I sat in a chair in front of several doctors, next to the room where I'd be sliced open for surgery-again.

Only this time, it wasn't because of an injury.

Holmes was there again, as well as several others whose name I hadn't caught. I didn't have to put on a surgical gown or anything just yet- I'd have to be walked through the procedure.

"Thank you for doing this, Dawn."

"Of course." I nodded. "Anything for XCOM."

"Much appreciated. Are you ready?"

I nodded again. "Yes."

"Alright then. Let's begin." With the push of a button, the large flat-screen on the wall changed to present an x-ray of my body, with two places on my spine and five other spots on my head highlighted. "Quite simply, we're working off the surgical implants for your Aurora armor while adding some new ones. While the Aurora and Domination armors do different things, they both work the same way - drawing upon the psionic energy and aptitude of the user and amplifying it for more unorthodox means."

"So what are those spots for?" I point to the screen.

"Good question. The two implants on your spine are to further amplify your psionics, since the amount of power needed to make an aura is a bit more than simply making a shield. As for the five in your head, they're primarily there for your telepathy- they'll work in conjunction with the Domination helmet, which has additional mechanisms to create and then project your aura. You'll be further detailed on its details by Vahlen and Ir Nara once the procedure's over."

I raised an eyebrow. "Vahlen and Ir Nara?"

"Never met them before?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

He snorted. "Word of advice. Ir Nara can be...a bit irritable, let's put it at that. It's nothing that would get her written up for outright disrespect or insubordination, but...just try not to say much around her. She tends to be quite judgemental of people, and considering your age, well...you get what I'm saying."

"I understand." Another perk of hanging out with Fiona was her commentary on whatever she felt like talking about. She had, in proper British terminology (because of course) had privately described Ir Nara as a...well, it was an insult. I'll say that much. I had no idea why the two hated each other. While in my journal I'd jokingly called it a case of 'Sovereign Mean Girls Syndrome', I did legitimately wonder what was up with them.

Was it bad that I wanted to ask Ir Nara why her armor looked exactly like the beings from New York? But knowing her attitude, she might use that cold wind attack she used on Patricia and turn me into a human popsicle if I asked that.

Fun.

"How long will it take?"

"It's relatively simple, with the five cranial implants being the most invasive. You'll be out for a day, with an additional day of recovery. We haven't done this surgery on any soldiers yet but at most you'll feel as an aftereffect is a headache or a migraine. If you do, we have medicine for that."

"Alright." I nodded, feeling confident. "Anything else I should know?"

"Not really."

I smiled. "Then let's do this."

"Very well. I'm sure you know the drill by now. Clothes, surgery getup, the usual. The procedure will start in thirty minutes, so if there's anything you want to do before that, do it." He pulled out a piece of paper, pushing it over to me. "Just sign here - legal reasons. Consent and everything.

"Sure. I signed with a few swipes of the pen. My cursive was atrocious, but it seemed to make the cut. "Thank you."

"You're dismissed. Good luck, and take care."

I got up and left, pausing for a moment to wonder if I did want to do anything before it.

Nah. I'm fine.

I walked down the hallway, past the medical beds and equipment, until I found the right room. I peered through the window inside, seeing several doctors in surgery garb and facemasks gathering some equipment.

Have fun cutting me open, guys.

I shrugged, walking into the changing room, closing the door and following the usual protocol. I grabbed a gown and slippers, walked into one of the many rooms available, put my clothes, phone, and wallet into a locker, closing it with the press of a hand on the fingerprint reader. I decided to take a quick decon shower as well- couldn't hurt to be a little more clean.

It felt kind of weird having to only wear your gown and slippers for the surgery, but when you were going for the whole 'clean room' esque kind of feel.

Once I scrubbed the last of the water from my body, I put my 'clothes' on and pushed the button to the surgery room. A moment later, the door opened, a masked-up doctor looking at me.

"Dawn Conley?"

"Yes. I'm ready."

"You're a little early. That's okay. Come on in. We're ready for you."

I walked into the white-walled room, slippers padding against the tiled floor as I walked over to the table. I took them off, briefly shivering as the almost absurdly cold floor ran through my soles. I climbed onto the table, lying down and staring at the ceiling. One of the other doctors walked over to me, looking down at me. I could see her brown eyes looking into mine; I couldn't help but feel a sense of inquisitiveness in them. Had she operated on someone my age before?

"I'm Doctor Cardenas." She said with a thick Spanish accent. "I'll be in charge of your surgery today. Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded. "I'm ready. You ever worked on someone my age before?"

She shook her head. "No. But don't worry, Dawn. There's not much difference." She took a step back, wheeling an IV over. "Dawn. That's a nice name. How'd your parents come up with that one?"

I shrugged. "Mom wanted a unique name for me. She was reading a book where one of the characters was named Dawn while she was pregnant, and that was that."

"Well, that is something. Hold still." I cringed a little as she put the IV into my arm, making sure it was in. "Alright Dawn, just lean your head back and relax. The anesthetics will kick in any moment."

I nodded meekly, starting to feel drowsy. "Hey doc?"

"Yeah?"

"When I wake up, can you tell me if I say anything weird? I saw this video online and….I…."

I fell asleep, not hearing her answer.

"Dawn?"

My eyes opened closed as I slowly returned to the world, the lights shining into my eyes as I groaned.

"She's waking up, vitals look good across the board."

I blinked again and again, groaning as I began to...well, feel again. The IV was out of my arm, but the back of my head and my back was a little sore.

"Ugh...what day is it?"

Cardenas looked at me. "It's only been a day, Dawn. You haven't missed anything."

"How's it go?"

"Great - no complications. You feel weird?"

I shook my head. "Tired…"

"That's alright. Lay like that for a bit if you have to, alright? Then consider yourself dismissed, young lady. Good job."

Ugh.

I yawned.

I can't take a nap in here, can I?

One day, several naps and multiple doses of headache medicine later, and there I stood in the Psionic Research labs, wearing the new undersuit for the Domination armor (due to the new implants) surrounded by quite a few people who had more knowledge and experience then I could ever dream of. Standing out of the small crowd was Bronis, Doctor Vahlen (who looked kind of scary in person), and Lavallic Ir Nara, dressed in scientific garb and looking very miffed for some reason.

Not sure why.

"Welcome, everyone." Vahlen spoke up. "Today begins the final iteration of testing for the Domination Armor. Dawn Conley, our resident biopath, has volunteered to test it."

Some of the scientists gave a few waves. I blushed, shrugging. "Thanks. So, what exactly do you want me to do with it? Stress-test? Do some telepathic exercises?"

"In a way, the latter." Bronis said. "We intend to run the Domination armor through some live-fire exercises very soon, but first we need to see how our psions can use it to its fullest potential. You're the first person to test it, and your biopathy is also something we want to see. We're not entirely sure how your biopathy will translate into an aura - if it'll be similar to Mortis' or not, say."

"Alright."

She gestured to two scientists, who walked into an adjacent room, and then a minute later wheeled a see-through Plexiglas case containing the Domination Armor.

And it looked beautiful.

It looked very similar to the Aurora armor in many ways, with the helmet being the only exception. The armor was silver, though that was probably the nanites not having changed their color yet. The helmet looked a bit different, though. The visor seemed thinner, with the helmet looking a little bit larger and somewhat more circular, with the front part being much more angular, the entire frontal part coming together in a v-shape.

"The armor in question isn't all that different - with the exception of the head, there's barely any difference aside from certain areas being larger to accommodate for more nanite repair systems to compensate for the lack of psionic shields. The helmet itself is slightly larger than the Aurora's thought only by a small fraction to accommodate for the additional psi-tech systems. Its visor, while smaller to accommodate for the previously aforementioned equipment, provides a lesser risk to the user's face if destroyed in combat. There are also camera embedded in the front to make up for this."

"What kind of psi-tech systems are in the helmet?"

"Psi amplifiers, more advanced than the psi-tech we had before." Ir Nara spoke up. "You can thank the Battlemaster for that. One of the many things we got out of the negotiations. I am surprised his intelligent mind did not understand just how dangerous these were."

"Good for us." Iosif chuckled. "And now they'll pay for it."

"Moving on, the main feature is, of course, the aura. The ability to project your...let's say will, is adjustable, five being the minimum and ten being the maximum. Keep in mind you activate it through a voice command, which triggers the implants. through telepathy to help or kill is going to be a massive advantage for our telepaths - and with your biopathy in particular, it may make you an even more deadlier asset."

"So an aura like Mortis'?" I asked.

"Potentially. We're interested to see how exactly it'll work with you, due to you having a lower Trask Level than him."

I nodded. "Anything else I should know?"

Vahlen smiled. "After this test, you'll be allowed to use this in the Dreamscape. No live-fire practices yet, but you'll be in the history book for being the first tester. Now, are you ready to test this?"

My smile said it all.

Hello, beautiful.

Looking at it up close felt like a privilege unto itself. It looked a little odd, being silver and all, but Vahlen brushed it off as the nanites being 'not ready for personal styling'.

Whatever you say, mad scientist German lady.

Putting it on felt just like the Aurora armor, with the exception of the helmet- when I put it on, I felt a little tingle in my head as the equipment powered on, drawing power from me. I shook a little, surprised from the feeling. I blinked.

"Everything okay in there, Dawn?" Bronis' accented voice resonated through the speaker.

"Everything's fine. Just...adjusting."

"Okay. When you're ready, move out into the testing area. We'll send in some test subjects shortly. Let us know if anything's wrong, okay?"

"Alright. Why don't I have any guns?"

"Not necessary right now. We're here to test your mind and the suit, not your guns."

Whatever. I walked out into the testing room, a large rectangular room with grey-colored walls and a tiled floor. It felt colder than the Praesidium - was it just the AC, or was it what else went down here that gave me chills?

"Arlright, Dawn. Feel anything from the aura?"

I shook my head. "No. Not really thinking about anything now."

"Okay. We're going to send in a test subject. Try to focus your mind on killing thoughts."

"Can do."

A door opened, and a man in his late fifties or sixties shuffled in a jumpsuit, a somewhat intimidated look on his face.

"What's this guy in for? He looks old."

"Mormon Elder who sexually abused a few children and covered up a lot more. Trust me, you don't want to know the full details."

All the ammo I need for you.

No golden plates where we're going, you and I.

Dick.

My mind projected kill, but not at him, just in general. I immediately felt the...well, feel of the aura change to a much colder and darker tone. As I walked over to him, and immediately got within minimum distance, the old man dropped over dead in an instant.

Bye bye.

"Okay, first test...went well. I think." I said. "Dropped dead as soon as he entered the aura range."

"Good stuff. Now, the next test's going to involve you defending someone with the aura."

I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Apologies, that wasn't very clear. See if you can project defensive telepathic measures, alright?"

"And who am I defending against?"

"Me." Vahlen interjected. "I'll perform a basic telepathic attack against the subject."

Okay. Not gonna lose to the Commander's not-so-sane wife. Got it.

The door opened, a second test subject walking in. This one seemed younger and much more muscular than the first, seemingly much more fit.

"Who's this?"

"Russian mob boss. Believe me-"

"I don't want to know." I rolled my eyes. "I get it. I'm just saying, I've literally looked into the mind of a serial rapist murdering drug lord. I'm old enough."

An accented Russian chuckle came over the radio. "Okay, da. You got me there."

I walked over to the man, making sure to change the thoughts from killing to protection before I got within radius, imaging a mental shield like I'd usually do when protecting allies.

"Ready, Vahlen. Do you worst."

I looked over at the window where Vahlen, Creed, Ir Nara, and the rest were standing. I saw the Chief Scientist's eyes glow purple, calling upon her own telepathic power. I knew that I outclassed her Trask-wise, but she'd been awakened long before me- longer than I'd known aliens existed, even.

Add that to her, ahem, personality, and that made for a deadly combination.

No wonder a lot of people were downright scared shitless of her.

I felt her power on the edge of his mind, encroaching on my aura as she hit a psionic wall. The weirdest part of it wasn't the aura, it was feeling Vahlen's mind. It felt cold and calculating, with an odd determination. It had an almost inhuman chill to it, almost distant from almost any other mind I'd felt. It felt ruthless, determined, with an almost chilly feeling to it. Not winter chilly - closer to a cold, biting I'm-going-to-give-you-frostbite-and-take-off-your-fingers-and-toes chilly.

I legitimately felt a bit intimidated by her.

Nice try. But I got the power here.

I blocked her attack with my shield, then I realized that my aura was doing the work. I wasn't even directing my thoughts at the mobster; I was just thinking them, with barely any effort.

Wow.

I really did feel powerful.

I was barely trying as it was.

She kept it up for another few seconds before ceasing her attack. The man looked completely unaffected, still keeping up that calm demeanor like nothing was happening. Vahlen increased her attack, causing the man to slightly flinch. I channelled more energy and focus into the aura, the man returning to normal.

Was it bad that she kind of scared me?

She ended her attack, pulling back her hand. "Excellent work, Dawn. The subject's mind has been protected. How much work did that take?"

"Barely any, felt like more of a convenience than anything." I shrugged. "I felt like I barely had to put any work into it."

She nodded. "Good, that's good. We expected something similar to that result. The goal of this armor is to have our telepaths do more with less effort. We've theorized that over time, you may develop a certain aura when using the armor."

Ooh. Don't get me excited just yet. The show's just begun.

"So what next?"

"Now we get to the interesting parts."

"You mean my biopathy?"

"Right. If you can, try to project whatever you associate with biopathy. We'll send in a few more subjects."

Four more uniformed people walked in, standing next to the Russian, two men and two women.

"Care to fill me in on what these people did to get here?"

"Man on the left is a rapist, the guy next to him's a serial killer. The woman on his right attemped to murder her boyfriend and one of his female friends who she thought he was cheating on. Number four's a special nutcase- prominent member of a far-right-wing militia in the United States pre-ADVENT, Keepers something or whatnot. Tried to assassinate a politician, was serving a life sentence before being shipped here.

A nutjob and terrorist all in one. Full house.

More reason to kill 'em.

I walked a little bit closer to them, before closing my eyes and imagining the cells splitting apart in my mind.

Just like snapping two lego bricks apart.

Melt, melt, melt.

You can do it.

The cells obeyed my commands, shifting and drifting apart like driftwood in the ocean. I heard the test subjects cry out, feeling their pain as their heads began to break apart-

Wait, what?

I cracked open one of my eyes, expecting only their heads to be melting right now. Both my eyes shot wide open as I realized what was happening. All of their skin was slowly melting all across their bodies, from head to toe. They gripped their faces, moaning and grunting as their skins turned to liquid, their hair falling off as the grisly pink-and-red-flesh began to be exposed to the air. Their eyes slowly began to turn into a milky fluid, their eye sockets emptying as it dripped down their melting faces, the bodily liquids mixing to create a sickly goop that dripped down to the floor, puddles spreading on the tiled floor-

A sick feeling came into my stomach. I hadn't done this in a while. Not like this, not like this! My stomach grumbled, me almost revolting as their bodies slowly fell apart.

"Dawn?"

"I-urk!"

I bent over, vomit shooting out of my mouth and splattering all over the visor. The vile, wretched smell filled my helmet as I lost my lunch. I yelped, ripping my helmet off and throwing it on the ground, quickly killing the melting test subjects with a telepathic thought. I gurgled.

"Fuck...fuck! Godamnit! Shit!" I yelled a plethora of expletives as the puke drooled down my chin as I wiped it off with an armored gauntlet, clearing my throat and getting the last of it out. I fell to my knees, breathing in and out.

I breathed in. One, two, three, four.

I breathed out. One, two, three, four.

"Dawn, are you alright?" Vahlen's somewhat confused voice echoed over the mic.

"Gah. I'm sorry. I-" I shook my head, standing up and looking at the armor's chest, noticing the stain on it. "Fuck!" Realizing just now that I'd probably broken a regulation or two about speaking that way in front of a superior, I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the smell. "I, uh, I think it works. I need to fuckin-ugh." I coughed.

"Well." Iosif cleared his throat, obviously trying to hold back a chuckle. "I think Vahlen's outdone herself here. The Domination armor's going to be a massive boost to our telepaths on the battlefield. Thank you for your time, Dawn. You did an excellent job. The Internal Council, and the Commander, will be very pleased with this. As a reward, this armor will become yours once everything is finalized. You have the authority to use this in any upcoming Dreamscape simulations. You'll also be getting an equipment testing bonus with your next paycheck."

"You're not mad that I puked all over it? The mess I made?"

"We've had worse here. Nothing some cleaning fluids can't fix. You're free to change and leave whenever you want."

"Okay. If I want to, can I take this thing for a walk?" I wiggled one of my arms. "It's kinda growing on me."

"After we clean it up, Rassvet. Cleanup team to Testing Room 18!"

Dreamscape time.

I walked into the room full of orbs, sitting on their little pedestals, waiting for some poor ape like me to use them. Today was a bit different than usual. When signing up for today's simulation, I picked something a little...different. When you signed up on the XCOM database, there was a long list of what kind of encounter you wanted. Ethereal attack, Skyranger pilot rescue, a simple 'kill everyone'- there was a lot of variants. When I first came here, I had to complete a checklist at my own pace to get used to most combat operations.

This one was one of the few in the 'advanced' category. Today, I was going to have some fun with nanomachines. Also known as 'GAIA nanite bomb implementation'. Well, that was the official term.

The soldiers here just called it GAIA time.

I touched the designated orb, noticing the number emblazoned on its pedestal, as per the e-mail. Once you got a slot, the e-mail would send you a confirmation with said Orb's number. It was a kind of anti-confusion tool, as you didn't want someone walking in on your simulation. Guess I should be thankful that T'Leth respected our privacy.

I was transported to a blank, grey room, in my Aurora armor.

"Wrong armor, T'Leth. Domination, remember?"

My armor changed a second later to the Domination variant, my eyes briefly twitching as the armor drew upon my power.

"Thanks, big guy."

Nothing as usual.

I noticed a board on the wall, with several sentences on it.

Must be my instructions.

Let's see…

Pick up the GAIA container on your right. It will clip to your armor. Once done, your objective is to navigate through the enemy-occupied area without detection. Once you get to the designated area, place the nanite bomb in a place the Collective forces cannot find easily. Once you place it, the simulation will end.

Okay then.

Let's dance.

I walked over to the nanite bomb standing next to the board. It was about the size of a rolling suitcase. It was shaped like a can, but its surface was completely flat. Each end was wrapped in a thick circular tip like the end of the test tube. I didn't see any openings, but I figured that it could just eat through it and consume it. I picked it up, attaching it to my backside with a click.

Let's go.

I opened the door, walking into a suburban neighborhood that spoke Florida to me. Palm trees lined the street, and I could almost smell the salty seawater. I looked at a road sign to my right.

Everglades in five miles.

Yep. Florida.

I felt the hot air blow over me as I started to walk down the street, psi-rifle in my hand. I didn't feel anyone in the radius. I jumped over a fence, taking the back route as I tried not to make too much noise. This place reminded me of the vacation home my family had when we came here a few years ago. Granted, this place wasn't anywhere close to the beach, but it was good enough.

Time to go.

I moved through the backyards, the silence giving me the creeps. Normally, I'd have music from my playlist blaring in my ears thanks to the Dreamscape as I did my thing. While the average person might not think songs like 'Mr. Blue Sky' or 'Take on Me' could be classified as something to rock out while slaying aliens by the dozen... well, I had some odd tastes. For reasons I couldn't possibly discern, my friends found my liking of modern pop music 'odd'. I'd make a comment about adults not appreciating the finer aspects of my generations' music, but I could just as easily make fun of the music they listened to.

For some odd reasons, both the North and South Koreans seemed to have a shared taste from K-Pop; and that was disregarding the weeby Japanese music Mortia liked to blast from her part of the barracks. What was even worse was-

No, Dawn, no. We do not talk about the body pillow incident. We do not talk about the body pillow incident. Ever.

Let's just say us women got up to some crazy stuff in the barracks. Ah, nothing like not having the guys around.

Ain't it fun.

I moved past the houses, gripping my gun as I watched a lone Vitakara fighter fly overhead, probably doing a routine air patrol.

It can't see you.

As I turned a corner, I sensed a patrol of Mutons coming my way, with a Vitakarian officer in charge.

Okay. Let's try out this aura.

I focused my mind on the kill order, feeling the aura change.

Just get them in range.

I leaned on the back wall of the house, feeling the patrol move within range. The instant they did that, they all dropped dead without a moment of hesitation.

Boom.

I moved around to the front, checking the bodies. I stole a few of their plasma grenades- some extra firepower couldn't hurt. I moved down the street, taking a right as I entered a cul-de-sac, checking my map.

Looks like I'll have to do some offroading.

I scaled another fence, moving into the marshes behind them. The air was moist and hot. It wasn't a swamp, but it sure did feel close to one. Birds chirped and animals made various noises.

Creepy.

I froze as an inhuman yowl came from the woods ahead, followed by the crunching of some sticks and leaves.

Panther?

It did sound like the jaguar from South America…

I continued moving through the marsh, trying not to make too much sound as my boots moved through the water, covered in mud, muck, and who knew what else. I noticed some wooden walkways to my right, but decided to avoid those, as the lack of tree cover would make it easier to notice me.

Not what I meant when I said I needed a vacation.

As I moved further in, the marsh almost got quieter. A crunch next to me made me turn my head, almost yelping as several deer rushed past me. Several birds flew overhead away from me, chirping and squawking loudly.

The hell?

The yowl came again, me turning my head, trying to get a good look at the thing. More branches and leaves rustled as a black figure ran past me.

"Fuck!"

It's a fucking big cat, don't be scared.

Don't-

My heart almost skipped a beat after I felt something behind me. I slowly turned around, staring right into the green eyes of a panther, its body recoiled, hissing as it bared its teeth, looking at me.

"Good kitty…" I said. It hissed at me, baring its teeth. I eyed my HUD, noting that I still had a ways to go to plant the bomb.

Am I in its territory?

I backed up, raising my gun at it.

I know you're endangered, but don't try anything.

The panther hissed again as more trees and branches cracked behind me- like something was walking towards me. I felt something on the edge of my mind. I looked around me, trying to see something with my enhanced vision through the trees, to no avail.

The mind felt...strange. Whatever it was, it was powerful, something I hadn't felt before. It felt very alien, something different from even Aegis' mind or the Lesser Hive Commander I killed.

It felt old.

Very old.

My eyes widened as I heard weak footsteps from behind me.

What are the animals running from?

It's not me, is it?

The panther turned away and ran, mewling as I turned around.

Okay T'Leth, not funny.

I narrowed my eyes as I saw a dark figure in the distance, moving towards me.

What…?

Tall, black armor...four arms?

Ethereal? But-

Then I noticed that the vegetation around the thing was being consumed by a black nanite swarm.

Meat Puppet!

Its menacing, black figure raised a hand as it seemed to notice me. It cocked its head, making a sound. A raspy, wretched voice made a -

Chuckle? Laugh?

Fuck!

Run!

I hauled ass as fast as I could, running as my boots pounded the wet, sticky ground as I moved as fast as I could. The footsteps behind me increased in pace as it started to follow me.

Don'tlookbackdon'tloockbackdon'tlookbackit'lleatyourunrunrun.

My heart beat faster and faster as I leaped over a fallen tree, getting ever so closer to the target. I-

I slipped and fell to my knees as a piercing telepathic attack hit me. I yowled, grabbing my head as I tried to stand up, falling again as a hundred telepathic knives hit my mind.

I hurriedly grabbed my hip, trying to grab a grenade as I felt it move closer and closer.

Ow, ow, ow-

I gritted my teeth as I accidentally unhooked the GAIA canister from my back, splashing as I hit the ground. I grabbed it, pulling it towards me as I tried to fend off its mind.

C'mon, c'mon.

I fiddled with it, finding the red Emergency Deployment button.

Maybe if I could-

I felt a telekinetic vice wrap around me, pulling me up into the air as I dropped the GAIA canister. The Puppet cocked its head whilst looking at me, extending another hand, and a cloud of black nanites shot from its arm and swarmed me.

I felt millions of little robot bugs start to eat through the weak parts of my suit. I screamed, feeling blood start dripping from my neck, shoulders, and knees as I started to go weak.

I flapped around in the air like a fish out of water, feeling more and more of my body go limp as I felt them inside my body, eating me. My lungs collapsed, my skin gave way, and my bones turned to liquid. I tried to scream, but it felt like thousands of little black robotic flies were in my mouth, moving around, slowly eating me.

Hurts...hurts so much.

Where's my tongue? Why can't I taste?

Hear- why is it getting quiet?

My eyes…

Everything went black as I felt them touching my brain.

I woke up on the floor, outside of the door where I started the simulation, panting, my chest heaving as I looked around, finding an empty room.

"What the hell, T'Leth?"

A screen popped up to the right of my HUD. It showed me from a bird's-eye view, killing the Collective squad. It then shifted to the left, showing a Seeker moving a ways above me, taking a picture.

Fuck! How did I not see that?

It then transitioned to a simulated Collective Vitakarian in what looked like a command center, calling something in.

"Affirmative, XCOM sighted. Deploying Meat Puppet to search and destroy threat."

Oh. So that's why.

I'd failed again. But then again, what chance did I have against a Sovereign Avatar?

At least I didn't need to fight the Chronicler in his Armada Armor.

"T'Leth!" I called out. "Reset the sim, I'm going back in. Different scenery this time, please." I took off my helmet. "And next time, no Meat Puppets please, okay?"

As usual, nothing from our Sovereign overlord.

"You're certainly talkative today. Like every day." I muttered. I put my helmet back on, another nanite canister appearing on my back. Shrugging, I opened the door, a wave of smoke and burnt something hitting me in the face. It was raining, rain hitting the numerous abandoned cars on the street as groups of buildings burned in the background.

I looked to the right, noticing a scorched green road sign on the ground.

Welcome to Naples.

Oh, great.

I heard the stomping legs of an Executor off in the distance.

Even better.

I stood in the lab, surrounded by equipment and several scientists. I felt a little out of place, due to both my having very little actual scientific experience and knowing that these people were infinitely smarter than me in this aspect. But, at the end of the day, this was all for the good of science, and for that, I didn't want to disappoint.

"Thank you for agreeing to this, Dawn." The de facto head scientist, one Amanda Weir, a woman in her thirties spoke up. "This is a unique opportunity for XCOM and the entire scientific community."

No pressure.

I nodded. "Of course. I'm happy to help."

Another scientist, Elias Kornblum, a man in his early forties, clearly of German descent, spoke up. "Indeed! Your...skill is a unique one, and has much potential besides simply being used on the battlefield."

"At the very least, it presents us with a new way to view the cellular process. This could advance the field of cellular biology by decades- and that's not counting the others." Paul O'Flaherty, a man with in my opinion, the most Irish name ever, interjected, shaking his head. "Never expected a wee lass like you to be helping us."

I chortled. "Alright, alright." I jokingly held up both hands. "Don't put the pressure on me just yet. You guys are the experts, right? I'm just the guinea pig."

"More like a research assistant, to use the right term." Amanda rubbed her hands together. "So, before we get down to business, let's start out with some brief introductions. Dawn, if you'd be so kind, can you lay out for us what you've been doing with your biopathy, how it works for you, that kind of thing? I distinctly remember Vahlen's report saying you and this 'Geist' guy have been working on some theories?"

I nodded. "Of course. You want any specifics?"

"Just on how your mindset and biopathy mix when you melt targets, and any ideas that you've come up with."

"Uh, sure. So, when I'm using my biopathy...well, it's kind of hard to explain to someone that's not a telepath, or a psion. But I'll do my best. When I target someone's cells, I attack them like a normal telepath, except I go...deeper. There's a finer, deeper layer than just a mind and the memories in it. It's something most, if not nearly all people can't pick up on. Once you're down there, you can 'feel' the cells moving around. You can't really see them, but you know they're there."

"Mhm." Amanda and the other scientists took notes.

"But you can visualize the cells, though. I do it all the time."

"How do you do that?"

"I picture something about cells that I can remember right. In my case, as weird as it sounds, a picture from my high school biology textbook."

"And your mind associates with that, like it's referencing the cells?"

I nodded. "Legos too."

That gave them some pause. "Legos." Elias said reluctantly. "As in, the brick toy?"

I pursed my lips. "It's complicated. I have a long history with those guys, and I'm very familiar with them. They're a lot like cells to me! You put them together, and you get a thing, kind of like cells. They make up a structure, similar to cells, yeah?"

"Hmm." O'Flaherty took more notes. "It's odd, but it makes sense, I suppose. The parallels are there. And you...picture them when using biopathy offensively?"

I nodded. "Works like a dream."

Elias pursed his lips. "And you've only used this to kill, right?"

"Yes." I shrugged. "I don't know if I can do the healing kind, and to be honest, I haven't really tried."

"But you and Geist have made some theories about biopathy?"

I chuckled. "Sort of. We've been playing catch-up on Mortis and Sana's work all the way back from the Empire. We've come up with some ideas, but a lot of our concepts are based off of theirs."

Guess that makes us all rip-offs, I guess.

"Like what?"

"Using biopathy to perhaps accelerate crop growth's one. Though I doubt I'll be ever doing it. Speeding up seed development and maybe even duplicating them. There was also the idea of fighting cancer cells with it, maybe stopping the growth of tumors by reversing the duplication of the cells before they became malignant, or hell, even melting the tumor altogether."

"Seems pretty ambitious."

"That's why you're here, I guess. You all are more experienced with this kind of thing. I may be good at this, but unless high school counts as academia, you're better off in that regard."

"Don't worry about that." O'Flaherty chuckled. "Just because we're smarter than you doesn't mean you can't contribute. Hell, we wouldn't be here if you weren't a biopath."

I held back a sigh. Sure, I wasn't as smart as them, but my biopathy made me an exception. Me doing what I could do could revolutionize the scientific world. Sana and Mortis had done it.

So maybe I could.

Then again, I had some things the Twins didn't. Sure, they were smarter, lived longer, and had vastly more psionic potential, but what they didn't have that I did was support. Sana and Mortis were gradually made as outcasts and distracted from their true goals due to the Empire viewing them as a bunch of rabble-rousers whose ideas didn't agree with the status quo. And while Mortis actually acted on his curiosity and visited other aliens, Sana's childlike naivety got to her.

On my end, I had the support of a Commander that, while I didn't agree with some things (and his history), I had his support. He trusted me with quite a few things, like the armor testing and this. While I suspected he may have some reservations about my friendship with Caelior and my overall teenage attitude, he wouldn't have authorized my hiring in the first place. I had resources, time, tools, and people.

I just had to put it all together and make it work.

"Alright." I said. "Let's begin, then."

"Recent photos of what appear to be war crimes committed by the Skull Brothers in Libya have gone viral…"

"Reports from the city of Zuwara show that in a surprising turn of events, the SAS offensive was turned back, something that many experts thought to be the death knell of ADVENT in Libya…"

"Soldiers interviewed after the siege have claimed that a 'small person in XCOM armor' was responsible for killing a Lesser Hive Commander…"

"In a statement on Twitter an hour ago, the Battlemaster promised a Collective investigation into Skull Brother activities in light of recent accusations of warcimes…"

I gave a small smirk as I focused my gene-enhanced muscles on the punching bag in front of it.

My fist hit the bag in a staccato motion. One, two, three. One, two, three.

Whew.

I dance on my legs from left to right, my sneakers tapping the padded floor as I circled the bag like it was a real person, punching it, remembering what Zara said.

Standing in one place if you're duking it out with someone is a big no-no when it comes to fighting. One, it makes you an easy target, and two, it limits your mobility. Think of it like shooting - what's going to be easier to hit? Someone who's standing still, or someone moving around?

It was good advice, and seriously, why was I going to argue with a former family head of EXALT?

It wasn't a thing I did regularly, and it wasn't like I was going to have hand-to-hand combat with anyone anytime soon. I could just throw a punch at a normal human and quite literally punch through them, and for anything else, my weapons and psionics could take care of that.

But I didn't see anything wrong with getting down and dirty in the gym, going back to basics. I mean, I never really was and probably never would be someone who constantly went to the gym and took it that seriously.

But who's counting?

I paused, holding my fists and arms in a defensive stance as I heard the music in my playlist change, the mix of voices and tunes playing through my headphones.

Oh, this is a good one.

I smiled, picking up the pace as I turned away from the punching bag, walking over to a bench where I looked at a rack of weights (in kilograms, of course), until I found one right for me. I hefted up the weight, walking back to the bench, shifting my body to lie down as I lifted it, my arms straining as I breathed in and out, staring at the bar that held the two weighty ends together.

Come on. Don't drop it.

One…

My arms lifted the weight, holding it up as my two hands curled around it.

Two…

I brought it back down before bringing it up again, the two-and-a half-hundred kilos weighing on me.

Three…

My arms quivered, a low grunt escaping from my mouth as I pushed again, lifting the weights once again as I felt my muscles strain.

One more. Four, one for each letter of your name.

My arms shook as I gritted my teeth, focusing on the lyrics of the song.

Who doesn't want to rule the world, honestly?

"Everybody…" I whispered. "Wants...to...rule…"

Four.

"The world."

I lowered my arms, setting the weight down on the ground as I breathed a sigh of relief, letting myself relax, my body almost sinking into the padded bench. As I unplugged my headphones and put them into my pocket, I looked over, seeing Kane pumping iron easily two to three times what I just did.

Show-off.

I pulled up Youtube, scrolling through my feed to see if anything caught my eye.

New Quisilia upload? Fuck me, no. I unsubbed months ago! Hello, algorithm? You paying attention?

New report on the Chronicler's little adventure in Korea? Nah. Much better to view it in the Dreamscape, heh.

At least I didn't have to worry about those dumb wannabe gangster bitches posting anymore and filling my feed with horrible rap. I mean, rap could be good if done right, but the way they did it- no. Just no. Sabrina had gone dark on social media since we captured her. Last I heard, she was being, ahem, 'questioned'. I guess that dumb little racist bitch wised up to who she was dealing with. Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat...all silent.

Thank fuck.

Sure, I may put myself down for doing stupid teenager stuff sometimes, but this? It'd be like me going to Vitakar, finding a memorial wall of soldiers killed on Earth, and doing a stupid victory dance with a finger L yelling 'scoreboard!' as loud as I could. Sure, killing people was one thing, but making such a spectacle of it and turning war into bread and circuses was uncalled for. I didn't really take pride in it- not most people, anyway. I was glad she had shut up.

Nico's uncle and his sicario pet were the exception.

I wonder how that little shit feels about me killing his uncle.

To me, it was as simple as killing a comic book villain - I mean, the guy kind of was with the sheer evil he gave off. I mean, the guy's rap sheet spoke for itself. You don't find that kind of scum and villainy anywhere else. Raping, murdering, exeuctions via machete, arson, mass murder, and exporting illegal drugs. And that wasn't even considering the thousands of people who had their lives ruined by getting hooked on the stuff. All those people that were addicted...it's hard to imagine how many lives and families they ruined without killing them.

Same apple, same tree.

I got up, moving to the matted area adjacent to the workout machines where I got down on my hands and knees, deciding to do some post-workout stretches. Remember when I said we had Dath'Haram yoga classes? (It wasn't really called that, but I couldn't pronounce the actual name). Well, who knew a bunch of pacifists who liked to dance with poisoned knives (totally not a walking contradiction, right?) took physical exercise so seriously? I mean, it wasn't like they had natural-born agility and flexibility from birth and could navigate deadly jungles that would make the Amazon look like a wimp.

Jealous.

Jokes and sarcasm aside, it wasn't as boring as one would think. Sure, you had your regular yoga poses like the downward dog and the lotus, but then you had some stances and moves inspired from actual Bladedancing. I should know - the Dath'Haram who ran it used to be one.

Dath'matellian'harasota was one of the more interesting alien defectors on-base, if you had to ask. Age-wise, she was one of the oldest Vitakarians there. Before this, she served as a senior Collective medic who'd left the Bladedancers to, in her words, 'support my more warlike brethren on the front lines', and had not only quite a bit of skill in healing, but also in exercise and fitness, which was expected from her past. She'd quite literally run up to Aegis when he showed up in Korea, and found herself here.

She kept her original Bladedancing swords in a sealed glass box, just to show that she wasn't to be messed with. Sure, she may have looked like a sweet middle-aged Dath'Haram, but her video of dueling an Oyariah Titan said otherwise.

I balanced myself on my toes and palms, letting my hair fall as I stared at the red mats on the floor, controlling my breathing as I angled my body up, stretching and feeling my chest rise and fall.

Ignore the sounds of the others. Focus on your breathing, little Dawn. How does it feel for your skin to touch the soft floor? Think about the softness and the silence. Focus only on your lungs and mind. Push aside the chaos, and think of the good things. The things that remind you of home, of the warmth of safety and company, of thoughts that calm the chaos that is the world around you.

Focus on the good things.

I guess Dath'Haram had a way with the words.

I closed my eyes, eyes glowing a dim purple as I flashed back to my first day in XCOM, vividly remembering shaking Kunio's hand, having no idea how much he's mean to me.

"Oh, my name's Dawn. Dawn Conley."

The smile on my face as I shook his hand, trying to get the revelation that much of the history I knew was set up by a real Illuminati, and had it not been for a space cuttlefish with a knack for war, we'd all be under the Imperator's boot.

Another one.

The night that Caelior took off his helmet for me, showing just how much he trusted me.

"How do I look?"

The day we fully trusted one another, and the event that set us on the path to become siblings by choice, a choice that gave us both someone to lean on, to tell each other the things we could never say to anyone else. I was there for him the nights he remembered his lover Amera, hugging him as he remembered the scars of his past, knowing that he wouldn't shoulder the burden of the past alone. And he was there for me when I remembered Elijah, the pain of losing an uncle figure never really leaving my mind, Caelior merging his mind with mine, his orange eyes looking at my purple ones, letting me know everything was going to be okay.

I am here for you, and you are here for me.

I sighed, the weight on my shoulders.

Elijah would've wanted this for you. To move on and learn, carrying with you his memory and legacy so he never would really die. While one's body can die, the legacy they leave behind never really does. What you do, what you say, the marks that you leave behind really say who you were.

The trauma and the pain would never go away, no matter how hard I tried. The only way I could see that happening would be having T'Leth erase those memories- and I doubted he'd even do that, or was allowed.

Time to move on.

I laid down on my stomach, breathing in and out as I sat up, putting my footwear back on and grabbing my water bottle.

Remind me to thank Matellian later, I thought to myself. Guess you can learn a thing or two from a pacifist.

The last time a guy brought me home with him, it was to awkwardly meet with the parents, say hi a bit, try to tiptoe around the clear discomfort they had knowing that the two of us were doing the nasty.

This time, however, was quite different.

Again in T'Leth's dreamscape, Caelior and I stood together in front of a door he'd generated in the Dreamscape, a door to another little incursion into the Empire of old.

Call it a bit of a mental field trip.

Caelior looked at me, noticing my choice of the custom-made Ethereal garb. "I see you chose appropriately for today." He said. "You look fashionable."

I smirked. "I do my best." I said. "Figured I'd be disrespecting your folks if I showed up to your house in anything else. God forbid that time I wore that dress to make a first impression when I visited my first boyfriend's parents." I shook my head, whistling. "Now that was overcompensating."

"Well, I think you look good." He patted me on the shoulder. "Ready to see where I come from?"

I nodded. "Let's go."

He walked through the door, me following. I cringed as the lighting around me changed from dark blue to a bright, yellow sun, like a typical Nashville summer. I raised a hand to cover my squinting eyes as my senses adjusted to the world around me.

"Welcome to my world."

I blinked, looking around me, mouth open. We'd spawned in the middle of what I thought might be a suburban neighborhood - if all the houses were much larger, taller, and more intricate. The houses, if you could call them that, looked like large, fat cylinders, with glass windows standing out from the blue and green coloring of...whatever these were made of. Swirling rims traced down the side of each building in certain parts, almost like someone had gracefully traced over them with multicolored marker. Some of them had what looked like futuristic cars with no wheels...hovering in front of them. All of the 'houses' had a small cube connected to them- a garage, if I'd reckon.

Off in the distance, a legion of green hills filled the space behind the neighborhood as the sun rose up like a picture-perfect painting. Flocks of small flying creatures moved in the backdrop, doing loop-de-loops and showing their colors. Several quadruped animals that I couldn't make out dotted the hills, grazing on the alien grass absentminded of the other aliens next door.

The grass was green, with trees with red leaves planted in a symmetrical fashion up and down the block. The 'road' seemed thinner than the one back in my neighborhood, almost like it was made for walking rather than vehicular usage. Something flew overhead, screeching. I peered at it, seeing not a bird, but some kind of very small reptile. It looked like a very small peterdactyl, with a pink crest of feathers sprouting from its head. Its two small wings, with small black talons and a large yellow flap of skin on each wing, flapped in the sky as it flew in circles, its thin tail trailing behind it. Its head, with an elongated suot, occasionally opened its mouth, screeching (somewhat quietly, like a robin) as its two black eyes scanned the area around us.

"What do you think?" He asked, clearly noticing my amazed expression. Right now, if I had any less sense of intrigue, I'd ask T'Leth to play the Jurassic Park theme to add some humor, but right now...well, right now my sense of curiosity had killed that.

"It's beautiful. I-it's gorgeous! The colors, the buildings, the animals- and the people? Where are they?"

He shrugged. "I thought this presentation would look better if we were alone. Do you want to change that?"

I shook my head. "No, no. Your home, your rules."

"Very well. In we go."

We walked over to the front door, which Caelior placed a hand in front of, opening the door with a flash of psionic power. It slid open, Caelior gesturing me in.

"You first."

"Why do all these houses look the same? And why didn't you live in a city?"

Caelior shrugged. "Mother and father preferred to live out here. The 'zoo' my mother worked at was located very close by, and my father's engineering firm was located outside of the city. Starship design, as I understood. They were modest people. They did not want special treatment simply because my father and mother's many...mating sessions paid off and 'got lucky' as you say." He chuckled. "They had a good life, and wanted me to have a regular upbringing."

"But that didn't happen."

"No. No it did not."

I walked into what looked like a common area or living room. Glass surrounded the first floor, where several large cushions dotted the area, the floor covered with some kind of rug. As I leaned down and touched it, I noticed my finger left a brief dent, like memory foam.

"Mind if I take my shoes off?"

"Do as you wish."

With a thought, my footwear disappeared, my soles slightly sinking into the rug. I sighed as a cool feeling enveloped my feet, like I was standing on a mattress made of linen and silk. It, in a way, felt like sand, except without the coarseness and all the grains getting everywhere.

"Nice, isn't it?" He said. "Our people did not skimp on comforts. Sit on one of the cushions, if you want."

I walked over and sat down on one, noticing how the cushion 'deflated' around my form like a huge beanbag. The fabric it was lined with felt like

"It's really comfy." I said. "They feel like beanbags."

"Indeed. They were quite popular in my time. A perfect place to rest, and easily manipulated by even the weakest telekines to provide any shape you want. Watch."

My alien bean bag levitated into the air as Caelior squeezing two fingers together as the lumpy form I was sitting on became a perfect triangle.

"Nice! Got any other party tricks?"

"Maybe." He said, removing his helmet and placing it on the table. "Do you like it?"

"I love it! It's so posh. Did everyone live like this?"

"If you meant 'have a home', then yes. Many had different tastes- some had larger homes, some had smaller, some had vacation homes or apartments- well, what you would call them, anyway. Homelessness was eradicated when our people unified on the homeworld."

"Flexing on me, aren't you?" I chuckled.

"You cannot help but admire the beauty of a more advanced civilization, no? The Empire was not perfect, but it did many things right for its people. All had jobs and top-tier education. Sickness and death was long dead, forgive the pun."

"But not so much for others that weren't Ethereals." I said.

He looked down. "Yes. I know. For all the things we had, our isolationism was our weakness. We rejected the other species, seeing them as beneath us. And look where we are now. Broken and scattered, led by a child who thinks he can save the galaxy."

"Caelior, it's-"

He held up a hand. "Dawn. It is fine. We can talk about it later. Follow me."

I got up from the chair and followed him into the kitchen. A table and three chairs lay in the center, floating off the ground. As I stepped off the rug, I looked down at the white tiled floor, which had an odd chill to it.

"What's up with the floor?"

"Under the floor, there are many small pipes filled with qatar. This could be heated or cooled at the touch of a button."

"Interesting. And what's with the floating furniture?"

"Magnetism." he explained. "No need for chair or table legs."

"Pretty elegant." I touched the table, feeling the gray slab slightly move as it reached to the poke of my fingers, quickly resetting itself. "And where are the cupboards?"

"No need when you have a food printer." He motioned a hand towards several identical machines on the counter, very similar in design to what he had back in his quarters. "As long as you purchased fuel for it, any food you wanted could be made."

"Amazing." I said, running a hand over the device. It looked like a mix between a coffee maker and microwave, with the main part being a box with a keypad on top. "If only I had one…"

"Are you jealous already?"

I nodded. "Pretty much."

He clapped, the area around us flashing, changing into what looked like a bedroom. A large circular bed was in one corner, its purple and pink covers standing out from the dark blue walls. Several holograms littered the walls, decorating them with projections of various pictures, symbols, and words. One of them looked like a movie poster, showing several masked Ethereals with a large array of alien creatures behind them.

"One of my favorite holo-films." He said. "A documentary series about the Hoskillian system. I watched it many times as a child."

"You liked to watch nature documentaries?"

He nodded. "I liked the sensual and beautiful places they displayed. It was oddly calming to me, a form of escape where the people I was watching were not constantly judging me or giving me attention because I was a natural birth."

"That's...actually sweet."

"Yes." He mumbled. "One of the few intelligent things I did when I was young. Before…"

"Before the Maelstroms?"

He nodded again, walking over to his bed and sitting down, grabbing one of the holograms and putting it on the bed. With a telekinetic gesture, he lifted me onto the bed, holding the hologram as he pushed a button. The image changed from what looked like a loading screen to several pictures of him and another Ethereal.

"Is that-"

"Amera, yes. My lover. And, if the war had not happened, most likely my future mate. Have a closer look." He passed it over to me, which I held gingerly.

"Push the button on the left to change images."

The first one was both of them in what Caelior had earlier described as Maelstrom armor, standing in front of their headquarters, a massive spire with an arching entrance.

"That was us after we had passed our training. We had become a pair, or couple in your tongue, and I sent it to my parents as a double message that I had succeeded- both in my psionics, and finding love."

"I imagine they were happy."

"Very much so." He said, his voice laced with pride. I changed the image, next showing him and Amera at his house, two adult Ethereals welcoming them with a feast of various foods and drinks on the table, one of which was the ga'sel'muschen I'd eaten while staying over.

"And this was the first time she met my parents." he shook his head. "She was so nervous. A veritable demon on the battlefield, but terribly worried when meeting my parents. Needless to say, they succeeded her expectations, and vice versa. She showed off her abilities…"

The next picture showed her lifting boulders behind their house, levitating the huge rocks into the air as he watched. They were all wearing helmets. But you could tell they were all having a good time.

"Looks like a good time." I said. "Guess you Ethereals knew how to have fun."

"Sometimes, we did. We all knew the intensity of the war. I suspect another reason my parents let her visit was to get our minds off the impending enemy."

"And did it work?"

"Yes. We visited several times. Each better then the last."

The next image changed to show a field of grass at night, the two in front of a tent-like structure, with a small campfire in front. The two had their helmets off in much more free-fitting wear, with Amera leaning her head on Caelior shoulder, her orange eyes staring right into the camera or whatever had recorded the picture. The two were smiling, hands together, looking like a picturesque happy couple.

"You two looked happy together."

"We were." His voice grew quieter. "We gave each other joy and comfort. We found peace and solace in each other as the galaxy burned around us. When we were deployed, we always shared a quarters together. We joked that we kept each other sane." He chuckled. "We thought we'd last past the war. Become bondmates, have a child of our own. Have a house to raise our future family in. Of course, deep inside we both knew it would barely happen."

"Yeah." I said. I'm sorry. I can't imagine that, being so close to someone like that. Loving them and knowing that they could die any day."

"Well, it's similar to us, no? Except the love here is different."

"True. You don't have sex with people you call siblings."

"Degenerates." He said. "In all my life, I never would understand why anyone would do that. But anyway, yes. There are some parallels - ignoring the intimate side, obviously. We both provide comfort to each other, and trust in one another, no?"

"No doubt about it."

"Indeed. I appreciate our friendship, but I fear that one of us dies. It would, in your tongue, 'leave a hole in our hearts'." He put down the hologram. "I know that people die in war- it is expected. Yet again, history has repeated itself, and I am in another conflict, fighting a new war against my kind. For if we fail, the Imperator's plan will surely bring ruin to us and end us for good. If I do live, I will have to face the Synthesized again- though you will most likely be dead by then."

I nodded glumly, remembering our brief conversation about mortality. "It'd be an honor to kick some killer robot...cyborg...whatever by your side. But, well…" I cracked a knuckle. "I don't think my biology will cooperate. I'll probably be under some gravestone somewhere."

He nodded. "I promise that if you die, I will never forget you. I will make sure your legacy is not burned away by the tests of time."

"Oh?"

He nodded again. "I have considered writing a book about myself. An autobiography, if you will. I have begun a small draft, and would like you to help."

Now this piqued my interest. "How so?"

He shrugged. "You could help write a section about yourself and how you have helped me become the Ethereal I am today. You and me taking down the Hiveship, that sort of information. Would you like to help?"

"Hell to the fucking yes I will!" I said. "Help write a book? Sure thing!"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm. But do not get carried away. You will not be writing all of it."

"Whatever I can do to help, Caelior."

He looked outside, pointing at the rolling hills behind him. "How about we take a walk outside, see the sights?"

"Oh?" I smiled.

"Indeed. A little peace never hurt, did it?" He got off the bed, beckoning me. "Come, Dawn. Nothing wrong with a little bit of peace, no?"

Nothing wrong with that at all.

Well, here I was.

Back in Zuwara - with much less violence. Even two and a half weeks after the battle had ended, the city was somewhat still in ruins. Most of the city center and port areas were fine, but the rest was either mostly flattened or almost totally reduced to rubble. Thankfully, the SAS hadn't been back yet - satellite imagery showed they were staying the hell away from Zuwara and most of Libya following their failed offensive.

And stay down.

Me and the rest of the team were standing around in a sectioned-off ballroom of a hotel that had escaped the siege relatively unscathed. Arrays of chairs were set up in front of an impromptu stage, with crystal chandeliers shining down light from the ceiling. Xarian's hulking form stood out among the rest of the humans, with the only other exception being Nalena, who was drawing even more stares than our resident scary rock monster.

"Pipsqueak!"

I turned around, seeing-

Hassan!

"Colonel Hassan?"

He laughed, shaking his head as he ran up to me, offering me a hand. "I see they fixed your eye. How're you doing?"

I shrugged. "Good as can be. I didn't get to-"

"Say goodbye?" He chuckled. "You're fine. After you passed out, your people dragged you off the field, that was the last time I saw you. After that, the SAS ran the hell away. Left a ton of their guys behind. You did a hell of a job."

"Thanks. But damn, that speech of yours. You did a helluva job too. And losing all of your men...it couldn't have been easy."

"They'll be remembered, that's for sure. They went down like soldiers, and took many of the traitorous bastards down with them." He patted his chest, where his heart was. "They still live on thanks to their deeds. And...it's not Colonel anymore. It's Marshal, actually."

"No way! Seriously?"

"A new rank, paid for in the freshly spilled blood of traitors. I'm just glad you made it out. If you had died, after all you'd done, I don't know who else I could've relied upon back there."

"Your men." I said. "They're gone."

"They are." Hassan looked away for a moment. "There's nothing you could have done about them. We served together, and they gave their lives so you and I could live."

I blinked. "I saw one of them...get turned into chunks. Got hit by a missile. He pushed me out of the way. Duha."

"Duha?" Hassan asked. "He did that? For you?"

"He did."

The guy who Qasira took the gun from. "I guess he wanted to redeem himself. The guilt... I could feel it dripping from his mind. He didn't deserve it. It wasn't his fault."

"I know." Hassan put a hand on my shoulder. "But you avenged him. You sent all those chelbs back to the hell they came from."

That made me feel a little better. But it didn't change all the blood and death I'd seen- and caused. You didn't watch someone almost blow their brains out and just walk away alright. A part of me wanted to avenge her, to reduce the hometown of wherever those mercs had come from to glass. Part of me wanted to stay here, to push back against them.

Maybe one day I'd get the opportunity to do so.

"Qasira's alive, though." I said meekly. "She's at a mental hospital in Portugal. The Commander promised me he'd use his connections to send me reports on her condition."

"She's alive?" Hassan raised his eyes. "One-Eye, you are full of surprises. I thought she was gone. The casualty reports are still being written up, and I really thought she was gone." He pursed his lips. "Fuck me. I guess this day did get a little better after all."

"Well, well." Kabir walked up to us. "I see XCOM's teenage soldier has returned."

"Chief Marshal Kabir." I said. "Good to see you again."

She smirked. "It's actually General Kabir now. I got promoted." She looked at Hassan. "You didn't tell her?"

"Hey, can't I tell her a surprise?" He shrugged.

"Congratulations!" I said. "General Kabir. Rolls off the tongue pretty well."

"That's not the only thing that changed." Hassan interjected. "We're giving each other another shot."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Really now?"

"Yep." Kabir said. "And since we're both gonna be stationed here for the near future, we'll have plenty of time to work things out."

Hassan rolled his eyes. "Just don't give me a hard time like the Skulls, alright?"

Kabir chuckled, saying something in Arabic that made Hassan blush and Fakhr let out a snort in the back.

"Huh? I don't-"

He chuckled. "I kid, never mind. Hey, do you have that gun I gave you?"

"Yep. Armor said I could keep it. Baby's collecting dust, waiting for more blood."

"That's the One-Eye I know."

One of the main doors near the front of the ballroom opened, and surrounded by a group of Priests, was Supreme Commander Laura Christaens, decked out in her ADVENT uniform, medals, and everything.

Uh oh, Dawn. Big boys are in the house now.

"Thank you for coming, everyone. Please take your seats." She announced.

Fakhr walked up to me. "XCOM's seating is over there. Follow me, alright?"

"Got it." I turned back to the two, shrugging. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize. We'll catch up later." Hassan said. "One-Eye." A smirk grew on his face.

"Ha-ha." I rolled my eyes.

"Hmph. Don't want to miss your medals, do you?"

"Not in a million years. Later!"

We took our seats, XCOM in the front row - they even had one for Xarian, which I found absolutely hilarious. Christaens walked up to the podium, the flags of ADVENT, XCOM, and the Middle Eastern Legions behind her. She scanned the small crowd before directing her attention to the front of the room.

"Welcome, and thank you all once again for coming. Each and every one of your actions here in this very city saved it along with millions of innocents from the wrath and barbarity of the SAS. I understand many people here had friends, family, and loved ones who died during this short, blood, and horrific campaign. Your brave actions have ensured that they will never be forgotten."

"All of you have gone through hell and back to protect this city, not just for ADVENT, but for Humanity, your homes, and to ensure that this ground was kept safe from those who sought to destroy it. The aliens may have had superior numbers, and technology, but the one thing they never have that you do is knowing that your homeland is at risk, and you will do anything to protect it."

Rumblings in Arabic filled the crowd, accompanied by many nods.

"The Battlemaster and his Chinese puppet preach they are about honor. About keeping their word. But look at their actions, not their words. They supposedly have influence over all battlefields of Earth, yet they let this happen. They enable these monsters that call themselves Humans. Ones that would slaughter children, simply because they were in the way. That tells us who they truly are, is it not? Behind their 'honor', they at their core will do whatever it takes to break us. To make us fear them. To make us bow down in intimidation.

But we do not. We have not. We will not. Because of men and women like you, representing the best of us."

She continued to speak for another few minutes, me lazily staring at the woman as she went off to list notable parts of the battle, thinking about being so close to someone so powerful. Sure, the same thing could be said of my life back at XCOM, where the very people that changed the world and could turn entire armies to mush walked by me every day.

But here - I'd only seen Saudia and her inner circle once in person - and that was at the Commander's reception from a distance as I sat at a table with my friends, trying not to stare at Earth's most powerful and influential people. But Commander Christaens - she was here for us, not a party.

I felt honored, but at the same time, I felt uncomfortable.

I'd read the reports, you know. About Scipio. About the 'estimations' of civilians that would die. About her 'mistakes' regarding the destruction and other...unsavory tactics used. About how she was this close to losing her job and title. About the Oversight Division's investigations into her activities.

This feels wrong.

But you just let a guy who used to nail people to crosses put medals on you.

Does that make me a hypocrite?

"And now, as I'm sure you've all been waiting for, the awards ceremony. First on the list of thos to be awarded today are the XCOM operatives who bravely assisted ADVENT forces in their retreat and ultimate defense against, as well as victory, over the SAS."

"Bravery is not limited to a single idea, a single concept. On the battlefield, people of all colors and creeds risk their lives every day to save and protect those around them. They do not fight for glory or honor, but rather for the men and women around them. From fresh recruits to experienced veterans, all contribute to fighting our enemies. And the first person to be awarded today exemplifies one of those many backgrounds- the youth of our society, who we fight and bleed for everyday to protect to ensure their future."

"However, to many of you here, you probably already know her as 'One-Eye'."

A chorus of low chuckles echoed throughout the room as I put on an awkward smile, feeling many people staring at me.

"Dawn Conley, XCOM's youngest soldier, please come up to the front."

"Time to shine." Fakhr whispered to me as I got up, feeling hundreds of pairs of eyes bore into my back as I walked around and the rows of chairs up to the stage, my hands slightly shaking as I approached the ADVENT military's head honcho.

Don't fuck this up. Pleeeease for the love of whatever deity exists, don't embarrass yourself.

I walked up to her, putting on a half-decent (yet sorta cheesy) smile and clasping my hands behind my back as my heart beat faster and faster. She nodded, giving a little smile. Yet I could totally tell she was feeling a bit odd about having someone so young be in a place like this.

It's happening. It's really happening.

Can't blame her at all, honestly.

"Dawn Conely, in recognition of your service to ADVENT and humanity, I have three of some of our highest medals for you. Are you ready to be awarded?"

I nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Very well. Firstly, in recognition of her service to protect many refugees from harm and your brave efforts in Zuwara, I award you with the Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of your bravery."

The crowd clapped loudly as she lowered the medal around my neck, the metal slightly clinking.

It's happening! It's really happening!

She reached for the next medal. "This next one is much rarer. For eliminating a Lesser Hive Commander and destroying a valuable Collective asset, you are awarded the Forlorn Vigil medal for your deed."

"And finally, last but not least, for your bravery in hijacking the SAS railgun batteries and turning them against the enemy, as well as your efforts in ensuring the safety of your convoy, I am honored to present you with the highest medal a soldier can earn, the ADVENT Medal of Honor. As of now, you are the youngest person in ADVENT history to receive this prestigious medal. Wear it with pride, and remember your actions as you do."

As she placed it on me, I couldn't help but feel my heart swell with pride as the audience burst into a massive round of applause and cheers, my squadmates and the recently reunited couple being the loudest out of all of them. Xarian was stomping his left foot up and down, while Nalena was moving the upper part of her body in a sort of swirling motion.

And I couldn't help but enthusiastically smile.

All these people - I had saved them. We had saved them, all of us, together. As I stood there with the three medals on my chest, I thought about all the things I'd done to get here- all starting with that day I decided to go to get a psionics test.

"Hey dad, can you drive me down to that psionic whatistname place for a test? I wanna see if I can do any of that stuff."

Those were the exact words I'd said to my dad, casually scrolling on his phone that fateful day. I'd thought about doing it for days, and finally got the guts to. One hour, one blood test, and one group of doctors flipping out over my high-scoring test results, and me saying yes to joining without a second thought had changed my life forever.

You're a hero, Dawn.

You helped save them all.

You are worth something.

You're not just that girl from Nashville. Oh, no.

You're something so much more.

And isn't that what they want you to be?

To be continued in:

Operation: Coronet