm very familiar with these. Played with these things a shit-ton, even did some minor competitions. Now…" I click them together. "You can put them together to create something, right? Like a cell." I snapped two together.

Geist nodded.

"But you see, you can also take them apart."

Snap!

"Now, here's my point. These things, in a way, are like cells. If I can associate them in my mind, visualize it like a cell, maybe that'll help with my psionic skill. Because that's what I do, I tell the cells to come apart, and boom! Biopathy. Now I'm not saying it'll just make me insta-melt everything, no no. That's definitely not possible. All I'm saying is that this could potentially help me with my focus and visualization of my psionics."

He thought for a moment before replying. "The concept is sound. Well done. Test this for yourself, but do not be disappointed if it does not work as you hope."

"Okay. Let's see." I sat down on the floor, cross-legged. It was a sitting form I learned to prefer while training - like meditation, kinda.

"Muton." I said. A Muton in full battle armor spawns in front of me. I closed my eyes, and focused, penetrating his mind. Geist and I had been slowly whittling my biopathy down minute by minute since I'd gotten here, and now it took me on average around ten minutes to begin melting.

A time, that in my opinion, still wasn't good enough.

I entered its mind the same way I'd done it many times before, slowly penetrating the mind of the alien.

Go deeper. Focus. Concentrate. Find the labyrinth, cross it, and tell it to fall apart. Just like you've been practicing.

Where is it...ah...there you are.

Now you are mine.

I felt myself penetrate the upper and middle layers, and heading down into the lower depths, where I truly excelled. I may not have been ready for combat, but little by little, I was getting there.

Focus. Find it. Deeper. Go deeper.

Ah, there it is. The layer.

Alrighty then. Time to visualize, see how this goes.

While keeping the primeval cellular layer in my mind, I pictured a group of the bricks I was so familiar with, and quite literally had built a portion of my life on.

Bricks...classic, of course. 2-by-4. How about….red? Ok, now…think.

I imagined a group of bricks, making up a Muton like the one in front of me, building him up one-by-one. Keeping my concentration, I imagined the bonds, constricting around the bricks, keeping the creature whole and in one piece. That's what cells were for after all- making what's us us.

But now, it was time to break that.

Bonds, bricks...all together. As one. Now…

Separate.

Compared to my first time, the bonds were much less resistant to my demands. I imagined the structure of bricks falling apart, and the feeling of being in a slurry hit my mind. But I was not the Dawn Conley that had done this for the first time.

This Dawn was much different. Better trained. More prepared. And more experienced.

As I felt the structure around me break, I opened my eyes to see the Muton melt. Not all of it, mind you. Its lower body was intact, mind you. But its head and neck… not so much.

As I'd progressed with Geist, I had somewhat expanded on my ability to widen my melting capabilities. We both knew I'd never be as good as Mortis, but that didn't mean I shouldn't try. I definitely wouldn't be able to melt in the hundreds like my Ethereal counterpart, but current estimates were that I could perhaps, with enough training and guidance, have the capability to melt perhaps several squads of enemies at best.

See, the issue with this isn't the scale - it's the focus. Telling one's cells alone to separate is strenuous enough. Doing that to an entire army on my level? Hell no, my brain and mind certainly wouldn't be able to focus on that much of a level. But melt the important parts of several targets? Definitely possible. But that was beyond me for now.

Getting used to watching things melt was another thing entirely. The first few times I'd done it in the Priests, I'd gotten sick to my stomach, not to mention the nightmares. When I'd joined XCOM, Geist had been putting me through what I called 'normalization therapy', which essentially boiled down to me getting used to the sight and feeling of melting itself through watching it again and again. Definitely to condition me on seeing it as more normal, which had been working.

One topic at a time, Dawn. Don't overthink yourself right now. Focus on the toy that you somehow have now associated with death through cellular liquefaction.

"Interesting," Geist said.

"See? It worked!" I said.

"I know. I was observing your mind, Dawn. Your concept was sound and you applied it correctly."

"I'll admit. I was actually not entirely expecting for that to work. But, it looks like it works. For now. I've still got to narrow down my time. Ten minutes is far too slow."

"Which will require more training. But this is a substantial improvement for now, Dawn. Good job."

I nodded. Though Geist could sound like a major ass sometimes, he was at least straightforward, and committed to helping me.

"Thanks. Hey, you've heard about that game coming up? Between Aegis and Caelior?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to come? I'm going to be on Caelior's team. I'm pretty excited. We've been practicing a lot for it."

"No," He shook his head. "I did not usually participate in such. I also find that sports, while a good method of exercise, are something that people become obsessive over."

That pretty much made it clear he wasn't interested.

"I see." I said. "Well, thanks for being honest, Geist."

He waved a hand. "Nevertheless Dawn, you have been progressing well. Although you are not battle-level ready yet, you are getting there. Bronis and the Internal Council have been pleased." I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, the Internal Council?"

He nodded. "You are our only biopath, which means that you have been monitored by our Psionics Division and members of XCOM Research and Development. As your primary teacher, it is my job to monitor and report your progress. It is also the first time we have ever recruited a soldier of your age. Were it to happen again in the future, we would have your experience to make sure he or she would progress as well as you have."

I laughed. "So I'm like a guinea pig?"

"Yes, but in your case it was inevitable."

Well, that was something. I suppose I could understand the logic behind that. If I fared well, and didn't die or collapse under the pressure, they'd have a 'how to introduce teenagers to XCOM' manual prepped and ready to go if anyone else like me found themselves in my situation in the future.

I'd be setting an example then. I smiled, and kept going with my training. The big game was in four days. I couldn't wait.

If nothing else, it'd be a wholly unique experience.

Psionics Training Range

6/4/17- 10:08 AM

Game time.

Sets of impromptu bleachers had been set up along the edge of the area, as well as two hoops, one on each side. Various soldiers and staff made up the teams, but mostly just staff, as I'd noticed from their uniforms. Each team was dressed in their regular dress, with a jersey on top.

Blue for Aegis.

Purple for Caelior.

I'll admit, it was funny to see two Ethereal wear jerseys of all things. They were modified for the physiology of course, taking into account the additional arms and larger body size. Both were wearing their helmets, and stood out from the rest of the human team members. There were five people on each team in total, with an additional reserve of five more on the bench.

Although the game was casual and in no way hard-core competitive, there were still rules. First off, only limited psionics allowed. You couldn't use it offensively or defensively, as that would more than likely end up with someone getting hurt. You couldn't manipulate the ball into the hoop either. Using it to control the ball or perform some unique passess was allowed. Still, some medics were on standby, just in case.

But I had faith that our two resident Ethereals wouldn't get caught up in the fun.

After that, we'd still be following the regular rules of basketball - no double-dribbling, no aggressive physical contact, and no matter how tall you were, human or Ethereal, you could still be blocked. Genetic modification was very useful here.

Caelior was going to be our center, as he was the 'big guy', so to speak. The rest of us would be guards and forwards, passing and defending as such, but we all knew that the Ethereals would be the stars of the show.

The whistle blew, and we assembled. After a coin flip, Aegis' team got the ball first. I noticed Kunio was on the other team, who gave me a wink and a shit-eating grin. Bronis was on Aegis' team as well.

You wanna play, portal boy? Alrighty then, let's play.

Alright Dawn, let's play some Ethereal basketball.

The whistle blew again, and the game began.

Caelior dashed forward towards Aegis, who was holding the ball, blocking him. Aegis tossed the ball to Kunio, who ran around me, passing it to another Aegis team member. He shot for the goal, but hit the backboard and missed completely. The whistle blew, and the ball was passed to us.

Caelior and our team responded in kind. I ran around the opposing team, catching Caelior's pass. Kunio was onto me almost instantly, blocking me. I stopped dribbling, and did a Hail Mary, shooting the ball over his head to a fellow teammate, who caught it, and threw it to Caelior. He took aim, and fired, shooting the ball right through the net.

The crowd cheered. I smiled, and nodded at Caelior, giving him a thumbs-up. Good job, buddy. He nodded at me, and we prepared for the next round. 1-0 so far. I saw Kunio looking at me, giving me a friendly nod and a wink.

The next round went faster. Aegis and Caelior were again the stars of the show, trading blocks as the former tried to get the ball past the younger Ethereal. But Caelior seemed pretty invested. He was putting a lot of energy and enthusiasm into this, I could tell. He seemed almost- well, happy.

Aegis got past him, and shot at Bronis, who caught it, and made a move towards the goal, aiming for a teammate. I watched as he moved his hands to pass the ball, and saw an opportunity. I waited until he aimed, and I jumped.

The ball flew right into my hands, and my feet hit the ground.

"Steal!" someone yelled from the crowd. I began to dribble the ball, trying to find a lane to pass. Most of Aegis' team was closing in on me, blocking more and more ways I could pass. Oh, I was screwed.

Shit, shit, shit. C'mon, Dawn. There's gotta be a way out of this. I look around. The rest of my team can't reach me, and Caelior and Aegis are occupied.

Ah shit. Well, fuck it.

"Caelior!" I yelled. He looked at me, and moved away from Aegis.

All the time that I needed. I threw the ball at him with an overhead pass, and waited until the rest of Aegis' team was occupied with Caelior. I dashed ahead of him, looking for an opening. He shot it towards me, and I caught it, aimed, and fired.

Boom.

Right into the hoop.

And that's a basket, baby! I smirked as the other team grabbed the ball, doing the switch.

As the next attempt to get a goal went by, I felt a rush.

This is fun.

For a second, I didn't feel like I had to worry about the war, the Ethereals, the Bringer, or anyone else.

It was just me, the court, and the ball.

I was behind Caelior, who was, again, leading a mad dash for the opposing hoop, Aegis close behind us. I could faintly feel Aegis' aura in the back of my mind. Lucky for us, he was keeping it under control. His aura could've provided an additional advantage to his team, one of the many things curtailed in the rules. I'd wondered how that meeting had gone with the Internal Council.

"We need something to boost our soldiers' morale!" Said the Commander.

"Hmmmm. Maybe some kind of game? How about a video-game competition?" Said Vahlen.

"What about that basket-ball you humans seem to love so much?" Said Aegis.

"That's a great idea! But this is XCOM, not the NBA, so we need to make this fun, unique and memorable for everyone involved. Any ideas?" Said the Commander.

"How about we throw in our Ethereals just to mix things up?" Said Mercado.

"I approve." Aegis interjected. "Going up against Caelior in such a situation will be amusing, if not enjoyable."

"Sounds like an excellent idea! But Ethereals are pretty much better than humans in every way, so we need a way to balance things out so any interested XCOM personnel don't get absolutely curbstomped. Hmmm. How about limited psionics for everyone, to make things more fair and balanced?"

Aegis: Sad Face

And so it was decided that day, much to the disappointment of Aegis, that there would be such a game.

Aside from that, my augmented body was absolutely loving this. The fast-paced nature of this game was an excellent test in real life for my new and improved body. My school's football team wouldn't stand a chance against me. The rush was energizing, like my adrenaline had turned all the way up to an 11. Going up against other augmented personnel like me was fun as well, as the only real physical training I'd had with other soldiers was weight lifting, treadmill running, or some other kind of gym activity.

I also wondered how much Aegis and Caelior were holding back physically in this case. I'd seen them both in combat, and from the files, Ethereal physical prowess compared to humans made us look utterly minute compared to them. I wouldn't doubt that if they wanted to, they could move faster than we could react, and do this whole game themselves.

Kinda made me glad the Battlemaster wasn't on the other team. He could probably make a joke out of all of us without even trying.

This was such a rush, and I was loving every second. I wasn't even that good.

But this was so much fun!

The game was drawing to a close. It had been a sports slugfest between our team and Aegis', with each team constantly shifting between winning and losing. I think only Aegis and Caelior weren't almost worn out at this point, while the humans on both teams were very clearly getting tired. Aegis and Caelior, meanwhile, had been engaged in a game of Ethereal one-upmanship, both hitting some seriously unreal slam dunks and cross-court shots.

Aegis shot another basket into the hoop, getting a one-point lead over us. Caelior got his hands on it and shot it to one of my teammates, who shot it to me. I dribbled it down the court, getting to a point where I could hopefully score a basket. As I prepared to throw it to Caelior, Aegis got in front of me, his towering form blocking my shot.

Well fuck me sideways. I kept trying to move left and right, dribbling and looking for an opening. Caelior was behind him, but at this point the enemy team was swarming me. Sooner or later I'd have to shoot.

Fuck it.

I did an overhead pass, throwing the ball over Aegis' left arm. Caelior grabbed it in midair and got it right into the hoop, tying both teams.

Not bad. I heard in my head, as the older Ethereal passed me as the ball was changed. Heh. Try harder next time old man.

I looked at the timer. Shit. We only had thirty seconds left before the game was up...

Tiebreaker time, then. Looks like the stakes just got raised, baby!

I cracked my neck muscles. As the timer started again, things went into action real fast. Caelior passed the ball to a teammate, while two of us blocked Aegis for the moment. I took the far right side of the court, making myself open for a possible pass. Kunio was trailing me, probably to try to block me from a pass. I ran faster, trying to stay open.

Twenty seconds.

Caelior moved past Aegis, dribbling as he lined up his shot.

Fifteen seconds.

Aegis got into front of him, blocking his shot.

Ten seconds.

Caelior noticed me, and threw.

Nine seconds.

I caught it, the ball almost slipping through my fingers. He nodded.

Eight seconds.

I ran towards the hoop, preparing to jump.

Seven seconds.

I leaped towards the hoop, hands outstretched, ball in hand.

Six seconds.

So close. Almost there…

Five seconds.

I let go of the ball, slamming it into the hoop. I didn't hear the cheering, just focused on me. I landed on the ground feet-first, thanks to my reflexes. Pre-XCOM me would've fallen and hit my shins. Ow.

The timer buzzed, signaling the end of the game.

Holy mother of...did I just do that! The crowd cheers.

Caelior won. He did it.

We did it. A huge, stupid smile grows on my face as I stand there, basking in the fame as the ball rolled along the floor, stopping at my foot. I looked down, grabbed it, and just held it.

That, Dawn, was fucking awesome.

After the game, and an extra-long shower, I met up with Caelior in the hallway outside of the Mess Hall. He seemed happy. Well, as much as 'happy' went for a being whose race didn't show much emotion.

"Good shot at the end, Dawn." I nodded.

"Well yeah, but you pretty much carried our team. You scored like, what was it, three-fourths of our shots? You did most of the work. Did you enjoy it?"

"I did, in fact. I would want to do that again."

"There's always the Dreamscape," I realized. "I'm sure T'Leth could cook up a basketball court and ball or something like that. Maybe if I had some free time later?"

"Perhaps. If you also want to, you could test your telepathy on me. Geist and Aegis have been training my telepathic defenses to be much better since I was...liberated from the Collective. If you want to do some psionic training, I would welcome the company."

"That...sounds good." I was still a little surprised that he was being so open. "So you want to do telepathic stuff, basically? Because I'm no telekine."

"Yes. I believe we could both learn from each other."

"Sounds like a plan, Caelior. Let me just add you to my friend's list on the chatroom."

"As will I." We did so, then we parted ways.

Well, that was interesting. Couldn't hurt to have more friends, I guess. Even if they did have four arms and could single-handedly level a city. And it was nice to have someone else to do telepathy with, I suppose.

Therapy Office

6/5/17- 2:27 PM

The therapist looked at me. 'So how are you feeling, Dawn? How are you continuing to settle in?" She had a tablet, taking notes.

"Fine, I guess."

"'Fine' can mean many things, Dawn. Are you getting more comfortable with the environment?"

"I guess so. The soldiers and staff have been really welcoming and accepting. I'm glad to see this prestigious organization is so...open."

"Well, we have to be, Dawn. We've got nonhumans here - that was hard for some people to get over, but we're sure as hell accepting them."

"I know. It's just that I was afraid I'd have trouble fitting in."

"And are you?" There wasn't any malice in her voice. I could read her mind, but I decided not to. Privacy.

"I mean, sure. I've had a few people here and there, but other than that-"

"A few people here and there?" Oh. I gulped.

"There was, ah, what's her name...Caramel…."

"Carmelita?" Ah. That was her name.

"She gave me some shit on my first day, but besides that, I haven't really seen her since. I know she's been through a lot, so I'm not going to judge her. And looking back, I understand her concern about me doing all of this."

"And are you concerned about yourself?"

"Yes. The split with my parents was, well, rough on me. Still is."

"And do you think that it's been affecting you?"

"Yes. Very much so." She nodded, taking more notes.

"Why do you think your parents disapprove of your choice to join?" I sighed.

"Well, do you have any children, Doctor?"

"Yes."

"Okay. How would you feel if you were in a position where you didn't know a lot about psionics, your son or daughter got tested - which, let's clarify, you didn't really want him or her to- and turns out that he or she is incredibly powerful. And yet still a kid. She doesn't want to go to college, and joins up with the Priests instead. She's away from home, but she's safe, and you are okay with that."

She nodded.

"And then she joins this super elite and dangerous organization that you sure as fucking hell wouldn't want her in that could be super stressful. But she wants to do good. She wants to do her part. Yet there's this part of her telling her not to, but she wants to."

She nodded again. "If that did happen to me, I won't lie - I'd be very anxious too. Your parents are showing their concern here when they're acting like this, not because they hate or despise you."

I sighed. "It doesn't feel like they are. Even the birthday message they sent felt like they were taking a jab at me."

She took a few more notes. "Are you positive they sent that with malicious intent?"

"I mean, it sure felt like it. But fuck, if it didn't feel blatant." I sighed, rubbing my eyes.

"You're stressed about this, aren't you?" she asked.

"No shit." I grumbled, taking another sip of my fizzy orange drink.

Didn't surprise me that XCOM even had soda available for their soldiers. I wasn't complaining- my augs probably negated the large amount of sugar in it. I wondered if it affected my ability to get drunk. Huh.

"Do you fear that this stress will negatively affect your performance?"

"No, why would I?" I said. "It's not like it's life or death." Sarcasm. It's an interesting tool. She simply looked at me, and took more notes.

"Do you often use sarcasm as a defense mechanism?"

"I'm a teenager, Mrs. Yates. Of course I do." I said, slightly annoyed. Not gonna lie, this woman was stressing me out.

"Mmmm." She wrote another note, and set her tablet down. "You are aware that the Commander can see these reports, right?"

"I'm aware. The issue is that I'm worried that this stress is going to affect me. And not in a good way."

"That's perfectly understandable. You're a teenager in a situation where you don't have a lot of experience with. And you're handling this with a lot of emotional maturity."

"That much is true, Doctor." I took a big gulp. "I mean, I can't exactly spam everyone memes, talk about who's with who, who broke up with who, and talk about how Stacey's MLM-selling mother from down the street is cheating on her dad with the track coach, now can I?"

Don't ask. No, really. Don't.

She raised an eyebrow, then continued. "The point of this conversation is that you, for the most part, are handling this well. Geist and Aegis' reports, as well as your bunkmates, have been saying the same thing."

"Well, that's kind of the thing. I'm doing fine, but I'm not worried about this shit." I gestured to my body. "I'm worried about what's happening here." I tapped my forehead. "My conscience."

"About killing people?"

"Sort of, I guess. But it's how I'll do it in combat, where, unlike here, there's a very real chance I'll die."

"Don't all soldiers have that fear at one point in their lives, though? You think every soldier marched in here on their first day gung-ho and ready to go in guns blazing?"

"No."

"Then you are simply adjusting, Dawn. Your anxiety is normal, but nevertheless it is good you are recognizing it. Again, it has been made very clear that you will not be deployed into a combat mission until you are deemed ready by your peers. But you are making good progress."

"Um, thanks." I managed a weak grin.

"You're progressing fine by our standards. It's good that you can talk about your worries and issues like this."

"Isn't that what therapists are for?"

"Indeed." she smiled. "Thank you, Dawn."

"No problem. Same time next week?"

"Same time next week." I smiled.

I shook her hand, and walked out, drink in hand. As the fluid swished around in the container, I wondered what my friends were doing. The ones back home. What was Fred doing in his AEGIS job? I heard he was working with the Integration Service, with a Vitakarian was it? Wondered how that was going for him. Stacy, Mark, and Kyle had all enlisted. Didn't know what exactly their positions were, but I'm sure I could find out if I wanted to.

As the list of names ran through my head, I wondered what they'd think if they found out that I was in XCOM. I shook my head, as I imagined their reactions. Not even that, if we were all to have some kind of reunion someday, what would they think of me? Seeing my yellow eyes and checkerboard skin, with bulging muscles and probably a scar or two that I might earn in the future? Sure, I'd look cool, but would I be able to fit in? Being surrounded by soldiers, psions, and aliens would definitely have an effect on a person my age.

Would they be afraid of what I'd become? Applaud my bravery?

Would they see me as a freak, or a person?

Would any part of me stay the same, even after all of this? Would I even be able to recognize myself after all that could happen to me?

How much would I gain?

But just how many sacrifices would I have to make, if it meant surviving this?

To be continued in Chapter 5:

Live Fire