RP XCOM: The Story of Defiance.

[DarkGemini24601]

Internal Investigation I

Thomas Burrick finished the last of tonight’s paperwork, and opened his mouth for a triumphant “yes!” However, a yawn stole his moment of glory, and the assistant manager of records simply followed the blunder up with a sigh. Pushing the tower of neatly stacked papers aside, Thomas reviewed the information he had intermittently gathered when he found the time. The subject? The mysterious Desmond Walker.

It just doesn’t add up, Thomas thought as he read through the files and notes again. Desmond’s file stated that he had been born prematurely and not everything was working right. He had surgeries up until he was 16. He was brilliant. Yet…he was also extraordinarily strong, something that seemed off to Tom, taking Walker’s medical history into account. It’s possible he’s made remarkable improvement, but that’s…

Tom shook his head. “If anything, I need more information…but I can’t well ask him, he already has closed himself up to me…perhaps…one of the soldiers. Someone I can trust to get to know him and try to figure things out.” I’ll continue my own investigation into the matter, though. It’s probably nothing, but Desmond has piqued my curiosity, at the very least.

He went to visit Modya, who he was hoping could help. At the time, it was very early morning, but as he had guessed, the Russian was awake already. He walked up to the bar and sat down next to Dragomirov with a coffee in hand. “Morning, my friend,” Tom greeted him.

Modya looked up from a mug of the same drink that he had been starting at, lost in thought. “…Burrick…” he said slowly, his tone seeming exhausted.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t be up this early, Modya…” Thomas began.

“Couldn’t sleep. Doesn’t matter,” Modya replied languidly, having another sip of his coffee.

Thomas wasn’t exactly satisfied that answer, but knew he wouldn’t be helping his cause if he spited Modya by pressing further. “I would like to ask a favor of you, Modya. I’m not required you to do it or anything, but it’s something important to me right now.”

Modya raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I would like you to befriend Desmond Walker…find out more about him, and his past…but in a friendly way. I tried to find out and ended up alienating him, but I’m thinking you’d have better luck that me.”

Modya tapped his fingers on the coffee mug. “The antisocial guy…that sounds incredibly irritating.”

“If it’s anything more, he could probably use someone treating him like a normal person…and I know you’d be genuine about it. I’d ask Atka, but I hear she hasn’t wanted to talk to anyone after Vigilant Crusade…”

Modya sighed. “It gives me something to do, at least. Fine, Thomas, I’ll do my best, but if I get nowhere after a short while I’m not going to keep trying.”

“I wouldn’t ask for any more than that. Thanks.” Tom got up, and headed back to his room. It’s something, at least…but I might have Atka help me as well if she returns to her usually cheery self…I sure hope she does. Shaking away the pessimistic thoughts, Thomas Burrick returned to his room to get some needed sleep.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Family Ties

Jessica quickly made her way through the civilian quarters, escorted by a security guard that struggles to keep up. Pushing her way through a bunch of unfamiliar faces, she stops in shock when she sees who she is looking for, still unsure they're there, despite seeing them herself. "Mom! Dad! Francis!" She rushes forward into the waiting arms of her family.

Veronica squeezes her daughter tightly. Lifting Jessica's chin and wiping a tear from her eye, she says, "Why are you crying, Jessie? We're fine, just fine. One piece, every one of us. Those soldier friends of you saw to that."

"How are you, Jess?" Joseph takes a step forward, looking Jessica up and down.
"Are they treating you well? You're not working too hard, are?"

Jessica rolls her. "No, I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm a big girl now."

"We know, we know." Veronica runs her hand through Jessica's hair. "And we're both so proud of you. But a child is never too big for her parents to worry about her."

"So what exactly does a big doofus like you even do around here anyway?" Francis asks, giving his sister a defiant look.

Jessica ruffles his hair in the way she knows he hates. "For your information, I've been asked to move most of my work to the genetics lab. I'll be working on enhancing our soldiers on the genetic level, you little dork."

Francis' eyes light up. "Really! So you're gonna start turning everyone into super heroes!"

"in a matter of speaking," Jessica says, winking.

"Just... be careful, okay?" Joseph gives Jessica a pleading look. "I know you know what you're doing, even if I don't have a clue. You mother is the brains of the two of us." Veronica nudges him. "But don't do anything to someone who might get sore with you. In know Alex can fight, but these are trained soldiers."

"I know, dad. We'll be okay." Jessica sways playfully. "Actually, I made friends with a soldier the other day. And she... is... awesome! And Alexia even made her own friend. She's a little weird, like, really, really weird, but she's also really nice, and Alexia adores her."

"Can't be as weird as you!" Francis laughs. Jessica sticks her tongue out at him, and ruffles his hair again.

Veronica places a hand on Jessica's shoulder. "Speaking of Alex, can we talk to her?"

Jessica nods, closing her eyes. A moment later, she opens them again, smiling in Alexia's usual way. She squeezes Veronica tightly. "It's so good to see you." She looks at Francis, extending her fist. "What's up, midget?"

"Not much, Lexy." Francis answers, bumping Alexia's fist with his own. "Good to see you haven't been thrown out for fighting with anyone."

"Give it time." Alexia says. Giving Joseph a wink, she says, "What's up, Joe. Handsome as ever, I see."

God, you and your Electra Complex.

Joseph rolls his eyes. "Rambunctious as ever, I see. You are keeping out of trouble, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Alexia answers. "I've been good."

Joseph steps forward and whispers, "You've been protecting Jessie, right? I mean, girl is brilliant, but she isn't the best at defending herself, you know?"

(Scoff) He knows I can hear him, doesn't he?

Alexia smiles. "Actually, she's been doing a pretty good job defending herself."

Veronica raises an eyebrow. "She isn't getting into fights, is she?"

"No, mom," Jessica says in a whinny tone. "I am not getting into fights."

Veronica smirks, lightly punching Jessica in the arm. "Well, why not? Wouldn't kill you to punch some jerk in the nose."

Jessica returns the smirk. "Well... actually, there was this one woman..."

Before she can finish, the guard walks up behind her. "Ms. Lockheart, I'm sorry, I really am, but we're about to start preparing the civilians for departure."

Jessica nods. She smiles at her family, and feeling her tears welling up again, she stretches her arms out, and hugs them all. "It was good to see you all again, even for a short while." As she leaves with the guard, she turns back and shouts, "I'll make you all proud, I promise. I'll see you when we're finished here. Just try to stay out of places with aliens from now on."

As Jessica walks out, Veronica lets out a sob she had been suppressing. She presses her face against Joseph's shoulder, and he slowly rubs her back. Francis continues to watch the exit, almost as if he expects Jessica to walk back in at any moment.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Internal Investigation 2

Desmond had almost locked himself up into his room for the past few days. He was having a harder time than usual getting himself to clear his head. The whole situation with Elizabeth had him shaken up. He sat in the middle of his room just meditating. He had not eaten at all in two days and even longer without a drink but his body was accustomed to prolong amounts of time without nourishment. He surrounded himself with psionic energy trying to grow his tolerance with the amount of energy he could output and the potency of his energy. A few knocks on his door would come and go a couple times during the day but he never answered. He had to train, he had to remember.

At a young age Desmond had been sent abroad with the approval of an unknown individual at the time where he learned from monks who lived in the snowy mountains of Japan. These modern day shinobi had trained him in the art of war and tranquility. It was with the help of those lessons that through out the years it had helped him progress his skills with his unusual powers. During the early morning hours he would run miles bareback in the snow without a map or compass of any kind just using skill to guide his way back to his masters. In the morning it was a breakfast of a small bowl of rice and pure black tea. Another result of training was that Desmond could go a whole month with just a standard size bag of rice like the imperial soldiers during the time of Japanese conquest in the 40's.

The afternoon was filled with combat exercises and obstacle courses. He excelled in hand to hand combat, learned how to use firearms to the best of their abilities and even became proficient in the art of the katana. The nights were filled with meditation and the infernal smell of burning incense. He had never liked the smell but grew accustomed to it as time went on. Now here he was, old habits died hard he guessed.

Desmond had broke his concentration and had gotten an idea. He grabbed a bag and gathered some materials he would need. Desmond knew the base pretty well by now but he had never seen the actual entrance. It was heavily guarded as he expected and was immediately stopped. "State name, rank, and business." The guard was all serious and Desmond proceeded to answer. "Desmond Walker, Private First Class, Just going out for a stroll." The guard gave a hard look and talked into his radio.

The Commander had been brushing her cat when a buzz came from her desk, scaring her and causing the cat to run off. "What is it?" The secretary spoke up. "Ma'am we have a senoir MP wanting to see you if you will have him, he says it is urgent." The Commander pressed her fingers against her eyes. "Yes might as well." She leaned back in her chair as the bulky captain walked in a gave a serious salute. "Ma'am there is a situation at the front entrance, a soldier was caught trying to exit the base without permission." The commander put her chin in her hands. "Who?" The captain checks a piece of paper he pulled out of his pocket. "PFC Walker ma'am, he refuses to tell us the nature of his request." The Commander sat in her chair thinking about what to do. "Do we have the outer perimeter cameras up and running." The captain straightens out. "Yes, the have been operational since the base first came online." The Commander got up from her seat. "Captain take me to security, I want to see what he does." The captain saluted and lead her out of the office.

Desmond was eventually granted permission after about an hour and he proceeded to the lift. He rode the lift alone up a large amount of distance and finally came out into a dark tunnel. Apparently the base had been built under an abandoned Soviet mine which kept the base hidden out in the tundra. He finally walked out to the entrance and into a small blizzard. The mine had been surrounded by forest which Desmond had decided he had to do something long over due. He took off his bag and laid it down on the wooden support beam along with his jacket, boots and shirt but opted to keep on the long black cargo pants he wore instead of jeans or his green shorts. Desmond took a long and deep breath and ran out into the blizzard.

He ran to the tree line and hopped from trunk to trunk making his way slowly up into the tree branches. He climbed until he found a clearing in the skeleton like branches and ran along the different trees with the speed of a squirrel. When jumps were to long to reach normally he would swing from the branches as a primate would and twisted and flexed that a normal person couldn't dream to. Branch to branch, tree to tree he navigated his way through the thickness of the forest went Desmond happened upon a cliff face. He hopped down from the branch he had jumped to seconds before and landed in the soft snow with a roll not slowing down continued to sprint towards the cliff.

He jumped onto the cliff using whatever holdings and cracks his hands and feet cared to find. In a matter of minutes of climbing Desmond scaled the distance that would take a mountain climber several hours with preparation. Finally reaching the edge to the top he pulled his body over and rolled to a standing position. Desmond could see miles of tundra all around him and he let let out a hardy yell. Desmond caught his breath in the harsh wind for several minutes and sat with his legs crossed. Here without the limits of the base he let his energy run free. A large purple glow erupted from Desmond's body as waves of psionic energy swirled around him. He stored up his energy and prepared a move that he had never attempted before but after a series of calculations and equations he had developed a new move that he had first came up with after observing the way psionic waves interacted with a pebble.

His energy had compiled and he was ready for a test trial. He focused his power into a focal point on his palm and he slowly released energy allowing it to swirl around the point he imagined on his hand. He culminated enough energy to fit the size of a baseball swirling in his hand. Desmond closed his eyes and let his concentration take over him as he allowed the energy in his energy to spin rapidly to the limits of becoming unstable. The sound it creating was a mix between a low droning and a muscle car revving up. He looked down at his creation and choose a spot to release his power. He moved like a bullet from a gun and ran towards a large rock face. He pulled his hand back and slammed it towards the rock. It had hit with the force of a bus crash and slowly buried itself into the rock like a drill and half way through the ball of pure energy became unstable and exploded sending Desmond spiraling backward.

Desmond clutched his arm as the nerves in his right arm were shooting with pain like a fire coursing through the nerves. The pain was excruciating but eventually subsided leaving behind the feeling of pins and needles as if his entire arm had fallen asleep and went limp. It was at that moment Desmond realized the full extent of the damage he had caused. The rock face that had been impacted had left a 10 foot diameter hole 5 feet deep into the frozen rock. Desmond was both thrilled and horrified by the results of his experiment. He would let EXALT know but he began to question whether he would use that power again at least until more research could be conducted. After an hour of letting his arm recuperate,Desmond climbed down from the cliff and made his way back to the base. He reclaimed his attire putting them back on and sat in the shaft of the mine eating a lunch of fried rice with veggies and some hot tea. Old habits died hard he guessed.

The Commander sat there in the security room a look of astonishment on her face. What she had witnessed was beyond the capacity of words. She had just observed a normal human man move like a ninja from an old style ninja movie. She had been glad she had cleared the room of all the security guys and observed him alone. This new revelation had confirmed her suspicions of Desmond not being a normal person. She had made a decision right then and there that she would not speak of this to anyone. As of now Desmond was her biggest suspect.

 

[Adrammalech]

Emily Fischer
X-COM Headquarters: Commons
Siberia, Russian Federation
4:29 PM

2 days later.

Emily sat at the bar, cradling a cup of orange juice as if it were a cocktail. She sensed someone behind her.

“Hi, Ben.”

He tapped a letter on her shoulder. She grabbed it, the letter lacking postage or addresses, instead just having the X-COM logo in the corner. She unfolded the paper and began reading.

Private Fischer,

Congratulations on your successful mission in Japan. As of yesterday, you have been promoted to Specialist and have been assigned to the support classification. In future deployments, you will be expected to provide medikit and utility-based duties as well as an increased leadership role in missions with lower-ranked members.

You will now have scheduled training on base during local daytime hours. Due to the 24-hour nature of the X-COM project, you are permitted to miss scheduled training in the case of pending mission deployments or physical exhaustion. However, you are expected to perform a minimum of 20 hours of physical conditioning and 10 hours of scheduled training per week. Failure to complete training quotas may result in rank re-evaluation. We hope your recent success in this project continues as we move forward.

Cordially,
Central Officer Bradford
X-COM Project​

Emily bashed her face against the bar.

“Not a standard reaction to a promotion,” Ben noted.

“How’d you even know it was a promotion?”

“I’ve given out like 20 of those already,” he replied, “I don’t really have to read the letters to know what they are. Everyone in your barracks got one, except for the Russian girl.”

“Nika? Why?”

“Don’t know, nice girl though,” he remarked. “So, what’s got you bothered about it?”

“Training. I’m tired enough these days.”

“Maybe that’s why you need it.”

“Less lifestyle coach, please.”

“Very well,” he said with a smile, joining her at the bar. “So, what are you drinking?”

“Screwdriver,” she replied with a shake of the cup.

Ben looks over at the cup. “Looks like orange juice.”

“It’s mixed with a special vodka that looks and tastes exactly like orange juice.”

“I am utterly convinced.”

“You should be,” she says, “it’s brewed by monks in Banglastan.”

“Ah, right next to Bulgatania.”

“That’s the one.”

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me the other day.”

“Have you now?”

“Would you mind if I asked you a question about it?”

Emily drank the rest of her drink in one gulp, hoping there would be a placebo effect to it.

“Go for it,” she sighed.

“In your flashback, your adoptive parents tried to protect you from the truth, but they did still tell you the truth in the end. Why were you so mad at them for sending you that letter?”

Emily smiled towards him. She lifted her finger and poked his nose patronizingly.

“That’s a much later story,” she teased, “you have to get there first.”

“Well, I don’t know how often I want you to do that.”

“Why’s that?”

“You seemed to be in pain last time. Even if I’m curious, I don’t want you to suffer for it.”

“I can do it whenever I like, you don’t have to protect me.”

“I’m not saying you c–”

“I’ll prove it right now. Come on.”

“What?”

Emily grabbed his arm and pulled him off the stool with ease. He had little muscle to slow her down. He gave in quickly and followed along. She brought him into a computer room, labelled as a secondary lab. There was no one inside, the computer nerds of the base presumably occupied in the primary computer room.

“Less grungy,” Ben remarked.

“Yep. Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘If she gets a headache from it, she must get it all the time; if she can get forced into a memory, what if she does in combat?’”

“The latter part did cross my mind.”

“That was bad timing on your part. I haven’t had to face that memory in eight years. I’m perfectly in control, and I’ll prove it to you.”

Emily walked up to a sturdy table in the corner, where it looked like an instructor of some kind would sit. She jumped onto the table and crouched, holding onto the edge with her hands.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” Ben said.

“I’m not,” Emily replied, closing her eyes, “that’s the point.”

Ben walked forward and held his hands out awkwardly, wondering if he should be ready to catch her.

// MEMORY: PREPARATION //
Emily Fischer, 14
The Bethany
Atlantic Ocean
August 3rd, 2005 – 4:44 PM

I'm plenty at home. A dark, cool corner. I hug my bag as the echoes of the waves and the footsteps around me creep into my space. I put some broken glass on a sticky resin on the wall, pressing it hard against the steel wall in my space. The reflection is crappy and dark, but I can still look at myself. Young, excited, in way over my head. Knowing that there are probably posters of me going up at home, I raise my pilfered blade to my neck and grab a clutch of my hair, cutting it shorter handful by handful, until it's just below my ears. The cut is jagged and the strands are dirty from my grip. Whatever, it'll do.

“Hey, kid,” a voice booms from outside my space. “What are you doing down here? You should be on deck, not in the way.”

I notice a small corroded hole in the wall that my spot shares with the hallway, and lean down to look through. A towering man in a beanie holding an authoritative stance at a boy that looked around nine years old.

“Sorry, mister,” the boy said innocently. “My dad's on deck, I just wanted to see everyone work. I want to be a sailor some day!”

The man beamed a smile towards him.

“Well, that's good. Just make sure you stay out of the way, alright? Don't want you getting walked over by these guys.”

I grin as the boy walks past the hole I'm peeking through.

“Pssst.”

The boy stops and looks around. He walks towards the hole as I walk further down the wall, towards the small hatch that I snuck into here from.

“Psssssst.”

He looks irritated as he rushes further down the hallway. He finds the hatch I crawled through and goes in himself. As he gets to my space, and opens the trapdoor on my side, I'm there waiting for him.

...

 

[Adrammalech]

...

“Hi there,” I say to him.

“Who are you? What are you doing back here?”

“What are you doing back here?”

“I'm...I'm the captain of the ship,” he bluffs. I look at him disbelievingly.

“You're the captain, are you?”

“Y-yeah! Are you a stowaway? I'll tell my d...guards to put you in the brig!”

“Your dad's the captain, huh?” I say with a grin.

“W-what? No, I am!”

I pull him up to my level and then pace around him playfully, smirking at him.

“You know what'd be even more fun than being a captain? Being a pirate!”

“Pirates are bad guys. A-and so are stowaways!”

“But your ship is your dad's space. If you become a pirate like me, this can be your space.”

“You don't look like a pirate. There are no girl pirates.”

“Well, that's just not true. But even if it was, I wouldn't follow that rule, like a pirate.”

“Are you going to steal something?”

“I already did,” I smiled, pulling out the folding knife from the dock. His eyes lit up as it clacked open.

“Cool!” he squeaked, pointing at the edge excitedly. “Look how many ridges it has, like it's from a video game!”

“Yup, and I cut my own hair with it, see?” I say, shaking my uneven hair.

“My mom says I shouldn't do that.”

“I'll let you do it,” I say with a smirk. “Swear fealty to the pirates, and you can do whatever you want!”

“Uh…ok! I want to be a pirate.”

“Good. First rule of pirates: never talk about the pirates.”

“Why not?”

“Ah, no questioning the pirate queen!” I scowled, walking back towards my bed. I went to a leftover slab of wood and pulled out my knife, closing my eyes momentarily as I remembered the ship plans. I carved a rough map into it, showing it to the kid. “Your first duty as a pirate is to show your queen where the kitchen and bedrooms are.”

“Why?”

“Because your queen said so! You don’t want to upset the queen, do you?”

“No, but I don’t know where they are on a map.”

“Well then, you have your first pirate mission. Find out where they are, and then come show me.”

“Then I get my own cool knife, right?”

“Depends on how good you do,” I whisper.

“Ok! I’ll find where they are!” he said, running outside.

As dusk arrives, the boy comes back with a real map of each floor, taken from his dad. I copy it all as well as I can, and then tell him to return what he took. Night time rolls around and most of the sailors go to sleep. I wait until the hallways are quiet and come out of my hiding spot, sneaking through the corridors of the ship. I open the door to the kitchen quietly, and run in when I see no one is inside.

I take a bunch of things from the kitchen that look like they can last outside the fridge, and as I’m leaving, notice a crappy looking flashlight left on one of the table. This should do for a few days. Holding my trove in my arms, I run back to my hiding space and bring it back to my bed. I put my makeshift map in front of the hole in the wall and the place my flashlight on the floor, lighting up the room. As I rip open the wrappers on some granola bars, I smile to myself. I can make this work. This is much better than being at home. It is.

Emily Fischer
X-COM Headquarters: Computer Room
Siberia, Russian Federation
4:41 PM

Emily opens her eyes and blinks rapidly, smiling when she sees she’s still perched on the table. She winds up and does a flip onto the ground to punctuate her point.

“Well done.”

“I’m just saying, I don’t need to be rescued.”

“Alright,” Ben says, raising his hands, “I get it. You’re in control.”

“Yep, no shrink required,” she says cheekily as she walks out of the room.

“Where are you going?”

“Didn’t you hear? I have scheduled training now, much too busy to be hanging out with the likes of you.” she says with a playful wink.

Ben watches as she leaves the room, leaving to arm up and go to the gym.

“God save the pirate queen,” he whispers with a smile.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Internal Investigation III”

Later in the day, Modya sought out Desmond, figuring he should try to help out Thomas.

Desmond had been hanging around the cafeteria for the past hour trying to finish up the novel he was on and eating lunch at the same time. For than a few times he nearly missed having food splattered on his book.

Modya arrived in the cafeteria, and got something to eat, walking over to Desmond. “Mind if I join you?” he asked Desmond.

Desmond looked up from his book and nodded his head giving the okay to sit down.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you reading?”

Desmond looks at the cover of his book. “The story of Dracula if I am right.” he stated in a sarcastic tone. “So what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I don’t know many people on the base, and I’ve heard a lot about you, so I thought I might meet this Desmond that so many people have been talking about,” Modya replied, glancing at his own food. Voyennyye blyuda ...

“Good things I hope. What exactly are people saying about me?” He takes another large spoonful of mush he couldn’t figure out what it was comprised of.

“Mostly about your encounter with the staff and training Ryan. Some people think you’re mysterious and antisocial, but that doesn’t seem to be completely true. The rest are just impressed, I think,” Modya answered, and took a bite out of his bland sandwich, having some water to wash it down.

Desmond kept trying to get back into his book but finds it hard and set it aside. “Wish I could say the same for you uhh, I don’t think I caught your name?”

“Modya Dragomirov.”

Desmond raised an eyebrow. “Well than Mr. Dragon you must feel at home here in Siberia or are you from one of the cities?”

“I’m from St. Petersburg,” Modya replied. “I’m certainly used to the cold, but few actually live out here.”

Desmond rubbed the back of his neck from his own ignorance. “Yeah I guess that’s true. The cold certainly doesn’t affect me either.”

“Where might you be from then, Mr. Walker?” Modya asked, copying his joke to an extent.

“Mobile, Alabama, USA.” Desmond said it like he had rehearsed a hundred times...in fact he did.

No idea where Alabama is exactly, but… “I imagine it’s not as cold as the Arctic Circle there…”

Desmond smirked, “Yeah usually it gets around 40 but that is during a harsh winter.”

Modya chuckled. “That is why we have these and you do not.” he tapped his Ushanka.

“Who needs those when I don’t even need a shirt when running in a blizzard. I know we get mild winters in America but I studied abroad in the mountainous regions of Japan.” From the look on Modya’s face it looked like he didn’t believe it. “What?”

“You can run around shirtless in a blizzard? What, are you some sort of superhuman or an alien?” Modya said jokingly. “You’re lying, my friend…”

Desmond lowered his head and stuck out both of his hands, “Oh lord you caught me officer I am a no good alien and I am sorry for the trouble I have caused!” Desmond was hard pressed to keep a straight face but it was hard.

“But seriously, there’s no way you can do something like that...not even a Russian or that Inuit could do something crazy like that and not have trouble quickly.”

Desmond gave a serious look even though Modya thought he was joking. “I can prove it. Although I don’t think the guards will let me through for a second time in a week.”

“If you are serious...then how the hell can you do that?” Modya asked, his face still shadowed with disbelief.

“After about five years doing it you sort of get a natural resistance to it.” He could still remember the harsh drills through the Japanese mountains. “I am surprised you are not use to it.”

Modya sighed. “When you get a chance, you’re going to have to prove that to me.”

Desmond slapped the Russian on the back, “I will hold you to that, so what is your experience for being able to join X-COM?”

“I was a demolitions expert for the Russian military...I fought in the battles to keep the annexed parts of the Ukraine as part of Russia, and against a crime syndicate in my home city.”

“If my history serves me right, wasn’t St. Petersburg once known as Stalingrad?” Desmond was an expert at many things but he was never really taught that much history. “I always admired russians for their stubbornness and the Battle of Stalingrad was really inspiring for me.”

“Actually, that was Volgograd that was named Stalingrad. Petersburg used to be called Leningrad after the October Revolution,” Modya corrected, having another swig of his drink.

Desmond, having lost all of his appetite for the slop had shoved it away. “Well serves me right for trusting in the kitchens of the military. Anyways I never told you my background did I?”

“You didn’t,” Modya confirmed. “And we seem to change the names of our cities so often that I don’t hold that one against you.”

“Well…” Desmond said crossing his hands, “Before high school I had no interest in the military but I joined after I decided I needed something different in my life. I was eventually recruited into the CIA and was sent on missions around the world.” Desmond chuckled before continuing, “Now I will have to kill you.” Desmond made a mocking slicing motion across his neck. “You know what they say about us agents.”

“I think the west would have something ‘nicer’ than the KGB we once had, but who knows?” Modya replied. Losing the taste for his food, he added, “I’ll probably be going, but if you ever want to play billiards or prove your prowess, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Desmond got up out of his seat and turned to the man. “Sure, I will try to remember that.” Desmond walked away, his face turning to stone. Whoever sent him is trying to get info out of me, I better be careful around him in the future. Desmond thought to himself as a final thought.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Internal Investigation IV

After making sure no one was watching him, Modya went to visit Thomas’s office. “I’ve initiated contact with him, Tho…” There was no one there. “on spit , ne on…” Modya went to Thomas’s room and knocked on the door. “Burrick…”

After a minute or two Thomas answered the door, rubbing his eyes. “What is it, Modya?”

“I had a talk with Desmond over lunch…apparently he is incredibly well conditioned, he told me he could prove that he could run around shirtless in a blizzard…and gave me information on his CIA background.” Modya thought for a moment. “Not as antisocial as you claimed…or hostile.”

Thomas frowned. “He dodged my questions and lied to me when I was talking to him…what the hell?”

“He certainly was not like that,” Modya replied.

“Well, well…this just keeps getting more interesting,” Tom said, shaking his head. “I’m supposed to be a manager, not a secret agent, you know…”

“Technically…”

“Right. XCOM is feeling more and more like ‘Men in Black’ or something of that ilk.”

Modya looked confused. “What is that?”

“I’ll have to show you sometime,” Tom suggested. “For now…keep trying, but don’t pry at all. Be genuine…I think he’s suspicious of your motives right now. Just…act like you’re actually friends, become friends. I’ll be the one doing the prying behind the scenes.”

“Why exactly are you so concerned about him?” Modya asked, surprised by how determined Thomas was to figure Desmond out.

“Well…he’s got incredible strength…and by his own admission to you, incredible endurance…call me crazy, but there’s something odd about that one. I don’t know what, but my curiosity is demanding I find out…for now, though, let me sleep.” Tom shut the door, and collapsed back onto his bed, leaving Modya to shake his head and walk off. "Lyudi strannyye,” the Russian muttered.

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing is a collaboration between Dhalxpert And Zombiesplitter53
Eva and the commander

Eva walks into the commanders office and see Peggy.
Um excuse me the commander is not expecting me but is she available, i'm kinda new around here.
The secretary looks over a schedule. Seeing nothing, she hits the intercom and says, "Commander, there is a solider that wishes to speak with you."

From the intercom, the Commander asks, "Do they look crazy?"

Peggy looks Eva up and down, and answers, "No, Commander, I don't think so."

"Send them in."

Peggy hits a switch, and the door to the office opens.

Eva opens the door

Um high commander ugh is there a reason why I looked crazy.

Morrigan shakes her head. "No, dear, sorry, I've just had a hell of a week. I've learned I can't be too careful." She motions to the chair in front of her. "Please have a seat. What was your name, lass?"

My name is Eva Aegerter i'm from Switzerland, and I take from your accent your from Ireland.

"I am. I was born and raised in Tipperary until my teenage years." Morrigan turns to her computer, typing in Eva's name. "Is there anything I can do for ya, dear? Or were you just stopping in to say hello? I see your arrival was a bit delayed."

Yea I was delayed because since aliens came air travail became impossible. But the reason why i'm hear is because I would like to tell you my qualification, and why most of my profile is missing.

"That... would be appreciated," Morrigan responds, bringing up Eva's file. "Anything you could fill in would be helpful." She gives Eva a curious look.

Well I dropped out of school at 16 to join the military, after 8 years of survice I was promoted to Chief Sargent , after that I joined the american special operations unit or black ops division for I was in black ops for 2 years, and then travailed as a mercenary for like a year. is there any questions you have for me Commander.

The Commander seems to flinch at the word 'mercenary'. Choosing her words carefully, she says, "My dear... I must be honest. I am not the largest supporter of the Council's decision to hire mercenaries for X-COM. However, you have, as you said, spent most of you career in armed forces. I take this to mean you understand the structure that this project, and you are prepared to follow the orders of your commanding officer. Is this correct?"

Of course the mercenary thing was because I need money, and i'm not very good at desk work, but I will fallow your orders commander no matter what I would even fallow the orders of the squad leaders, i'm good at hand to hand combat though that doesn't matter.
I'm good with rifles shotguns pistols and machine guns, i'm very good at infiltration missions and I would rather have a mission go quickly and be on top of the enemy before they know there there, but since these aliens are unpredictable that may not happen.

The Commander can't help but smile. "Good on ya, dear. I'm glad to see you're so willing. You'll fit in well if that's the case." She types on her computer, saying, "And don't count those hand-to-hand skills out. Though I'd rather my people fight the enemy from afar, we will need to start trying to capture live enemies with our new Arc Throwers. This requires getting right up on the aliens, so you my find a time when your fists are your best weapons."

Eva can't help but smile, i'm glade your pleas with my record, also there's one other thing that you should hear and i't was highly classified but since the world is ending I might as well tell you.

Morrigan leans back in her seat. "I'm all ears. What is it?"

Whelp when the military learned about the aliens they decided to make restart a project that was closed after world war 2, and that was project last hope, it was made to make some super soldiers, after months of finding people they found 800, unfortunately 799 died and looking at the one and only server.

But thanks to that project, i'm stronger faster and a more intelligent so i'm pretty much a super human but i'm not sure how I will handle the aliens.

"Is that so." Morrigan thinks for a moment. "If that's the case, I'm going to have to ask you to keep that between the two of us. There are a number of individuals with... let's just say, interesting pasts, and the less about these pasts that get out the better. Can you do that for me dear?"

Eva get's a light smile Of course commander what ever you need, are there any questions you want to ask me.

Morrigan rocks back an forth a liitle. "No but... I was wondering if you would do me a little service. A favor of sorts."

Sure what can I do for you.

"Have you had a chance to interact much with your roommate, Desmond Walker, yet?" Morrigan asks.

No why.

Morrigan taps her fingers together. "i... can't go into a lot of detail right now. Mr. Walker is a remarkable individual. He has an outstanding record, he gets along well with others without stepping on anyone's toes, and he is not only in peak physical condition, but his mental prowess is outstanding as well. He is, in a matter of speaker, a perfect soldier, and as ecstatic as I should be to have him on my team, I can't help but feel that he is a bit too perfect. I am sure that I am simply be paranoid, but I can not help but try to err on the side of caution."

Morrigan leans forward. "Just... keep an eye on him, will you dear. I don't want you to get in his way, and I don't want you to spy on him. I will not start acting like a suspicious stalker everytime I'm worried. I just want you to keep your eyes open for anything unusual. Can you do that for me?"

sure keep an eye on him right that should be no problem, and your not being to suspicious there is such a thin as to perfect and when that happens you have a right to show some caution. After all it is human nature to show caution to things they don't understand, but don't worry ill keep an eye on him for you.

"Good, just don't do anything to put yourself at risk." Morrigan smiles. "Unless you have any other concerns, you're dismissed."

Thank you for your time commander and I hope eye put your mind at ease. Eve leavs the Commanders office.

(Step one gain the commanders trust, still in progress, step two get meld into body still in progress. Wow she seems nice for a commander I might feel sorry when I betray her.)

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Frostlich1228 and DarkGemini24601: “One Problem for Another”

Atka spends the night after her mission unable to sleep. She has too much on her mind...the survivor that would probably not be treated like Atka hoped she would be...Scarlet and her dismissal...and her worries that she had failed to do her job as an NCO and as a soldier to the best of her ability. When morning finally came, the Inuit woman leaves a worried Taqukaq and starts off for the gym, the hallways, anywhere that would clear her mind. She steps outside of the barracks, sighing.

When Atka steps out of her room, a small, blond haired girl, bumps into her, "Wha! Oh! I'm sorry!" she says, brushing herself off a little.

Atka grimaces, not expecting to find her path arrested by someone. "It's alright..."

Ammelia narrows her eyes and looks at her, "You're... Atka, Right?"

The scout nods. "I am..." she says with trepidation, worrying about Ammelia's expression and why she is asking.

The girl smiles, "I knew you looked familiar, you're the one who went on that convoy mission! It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Ammelia." she replies, offering Atka a handshake.

Atka hesitates for a moment, and then shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ammelia..."

"So, I hear you're the reason that psycho is gone."

"In a way, I was responsible for Miss Van Dam's dismissal. However, that was mostly just because I gave my report to the Commander and she took the necessarily response," Atka replied without showing her feelings on the matter.

"That girl was a time bomb... I don't know what they were thinking when they let her join," She says, crossing her arms, It's her fault, all she had to do was listen to you; even a mercenary should know that you don't disobey your commanding officer like that."

"Thank you," Atka says gratefully. "I don't know that the Council really sees it that way though...and I'm pretty sure my performance didn't look so good in the eyes of the majority of the soldiers."

"What were you suppose to do? Shoot her in the head? I wouldn't want to stoop to her level." she replies, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"It's not like I speak to them, but I would guess they just think that we could have controlled her somehow. That's idiotic, though," Atka said with an equal amount of frustration. "I take it you had to deal with her as well?"

"She punched me on my first day here! She said that I wasn't ready for war, but isn't funny how my mission went flawlessly?" She sighs, trying to contain her rage.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one that was personally fed up with her, and that someone supports me. "Well, she's gone now, we can be thankful for that," Atka responded, allowing herself to give Ammelia a small, gentle smile.

"Yeah, you're right, " she returns the smile.

"Were you headed somewhere before?" Atka asks.

"Just to my room, I'm coming back from my examination down in the gene labs." she rubs a pink spot on her left arm.

"The gene labs..." Atka echoes with an obvious hint of distaste. "I'm not so sure those are a good thing..."

"I know how you feel, something about augmenting our bodies with alien DNA doesn't sit right with me... It's like we're becoming our enemy, you know?"

"We risk doing the same things they might have done...I don't like the idea of that. MELD seems to be the perfect toy for our scientists to play god with our genes..." Atka shudders at the thought.

"And it's not like our engineers have come up with anything better, " she replies, " Cutting off our limbs and turning us into mobile death machines isn't really a better alternative..."

"Well, it goes without saying, but I'm not getting in on that," Atka states.

"At least it's not mandatory, I don't want some suit to grab me in the middle of the night and hack off my limbs," Ammelia shudders as well.

"I doubt the Commander would ever made it that way."

"Yeah, but who knows what the council will do, what they say, goes." she replies.

Atka was silent for awhile. There's a great deal of truth to that... the Inuit woman thought to herself, her mood threatening to dive again. "I...uh...I have to go do something..." she says finally.

"Alright then," She says, giving her a little wave. She knows that Atka is being suspicious, but she doesn't want to pry, it's her business. "I guess I'll see you around,"Ammelia says flatly.

Atka continues her walk to the gym, losing herself in training, having pushed away one problem clouding her mind for another.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Adrammalech and DarkGemini24601: “Billards II”

Dallas looked troubled as Billy hit another ball, sinking it with ease. The giant cowboy let out a loud and obnoxious holler as the two girls voiced their surprise.

“That’s how we do it in America, son,” he shouted with a light-hearted point. “Six in a row!”

“Well, you know,” Dallas said, “in Canada it’s customary to let the worse players win.”

“If you say so,” he replied with a laugh.

From around the corner, Modya, in his customary fur coat and black military Ushanka, walked into the pool room. He walked over towards the others.

“Howdy there, partner,” Billy said with a tip of his hat. “Looking for a game?”

“I am, my friend,” Modya replied with his ever present Russian accent.

“Another friend from Russia, eh? Well then, you have to play our Nika.”

Emily rammed into the much larger man. “I’m next, remember?”

“But we have to be accommodating to our eastern allies, wouldn’t you say?”

“Ah, fine,” Emily sighed.

Nika grabbed two cues and walked over to the table, handing one of them to Modya.

Modya took it, and set the table. “Well then...pust' etot poyedinok nachnetsya.” He sent the spheres scattering across the table, though as always, did his best to avoid sinking any to give either side an advantage.

Nika bent over the table and aimed at a stripe in the corner. She hit the ball with precision, knocking it into the socket. She smiled as the cue ball bounced into another advantageous position.

“So, what’s your story?” she asked as she walked around the side for a second shot.

“Nothing too complex. I was a demolitions expert for our military, fought in two major engagements, one in the Ukraine, the other in my hometown against the Luchshiy. It was nice freeing St. Petersburg from those syndicate idiots, and it went better than the Ukranian deployment” Modya responded. “I assume XCOM recruited me for my skills with rockets and other explosives.”

Nika’s face lit up halfway through, despite missing her next shot. “St. Petersburg? I’m from there! Do you know how it’s holding up?”

“I have not checked in with anyone there in awhile, but I assume they are doing fine for the moment. Unless the aliens intend on trying to cut off northern shipping routes…” Modya hit one of his solids into the top right pocket, “I do not think they will be intent on attacking our home city. I must admit, I am surprised I met someone from the same city here, not that multiple Russians on a base in Siberia is surprising in the slightest.”

“Yeah, it’s great to meet someone from home,” she smiled, turning to her group looking ready to brag. The guys had already wandered off to the bar, but Emily was still there giving a reassuring nod. She shook her head. “The American boys can be bothersome at times.”

“Oh, that’s not because they’re from America,” Emily whispered to her.

Modya chuckled. “I had a similar experience with another American I met, to be fair. Not that he’s a bad guy, but he thought that St. Petersburg used to be called Stalingrad.” He aimed for his next solid, and it just barely rebounded off the table’s corner and stopped centimeters from the pocket. “Neudacha...” Modya sighed.

“I try not to talk to Billy about Russia,” Nika said as she lined up another one of her shots, recoiling a bit as she missed again. “If I asked him what the capital was, he would probably say Putingrad.”

“Khorosheye gore,” Modya said. “Desmond was just confused about history, not that brainless about things.” He lined up another shot, and this time sunk it easily, but missed the next in line.

“Well, he’s been a military man all his life...let’s call it ‘country-centric,’” she replied as she pointed the cue towards a couple of close balls. She hit between them, sending them both into their pockets. She jumped excitedly.

“That’s my girl!” Emily piped up from the sideline.

“That one is a little more worldly,” Nika said, pointing to her before barely missing her next shot.

Modya’s determination grew as Nika was getting ahead. “Nothing wrong with nationalism as long as it doesn’t blind you to the rest of the world,” he said, and send his third into a pocket. “What about the other one? What is he like?” Modya grinned triumphantly as he sunk yet another, but was crestfallen when he missed landing his fifth.

“He’s quiet, but a good guy,” Nika said as she sank another. “Great commander. When he gives an order, there’s no questioning it.” She walked around to the other side, trying to do a bounce shot but getting a scratch instead.

“Speaking of commanders...what did you think of how the last mission went?” Modya asked, while scoring another before his next miss, and getting ahead this time. “How do you think Ipiktok did?”

“I heard she did well, and some crazy person got fired,” she replied, looking a little unsure. “I didn’t hear much about it, I guess.”

“Just wondering...I hear she thinks she didn’t do well, but I don’t think a lot of people actually believe that,” Modya replied.

“Well, the way I see it,” she paused as she shot again, doing a successful bounce shot this time, “no one’s really trained to deal with aliens and multinational teams and all this, so if someone brings people back breathing, they’re doing alright.”

“You’re not wrong,” Modya said. “Hopefully I won’t be asked to be an NCO at any point, I am not really cut out for that sort of thing. What about you, give any thought to how you would do as a squad leader?”

“Oh, no,” Nika said, missing another shot. “I’m happy just following, as long as the orders are good. I’m lucky to have a team I like, even the dopey cowboy.”

“I dread having to fight those things, but I do think I need to catch up anyway. I’m still a private even when we already have people beyond the rank of specialist.”

“Hey, there’s no shame in that,” she said sternly. “I’m still a private too, even with some kills. Don’t know why, but I am.”

Modya raised an eyebrow. “That’s strange...I wonder why you didn’t get promoted along with the others.”

“That’s just the way it goes, I guess...I was angry at first, but they’re hardly the last kills I plan to get.”

Modya took aim, and sunk two more in a double hit, grinning widely. “Well, looks like this is the end for you…” He took aim at the eight ball, but then when he hit it, it bounced against the sides and came to rest in the center again. “...”

Nika grinned as she pocketed another ball. She set up again, knocking in her last stripe, the cue settling on the far side from the eight.

“Getting nervous?” she taunted.

You’ll miss too if you’re overconfident like that. “Not at all,” Modya replied, putting on a relaxed expression, though he was worried she was going to win at this rate.

Nika got low and aimed at the eight, her hands shaking a bit with excitement. “Do svidaniya!” The ball bounced between the inside of the corner before shooting out towards the middle. Emily broke out in laughter behind her as she shoved her face into the side of the table.

Modya picked up his cue and aimed carefully, as if lining up a rocket, and then knocked the eight ball into a pocket. “Better luck next time, my friend.”

“Ah, I was taking it easy on you,” she said, waving her hand before smiling at him. “A good game though.”

Modya chuckled. “Sure, Nika, sure...how about the loser buys us both a shot of vodka?” he suggested, getting up and motioning toward the bar.

“That sounds like a fair deal,” Nika replied, following him.

Emily came up to the table as Nika and Modya walked away. “So, who’s playing with me? Oh, Emily? Ok then.”

 

[MarineAvenger]

Moles (A Colab between MarineAvenger and Dahlexpert Desmond/Eva)

Eva had finally made her way to the X-Com training room, “Well this is a very interesting training room, it’s not like any thing I ever seen before…” Eva sighed. “Where do I even begin.”

Desmond had been on his way all around base. First he had breakfast and a quick workout, had to spend most of the day in the Officer Training School learning how to become a squad leader so he could be better prepared. It was only at the time he arrived at the gym is when he saw a confused girl standing at the entrance. “Need some help?”

Eva turns around, “Um yeah I am kinda new to X-COM and I have no idea where to start my training, do you have any recommendations?”

Desmond rose an eyebrow. “Well, what sort of training were you looking for?”

“Well I’m just looking for a sparing simulation to keep myself in shape, do you know where that is.”

“Well we are an advanced military organization but we are not that advanced we use real people for stuff like that.” Desmond sighed, “And I guess you are looking at the trainer or at least that is what people think I am.”

“Um ok well, will you train with me, and don’t worry I won’t go all out on you we can’t risk having a soldier injured.”

Desmond looked at the girl with a calm look. “This is a training session the point is to go all out. I also happen to know a good doctor.” Not like he wanted to see Rin but an injury was an injury. “So don’t worry.”

“Look I’m not like other people I’m….. special to put it lightly so I will hold back and depending on how you fight will determine how much force I will use”.

“Whatever.” Both of them got into the ring each taking a separate corner across each other. “Well then come at me.”


Eva says to herself “Releasing restriction to level 10, I am now allowed to us 4 percent of my power until the enemy is dealt with.” Eva runs straight at Desmond and punched him in the face Desmond not moving an inch.


“Is that really all you have?” Desmond rushes at the girl seeming to move from the end of the ring to the middle of it in a heart beat. He faints a punch but dives down and kicks out the girl’s legs and coming into a standing position. “Your sloppy.” he says outreaching a hand.


“Okay you're not bad.” Alright releasing restrictions to level 7 allowed to use 30 percent of strength and speed.” Eva runs towards Desmond and punches him 7 times in the stomach and then uppercuts him and before he falls to the ground, Eva grabs his leg and slams him to the ground. “How’s that, you're not broken are you.”


Desmond only lays on the ground a second until he flips up onto his feet. “Not bad, but you could be better.” Desmond turns serious as he advances. He launches a flurry of light punches and follows it up with a round kick straight at her ribs bringing her down to her knees. “Learn control and follow your targets every movement. And keep you hands up.”


“You should follow your own advice.” Eva sweeps Desmonds leg dropping him to the ground. Once he’s on the ground Eva kicks him in the jaw.” Now what were you saying “Follow your target’s motions”, because you seem to be on the ground”.


Desmond lets off a smirk. “So are you…” He grabs her leg and pulls her to the ground next to him. “Nice try though.” Both the opponents roll to their sides and size each other up. “Where you from?” He goes after her again launching punches faster than most people could follow.


Eva dodges Desmonds punches like she can see them a mile away. “I’m from Switzerland and this match is over.” Eva grabs Desmond’s last punch and knees him in the gut. Once he grabs his stomach Eva wraps her legs around his neck and puts him in a arm bar. “ I suggest giving up now.”


Desmond smiled again. “Now why would I do that this was just getting fun.” Desmond grabs one of her legs with his free hand and pries them open much to the surprise of Eva with relative ease. “Now we can begin.” Desmond advances, Eva rushing to meet his stride. “I am from America, special forces training and the person you will lose to.” He says in between punches. He slaps away her defence and slams his shoulder into her chest and using a hand on her neck slams her into the ground while kicking out her legs, jumping away from any backlash from the girl.


Alright I might have to go there but not yet. Realising restriction to level 2 can now use 90 percent of my power and strength. Eva gets back up and spits on the ground. “Well is that all you got because if so then clearly you were in a different special forces than me, because I was also in the American special forces, the black ops division, now come at me with all your strength”.


“If you insist.” He advances once more but this time caught of guard by Eva’s reaction time. Her knee aimed for his torso but he countered throwing her away from him. “Come on!” Desmond rushes at her swinging faster and harder more substantially than he had before almost overwhelming her. Somehow they had attracted a rather large crowd watching the two go at it


Eva gets a small smile on her face, “Is that it?” Eva blocks Desmonds punch and kicks him in his stomach. Once Desmond is on one knee Eva pushes her self of Desmond's knee to use her knee to hit him in his jaw. Once Desmond is down Eva starts to punch him rapidly. Desmond throws a punch at Eva but Eva ducks it, getting closer to his face. “Having fun yet?” Eva jumps off Desmond's body.”Because if this is all you got that’s a shame”.


Desmond was starting to get annoyed now. No one had ever been a match for him on base and there was something off about this girl, something familiar. “Funny I was just thinking the same thing.” He went on an attack of his own, slamming into her with a portion of his strength kncking her off balance. He then grabbed her arm and threw her flipping her on her back. She got up and counter attacked slamming her foot into his chest vaulting him a few feet backwards. Running into the rope he used the momentum to bounce off and tackled her to the ground with the force of a buck shot.


“Ouch, alright.” Eva pulls out the pills that she had in her pocket. Not yet I can’t afford to go there yet I promised the commander I would not go there. Eva get’s up almost not affected by the punch. Okay I have to go there. Releasing restrictions to level one all power will be need to destroy the enemy. Eva Rushes Desmond like a wild animal.


Desmond expected this of the girl but not the ferocity. Her blows had increased significantly in power once more almost to the point where she could probably break bone, if only his weren’t enhanced. He had finally had enough of the girl and decided to confront her. Her punch was caught in his fist, visibly knocking the sweat off of his arm along with his caught in hers. He leaned into her ear so no one could hear. “I know who you work for.” The expression on her face changed immediately and her guard went down as he lifted her across his shoulder and slammed her on her chest. He stepped back taking a deep breath. “See me in my room in an hour and we can talk. Dismissed.” Desmond walked out of the ring, pissed at the revelation he had just made.


Eva gets up. Restoring restrictions to level 10 enemy has been dealt with. Eva gets out of the ring to wait for the hour to pass.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Moles Part 2

After the hour passes she heads out to the room “Now what was that you were saying, you said that you know what I am.”
Desmond stands with his back to Eva. “Your power, your speed, your intuition, at first I thought it was skill but then I realize something. You are not special forces.” He turns to her a stern look on his face. “Why the hell did EXALT send you.”


Eva grabs Desmond by the throat and pins him to the wall. “Don’t you ever say that so casually the walls are paper thin here!” Eva releases Desmond, “The reason our mistress sent me was because you can not send a clone to do a spy’s job.”



Desmond crosses his arms. “Technically this clone just beat your ass in the ring so don’t regard me so poorly, secondly I already made sure no one could hear us, why do you think I made you wait an hour, I scoured the place for bugs.” He keeps looking at Eva with continued intensity. “Mistress huh I had no idea who the higher up was other than that stupid little A.I I report to, so answer me, why and I want the truth not bullshit.”


“First of all, you beating me? HA! If I wanted to I could have punched a hole through your gut and pulled out your spine, as for your master she is on a need to know basis. Hell if she knew what you been doing here she would have terminated you some time ago, but luckily for you she is too focused on other things to worry about you, you are a worthless clone like the others, but you had stronger brain waves than the others so she kept you alive and sent you here, just do your job and report to our mistress”.


Desmond had gotten angry now. A bright purple glow started emanating from his body. “Now listen here, I don’t answer to you. If I want your input I will ask but for now stay out of my way, I have been through too much to fail.” He gets close to Eva’s face, “I earned my place, I fought and I grew stronger. You were placed here because this isn’t a one person operation. So if I were you I would watch yourself.” He steps back from her. “Like you said these walls are paper thin.”


Eva rubs her head.” See this is why you don’t hire a clone. The fact that you're showing your powers are a sign that you're not ready for infiltration jobs. Now as for me my job is to get into the X-com computers and send their science informations to our master. Eva starts pressing her finger on Desmond’s chest. “Your job, you pathetic worm is to just act like a X-com soldier and be a decoy for me so learn your place you pile of meat and maybe if you good our mistress will not terminate you after this.”


At that Desmond smiled. “Well if you haven’t noticed she can’t kill me. I have something she can’t afford to lose.” He points to his brain. “She needs this for her research and I know that I am not as expendable as you are. As for your mission I have something that may help.” Desmond walks over to his desk and opens his drawer. “Come here.” Eva walks over a confused look on her face. Desmond presses a hidden button opening a secret compartment and pulled out a file. “This is all I have on the science division, they have been making small advances as of now but they have acquired moderate amounts of “Meld” as they call it and have been using it in genetic manipulation and mech suits.” He handed the file to her.


“I know what it is. I have some of it in my blood mixed with some of our master’s special serum but what we need is more live subjects that can handle the full extent of meld, which is where I come in. I am meant to take as much meld in my body as possible, you can do whatever you want with it, now as for your brain our commander gave you those powers do you really think she can’t take it away and give it to someone else, especially with all the sectoids running around.


Desmond laughed at Eva. “Do you really expect me to fall for that. If she gave me this than she would have an army of me running ag your bluff. Now I don’t have to like you and you obviously don’t like me so why don’t we just do our jobs.”


“Fine but when the time comes you better break things off with that other solder we don’t need any emotional baggage.”


“It will, now get the fuck out of my room.” Desmond turned around and sat down at his desk.


“The commander didn't tell you did she, I’m your roommate you worthless clone.”


Desmond slammed both fists against the desk and walked out of the room. He was expecting that this would be a lot harder on him for the rest of his time here.

 

[Dahlexpert]

A psychos wrath

Some were in U.S at an auction

Now look at this one, yes she is very healthy no wounds a little wild but you will be able to tame her, Now do I hear 50,000.

A bullet goes through the auctioneers head. We interrupt this human trafficking incidence for a special announcement , Scarlet clears her throught you are all about to die by the greatest bounty hunter on the face of this planet, now for those that don't no me my name is Scarlet Van Dam and if you know that name you no that you are fucked and that you pissed off some one because they sent me.

The slavers fire there guns at Scarlet, but dew to Scarlet's x-com training she is able to douge the bullets with no problem.

You know I should really stop giving them an options to surrender, because they never do. Scarlet reach in her bag and tosses a flash grenade.

Scarlet jumps from her cover and fire a few shots at the slave traders taking out a few of them. the slave traders regain there sight and soot at Scarlet again.

Alright Scarlet loads her grenade launcher and fires it at the slave traders.

You fucking psycho bitch, i'm out of here. once the slave trader opens the door Mercer is there to meet him.

Hay you worthless scum, Mercer fires several shots at the slave traders chest.

Nice shooting mercer,I think I killed most of them but you better shoot the bodes just to make sure there dead.

Right you go and check on the slaves, mercer shoots the dead bodes.

Scarlet goes to the shipping containers and see a lot of people in them.

OK people your free to go,the police are out side don't worry about the other traders there all dead your free to go move it.

Scarlet opens a bottle of rum and drinks from the bottle. Damn I love my job it's jobs like these that make me feel like i'm not the worse person in the world. Mercer let's wrap this up and go home.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSlayer53 and DarkGemini24601

“Sparring Partners with Benefits”
Part One

X-COM Base
Main Gymnasium

Jessica stands awkwardly in front of a punching bag. With Alexia having over-exerted herself, it was up to Jessica to take care of today’s exercising. She wasn’t used to it, however. Though honestly, she was more put off by Alexia’s exercise clothing, much more revealing than she was used to.

Modya walks into the gym, having planned to get some exercise in, and finds himself surprised when he notices a certain scientist. He blinks, noticing her choice of attire, and walks over before speaking. “I did not expect to find you here, Jessie.”

“Oh!” Jessica smiles. She then momentarily frowns, snapping her fingers. “M… Moe… Modya, yes? It’s good to see you again. Um… yeah, a girl needs to keep her figure, right?” She glances down at herself, blushing slightly. She tries to hide her discomfort as best she can.

Modya, for his part, glances away from Jessica’s attire to try and make her more comfortable. He is not dressed like he usually is either, lacking his fur coat and Ushanka. “It is good to see you as well,” he replies. “It has been awhile.”

Now more ashamed from causing Modya such embarrassment, Jessica taps the redness out of her cheeks. Placing a hand on his shoulders, she says, “So, um, what have you been up too? I’m sure a soldier like you has plenty to do around here.”

“You would think so, but it is more to the contrary,” Modya answers. “I have just been playing pool, training, and doing one other thing around here.” He sighs. “I can tell you what the last thing is if you can keep a secret, someone would not appreciate it if word got out about his...schemes, I guess.”

Jessica smirks. “Are you kidding? I’m great at keeping secrets. Trust me, I’ve kept a big one or two under my hat. So tell me.”

“I was asked to befriend Desmond Walker to try and learn more about him... and basically spy on him. Apparently that night manager, Thomas Burrick, is overly curious about him, and that is who asked me to do it. He is... an odd one. Not a bad person by any means, just... strange sometimes. He’s either formal, or as curious as a child.”

“Well, that’s no good,” Jessica says, placing her hands on her hips. “Starting a friendship under such pretenses will only lead to trouble. Though…” She thinks for a moment. “I hope he doesn’t have a good reason to ask you to do that. Kinda like the Commander…” She trails off.

“I understand that. Tom made a good point though. If it is nothing, then I just never speak of that and Desmond won’t have anything to worry about,” Modya says back.

Jessica inches closer to Modya. In a low voice, she asks, “Since… since we’re sharing secrets, can I share one with you?”

Modya seems taken aback for a moment, but then nods slightly. “Anything you say that is private will remain between us. I’m not one for breaking promises to people, so you can hold me to that.”

Jessica scowls a bit. “My sister didn’t tell me this until the other day, but apparently, the Commander told her to keep an eye on our roommate, another lab tech. And my sister didn’t tell me ‘cause she thought I couldn’t handle it.” She folds her arms. “Can you believe that? How dare she not trust me?” Her eyes widen a bit. “Oh, but if you ever meet her, don’t tell her I told you that. She’d be really peeved.”

“I would agree with you on that, if you are sharing a room you would probably notice what she was doing eventually anyway,” Modya added. “And I won’t tell her that, though I will have to be careful if you really look so much alike.” He chuckles.

Jessica nods. “Easy. If you talk to me, and I’ve got an attitude, it’s probably her.” She looks Modya up and down, and smiles. Lightly punching him on the arm, she says, “You know, Modya? You’re alright. You talk to me like a friend, not a pair of jugs that can speak. Your significant other is a lucky gal.”

Modya frowned. “Don’t have one,” he says flatly, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Rrrrealy?” Jessica rubs her chin. “I find that hard to believe, a swell guy like you. It’s a shame.”

“It’s not easy to find someone when you’re in the military. We have women in our military now, but not that many, and that’s typically not why they’re there, anyway,” Modya explains meaningfully. “Not that I don’t have experience with women, just not...recently.”

Jessica nods, trying to hide how silly she feels for not thinking about that. “Um, well… don’t give up. You’ll find someone. Maybe even someone here!” A big, encouraging grin spreads across her face.

“Perhaps, though we do all have the threat of death hanging over our heads. I personally don’t feel that weight yet, but I have not seen action against the aliens yet, to be fair,” Modya muses.

Jessica raises an eyebrow. Not the quickest when it comes to taking that kinda hint, huh? That’s… kinda cute, actually. She grabs his hand, and says, “How about we do what we came here to do. Maybe you can even show me a few moves, teach me how to kick some butt.”

“Sure, but you may find that I’m not the best at hand to hand combat. I shoot rockets, rather than charge in with shotguns,” Modya replies jokingly.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

“Sparring Partners with Benefits”
Part Two

Jessica rolls her eyes playfully. “Please, no matter how good or bad you are, you're miles ahead of me. Look.” She turns to the punching bag and throws a few jabs. She obviously isn’t trying that hard, but even so, her inexperience is evident. “I try to do like I see in movies and at the fight tournaments my sister likes to watch, but I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.”

“Well, first of all, you have to make sure you avoid hurting your hands when you do it,” Modya explains, hitting the punching bag with some sideways jabs. “Only punch someone straight on if you intend that to be a move that takes him down, never as a general way to go about fighting.”

“So that’s why my hand hurt when I hit her,” Jessica mumbles to herself. She sends out a few more hits, mimicking Modya. “Hey, you’re right! That's a lot easier.”

Modya smiles. “Have you ever sparred against an actual opponent? Being able to dodge or block is just as important.”

“No, not really,” Jessica answers. Unless you count bullies in high school. She walks over to a sparring mat and lifts her fists. “Why don’t we try it now?”

“We can, but don’t expect me to be putting all my strength into my blows. I’d rather not make enemies of the people in the medical ward.” Modya follows suit, and nods. “Whenever you are ready.”

Jessica jumps back and forth a bit, mimicking what she’s seen others do. She jumps forward, throwing a few quick punches, trying her best not to be predictable.

Modya seems to be able to cope with most of what she throws at him, blocking more than he dodges. “You would probably do better to dodge than block, considering you are less sturdy but more agile,” Modya suggests, throwing a few, mostly gentle punches of his own.

Jessica quickly darts around, dodging each of his attacks. “I... yeah, I see what you mean.” After a few moments, she frowns. “Hey, man, I don’t want you to kill me, but don’t go too easy on me. I’ll never learn if you don’t push me a little bit.”

Modya sighs. “If you insist.” He doesn’t go full force, but he stops holding his punches back, punching at normal speeds, and goes for her midsection where it is harder for her to dodge.

Jessica pushes back, seeing the punch coming, but a bit too late. Modya’s fist landing home, she wraps one arm around her stomach, holding up her other one up. “Oh… man, I can’t… believe you… did…” She backs away a few steps.

Modya’s eyes widen. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to…” he trails off, a look of guilt on his face.

Looking up, Jessica notices Modya’s expression, and she looks even more guilty than him. “I… I’m sorry, Modya! I was just joking, I didn’t mean to scare you. I-It didn’t hurt that much.”

“It doesn’t sound like that’s exactly true…” Modya says cautiously, relaxing from his combat stance.

“No, no, really. And I told you to put a little more effort into it.” She walks up to him, and places her hand on his cheek. “I’m fine, really. I… I was actually having fun.”

Modya’s expression lightens. “Sorry if I am always so serious... I have rarely had a chance to lighten up, and I know it doesn’t go over well all the time.”

Jessica shrugs. “Sometimes I’m not serious enough. Maybe if we hang out a little, we’ll eventually rub off on each other, and break even.”

“I would not mind that,” Modya says, smiling. “Though I would ask you stay away from the vodka from now on in our meetings. I do not think it quite agrees with you.”

Jessica nods. “Yeah, you’re probably right. It probably makes me do strange things, like kiss strangers.” She smiles playfully.

Modya scratches his head. “It wasn’t... a bad feeling,” he replies carefully and slowly.

“Well, maybe. But I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.” She bites her lower lip, and glances left and right. Satisfied that noone is looking, she plants a quick peck on Modya’s cheek, and says, “Of course, you’re not a stranger anymore, right?”

“Right,” Modya says, smiling again. “Though I feel like one without my usual getup,” he continues, noting the absence of his trademark hat with a sweep on his hand over his head.

Jessica lets out a loud chuckle. “Yeah, well, you do look cute in it.” Her cheeks redden a bit, and she quickly turns around. “I mean… you know what I mean.” She glances at the clock. Her voice squeaking a bit, she says, “I, uh… better get going. Got some… science stuff to do.”

“W-well, if you want to find me again, I’m usually in the barracks somewhere, or here,” Modya suggests awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Jessica quickly heads for the exit. As she reaches it, she turns around and says, “Well then, don’t be surprised if I come looking for you, then.” She turns back, nearly running into another soldier. After a quick left and right dance to get past him, she leaves, not wanting to turn back again and show off her embarrassed face.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Decay
XCOM Base, Siberia
2000 hours

Elizabeth had been hard at work for the past few days. Doctors and soldiers came in and out of the ward repeatedly every day and although there was no shortness on work she still hadn't seen her gloomy friend since that night in the gymnasium. She had never properly thanked him for the kindness he showed to her. Whether out of boredom or just plain curiosity Elizabeth had decided to check her patient registry. She scrolled down page after page but did not find a trace of Desmond anywhere. Puzzled at the prospect that this was a filing error she went over to the secretary at the desk. "Hey Tracy can you check up on one of my patients, Desmond Walker, he isn't showing up on my list anymore." The woman typed away at her keyboard and found what she had been looking for, "Says here he was transferred to Doctor Amaru." Elizabeth was now completely confused. "Does it say why?" More typing ensued, "Says here he requested it, what did you do to him?" Elizabeth walked away thinking to herself. "What did I do?"

Desmond had been letting off some steam for the past few hours. The whole encounter with that girl had completely changed his mind set. He was now determined to see his mission through with no complications. This point was crucial to his very future. Clone, Clone, Clone. Word rang through his head day in and day out like a phantom torturing him where ever he went. Desmond just wished he could just end it. He just wanted to go into his meditative state and never come out, just to drift in endless limbo. It was times like these Desmond considered using his power. Just show it to the world so they could brand him as either a traitor or a freak. Either scenario led to his death. Desmond had never considered suicide but if there was ever a time in his life where he felt like if I die on that next mission I wouldn't care, now was the time.

"Desmond?" The sound of the voice had jogged him from his thought. The sound of that voice sent a blade through his very heart, or what little of it was left. He slowly turned the small figure of Elizabeth coming into his sight. His look was one of happiness, longing, sadness and anger all rolled into one. He didn't even respond he just kept walking. "Desmond, stop." She ran after him catching up to him and walking next to him. "Hey what's wrong, why have you been avoiding me?" Desmond still kept moving, the man just being replaced with a husk, a shell of what he used to be. Elizabeth stopped walking and looked at Desmond tears in her eyes. "Desmond I said stop!" Desmond had finally listened and stood where he was, his fists curled and his head low. "Now answer me, why are you avoiding me." He didn't listen he had no will to. "Desmond do you know what people say behind your back? It is horrible, they call you a loner, they call you a traitor. Why do you let this continue?"

Desmond finally spoke up in a dead voice that almost didn't sound like him. "Why should I care?" Elizabeth's tears started to water even more. "Why don't you! These are horrible things to be saying, you are not the man they make you out to be. You are soft and gentle and you CARE, Desmond, why is this happening to you?" Desmond's emotions never changed. "What if they say is true. What if I am the monster they make me out to be?" "But your not I have seen the true you, there is no way..." Desmond was not budging. "You have no idea who I am. You are just a naive girl who can't open her eyes long enough to see who people really are. You are blind." Elizabeth could not believe what she was hearing, or was it she just didn't want to hear it. "Well I would rather be naive than be an asshole like you! What they say is true...you are a monster Desmond Walker and I never want to see you again!" Elizabeth runs off in the other direction tears streaming from her eyes.

A few seconds later Desmond just kept walking. The hole inside him twisted and expanded so far he might as well had just been a hole. He had just pushed away the only person who had ever tried to really understand him. He just kept walking, and walking, and walking, and walking. He finally came upon his room and he was happy to see the girl no where in sight. All Desmond could do was drop to his knees.


A single tear falling from his eye.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Hard Questions

"Why don't you just answer the questions?" The interrogator asks. "I mean, this is fun and all, but I have other jobs to do." He grabs another bucket of water and pours it over Ayame's face.

Ayame gags and wheezes as the interrogator pulls the sheet from her face. She is unstrapped from her board, and the interrogator stands back with his arms folded, waiting for her to recover. She weakly crawls over to her clothing, trying to at least cover herself and maintain what little dignity she has left. After a few minutes, she starts to gain a semblance of normal breathing, and looks up at her tormentor, her eyes burning with anger. "If... if that Commander knew *cough* knew what you were..."

The interrogator chuckles. "That's the point of not leaving marks, my dear. Now, answer the questions, or get back on the board."

Ayame spits at the man. "I told you, I don't know anything!" She screams. "They didn't give me anything. Just the money and the time and the place where to attack. All I can tell you is the woman that contacted us. She was just some plain, white girl. I don't even know where she was from. She was so emotionless, it was like talking to a machine. I... don't even know what her name was. Hell, I don't even know what my squad-mates real names were!"

The interrogator rubs his eyes. "This is tiring." He walks over to the door. Opening it, he calls over his shoulder, "Get dressed. I'll be back later. I suggest you think of something new to tell me by then."

As he steps into the hallway, the guard asks. "How much do you think she's hiding."

The interrogator shrugs. "I'm not sure. Maybe nothing. But I can't take that chance. She'll talk, eventually. What she says when she does will tell me exactly how much she really knows."

An hour later.

Morrigan walks into the interrogation room, carrying a small try of food. She places it in front of a half-asleep Ayame. At the sight of the food, she springs to life, greedily lapping it up. "My my," Morrigan says. "You eat like one half starved."

Ayame chuckles, and shrugs. "Nah, I just love your food so much, I can't help myself."

Morrigan looks up and down at Ayame's wet clothes. "You, um... seem a bit moist, my dear."

Ayame nods. "Yeah, my questioner wanted to get on my good side, so he challenged me to a water-balloon fight. Guess I should have asked for a towel afterwards, huh?"

Morrigan puts on a forced smile. "You're a very proud woman, aren't you? Proud to fault, even."

Ayame nods again. "My old drill instructor said the same thing. Though I think his exact words were 'fuckin' idiot'. Then he had me do a hundred push-ups. Then I'd give him a smartass remark, and I'd have to do a hundred more."

Morrigan watches Ayame intently as she finishes her meal. Taking the tray back, she says, "I can appreciate that pride. I have a bit of it myself. But I can also appreciate how dangerous it can be." Standing up, she adds, "I can't promise you won't see that man again, but I have an idea that should end this quicker."

As Morrigan turns to leave, Ayame asks, "Hey, that woman in charge of that misson? How's she doing?"

"Atka?" Morrigan thinks. "She's alright. A little shaken up over the trouble from the mission, but she's okay."

Ayame gives Morrigan a serious look. "Don't... tell her about any of this. She stuck her neck out for me. Not many people have the heart to do that for a stranger, especially one that has a gun pointed at one of her men. I don't want her to think this is her fault."

Morrigan nods. "You have my word." She steps out into the hallway and quickly makes her way to her office. She picks up her phone and says, "Get me the infirmary." After a few minutes, she says, "It's Commander O'Brien. ..... I'm good, how are my injured soldiers doing?..... Good to hear. Listen, I wish I was calling simply to check in, but I was actually calling to see if we have something. Some, um... sodium thiopental. ..... Yes, of course, I guess that was a silly question. What I should have asked is... does anyone know how to use it for... interrogation purposes...

 

[DarkGemini24601]

BMPixy and DarkGemini24601: “Letting off Steam”

XCOM Gymnasium, 1000 hours

Atka swung at the punching bag in front of her, trying to release her frustrations and clear her mind. The Council’s likely doubt in me. A right hook. My failure to control Scarlet. A left hook. The issue of the MELD and the way I treated Ammelia. A central punch that stung her hand upon contact, causing Atka to grimace.

Albert strolled into the gymnasium, taking a look around the sparsely populated room. Pulling on a pair of boxing gloves he had strung over his shoulder, he moved over to the punching bags himself. He nodded at Atka, and began to warm-up with a few jabs.

The Inuit woman seemed to take note of him, but just barely, as focused and frustrated as she was. She kept going at the bag, even though she was wearing herself out. Throughout it all, her expression was either one of anger, directed at herself, or a cold mask the more she cleared her mind.


“So, what’s on your mind?” Albert asked, figuring a bit of idle talking wouldn’t hurt anybody. He followed up the statement with an elbow to the bag, and continued, “Figuring from your expression, I suppose you aren’t here for the health aspects.”

Atka stopped, and looked over at him. “I’m sure you know how the last mission went, and what’s going on with the scientists right now. That give you an idea of what’s on my mind?” Atka replied, and frowned when she realized how harsh that sounded.

Albert frowned, and replied, “You were on that mission? Sorry to hear that, from what I’ve heard it was a bitchfest from Scarlet. Damn glad she’s gone.” A short flurry of punches followed the statement.

“I still think I could have done better with actually getting her to follow orders…” Atka sighed, getting back into her rhythm of jabs.

“Oh, you were commanding that mission? Huh, then I should be thanking you. Calling that psycho out on her behavior must have taken quite some guts. Mind if I get your name so I know who I should try to be put under?”

A look of surprise stole away the flat expression on Atka’s face. I didn’t think that the people here were angry with me, but this is…the complete opposite. Atka composed herself. “Atka Ipiktok. Scout Specialist.”

“Really? Huh, that husky Ruskie, Modya his name was, mentioned you the other day. By the way, I’m Albert Foulke, PFC, probably will end up as a Rifleman.” Albert moved to offer a hand to shake, but then remembered he still had the gloves on, quickly pulling it off and re-extending the hand.

It was probably stupid of me not to be wearing those in the first place, huh? And...husky ruskie? Atka shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Albert.”

“Good to meet you as well, ma’am,” he said, as he put the glove back on. He paused for a minute as he got back into the flow of jabs and elbows, and then asked, “So, what’s an intellectual Inuit like you doing in this outfit? Glory, vengeance, or something else?”

“Protecting my country, actually, though that includes my people as well. I didn’t live in Nunavut ALL my life, you know,” Atka responded, though there was no hostility in her tone. “I want to make sure Toronto, Nunavut, and the rest of Canada are safe from this threat.”

“Geez, seems like almost everybody I’ve asked that has these noble intentions on why they joined. Guess I’m one of the odd ones out here,” Albert said with a small smirk. “Of course, neither of those are bad things, I suppose.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I hear one of our top scientists is an egomaniac, and it was fairly obvious why Scarlet joined up,” Atka countered. “And I think anyone that joined up for the more ‘noble’ reasons are lucky they weren’t directly hurt by the initial attacks. I’m thankful that Canada hasn’t really been targeted yet, but I know it’s probably only a matter of time.”

The smile slid off the Amero-Anglican’s face at that remark. “Yeah, count yourself lucky there. And who knows, you might stay lucky, and you’ll never have to fight on your own soil.”

Atka nodded, but didn’t press further, figuring whatever happened to him at the beginning of the invasion was his own business. “When the time comes I’ll be prepared for that possibility. I suppose we’re even more lucky that the aliens have left Russia alone. They don’t have a prayer of finding us if they keep ignoring the largest country on the planet, though I seriously doubt Russia will be untouched indefinitely.”

“Maybe the aliens learned from the last few wars, and decided not to invade Russia at all,” Albert commented, “Though from what I’ve seen of the X-Rays, it may just be that they don’t like the cold.”

“I don’t think we’d be able to take them seriously either if they showed up in big, fuzzy fur coats either,” Atka replied, smiling. “Though, maybe that could be a psychological weapon...but I’d feel horrible for the troops forced to do that.”

“Now that’s a mental image. Sectoids in coats with mittens and that one head-ornament thing the Ruskies wear.” Albert paused for a minute, and then asked, “Hey, do you know if the lab will let us get a dead Sectoid, and if Modya will lend us his hat?”

“I think the good doctor would have a heart attack. I heard someone tried to take parts of a drone as a trophy, and that Vahlen was furious with him. Pretty sure it was Kevin, too.”

“Eh, figured that plan was a long shot. Though it would have been interesting to see Bradford’s reaction once he went to the bathroom.”

Atka chuckles. “You’re an interesting person, Albert.” Oh. “You know, something just occured to me. I forgot to feed my dog this morning.” Atka sighed. “I should probably go do that before Taqukaq decides not to forgive me.”

“Yeah, I should let you go then.” He pauses for a second, and the asks, “Wait, you have a dog here?”

“I couldn’t just leave him all alone in Toronto for who knows how long...he’d think I’d died or something,” Atka explained.

“You don’t have anybody back home to take care of him?”

“Not really...the only person I can think of is my friend Melissa, but she is typically busy. My family doesn’t exactly live in the city either, of course.”

“Huh, makes sense. I suppose as long as Command okayed it, there’s no harm in keeping an animal on base. Who knows, he might tear out a Sectoid’s throat if the base ever gets hit,” Albert mused.

“He is a hunting dog, so that’s true,” Atka replied. “Take care, Albert,” she finished, and walked off to feed Taqukaq and give him a sincere apology.

“Right then, I’ll talk to you later,” Albert said as he continued his exercises on the bag, comfortable in the silence of the gymnasium.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53

Toying with Emotions: Part One

Elizabeth was still shocked by the way Desmond had reacted to her. She had spent the past few hours just curled up on the end of her bed her arms held tight around a stuffed rabbit she had gotten as a little girl. It had always been her comfort. “I don’t believe this. How could this have happened?”

Elizabeth didn’t have an answer, but she might have known someone who did. She got up off of her bed, going to scour the base for her best friend.

Jessica threw a pair of meld encrusted gloves into a disposal been, her latest experiments in genetically enhancing the soldiers going well. But after a day of hard work, she was ready to relax. She stepped out into the hall, stretched, and turned to her left, almost walking straight into Elizabeth. “Ellie, hi! What are you doing…” She glanced at her friends face, her expression turning dark at the sight of her red cheeks.

Elizabeth almost broke down into a pile of tears as she hugged her friend. “It was horrible! How could he have done that!”

“What… what happened?” Jessica looked around. Seeing nowhere for them to talk, she quickly started guiding Elizabeth towards her room. “Just take a deep breath, and tell me everything.”

Elizabeth tried her best to calm down, but it wasn’t going to well. “It... it was... Desmond…” She was having a hard time trying to get her words out while she was crying. “Oh it was... horrible…” She broke down once more and held her friend tighter.

As they reached Jessica’s room, she quickly swept her friend inside, first making she Leon wasn’t around. Closing the door behind her, she asked, “Desmond? He was the guy you were asking me about before, right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Let me talk to her.

Give me a chance first. She needs someone who can keep calm.

I am calm!

You don’t sound very calm to me.

“Well... where do I begin?” Elizabeth tried her best to tell her friend the events that transpired only a few hours prior, but did not do too good, with the occasional breakdowns. “And that is what happened. Why did he do that to me?”

“Wait, I don’t understand.” Jessica scratched the back of her head. “So you try to be nice to this guy, he acts nice back, but then just starts avoiding you, and when you ask why, he goes off on you? What… did he have any good reason?”

He doesn’t need a reason if he’s a prick. Let me out, Jessie, please.

I’ve got my hands full trying to keep Ellie calm. Relax, please.

“There was no reason! That is what I don’t get. He was so gentle and calm when I first met him, and then he just does a 180. It was like he wasn’t even there. He had no emotion when he said it!” Elizabeth held back the tears, but only just slightly. “What do I do?”

Jessica sat next to her friend and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Well, the first thing you do is remember what you just said. There was no reason, meaning you did nothing wrong. And then you stay away from this guy. He’s obviously unstable, and he’ll just end up hurting you more if you don’t.”

Bullshit! He owes her an explanation, and I’m gonna get it from him if I have to beat it out of him!

Jessica lightly pressed her hand against her temple with a pained expression.

Please calm down, Alex. You’re only going to make things worse.

“I don’t know if I can. He broke my heart, but there is just something that draws me toward him. I am so confused, Jessie!” Elizabeth laid herself down on the bed. She wrapped her eyes with her arm. “What should I do if I can’t stay away from him?”

“What if… if I asked him?” Jessica asked, hiding her discomfort. “Maybe if he talks to someone else, he’ll say something. You said before this, he was calm, right? Gentle even?”

“Yeah but there is something wrong with him, almost as if he is dead now. You didn’t see his eyes... they weren’t human…” Elizabeth crawled up next to her friend and put her head in her lap. “What if it is my fault?”

Jessica slowly stroked Elizabeth’s hair. “From what you said, it didn’t sound like you did anything wrong. But I’m… not sure what you mean by inhuman eyes.”

Elizabeth responded in a hushed voice, so soft Jessie almost didn’t hear. “You would if you saw them.”

Please, Jessie, don’t leave me out. She’s my friend too, my only real friend. If you don’t let me help her…

Okay, Alex, okay. But… don’t go too far.

Alexia gently placed her hands on Elizabeth’s shoulders and sat her up. Standing and walking to her door, she said, “Then I’m going to go see for myself. No one gets away with hurting my friend.” She quickly walked out before Elizabeth could argue.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Toying with Emotion Part 2

Desmond had been standing in front of the punching bag for what seemed like an eternity. Jab after jab he hit the lifeless sack but each time he saw himself. His entire body was numb and his hands ached from the constant bashing but he didn’t care. How could he, he cared for nothing anymore.

Alexia walked into the gym, having heard from others that Desmond was often found there. Finding the lone soldier, she rapidly approached him, pointing an angry finger. “You!”

Desmond heard the girl and turned his head giving her the same dead stare that he gave Elizabeth and turned back, continueing to hit the bag.

Being further enraged by Desmond’s reaction, Alexia increased her pace. Reaching Desmond, she places her hands on her hips and asks, “Are you Desmond?”

He slowly nodded his head, just not even caring for the feisty girl behind him.

Alexia pushed Desmond’s shoulder, forcing him to turn towards her. She sends a solid right hook, connecting with his chin. Her eyes bulged, and she dropped to her knees, clutching her fist. “Son of a bitch,” she yelled out.

The dead feeling inside Desmond was soon consumed with rage and he felt his body starting to try and seethe psionic energy but he kept it under submission not risking getting exposed. “WHAT!” The force and volume of the yell was staggering and even though it was out of anger there was a hint of sadness as well.

Alexia cowered for a moment, never having felt such anger. Swallowing hard, she slowly raises to her feet. “Y-you… you hurt my friend. And I demand you tell me why. All she wanted to do is be your friend. How can you treat her like that?” Alexia stands tall in front of the imposing man, trying her best to hide the shaking in her voice.

A slow but sure look of comprehension spreads across his face but it is soon filled with even more anger than there had previously been. Desmond raised a fist looking to strike the girl but instead he turned and slammed it into the bag sending it up into the air a couple of feet and he began to storm off.


Alexia’s knees started to shake, but she clenched her fists to stop them. Running up behind Desmond, she shouted, “Don’t you walk away from me! Y-you can’t push me around like you did to her. Or is that what this is about?” She rushed forward, standing in front of the exit. “Do you get you kicks out of building girls up and then crushing them, you sicko?”

A look of sadness spreads across his face and he lowers his head his fists beginning to shake. “You have no idea what you are talking about lady...so butt out.”

“NO!” Alexia shouts defiantly, stretching her arms out to block the door. “She cares about you. I don’t know why, but she does. If you’re going to treat her like that, then you better have a damn good reason. And you’re not leaving until you give it!”

“You think I don’t know that!” His look of anger returning. “You don’t think I know I hurt her? It killed me to do it but I had to! It was because I began to love her!” There he said it, all the pain he had been feeling, all the sadness rushing into that one little word, one that had always been a stranger to him.

Alexia’s expression softens for the first time, and she lowers her arms. After a moment, she rushes forward, rapidly beating on Desmond’s chest. “Then why do that to her, you stupid jerk. Don’t you think she deserves to know that? What, is she not worth your love? Or is it…” She stops, suddenly tired. She looks into Desmond’s eyes. “Or is it you? Are you the one who doesn’t deserve it?”

Desmond lowers his head. He grabs the end of his shirt and begins to pull it off. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Alexia’s eyes widen. He finishes pulling it off revealing the scarred up torso he was so familiar with. “It was to protect her...from me…”

Alexia steps back to take Desmond’s body in full. “Has… does she know about this?” She thinks for a moment. “Of course she does, she treated you. But she didn’t care. Is this about where these scars came from? Are you trying to say you’re dangerous? That if she stays with you, you’ll hurt her? Because you’ve already done that to someone you know?”

“Yes. If she became involved with me I could not guarantee she would be safe. You can try and run from your past but it always finds a way to catch you. She shouldn’t be apart of that.”

Alexia taps her foot, deep in thought. She turns and walks a few steps away. After a minute, she finally says, “She… she cares about you. She’s a bit childish, but she isn’t stupid. She’ll eventually figure out that you were pushing her away, and she’ll come back stronger than ever. What are you going to do then, hm? Push her even harder? Because I don’t know if she could handle it. She’s not in the best place right now. She just lost the most important person in her life, and you push her too far, you might end up hurting her far worse than these ghosts from your past ever could.”

Desmond lowers his head but picks it back up a look of determination in his eye. Without another word he pushes Alexia out of the way and continued down the hall. With the help of a few people he finally found where he was looking for. He knocked on the door and entered when he heard a little “Come in.” from the other side. He opened the door and stood in the doorway as Elizabeth turned towards him. Her faced turned to sadness and confusion and at that moment Desmond had done something he had never done before...he kissed her.

Alexia runs up behind him, standing in shock at the sight before her. She smiles coyly, and quickly takes her leave, realizing her job was done, and it was up to the two of them to figure the rest out.