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Samira Amirmuaz     Shortly after the mission in Lyons, France...

    The Avenger was currently set down in what had been formerly known as Death Valley, eagerly awaiting the return of their troops... and the coming of another Commander, apparently. The ship was even more abuzz with activity than it was before while they waited for the Skyranger to return, and Commander Samira was among them... Though she in particular was pacing the space of the Armory, back and forth. Shen was also there, but she didn't move much... she was instead seated on a table, her arms wrapped losely around her stomach while she waited to see if her wildest dreams had suddenly come true.

    Up above, the Skyranger screams into sight and quickly moves into it's landing pattern; none of the XCOM troopers inside seems really willing to talk when an unknown Commander was in their presence. The Skyranger lands on the ramp leading down to the hanger and gets lowered... as soon as it's down, the ramp drops, and the soldiers happily exit as quick as they can. Maybe going for the bar?

    Shen jumps to her feet the moment she sees the Skyranger, joining Samira. The Commander herself simply waits in parade rest, her expression a stern mask.
Elise Leroy     Following after the Resistance XCOM Troopers, steps the tall, rather imposing form of Elise Leroy. 6'0" of Belgian Sniper ducking out of the Skyranger's hatch. She's wearing an odd set of armour, gleaming with a strange purplish hue. It looks like the stuff the UFO's are made of. Carapace armour.

    She spots Samira, and removes the helmet on her head, snapping a salute as she walks over. Following after is the elder Shen, looking a bit frazzled from the ride in Firebrand. It's not a thing he normally does, even with Big Sky. He'd rather be back in his workshop, cobbling together something new from the alien materials he's being provided with.
Samira Amirmuaz     Compared to the six foot Elise, Samira is clearly much shorter and possibly not anywhere near as imposing - but she does still carry her own aura of authority to match the sniper's. As the taller woman approaches, the Persian immediately snaps to a sharp salute, her heels clicking together sharply. The very image of a professional soldier, even though her old ACUs are somewhat frayed and faded. At least her beret looks snappy?

    "Commander Leroy. Welcome aboard the Avenger. I am Commander Amirmuaz. If you would follow me, I have reserved the bar so that we may talk in privacy."

    To her credit, Shen doesn't move from the commander's side as the doors open, though her legs are trembling, and her eyes are misty. All of that is lost the moment that she sees her father's familiar, befuddled form step out from the darkness and into the ship. "Dad..." she whispers hoarsely. Then she's running, wrapping her arms around the elder Shen's torso like a damn linebacker, burying her face into his shoulder as tears flow freely from her face. It was... quite a shock to see this normally strong, workaholic woman so emotional. "Dad! God, you're really here... You're really alive!"
Elise Leroy     Elise nods, "Lead the way then. I hope you don't mind if I keep my equipment with me." she replies, making a gesture for the shorter woman to take the lead. "While you are clearly XCOM also... I must take some precautions with technology drift." There's something odd about the taller woman now she's closer. Behind the eyes, there's an odd orange gleam, like a tracery of wires, or oddly shaped veins in with the hazel.

    Raymond Shen, Engineer and head of XCOM's development division,, gets rugby tackled by the thirty-something version of his own daughter. He staggers with a surprised yelp, before toppling right over onto the deck, winded and pinned. "Uuuuhhh, not for long if you keep doing that!" he manages to reply, good naturedly, as he wraps his arms back around Lily's shoulders.
Samira Amirmuaz     Samira nods once, not seeming to be too insulted by talking to a fully armored and armed woman. She is, after all, right in the middle of her own HQ. Though, she does note the discrepancy behind her eyes... but refrains from talking about it for now. She does take a moment to lean over to address the senior Shen with a wry smile. "Welcome aboard the Avenger, Doctor. I do hope you enjoy touring your masterpiece. You did repair this ship, after all. Though... perhaps you should join us in the bar, as well."

    Samira's voice seems to bring Lily back to the present... and she notices that she just tackled her poor old dad to the floor. "Ah--S-sorry, dad, I just... It's been so long." With a cough and a hasty rub of her eyes, she stands and offers her hand to help the old man up. For once, there's a huge, bright smile plastered over her face that won't go away. "C'mon," she says excitedly. "I can't wait to show you everything."

    The path that Samira takes them all leads them through the cramped corridors of the ships interior... Elise would probably note that everything seems to be in some state of disrepair. Nowhere near the professional and maintained HQ that she knows. After walking around the winding paths for a couple minutes, the Persian twists a wheel lock upon a door and opens it to reveal the Avenger bar. In a similar shape of shambles, but at least it's clean and it's got booze. And... there is, of course, the Wall.

    "I'm afraid Central will not be joining us for this meeting," Samira says as she goes behind the bar and starts pulling out unlabeled bottles and drinking glasses. "While I am away he must keep watch for contacts. He does send his regards." A couple glasses poured, Samira motions for Elise to take a seat while she takes a stiff drink from her own alcohol. Tastes like very slightly irradiated tequila!

    Eventually, however, it's time to get to brass tacks. "You may be wondering why we are in the state that we are currently in. I regret to inform you that one month after the activation of the XCOM Project on our world... We lost."
Elise Leroy     Raymond takes the offered hand, and chuckles as he stands back up. "Oh I'm sure this is an amazing piece of hardware. It's a shame I will never meet the architect of it all." he remarks, offering a smile back at Samira, then turning to look at Lily. "Though you /do/ have a Shen in your development team, there are none better, if I do say so myself."

    Elise walks along with the Persian, taking in the rather delapidated interior. The revelation doesn't outwardly affect her, apart from a quirk of her brow. "A month... your invaders must have been far more aggressive then ours." she remarks. "We have been fighting our secret war for four months. Recently, for us at least, we were assaulted in our HQ, many of our support staff suffered some kind of mind control enmasse... but with determination, and some help from our Multiversal allies, we repelled them."
Alexis Maaka     The clacking of XCOM issued bootheels announces the presence of Sergeant Alexis Maaka, veteran operative of both XCOMs. She wears her armored coat, only for the cyborg to hang it on a rack immediately, as well as a combat uniform that's issued to all XCOM personnel for living on the Avenger. With sergeant's chevrons on her uniform's sleeve and hat, she looks the part of a soldier more than a mercenary, especially as she offers a sharp salute to both of her COs, and Shens for that matter.

    "Commanders." She greets, having been waiting at the bar itself when everyone arrives. "And Shens, it seems." She's been nursing a bourbon it seems, which she goes back to after returning to ease. "You're looking well, Leroy. Sorry I've missed out on...a lot, actually." She winces, frowning slightly.
Samira Amirmuaz     Lily chuckles a bit... though she's still wiping tears from the corners of her eyes as they go. "Probably better that we don't meet them. It took you years to even get this thing semi-functional. I've been doing the best I can, but getting our tech to talk to theirs doesn't seem to work half the time." That, and she's only got one other assistant to help her out.

    Oh hey, Maaka was here. Samira nods with a small, wry smile for Maaka's somewhat awkward reveal of herself. "I hope you do not mind - Maaka asked to officially join our Resistance."

    Samira's lips twitch into a scowl for a short moment at the mention of a base assault. "Initially, it was simple. Sectoids, Thin Men, some small abductions. Then they hit us, in much the same way as you describe. They hit us with things that we'd never even seen before. Mutons, strange mechanical creatures, flying units. We were utterly overwhelmed. During the attack, I was captured and taken hostage. Within the year, any organized resistance was crushed... Most governments capitulated and formed into the ADVENT Coalition. They control the world, now.

    "They are utterly devoted to serving the alien masters." Teeth slowly grind together when she looks past Elise to the Wall, the three soldiers that had been lost. "A large portion of the world's population was killed, quickly. The same for many armies. I have the numbers, if you require them. It was my failure... I took the time to ensure I knew all the statistics. It was the least I could do."
Elise Leroy     "Cyberdiscs, Sectopods, Mectoids, Sectoid Commanders, Floaters... Chryssalids." Elise says. "They hit us with everything they had, and more, but I think we were more prepared than you." she gestures to her armour. "Carapace armour, forged from the hull plating of the alien space craft... Vahlen learned how to shape it, Shen made that theory a reality." She unhooks her thigh holster, drawing a small pistol-like device with a glowing red 'core' along the center line, where the 'barrel' would be on a conventional firearm. "Laser tech, too. Most of my squads are equipped with Laser Rifles, and everyone carries a Laser Pistol as a sidearm."

    Elise nods to Maaka, as she holsters the weapon. "You've missed maybe a week, by what we know. Vahlen's looking into it right now, sent me some preliminary stuff on the flight over. Some kind of Wide Range Temporal Storm or something like that."

    She turns back to Samira. "Your failure was caused by an unknown mass psionic event... it's something that Vahlen /and/ Shen think they could only do once, that they did it so early to you is... concerning, but you're here, now. And you have the Multiverse to look to for help."

    Shen chuckles a bit at Lily. "I meant your version of me, not whatever Alien built it to begin with... I could give you some design schematics I've been tinkering with based on our dissasembly of the Cyberdisc aliens. Some kind of silicate lifeform, a naturally occuring robotic construct."
Alexis Maaka     A WEEK? Maaka frowns in confusion for a moment. "That's...weird. It's been several months for us, honestly. We almost thought they'd somehow won and we didn't notice. When I came to the District that first night my heart almost jumped right out of my throat seeing ADVENT set up everywhere."

    She raises her glass to the wall. "May they all see peace on the other side, wherever they are." Maaka says grimly. "The Vahlen here has gone dark, considerably so. We still don't know where she's run off to."
Samira Amirmuaz     Indeed, the Commander's armaments were impressive. Samira nods along slowly while she inspects them as they are revealed, but she ends up looking back up to her eyes. "That is not the only enhancements you have recieved, have you. Perhaps if we had the same things as you... We were still hauling ballistic rifles around." Quietly, she sighs. "I personally have been exposed to alien technology. A chip that forced me to replay thousands of wargames in my mind while I was contained within a Stasis Suit. I take it your own enhancements were done more... voluntarily."

    Lily Shen smiles sadly, rubbing at her cheek. "You, ah... You died a few years ago. This ship was your last work. Thanks to you, though, we managed to get XCOM back together and rescue our Commander. Though... if you want to stay at some point and dig through the ship's programming with me, we might be able to come up with a few improvements. Though... Mostly we need to clear all the crap down in the apartments."

    Samira takes another stiff drink, nodding along with Maaka's words. "Mmn. Vahlen is gone, along with Big Sky. We suspect she is alive, but all we've heard is rumors. Furthermore..." She looks dead in the woman's eyes. "With all due respect, it seems as if you are trying to tell me to simply move beyond it. I cannot. Someone must mourn the dead... And make sure that they recieve vengeance."
Elise Leroy     Elise nods to the observation. "Genetic Modifications. A program Vahlen pioneered using a substance we acquired from odd containers the Aliens sometimes carry into the field with them." Raymond pipes up. "We both agreed to call it 'Meld', as it can also be used to combine organic and technological systems together."

    Elise nods over to her chief engineer. "Yes... you saw the handiwork of that particular avenue in the Lyons mission. Jackhammer was a Heavy Weapon specialist before he lost his right arm and left leg to a Thin Man's poison causing plasma burns to turn septic. We had to amputate to save his life. Meld, and the MEC suits have allowed him to serve again, alongside many others who, while they weren't killed, were instead left unable to fulfill their duty."

    The taller Commander takes a breath... then begins reciting names. It's a long list, and Maaka would probably recognize many of them. Once she's done, those odd eyes open again, and lock onto Samira's. "We have seen further, because we are stood upon the shoulders of giants. Isaac Newton. I haven't fogotten a single soldier I've lost in my war. I've looked up the names of every civilian who's been killed by the Aliens in their 'Terror' atrocities. I'm not asking you to forget them. I'm telling you that dwelling in the past is the surest way of losing the future." she leans in. "Remember the fallen, but fight for the living."
Alexis Maaka     Maaka definitely remembers. Hard to forget the names of those who died when defending the bloody planet. She shuts her eyes and grits her teeth, remembering they who gave their lives. "And we're going to lose more if we don't keep fighting."

    She stands to her feet, her height matching Elise's in fact, and nimbly leaps over the bar before she begins to rifle through the bar. "So. What are we drinking tonight?" She asks, browsing the selection available, pointedly avoiding the ADVENT brews on tap.
Samira Amirmuaz     The Persian commander gives a small nod, frowning as she tries to call the memories back from all that time ago. "Yes... I recall those containers. We witnessed them during our invasion, as well. Sadly, we did not have time to study them in-depth before we were defeated."

    Shen frowns slightly, lifting a finger. "What's weird is that we've seen nothing like this Meld stuff since. Maybe they didn't want us to get our hands on something that would've given the Resistance a better shot against them. Not to mention, it seems like they switched full-stop to genetic engineering."

    A list of fallen longer than hers. It brings a bitter smile to Samira's face while she takes another sip of Johnny's tequila. "To the fallen... That they may see justice in both of our worlds, in time."
Elise Leroy     Elise doesn't take an alcoholic drink, instead opting for something that won't cloud her mind. "To the living, that they may live free of fear once more." she replies. "I think we can, unofficially, assist each other. Combine our research efforts and the like... my troopers aren't trained in guerilla warfare, so our interference may only hamper your efforts. We're an official, Government funded military organization, effectively a hammer compared to your scalpel."

    Raymond looks between the Commanders, then back to Lily. "Sometimes, a hammer works better." he offers sagely toward the former, before adding to the latter. "Lets give the Commanders some space... show me your workshop, I'd like to inspect it."
Alexis Maaka     Maaka grabs Elise a coke in that case, then she hops back over the bar. She gives both commanders a salute as she dons her beret, then finishes her bourbon. "I'll leave you guys to it, see what the Shens are up to." She says, approaching father and daughter at that.

    "Good to see you again, Raymond. Lily's had my tech guy working day and night along with the other R&D personnel since we joined up, I'm glad brilliance runs in the family." She grins, clapping the elder Shen on the arm in a friendly manner.
Samira Amirmuaz     Sharing knowledge between the two XCOMs was probably more than Samira could've imagined. Indeed, the thought that an older version of XCOM existed at all was something magical. It gave Samira and the others a greater belief in their chance to succeed. "I will let Dr. Tygan know to begin sharing his reports with you. Though unfortunately, it seems like what research we gain might only be useful on this side. The enemies that we face have diverged wildly."

    Lily blinks and nods quickly, standing up and motioning the elder Shen to follow her. She does pause when Maaka offers to join them, snickering somewhat. "I promise, I haven't run your friend into the ground just yet. He's jut putting the finishing touches on the Guerilla Tactics School." With that, she leads the two down to her somewhat messy, cluttered engineering bay.

    Samira watches them go, smiling softly for how close Lily remained to her father. "I have not seen her that happy before. I owe you for allowing Dr. Shen to come and see her." She sighs and finishes her drink. "I wish I could offer more assistance to you. I want to make sure that ADVENT can never see the light of day, at least on one world. But... you can see our current situation."
Elise Leroy     Elise watches the group leave too, then turns back to nod to Samira. "I'll have Vahlen forward everything we know so far... if nothing else, it might help jumpstart some new equipment for your ground teams. Ballistics just won't cut it against anything bigger and meaner than a Thin Man." she looks over her shoulder at the .50cal rifle. "Sad as I am to have to put her to rest soon."

    Raymond oofs as he gets a clap from the cyborg. "Strong as ever I see." he offers with a good natured smile, rubbing the clapped area. He follows after Lily, then chuckles as they come into view of the cluttered mess of a workshop. "Ah, it feels good to be home." he says. His own, personaly, workspace isn't much better, half finished projects and prototypes laying in a seemingly random chaos. He has the luxury of having a full staff of engineers to handle the main workfloor, though.
Alexis Maaka     "You know it." Maaka grins, pretty happy to have the old man back. "So how's things back at base? How's Valhen been doing?"

    She's quick to give Lily a playful nudge, "Good, I need him in one piece. Soon as that school's set up, we're gonna be drilling the rookies like no tomorrow. They can use the training once that's set up." She says, relishing the thought of being able to actually teach these guys for once.
Samira Amirmuaz     Samira chuckles and shakes her head ruefully. "Don't I know it. At least for now, ADVENT considers us a fairly minor threat. They still send their human-hybrid soldiers against us instead of pulling out the big guns like last time. Sadly, we likely do not have the supplies necessary to create even half of what you have shown me. Much less the manpower." The .50 gets a look of appreciation, as well, but she slowly shakes her head. "I was trained on the battle rifle, personally. Though I must ask - is it not dangerous for you to be taking the field with your men? From experience... without their commander, XCOM is lost."

    Down in the engineering bay, there's a sudden whirring sound as ROV-R the GREMLIN comes tearing out of the ducts above, nearly swatting Maaka and senior Shen in the head before it comes to a quick stop right over Shen's shoulder. She coughs quietly and places her hand on it like it were a pet. "Ah, sorry about that. Uh, dad, this is Rover. My personal GREMLIN. You helped me design him back then... Now he's in circulation with our Specialists." Taking a look around her workspace, she kind of sighs. "I wish I had some cool tech to show you, but, well... We're lucky to have what we got. Still, maybe we can get some ideas from you guys. Like using the alien alloys, when we have more of them."
Elise Leroy     "I wasn't always Commander." replies Elise. "There was one name I didn't mention. Kieron Hunter. He was the Commander when I joined up... when EXALT emerged, their first target was him, using a sleeper agent. They gunned him down in cold blood." She looks down into her cola. "Then the Spokesman for the Council called me into briefing room... and announced /I/ was the new Commander of XCOM." she looks back up, and shrugs. "Even if I'm the Commander, I'm still a soldier. I lead from the front, because I won't ask my men and women to go where I fear to tread."

    Raymond deftly ducks the flying drone, then chuckles softly. "It seems to have a similar AI to the SHIV units we deploy with our strike teams... I swear it was unintended but they act like heavily armed dogs sometimes." he says, reaching out to touch ROV-R. "I'll say this much. Everything you have here is already ahead of our basic equipment. We're replacing a lot of things with new, Alien-tech derived devices. You've got a firm base to build from, if we give you the information to do it."
Alexis Maaka     It's just before Rover strikes that Maaka immediately leaps out of the way, reaching for her sidearm before recognizing the drone. "Jesus! You're telling me, I've seen Thunderwolves that weren't this...pouncey." She comments, releasing her gun after a moment.

    "Kotone uses them too, time to time. I considered getting a few of my own, at least for recon and remote engagements. Rigging a sniper on one of these could make a good means of taking out priority targets." Maaka says, before she glances to Shen Sr. "There a reason for that? I know there's been some talk back home of fielding AI controlled combat drones styled after dogs, but that's intentional."
Samira Amirmuaz     Ah... That explains it. "The name 'Kieron' is familiar to me. Apparently the outside operatives expected me to be him, when I first emerged from the Stasis Suit." She gives a quiet cough. "As for EXALT, I am less familiar with them, but... We have a recruit here, Sq. Pierre DeGaspard. He says he once served EXALT and has some contacts in the lower levels of ADVENT's government in the western European precinct. Strange bedfellows, perhaps." She can't really argue with the reasoning, though. In her case, she'd already seen the belly of the beast in ADVENT, so nobody questioned. "Even so... be very careful."

    Lily smiles slightly to Shen as he recounts the SHIV's behavior. "I don't really think we got that far, here. But, if you made them, that's probably why. We have a decent start, it's true, but I don't think the margins have ever been this tight before. From the sounds of things, ADVENT is doing a lot to make sure their plans work out, no matter the cost to us."

    Maaka earns a raised brow and a glare. A 'few of them'? "No offense, Durandal, but each GREMLIN is an investment in time and resources. I don't mind making you one, but you have to actually take care of it."
Elise Leroy     Elise frowns. "Be careful with those EXALT people. Fanatics, would rather kill themselves than be taken prisoner." she snorts, then sighs. "I'm always careful... but Strike One is /my/ team... we go into any new situation first." she glances at the clock briefly. "I should think about heading back. Bradford'll have kittens if I'm gone too long. Shen can stick around for a while, his team are working on maintenance projects and retrofitting our Interceptors with some new Alloy plating."

    Raymond shrugs at Maaka. "It's just a quirk in the program. They just started acting that way after a few missions... so I suppose it was the natural progression of the system.
Alexis Maaka     "One will do fine." Maaka reassures Lily without missing a beat. She knows how defensive the younger Shen can get with her tools. "Guess that's that. I'll give you guys the specs I'll need, my SHIV's gonna have to be custom built with stealth tech. I -might- have a spare device lying around, but we'll see. Seraph may have something on hand."
Samira Amirmuaz     Samira can't really give a better response but to shrug slowly. "You are probably right. He does seem to miss it, but I think they have come to realize that without XCOM, this planet, it's people, and them are all doomed." The Commander starts putting away glasses and drinks, nodding along with Leroy's words. "I appreciate that you're willing to let him stay. No doubt Bradford would like to speak to him, as well. Ah... Our Bradford, that is."

    Custom mods. Shen rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Going to have to pay for it, Durandal. But sure, I'll have your GREMLIN ready in a couple days. Anyway... If you've got some time, dad, I can show you what we've deciphered from the ship's programming. Maybe we can find something interesting together?..."