Sandra woke slowly, eyes groggily scanning her surroundings for a long moment before the memories flooded back. It first real rest since she arrived in this place. Three days since she got a full nights rest. Sandra could stay awake for longer than that, it had been required of her during training. A simple matter of focus really, but even so it did her mind well to get some rest.
The bed was short and narrow, so much so that Sandra had her doubts about a humans ability to sleep on it. It was barely long enough to support half her body, so the rest of it had remained sprawled out on the floor. It was softer than what she was used to, but not enough to make it a problem for her. The blankets and pillows were nice and fluffy, and to her surprise the room maintained a decent enough temperature on it's own. Even the floor wasn't too bad in that regard. It had been a worry of hers, the temperature when they took away her armour.
Unlike the humans she didn't require a warm and stable body temperature to function - only to digest food and for more straining activities. Both of those cases were solved by her armour. It didn't offer much protection aside from small arms fire, minimising the damaged to be non-lethal. However it allowed her to maintain her high mobility, and it kept her warm or cool, depending on her needs.
The build in temperature regulators made her able to function optimally in most climates on this planet. Only exceptions being certain areas around the equator during heat waves and the polar ice caps. Those places required specialized gear that Sandra hadn't had the pleasure of trying out yet. Getting up she stretched her arms, and upper body, flexing her jaw and fangs too before slithering a quick round along the room. The grey uniform fit her well enough, but one did miss the warmth.
Hopefully she could get it back when going to this engineering place.
Two quick knocks on the door pulled Sandra from her thoughts.
A woman stood there, though not one of the few that Sandra had seen before. Height seemed average among the humans. She was still shorter than the Commander, however they seemed to be an outliner.
Hair appeared black, but on a closer look was a deep dark brown. Eyes sharp and intelligent and wearing the same outfit as most of the others. The human seemed relaxed, but Sandra could see the hint of tension despite the calm façade. They looked a lot older than the team from yesterday, at least from Sandra's admittedly limited knowledge of human ageing.
"I have not seen you before." Sandra stated, mostly to herself before continuing. "You are here to lead me to engineering?"
The human regarded Sandra with cold eyes, taking her in with a long look. In the end all Sandra could gather was a small twitch of the woman's lips, though if that was a good or bad sign was beyond her. The words however did seem to have broken some kind of invisible barrier as the absent facial expression morphed into a raised eyebrow and half smile.
"Well shit. I half expected her to be joking." The smile vanished with a snort and a shake of the strangers head.
"Yeah, I'll take you there, you can call me Blackwing." The name briefly confused Sandra before she dismissed it. Yesterdays meeting had made it clear that humans made up names as they felt like it.
"I'm curious though, since ADVENT took over, we've never had a single prisoner." Here the dark haired woman made a pause, eyes slightly narrowed before adding. "What makes you different?"
Sandra was a bit taken aback by the question. Not so much that XCOM hadn't taken any prisoners, that was to be expected with the chips - but the open curiosity caught her off guard. What made her Sandra different? Well the lack of a chip was the obvious point, but other than that...
"What do you mean?"
Another twitch of the lips, before the ghostly smile faded with a look to the ground. The woman, Blackwing, returned her gaze, eyes hard. "I mean, Sandra. I've been with XCOM since the beginning, known the Commander for as long as she's been leading the defence against the invasion. When XCOM fell I continued the fight, and when it rose again I returned with it."
"20 years of war and death - and through all of it we watched as countless atrocities went unpunished. You'd struggle to find a more hostile place to be, every single soul on this ship is ready to give their life to rid the planet of your kind."
"And yet here you are. A viper trying to join the very resistance you've been fighting against for the last 20 years."
There was a glint of something dangerous in Blackwings eyes, although her face and body seemed no less tense than before. Sandra looked down, finding a pistol in an open holster by the woman's belt. Looking back up she was met with an unforgiving look.
"So tell me, Sandra. What. Makes. You. Different?"
It was at that moment that she realized this wasn't just a polite conversation, or an act of opportunity. This was a test.
And Sandra was pretty sure the cost of failure would be... severe. Treading carefully seemed the right choice, but she also needed more information before being able to give an meaningful response. "What answer do you seek?"
Blackwing let out a huff in annoyance, but otherwise stayed her hand. "Give a reason not to put a bullet in your skull. Give me a reason to trust you."
A reason to trust you. Words she'd been hearing more and more these recent days. A brief conflict crossed Sandra's mind, how much was she really allowed to say? How much of her own life and nest would her Matriarch permit her to speak? The answer in the end was as clear as her mission. Secure the meeting with the Commander, by any means necessary. Her Matriarch had left nothing outside the rules, nothing Sandra did mattered, so long as the mission was accomplished.
On that thought she gathered herself, sorting though a few relevant memories before telling the only real story she had. The truth.
"I hatched on this planet, 19 years ago. One of the first and only clutches to be laid on solid ground in a very long time. Most of my life has been training, it's my duty to serve the nest, and I serve proudly. In my time the Matriarch grew in power and influence, nothing I can take credit for of cause. My Matriarch is ruthless in combat, a wise strategist and a kind leader."
Short pause, no reaction or change.
"Some... time ago, me and a number of my sisters were given an assignment, not from the usual sources, but directly from my Matriarch."
"A mission to find the Commander of XCOM, and secure a meeting between them and the leader of my people."
"Your Commander told me to prove that I could be trusted. If I have to fight alongside XCOM to do that, then so be it."
"You would turn your back on ADVENT so easily?" The biting words came quick and hard, but Sandra was expecting that reply.
"I do not serve ADVENT, I serve my Matriarch and my Matriarch alone."
"I see."
A long moment of silence followed. The woman named Blackwing seemed lost in thought, but Sandra wasn't about to test her reflexes. In the end she blinked and nodded a bit to herself, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. "Follow me." and with that, Blackwing swung around on her heel and started walking down the hall. The trip was rather short, but for one reason or another Blackwing chose the ladders instead of the lift the Commander had used the day before. It wasn't a problem, only a minor inconvenience.
An inconvenience that Sandra became rather convinced was on purpose as Blackwing seemed to stare a bit too much as Sandra had crawled her way down. The narrow space was clearly not made with her kind in mind, but it was easier to traverse than some places she'd been. The steps made for easy handles while she pushed her body against the sides to control the speed of her descent.
Sandra traversed the ladder with far grater speed than her escort did, and not for the first time she was thankful to only share as little of the human anatomy as she did. Their legs seemed so slow and clumsy.
From there Blackwing let Sandra to a door which she opened with a quick swipe of a card that materialised from a pocket.
The room inside was... spacious, easily the biggest Sandra had seen in the base, aside from maybe the hangar when she first arrived.
There were a number of tables, tools and unfamiliar reequipment was strewn around. Screens stacked on top of each other all showed a variety of images. Sandra recognised a few of them to be technical drawings, though of what she didn't know. Tool boxes, cabinets and crates lined the floor and wall along with what looked to be automated machinery and rails in the ceiling.
Sandra had never been to one of these 'engineering spaces' before, largely because it wasn't her area of expertise - but there seemed to be a pattern to the mess. An order hidden beneath the many things scattered around the large room.
Or maybe Sandra was giving them too much credit.
"Shen!"
Blackwing suddenly called out beside Sandra loud enough to make her twitch into a crouched position. It was a simple reflex, but a quick look showed Blackwing's hand firmly a pistol. The woman was faster than Sandra had expected, the irony of them surprising each other would've been humorous in any other setting. But right now she had a pistol aimed at her face. Sandra remained still, unsure of what action would be considering none-aggressive in the situation. Thankfully Blackwing seemed to catch on to it being a reflex rather than a move to attack. She raised herself to full height again, letting out a mix between a sigh and a chuckle as the gun was lowered to point at the floor.
Sandra was about to curse the human for their reckless move, but in truth it was likely her own fault as well. Her mind was on high alert.
She needed to relax, to collect herself and focus. It should take a lot more than unfamiliar surroundings to put her on edge. Now was not the time to freak out over sudden loud noises she reprimanded herself. Sandra was better than this, or at least she liked to think so. The statement was mute if she failed to live up to it. With a bit of effort Sandra resisted the urge to let out a hiss of frustration at her own inadequacy. Back home it would've been fine, but now among the humans it would likely only worsen the situation.
Instead she was interrupted by another voice, younger than Blackwing, but as unfamiliar as the rest of this place.
"Is everything... Ok?"
Both Sandra and Blackwing looked up to see a woman holding what looked to be a drone of some kind in both arms. Her eyes were wide, and face rapidly switching between a number of expressions Sandra couldn't decipher fast enough.
"Yeah!"
Blackwing responded quickly, almost too quickly as her voice came out sounding more high pitched than before. Sandra merely offered a quick "Yes" finding it easier than having to explain the rather absurd misunderstanding that let to Blackwing now holding a gun in her hand. The weapon was quickly holstered as she said something under her breath.
With a shake of her head, the newcomer, whom Sandra presumed was be named Shen, presenting a big friendly smile before quickly dropping of the machinery in her arms and coming over.
"Your name is Sandra right?" She said, pulling some cloth from her belt and rapidly cleaning a black liquid from her hands.
"Yes, and you must be-"
"Lilly Shen, chief engineer." She blurted out before Sandra had a chance to finish her sentence. "I hope the cell wasn't too bad, we weren't expecting to take in any prisoners..." The engineer trailed off and Sandra was left a bit dumbfounded at the display. Was it normal for humans to... apologise to their prisoners? The only uncomfortable thing she'd experienced during the last few days had been to move around without her armour to regulate her body heat. But Sandra was trained for that eventuality, it was impractical and made her sluggish and vulnerable in the cold, but it had been more of a nuisance than here than anything else... hardly something to apologise for.
Looking at the engineer it became clear to Sandra that she was expecting some kind of response. It seemed a chance to get to learn the people here better while soothing whatever worries this woman had conjured up.
"Honesty is a valued trait among your kind yes?"
"I... I suppose it is yeah." A confused smile crossing her face.
Sandra nodded, expecting the answer but still feeling a degree of satisfaction at having it confirmed. "In truth I had expected much worse. The 'cell' as you call it wasn't too dissimilar to my old nest before coming here."
Shen paused for a moment before she replied, something akin to surprise on her face.
"You lived like that?"
"Yes. Although I shared the nest with three of my sisters during training." Sandra couldn't help but riminess a bit at the memories. Training had been ruthless and long, but she'd learned much and shared a great many valuable experiences with her sisters during that time. A brief pang of doubt hit her as she wondered if she would ever see them again. It was wistful thinking she knew, a luxury one could not afford. Sandra had a mission, one that took priority. She would see it fulfilled, no matter the cost. Her sisters would've done the same in her place. It was the least they could do for their Matriarch.
"I, I see." The woman said, pulling Sandra from her thoughts as she returning her focus. The smile slowly draining from the engineers face as she seemed to stare off into the distance briefly. Thankfully she snapped back to attention quickly, looking around like she forgot something.
"Right uhm, sorry. Been a busy day." Sandra stared at bit, mostly due to it being early morning from what she'd gathered. But maybe the woman had worked all night?
From the corner of her eye she saw Blackwing walk over to a crate along the wall, just to sit down and lean back. She briefly stretched her arms before folding her hands and seemingly getting comfortable. The old woman's eyes never never Sandra though, it was clear she would stay to keep watch.
"Right, so..." The engineer started and, the moment she had Sandra's attention continued. "All the gear for our troops is tailored to them, protection, equipment, weapons, you name it."
"However we uhm. Well I don't have much experience with your... Body." Sandra looked at her a bit incredulously while Blackwing raised an eyebrow.
The engineer grew red faced before she began to rapidly speak.
"I mean, I've only had a brief look at the armour you brought. The material seems to be a lighter version of the composite plating used in most ADVENT equipment. However due to it's thickness, or rather lack thereof I wouldn't expect it to withstand more than the smallest of calibres?" Shen stopped her rant with a look, waiting for Sandra to confirm her findings.
"Our armour is made to be light and flexible, their main purpose is utility, not protection. Our upper bodies are more vulnerable than the rest and we are cold blooded. The armour serves as our way to regulate our body temperature outside of ideal climates, while providing light protection from explosives and the like."
Sandra finished the longer than ideal explanation. It felt wrong to speak so openly about her kind to anyone, but if this woman planned on making changes to her equipment Sandra would prefer it be something useful.
Blackwing kept watch with more intensity than felt reasonable and it was clear she was absorbing every word of the conversation.
"We rely on our mobility to stay alive rather than thick armour."
Shen nodded, before a thought came to her, face changing back to a mix of apologetic and worried. "We took your only means to regulate your body temperature...?"
Sandra felt the apology coming before the engineer had time to fully voice it, and so dismissed it with a roll of her eyes and a quick "I'm fine."
Shen nodded, the worry draining from her face.
"The armour would need a quick bit of work, mostly for visual clarity in the field. I'd also to suggest you get a nanno-scale vest. It's lightweight, but should improve you chances in case of a stray bullet. Otherwise we can keep the changes to a minimal if you prefer?"
Sandra wasn't used to being involved like this. Equipment was normally something you were given and told to use. Not something they let you help design. A quick look to Blackwing showed her expression remained neutral. Did they truly do this for all their soldiers?
"I... yes, that would be fine." Was all Sandra could really get out in the moment. Although it did bring something else into question. "And what of my rifle?" The plasma rifle had it's downsides in the brief charge up time, but the ballistics and destructive power was familiar enough that she'd be... maybe not sad, it was just a rifle after all. But she would prefer the weapons she knew.
"As of know we don't have the technology need to replicate it's fuel or, ammunition if you will. You'll need to get some new weapons. The Commander gave a few suggestions, but made it clear that you were allowed to try most of our arsenal. I know the technical details, but if you want a more experienced take you'll have to talk to Blackwing."
"The Commander suggested weapons?"
"She did. Some of our new equipment too."
Following over to a side room she pick up a what looked to be a tube, but with a handle, trigger and some other stuff mounted on it. The construction seemed simple, almost archaic compared to Sandra's plasma rifle, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious to see what it was.
Picking up the tube in one hand she swung open a cabinet with the pulling out what could only be described as a rocket. Sandra wasn't familiar with them outside of the general concept, but the stabilizing fins, and narrow but elongated frame left her with little else to go on. An almost inaudible sound alerted Sandra to Blackwing standing right behind her.
"Oh, that a good old-fashioned rocket launcher I see?"
"Close." Shen said, face shining with the enthusiastic grin of a craftsman presenting their work. "90 milometer, shoulder fired recoilless rifle. It's lightweight, cheap and easy to produce. This is just a demo warhead so no worries, it's not armed." She finished handing the not-a-rocket-after-all to Blackwing, who lightly threw it from hand to hand like it was a toy.
"And how does it work?" Sandra asked, a bit confused as to the shifting terms thrown around.
Shen, without further ado, simply handed Sandra the tube. A quick movement folded out another handle near the front and Shen then guided the weapon to Sandra's shoulder where the back of the tube was apparently supposed to rest. She had to admit it provided a certain stability. The sights were fairly simple, but not too different from what she was used to. "Safety is here, a simple on or off switch. When a rocket is in the tube you simply take aim, make sure no one is behind you and, well fire."
"The overall design is a bit outdated, especially the warhead could use a touch up. However it should do a number on most targets."
"What's it packing?" Asked Blackwing holding the demo warhead up with one hand.
"High-Explosive-Anti-Tank, Multi-Purpose. It's and old... well multipurpose design from before the invasion. Made to penetrate armour but the residual blast from the explosives are deadly against infantry too."
Sandra listened closely to the explanation, observing the weapon as Shen continued to point and gesture. It seemed simple, but any tool that reliable delivered explosives to an enemy would be respected. Thinking it over Sandra had half expected something related to close quarters combat. Her reflexes and natural weapons made it easy to overwhelm most opponents. But then again, delivering single, precise shots to high priority targets was exactly the what her old plasma rifle was made for. This was pretty much the same right? Maybe a bit more bulky, but also more deadly. The limited ammunition would only make the hunt that much more challenging. Sandra had trained in traversing dense cities, ruins and jungle alike. Climbing buildings in record time would secure a clean line of sight, the weapon being single shot meant she could swiftly move on before the enemy caught on to her hiding spot...
A strange sense of glee started to form as Sandra imagined the combat uses and ways to compensate for the downsides of the weapon. Then another thought manifested itself. Lowering the tube weapon she looked at Shen.
"I'll need a secondary weapon. Something light and precise." Shen seemed taken slightly aback by the sudden intensity, but Sandra caught a glimpse of a poorly hidden smile on Blackwing.
"Light and precise huh? The assault rifle is out of the question, too bulky. I'd suggest either a pistol or a sub machine gun. Got a few variations of both, different fire rates and calibres."
Sandra observed Blackwing for a brief moment. The suggestions sounded genuine, almost eager too. It was the first time she'd seen the hardened old fighter show interest in anything beyond threatening Sandra with a bullet to the brain.
"Do you have a practise range?"
This time Blackwing's face morphed into a full on grind as she looked between Shen and Sandra.
"Do we have a practise range she asks." The words came out in a clear joking answer that told Sandra all she needed to know.
This might not be such a bad time after all.