• Published 25th Jan 2018
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XCOM: Ranger - Wanderer D



Sunset Shimmer escapes Equestria... with unforeseen consequences.

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Chapter 119: Evil

Ranger

Chapter 119: Evil

By Wanderer D

Tala sat alone in the Hangar, watching the busy staff of the Avenger work. She had been picked up earlier, after Betos had assigned her as the new XCOM liaison, but other than being shown around by a guy nicknamed "Security" of all things, she hadn't really had much interest in engaging XCOM staff in conversation.

The senior staff had been in an emergency meeting after the most recent mission, and rumor had it that something big was happening soon as well. So far, however, she hadn't seen anyone she knew. A nervous-looking engineer had told her that Shimmer had just returned from a mission and as far as she knew, everyone she had met before was part of her team.

That left her with some time to kill, but she didn't feel like doing much at the time, so she had simply decided to wait for Sunset to show up.

She snarled under her mask, before forcing herself to calm down. Her fellow Skirmisher had been acknowledged and her guilt in Mox's death cleared. That, however did not mean that Tala herself would forgive her anytime soon. There had been promises made, even before Sunset had left, that she had held on to… and Mox's death was not something that should have happened on Sunset's watch. Or anyone's watch.

As inevitable a reality as death was… she just couldn't shake her anger away. It would take time to get over that experience. The news had been devastating, and not just to herself… Mox had been famous even before he became a Skirmisher.

Even though Sunset herself was a Skirmisher… being human, she couldn't understand the actual impact of what his death had done to the Skirmisher tribe. Taking Mox's helmet and grappling hook to kill off the Assassin had at least vindicated his death. But not the resentment of a few.

And she was well aware that her own anger wasn't entirely justified. But it felt damn good to have someone to blame. She was still going to be filling up some really big shoes, and had resolved to make an impression. No mission would be too hard. No challenge go unchallenged. She aimed to impress upon XCOM just how reliable and worthy of Mox's sacrifice Skirmishers were.

A group of people walking into the hangar caught her attention soon enough, and she stood up when she recognized the young woman that had gotten into a fight with her and the other Skirmishers on Mox's funeral.

She was accompanied by another young woman—who Tala didn't know at all—and more importantly, the Commander herself. They seemed to be discussing something important too. Tala smiled under her helmet. Time to say hello.

"You understand that this mission might be a one-way ticket, don't you, Acevedo?" Chrysalis asked, just as they walked into the hangar. She glanced at the pair of fully-geared young women. "There's no guarantee that you could come back soon. Or at all. We don't even know if our plan to secure the resource will work. Furthermore, this is not a mission that we can allow to fail, the future of XCOM… even humanity might be at stake here.

"If Twilight's mission is a success… the possibilities of cooperation between her people and ours will be of incredible potential for the development of humanity and our allies."

"I know, Commander," Alejandra said, shifting in place a bit nervously. She glanced at Twilight, and her face became resolute. "I wouldn't even think of doing this if I didn't think I could pull through. Twilight already told me how she got trapped once, sort of. But, she's a valuable member of XCOM, and I can't let her just face danger on her own."

Chrysalis sighed. "I spoke with Deadwood. He says that your training went well, and your proficiency with both guns and rifles is fairly good. I expect you to use them to fully backup Twilight while she's there. We know that it's not going to be… a standard mission."

Alejandra's smile grew. "Thank you, Commander! And yes, I will!"

Twilight was going to say something, but then noticed that Chrysalis had looked up and raised an eyebrow. She blinked and turned around, watching the unknown Skirmisher walk up to them. Unlike Mox, this one was a female, and had a light swagger to her walk as she approached them.

The Skirmisher stopped a few feet away and crossed her arms in front of her. "We meet again."

Twilight blinked, looking around, but she was the only one that the Skirmisher was looking at. "We do?"

"Yes. Do you not recognize me?" the Skirmisher asked, "You challenged me and my students to a fight."

Twilight narrowed her eyes in thought, then she remembered. "Oh! You were the lady that Rainbow Dash punched in the face!" She smiled. "It's nice to see you again! What brings you over here?"

"Fate has seen it that I walk in the steps of Pratal Mox," the skirmisher replied, "And as such, I am here, yearning for battle to bring glory to my people."

"And we welcome you to the team," Chrysalis said. "Tala, wasn't it? You were spoken of highly by both Betos and Sunset. These are Squaddies Twilight Sparkle and Alejandra Acevedo."

"That is my name, yes," Tala said. "I could not help but overhear that you had a difficult upcoming mission." She straightened out. "I would like to offer myself as part of the team going out in this mission, if the future of Earth is on the line."

An awkward moment of silence.

"I don't think this is something you really want to do," Chrysalis said. "The nature of this mission is highly classified, and in fact, Acevedo here wouldn't even know about it if certain individuals had learned the meaning of 'classified' in the first place."

Twilight felt her cheeks warm up, and looked down with some embarrassment.

Undeterred by Twilight's discomfort, Chrysalis continued, "The stakes are high, the chances of return slim… it is possible that our weapons might be completely ineffective. Not to mention, that the actual nature of the mission demands the utmost secrecy." She shrugged. "I'm not expecting to see Acevedo and Twilight for a long time. If at all, and we need fighters for other missions."

Twilight stared at Chrysalis. Surely she couldn't be baiting the Skirmisher for this. Could she?

"I assure you commander, that I am more than up to the challenge," Tala said, marching past Twilight and Alejandra. The alicorn-turned-human fought the urge to groan when she noticed Chrysalis' mouth twitch slightly. "And if this mission is of such importance, then, with all due respect, you cannot leave it in the hands of two rookies."

"You make a compelling case, Tala, but won't Betos wonder what happened to her Skirmisher when you disappear from the face of the Earth for an unspecified period of time? Not to mention that again, this mission is not something I can disclose even to them. I would be losing an excellent fighter here… Skirmishers do not come easy."

"This will not be a problem, if it benefits humanity, it might benefit my people as well. I shall personally talk to Betos now and request that she send another Skirmisher to cover for me in my absence."

'What are you doing!?' Twilight mouthed at Chrysalis, but the commander was now smiling.

"Are you sure that there's nothing we can do to convince you otherwise?" Chrysalis asked.

"Commander, it is my responsibility and honor to do as much as I can for the Skirmishers. If this will help us all, then I will see it done!"

"Well then, I'm glad we have someone as reliable as yourself for this mission. Please let Betos know then, and I'll make sure to include you in the roster."

Tala saluted in that Skirmisher way of bumping their chest, and headed over to the barracks. As soon as she was gone, Twilight turned to Chrysalis. "Commander what the hay are you doing?"

Chrysalis smirked and started counting her fingers. "Sending you reinforcements. Giving Skirmishers more reasons to have hope for the future when they realize they aren't as alone as they think. Increasing the cultural interaction in ways that might benefit all of us… and, assuming everyone can come back soon after the issue is resolved… getting another Skirmisher for free."

Twilight blinked. "You… I… why?!"

"Because I can... and Betos, Volk and Geist are all notoriously greedy when it comes to their soldiers."

"This is insane. You're insane."

Chrysalis nodded. "I am. And you…" she leaned in to whisper into Twilight's ear, "...you are forbidden from telling either Alejandra or Tala what happens when they cross the mirror."

Twilight gasped and glared at Chrysalis when she straightened out. "Evil."

Chrysalis winked. "Cameras."

This time, Twilight couldn't hold it back. It was just too evil. Too perfect. Too tempting.

She started laughing.

o.0.o End Chapter 119 o.0.o

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