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XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 129: Chapter 127: Festering

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Ranger

Chapter 127: Festering

By Wanderer D

The distant shot of a sniper rifle echoed in the night.

"We've been here for hours, Tygan," Sunset said, massaging the bridge of her nose. "I've already told you all I can sense, the rest is up to your instruments… but the longer we're here, the more likely a swarm of Lost will end up stumbling onto our location."

Tygan, standing firm in front of the statue, glanced up from the pad where he was looking at the results so far. "I am well aware of this, Sunset, but the science cannot be rushed. Not only does the ability for our troops to come back hinge on it, but also your own chances of going back home."

"I am home." Sunset growled, turning around and marching away. "At least the only home I can hope to have."

The engineers and scientists around the statue glanced at each other, and Tygan sighed, looking over to them and nodding for them to continue just as his pad lit up with a call from Chrysalis.

"Tygan, any news?"

"If my calculations are correct, and I'm sure they are, we should be able to begin removal of the artifact from the current location within a couple of hours. I have requisitioned a very specifically designed container from Shen… it must not only conform to our requirements, but also to Twilight's very specific instructions."

"Is there any likely damage to any of our active or potential psy-ops?"

"None. Even Captain Shimmer agrees that the radiating levels of Thaumic energy are within agreeable levels."

"Excellent. I will follow up with Lily to make sure you get that quick."

Chrysalis hesitated, and Tygan was quick to catch it. "Commander?"

"How… is she taking it?"

Tygan grimaced. While he respected and trusted Sunset, they were not as close as friends as he had been with Twilight. Until recently, he hadn't even realized that she had a scientific mind… not that he had ever doubted her intelligence, but there was a difference between knowing someone was smart, and actually having a high-level discussion with them about radiation, energy and Thaumic spectrums in comparison with the Psychic spectrum, and the more mundane laws of traditional physics.

It was one of those things you couldn't just be told; you need to experience it. Unfortunately, this new insight into Sunset's knowledge had only helped drive the point that, as smart and knowledgeable as she was, science was not a primary objective for her, unlike Twilight's case. This new understanding, however, was of little use in trying to anticipate or understand Sunset's current mood in a logical, objective manner, which left only his gut instinct.

Were he the type of man that never listened to his instincts, he would still be working for ADVENT, unknowingly furthering the cause of an alien race that saw no hesitation in destroying the race they had promised to protect and uplift. He would still have a chip inside his head, no scar or trauma from operating on himself, no delving into the secrets the Elders refused to disclose.

And so, Tygan listened to his instinct one more time.

"She is not holding up well, Commander. While psychology is not my field of expertise, I believe it's plainly obvious that Twilight's departure has deeply affected Captain Shimmer."

"You know I never told her she couldn't go back."

Tygan nodded, taking a deep breath and looking at the statue. "It must weigh on her mind, that the fate of her friends and family… of her world, is something that she has to leave in someone else's hands… regardless of how trusted and close they are."

He nodded at one of his scientists, who had come up to transfer another file to his pad, before continuing, "As someone who had to make a choice… I can understand to some extent her position. Her mother is missing, her surrogate sister is gone, possibly forever, and she decided to stay here, to fight with us… for many reasons, true, but regardless of how she rationalizes her choice, it cannot be easy."

He passed the pad with corrections to the scientist, who walked back to her team.

Leaving behind Tygan, Estella Marilla considered her history so far, and the revelations that had been brought to light by tonight's undertakings.

She had joined XCOM about four years prior, and before she had been forced to join ADVENT, she used to work for the Nakatomi Institute of Science before the aliens had decimated the Old World and established their dominance over the human species.

That hadn’t agreed with her. She had worked long and hard to find the job she had, she had even changed her name to match a wider world, and eventually had found a place where she could stand equal to other great minds, and while the new developments in science that the aliens had brought with them were tempting, the methods of their control were also fairly familiar to a history buff such as herself with plenty of knowledge of social engineering to boot.

As such, she had been one of the many people that had cast their lot with the rebelling armies of the world, trying to retro engineer alien technology to fight back against them. During that time, projects and groups, and especially names had been tossed around like legends: Moira Vahlen, who had leaked all the information she had of the autopsies of almost a dozen aliens; Charles Shen, who had developed laser weapons able to punch through anything built by mankind.

Rumors of a secret, international military group that had been betrayed by the world governments, just as they were betraying their own defenders, seeped through the ranks, and groups of scientists had started planning for the impending defeat of the current military, and what would follow.

They included many things, from building underground bunkers where they could prosper right under the alien’s noses, to more wild dreams, like stealing a spaceship and escaping to another galaxy. Arguments had exploded on every subject and potential course of action, but one thing was for sure, they had to act against the aliens.

They were the enemy, and humanity stood alone… and would soon kneel alone.

She had been lucky, her fields of study were of interest to the aliens, so when the army she was part of was destroyed and their headquarters taken, she had been inducted into ADVENT. That had also been one of the plans; if captured, join. Wait for the opportune moment; take action when it presented itself.

She had spent ten years working for the aliens, hating them, planning and dreaming ways to get back at her oppressors. Slowly, other scientists she knew had given up, content to receive the benefits of conflict-less compliance at the cost of humanity’s freedom.

No scientist that worked for ADVENT could deny that the future of Humanity was being planned for them. To what end, they could only guess, but the conversations on how to fight it slowly started to die away, until the atrocities committed by ADVENT were fabrications of sensationalist media or rogue elements who only wanted to bring down their benevolent overlords.

Then, talking about it became taboo. Talking about old Earth, of humanity’s freedom to choose their own path, of the moral questions that plagued so many of the Elder’s choices. Where experimentation on humans was once a subject worthy of long debates on the morality of affecting lives and the inherent dangers of playing with nature, now it was just done.

And just as she was about to start giving up hope, she had met him. It had been entirely coincidental. Bio-engineering experts were needed to assist on the development of new, mechanized units that ADVENT was creating.

At first glance, unrelated, but the scientist in charge had requested experts in her field for potential applications and reference, and of course she was more than happy to go to a location that was so conveniently away from the cities.

It turns out that the scientist in charge had the same idea. After all, Charles Shen hadn’t intended to help the aliens for long.

Thus had her escape from ADVENT, and joining XCOM happened.

In all those years, her hatred of aliens and ADVENT hadn’t diminished. When they had heard about ADVENT traitors starting their own faction, she had scoffed at the idea. After all, weren’t these the same species that had tried to kill her so many times? That had murdered innocents in hiding to further the designs of their alien conquerors?

Aliens were monsters, and by extension, ADVENT troops were monsters as well.

Look at what humans had managed on their own. They had basically rebuilt the Avenger, fought back. Brilliant soldiers like Bradford, Kelly, Shimmer, Kiba and others had joined the cause and would time and again face unbeatable odds and make things happen.

She had hated it when the Skirmishers had joined. It escaped her understanding how the legendary commander, of whom Shen spoke so highly, who had been sought after by Bradford when rumors of her being alive had reached them… would simply befriend these creatures.

Sparkle had been a dose of fresh air. A young woman, barely an adult, with a mind that humbled her own, ready to undertake any project; an expert on a field she herself hadn’t even heard of, but with undeniable results. Actual science of what could almost amount to magic… it gave her new hope in humanity.

This girl, this young woman, this young scientist fought, stared monsters in the face, pulled herself together and went back to work. And today, she had found out the truth.

She had heard that Twilight was going away on a mission, that it was possible she wouldn’t return, but they needed to investigate an artifact that would allow them to bring her, and her companions, back from wherever they were going.

Her surprise and disappointment when it had been revealed that not only Twilight, but also Sunset had been aliens all along was beyond description. Surprise. Disappointment. And a slight sense of betrayal… she had never been close to them, of course, but it did make her wonder just how many of the others were the same… and if they should be trusted.

She had however overheard Sunset's declaration, and Tygan's words to Chrysalis. As such, some of her fears were quelled, but the lingering feeling of doubt and the frustration of not knowing the truth were getting to her.

She took a deep breath and refocused. Sunset was an ally, and she had to trust XCOM to bring things back to how they were before, one way or another. She could wait. It had been a long time since her obsessive personality had asserted itself in such a distracting manner… not since she had graduated from College so long ago.

Finding her center, she allowed herself to flow back into her work, wondering if once they took off she might be able to glimpse her old neighborhood on the other side of the city. For now, she smirked at the sky, noting how appropriate it was that—among the rolling clouds—she could still see the starlight glimmer.

o.0.o End Chapter 127 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Chapter 128: Fallible Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 4 Minutes
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