Praesidium

Early October 2017

This appointment was turning messy.

"How did you not know?"

I almost yelled at Caelior as Yates sat there and watched. "There were fucking kids getting thrown into incinerators! I held a dying kid in my arms, for Christ's sakes! You can't just say you were willfully ignorant!

He crossed his arms. "Willfully ignorant implies that I knew, and cared, about the programs on Desolan. I did not, and I had no reason to be. I have become more open-minded since, more aware now, partially thanks to you."

"But you can't just say you didn't care! You knew it was going on! And you just didn't do anything!"

"No, Dawn, I did not know. But let's say that I was complicit as you've been righteously saying to me - . What was I supposed to do?" He shot back, his tone changing. "Ethereals are not Humans. We are not raised as you are, nor do we have the same upbringing. And it is more than Ethereals. Do you know how many Sectoids, Vitakara, and Andromedons are aware? And not one of them cared for the plight that you have now completely embraced - in what context do you think there is any environment for me, at that point in my life, do question otherwise?"

"But you had to think something about it was wrong!"

"Why, exactly would I think that? When everything I knew about Mutons was through Sargons, Ethereals, and literally everyone who bothered to interact with them?" He challenged. "Do you feel the need to demand the liberation of your Shoggoths and Molosser Hounds that are bred? Mutons were bred for war - nothing more or less."."

"But you didn't decide to do any thinking for yourself? You could've gone there at any time, but you didn't. You could've said something, but you didn't! You're complicit, just like the rest?"

"Again with complicity," He hissed, now angry. "You like to use that word often, which I suppose makes you feel better. Fine then, but if you want to talk about complicity, talk to Aegis. Talk to Nartha. Talk to our Andromedon allies. All of them are far more complicit in this than I have ever been or will be."

"I can't talk to him!" I said. "I can't schedule a fucking meeting with him or anything! You think his fucking unemotive voice is gonna show any emotion to make me feel better? He'd just tell me to get over it and walk away."

"So you're taking this out on me." He said. "You can't talk to one of the main Ethereals involved in this, so you go to yell at me."

"You weren't there, Caelior!" I raised my voice. "You didn't hold a fucking dying kid and see them put into incinerators! You didn't see children being worked to death in that death camp. It was all on your records and you didn't put any effort into it!"

"What was I supposed to do? Liberate the entire planet by myself? Whisk all the children away and hope that no one notices!"

"Okay, let's pause right there." Yates stopped us. "I don't want this turning into a full-blown screaming match. You both have valid points, so let's break things down."

She looked at me. "Dawn, you're angry. You saw those horrible things there and it's affected you. However, you have to understand Caelior's position. He held little power in the Collective, and as such could not do much. In the past when you've had joint appointments with me, he's admitted his xenophobia. You're right about his complicity making him guilty, and while that's true, he was not personally involved in this. Caelior, is that true?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She looked at me. "Dawn, you understand that, right?"

"Yeah." I looked at Caelior. "But I think you don't understand how I feel. I was there, in person. You weren't. If you'd linked with me right now, you'd understand."

"I-"

She looked at Caelior. "And Caelior, she's right about your complicity. No one's saying you haven't made great progress here. But as much as you've progressed with your emotions, you've got a lot to learn. Dawn here has been through a very traumatic event, and she needs to cope with it. You do hold some culpability for your inaction, but you shouldn't be blamed for it all."

Caelior did not answer. His silence spoke for itself, and a sharp undercurrent of irritation seeped through.

He looked at me. "Dawn, you are clearly distressed right now. I understand how-"

"No. No you don't." I said. "I was there, in person, seeing all of it happen in real time. You didn't."

Yates looked at me. "Caelior has a point. You have every right to be angry, but it's not right to blame him. He didn't have anything to do with it."

"I do not view aliens in the same way as I once did, and it is thanks to your people for this," he continued. "It is why I can see the truth here, and understand that it is wrong, and distressing to consider it happening. And it is distressing that had I known, I likely would not have cared. I do now."

"I know that, and-"

He walked over to me. "Dawn. I care about you. You know that. You are my sibling, my family, and I never would have considered an alien could be either once upon a time" He knelt down, closer to my height. "I am truly sorry for what my people did back there." And he wasn't lying. His mental defenses were down, and I could sense everything he said was true.

"I know I can't fix it. I can't go back and undo it. But what I can do is continue to fight besides you, okay?"

I looked at him. I couldn't see his face through the helmet, but he meant it. Every. Single. Word.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Dammit. I can't say I'm happy, but I understand. All right, Caelior. I accept your apology."

"Are you still angry at me?"

"Not really. Not totally."

He nodded. "I understand." He cocked his head. "Hug?"

I nodded. "Hug's fine."

He gently picked me up, hugging me. I reciprocated, not bothering to mention how tight it was.

"Well." Yates said. "I think that's all we have for today."

"Thank you for your mediation, doctor." Caelior said.

I just nodded. "Thanks."

She smiled. "No problem, it's my job. You two want to do the same time next week?"

We both nodded, and left. Outside her office, Caelior stopped.

"Do you still want to come over?" He asked. "I'm not sure-"

"Always. And I'm not scheduled for anything for the next several weeks, so I can visit whenever. And…we can stay up as long as we want."

"I would like that a lot. I will see you tonight, then."

"Right back at you."

Caelior's Room

Praesidium

Early October 2017

I walked into his room, still feeling down from today's meeting.

And realizing he had opened my presents.

The new rug covered the floor, with the bunk bed gone. Two Ethereal-sized beds, mattresses and all, already made.

With one of them already in use as he laid on one, his phone hovering in front of his face.

"Dawn." Caelior got up from his bed, looking at me. "You came."

"I did." I said. "I'm sorry about my outburst."

"And I am sorry for my lack of understanding. I know we still need to patch things up."

"Yeah. Our first fight."

"I still care about you, Dawn. You're still my sister."

"And you're still my brother. But families have rough spots."

He nodded. "I wish to make things better. I want to continue to have this relationship."

"So do I. But for now…thanks for wanting to have that meeting in the first place."

I put my backpack on the ground. "You mind if I stay over the whole week or more? Make up for lost time?"

"We can. But there's one more thing to mention."

I leaned into him as he continued. "Yeah?"

"You how when we merge our minds, I call it 'linking?"

"Yep."

"As you know, that is the ultimate action of showing trust. In my language, it translates to 'mentally intimate', but I feel that does not fit. When you and I do it, be it when you sleep over or you need more brain power with your research, it's one of the few times I can feel safe and secure. Melding with an alien mind is incredibly unique, and I treasure you allowing me to do that."

"I care about you, Caelior, of course."

"Would you feel comfortable if I changed the terminology? From 'linking' to 'bonding'? I would like it to feel more official between us."

"Oh." I said. "I'd be fine with that. It sounds kinda cute."

"Very well. I appreciate that."

"Thanks. I know your people've never dealt with something like this before." I waved my hand. "An alien and an Ethereal being such good friends."

"No. My people would have shunned me if I knew. My younger self would have, even."

"Isn't it odd how we've been so much more accommodating than your people?"

He smiled, something that even though me meant well, still unnerved me a bit due to the sheer size of his teeth. "One more thing for you. Stay there."

He got off the bed and walked over to the drawer where he kept our clothes. Since it was basically my second home here, he didn't mind keeping some of my clothes here for convenience.

"We have some matching sleepwear, but they do not cover all days. I have fixed that. Here you go."

A small pile of clothes fell into my lap. My emotions perked up as I looked at them. All of them were made of soft fabric, and all had the same top-bottom design. One was all psionic purple, the other was all red (my favorite color) and the last one had clearly been a custom made, covered with some kind of Ethereal art design.

"Awww." He smiled when I said that. "But where's the fourth? This is only six."

"Because this is a surprise. A media company reached out, asking me if I could be a guest star in one of their 'amine-s'."

My face went white with surprise. "What?"

"And I was inspired to do this."

The final pair landed in my lap, and it took all my strength to not laugh.

It was black, covered with chibi versions of Caelior's helmeted face with incredibly exaggerated features, and Japanese words under them.

"Is this real?"

"Very." I could tell that he was enjoying every second of this. I groaned, looking at the clothes. "How did you even get these?"

"Promotional material. I have one too. Matching for both of us, remember?"

I shook my head. "The things I do for this organization."

"Try them on, sister. I promise I will only occasionally mock you."

"Ha ha."

He looked at me. "Dawn, I want to patch things up with you." He looked at me a little sheepishly. "Can you let me control our bond tonight?"

"Why?"

"Because when we bond, when we sleep and see each others' dreams, I want to understand how you felt. I will not interact with your memory in a way that will make you experience it again, but I want to see it for myself. Then I will understand."

I looked away for a moment. "Okay. But after tonight, I want to initiate the bond for a whole week. Instead of me speaking with your voice, you'll be speaking a Southern accent when we go to bed."

He put one of his hands out. "Deal, sister."

I took it, smiling. "Okay."

Praesidium

Early October 2017

"You look rough."

I looked up from my szechuan beef to see Violet plop her tray next to me, looking at me. Her telltale standard tone was gone, seeming more inquisitive than anything.

"How could I not be?" I took another gulp of soda. "I saw kids getting murdered for several hours straight. No amount of therapy is gonna change that."

"Wait, you went on that op?" The color almost drained from her face. "Dios mio, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"It's fine."

"You don't sound fine." She said, biting into her food. "But I guess I can't blame you for feeling horrid. I've seen crap like that myself."

I chortled. "Says the gang member."

She rolled my eyes. "The worst part of joining you guys was that Russian dude forcing me to get my tattoos removed." She made a mock sad face. "It was so tragic. I really missed the skull one."

"One? How many did you have?"

"A lot. I got a few here and there for doing stuff here and there."

I raised an eyebrow. "Stuff?"

"The usual, y'know. Dealt some drugs hee, roughed up someone there, moved some guns across town, that sorta crap."

"You smuggled guns?"

"We weren't professionals like the guys in Corsica our clients bought from." She said. "We'd sometimes do it legit, stand around and look tough when the money and guns got exchanged so no one'd ripped us off." She took a drink. "You know I can tell if coke's cut or not?"

I turned my body. "Okay, how much illicit stuff do you know how to do?"

"Quite a lot, amiga. Don't you know?" She smirked. "I'm the obligatory bad bitch, the one from los criminales while you're the goody-two-shoes. Don't worry about it."

I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. One thing I never got tired of was her blatant attitude towards everyone.

"I mean, look. From your perspective, when you think of los gansteres and street gangs in your shows, you think about the glorified malapridos they put on your cop shows in America, right? Guys with bandannas and that ear-bleeding 'gangsta rap' shit? Christ, you yanquis have terrible taste."

I nodded.

"It isn't even half of that. Oh sure, I brought lots of pesos home for my family. But you pay a price, you know? You go out on the street and wonder if you'll even come back alive, si? Maybe you take too much of something and never wake up. Maybe a deal goes wrong and you get shot. It's just chaos, day after day."

"That sounds oddly sentimental from you of all people."

She sighed. "It's that damned shrink. I hate 'em, but she always finds a way to make me talk." She snorted. "Here I am getting all sappy. She really does know how to pull my strings."

"You shouldn't trash her like that. She helps, you know."

"Oh, she does. I just don't like to admit it. I'm too proud for that. But…" She trailed off. "I saw the pictures from Desolan. Jesus. I thought the shit I saw on the street was bad, but that. Dios mio. I just can't imagine it. So many ninos y ninas dead. I can't imagine how it felt to be there in person."

"I don't know a word that could describe it any better than monstrous." I said. "And it was even worse for all the other aliens that stood by and did nothing about it. I love how the Vitakara try to play themselves off as these peaceful doe-eyed people, then turn around and do shit like this."

"I tell ya, Violet, I've got no sympathy left. My only regret's not killing more back there."

"I probably would've killed the lot of 'em." Violet remarked. "Woulda burned down the whole damn place if I could."

"When I'm going back out there, I'm not takin' any prisoners. None."

"Look at you, playing hardball!" She lightly slapped me on the back.

"Not the time, Violet."

"Sorry." She went back to her food. "But I don't blame you. I heard they were trying to send it to Vitakar. Think it'll do anything?"

"I doubt it. Maybe we'll get some more defections, but I doubt it. They live in a cult of personality that would've made the Kim dynasty blush. They borderline worship the Ethereals and don't question a damn thing. Fuck 'em."

"Damn right. Right there with you." She paused. "They're sending me on my first mission soon."

That piqued my interest. "Oh? Where?"

"Vitakar."

"There? Really?"

"Apparently they're sending some Middle Eastern dude there. Needs more manpower, apparently."

"Damn, I'm jealous!"

"You can always request to go."

"Nah. I think I'm just fine here on Earth for now."

En route to Kathmandu, Nepal

Early October 2017

I could almost hear the sound of the icy howling winds as the Skyranger's engines roared. With each minute, I got closer and closer to one of the hardest tasks I'd had to do.

Convince someone to actually join XCOM.

Oh, sure, it made sense when you thought about it. I was only one year older than our prospective recruit, and if the Internal Council thought I was good enough, then I wasn't going to question it. What did make me wonder was what the tipping point was in the first place that convinced them. Creed and I hadn't had the next history, with me being this close to getting in a fight with him after the mess that was Libya finally got sorted out. Not the best response, but me having to do the heavy lifting back there and being stranded like that didn't mix well in my mind.

Well, not back then.

And as for the rest of them…well, aside from the Commander, Bronis and Aegis, I didn't really know them. And to be honest, I felt like I didn't really need to. It didn't need to be done right now- currently, I didn't feel like it was my place to.

Though, it did make me wonder.

I'd talked with the Commander so many times, and each time I felt like I understood him less and less. He was both a CIA spook and mastermind behind the biggest war in human history, but at the same time he was so much more than that. A not-so-insignificant part of me still felt wary of being led by one of the most infamous war criminals of the twenty-first century, but it wasn't just that. For a man capable of such things, it was like he could change on a whim.

Was the man who blew up Mecca still in there somewhere?

He simply had so many facets that I couldn't understand who he really was. What did he want? Well, anyone could say he wanted to win. But his idea of winning wasn't just beating your enemy. The UN asked him to destroy the Caliphate, and he in turn did more damage to Islam as a religion than anyone, so much so that the people behind the Crusades would have blushed. The Illuminati set out to fight him, and he in turn made them bend to him. And now he was going toe-to-toe with an alien that had been around for, well, forever.

And that's what scared me the most about him.

I didn't know what he wanted. And I couldn't predict how far he'd go to get it.

What comes after the Collective? There's more than just the Sovereigns and the Synthesized.

I doubt he didn't know the feelings I had towards…past him and his actions. If he did, he didn't show it. But he cared about me. He cared about all of us. The advice he'd given me, what he said, part of me wondered if he was looking to make me a Psionic Overseer someday.

And wouldn't that be nice.

But, aside from that, I was still kind of recovering from Desolan. Not that the combat was hard, but seeing everything in that wretched place. The sheer industrial scale of breeding a race of slaves, Muton mothers forced to give birth until they died, kids forced to go on death marches and grueling regiments, turning them into mush for their failure.

It was like walking into a sterile version of hell. It made the volcanic wasteland outside seem nice by comparison.

And of course, it had the Battlemaster's name written all over it.

It would've been better to leave the Mutons in their primitive tribal state than turn them into this.

That was not honor- none of it was.

That is not something a respectable leader does. That is not something a man of honor does.

The Battlemaster was just another monster like the rest of the Imperator's goons. He just did an excellent job of keeping it under wraps. There was nothing of him I would hold in regard.

The public reaction was, as I suspected, absolutely incandescent. Protests, an absolute social media firestorm, and not surprisingly radio silence from the Collective. I couldn't wait until Vitakara got their hands on this stuff. I had a feeling a lot of them would go all the way with denying it. Well, if anything, that would show who was too far gone and who wasn't.

And maybe this would make it easier to convince Rishika to join us. If anything, this was even more evidence as to the depths the Collective would go to, and would paint them as the monsters they were. There was no defending them, simple as that. That and obviously having someone like me at the table rather than the Vicar-General would keep the pressure off.

Hopefully, anyway.

She wasn't Violet-not even close. Violet was like a wild card; her criminal history showed that anyone but her would've never even been considered. She was like a renegade- somewhat reckless, yet dependable. Rishika was almost the opposite; more personal, more reserved, quieter. I wasn't sure if they'd even get along.

I'd read her psychological profile many times, and I still couldn't pin down what exactly I wanted to say to her. I had some ideas, but I felt like just winging it was cheap. But there were things I knew she'd hook onto. The training. The gear. The prestige. Knowing things not even the Chancellor knew. Entering that exclusive club that everyone wanted in, but few could actually join. I'd wanted those things when Bronis showed up, and I almost certainly knew she'd want that too. But I was sure she'd have doubts. I know I did, and I'd have to do my best to say whatever she needed to hear.

The Skyranger's intercom crackled.

"Five minutes to landing."

I nodded silently, grabbing the thick coat from the seat next to me. Even with my augmentations, I had a feeling I'd need it.

I could almost feel the cold from here.

Priest Training Center

Kathmandu, Nepal

Early October 2017

I sat in the meeting room idly waiting, twirling a pen between my fingers. I had my uniform and beret on, trying to look official as possible. I felt a little silly wearing it on my head- I didn't think it went with my hair, but I had to look the part.

I sensed her approaching, reclining back in the swirly chair.

The door opened, and I got my first look at our potential next recruit.

Rishika was about as tall as me, with matching eye colors, though her hair was black. Her skin was slightly darker than mine.

As the door closed, she stopped, looking at me.

"And who are you?" She had a somewhat thick accent, although I could understand her English just fine. "Are you XCOM?"

"I am XCOM. Please, have a seat." I gestured. "I've heard a lot about you, Rishika."

She still stood, looking at me with a very confused face. I couldn't blame her. "I know it looks weird, but you're not the first teenager to join XCOM. Or the other side."

After blinking for a couple more seconds, she reluctantly took her seat. "I don't understand why XCOM-"

Would recruit me? I used to think the same thing. One of my powers is being a telepath- a very powerful one. If you're over eighteen, XCOM can legally hire you.

She jumped out of her seat, before snorting and sitting back down. "You're a mind reader, huh?"

I nodded. "Among other things. I'm a ninety on the Trask Scale too." I decided not to tell her about my biopathy right now, as I didn't want to freak her out even more than this meeting already was.

"A ninety? Wow." Her eyebrows shot up. "Someone got lucky on the roulette table of life."

"Yep." I looked into her eyes. "As you can guess, I've been sent to recruit you. XCOM's seen what you can do- I've seen what you can do- and we think you're good enough."

She nodded, looking out the window of the conference room. I was jealous of this training facility compared to mine. This one, like many villages here, was built on an elevated position with a fantastic view of snow-capped mountains. Besides the cold, the view was fantastic.

"I want to join, I really do. But I have some questions."

"Shoot."

"I've seen your guys' tech, and I'm not even going to question how that works. I'm guessing that my size won't be an issue?"

"No, it won't. And you won't have to worry about your augmentations either. They don't have to change a lot for our smaller size."

"And who's going to train me?"

"We've got many qualified people who know their stuff about teleportation. I'm good friends with one."

"You were accepted immediately?" She asked with a surprised tone. "No one discriminated against you for being young?"

I waved my hand. "Oh, a few people here and there gave me shit for it. But XCOM clamps down hard on stuff like that. We're fighting for the fate of Humanity here. No one's gonna care if you're like me."

She nodded looking surprised. "Oh. That's…that's nice."

"Mm." I nodded back. "I do have a question for you, however." Picked up the datapad next to me. "Something came up on your psychological profile that caught our eye."

She looked at me somewhat nervously. "I don't have any mental problems…"

I shook my head. "No, not that. Do you mind if I read this one?"

She shrugged.

"Subject, due to past family experiences and conflicts, seems to hold a certain degree of bias towards people of Han Chinese descent." I put the pad down, looking at her. "Now, I'm not gonna call you an unabashed racist, and I'm not going to deny the fact that your neighbors haven't treated your people well. But XCOM is an international-interstellar-organization. We work with people from across the planet and galaxy. I need you to understand going into this that you're not going to cause any issues with the Chinese personnel."

She looked at me with a nervous expression. "Your accent. Are you from…the Alamo state?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, the what now?"

"I don't know a lot about your America." She said, "Your accent, the slang, like from the movies. Are you from that state?"

Oh.

"No, I'm not from Texas. I'm from Tennessee."

"Ah. I'm sorry. I haven't heard of that." She shook her head. "In your America, what happens if someone protests your government?"

I shrugged. "Most of the time, it just happens, I guess? Maybe a couple cops watch- well, sometimes it gets messy, but usually it's just a lot of people shouting and holding signs."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "I have-had relatives in Tibet. They protested for independence many times. Sometimes the police shot at them and beat them bloody. Sometimes you wake up to find your aunt or uncle disappeared. You could not talk on social media about Beijing negatively!"

She stood up. "Unlike you, who has been free for many years, we only recently got it. Should I remind you that we only broke away after your people cut up China?"

I cocked my head. I'd forgotten about that. The jokes about a third of China now being North Taiwan never got old. And sometimes it was pretty rich to look at the Chinese soldiers' faces when you brought that up.

"Rishika, I understand-"

"Do you?" She raised her voice." Have you seen a family member shot by the police simply because they wished to have the right to speak freely? Turned into a political prisoner"

"No." I said. "But I did see my childhood best friend's family get brutalized because they didn't like to eat bacon. Seeing a firebomb hit your friend's house when you're coming back from a playdate makes a mark on your mind."

She gulped, sitting down again.

"Look. I'm not going to claim that I've been through what your family has. It was atrocious and your people deserved none of it. Surely you know ADVENT's been purging the people who did that, right?"

"But what has XCOM done?" She asked in response. "Your commander worked with Qin several times! Do you know how much blood is on his hands?"

Oh she's going to love the story where the Commander made Qin his bitch over that proto-AI they had.

I raised a finger. "It's not that simple. But if you join us, I guarantee you will have the power to fight those who do the same things-if not worse- to their own people."

She briefly nodded. "I've heard of that. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No." I said. "You've explained yourself very well. And your people are free, aren't they?"

She nodded again. "Since ADVENT came, many people find themselves less hungry and cold."

"XCOM can do a lot more for you." I continued. "You have a family, right?"

She nodded. "Mother and father."

"No siblings, right?"

She shook her head. "We are not rich enough to have a second."

"I'm jealous of you already. I'm a twin. Sharing everything with them sucks."

She smiled a little bit. "Sounds annoying."

"It is. So, XCOM. What else do you want to know?"

"My family can come too, right?"

I nodded. "We have accommodations for families of any staff. We can even train your parents to be support staff if you want."

She shifted in her seat. "My dad's a cook and my mother works an office job."

I shrugged. "Done."

"And what about money? We don't really have a lot back at home."

I grinned. "I'll say this. Pretty much everyone in XCOM is a millionaire thanks to their paychecks."

Her eyes lit up as soon as she heard the word 'millionaire'. "You all have that much money?"

"XCOM's got a blank check. And we can't exactly go bankrupt- not that any bank would want to do that to us."

She nodded. "And what about aliens?" She asked a bit nervously.

"You ever met one before?"

She shook her head. "No."

"There's plenty there. You'll have to go through some sensitivity training for that. Sapient relations stuff."

"Not human relations?"

"We had that changed a while back. Didn't really fit the demographics."

"Are they all friendly?"

"None of them are going to give you a hard time. If you ask, they're going to try harder than you to interact with you. A lot of them still don't fully understand how we work."

She nodded, looking at the window again. "I see. I don't really have anything else to say."

"You still didn't answer my question." I responded. "I want to make sure you're not going to cause any issues with our Chinese personnel."

I sensed a rise in nervousness from her. "If you think I'm going to start a fight, then no. But I'm not going to be all that trusting. Yet."

Hm. More training's gonna be needed.

She seemed much more insular than me or Violet. She'd been pretty quiet the whole time, and obviously nervous. Everything about her possible candidacy checked out- but I'd have to talk with the Commander about it.

"Wait!" She said. "I have one more thing."

"Yes?"

"I'm not gonna be sent right into fighting, right?"

"No, of course not. You'll be trained quite extensively." And it'll probably take longer than mine.

"Okay." She nodded. "Can I go?"

"Yes." I nodded. "You can go."

I watched her get out of her chair and leave. I shook my head as the door closed.

"Poor thing." I put my head in my hand. "She's nervous as all hell."

Is she ready?

I don't get the final say- but should I?

Damnit.

I radioed the Skyranger. "Be ready in five. I'm out of here."

En route to the Praesidium

Early October 2017

A hologram of the Commander materialized in the bay of the Skyranger, flickering blue as he looked at me.

"Report."

"Not gonna lie to you, sir. I'm not sure how to feel about this one."

"Elaborate?"

"She's very unsure of herself. Softer personality, too. Quiet. She said yes to everything, but you're gonna need to give her more time than me."

"Kunio was fine with you. I have full confidence in him training her."

"Well yeah, but she's not the same. Seems a bit more insular too. Like the quiet kid at the back of the class."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't have that guy in high school?"

"That was a long time ago. But I understand."

"She's never left her corner of Nepal, sir. She's barely interacted with people outside her country. And judging by her reports, she seems to have some unsolved trauma from the Chinese treatment of her people."

"You sound unsure."

"I feel like she's been very emotionally sheltered, sir. Violet and I had very different but varied lives that gave us all experiences we could learn from. She really hasn't. I'm concerned that having her join XCOM would emotionally overwhelm her. She's going to need time.

"Understood. You said earlier you were concerned about her biases?"

"I think they can be resolved in time, sir. Although I don't know what to do about that."

"That will be handled, I assure you. Good job. I was right to count on you."

"My pleasure, sir."

He nodded. "We'll have to adapt our training regimen, then. I'm sure Fiona will be happy to help."

"Anything else?"

"I have another assignment coming up for you soon. However, it will be quite a while before it actually occurs. Are you interested?"

"With all due respect sir, I need some more time to recover from…that. But I accept."

"I understand. I think you'll find this next one intriguing. XCOM Actual out."

The hologram fizzled out, leaving me alone. My phone buzzed, the automated email reading out my next assignment.

"Cuba?" I thought aloud. "What's there?"

I continued reading down the page.

Oh.

Oh.

Now that was interesting.

You giving me a chance for a beach vacation, Commander?"

Well, I had to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect Cuba to be next on ADVENT's-or our- hit list. But, an exciting military campaign was, well, just that.

Hopefully much less depressing about this one then Desolan.

I just hoped it wouldn't go the way of the Bay of Pigs.

But right now, I need time to rest. Time to prepare for whatever madness life threw at me next.

To be continued in:

Here With Me

A/N: Hello everyone! This chapter's pretty short,as besides the interview and setting up a new character, there's not much else to talk about. The next few chapters will be something, though! Soon, Dawn's going to Cuba, starting another arc with some interesting revelations and more! Summer's here, and as there's no school, that means more time to write! Expect some more frequent updates for this time of year.

OfficialWeedTesterGuy