X-Com's Finest (An X-Com 2 play through)

X-COM 2: Round 2

"I can reattach your hand, your leg, heck, even your eye – but I'm not a specialist in mind control." There was a slight pause, "Yet.."

Gunner smirked slightly before turning serious again.

"What are we going to do? When Halverson blows, she's going to go off like a cannon. I doubt ANY of us will survive that explosion..."

Pubentz just shrugged. "She hasn't done anything illegal, and I can't exactly prevent her from performing her duties for not liking someone..."

Gunner looked over her shoulder, making sure the object of her attention wasn't listening, "You realize she's going to kill someone..."

Pubentz looked back from her now cold slop and beans and pushed it away, "Maybe it'll be the Ranger...."

Gunner looked up shocked and Pubentz immediately realized her Faux Pas. "Sorry...." Gunner might not LIKE her brother, but it was still her brother...

***

Gill sat in engineering, stuffed animal in her lap, as she watched Shen go about her duties. She didn't even look down at the barely recognizable piece of fabric as she stroked and spoke to it in soothing tones, "It's ok kitty. You'll have a friend here soon enough. Aren't you excited?" The one-eyed giraffe stared back lifelessly. The lack of stuffing in its neck prevented its head from standing straight for more than a moment before bending at an impossible angle. Gill stared at the thing in her lap. "You're speechless? That's so nice. I'm excited too. When we find your friend, he will NEVER ESCAPE!"

Life in engineering came to an abrupt halt as Gill jumped from her chair. Shen just stared, a look of caution and maybe even terror etched on her face. Even the computer seemed slightly muted and dimmed at the outburst. Gill looked around innocently and sat back in her chair, petting her mangled giraffe. "Yes Kitty, our new pet will be perfect," she whispered, a slight purple glow emanating from her eyes.

***

Svagerko just smirked as the Ranger yelled again. "The axes are MINE! Do you hear me? MINE!"

"Uh huh. I heard you." She smiled sweetly again as she intentionally rearranged her locker, making sure there was plenty of room for the axes.

"STOP THAT!"

Svagerko looked up sweetly. "Stop what?"

"Your locker! The axes are MINE!"

Svagerko looked back at her locker. "Oh, you mean this? I was just making sure I had room for any weapon that might come my way..."

"If you so much as touch my axes, I'll..."

"Cluck like a chicken?" Svagerko clucked a few times.

The Ranger reddened before shouting out and charging.

Svagerko waited until the last second before ducking out of the way. Using the Ranger's momentum against him, she slid behind him and steered him straight into the metal wall. The impact forced the breath out of him aand Svagerko yanked his arm behind his back. As the Ranger struggled, she whispered in his ear, "Remember 'Ranger', you aren't the only one with that title.

With a last shove to make her point, Svagerko turned and strode away, leaving a seething Ranger behind.

***

Campbell lay prone on the ground, her finger over the trigger as she honed in on the miniature target of a snake on the other side of the firing range. It was no bigger than a dime. They didn't have the luxury of a huge target range, so Campbell simply made her targets smaller. While the end result was not exactly accurate, it was oh so satisfying when the target simply disintegrated upon a hit.

Campbell held her breath as she pulled the trigger again. The round whizzed by the target causing it to swing slightly in the dislocation of the air. "Dang it!"

"You're STILL here?!? You've been here for hours! How many shots have you hit? Aren't you tired? I know I would be tired!"

Campbell realized someone was in the room with her. She carefully put down her weapon, clicked on the safety, and slowly regained her feet, her muscles groaning with the fact that they now had to move. She looked up to see Pugh talking to her, and she grinned as she pulled off her ear protection.

"... what they say is turkey. I don't believe it's turkey, but that's what they say. Are you hungry? Come on, let's go eat."

Campbell looked down at her watch and cringed a little. She HAD been at her awhile now. She nodded in satisfaction. She would make sure that THIS time, the snake did not eat her!

***

The armor gleamed in the armory. Every square inch had been carefully polished with an anti-rust solvent that not only prevented any corrosion in the protective garment, but brought out the original shiny sheen seen only in the briefest of moments of an armor's infancy. Kristoff rubbed his arm across his forehead, smearing grease across it in the process. He was happy with his job.

He overheard Gunner and raced to gather her attention.

"I'm finished with the maintenance Gunner!"

Gunner stopped her conversation with Pubentz and looked over at him. Kristoff was new to the team, having been picked up at the last stop. Being the most recent, he'd had no real training, and was left handling maintenance chores for the interim. "Ok, Rookie, let's see what you've got."

Kristoff led them through the ready room before stopping in front of her locker, the protective vest shining with goodness. Upon seeing it, Gunner paled. Pubentz, after a moment's hesitation and a glance back and forth between Gunner and her armor, broke out in uncontrollable laughter.

Gunner rounded on the poor Rookie, "Are you TRYING to get me killed?"

Kristoff looked at the armor and scratched his head, not comprehending the problem.

"This vest will be like a blasted BEACON. They'll be able to see me from SPACE!"

Kristoff looked horrified. "But, she told me..."

Gunner stopped any further comments with a stare. "WHO told you...."

"The other girl, Halverson."

Gunner looked over at Pubentz, "I guess Halverson DOES do something other than stare at the ceiling...."

***

The Commander stood in his office, reviewing the reports of the situation on the surface. Things were getting bad, just like the simulations said they would be. But they were a bit different. The squad would have to adapt, and quickly. Fortunately, most of the squad was ready to go.

A slight ding on his computer caught his attention. A celebration was coming. A big celebration. Just like the simulations predicted. That was good news. Once again, he began reviewing his personnel files.

It was time.