XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 101: Communication

"Each death is on me, Central."

Bradford turned his gaze away from the map display to look at Chrysalis' face. The commander's eyes were narrowed, her focus—almost angry—was on the red image of the Skyranger, approaching its destination.

"It doesn't matter if shit goes sideways because someone panicked. It doesn't matter if one of them turned out to be a traitor and sent our plans to ADVENT and it cost us most of the team. It doesn't matter that we managed to save Twilight… Galahad and those rookies, all of team Eagle… their deaths are my responsibility."

Bradford sighed, but did not argue the point. Ultimately… the Commander was right.

"That clown… the Hunter, she took down Eagle. So now I send them to fight the Assassin… we're still developing better weapons. Twilight is making leaps and bounds in her Magical research…" Chrysalis snorted and shook her head. "If we had all the time in the world…"

"You've sent one of our most capable teams out there, Commander," Central replied, "As much as the loss of team Eagle hurts us… and even though we're still researching better weapons, I'm sure they will perform well."

"We need more soldiers," Chrysalis said. "We can't keep sending the same teams out over and over… they're exhausted. They barely get a couple of days of rest… and as soon as they're healed they're out there. We need more rotation."

Bradford nodded. "We still have Dragon and Wolf. Both teams are solid, but they are starting to feel the weigh as well."

"I have a list… there's some militia groups out there we could coordinate with," Chrysalis said. "They're not as large as the Reapers, Skirmishers or Templars, but they've got experience. Some of them are even military-led."

Bradford took the pad, scanning the names.

"I want you to create a new Team Eagle…" Chrysalis stated. "And I think it's about time Annette got her own command. We can specialize her team, but I want that rookie… Alejandra… in it."

"Understood, Commander."

"Any word from Ember?"

"Lieutenant Yeung informed us that she was at the location where the Black Market would meet," Bradford reported, "Since they deal with intel, we'll have to give some of ours to them."

"That's fair," Chrysalis said. "Have her concentrate on finding more information about the Chosen for now."

"Understood, Commander."

Chrysalis took a deep breath. "I'll be in my quarters. Link me up to Menace when they hit the ground. I want to see everything that happens in that base."

"Yes, Commander."

"Oh, and Bradford?"

Central blinked, looking at Chrysalis, who was standing on the doorway to her room. "You're also supposed to schedule an appointment with Luna."

"..."

"Understood?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Are you ready for this, Annette?" Sunset asked, drawing the attention of the others. "It can't be easy, fighting against a former friend."

Annette sighed. "You… met her right? Before she became… this thing."

Sunset nodded, biting her lip.

"When I met Aria, she had just saved me from being killed by the aliens in the Paris invasion. She inducted me into EXALT, told me I had powers beyond other human's understandings… but more than that, she trained me. She taught me how to hold a gun, how to run for cover, what to do if I got shot in the leg.

"I was never… one hundred percent on EXALT, but I was a hundred and ten with Aria. She was my best friend. She protected me." Annette looked down, eyes misty. "I… practically worshiped her. I trusted her with everything. All my insecurities. All my fears. All my dreams. I even ignored her increased belligerence as time passed and her evolving disregard for the lives of others. She was with me, protecting me, and that was all I needed.

"I knew… Aria wasn't technically a good guy, but… she wasn't bad in my book. She had dreams and ambitions of her own. She was rash and a bit blunt, but I loved her all the more for it. I thought, at the time, I couldn't ask for a better friend, even… even if it was in EXALT. It was confusing… they were sided with the Aliens but they really did seem to want the best for humanity." Annette laughed. "If I had known… it's all clear in retrospect, I guess."

"But you were betrayed," Elena spoke up from where she was sitting, arms crossed. "I overheard that, during your fight with her."

Annette nodded. "Unknown to us, XCOM had been gaining ground on the fight against the aliens, and the Elders ordered EXALT to cooperate. They moved all of the 'gifted' they had found into a location where they… they strapped us to machines the Elders had provided… those machines wormed orders into our brains and demanded obedience. I fought… but I couldn't deny their will.

"I saw XCOM's base in my mind… Central was there, as well as Commander Chrysalis, and Sunset Shimmer. I didn't know who they were, but they were clearly human. We were ordered to… overwhelm the will of those around them… and guide a ground team to the base.

"I remember crying for Aria to stop it… but she didn't. After that, she comforted me… it helped, although I didn't tell her, that EXALT and the Alien's assault had failed… but stupidly, I trusted her. I think—or I like to tell myself at least—that if it had been the Aria I met initially… not the person I slowly watched become… whatever she became before the Elders "rewarded" her, that she would have stopped what happened next…"

"And what was that?" Jane asked.

"They…" Annette sighed. "Someone in EXALT recorded a conversation of the higher ups. The Elders wanted us… not EXALT "us", but rather all of "us gifted ones", to be sent to them for experimentation. When we found out… it was already too late, but I was… I begged Aria to let me stay with her. I cried. And I called out to her as they forced me into a truck that would take me and others to be delivered… to become experiments.

"Aria… she just… watched. Her sister was laughing at us… but Aria was just watching. Her face was like stone. I don't know if she really felt it, but I think, there was a moment when I saw a bit of recognition a bit of… pity in her eyes. But she didn't do anything… and it almost broke me.

"It wasn't until… Sunset… the old Sunset's team, saved me that I found out who the people I had helped attack were… she opened her arms to me, and helped me settle in. Vahlen performed some non-invasive studies on me… with my consent… and eventually, they just let me join the team as a Support Specialist."

Angel hissed softly, and Annette smiled a little. "Thank you. It was."

"Oh no, another one…" Elena drawled, "I thought we only had one Parseltongue."
"Wait, you don't understand her?" Jane asked.

There was a pause.

"Wait, what?" Sunset blurted out. "How?"

"Isn't Angel speaking English?" Jane asked. "I mean… I just… I-I just thought…" she looked around, bewildered. She turned to Annette. "You understand her, she's speaking English, right?"

Annette shook her head. "I was in mental communion with Thin Men for over twenty years… plenty of time to learn their other languages."

Angel hissed, shaking her head in bewilderment.
"Tell me about it!" Jane retorted, grasping her head with both hands. "What the fuck… how did this…" her eyes widened, and she locked eyes with Sunset, who also had a look of dawning understanding in her face. "Well… fuck."

"Yes," Laetitia said. "But not here, and not now. We need our mind on the mission, not on the possible pleasures derived of a surprise development."

A moment of baffled silence.

"Sometimes I wonder... why?" Elena spoke up dryly, "Why did the Commander assign me to this team? And then I realized she enjoys torturing others. And then it all made sense."

"Well, whatever it is you guys are planning on doing," Rainbow Dash called from the cockpit, "you'd better leave it for later!"

They felt the Skyranger decelerate, and heard the wings shift, setting the aircraft into its hover mode.

"We're here."