//------------------------------//
// Chapter 75: Observations 
// Story: XCOM: Ranger 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//


Ranger


Chapter 75: Observations


By Wanderer D






"You can't be serious, how is this a challenge?" Sunset asked, following the Reapers through the forest. "I've killed Sectoids before."

She growled as she walked among the trees. "I've led groups against them! They were some of the first aliens I ever fought! Seriously though, what are we really hunting? Because if sectoids are taken seriously, I'm not entirely sure the respect I've been gaining for Reapers is really worth it."

Natter giggled. "But you haven't done that like we would!" She turned around, somehow not tripping as she kept walking. "When a guerrilla fighter attacks ADVENT, you pretty much give away your position immediately. The true skill of a Reaper lies in being invisible. Even if one of the sectoids is taken down, they won't know where we are. Not only can they not see us; they can't escape. Not a single one."

This gave Sunset pause. Was that even possible? The ADVENT Psychic Network meant that if a soldier was killed, all nearby pods would immediately notice, and if the alien or trooper had seen where the shot came from, then they would reveal their enemies' existence to them as well.

"Not only that, but we get the job done before there's even a hint of backup. If you're really as good as you say, you shouldn't have any trouble using our methods, right?" Natter teased."

To be able to kill their enemies without giving themselves away at all, they had to be extremely cautious. They should have at most one or two shots before their position was given away, so they would have to be very selective of their targets. And not only that, but also fast.

The truth of the matter was that, unlike the Skirmishers, who showed their combat superiority against their enemies in direct battle, the Reapers were much more subtle. When she had found out about them from Bradford, she had questioned the need to stop at a camp of snipers.

But, as her hard lessons early on in this world, things were not as simple as she had assumed. Her guerrilla days had been somewhat similar to the Skirmisher experience, so the cold approach of the Reapers was a deep contrast with what she was used to.

Where she would have been able to show off her skill at a regular settlement, or even with the Skirmishers again, by virtue of her close combat talent, Reapers were sneaky. They didn't care about how quickly you gained on an enemy and took them down. Sunset could be a goddess of battle, but if it was direct, they wouldn't even budge.

And she wanted—no, she needed to prove to them that she was the best.

You had to do it without the enemy even knowing you were there. And although her objective here was very mercenary—she only wanted to learn better stealth techniques—she had been intrigued by the almost aloof approach to life the Reapers had. Even if their diet was a bit extreme for her.

It was one thing to eat soup with meat in it from an animal they had hunted. It was another thing altogether to do so when it contained meat of alien origin. Even though Sunset understood on a certain level the hypocrisy of her judging them on that when she had happily shot hoofed quadrupeds, cooked them and ate them, there was something… something really unsettling about chewing on sentient aliens.

Natter grinned when she noticed Sunset's thoughtful face. "Not as easy as it sounds, eh?" She turned around, stretching her arms as she walked. "Just the thought of shooting those pests makes me salivate!" she giggled. "I can't wait! Get under the tough outer skin, and everything under is soft, soft, soft!"

Sunset grimaced. "We're not… you're not eating them right there, are you?"

"Aw, you don't want to try Sectoid Sushi?" Natter prattled on. "It's delish!"

Sunset thought about the creatures and fought the urge to throw up at the thought of skewering them and serving them up raw (or cooked, the option wasn't any better). "Y-yeah, I'd rather not."

"Missing out! It's almost as good as Don's favorite."

Sunset looked at the other Reaper, who kept walking forward. When it was obvious he wasn't going to share any information on his own, she gave in and asked, "And what would that be?"

"Muton Loin!" Natter responded, immediately making Sunset regret the question. "He may not look it, but he's an excellent cook! When it comes to cooking up mutons, he's always elected grill master."

Even though he said nothing, the big man's body language showed that not only was he aware of the conversation, but also slightly embarrassed.

"There was this one time I told Volk that we needed to organize a competition between Don, Volk, Elena and I."

"Do I want to know?"

"Well, Volk is really good at cooking vipers, Elena is an expert with Chryssalids—they actually taste like crabs, if you dunked them in spicy sauce—and you already know what Don and I like."

"Right," Sunset said. "Well, how about instead of trying to get a raise out of me as a non-eater of aliens, you educate me a little on how you remain hidden?"

"Oh, we're going to teach you more than that!" Natter grinned. "So far you've seen us hunting regular pray. The quail, the rabbit, the… elk."

Sunset glared at her and could have sworn that Don snorted, but a glance at the man revealed nothing but the most solemn of faces.

"Oh?" Sunset smirked. "So there's more than than firing from safety and sneaking?"

Natter patted her on the arm. "Oh. We know what you think of us, Shimmy."

"Shimmy?"

The trio continued down the mountain. "You want to prove that you're as good as us, don't you? You want to show us that your way of fighting is as good or better, right?" Natter shrugged. "Don't give me that look, it's obvious. You're good at pretending, Shimmy, but we are better at catching lies."

Sunset grimaced, judging her chances. With her regular gear she might have had a chance if the pair decided to take her down in anger, but right now…

"Don't worry," Don said. "We're not going to do anything to you."

"Geez. Am I really that easy to read?" Sunset sighed.

"To us yes… there's a lot of odd things about you, Shimmy," Natter continued, her tone was somehow both playful and yet serious. "And you wouldn't be the first non-Reaper to think of us as their neighbors in the boonies. The weird yee-haws that live away from civilization, hunt aliens and have kids with their brothers."

"I never thought that."

"Yes you did… maybe not all of it, and, I'm glad about that, I wouldn't have liked you otherwise, but you think of us as eccentric at best. And yet you want to learn from us… in a way, that's respect of sorts, so that's what I take it."

Sunset pursed her lips and took a deep breath, but, her running away from home, her life as a Skirmisher, a Guerrilla fighter and Bradford's companion had taught her a harsh lesson about retorting and denying truth. So she nodded and let her short companion continue.

"We all noticed things about you when you walked into camp too… you and Bradford…" Natter said, "The old man… he's very similar to Volk in some ways… but where Volk is a grizzly bear, Bradford's a grizzled wolf… it surprised some to find out such a man was part of XCOM… but then, I guess we also had our own ideas about what XCOM really was."

Sunset pondered that. She could see the metaphor and it did apply to her understanding of her human mentor. She still didn't know much about XCOM; just the little history Bradford had shared.

He was very selective of the information he shared with her, but the knowledge of the man, beyond combat and tactics… just the sheer network of people he knew and who looked at him in a mixture of awe and reverence had been something that had encouraged Sunset to stick like glue to him for the most part, and sort of force the apprenticeship she had found herself in with him.

"And then," Natter continued, oblivious to Sunset's straying thoughts, "There's you. In an odd way, it's like you're new to your body… you are proficient enough, of course, but… there's a newness to it that startles even you. Things in the world that everyone takes for granted, you are surprised by… and you hide it well, but not perfectly. When you came into camp, it was clear you knew how to fight… and yet, your reaction to us wasn't that of a generic fighter… you felt it.

"With us, you were the underdog. You judged us in an instant. You knew the way you fight was not our way. And yet your saving grace was that, despite the initial disdain for our ways, you adjusted. You decided that you would beat us at our own game… and you won't, but it was cute anyway.

"The thing to remember, Shimmy, is that you weren't in control and that you weren't the only one judging… and that you're not as good at reading us, as we are at reading you."

"If you know all of that, why did you let me come with you?" Sunset asked.

"In part, because as I said, we all thought it was cute. You were like a bunny walking into a den of wolves and trying to join the pack, in our eyes. And sure, you're a bunny with fangs and claws, but still, the tail is fluffy, the coat is soft and the ears are adorable."

"You're losing me."

Natter laughed. "So yeah, because it was cute, but also because, unlike others you really wanted to learn. And unlike others, you've taken every comment, every observation and criticism and not made excuses for yourself."

'Oh. They would have hated her if they had met her fresh out of the mirror. Hated her. Shot her, hated her more, and then eaten her. While still hating her.

Don made a signal, now familiar to Sunset, and they all slowed down. "We're close."

Natter sighed. "Look, Shimmy," she said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what you expect, but you'll be never one of us. I think you know that now. We'll still keep our word and train you… and I hope you understand that I consider you a friend and that is why I'm doing this. But once we're done here, and I'm sure you'll be able to resume your trip, the most valuable lesson I really want you to learn is that people are not books."

She leveled her eyes at Sunset. "Not judging by the cover is not enough. You also need to accept that you will not always be better than others at something, or that they will not live up to your standards, whatever they are. But that doesn't make either you or them less."

Sunset nodded. "I… I have to think about all you told me, Natter."

The smile was back. "Sure thing, Shimmy, but I think this is the time we get to really impress you with our quiet ways." She reached out to dig through her backpack and dug out a really strange grenade, the likes of which Sunset had never seen. It almost resembled a skull.

"What's that?"

"This." Natter tossed it up and down, "Is a Claymore Grenade," she said, "and if you know how to use it… you can do amazing, wonderful, things."

Sunset chuckled and shook her head. "I can't wait to see it in action."

Natter's grin was infectious. "You'll love it!"





o.0.o Present Day o.0.o


"And I did," Sunset said as the group crested a small hill and slowed down. From their vantage point, they could see deeper into the jungle, and in the distance, the lights and metallic glint of a structure of some sort.

Before them, however, rose an ancient stone temple, covered in vines and vegetation.

Angel hissed.
"So I guess we're going in there…" Sunset translated, but stopped when Angel hissed again. She frowned.

Mox and Elena shared a glance and readied their weapons. "What is it?" Mox asked.

"Angel says that the temple shouldn't be empty… that there's always monkeys around, but there's none."

"I doubt that's a coincidence," Elena droned out.

Sunset shook her head and pulled out her shard gun. "Be ready."


o.0.o End Chapter 75 o.0.o