Barracks, Praesidium

10/29/17- 10:47 AM

"Afternoon, Lian."

"Afternoon, Dawn."

I walked out of the bathroom in my swimwear, yawning. It'd been a long day- shooting, eating, even a little bit of brawling. I'd gotten better at hand-to-hand fighting, though not by much. Getting put in a headlock with tons of people watching wasn't exactly satisfying, but it was thrilling - hell, I'd almost accidentally broken Tang's nose.

Close call if I ever saw one.

I was dressed in my usual swimwear- bikini top and bottom, flip-flops on my feet, and messed-up hair. I didn't really care about anyone seeing my scarred feet - they were more a symbol of pride than anything else. As I went to my bed to find a t-shirt and shorts, the usual melange of sounds filled the air - multilingual conversation, the occasional curse word, people talking or leaving, occasionally moving back and forth as they tried to get an afternoon nap in.

"Look who's getting ready to go swimming." Lian said as I climbed into the bed on top of her, taking off my flip flops. "Back in action already?"

"Can't keep me down. No rest for the wicked. But that doesn't mean I can't have some fun."

"Your feet don't hurt, do they?"

I shook my head.

She shrugged. "Just asking. They seemed pretty torn up. They didn't offer prosthetics?"

"Nope." I smiled. "Why? Tired of seeing these ugly mugs everywhere?"

She snorted. "Nope. Waking up to your baby face staring down at my ass everyday is punishment enough."

We both laughed.

"Dawn."

I looked to the left, seeing a very tall and imposing Bassama standing next to my bunk.

"Fuck!" I yelped. "A little warning next time?"

She gave a small smile. "Maybe." She jerked a thumb in the general direction of the entrance. "Creed wants to see you."

My eyebrows shot up. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Something about a mission."

I got out of the bed, my feet hitting the floor as I hurriedly put some clothes and footwear on, speedwalking through the barracks, turning several corners, before gingerly stepping through one of the doors where Creed, still in his dress uniform, was leaning against the wall.

"Evening, Dawn." I could sense he was tired. "I'm sorry I had to inform you about this, but this was a last minute decision." He looked down at my shirt for a moment, seemingly interested. "Hey, isn't that the shirt you wore when you got here?"

"What, this?" I pulled on the shirt a little, looking at it. "Oh yeah, Black Templars shirt. Damn. Really has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Indeed." He gave a little smile. "You've grown a lot since then. Certainly exceeded my expectations. So, Dawn, how would you like to go to Africa?"

"Africa?"

He nodded. "With your performance, the Commander thinks it's time to up your operations. We're thinking of several places, since the SAS has been pushing it, and Tobruk might be one of them."

"So I'd be defending the place?"

He nodded. "Correct. Standard mission parameters, Killing soldiers, high-value-targets, protecting friendly high-value-targets or areas, so on and so forth."

I raised an eyebrow, not sure how to feel. "I'm honored that you think I'm ready for this, but what exactly brought this on?"

"You showed a lot of responsibility and tact while in South America, Dawn. Taking out the cartels and the alien base - you put a dent in their operations. It'll take them months, if not over a year to recover." He grew serious. "More importantly, you're an XCOM soldier. This is your job, and we can't keep you in training forever."

"I see." I nodded. "And when would this be happening?"

"Unknown," he answered. "The situation's very fluid right now. Could be a week, two weeks, maybe sooner. I wanted to get your opinion before we determine your next assignment. There is no shortage of missions that need us."

I shrugged. "Sure. Sign me up."

"Alright. Thank you, Dawn. That's all. Good day."

"Thanks, Creed."

I walked back into the barracks, grabbing my stuff.

"What was that?" Lian's voice was slightly muffled under the bed.

"New mission. Maybe."

"Oh! Where?"

"Africa. Guess the SAS needs a little lesson in getting their ass kicked, I guess. Time to get dirty and sandy, I suppose."

She lightly hit the side of the bed. "Nice! Someone's moving up in the ranks! What's next, Psionic Overseer?"

"Ha!" I snorted. "In your dreams!"

"Whatever you say. See ya."

"See ya."

I walked out fully clothed, phone in my pocket and towel slung over my shoulder, as I made my way to the stairs.

This isn't so bad.

Peaceful, isn't it?

Can't have this forever.

I remembered how I'd been so nervous here a few months ago when I'd arrived.

How much I'd changed.

It reminded me of my first night with the PRIESTs, away from the family. Orientation was over, and we'd settled in. As I got ready to sleep, I heard some sobs from the other room. It was Mary - she was homesick. She'd never been away from home like this before - ever. I knocked on her door, opened it, and saw her sniffling face. I'd sat on the bed next to her, pulling her into a light hug, getting her to talk.

And talk we did.

I'd told her about the time I'd spent at summer camps, be it cabins in the forests of Tennessee or the bunks of Space Camp, and how I'd come to see the people around me like family. About how she was brave, like me, to come here and make this daunting decision for herself.

Like I had now.

And it'd worked.

When I had spent my first night here, I'd told myself to think of those times.

These people are your family now.

And family looks out for family.

Sure, this wasn't summer camp, but it was all an adventure unto itself. Granted, a messy one, but an adventure nonetheless.

Summer camp, huh?

It did make me wonder, though. I didn't know if Lily or me qualified for the title of 'XCOM's First Teenager', but something told me it'd happen again - no, it could. Sooner or later, word of me was going to get out, and that had to attract some attention. I mean, I'd make for a hell of a propaganda piece. Slap a teenage girl in some power armor, put her on posters everywhere, and tell the youth of the world that you can be just like her, too?

It'd sell like hotcakes.

More like me would come here, seeking a new life and new adventures. It was only a matter of time. Granted, not fuckups like Nico or those poor excuses for actors with pink Avatar masks (really, why pink, Quisilia?), but competent ones, like me.

Adults tended to underestimate us. 'Oh, you're too young'. 'Oh, you don't know what you're talking about'.

Ha. Says the adult who believes everything they see on the internet.

People like us could - can - make change. Lily made the SPARK, pieces of the psi armor, and who knew what else. I'd not only pioneered a whole new level of biology, but I'd shown the Commander that teens in XCOM could work on the battlefield, and Geist and I had been working on new aspects of telepathic theory.

Now that's a track record.

But it could happen. No. It needed to happen. XCOM needed to expand its horizons if it wanted to adapt.

And I had to be part of it, whether the adults liked it or not.

I just hoped I could make enough of an impact before I died.

Had to happen...expand horizons.

I'd seen what Violet did. How'd she'd grown and do so much with a Trask Level smaller than me. What Lily had done, younger and yet so much smarter than me. If nothing else, the SPARK was a true testament to her intellectual capability. Hell, Caelior technically counted as a teenager, and did I really have to explain anything more than that?

Shaking my head, I got into the elevator, hitting the proper button. As it began to move down, I opened up the notes app on my phone, opened up a new page, and began typing.

Bullet points. A list of ideas.

Plans.

I'd been thinking about this for a while, and it was about time I did this. I didn't care how late it was.

Now let's see here. You like your Greek names, don't you, Commander?

How does Hebe sound?

Five Minutes Later

The elevator stopped and the door opened. I put away my phone and walked until I got to the pool area. I stripped down to my swimwear, put my clothes and flip-flops in a locker, and went about my usual business. I walked to the edge, set my phone down, and jumped in.

I was near the bottom of the pool, gracefully gliding around, rolling around as my hair blew back, trailing like a sort of fifth limb from the back of my head. I looked up, seeing the figures of others in the pool lounging around, tossing a ball back and forth. There was something majestic about swimming underwater for such long periods of time, not having to worry about drowning - and not having to wear goggles, either.

I felt like some kind of sea creature more than a human.

I moved over to one of the walls, planting my feet and a hand against it, preparing to launch myself across to the other side. I looked at my free hand, noticing how the light from the pool complex's lights illuminated them through the clear blue water.

Beautiful.

I blasted off, my enhanced muscles propelling me through the water like a torpedo. As I moved to the other side, someone jumped into the pool next to me, motioning to me. I slowed my acceleration, recognizing Millie, the medic who'd been the referee for Sierra and Carmelita's arm wrestling match, pointing towards the surface. I surfaced, shaking my head.

"The hell, Millie?"

"You got something in your phone." She pointed to the edge. "Looked important."

Shaking my head, I nodded, swimming over to the edge and grabbing it, my wet hands manhandling it as I looked at the screen.

Oh fuck.

The message was short, simple.

Go to Briefing Room 2 as soon as you receive this message. Your assignment as part of Pharaoh Team in Operation Sekhmet is to defend Tobruk from the SAS and Collective. More information will be delivered shortly.

"Thanks, Millie!" I almost shouted.

"What was it?"

"Mission! Tell the others I'll be gone!"

"For how long?"

"Don't know!" I grabbed the phone, still soaking wet, and rushed into the locker room, grabbing my clothes. I threw them over my two-piece in record time, rubbed my face with a towel, and left, taking the elevator and awkwardly running to the armory, wet, my hair in shambles, in flip-flops.

Lovely.

Briefing Room 2, Praesidium

10/29/17- 11:30 AM

Yes, don't mind the teenage girl dressed weirdly and soaking wet. I have a city to save!

I knew I was probably breaking several dress code regulations (mainly vis a vis the flip flops) but were they gonna do, kick me?

I moved into the armory, found my locker, and grabbed my undersuit. I went into a changing room, stripped, put on my actual underwear, and then zipped up the suit. I walked out, stuffing my clothing in the locker. I looked at the armor, taking a deep breath.

This isn't going to be another South America.

You can do this.

Good.

Moving to the weapon section, I grabbed my psi-pistol, and was about to reach for the rifle when one of the Gravity Guns on the wall caught my attention.

Well, hello there little fella.

What do you say I use you for a bit, take you out for a spin?

Grabbing the weird-looking gun, I slung it over my back, putting my pistol at the hip. I put the phone in one of the suit's pockets, feeling satisfied as I looked at myself in the locker mirror as I closed the locker, walking out and towards the briefing room.

The squad itself was made of many veterans, most notably Fakhr Al Din, who was chatting with our other psion, Zemin Xue, a Dynamo. Fakhr was our resident Rocketeer, and she'd been one of XCOM's longest-serving soldiers, having fought in the Battle of the Citadel against the Ravaged One. She was no psion, but her whole demeanor said "Don't fuck with me".

Besides her, Qan Bao - our Squad Overseer - was talking with Manuel Mohr, our Gunner, his autocannon lying against the wall. Jason Andino, our Assault, was checking his Alloy Cannon. Standing off to the side, however, were the two more unique parts of this operation, our two resident aliens - a giant rock monster with hammers and a nope rope with fangs.

Okay, enough jokes, Dawn.

The Cobrarian, Runi'Nalena'Hala, was wearing her modified Warden armor with the helmet off, Venom Spitter in hand. I'd heard about the gun, and man, was I jealous. It was a neat little thing; it looked and acted like a shotgun, but instead of regular rounds or pellets, it fired a shotgun shell filled with venomous needles, and both wrecked armor and poisoned whatever poor soul got hit. It was useless against Custodians though, so she'd brought along a plasma pistol, just in case.

And then there was Xarian, our resident hammer-wielding Ravager.

Aside from his massive size and naturally rocky skin, he was wearing the Skeleton Framework version of our Titan Armor like a massive suit of power armor, strapped to his body. His helmet was off, showing just how...alien he looked compared to us. Sure, you could've said the same thing about Nalena, but in a way, she looked a lot like snakes you'd see in a pet shop or zoo, only way bigger. But Xarian? There wasn't any other lifeform I could think of that looked remotely like him.

He didn't have any guns, but he was packing some serious heat - a giant shield and hammer augmented with our Templar tech. I'd also seen him use two smaller twin hammers, but for this op, he was bringing the big guns and the big guns only.

He was the first to notice me enter, recognizing me from the soccer game and lumbering over to me.

"Dawn, yes?"

I put on a smile, trying to hide my slight fear from being towered over. "That's right. Good to see you again, Glad to have you on the team."

"I could say the same, little one."

"Ah, Dawn, You came." Qan walked over to me, edging past Xarian's hulking form. "You ready?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

He motioned towards an empty corner of the room. "Could I have a word?"

"Certainly, sir."

I followed him over to the empty corner, following the stares of the others. He clasped his hands together, looking at me. "This is your first large-scale battle, right?"

I nodded. "Yep."

He nodded. "I understand that this will be different for you. I understand you'll be worried about this. Me and the others are here not here to judge you. If anyone gives you any trouble, you tell me, alright?"

I nodded. "Of course, sir. I'm ready for this."

"Good. Let's get this show on the road."

I walked away from him, gathering around the table. The Commander arrived a moment later, us all standing at attention as he moved to the front.

"Welcome, Pharaoh Team. As you all know, the SAS has launched a large-scale counterattack against ADVENT positions across the African continent. You'll be heading to Tobruk, one such place being attacked. Your orders are to help defend it alongside the ADVENT soldiers stationed there, and wait for further orders. You'll be facing a mix of SAS soldiers and psions aided by Collective soldiers."

Fakhr raised a hand. "Any armored units we should be worrying about?"

"Some Heralds and Sectopods may be there, but ADVENT has the artillery and weapons there to fight them. Your biggest concern is going to be the SAS psions. There's not as many of them as there are PRIESTs, but they're well trained and powerful. Their main weakness is that they don't have a form of the Restraints like we do, so they're more vulnerable to telepathic attacks and control."

Qan looked at me. "Dawn? Can you handle them?"

I nodded. "If they don't have any strong telepaths protecting them, they shouldn't be an issue."

"Good. Anything else we should be informed of?"

"Nothing in particular." The Commander shook his head. "However, it's very possible that the SAS will intensify their efforts to take the city and bring reinforcements. If that happens, you will receive reinforcements as well. For now, though, you will be on our own out there." He straightened himself. "Any questions?"

We all shook our heads. It was simple and straightforward. Go in. Protect the city. Kill some bad guys.

"Very well. Report to Frozen Sky in the Hangar in thirty minutes. If you need to grab any gear, do so now. Good luck, everyone."

Good luck to me indeed.

As soon as he left, we walked out of the room, gathering outside the door.

"Alright. Anyone need to grab anything?"

We all shook our heads. "Very well. Let's get to the Hangar. I'd rather not keep our Skyranger waiting."

I followed the group, keeping up with them. Fakhr walked over to me, extending a hand. "Name's Fakhr Al Din, Dawn. But you can call me Fakhr. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Caught a little off guard by her sudden friendliness, I took it. "Thanks. Fakhr. Haven't met a longtime veteran like you since Carmelita."

She smiled. "Being a long-time veteran isn't half of it. Back in the Citadel if you told me we'd have friendly aliens-" She nodded to the two aliens up front, chattering to each other in Vitakarian. "-or teenagers working for us, I would've called you crazy. But now?" She shrugged. "Not to mention having our first Psionic Overseer turn against us…" She spoke in a voice, shaking her head.

"Did you know her well?"

She pursed her lips. "We weren't close, but I guess we were sort of friends. Being alive that long and seeing all that they threw at us, it drew us together a little."

"I can imagine." I said, trying to not sound annoying. "Must be weird remembering back when XCOM fought only small battles, eh?"

"Oh, you have no idea, Dawn. Back then, the only humans we were fighting were EXALT, and the most advanced stuff we had was laser rifles." She patted the chest of her Titan armor. "This makes all of that stuff look like junk now, but I'm not complaining. Speaking of…" She looked at the gun on my back. "Is that the Gravity Gun?"

"Sure is. Neat, innit?"

"Sure is." She eyed the strange-looking contraption, taking a step behind me to get a closer look. "Damn, that's a lot of dials. How do you remember to use all of those? Looks complicated."

I grinned. "Dreamscape practice. And if I forget, well.." I took the helmet hanging from my waist, putting it on with a click. "This baby's HUD reminds me."

She chuckled. "I like your enthusiasm, Dawn." We entered the hangar, Frozen Sky's engines humming as it sat on the ground, waiting for us. "Ready to kick some alien ass?" She offered a fist, which I bumped.

"Hell yeah. Let's do this."

Nothing can go wrong.

ADVENT Forward Operating Base, Tobruk- Libya

10/29/17- 12:50 PM

The Skyranger landed, the vehicle slightly shaking as we walked out the door, the desert sun shining down on us. As we all filed out, I slightly cringed at the sun in the sky, beating us down with the heat. An ADVENT officer walked over to us as the last of us moved out, the Skyranger lifting off the ground and flying away.

"XCOM?"

Qan nodded. "We're here to help."

The officer nodded. "I'm Lieutenant Ahmed, it's a pleasure. Follow me, the Chief Marshal's this way."

We followed him silently, our boots (and tail) touching the sandy ground as we walked. A mix of soldiers and civilians stared at us, chattering amongst themselves.

"What's the situation?" I asked.

"Not good. Refugees from other cities are flowing in, and the SAS is bringing a lot towards us. People are scared."

None of us said anything to that. The SAS was pissed, and they were throwing a lot at us.

In a way, I was scared too.

We made our way to a command outpost, where the Lieutenant waved us through. We walked past uniformed officers manning various computers, muttering to each other, quieting down when they saw us walk in. It took a few more moments for the command post to fill.

A stern faced, sharply dressed woman marched in. Her immaculate uniform was that of a Chief Marshal. Her name was on the podium, Chief Marshal Kabir Wardaq.

"Everyone is here, good, let's begin," she started. "As of a few days ago, the SAS forces have begun mobilizing for an offensive strike, it will take another two days for them to gain numbers enough to hit us without egregious casualties."

Kabir rapped her knuckle on the podium. "Let me make this abundantly clear, I'm going to shove my fist so far up their collective backsides, they'll apologize for coming near my theatre."

She snapped her finger, and the projector lit up a screen above her. "The SAS has made forward operating bases to stage their offensive in these four areas. Ordinarily, we wouldn't have the forces to subject them to non-consensual, violent insertion of bayonets to facial orifice, but I have changed that."

"An XCOM squad has been lent to us," Kaibir gestured at us with a hand. "With their added force to ours, the operation will proceed as follows. Phase one will begin with mechanized units pushing through their lines, phase two will be Horsemen and Lancer units tying up their forces, phase three will be XCOM pushing through into this point."

She tapped her finger point. Display on a map shown by the projector. "This is their local command center, and where their officers will be. XCOM will behead their command, after which they will proceed to enthusiastically, and very roughly, thrust into every other position, until our needs are met, and all SAS command is ravaged."

Kabir leaned forward on her podium, her glare plastered on everyone in the room. "Any questions?"

Damn, someone thought this through. She seems committed. I can respect that.

I couldn't blame her - defending your homeland against invaders would empower you to do all that you could to fight them. Countless times in human history it'd been done in Russia in World War Two, Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and now here.

"I want every one of you knuckle heads up at two'o'clock sharp, we're hitting them before dawn comes up," Kabir walked off of the podium. "Until then, dismissed, you have the rest of the day free."

We walked out of the command center. I felt a bit nervous regarding what was happening. This was my first large-scale operation. An entire city was resting on my shoulders.

Goddamn.

What should I do?

Fakhr waved us over as we exited the building, before we split up.

"You heard her. If you want to see the sights or eat something, now's the time!"

As I started to walk, I noticed a vendor down the street, waving a hand and yelling. I immediately picked up the scent of...whatever that was. I curiously walked over to him, noticing whatever it was on the table. I didn't know if he spoke English.

"American, yes? This for three, very good, very sweet. Three only. Very nice," the vendor grinned at me. "You want a seat, there is...uh, how you say, there is...cafe, yes, cafe, see there. Buy here, sit there, very good, no?"

I looked at him, knowing he couldn't see my raised eyebrow through the helmet. "Um….yes? But I don't have any money."

He glared at me. "No money, no sweet. Shoo," he waved me away.

"Oh for the love of God, what is this?" an ADVENT officer noticed me. "You're the new arrivals? XCOM?"

"Yes."

"You're the world's finest, and you don't have pocket change?" the officer stared at me.

Oh yeah, let me just whip out all my money.

"No."

He laughed at me, doubling over and holding onto the vendor stand for balance. "That is adorable, alright, come along, me and the fiance were going to have a cup of coffee, some sweets. I think I can accommodate the world's finest. Whatcha say?"

"Um, sure thing."

He gave me a charming smile. "Colonel Hassan, proud servant of the New World Order. You?"

"Dawn Conley, XCOM psion."

"Come along, then," Hassan led me through the cafe, dragging a chair over, and waiving down the serving girl. "The girl is Qasira," he gestured. "Her mother, Wasifi, owns the place, the older sister, Warda, is the cook. Between you and me, Qasira's an absolute meanie."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Oh yes," Hassan said. "She and my fiancée keep conspiring against me; they never give me a single goddamn milkshake, even when I-"

"Please, Hassan. We both know that you never liked milkshakes in the first place," Qasira poked him with her pen. "Now, are you going to order, or keep complaining and moaning?"

Hassan flinched, clearing his throat. "Her order first, please."

"Damn. Um…" Was there an Arabic drink I was supposed to get or something? "One strawberry milkshake, please."

"Same for me." Hassan said.

Qasira nodded, writing down their orders. "One strawberry milkshake, and one orange juice."

Hassan's head met the table. "I hate you."

"Oh, and she's here," Qasira said in a sing-song tone. "So I'll add her order to your tab."

"See? See!?" Hassan grumbled.

Well, looks like I've stumbled into a little rivalry. It's kinda cute though. Reminds me of my uncle before he…

Well…

I snorted. "I can pay if you want."

"You could, but I won't allow you," Qasira winked at me. "Have fun! Oh, and don't annoy her too much, she looks stressed."

It took me a second to recognize the woman.

"Always this place, Hassan, can't you, even once, take me out to an expensive place," Chief Marshal Kabir said, dressed in gold earrings, a fancy dress, lips red with lipstick, and eyebrows done.

How did she dress and change so fast?

"Makes me wonder why I put up with you, there's more men on this planet than you."

She paused, turning to face me. "And what is the pipsqueak doing here?"

"Getting some fuel for the fight." I said. "Can't fight on an empty stomach, now can I?"

"Yes, you can," Kabir said, putting down her purse on the table. "You can fight for approximately two weeks without food, and two days without water."

"Ah, that was a fun week and a half," Hassan nervously laughed. "But...umm...you're not planning a repeat, are you? Please, say no."

Kabir sighed, resting her chin on a fist. "You, pipsqueak, do you know how valuable you are?"

"Pretty sure I do." I said.

"That is not a no," Hassan muttered, wincing.

"I don't know. Do you know someone else that can mind control several city blocks worth of people?"

"And do you know how many lives in this city depend on if you fail tomorrow, or not?" Kabir drew circles with her other hand, the woman sounding beyond tired. "Have you realized that? Or has it not settled in yet?"

"I...it's a lot, ma'am."

"It's every life in this building," Kabir idly gestured at people drinking, laughing, chatting. At Qasira, coming over with a tray. "Every life here. When you go out, tomorrow, I want you to think of them, and those who'll fight tomorrow. I want you to realize that they might live or die, depending on you."

Hassan smiled softly. "I think she's gotten the point."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. "I...think I understand."

Qasira came over with a tray, placing it on the table and giving each person their drink. Kabir continued being dour, Hassan continued throwing jokes, and I just laid back and enjoyed the moment, the cool air contrasting with the sweet taste of the milkshake. I didn't pay much attention to the conversations, simply content to scroll my various feeds on my phone and drink.

The evening ended with Kabir passing out on the table, utterly exhausted, and Hassan apologizing, as he picked her up and carried her home.

As I started to leave, I sensed Qasira walking up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. Warda, the older sister, was making hand gestures, and signals, to her sister.

Qasira took a breath, nodded to her sister and froze. "Umm, err…"

"Hey, um," she stumbled for a moment. "Good luck, and come back, okay? I know what you do, and how important you are. So, errr. Go get 'em, tiger…."

Qasira buried her face in her hands. "That sounded so much better in my head."

I snorted. "Still better than when my first boyfriend asked me out for the first time."

Warda fell over, every bout of laughter making Qasira shrink into herself. Qasira walked away, waving her goodbye, face red like a tomato.

I smiled, laughing with them, my voice joining the chorus of sounds. As I turned and walked away, I felt something I didn't think I'd feel here.

Happy.

ADVENT Forward Operating Base, Tobruk- Libya

10/30/17- 2:00 AM

The next morning, the attack came.

Alarms blared and explosions rocked the outskirts of the city as we woke and dressed, armoring up. We ran out of the barracks to find soldiers, officers, and civilians running from place to place.

It's really time.

We all loaded into a humvee as planned, Xarian sitting in the back as we drove off towards the front lines.

I held my Gravity Gun, its wires hooked into my body. I gripped the gun, breathing in and out.

It's okay. You're doing this for real now. Going to the front lines, getting right in the middle of the action.

You can do it.

"Hey." I looked to my side, noticing Fakhr looking at me. "You alright?"

"Mostly. Kinda nervous." I said. "Just worried."

"Nervous? I get it. I can help. I have a little trick that works. Want to hear it?"

I gulped. "Sure."

"Okay." She scooted over next to me. "Something I learned in basic training. Follow my lead, okay?"

"Okay."

"I want you to inhale. Count to four."

"Alright." I opened my mouth, taking in a deep breath, counting in my head. One. Two. Three. Four. She counted with her fingers as I did so.

"Okay, now exhale. Count to four."

I held it in for a second, before releasing, feeling the air blow out of my mouth. One. Two. Three. Four.

"There. How's it feel?"

I said nothing for a moment, feeling the last of the breath flow out of my mouth. I felt a little better, more relaxed.

"I feel a bit better. How's it work?"

She shrugged. "Don't ask me. Ask my instructor-"

The ground shook as missiles and shells flew overhead. "Fuck!"

Qan loaded his plasma rifle. "Alright everyone, this is it. Get ready. Remember, once we're down there, protect the trenches and city outskirts in any way you can."

One, two, three, four, inhale. One, two, three, four, exhale.

Fakhr patted me on the right shoulder, making sure to avoid the flag. It was a little unspoken rule we had in XCOM- pat people on the shoulder all you want, but do your best not to touch the flag.

"You can do this. I'll be right behind you."

"Go, go, go!"

Get ready, Dawn. This is for real.

We exited the Humvee, with the exception of Xarian, who had been sitting on the flatbed end of the truck. An ADVENT Captain ran up to us, gauss rifle in hand. "XCOM! Captain Rehman at your service! You came at a good time." He didn't seem at all concerned we had two aliens with us - and why would he? The SAS was barking up his ass right now, we were the least he had to be concerned about.

Qan spoke up. "Thank you, Captain. We're here to reinforce you and push back the enemy. Where's the SAS hitting you hardest?"

"Northern trench, that way!" Rehman pointed. "SAS are close to getting through there. They brought psions!"

"Not a problem." He beckoned to us. "Follow me. Dawn, Zemin, I want you on those psions. Everyone else, deal with the non-psions."

"You got it, sir."

We descended into the trenches, filled with sand and soldiers. Most recoiled, rapidly speaking and shouting in what I guessed was either Arabic or a local dialect as they saw us move past them. Most of their stares were directed towards the two aliens, who promptly ignored them. Medics rushed past us, carrying supplies or wounded soldiers. I tried to block the chaos and noise out of my mind, but I just couldn't.

War ain't clean, Dawn.

Is this how uncle felt-

"Incoming!"

An explosion tore through the air, catching me off guard. A shell had ripped one of the trench barricades open, and enemy forces began to flow through. Several SAS soldiers poured in, firing their plasma rifles. When they saw us, they paused for a moment, one reaching for his grenades.

Go time.

I aimed my Gravity Gun at them and pulled the trigger. The small group was instantly lifted off the ground, chained in a telekinetic field. They yelled as they floated in the air, flapping their arms and legs for a moment before I turned one of the dials, turning the field inwards and slamming their bodies together with a sickening crunch, armor and flesh snapping as they were killed instantly, their bodies dropping to the ground.

Holy shit.

"Nice one, Dawn! Alright, these trenches are too cramped for us. Xarian, take Dawn, Fakhr, and Nalena with you to the left trench. The rest of you come with me to the right trench!"

As the ADVENT soldiers rushed to fix up the barricade, throwing the bodies over the side, I turned to Xarian.

"Follow me, little one. There is a battle to be had, and foes to slay. Come!"

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I followed the hulking Oyariah as we moved down the trenches, which opened up into what looked like what used to be a road leading into the city. Quite a few ruined buildings dotted the area around it, probably a neighborhood of some kind. With my enhanced vision, I could pick out ADVENT and SAS soldiers duking it out. I could sense the panic, the chaos, the fear.

We're going to die.

Where's the help?

A small smile grew under my helmet. Right here.

Xarian was the first to attack. Noticing a squad of SAS soldiers run out of a building, he pulled his shield off his back, roaring. Shield in one hand, hammer in the other, he dashed towards them, swinging his hammer into two, sending them flying. With the other, he moved the shield in front of him, slamming into the remaining soldiers, the sheer kinetic force crushing them before he literally ran over them, his immense weight finishing the job.

Why leave him to steal all the fun?

I ran past him, turning a corner and noticing some SAS soldiers attacking ADVENT soldiers from behind a barricade. I noticed two of them were wearing obsidian black armor, the armor of the SAS psions.

Shit.

Just as one of the psions opened a rift over the ADVENT soldiers, their screams quickly silenced as they were burned to a crisp.

With a snarl, I launched a telepathic attack towards them, an instinctive wave of anger hitting their minds. They reacted instantly, gripping their heads and dropping their guns. None of the psions were telepaths, then. This made my job a whole lot easier. Raising my gun, I flipped another switch, aiming at them before pulling the trigger, sending a telekinetic shockwave right at them. The wave hit the soldiers, sending them flying, save one of the psions, who anchored herself on the ground. A telekine then.

She died not a second later with a quick thought, her body going limp.

One down. Nine more to go.

The other psion got up, aimings his hands towards me. I broke into his mind, overwhelming his body and taking control.

Kill your friends. They're compromised. Do it now.

I had no soft spots for traitors.

I watched as the psion spewed purple fire at the buildings around him, frying the SAS soldiers as they tried to move for cover. One tried to run, but with a push from my Gravity Gun, he flew through a brick wall, killing him instantly. As the psion fried the last enemy, I killed him with another telepathic command. I scanned the area with my mind, picking up no one within the radius.

Block's clear.

My radio buzzed. "Dawn! Need assistance. Getting overwhelmed!" I immediately recognized it as Nalena's voice due to the way her voice hissed. While she didn't over pronounce the 's in words, her people did tend to over elongate them. I turned around, going down the street as an ADVENT tank passed me, its engine roaring as its cannon fired, levelling an SAS armored vehicle as it turned the corner.

Fuck!

ADVENT chatter indicated something was going on at Nalena's location, as I made out 'Berserker' and 'traitors' through the radio.

Not good.

I ran through another abandoned street, following the gunfire. I turned the corner to see Nalena leaning behind an overturned car in a parking lot, yellow blood leaking out of her chest. She was surrounded by a mix of Mutons and SAS soldiers, some of whose bodies were eerily twitching from the smoking Venom Spitter. Across the lot was what looked like SAS Skirmishers and soldiers. Getting a good look at them, it was easy to say that their armor looked like- hell, could've even been copied, from our Titan Armor. One of said Skirmishers fired a grappling hook towards a wounded ADVENT soldier, pulling him over to them before firing a single shot into his head.

Think that's fancy armor's gonna save you?

Think again.

I extended my telepathic reach, dropping the Skirmishers first, as their cloaking abilities would pose more of a threat to me. They collectively hit the ground like dead weight, a few falling off buildings and dropping their sniper rifles. The soldiers yelled when they saw me, opening up with their plasma rifles, some of the green shots hitting my purple shields to no avail. I ran through the glass window of a nearby store, shattering the pane and taking cover behind a desk, peeking. The soldiers grouped together, turning away from the friendly Viper and moving towards the store.

Good.

I turned up the power of the Gravity Gun, going out of cover and aiming it towards a nearby abandoned car. With a smooth motion, the gun locked onto the car, its metal creaking as the telekinetic grip asserted itself onto the vehicle and, with a tug to the left, the car was thrown right into the group, screeching and crashing into a restaurant, its alarm blaring.

I fucking love this gun!

I leaped over the desk, moving outside to confirm the kills. I put my hand on my knee, breathing as I felt the power drain from my body. I grunted as the blaring car alarm interrupted my focus. Still feeling one or two soldiers alive under the car, I pulled a plasma grenade and threw it right at them, destroying the car and the restaurant in a mix of green and orange, silencing the alarm for good and killing anyone left.

I ran over to Nalena, clutching a hand over her wound, groaning. I could tell she was in pain. She cursed in her own language.

"Damn. They got me good, Dawn. Right near the heart."

"Where are the people who did this?" She pointed her head over to the Skirmishers with broken necks dotting the parking lot.

"Bastards tried to tie me up with those ropes." She...um, hissed loudly, like she was laughing. Was that how they laughed? "Didn't end well." She scoffed.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed some broken wires scattered around her, as well as one or two haphazardly wrapped around her tail. I yanked them off, accessing my radio, contacting Qan.

"Qan! Nalena's hurt. Took a round right in the chest. I don't have the strength to move her."

The radio was silent for a moment, picking up static before responding.

"Apologies, Dawn. Can't send help right now. Trenches are a little crowded!" I heard a spurt of gunfire and someone cry out before he spoke again. "Sorry about that. Things are messy down here. You clear out the hole yet?"

"We're working on it. Cleared out a few psions and Skirmishers."

"Well, hate to say it, but your job's not done yet. Reports say there's a large column of enemies headed your way. They're bringing two tanks with them. Air support's on the way, but it might be a bit. If you have to retreat, do it. If we have to, we can lure 'em near the lines to take them down with anti-tank weapons."

"Copy that. I'll do what I can."

"Good luck. Qan out."

I silently cursed. Fuck!

"Xarian! You there?"

"Yes! I am here. I was teaching these Human whelps a lesson about close quarters combat. What is the issue?"

"Two issues, big guy. One, Nalena's down. She's got a medkit on her, but I don't think she can fight for a while. Going to have to move her somewhere. Two, we've got armored vehicles and some tanks coming out the way. Can you meet me at my location and tell the rest to come?"

"Will do."

I turned back to the Cobrarian. "Okay, listen. There's a lot of guys coming, and we'll have to move you, alright?"

She grunted. "Very well."

A minute later, the rest of the gang came pouring in from different directions, some with ADVENT soldiers trailing them. Xarian's armor and weapons were stained with red and yellow blood, while Fakhr's armor had some noticeable scratches. They ran over to me, Xarian holstering his weapons and picking up Nalena.

"How'd it go?"

Fakhr shook her head. "Killed a lot of the fuckers, but I'm low on ammo. You said there were tanks coming?"

"Yeah. Probably old human ones modified with Collective tech. Can your rocket hurt them?"

"Probably. We could buy time for air support, but I'm not sure how we'd-"

An idea came to my mind.

It was crazy.

Very crazy.

"I think I have a plan."

Five Minutes Later

We'd made good use of the time we had. Xarian had dropped Nalena off in a Humvee, which had driven her to safety in Tobruk. We'd spread ourselves out over the area; Xarian would stay behind us and engage any stragglers, while Fakhr and I had posted ourselves on opposite ends of the same street. The rest of the ADVENT soldiers took cover in the area, ready to pepper the enemy with bullets and grenades.

"Are you sure you can do this, Dawn?" Fakhr said. She'd taken a position on top of a warehouse, while I'd nestled myself on the roof of an apartment building.

"I think so. And if I'm wrong about this, then you can haunt my ass for the rest of your life."

She snorted. "Fair enough."

The radio crackled. "SAS incoming. Mutons, SAS soldiers, and Vitakara! They've got two modified T-72s and three Panhard APCs loaded with troops!"

T-72s, eh? Well, then dasvidaniya, as Bronis would say.

This just might work.

"Everyone in position?"

"Copy."

"Copy."

I heard Xarian mutter something under his breath. A prayer of some kind, maybe?

Ironic, considering who he was saying it to.

In the distance, I saw the column approaching, the sheer amount of dust they were kicking up announcing their tanks were in the back of the formation, one in front of the other.

It's showtime.

Focusing my mind, I felt around the enemy forces, finding one of the tank crews and gripping their minds. The brief lightning bolt of surprise that went through their heads was suppressed, and they were mine.

Okay Dawn.

I felt the information in their minds. The tank's specs, its age, its serial number, the size of the shells used, and, most importantly, how to use it.

This is a tank. There are many like it, but this one is yours. You will use this tank to its fullest capacity and do what I say, and I say that everything in front of you is a target. Follow my lead.

With a thought, the gunner's hand armed the mechanism, the shell loaded. A moment later, the tank fired, sending a modified 125 millimeter plasma round right into the rear end of the tank in front of it. The shell tore through the armor, its explosives triggering inside the crew compartment. The result was calamitous- the crew were killed instantly, the sheer heat roasting their bodies, turning the inside of the tank into a microwave. As the green fire tore through the cabin, it reached the stored shells, triggering their warheads.

Boom.

The controlled tank rolled back, away from the green fireworks where the other tank had been A massive explosion of green enveloped the tank, lighting up the battlefield as a mix of green, orange, and red lit it up. With its first target destroyed, my rogue tank switched gears, turning left and aiming its gun at the forces in front of it. With a second shot, one of the Panhards went up in flames.

Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.

Gun the engine.

The tank picked up speed, crashed into the Collective lines, running over and flattening everything in front of it. Mutons, humans, Vitakara- the treads didn't care.

I'm driving a fucking tank!

And mom always said Call of Duty would never teach me anything. Who's laughing now?

Another crewmember manned the machine gun, spewing lead at the Collective troops. An entire line of Vitakara were mowed down in several seconds, dropping like flies.

"That's our cue!" Fakhr shouted. "Fire!" One of her rockets hit another careening Panhard, the ClF3 within blowing it up and setting it on fire, torching both it and the soldiers around it, cooking them with its chemical fire.

My tank continued its path of destruction as I watched through the eyes of the commander and crew. They acted calm, not saying a word unless needed to, robotically operating the tank as normal, not breaking a sweat. The Collective modifications were pretty sweet - the tank could move and fire much faster and tank (pardon the pun) more damage.

Boom. The cannon fired again, decimating groups of infantry. The rounds slammed into the soldiers, the explosions ripping through them, sending up huge plumes of sand. The rat-a-tat-tat-tat of the machine gun tearing through flesh and armor left the bodies piling up as they scattered and tried to run.

But they could not- would not- get away.

Where is your command center?

The crew obeyed my order, pivoting, kicking up sand as they made a U-turn away from the decimated lines, where ADVENT and XCOM were cleaning up nicely. I could faintly hear the enemy radio blare as the tank sped towards the command center, the automatic loader putting another shell into the barrel with a clank.

Go time.

As soon as it got in range, and the soldiers guarding it panicked, I fired, putting a round into it, sending the whole place up in flames. As the shockwave of the explosion hit the tank, a smell...of burning something hit the crew's noses.

I could smell...burned flesh?

Is that what that was? What Uncle talked about in his stories before Aunt Jamie changed the subject?

Is that what he smelled?

I paused, ignoring the tank as it killed more people, turning around and firing its gun at another group of people, killing everyone.

What the fuck was I doing?

Was I enjoying this?

Comparing it to a fucking video game?

I gasped, my eyes opening, the purple fire igniting them as the smell of the burning dead made its way through my armor's filters. The stinging heat and the smell...my god, the smell. The smell of dead men and women, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles.

A single tear fell from my eye.

Out of the corner, I noticed a large soldier in...Skull Brother armor?

The fuck? They're here? I thought they were halfway across the continent!

She was hefting a rocket launcher, her face staring right at the tank as she fired, the last thing I saw before the crew died was an orange orb flying right at it.

I felt like a monster. Casually slaughtering, mowing down people without a second thought.

"Dawn? Dawn!"

I shook my head, listening to the radio as I heard Fakhr's voice. "Yeah?"

"We got the bastards on the run! I don't know what the hell you did with that tank, but it killed almost all of them! We're mopping up the rest. Your tank just exploded, it's not moving. You okay up there? You've been completely silent for a while!"

Killed almost all of them.

I killed almost all of them.

I stuttered, trying to put words together. "I-I-I'm sorry. I was-" I coughed. "I was focusing. Telepathy...things. Over."

She paused. "Roger that, over. Come on down, Dawn. Looks like the trenches are being relieved, SAS is pulling back. Guess they got their sorry asses handed to them."

"Yeah." I said quietly. "Looks like it."

Tobruk, Libya

10/30/17- 6:05 PM

The rest of the fighting had gone smoothly. After we'd stopped their advance and counterattacked, they'd slowly retreated back into the desert, leaving behind a trail of bodies, vehicles, and blood.

It had only been a few hours since the battle ended, but I'd felt like I'd been fighting for a week. That fighting felt even more intense than the Dreamscape. After my little tank stunt had stalled their advance, the SAS pulled back from our defensive trenches. We'd met up with Qan shortly after we'd defeated the armored battalion, and it was a mess. While our people were okay, the rest of the trenches were a bloody mess - literally. Bodies, or what was left of them, strewn everywhere, with dust and blood cluttering up everything else.

Kinda reminded me of those pictures of World War 1 in history class.

But on the bright side, we were cleared to just...well, hang out in the city and wait for further instructions. Nalena was doing alright- the medics would fix her up as good as new sooner or later. As for the rest of us, we'd split up - the others wanted to sightsee. But me? I wanted some food. And since Fakhr spoke Arabic, I kind of had to tag along with her.

And apparently Xarian did, too.

We got more stares than I could count, two XCOM soldiers and an Oyariah just casually strolling through the city, many people having to move out of the way to accommodate his large form. I could almost imagine him playing a tuba as he was walking.

Bwooomp. Here comes the Oyariah, better move or he'll crush you! Bwooomp.

Eventually, we found a small restaurant with a large open space.

"Alright kids, we're here." She turned around to the both of us. "So, Dawn, what do you want?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. Sorry, um, Middle Eastern food really isn't my area of expertise. Something not too spicy?"

"Sounds good. And you?"

Xarian rumbled. "I trust your judgement in your native foods."

"I'll take that as a yes."

She walked into the restaurant while finding a table to sit. Well, sit was the wrong word for our resident rock-monster friend. He opted to rather softly push the chair away, sitting on the ground and crossing his legs, removing his helmet. The 'plates' on his face shifted, those beady little black eyes looking around, briefly looking outside at the evening sky as the stars started to come out, unabated by the eye pollution.

"Did you know, Dawn, that the first time I saw the sky was when I was ten?"

"Ten? Really?" I took off my helmet as well, placing it on the table.

"My kind live underground. Unless we must go to battle or simply wish to visit the outside world, we tend to favor the caves."

"Can't say I've ever been in a cave myself, though my country does have the longest cave system in the world. Heard it's an interesting place to visit, though."

He perked up. "You do?"

"Yep. It's called Mammoth Cave. Called that because...well, it's huge."

"I assume people do not live there?"

"No, though it's a popular tourist attraction. We're not much for underground living. Can't say I haven't imagined what it's like for you guys, though. No offense, but I can't imagine what living in a cave for your whole life is like."

He shrugged. "We are used to the eternal darkness. We evolved in it after all, it is just as natural for us to live in caves as it is for most of my species to live above the ground. Avoiding the creatures and the insanity it draws you towards is a daily challenge for us. There are occasions where I stared into the abyss, myself."

He noticed my what the fuck face and chuckled. "Ha! You fall for my joke! You thought I was being serious!" He laughed, his thick cackle turning heads, including Fakhr's, who walked up to us at that very moment, with a similar face.

He quieted down, looking around, before continuing in a quieter tone. "Was that a good joke? I know you Humans like humor. My humor is a work in progress."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, if we're going to talk about comedy, I guess you could say that was a...dark joke." I slapped my knee, internally cringing at the horrid pun I had just exposed poor Xarian to.

"Really? I come back from ordering you guys koshary to bad puns?"

"Wait. That was a pun?" He cocked his head. "Oh."

Fakhr gave the both of us a whatever look and sat back down. "Well, I ordered you both some kushary. It's not how my mother made it, but it smells decent."

"What's that?"

"Oh, you're going to love it. It's rice mixed with macaroni and lentils, with tomato sauce,chickpeas, and fried onions."

The description alone was making my mouth water.

"While I am unfamiliar with any of those ingredients, that will suffice. I must say, Dawn, that was an ingenious move with your mind. Mind controlling a tank - useful. Very useful."

"What can I say?" I gestured to him. "We already had a tank, and I wanted to even the odds. Besides, I'm kinda surprised you guys approved it."

She patted me on the back. "Hey, it worked. You did it, we beat them, and this city gets to live another day. Qan sent the footage back to XCOM a while back. I think people will like it."

"Like, has anyone in XCOM tried that before? I know crashing fighters is a thing, but driving cars and tanks?"

"Who cares? It was creative and got the job done. Knew you could do it, Dawn."

"Thanks, Fakhr. I gotta admit, I didn't expect you to have all that much faith in me."

"Why's that?"

"Well, some of the older veterans, well, not gonna name names-" I mouthed Carmelita silently, Fakhr getting the message and nodding. "Have had some second thoughts about me. Sometimes when I talk with them, there's this hint of 'really? This person?' In their voice, or something like that."

She snorted. "Sounds like Carmelita. Look, I've seen a lot change in XCOM. If you'd told me we'd have allied Ethereals, aliens working side by side with us, and a cuttlefish god having our backs back when we still used the Citadel as our headquarters, I'd call you a madwoman. So, Dawn, don't expect anything like that from me, alright?"

I smiled. She meant it. "Alright."

"Our food is here."

A very nervous-looking waitress quickly set our plates down, before saying what I think might've been a 'thank you' and walking away. Couldn't blame her. We weren't exactly your average customers. I grabbed my fork and eagerly dug in, my taste buds lighting up like fireworks the moment the food hit my mouth.

"You like it?"

"Hell yes I do! How come I've never heard of this before? This is good shit!"

"You like it?"

"Hell yeah I do! These chickpeas and the sauce- oh my god! It's delish!"

"While I do not share Dawn's enthusiasm, I must commend the chef, and whoever created this dish. It is different from Oyariah food. Less solid, yet with more flavor. I approve."

Fakhr smiled. "My mother's take on this was much better. She'd add bits of lamb sometimes, give it that little bit of meaty flavor." She shook her head. "I miss her."

"Is she-"

She nodded. "Died in her sleep."

"Oh god. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. It's been a while." She stabbed her meal again with her fork. "City's nice, yeah?"

"Yep. Got the historical value, too."

"Did a great battle happen here?" Xarian perked up.

"Yeah, Siege of Tobruk. Nazi rat bastard Rommel hit this place for months during the Africa Campaign. Place took a lot of hits, but it held, and we eventually pushed them back. They captured it a year later, though the Brits got it back after El Alamein. It was a super-important rail line, apparently."

"And now it is being besieged again, I see. You humans say 'history repeats itself', yes?"

"Righto." I took a sip of water.

"And we just kicked the enemy's ass here, again." Fakhr took another bite. "They never learn."

"I think the pain we have unleashed onto them in battle today is a lesson enough. One worthy of a Titan, I am sure."

We continued eating in silence, eating the rest of our food. The seemingly quiet night was a stark contrast to earlier. The people of the city, the ones who hadn't been evacuated, were going about their lives, though I could sense the uneasiness and fear. They had been this close to losing, and if those tanks had gotten through...well, it wouldn't have been pretty.

Your city just as easily could've been in this predicament. These people could've been your neighbors, your friends.

Remember that.

Twenty Minutes Later

As we finished eating (I noticed the restaurant had never asked for a check), Qan came up to us, relieving us of duty for the night. We got in a truck (Xarian had to ride in a separate one due to his weight and size), and rode to an empty portion of the barracks, where we met up with the rest of our squad. Nalena was up and running...um, slithering around (I guess).

"Excellent work today, everyone. We pushed the SAS back and inflicted major casualties. However, it's not over yet. A large formation of them are still gathered miles outside of the city, and are possibly prepping for another assault. Still, intelligence says it may be a while before they counterattack. For now, get some rest. We're going to take this one day at a time until XCOM tells us otherwise. Okay?"

We all nodded.

"You're all dismissed."

As we all split up, Qan motioned me to stay. "Hold on, Dawn."

I was confused. "Yes, Overseer?"

"I wanted to tell you that you did an excellent job today. Your mission record until now had mainly been smaller-scale ops, but I'm pleased you were able to adapt to the situation. The tank maneuver was especially creative."

I nodded, partially glad my helmet was still on to avoid him seeing my face cringe at the painful memory. "Um, yes. Yes, thank you. I'm glad I lived up to your expectations."

"Are you alright? Going into a fight like that for the first time can be jarring to people."

"A little. All the explosions and loud sounds." I shook my head. "Not too used to it."

He nodded. "Alright, Dawn. Thank you." He paused. "Between you and me, I've been informed by the Commander that if you feel too stressed or overwhelmed by the fighting, or in the event you become traumatized, I have orders to allow you to be returned to the Praesidium."

I perked up - that'd caught me off guard. "I'm sorry?"

"The Commander and I had a private conversation before the briefing. He informed me about your age and all. Said that he and others in the Internal Council were concerned about your mental well-being. Said that if I thought you weren't doing well or you told me you were feeling overwhelmed or the like, I had express permission to send you back."

I gulped. Oh. He must've known about how I'd been feeling about the thing.

Oh, it's nothing, really. Just brutally killing the uncle of my nemesis and watching a friend get shot to shit can do wonders for the mind.

"I understand." I nodded. "Thanks."

"Thank you, Dawn. That'll be all for tonight."

I quickly walked off to the barracks, finding an empty bed, which wasn't too hard, as our section was virtually empty. Seeing no one else around, I stripped and got in one of the showers, cleaning myself. I took a look at my legs, noticing the scars had mostly gone away. They'd still be there for months, maybe even years - at least that's what the doctors said. While I wasn't necessarily that ashamed of my body's new looks, it'd made me feel more confident about myself. 'Hit Lists' indeed, Lian, hit Lists indeed. Coming back to the Barracks, I felt less scared about being, ahem, less clothed around the other women - hell, I'd even overcome my guts and started joining group showers with the other women. While I'd gotten a few stares, I was just glad that it wasn't like group or shared showers in the movies where people stared at your chest and ass and made juvenile sex jokes about your body.

It had actually been pretty relaxed. I'd even found a new place to hear all the girl talk and gossip (if you could call it that) about everything. There was something oddly interesting about being in such a normally vulnerable state. Only a few people before this had seen me without clothes, and being surrounded by people like me in that moment without any judgement or chance of embarrassment was somewhat unifying.

Vilhelmnia put it best when she noticed I was nervous when doing it for the first time. "I know it can feel weird or embarrassing. But it's not worth worrying about. Sure, you can feel exposed and vulnerable here, see things not a lot of people have seen about you. But it's more than just being naked in front of other people. It's about trust. Trusting those around you to let themselves see you like this and vice versa is one of the points of this. It's all about trust and understanding.

We're not going to make fun of you because you didn't want to do this before, or that you're smaller than us, or that you have scars. A lot of us have scars. Some of us even have prosthetic limbs. So I'm glad you decided to do this, Dawn. You won't find any mockery here, okay? So be proud of yourself, yeah?"

I'd found it a bit liberating, actually. I didn't know why, but it made me feel more proud of my body and scars in a way. I felt more comfortable wearing less in the barracks, being more open about things I'd normally felt uncomfortable about talking earlier.

That wasn't all we talked about, though. People's reactions to the new Muton soldier were especially fun to watch. I could hardly believe it myself. I hadn't met it-him, but the mystique was still there.

I hope you know what you're doing, Commander.

If the Second Guardian bites us in the ass, that's on you.

I finished up, got back into my undersuit, taking off the parts that covered my feet, allowing for them to get some air. I got back under the covers, the exhaustion getting to me as I began to fall asleep.

Good job today, you. You did good and nobody friendly got hurt.

I smiled.

I did good.

ADVENT Forward Operating Base, Libya

10/31/17- 8:20 AM

I woke up the next day to an odd bliss. I could hear people outside going about their business, but it was muted, almost quiet. I checked my phone while rubbing my groggy eyes - nothing.

Huh. Look at that.

I got out of bed, walking to the shower, where I got to cleaning myself. Face, shoulders, chest, legs - the whole nine yards.

This is nice.

I finished up, cleaning myself up with a towel, wrapping myself in one as I sat on the bed, drying off as I checked my phone.

Any news?

Nothing much. Standard war stuff. Frontlines, battles, that sort of thing.

Speaking of yesterday..hoo boy, the tank.

I had enjoyed using that tank. Running people over in it like a video game.

I felt sick.

Again, my...whatever the hell it was got the better of me. Pleasure? Sadism? A false sense of superiority? Making those people tear each other apart rather than just kill them with a thought- why hadn't I done that? Why hadn't I just made them die peacefully and quickly?

Why not just kill them and let it be?

I gritted my teeth, putting a hand to my forehead.

What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't supposed to be fun. None of this is.

You're not right.

Someone knocked on the door. I gripped my towel in a knee-jerk response, even though I was covered.

"Dawn? You in there?" I recognize Fakhr's voice.

"Yeah. Um...don't come in. I'm not, uh, exactly fully clothed."

"Ah. Well, we've got a meeting with the city's higher-ups in an hour. Qan wants us to meet outside of the barracks in forty minutes."

"Okay. Thanks. Where is everyone?"

"Nalena and Xarian are already up, they're a few blocks away doing something with one of the commanders. I'm going to get more ammo for this damned launcher. Everyone else is going to go to the beach. I'll text you soon."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Left some food outside your door when you're ready. See you," Fakhr waved me goodbye.

I ate the food quickly, trying to waste as little time as I could. After that, I put my armor on, saving my helmet for last. My thumb brushed across it, tracing the violet streak painted on it. I smiled.

This one's for you, Violet.

After putting on the helmet and grabbing my weapons, I walked out of the barracks. My phone buzzed.

At the beach with the others. Come down to us.

The beach, eh?

That's something.

I hitched a ride on a truck, speeding through the city for a bit until the driver got to the beach. I got off, walking down the road and across a parking lot, my armored boots dusting up the sand around me as I looked around with my eyes and mind, finding them near a watchtower, playing volleyball with a makeshift net.

Ooh.

I walked over to them, waving.

"Hey, look who's up!"

They paused the game as I walked over, taking off my helmet and waved.

"What's going on here?"

"Volleyball!" Qan said. "Wanna join?"

"You bet."

I hadn't played beach volleyball - or any kind of volleyball for months. I'd rather be in something less heavy (swimwear or shorts & a t-shirt, anyone?) but this wasn't the Florida beach or the sandy XCOM volleyball arena. It'd have to do.

As we punted the ball back and forth, parts of me wondered about yesterday. Surely we hadn't beaten all of the SAS? Sure, we'd given them a helluva beating, but as I punted the ball to Nalena, the force of my armored fists hitting the ball reminded me of the explosion from the tank. Who was that woman who'd blown it up? She looked..well...evil.

Next to us, the two ADVENT soldiers in the tower seemingly perked up, distracted from our little show. I recognize Lieutenant Ahmed, but not the engineer besides him.

Lieutenant Ahmed scratched his beard. "There's something wrong with this computer," he said, banging his hand against it. "They haven't fixed it, it seems."

"Why? What's up with that?"

"SAS's been targeting our systems, theatre's a lower priority, so supplies and maintenance come to us delayed," Ahmed narrowed his eyes. "Not that much of a delay, but it does mean sensitive equipment is slower to come by. Hey Aziz!"

The engineer, Aziz I guessed, glanced up from his TV. "Keep hitting it," Aziz said. "It'll work eventually, if not, check with Razim's naval patrol. We just fixed his stuff."

Ahmed rolled his eyes, grabbing his radio. Silence.

"Try again?" I suggested.

Silence.

Ahmed frowned, changed the radio frequency, and called another patrol. "Aziz, when's the regular patrol check in?"

Aziz checked the clock. "Still a minute till it's time for them."

Something began to stir in my stomach- and it wasn't the waffle and syrup I'd eaten. "Could something have happened to them?"

"No," Ahmed whispered, shooting up from his seat. "No, no. No. No!"

The lieutenant pulled his rifle off the wall, sliding a scope as he glanced out of the outpost. A breath. Two.

"They're not out there," Ahmed yelled. "The patrols are gone. Check with command, now. Now dammit!"

Uh oh.

That's not good.

"Guys, what's going on?" I shouted at the watchtower.

Aziz's face paled, he numbly held his radio. Fear, blank fear, drowned his mind. "Ahmed. Our radio just went down."

Out from the ocean, she saw forms emerge. Water streaming off of them, dripping as they rose up from the ocean. Submarines, with hundreds of missiles emerging from racks. They whistled as they fired, streaks of fire tracing their path.

Flak-fire started, filling the air.

Mid-air, the missiles broke apart into dozens of smaller missiles. They covered the sky as they fell down. One second, the city was peaceful. The next, fire and smoke drowned it. Explosions raining everywhere.

The flak-fire split, picking missiles one after another. Then it stopped as the missiles hit.

I felt a spike of fear from the people around me, with a chorus of shouts, screams, a tidal wave of terror.

"They're down," Ahmed whispered, white knuckling his rifle. "The towers are down."

My eyes widened as I realized what was going on.

No.

Nonononono.

Not again!

"Look up," Aziz muttered. "Look up."

Huh?

I looked up, seeing several large objects descend through the clouds. Ships, the air screamed as they descended. The barrels of their weapons were aimed.

Are those-

"Dawn!"

Cleanser ships.

I turned around, seeing Qan in his Titan armor, putting his helmet on, waving and shouting at me.

"We're getting out of the city no-"

Red and orange beams fell from the sky and hit the ground around us, turning the sand to glass and boiling the water. I was knocked off my feet and sent flying, my armored back hitting the sand as plumes of fire and sand shot up into the sky. My ears rang as I gripped my head, feeling around for someone else.

The tower had exploded, killing the two men.

What the fuck?

Cleanser ships! And they were heading right for us! I couldn't speak, I couldn't move! Half of our squad was still in there, and god knows how many more people! Were they alive? Had they gotten out?

No...no!

As my breath started to fog up the visor, I heard screams and shouts of surprise, fear, and pain over the radio.

"-Psions incoming!"

"Cleanser ships and Vitakara fighters incoming! We need-ah!"

"Collective troops and armor pouring through the trenches! A whole lot of them!"

As I tried to get back up, I heard gunfire and explosions around me. People screaming, minds just disappearing as they died. I couldn't move- I felt paralyzed.

"Q-qan? Are you there?"

I felt nothing from his mind - completely blank. He almost was dead - right in front of me. I was panicking, worry and anxiety shooting through my body.

"Qan!" I ran over to his body, his legs and arms almost gone. "Qan!"

"Does it- does it look as bad as it feels?" Blood came out of his mouth, dying his grit teeth red.

"Y-yes! Your legs are gone and your arms are hanging by a thread!"

Qan laid his head down. "Good to know," he turned his head to the side, and spat out a glob of blood. Coughing as he did so. "The fact I'm coughing blood means my lungs are punctured, they'll fill with blood, and I'll die of asphyxiation. I only have enough breath to say this once, are you listening to me?"

"Y-Yes. I am." I stuttered.

"This is an alpha strike," Qan said. "In a few moments, SAS forces will hit in full, and they'll break this position open, fighting that is a death sentence. Get out, run. Run as fast as you can. Don't stop running. Don't fight, run. Now go."

"Fuck. I'm sorry, Overseer."

"Do me a favor?" Qan asked.

"Yes?"

"Kill me," Qan gave her a gritted grin. "If I live, I'll be captured, but if I die, I don't want to die drowning in my own blood. Sorry it had to be you."

"I-I-I don't know if I can-"

"You can," he said. "It's like killing any other Human, now put me out of my misery, and run. I give you authorization for the Restraints."

Something clicked in me. I gripped my psi-pistol, aiming for his head, gritting my teeth.

Forgive me.

A hand gripped my shoulder. I looked up, and Xarian's face looked down at me. "Give me the weapon, this is a weight you should not bear," he offered his hand, asking for the weapon.

I gave it to him.

"Thank you, now look away," Xarian drew his hammer.

"Thanks," Qan said.

I turned around. There was one loud thumb, and the squelch of a skull breaking. I felt Qan's mind flicker out.

Xarian put his hand on my shoulder. "Do not turn around, now come. This is no place to die."

"Why?"

"Hmmm?" Xarian said, flicking the blood off of his hammer.

"Why couldn't we save him?"

"Because your skill in biopathy was too lacking to fix his shattered body, that is one answer," Xarian replied. "Another was because his death was nigh certain, and hope demands the strength to back it up. Mere hope alone is deluded. I've known wounds like that, few survive, fewer on the battlefield. It was either mercy, or slow suffering and minor hope. No good choice, none at all."

I gulped. "I see."

Xarian glanced at her. "All that lives dies, it is simply a question of how, not when. Think not too much upon it, it is a pointless exercise."

"I see. I don't-" I shook my head. I didn' know how to feel right now. I felt...numb. I felt almost nothing. I stumbled after Xarian, still processing what the hell was going on.

"What about the city?" I asked.

"The city is lost. The Gateways were destroyed in the barracks, and the others are under siege. We must leave."

"And...and the people?!" I asked. "What are they going to do?"

Xarian didn't reply.

"I don't believe this."

Shaking my head, I followed him as crowds of people made a mad dash past us, carrying whatever they could, screaming and shouting. I pulled out my pistol, hooking it up to my wrist and moving.

"No," Xarian said. "We have nothing. Chain of command is gone. The Chief Marshal has somehow survived, but most of her staff are gone."

"Can we contact XCOM?"

"All communications would be triangulated," Xarian muttered, rumbling voice soft. "We must leave the city first, else tactical bombardment will take us out. They've done it twice now, I've seen it."

The radio buzzed. "Xarian? Are you there?"

Xarian flinched. "Cut off radio contact, they're using cleanser ships to launch tactical strikes at us from orbit. There can be no rendezvous, escape the city by all means. Now cut off radios."

A bunch of what I assumed to be colorful Arabic curses streamed out, as the radio clicked shut.

"Good, now we must pick up our pace." Xarian stopped, looking at me. "I am able to move much faster than you, little one." He offered a hand. "Come, I will carry you."

"Are you serious?"

"Dawn, with all due respect, I am much faster than you. We must go!"

I sighed. "Fuck it. Do it."

With a nod, his armored hand grabbed me, lifting me onto his back. "Grab my armor and hold on!"

I did, gripping onto the ridges on his armor as he began to run, massive feet pounding the ground as he rushed past through the crowd. He was a mix of brute, unrelenting force and delicate agility, making sure not to step on or crush anyone. It was kind of majestic, actually.

I felt the panic build as he ran, hearing the gunfire and explosions rip the city apart. The SAS were here, and they wanted the place. I had to turn off my radio to get the screams and yells of panic out of my head. I wanted to turn around and do something, goddamnit. But it was a death sentence - no amount of psionics or Gravity Guns would help.

I had to let them go.

I felt like a failure.

Xarian turned a corner, and a truck came screaming out. A voice I recognized yelling and cheering in disbelief.

"Son of a goddamn hamster, you're alive!" Hassan yelled, laughing as he pulled his truck to a stop. "Get the hell in while you still can!"

"What happened to the defenses?"

"The Cleanser Ships bombarded them from orbit, turned it all to dust!"

We drove down several streets, Hassan and his driving skills carrying us through the hellscape of the city.

This is bad.

This is very, very bad.

"Anyone in the city limits you want to pick up while we still can?" Hassan yelled. "Because we've got about ten minutes till this place is overrun, and we meet our maker."

"Yes!" I said. "Qasira, from the restaurant!"

"Goes without goddamn saying, I am not leaving that family in this situation!" Hassain grit his teeth, as his truck swerved hard across the street. "Where the hell is your squad?"

"Dead! Some might be trying to get out! We got split up!"

"Goddamit," he growled. "Bad news, if you don't know where they are, we have to leave them. Good news, if they live, they're probably already out of the city with Kabir. Otherwise, they'd be deader than dead."

He slammed the brakes, stopping them besides the restaurant. Kicking the door of the truck open, he turned to a small gathering of people. Almost a dozen or less, there were hints of missile strikes around the area.

"Everybody who wants out, grab every bottle of water and food you can find, now!" Hassan yelled, the people were frozen. "Now means now, goddammit!"

People snapped out, rushing in and out of the building with whatever bags full of bottled water and cans of food they could find. Hassan ran to and fro, yelling orders for the oldest men to follow.

He turned to me. "Find her now Dawn. We're running out of time."

I ran out of the truck, Xarian jumping off the flatbed, holding a shield and hammer. I pulled out my pistol, kicking away a table that was blocking the entrance. I heard a yelp behind the cashier's table.

"Stay away!"

"Qasira! It's Dawn!"

"D-D-Dawn?" A Qasira covered in dirt, soot, and blood slowly stood up, shaking. Walking closer to her, I saw two dead bodies on the floor. It didn't take a genius to know who those were.

Fuck.

"Qasira, we need to go! SAS are gonna make this city their bitch!"

"My-my-my sister. Mother. They-they-they-they-I tried-I tired, but they're not there, they're there but not there and I tried so hard and I shook them and they're not there anymore-"

Oh no.

Xarian walked over to her, gracefully picking up her shaking body. "I have a little Human. We must go, the enemy is close. I can feel it."

We rushed back to the truck, Xarian plopping in the back as the car's engine rumbled. I wanted to check on my friend, but there was no time. We had to go now.

Hassan stared at me. "Where's Warda and Wasifi?"

"Dead."

His fist slammed into the truck hard enough to dent it. He let out a shuddering, angry breath. "Get in, sit beside me. You, Xarian, I'll need you on top of the truck to act as an improvised gunner. Are you willing to risk it?"

"I will be the shield for you all. I will pound the head of anyone who attacks us like a drum," Xarian replied.

Hassan picked up a loaded machine gun from the truck, and gave it to Xarian. "Climb up, I need to check on people before we move out."

Xarian nodded, pulling himself to the top of the truck, machine gun in hand.

"I'm in!" I climbed in, shutting the door.

The radio of the truck blared. I picked up the headset immediately.

"ADVENT truck, is anyone copying?"

"Who is that?"

A shock of surprise flew through me. "I recognize that voice! It's Manuel!" I took the radio. "Dawn! It's Dawn! I'm here!"

"Holy- I'm here with Jason and Xemin. We tried to get out, but our ride got busted. We need help, bad."

"What's your location?"

"Four blocks east of you! Our Humvee's down, and there's-oh fuck."

"What?" I almost screamed. "What is it?"

"We've got reports of Skull Brothers and Collective tearing through the city! Fuck! There's something coming from the sky! That red streak! Orbital strike, we gotta-"

A boom cut the radio short, reducing the incoming noise to pure static. My mouth hung open, nothing coming out.

"God fucking dammit," Hassan whispered, disconnecting the radio's wiring. The truck turned on, and he all but slammed his foot into the pedal. "God dammit it all," he brushed aside the tears in his eyes.

No. They can't be. We just got here. They just got here!

I held back a tear as we drove farther and farther away, gripping my gravity gun.

She doesn't deserve this. No one deserves this. She's just a kid like me,

We got out of the city without incident, and moved into the suburbs, the conquest of the city acting like a sick backdrop to this shitshow. The occasional explosion, flash of psionic energy or burst of gunfire lit up parts of the city- probably some resistance left behind. As I watched the city fall, I felt crestfallen, like a shadow of darkness had fallen over me.

You failed.

XCOM failed.

ADVENT failed.

I poked my head out of the truck, looking back at the people with us, I could hear sobs, yells of anger, muttered phrases of various languages- but I could sense the fear, the sadness, the loss.

Our city- it's gone! It's all burning!

We've lost everything! Those bastards took it from us!

Has ADVENT left us?

I saw some XCOM soldiers! They must be able to do something, anything!

I pursed my lips. No. I thought to myself. No, we can't do shit about this.

We're alone out here, in the wild.

We're in the enemy's woods now.

Everything has gone wrong.

To be continued in:

Darkness Falls, The Desert Calls