The Praesidium

6/24/17- 5:00 PM

Out of all the things I thought I'd see in XCOM, a wedding was not among them.

But I wasn't complaining.

The day before, Kunio had privately told me he'd gotten me a seat right next to him thanks to Fiona. That had surprised me - not that I thought that I wouldn't be able to come, I was just surprised that Kunio had used his connections with his Sovereign friend to get me a seat.

I was excited. There had been bets that we'd hear the Commander's real name. I doubted that, but nevertheless it'd be something to remember.

After all, I needed something good like this to get my mind off of...other things.

I'd seen footage of the 'revamped' Warlock in action, and...fuck. He had definitely been upgraded since the last time we'd seen him. What he'd done to those soldiers had almost given me nightmares. How tall he was, combined with what he was seemingly capable of, made me even more convinced that Paradise had to be burnt, along with everyone inside of it.

No, Dawn. Today's a special day. Don't think about that right now. You're with a good friend, watching two of the most important people in Human history get married, have some fun and let loose, yeah?

Sounded like a plan.

We were all standing around, talking, waiting for the two to walk out. A small platform had been erected, with the Internal Council standing behind it, Aegis towering over everyone else. There was a chaplain there as well, facing us soldiers,wearing our dress uniforms. I knew it wasn't that formal, but a part of me had wished we'd all worn something more fancy, like the dress I'd worn for prom. Then again, we were soldiers, fashion was not really our strong suit.

I'd also noticed the small impromptu honor guard near where the wedding would take place, composed of various soldiers, psions, and Templars. A small part of me wished I was up there, but I knew I wasn't experienced enough.

That was ok, though. Being able to attend was good enough for me.

Everyone quieted down and took their seats as the music began to play. I noticed the flowers spread along the aisle. Pretty. We all stood as the two entered the room. Vahlen wasn't wearing a wedding dress, but a sleeveless dress with a silver glow.

Man, that looked nice. She looked quite good in it - not too flamboyant and fancy, but not too simple. The Commander, on the other hand, wore his dress uniform, just like the soldiers. As the two came together on the podium, escorted by the soldiers, and they began to speak their vows, I began to think.

Would I ever have the chance to do something like this myself? Find someone to spend the rest of my life with, and marry them, surrounded by my friends and family? To look someone in the eyes, love them with all of my heart, and say 'I do'? The thought had plagued me for some time since I'd joined XCOM. Joining XCOM had taken me down another path, one that I wasn't complaining about, but something that would give me a life very few teenagers would ever have.

And I had accepted it.

But a part of me had wondered if I'd ever find the one, someone to spend the rest of my life with. I'd never had a boyfriend or anything like that before - I honestly wasn't that good at relationships. I'd never really had any kind of real relationship before, though I'd be lying if I said there weren't any guys I was interested in back in high school.

Maybe someday, when I was much older, I could find someone. Hell, if things went well, I could possibly even get married here, right in the Praesidium, where I'd truly grown and become someone. Imagine that. Me, Dawn Conley, the first teenager to join XCOM, and the first human biopath, getting married, surrounded by the various humans and aliens that had become family.

As for a family, my own at least, kids were never really in the picture for me. I wasn't a big fan of them, and considering my job and what I'd be doing, I was certain that I wouldn't make good mom material. I could deal with psions and gunfire, no problem. But a screaming baby? Hell no. I'd probably be better 'cool aunt' material, honestly.

That was something I could think about later.

As the couple on the stand finished their vows with 'I do', and 'Until death do us part', and sealed their vows with a kiss, I smiled warmly.

You did it, Commander. You're married. Good for you.

Be happy.

You deserve all that, and so much more for what you've done.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present for the first time, Mr. And Mrs. Vahlen!"

We all stood up and roared in applause, clapping and shouting with happiness and joy as they walked down the aisle without a care in the world, as they should. This was their moment, and no one else's.

Afterwards it was time for the reception. The guests were...well, more prominent than I'd expected. Chancellor Vyandar, Commander Christaens, and Director Powell.

Don't act like an idiot in front of them, Dawn. Yeah. Whatever the newlyweds and the brass were talking about was definitely above my pay grade. Also, I just felt plain nervous being around them. I'd excused myself from Kunio for a moment to stock up on some food, as it looked like a slight improvement from the food we usually got in XCOM.

Not that XCOM's food was bad, mind you. It was good - like five-star level good. I'd heard that after the chefs were wiped out, several more prolific chefs had volunteered for the role. Granted, I didn't know how good the food was before I got here, but I'd heard it was a substantial upgrade from before.

As I loaded up on a probably unhealthy amount of cake, I noticed a figure that had stood out. Some dude in a tux of all things had been milling around, talking to people - Kunio and that Zara person in particular. Didn't she used to work for EXALT? Hmmm. I think she did. But the man just looked interesting.

Wonder who that guy was, probably wasn't all that important.

I also noticed he had a flower pinned to his tux. Oh yeah, I'd helped with the flowers prior to this, thank you very much. I wasn't a florist or anything, but I couldn't help but say 'yes' when they asked for volunteers for the preparation.

Putting in my five cents for the cause, I suppose.

"Dawn!" I noticed Kunio approaching me.

"Kunio! How'd your talk with Zara go?"

"Good. We're actually going to spar if you're interested."

My eyes widened. "Oh, uh, sure! I'd like that." I stared at my plate. "Can I finish my cake first?"

He nodded. "Sure. I'll text you where we are. I'm sure she could give you a few tips. Oh, and no psionics."

"Bummer!" I sarcastically said as I made a fake pouty face. He chuckled.

"Alright then. Fifteen minutes?"

"Fifteen minutes, gotcha." As he walked away, I dug into my cake. Well, that sounded like fun. Fighting with a former member of the Illuminati? Seems like today just got more interesting.

Pool, Recreation Complex, Praesidium

6/15/17- 12:20 AM

What would you think that a bunch of XCOM soldiers would do in their free time? Shoot things? Work out? Spar? Have a pool party? All three of those, and then some?

If you guessed the last one, ding ding, you'd be right. Although it wasn't quite like any I'd been to before. The main difference was that instead of a bunch of high schoolers dancing around to whatever was hot at the time, with no supervision, antics, and the occasional illegal drug, it was a bunch of adult soldiers with unreasonably high kill counts (the exception being me, of course), some of whom had space magic.

Me being in the latter, of course, though I sure as hell wasn't complaining.

Twenty to thirty soldiers from various barracks were here - most of them lounging around, talking, with some swimming in the pool. The few psions that were here, telekines and aegii (I was the only telepath that showed up, go figure) were messing around with the water, talking, and having fun in general. I was in my own little corner of the pool, soda in hand.

"Dawn!"

I looked up from my soda. "Eina. Hey!"

Eina Berkovic, a Ukrainian Aegii with a thick accent, swam next to me, and climbed onto the sidebar. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. Gotta be honest, I didn't expect that many people to show up."

She smiled. "Just because we're soldiers doesn't mean we can't have some fun. Hey, why aren't you hanging out with the rest of us?" She nodded to a group of soldiers from my barracks, chatting it up. I noticed a platter full of…

"Are those ADVENT burgers?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, chefs made a whole bunch just for us; imported straight from ADVENT. They gave us some leftovers for this. Not bad, eh?" I nodded, but didn't speak. "Something wrong, Dawn?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Just not really sure what I'd talk about. I'm really not that knowledgeable about...adult stuff and things like that. Don't really have a lot of experience in that field."

"Ah, you'll be fine Dawn." She smiled warmly. "You may be young, but you're one of us. C'mon."

She offered a hand, which I took and followed her across the pool to a group of soldiers talking and laughing, Lian, Cassandra, Barbara, and Vihelmina among them, floating in the water.

"So then, I was testing it out, and I accidentally crushed his drink, sending the stuff flying everywhere!" Vihelmina laughed at...whatever conversation I had walked into(well, really swam in to be specific). I propped myself up next to her, and she noticed me almost instantly.

"There's our resident teenager! Where've you been Dawn?"

"Hanging out. Over there. Um, what're you guys talking about?"

"Psionic stuff. Our non-enlightened Barbara and Cassandra were curious about what it felt like, having our powers for the first time. I just got done telling them about how I accidentally blew up the doctor's soda as he was running some tests on me."

I snorted. The image of a plastic bottle of soda exploding, showering the room in orange fluid brought a small smirk to my face. It reminded me, in a way, that even with the age and experience gap, I could still relate to them. Sure, I was a kid compared to them, but we all had something in common here - we were soldiers, psions, comrades in arms. We may not have been related, but we were family. All of us were.

"Dawn, do you have anything noteworthy to tell us? I'm sure you've ran into something before coming here."

I considered her question before shrugging slightly. "Eh, a few. My first few weeks after I got awakened were rough." I noticed nods from the other psions in the group. None of them were telepaths, but I'd heard firsthand that psionic awakening for anyone was a little rough. The other disciplines may not have had full-on hearing voices like us telepaths, but things were disorienting in their own ways. Telekines, for example, felt like the world around them could be bent to their will, and had a tendency to throw and crush things.

Parts of me were glad I wasn't a telekine. Physically crushing someone like that...ugh.

Then again, I just straight up melted things, which was much more disgusting, so...yeah. One of two evils, I guess.

"You guys hear voices and thoughts, right?"

"Yeah. Thankfully the restraints kept us from hearing or projecting thoughts or any crazy shit like that. Wouldn't want a teenager mind controlling people, now would we?" That got a few chuckles from the group.

"But yeah. It was difficult at first to project myself in training. And reading minds was just plain creepy. Just looking into someone's mind and seeing so much about what makes them them made me, at least, feel kind of overbearing. Mind controlling, while easy to learn and initiate, was just another thing entirely. Especially with telepathic kill commands. Snuffing out someone just like that disturbed me at first. Over time, I became pretty desensitized to it, though."

Mostly.

"Well, if you ever need to talk, Dawn. We're here. No judgment." Barbara nodded at me.

"I didn't even know this place had a pool up until a few days ago. Seriously, this puts anything I've ever seen before to shame." I shrugged. "Guess XCOM doesn't want its soldiers getting bored. The whole thing's just so surreal, and honestly? I'm kind of loving it." As my eyes scanned the pool area, I noticed several diving boards. Including a tall one.

My friends, naturally, noticed.

"Getting any ideas with that, Dawn?"

"Um, I don't know. I've never really gotten that much into swimming. Although…" A large grin spread across my face. You know what? I was at a party, and I'd be damned if I didn't take this to its fullest potential. So screw it.

I took an ADVENT burger, ate it pretty quickly (if there's one thing ADVENT's done perfectly, it's making good burgers. I wouldn't blame an alien for defecting just for the burgers) and climbed out of the pool. Grinning, I walked towards the board.

"Dawn, where're you going?" I turned around, looking at Eina.

"To have some fun!" I ran, my feet slapping against the wet floor until I reached the stairs. I gripped the bar, and began to climb up until I reached the top, overlooking the pool. Man, this felt high. I stepped onto the board, surveying the place. My friend group's eyes laid solely on me, wondering if XCOM's Resident Teenager™ would take the jump.

"What's that?" I asked sarcastically. "You want me to come down?" I grinned.

I was in the moment. I just felt like I had to do it. I did crazy shit every day, things I'd never done before. Why not add this to the list?

I took a step back, one leg in front, one leg behind, like a sprinter. My grin widened and I took off, leaping off the board, feeling the rush as I flew off.

"Caaaaanonball!" I curled up best as I could, feeling as I descended downwards towards the water. In that instant, that moment, I felt like a kid again. Swimming with my sister during summers, not a care in the whole damn world. Playing in the grass behind our house. Our cheers of joy when the ice cream truck stopped by. I can remember it so vividly, just letting yourself go and just...have...fun.

My curled-up body hit the water, sending up a huge splash as I sunk under. I looked up, and spread out my limbs, embracing the cool feel of the water as my hair flowed freely. I looked down at the depths, then up, at the surface. I swam up, surfacing, shaking some water off of my face.

Okay. That was awesome.

"Dawn! You good?" Lian swam over to me, inquiring.

"Good? I feel great!" The rush I felt- the excitement I felt from that- was absolutely wonderful. "That was awesome!" I noticed Lian's confused expression. "I just...wanted to. I've never done something like that before." She raised an eyebrow. Then, she started laughing.

"That look on your face, Dawn! I've never seen you smile that much before."

"Wait, what?"

"It lasted for a second. But you looked...well, genuinely happy."

Was it the memory? Odd. "Huh. Well, you got any food left?"

"Oh yeah." I followed her back to our little group, where they were chowing down on some burgers, along with two six-packs.

"Dawn! I saw your jump. Not bad!"

"Thanks, Barbara. Is that beer?"

"Yeah! What, you've never seen it before?"

I snorted. "Of course. Is that even allowed?"

"As long as it doesn't affect your performance." She sipped one.

I gulped. "Um...can I try one?"

That got me a few looks. They all looked at one another.

"Is that even allowed?" Lian asked Eina.

"I mean, she's above eighteen."

"It's eighteen where I come from," Eina stated. "And it's not like she's going to drink the whole thing. Even so, it's not like she'd get drunk from one beer. Besides, she's mature. It's not like she'll down a bunch like a partier." The women looked at one another. Finally, Vihhelmina spoke.

"Alright Dawn, here you go." She grabbed a bottle, took off the top with her psionics, and floated it over to my hand. "But if you feel weird, drowsy, or anything, tell us. Got it?"

"Got it."

I held the cold bottle, looking at the corny symbol on it. I'd heard from friends that it tasted to varying degrees - some said it was like heaven, others like piss. I shook the bottle a little, watching the liquid swish around.

Why not? Well, bottoms up. I put the bottle to my mouth, and kicked my head back, taking a sip. It was cold, and the taste hit me a second later, as I put the bottle down. It tasted like...sour coffee. And I didn't even like coffee that much.

They must've noticed my blanched face.

"You alright there?"

I gulped. "You guys drink this shit? It tastes horrible!" They laughed.

"Is this your first time trying it?" Barbara asked curiously.

"Yes."

"If you want to, try another sip. You might get used to it. At least in my experience."

"Really?" I felt a little ashamed. I'd embarrassed myself in front of them, hadn't I?

"Hey, everyone has their first time for something, sooner or later. Hell, I had my first drink at sixteen! I accidentally drank some of my dad's vodka thinking it was water, and I puked my guts out that night!" Vihhelmina chuckled. I awkwardly smiled. Ooo-kay then. She noticed my slight smirk.

"Ah, everyone's done something stupid when they were young." I reluctantly took another drink. The taste was strong.

"This is really strong. Pretty sour too." I stuck out my tongue, as if trying to get the taste out of my mouth. I put the bottle down, opting for another burger. Tasty.

"Not a fan?"

"Eh." I shrugged. "Not a fan. Taste is too strong. Maybe another day." Look at that, another milestone in my life. On this day, I had my first beer. Well, sip really. Add that to the list of firsts I've done here, which includes but is not limited to- meeting my first alien, meeting my first eldritch tentacle god, et cetera. "I feel old already."

"Really now?"

"Well, yeah. I mean-" I gestured to myself. "I'm still a teenager, but I feel like I 'moved up in the game of life' in a huge way if you know what I mean. I...well, I miss a lot of stuff from, well before."

"Like what?" Eina stated, curiously.

"A lot of things. Going out with my friends, talking, messing around, and just...well, being ourselves. Hell, I even miss having my hair grown out. I know that sounds so damn petty, but…" I grabbed my phone, opened it up, and scrolled through my images, until I found a picture. It was a selfie of me right before graduation, me trying out my graduation clothing.

"Do I look better with my hair longer or shorter?" They got closer, eyeing the image.

"Wow...you look pretty different without your augs." Lian commented. "You look kind of...smaller."

"Smaller?"

"Your muscles and body. Without the augs, you seem thinner." Huh. I took a look at my arms, then at the picture me's arms. She had a point. Definitely less muscle on me than before. The hexagons, too. Without them, my skin looked more...well, normal. More human. I'd gotten used to all my new looks by now, no doubt. But sometimes when I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt distant from the person that stared back.

Inside, I was still me. But outside? The long, brown hair that defined my looks for so many years was gone, my brown eyes that looked oddly similar to that of chocolate, now outlined with almost that of a sickly yellow. My mind...well, that was another story.

Kind of felt like every day, I slowly lost a piece of myself.

But if I wanted to do this- which I definitely did, then that was one of them I had to give up.

"Dawn? You alright?" I looked up at Barbara. "You-"

"I'm okay. In fact…" I smirked. "I actually feel kind of great. Really great. And no, it's not just the party."

"What is it?"

"What is it, Vihelmina? I don't know how to say this, but I feel older. More mature. And I'm okay with that." I looked at the phone again, putting it aside. "When I was in senior year, I worried a lot about college. Which one I'd go to, what degree I would major in, the money, going away from home, being independent, all of that seemed so scary to me. I'd always worried that I'd be alone, that I'd never have any interests that would get me anywhere in life."

I paused for a moment. "I always thought I'd be stuck wandering aimlessly, never finding something to truly do or believe in. And then - all this happened. Like out of a story or something on TV. And it made me push myself. I joined the PRIESTs. I discovered my power, tamed it, and I became invested in it. I found something I could do, and genuinely do something with it. I had my dark moments, yeah. But you know what? I was kind of happy. And then XCOM came knocking."

"I said yes because I wanted to learn. Grow. Develop. Master this strange new power I had, and use it to help people. But I doubt I'd be here today if it weren't for people like you, Vihelmina. Lian. Barabra. Eian. People who supported me. Cared. You could have chosen to ignore me, to act like I was just some kid playing catch-up with the big leagues. But no. You all chose to help me, give me advice, teach me how to do things."

I stared at the picture of me in that cap and gown, so happy, yet so different. I sighed. "The girl in that photo isn't me anymore. I can't ever be her again. But I can become better than her. Stronger. Smarter. I'd want to make that past me proud." I looked at the group of women in front of me. "And you know what? I think that if she was here right now, she'd be proud of me and what I've done."

"I remember that first night. I was in my bed, crying. I felt hopeless. Alone. Like no one got me, understood me. And then you guys came along, helped me out of bed, talked to me, calmed me down, helped me get some clarity. You're my family now. Always will be. And for that?" I smiled.

"I fuckin' love you guys. Every single one of you."

Damnit, if only I could hug all of them right now at once. But they all just smiled at me.

"You're part of our family too, Dawn. To some of us, you're like a little sister."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. You're younger than a lot of us, add some youth to our group, and well, you're different. But in a good way." Okay, I kind of blushed there. I was about to respond, but another soldier waded over.

"We're doing a group picture. Want in?" Oh hell yes. We followed her, and the soldiers arranged themselves for the group pic. I placed myself in the front, still in the water. The phone floated up. Sigh. Telekines and their powers.

"Say cheese!" I smiled as wide as I could, flashing a V for Victory sign with my right hand, just like my grandpa did in his old war photos.

This one's for you, gramps. Continuing the Conley family tradition of taking down tyrants. You took down the Nazis, Uncle Frederic took down the Caliphate, and now here I am, taking down the Collective.

Cheers.

Praesidium, Entertainment Room #4

6/20/17 - 8:47 PM

The armored man charged into the room, picking up the aliens with telekinesis and crushing them. The Ethereal looked up from the hologram table and charged at him, firing shockwaves eerily reminiscent of Dynamo psionics. The soldier dodged the blasts, pulling a belt of grenades from his waist and leaped at the Ethereal.

The Ethereal fired another volley- but he was too late. The man flew over the Ethereal's helmet, slinging the belt of grenades around its throat, and landing on the floor, as it exploded behind him. And of course, in typical trope fashion, he did not look at the explosion.

"Heads up." The soldier said, before walking out of the room, leaving both a corpse and sighs from the people crowded around the TV.

Behind me, leaning over the couch in a totally not ominous fashion, Sierra sighed dryly. "If only it was that easy to kill an Ethereal."

"I know. Tell me about it. The guy didn't even have any mental protection. The Ethereal could've just killed him with a telepathic attack and be done for." Clifton, a dynamo psion who'd also fought the Battlemaster's avatar, like Sierra, was here too. He was German, like Geist, but thankfully much more emotionally open and could take (and crack) jokes.

"At least the grenade thing was a nice trick. But he easily could've gotten his neck snapped or something if that Ethereal was even remotely good at telekinesis," I added in. I had seen quite a bit of the XCOM TV show with my friends back in the PRIESTs (which was quite notorious among XCOM soldiers for being cheesy), but binging it with them had become something of a fun pastime. And hey, any excuse to sit around, have fun, and down tons of popcorn and soda that would've made my parents revile at the sheer sight of it was something I'd take.

"None of you have considered the fact that even a young Ethereal easily could have killed him before he got in the room. Even my infant self could have decimated him with little effort."

Oh yeah, and Caelior was here too.

"Well, that's something too, I guess," I said, shoving more popcorn into my mouth. "But hey, it's still fun to watch. It's like that 'so bad it's good' kind of thing, know what I'm saying?"

But in the end, we were just poking jabs at the show. It was fun to watch, but we couldn't help but poke a little bit at its tropes.

"Nothing like what you thought XCOM would be like, Dawn?" Blake Harkin, a medic, jokingly asked from across the room.

"A more cheesy version, I guess. Is it true they ask you guys for advice on some of the material?"

"Oh yeah. They send us stuff to 'approve' or 'change' all the time. Hell, some of the characters are outright based on real XCOM soldiers and staff." Clifton interjected. That didn't really surprise me - the 'Commander' in the show kind of looked like him, except with a much nicer demeanor. The show's version of Patricia had, thankfully, not defected and was in a relationship with a guy who was definitely not Creed. Although I had to give to them on the 'Quisilia was the defector instead of Aegis' part. That got some laughs out of me.

I wondered if they were going to make an equivalent of Caelior. That'd be something.

Or me. That would be...odd.

"Can you imagine if they made a character based off of me?" I wondered. "That'd be a hell of a ride."

Sierra snorted. "I doubt they'd do that. And even if they did, it'd probably be some stereotypical version of you."

"Guess that's true. Although to be honest, I don't think any of you expected a teenager to be serving alongside you guys. Uh, no offense Caelior."

"None taken."

"But hey. I appeal to the teen demographic. I'm a potential source of recruitment, if you think about it. 'If this teenager can fight the aliens, then so can you!' That kind of thing. Besides, it'd be an interesting character."

She hummed in thought. "I could see that working, as long as they wrote him or her right and found a proper actor."

"Right. Well, I didn't know you guys held this show in such a high regard." I said sarcastically.

"Oh, it's not that bad," Sierra interjected. "This is all one hundred percent intentional, and actually rather brilliant in some ways. Sure, it may take the things we do and make it more...optimistic for the common viewer, but it's for the people. It's meant to inspire them. Make them feel better about the war. It's more interesting than making it a standard 'gritty' show."

At least the show didn't seem to have the dreaded 'couple's curse' like some soldiers here rumored that XCOM had.

I shrugged as we turned our attention back to the show, which was some kind of briefing with a group of soldiers standing in a briefing room around a hologram. They were planning out some kind of mission. Quisilia was there - the show version of him anyway, giving exposition for why so-and-so was important.

"Um, does anyone know if that's actually the Ethereal Memelord™, or just a CGI one?" I asked, with a slightly nervous tint.

"It would not surprise me if it was indeed Quisilia, not an extremely similar replica," Caelior answered. "The voice is remarkably similar."

"Seems like something he'd do," Blake added on. "Although if that actually is him, that raises even more questions. Do XCOM and ADVENT actually know it's him, and if they do, do they just not care?"

Sierra shrugged. "I'm sure XCOM and ADVENT have a handle on it if it actually is the real deal."

"Whatever the case, it's still interesting." We turned our attention back to the TV, where it showed the Skyranger being loaded up with soldiers, then taking off.

"Ha! If only the real Skyranger held that many people!" Sierra chortled.

"At least the armor looks accurate. Guns look and sound the same, too." Meanwhile, the team leader was giving the run-down to the rest of the squad.

"We have intel that suggests the enemy intends to capture the town's populace for experiments. We need to stop them before it's too late!"

"Sounds like XCOM's old ops, before the war began," Blake commented. "Haven't gone on one of those in a long time."

I didn't comment, as I most certainly had no experience with that. The squad landed outside of the town, moving in, using the shops as cover. Suddenly, they came under fire from a very realistic-looking group of Vitakara.

"Damn, their special effects have improved," Clifton commented. The squad's psion uses telekinesis to lift and smash the Vitakara into a nearby building, killing them. I whistled. Damn, not bad. Messy, but not bad. They moved up into the town square, where a group of civilians were seemingly being held hostage by Sectoids.

"I doubt the Sectoids would have kept the hostages alive this long," Caelior noted. He was right. Sectoids didn't really have emotions. But, it was a show, not real life. I kept watching. A burly-looking Sectoid held a plasma pistol to a civilian's head, which the team leader was looking for a shot. Suspenseful music began to play. I ate more popcorn, waiting for the inevitable heroic movement.

The leader adjusted his aim, shooting the Sectoid in the leg. When the Sectoid recoiled, he blasted his head apart, followed up by the other members killing the remaining Mutons, freeing the civilians. The team did a high-five, and the show cut to them flying back to headquarters, chatting.

"Ah yes, I too enjoy a total victory after five kills." Sierra snorted, as the sniper pulled out a full cigar and lit it with a psionic flame. The show continued on for a few more minutes, with the 'Commander' and not-Vahlen talking, and kissed at the end, cutting to credits.

Aaaaand now they're a thing. Welp, time to turn on the death timer.

The preview for the next episode began playing as the credits rolled. It cut to a picture of what looked like a Temple Ship. An Ethereal was sitting on a chair, staring at a map. It stood up, and walked towards the camera, and it looked like it had some kind of melee weapon on its back.

"Is that supposed to be the Battlemaster?" I asked.

"Looks like it. Guess they're upping the show now that Trask is the enemy."

"It's good they keep up with the modern war. Can't wait to see them have every line he does a melodramatic speech."

"I'd expect them to have him ham it up," Sierra said. "At least, that's what I'd do if I were in charge."

"I'm glad I'm watching this with you all now," I said. "Hell, we liked it back before I joined you guys. We'd watch it every week. But watching it with you guys is even more fun, now that I know what's going on behind the scenes."

"That's great, Dawn." Sierra nodded at me. I smiled back.

"Same time next week, everyone?"

We all nodded in response to Clifton's question. As the credits finished, we got off the couch, and began to disperse, I sat on the couch for a few more minutes, chewing and drinking.

Moments like these made XCOM worth it ten times over. Some things just never got old.

Carreria's Quarters, Paperclip Base

6/22/17 - 2:23 PM

"And that's me and my sister, four days old." I zoomed in on the picture, giving my fur-coated friend a closer look.

"You are so tiny when your kind are babies. Borelian babies are...larger than that. Add more hair as well. I do not know how your kind are so small, yet so intimidating and violent at the same time."

"Part of our nature, I guess. Humans overall evolved in a much more competitive environment then Vitakarians did. I'm no scientist, so I can't really pin it down, but if I had to make a guess, it's probably the way we evolved."

She unexpectedly chortled at that, but didn't say anything as I continued. "Compared to you guys, we've done a lot of really bad shit you guys can't even imagine. But that's another story." I looked at her. "Do you have anything about your family you could show me?"

"Anything for a friend." She reached over to grab a tablet she'd brought in with her, hit a few buttons, and slid it over to me. "See? My family." The picture showed what I assumed to be a mother and father - the latter smaller than the other, compared to humans. The mother's hair looked more similar to Carreria's, while her dads' was a more dark grey compared to her snow-white fur.

She definitely looked like her parents, that was for sure.

"That was me when I turned eleven."

"Eleven? You're huge, even at that age!"

She shrugged. "Not atypical for a female of my age. Even then I was one of the best in my fighting class in school."

"F-fighting class?"

If she had an eyebrow, she was probably raising it. "Humans don't teach their young self-defense?"

"Um...no. Marital arts and stuff like that is outside of school."

She shook her head. "I suppose it should not surprise me. For such a violent species, you do not necessarily cultivate it at a younger age."

"Fighting, guns, and things like that aren't really valued that much unless you're in the military or police. Or certain government agencies," I shrugged. "But in a way, you are right. But I couldn't imagine school-age me fighting people. Well, back before I joined XCOM, of course. Tell me about your family."

"Father was the best father he could be. He was an amazing cook, and taught me almost everything I know of non-militant life."

"He was a homemaker?"

"That sounds like the correct word. Our men fulfill the domestic roles. When my mate and I decide to have children, I have no doubt that he would be an excellent father. He is a very caring individual."

"Aww. I could be an aunt then!"

She laughed heavily. "You as an aunt! That is...that is a good one! Imagine my family's reaction if they found that out. 'Mother, father, here is my baby, and this little human here is her aunt!' I am kidding, though. That is a very kind offer from you. Do you plan to have any children?"

I shook my head. "I never really gave it that much thought. My only life plan for now is to serve with XCOM. Hopefully if I live long enough, hell, I could help newly awakened telepaths manage their abilities. Maybe even if another human biopath shows up...but I doubt that'll happen. I just never really liked kids, I guess. My sister on the other hand, she'd be a great mom."

Carreria considered that. "Understandable. You are committed to your job and duty. That is a very respectable trait among my people. In fact, that is how my mate and I met!"

"Indeed we did." I looked up, and saw a grey-colored Borelian enter her quarters. "You must be the Dawn my wife has been talking so much about!"

"I'm guessing you're Sandeath?" I offered him a hand, which he shook.

"Indeed." His voice oddly enough sounded lighter and softer then Carreria's. He was still quite physically intimidating, with a lot of muscles and a large body like Carreria's, but smaller and a bit more lithe than her.

"Sandeath!" She got up, and they bear-hugged. They then proceeded to do some kind of strange show of...affection? They nuzzled each other for a minute, then did some strange head-alternate thing, like a dance. Carreria put her head on Sandeath's right shoulder, Sandeath placed his head on her right shoulder. They would switch places after a few seconds. This strange...head...dance...thing of Borelian love went on for about a minute before they stopped.

"Ah, Dawn. That is how Borelian lovers greet one another. 'The alternating of two loving minds' is roughly what you'd call it. When we were primitive, we would do it to smell one's pheromones. Now, it's more of a tradition, although it does serve as a biological function. But," He took her hand. "It is a sign of love, just as you humans kiss."

Ok, that's kind of sweet.

"So, how exactly did you two meet?"

"Well, I was at the firing range of my base in Borelia. I'd just gotten promoted. This was a while before the war began. I was showing some Vitakarian recruits how shooting was really done. Fragile little guys, I tell you. I took the heads off of nine targets in a matter of seconds. Soon as I was done, and they were dismissed, this guy walked up to me."

"A dashing guy, if I recall correctly." Sandeath amended. If Borelians blushed, she would've, no doubt about it.

"He walked up to me, and said 'I've never seen a female shoot that well before.' I just looked at him like he was crazy and was thinking who is this male? I've never seen him before. So I offered to show him again, which I did. We kept talking, and well…"

"So let me get this straight. You." I pointed to Sandeath. "Found her gunplay attractive?" He chuckled.

"I was simply impressed with her skill! I had never seen someone shoot like that before. It would have been rude not to compliment such exceptional marksmanship."

So all you need for a Borelian to date you is to be good with a gun. Huh. They must have noticed the confused look on my face.

"I am certain it seems odd to an alien; but such encounters are fairly commonplace as a starting point," she said. "We do have 'dating,' in a sense like you, though it is not necessarily kickstarted the same way as other aliens. Believe me, you humans do plenty of things that you see as normal while we would struggle to comprehend how you do it."

"Like what?"

"Your 'alcohol'. It has been shown that consuming large portions can be extremely dangerous to your health and others'. Yet your people drink it so much!"

I was going to answer, but I stopped for a moment. "Okay. I get your point." Cultural differences. "I'm sorry if I sounded kind of insensitive."

She waved me off. "Don't mention it. You are simply being curious. I'm sure my mate and I can answer any questions you may have?"

"Any?"

"You are a friend, Dawn. Of course."

"What was it like seeing Aegis in South Korea? It must have been terrifying for you, to be facing someone of such power."

They both looked at one another, then back at me. "Terrifying is not the right word. You must understand, our species almost reveres the Ethereals. The idea of fighting one is...unthinkable to us. I was on the front lines, Sandeath was working on communications. I saw Aegis just...stand there in front of us. None of us knew what to do. It was like seeing a god before you. You didn't know if to bow, run, or fight. Some of us did...and he just tore through them like it was nothing." She paused.

"So we ran towards him in groups, the Vitakara did at least, of all races. The Mutons and Sectoids, mindless beasts they are, kept shooting. The Andromedons just fled."

"And now you're here."

They each gripped their hands. "Yes. The ADVENT soldiers took our groups in without firing a shot. They restrained us and kept us in a base. I was fret with worry my love had not survived. I thought he was dead or missing for hours. Finally, I noticed more soldiers escorting more prisoners, and I saw him in the line!"

Sandeath jumped. "I thought she was dead, too. Fighting an Ethereal…" He shivered. "I can't imagine it. I thought she was dead for sure, When ADVENT charged the base, I gave up without a fight. It is difficult to describe how I felt when I saw her. I freaked out. I kept yelling her name, she kept yelling my name, so on and so on until the soldiers stopped us."

"The guards eventually figured out what was going on, and they both put us in the same holding center. We were so happy to see each other. Hugging, crying, very emotional. I felt bad for the two other Vitakara in there. They must have felt so uncomfortable!" Sandeath laughed. Borelian laughs always threw me off. It sounded like a combination of a lion's growl and a hyena's 'laugh'.

So unnerving, yet so unique at the same time. Couldn't choose which one it was.

"And you ended up here."

"Yes." Carreria took it from there. "We were interrogated. First time I'd felt telepathy. Not something that I particularly enjoyed. We were confused. Scared. Then they put us all in a room, and Aegis walked in. He...graced us. Then he told us everything. We saw the pictures. The videos of Paradise and the Hive. After that, we felt...lost. Like nobodies."

"Yesterday, we were soldiers of a glorious cause. Now, we were mere pawns, following liars and a river of blood spilled for no good reason. I couldn't live with myself after finding out what I'd been fighting for. I was lost. Without purpose. We did not know what to do. But then we talked, and we came to a decision. We could have participated in the AEGIS Integration program, living alongside humans. But we felt like we owed your kind a debt. We had both either directly or indirectly killed many of you, and we needed to repay that debt. So, here we are. In XCOM. Both of us."

"I respect that a lot." I said.

Carreria had told me a shortened version earlier, but this gave it more emotional depth. I couldn't even try to imagine what it felt like to lose all your purpose, to have your whole world turned upside down, to realize the people you were so valiantly fighting for were the bad guys who had done things beyond anything a nightmare could ever possibly conjure.

How the hell do you even recover from a revelation like that?

"It must've been hard. Getting used to humans being your friends and allies couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't. It took a while to get used to being around your kind. But XCOM has taken excellent care of us. Looking back, I can say with absolute certainty that the 'reasoning' behind our invasion was quite flawed. I sympathize much, much more with Humans now. I never thought I'd be saying that, but I am."

"And I never thought I'd be fighting against aliens with purple space magic. I guess we all feel out of place in one way or another." I responded. "Though after the invasion, I doubt there'll ever be a 'normal' again with how ADVENT and XCOM have changed things. Not that I'm complaining really. Look at the alternative of the Collective losing."

"Indeed. After looking at your people's history, I see now that my people are not as free as I once imagined."

"Yes." I corrected her husband...mate. Eh, saying mate sounded a little weird. Husband just sounded better.

"Right. I can't imagine what they're saying about us back home. They've probably told our families we are traitors. Or dead."

I gritted my teeth. "Well technically, you are a traitor. In a good way, of course. They're just using that word to make it sound like the reason you joined us was bad."

He nodded. "Perhaps one day we will be able to go back and see our families. Then, perhaps the Vitakara as a whole can finally be free to find their own path in the galaxy."

"And we'll help you." I said. "I mean, if you wanted to, the two of you could definitely live here. We have quite a few places on Earth as cold as Borelia, I'm sure."

"We appreciate your concern, Dawn. But Borelia is our home, and we hope to return someday and help our people rebuild it into something better. It would not be right not to."

"Well, I'm sure I can find a way to help you do that."

She smiled. "You already have."

"How?"

"By being our friend, of course. Our people will need allies after this war. I severely doubt the Collective will have any influence on us after this war is over. Like it or not, humanity is helping us, Be it with helping the Nulorian, killing Collective soldiers, what have. And humans like you show that our races both can work together."

"Poetic."

She rumbled. "Who said Borelians can't be poetic every so often?"

I shrugged. "Hey, I never saw any of your baby pictures. Where are they?"

She froze, and her eyes went wide when Sandeath chuckled. "This will be fun."

Dreamscape

6/23/17 - 1:05 PM

The bricks, Dawn. Imagine the bricks that make them up.

There we go. Feel the bonds, grab a hold of them. Make them yours.

Ah...there we go. It was hard to explain to a non-biopath how it felt mentally latching onto someone's cellular structure. When you had taken over, it felt like a hand picking up a glob of that crappy dollar-store goop parents would buy for their little kids to keep them busy. Only you were the hand, and the goop was the subject. You could mold it and shape it any way you wanted, manipulating the very fabric of what made someone into, well anything.

Or you could just melt them.

Geist and I had discussed potential uses of biopathy outside of warfare. The possibilities of biopathy, even for civilian fields alone, were immense. Encouraging rapid plant growth, ending cancerous growth in both humans and animals - and that wasn't even mentioning chemistry! I wasn't a chemist myself, but cellular manipulation to possibly cause reactions in chemical compounds was something Geist had considered, due to his expertise in that field.

"You have a gift not many have. It is important to consider how this can be used beyond military purposes. The application of psionics will go beyond the battlefield and into our daily lives when the war is concluded, and will impact the lives of many more beyond the battlefield. Consider what role you may have when that point comes."

Odd as he may have been, I don't think anyone else could've been a better teacher for me. He may act like he has a stick up his ass sometimes, but he knows his shit, and uses it well. He teaches, and does it well. I can see now why his students liked him so much.

Well, in a way I was wrong, In the best-case scenario, there was one other person who could teach me, but the reality of that happening was a far cry from reality. No, no, Dawn. Get that stupid idea out of your head. There is no fucking way the Dead Man himself would surrender to us. For all I know, he could be planning to lead another offensive. Wouldn't be like how Aegis said in his file, but then again, the guy was dead for a real long time. Who knows what it might do to someone's mind.

And even if he did, would he even train me? Would he see me as not strong enough? Not smart or skilled enough to be considered worthy? And if I did fight him, would he take pity on me, or try and capture and turn me into one of those Avatar things?

Fuck no. I'm not going to let them take me alive. Over my dead body. Literally.

I shook my head. Back to melting people. Next time Aegis would train with me, I'd ask him about Mortis.

"Dawn?" Geist.

"Oh. Hey. Just contemplating."

"Concerning what?" Good. He wasn't looking into my mind. He'd stopped doing that after our first few lessons.

"Possibilities, Geist. I've been thinking about what else I can do with my biopathy."

He nodded sharply. "Good. You have considered the possibilities?"

"Definitely. I have some ideas written back in the Barracks. Plant stuff. But I've been wondering if, well, I possibly might be able to do the other biopathy?"

"The 'other biopathy?'"

"What Sana can do. Think about it. I can tell things to melt. It'd be possible I could do the opposite, right?"

"In the future, perhaps. But that is not what you are inclined towards right now. Dividing your focus serves no one, least of all yourself."

"I know. But there's a part of me that just keeps on wondering what else I could do with my powers." I looked at my hands. "I'm a powerful psion. I want to use my powers, But I don't want to waste them."

"It's good that you're not worrying about your power."

"Not exactly. I still am, I'm just thinking about how to best manage it. Expand it. Use it right so I don't have to worry."

He raised an eyebrow. "While I approve of your initiative, as your teacher, I'd advise you to focus on what we've been training for. Ideas and curriculums can be discussed later. For now, your natural biopathic inclinations are our mission."

"Alright. Another time, then. Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"What was it like? Facing the Overmind?"

He apprised me. "Overwhelming."

"Oh..."

"He is arguably the most dangerous threat we face. The scale implied by our dossier is inadequate. Only the Imperator is more dangerous. I am not ready to properly face him, nor is anyone in XCOM with the exception of the Chronicler."

He paused. He looked almost...discomforted. I rarely ever saw emotion out of him. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that.

"And if it isn't clear, Miss Conley, the capability to stand against a Sovereign Agent is very, very bad. Were it not for him, I would not have come back, nor would the rest of the squad." When he said that last part, I felt something. A little, brief twinge in his emotions.

Was that sadness?

"I-I'm sorry, Geist. I didn't mean to-" He held up a hand.

"You were asking a question, as any worthwhile student would do. If there is one lesson to take, it is that under no circumstances are you to operate where there is the chance the Overmind may lurk. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

He waved a hand. "Let us move on. There was something I intended to inquire - Your sleeping trick during one of the tests. You did it because you wanted to 'free them'?"

"Right. I felt like some of them deserved another chance. Vitakara in particular. I don't plan on doing it to the others. It's pointless. The Vitakara have been the victims of the Ethereals for decades."

"Victims?" Geist raised an eyebrow. "The Ethereals saved their species from extinction. They allowed them to prosper. They wanted for nothing, outside of membership in the Collective. The Vitakara are many things. Gullible. Useful. Naive. But they are not victims, Miss Conley. The Mutons are victims. The Vitakara are willing vassals."

"I know that. But part of me feels bad for them. I know that sounds really naive, but there's this part of me that feels like they need another chance. They have families like us, too, and….."

I wasn't selling my talking point very well, was I? He had a valid point. The Mutons were victims too- enslaved, reduced to beasts instead of being left alone and letting their evolutionary path take them into what could've been a prosperous civilization.

"Goddamnit. I just feel like they are victimized, in a way. Being ruled by a police state and all. I just want to stop the Ethereals from all the fucked up shit they've done to them and others. I guess I'm still getting used to actually killing people. I see into their minds, and unlike the others, I see families, kids, emotions, lives...they just feel different from the rest of the combatants."

Geist considered what I said for a moment before responding. "That is understandable. But the Vitakara are not as willing or capable of upending their entire culture and beliefs as you believe. The defectors are the minority - and more importantly, they aren't here because they suddenly realized the flaws of the Aui'Vitakar. They're here because they saw an Ethereal and began questioning if they were supporting the right Ethereal. Remember that. These are aliens. They are not us, nor hold our views or have our mindset. They are good allies, but do not think they are the same as us."

My shoulders slumped. He was right. What was I thinking, putting myself in such a naive worldview? The Mutons were the real victims

"You're right. I guess I just didn't think it all the way through. I'm sorry if I sounded dumb or ignorant back there. I just...I guess I'm still wrapping my head around combat and killing people on the battlefield. It would put my teammates and I in unnecessary danger, and would just be a waste of time. I'm sorry. Geist."

God, I felt young and dumb.

He obviously noticed the very clearly embarrassed look on my face. "You are still learning and adapting to this. It is a normal reaction from someone of your background. I have no issue with you coming to a wrong conclusion or stating something questionable - because you have the rare ability to understand when you are wrong, and change your mind. Not many people have that skill. Do not come down on yourself for coming to the wrong conclusion, be proud of yourself for changing your mind and coming to the correct one."

I nodded. "I know sir, and I'll be more thoughtful before making statements and judgements like that next time."

He patted me on my armored shoulder. I'd gotten more used to wearing it. Honestly, it sometimes felt better then the fatigues I wore everywhere else. I'd never really gotten to wear regular clothes that much, unless it was nighttime. I wore my Black Templars shirt to bed occasionally. I was surprised it still fit me. Granted, I hadn't gotten taller, so I guess that was nice. Part of me wished the procedure had made me a little taller.

I wasn't comically short, just a bit smaller than all the adults. Made me feel kind of out of place sometimes. Then again, no one gave me any shit about it, so that was good and all.

"As long as you are aware, Miss Conley. Is there anything we should discuss before finishing?"

I considered what he said. "Yeah, there is one more thing."

"And what is that?"

"I'd like to thank you. Officially. For being my teacher and all. Putting up with my teenage bullshit and showing me how to use and grow my powers. I'm glad you used to be a teacher. It really shows when you teach me. I don't think I've really fully thanked you like this, so. Yeah. I know I still have a ways to go, but thank you Geist, truly. For all you've done for me."

He gave a single nod. "I appreciate that, Miss Conley. I have done my best, despite our differences in personality, but it has been a welcome experience. But you have been one of the better students I have had, which is no small feat. What I hope to achieve is setting you down a useful path. I can only teach so much; someday you will have to forge ahead on your own. I am confident that you will be a pioneer in your own right."

I smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot, coming from you. Maybe one day, I can train people thanks to how you trained me. You've done an excellent job of it."

"Perhaps you will. I suspect you will be a more personable one than I am. If you do not know, you will take it upon yourself to learn from others. Your initiative has been one of your most commendable traits."

"I want to get better, sir. Don't see any other way I can do that. It's started to become second nature."

A small, satisfied smile grew on his face. "Then it seems I've done something right."

Yes, Geist. It looks like you have.

To be continued in:

Bane of the Dread Lord