Master Sergeant Eduardo 'Otter' Fonseca flashed a bright smile as he approached Ren in the medbay.

"Hello there! Congratulations on making it through your first mission and earning a promotion! Killing aliens is fun work, no?"

Ren stared impassively at the cheery soldier, "It's not much different from killing Grimm, I suppose."

"Ah, yes, Grimm." Fonseca said in his best 'spooky' voice, "The bogeyman of your homeworld. Maybe someday I will get the chance to see them for myself. Who knows? But that's a discussion for a later time. Now… to business." He gestured at the room around them, "You may be wondering why our first training session is in the medbay. The medbay, of all places!"

The young Specialist shrugged, "I was promoted to a Medic. I have a few guesses."

Fonseca rolled his eyes, "Okay Mr. No-Fun Spoilsport. You need to loosen up a little, man! Enjoy life as you take it day by day! But yes. We are Medics, and so it's only logical that our first order of business takes place in the medbay. Whatever Neanderthals that call themselves your squadmates will all get trained in the ways of pulling a trigger to shoot an alien. That's all they know. Pull trigger. Dead alien. Very simple, yes?"

Ren nodded, "For the most part."

"Tch! Such a quiet man! It's okay, though. But yes, veeeery simple. Us Medics, however…" He leaned over and whispered conspiratorially into Ren's ear, "We must learn the art of healing! You give a soldier a medkit, and their alien-killing instincts kick in, so they just pull the trigger and hope for the best." Fonseca shook his head gravely, as if disappointed in these soldiers for their poor medkit use, "Medics must learn the art of professional aid. We must learn methods for dressing open wounds, setting fractures or sprains, and even mentally stabilizing our patients."

Fonseca pulled out the medkit he brought with him, "This is our weapon of war, mister Ren. With this, we keep our teammates in proper fighting condition, so that the alien scum may continue to fall against our combined might! Before we begin, I must ask: how much medical knowledge do you have, my friend?"

"I learned a fair amount of first aid while growing up, and the… wild nature of my partner means I've spent my fair share of time patching her up."

The Medic clapped his hands, "Wonderful! Then we can skip right to the good stuff without having to cover basics. Of course, if there's anything that you find confusing, feel free to stop me and ask." He gave Ren a nudge and a wink, "Of course, that means you will have to speak! But I believe in you, Ren. Let us begin."

"Alright, cowboy. You ready?"

Pyrrha nodded, her eyes shining with determination, "Yes."

"Here we go!" Leo 'Desperado' Ward flipped a switch on the wall of the firing range, and the metal shutters clattered open. As soon as the pair of operatives spotted their targets on the far side of the gallery, hot plasma streaked across the room towards their targets. Bottles shattered, tin cans clanged, and wood targets shattered as the pair called out the growing tally of 'kills' they racked up. The rifles had their power levels set to 'low' so that the destructive energy didn't completely obliterate the far end of the range.

With practiced ease, Desperado ejected the energy cell of his weapon and slapped in a new one moments later. Pyrrha, while considerably slower on account of still learning the weapon in her hands, valiantly sought to match her mentor's pace. Within a matter of minutes, both soldiers had a small pile of spent cells at their feet and not a single target remained standing.

"Final count?" Ward asked.

"Fifty-two, sir."

The Infantryman smiled, "Sixty-four. I gotta say, kid… for someone who started learning how to shoot a plasma rifle a week ago, you're a bloody rock star."

Pyrrha let out a small laugh and waved him off, "You give me too much credit. It may be my first week with a plasma rifle, but I've been shooting my own rifle for several years now. I just need to get used to the new weight and kick, and I'll be able to put all my old training to good use."

"Several years?" The Tech Sergeant asked, slowly raising an eyebrow, "Damn, I was learning about angles, atoms, and other boring shit when I was your age. Well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose."

"A gift… horse?"

"Oh, right. I guess idioms don't carry over between Remnant and Earth, huh? Well, don't worry about it. Shall we go for another round?"

Pyrrha, still trying to figure out what her mentor could possibly mean by a gift horse, nodded, "Practice makes perfect, my father used to tell me. The fact that these speed clears are fun is a nice benefit." She casually ejected the half-spent cell from her Plasma rifle and locked a fresh one in its place. This time, Pyrrha resolved to tag fifty-three of the targets before Desperado could clear out the rest.

In the live fire facility, several dummies stood in a mock urban setting. Several stood in the open while others 'hid' behind various pieces of cover. Silence pervaded the room for a few minutes after construction of the training course finished. Then all at once, the sounds of heavy metal shattered the silence, followed by an ear-piercing, adrenaline-fueled scream.

"YYYYEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Small, beeping objects fell from the sky, rolling towards the dummies and cover. In a flash, green plasma energy ripped through the mock aliens and their concrete shelter. Gouts of flame erupted as barrels of flammable refuse ignited from the grenade blasts and further added to the destruction and carnage in the room. Even as the dummies turned to ash, still more grenades sailed through the air and disintegrated targets that managed to avoid the first round of explosions.

Within a matter of minutes, smoldering pockmarks littered the concrete room while massive volumes of smoke and fumes floated to the ceiling. Between rock and sky stood the blasted remains of the small urban buildings, chunks of concrete still crumbling to the floor as searing fire ate away it their structural integrity. Above it all, on a tall platform, stood a lone figure, hands on her hips and her head thrown back while laughter erupted from her throat.

"And so the Almighty Nora looked down upon the dying aliens. Her foes stared at her pleadingly, begging for a quick and merciful death. Nora contemplated their tearful cries wondering if their final wishes should be granted." A sinister gleam appeared in her eye, and her voice took on a low, deadly tone, "And then Nora remembered the horrors of war inflicted upon her friends by the aliens brethren. So she stared back at the aliens, slowly cooking alive within their not-so-protective suits of armor, and she did tell them: 'No.' "

Nora once again fell silent, leaving only the flaming wreckage and the stereo still playing as the remaining sounds while her mentor cleared his throat, "Jesus fucking Christ, kid. Remind me never to piss you off. I used to run with the Sinaloa drug cartel in Argentina before I got picked up by the AFOE, and I don't know which scares me more: you or my old mob boss."

Master Sergeant Jorge 'Cargo' Cisneros shook his head and stared down at the dying flames below, "I will say, though, I'm impressed by how quickly you got the hang of throwing grenades at your targets. I know that you're accustomed to using a launcher, but we've determined that at XCOM, the ability to make precision tosses outweighs the additional range offered by an M32. I doubt we'll get to do this…" he waved at the carnage before them, "very often, since Central tends to dislike wonton destruction of his facilities. But I'll see if I can make an exception every now and then when it comes time to disposing of the trash."

Nora shrugged, "As long as I'm exploding the crap out of aliens in the field, I think I can live with using paint grenades during practice." She giggled, "This was pretty fun, though! Let me know if you manage to get the go-ahead from Brad in the future!"

Her mentor gave her a light-hearted salute, "Will do, Miss Valkyrie."

"You have survived your first field operation as a Private, First Class. I offer my congratulations."

With hands folded neatly behind his back, the imposing figure of Colonel Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang towered over the rookie standing before him. Eyes impassive, he continued to speak, "Additionally, Bradford has seen fit to honor you with a promotion to the cadre of operatives who call themselves Gunners, my brethren. At the request of Lieutenant Rose, and as a favor to her for outstanding work in the name of XCOM, I have agreed to be your mentor as you adapt to your new role."

The Colonel began to slowly pace in front of his student while he carried on with his speech, "Becoming a Gunner is a great challenge, as well as an incredible honor. You will wield the heaviest non-MEC weaponry available, and use it to rain justice and absolution upon the xeno scum. You will be an anchor for your allies, suppressing key targets with extreme firepower to keep your squad from harm. You will also likely be using specialized High Explosive Anti-Tank ammunition to tear apart dangerous mechanical foes before they have a chance to even try killing those you count as friends. Your road as a Gunner will be difficult as well as dangerous, but should you succeed… I guarantee you will find yourself a better soldier because of it."

Zhang stopped pacing and returned to a position directly in front of his new mentee, "Are you ready to truly learn what it means to be a Gunner?"

Determined blue eyes met cold amber, and Specialist Jaune Arc nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Good." Zhang reached down, picked up the Light Machine Gun on the floor between the two soldiers, and shoved it into Jaune's chest. "Your first order of business is to run a lap around the facility carrying this weapon. Feel its weight, learn its curves, and obtain a deep respect and understanding for your agent of death. Then, and only then, will you truly be capable of learning how to use it in combat."

Jaune looked around the currently-empty live fire course, save for some heavy smoke that hung in the air from whoever previously used it. While the room spanned a good distance, it was far from massive. One lap didn't seem like that big of a deal, so of course Jaune made the mistake of asking, "Just once around the room?"

Zhang stared at him, "When I say a lap around the facility, I mean the whole facility. I have informed Lieutenant Rose and her Sergeants of this part of your training. They are scattered around XCOM's base, and will report to me whether or not they saw you on your run. If I hear a single negative response, you will run the facility again." A small smirk crossed the Colonel's features, "Because Lieutenant Rose has grown on me, I'll do you the favor of telling you that you'll find her at the firing range next door. Finding the other three is up to you."

The young Specialist managed to avoid dropping his jaw, but his wide eyes still managed to convey his shock. To Jaune's credit, he said nothing by way of complaint, merely giving Zhang a stiff salute before setting off on his run.

From the comfort of Dr. Shen's office, the 'Big Three' watched Jaune work his way around the live fire facility before setting out to run around the rest of the anthill. Shen sampled the jasmine tea in his mug before glancing at his two companions, "How long do you give him before we need to give him a mentor that isn't Chilong?"

Vahlen let out a thoughtful hum, considering her friend's question, "He might last. I can call into question his combat prowess relative to the other three members of JNPR, but Specialist Arc certainly has a great deal of determination and physical strength. He might survive the Colonel's instruction simply through sheer force of will and a stubborn attitude."

"And with help from Specialist Nikos." Bradford added, "Ten bucks says she finds him during his run and joins him as a way of encouragement."

"I'll see your bet and raise you twenty that she offers to carry the gun for him." Shen chuckled, "That girl is bit by the love bug in a bad way."

Vahlen snorted, "They've only been here for five days, and though I spend most of my time in my lab, even I've been able to notice. How has he not picked up on it?"

Shen shrugged, "Maybe he has? Just because he doesn't show it doesn't mean he's clueless." He swirled the contents of his mug pensively, "It's obvious he holds a great deal of respect for her and values their present relationship. Maybe he's afraid of making the wrong move?"

"Well if he doesn't make some kind of move, I might just kick his ass on her behalf." Vahlen grumbled.

"Her relationship with Specialist Arc aside, Nikos is damn near the best Rookie shooter we've seen in months." Bradford said, "I was tempted to give her the Sniper's lanyard and have Ruby show her the ropes, but the Lieutenant believed she'd better serve as an Infantryman. Since Ruby knows her better than we do, who am I to contest that?"

Shen nodded in agreement, "It seems that JNPR as a whole brings a lot of skill to the table. Specialist Valkyrie is extremely talented with explosives. You'd think that she'd have a hard time adapting to thrown grenades because she's only ever used her launcher, but Tech Sergeant Cisneros said it took her under half an hour to get her accuracy up to standard deviations." He chuckled, "Cisneros also mentioned that her personality can be a bit… terrifying. I suspect that Yang drew inspiration from Nora here with her original threat to break my legs on her first day at XCOM."

"… I'll keep a close watch on her psych profile." Vahlen said, pulling up Nora's information on her tablet, "But hopefully her personality doesn't end up grating on the rest of our operatives. With everyone already stressed out enough as it is, she might be a demoralizing factor whether she means to or not. I'll have to hold a discussion with the Valkyrie girl before it gets too out of hand, I think."

"I'm surprised you haven't taken a keener interest in her partner, Doctor." Bradford observed, "From what I gathered during JNPR's debriefing, he's somewhat of an Aura prodigy. I can definitely use his combat acumen during operations, I figured that picking his brain during downtime would be ideal for your research."

Vahlen shrugged, "At this point, my chief concern is developing a stable suppression counter-field, and I'm not sure if Lie Ren's knowledge can help achieve that goal. I'll still ask him to see me in my lab just in case I'm wrong."

"Yeah, that suppression field is a pain in the ass, isn't it?" Bradford admitted, "Could you imagine the advantage we'd have over the aliens by now if it never existed?"

Shen laughed, "RWBY probably could have won the war for us. But there's no point speaking of hypotheticals. We'll cross that proverbial bridge once Dr. Vahlen builds it for us."

The Chief Scientist rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Shen. 'No pressure, Vahlen, but an easy victory in this war is entirely based on your research.' "

Bradford returned his focus to the screen tracking Jaune's run, "So it seems that Specialist Arc is the dark horse of his merry band. Not sure what that Ozpin fellow was thinking when he appointed this kid as team lead, but surely he had some reason in mind." He let out a laugh when he saw Jaune pick up his pace in an effort to escape a pursuing Yang armed with an Arc Thrower, "I mean yeah, determination is a great trait in a soldier, but it's no substitute for talent on the field."

"Give him some time, boss," Shen replied, "The first batch of Remnant soldiers surprised us in many ways, and I'm optimistic that this group will do the same. While it's up to them to show us the best they have to offer, it's up to us to determine how to use that potential in the most efficient way. Even if Jaune isn't the best fighter, I suspect that he'll prove his worth through other means."

"I guess so. Hey, check it out," He nodded at the screen where a certain red-haired Specialist could now be seen running with Jaune, "Looks like you owe me ten bucks, Shen."

Shen shook his head, "Have another look."

Bradford turned back to the screen only to see Jaune protectively holding his plasma weapon away from Pyrrha. He sighed and reached into his pocket to fish out a twenty for the grinning Chief Engineer.

The members of Strike Eight, both new and experienced, agreed to spend the evening in the lounge so that RWBY could hear all about the various training regimens JNPR started that day. The veterans, having a 'free day' themselves, arrived early and enjoyed their various beverages of choice while they waited for their friends to file in and take a seat.

"So how do you think they did?" Weiss mused while she carefully examined the contents of the pint Yang set in front of her.

Ruby, opting to 'pre-game' with a glass of milk in an effort to preserve her delicate sobriety, responded,"I'm pretty confident that they had a successful first day. I mean, they did just fine on the Rookie Op, didn't they?"

"Better than we did, at least." Blake commented.

"Hey!" Ruby huffed, "We didn't have four Sergeants on our first mission, and we certainly didn't have two MECs dressed to the nines in top-quality gear!"

Blake waved her off, "C'mon, don't take it personally. I'd say we did pretty damn good, all things considered. I'm just glad that JNPR had a much smoother welcome to XCOM."

Yang grinned mischievously, "Speaking of the devils…"

The other three looked up to see their four friends approach the table after Yang waved them down. The cheerful blond greeted them as they approached, "The kiddies return! How'd you all do on your first day of classes?"

Nora practically skipped her way to the table, a smile firmly plastered on her face, "Awesome! A little boring at first, since they made me use paint balloons instead of grenades. But I got to try out a few of the real ones by the end because my instructor was so impressed!" She looked thoughtful for a brief moment before adding, "I'm not sure he liked it when I started laughing, though…"

Weiss snorted, "Yeah… you gotta remember that not only are these people unaccustomed to your… personality, but this war for their planet has put a heavy strain on them, both physically and mentally." She gave Nora a friendly punch to the shoulder, "Do us a favor and reel that sort of thing in, okay? You'll have plenty of fun making the bad guys explode without giving your mentor a heart attack, I promise."

Ruby turned to look at Ren, "What about you? How's our new resident Medic?"

"Pretty good," Ren replied with a shrug, "Not really any special combat training, but I spent a lot of time learning how to use a Medkit."

Yang scoffed, "Seriously? You just find some blood, pull the trigger, and let the happy juice turn your buddy's frown upside-down."

Ren shook his head, "If you don't care about efficiency, then yeah. My job is to keep you patched up so you can keep killing stuff, and that means not blowing an entire Medkit on a scratch."

"Eh, sounds boring, but whatever floats your boat, I guess." Yang turned to Pyrrha, who was enjoying a glass of orange juice while her friends chattered, "What about you? I take it you blew away Desperado with your amazing talent?"

"He seemed impressed," Pyrrha admitted, "We spent most of our time speed shooting at the target range. I came close to beating him on a few of the trials, but it was probably beginner's luck. He's very nice, though, and a good teacher, so I'm grateful to be learning under him."

"Humble as always," Blake commented, "I bet you were holding back so you didn't hurt his feelings."

"I wish I could say I am as good with a Plasma Rifle as I am with Miló, but the Tech Sergeant is definitely better."

Ruby turned to Jaune, "And what about Strike Eight's new star Gunner? I'll have you know that I had to pull some strings with Zhang so he'd agree to take you on, but he's the best there is… Jaune?" She noticed that his head, firmly resting in his arms on the table, didn't look up in response to her question. Then, she noticed the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders during the quiet seconds that followed.

Pyrrha sighed and softly shook her partner, "Jaune, Ruby's asking you a question."

Bleary-eyed, Jaune looked up and around at the seven pairs of eyes staring at him, "Wha…?"

"How'd training with Zhang go?" Weiss repeated for Ruby. Jaune groaned.

"So much running…"

Yang laughed, "Yeah, we were there for that part, remember? What else did you guys do?"

"More running. While pulling Zhang on a sled." Jaune started counting on his fingers, "And pull-ups… abdominal training… bench-pressing… squats…" The members of RWBY gave him a curious look, and Blake asked the question they all had on their mind, "… Did you do anything else? Like, you know, gunning?"

Jaune shook his head, "Not yet. He said that before I could have the honor of shooting a Gunner's weapon, I needed to earn its respect first."

"Ah… that actually doesn't sound too surprising." Ruby admitted, "Zhang's a bit philosophical. But he's an excellent instructor, I'm sure!" She quickly added when her friend groaned.

"Jaune, do you think you should have somebody else train you instead?" Pyrrha asked, "Someone who's teaching style would be a better fit for you?"

Jaune shook his head, "No. Ruby stuck her neck out for this opportunity. I'm not going to throw that away on the first day because I spent it running around the base."

Ruby, slightly embarrassed, tried to downplay Jaune's determination to succeed on her behalf, "It's fine, Jaune. I don't think it'll be that big of a deal if you need to switch to a different mentor."

"No," Jaune said, his voice adamant, "You have this man's respect, and you vouched for my character. I can tell that he's a great soldier, and I won't be a reason for him to think less of you." A yawn escaped his lips and he shook his head in an effort to break fatigue's hold over him, "I just need to get some rest is all. It can wait until after this, though."

"Right!" Yang cut in, "And what we have here is your Celebratory Specialist Party!"

"Ooohhh!" Nora squealed with excitement, "I like parties!"

Yang gave the new Engineer a triumphant smile, "I thought as much. Do you like drinking?"

Nora gave Yang a confused look, "You mean like drinking water? Or syrup?"

"Nope! Alcohol! Here at XCOM, if you're old enough to get shot at by aliens, you're old enough to have a beer! Or five. C'mon, the four of us have plenty of credit at the Commissary to cover for you guys, so drinks are on us."

Pyrrha clapped in appreciation, "That sounds like fun! Though Jaune might need to take you up on that later-"

"You have anything stiffer than beer?" Jaune cut in, "Because dammit, I need a little somethin' after all the suffering I did for the Colonel."

He didn't even notice his partner's amused sigh.

"So wait," A bleary-eyed (though steady-tongued) Jaune started, trying to keep track of the information in Yang's story, "You're telling me that two MEC soldiers can… you know..?"

Yang shrugged, clearly handling her alcohol better than Jaune, "All I'm saying is, I watched two MEC troopers walk into the armory, and they walked out with a little SHIV between them thirty minutes later. I don't know what they told you back in school, but when a mama cyborg and a papa cyborg love each other very, very much…"

"Yang, it's not nice to tease the new kids like that, especially when they're our friends."

"Look Blake, I'm just saying that sometime you and I should-"

"Yang."

Pyrrha, who planned out her drinking strategy far better than her partner, interrupted the awkward argument before it had the chance to boil over, "So, I was wondering something."

"What's up, Pyr?" Ruby answered, eager to shift topics.

"While we were out on our first operation with you, I noticed a few… habits that seemed a bit strange."

Ruby blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, for example, Yang's odd recitation before we stepped off the Skyranger stuck out to me as particularly…" She paused, trying to search for the right word, "Interesting."

"Oh, that," Ruby chuckled, "Yeah, Yang seems to have an affinity for buying into the silly superstitions some of these guys at the base have. You missed her BFG speech back when she was a Rocketeer. Now, she does some sort of prayer to the machine ghost."

"Machine Spirit." Yang corrected with a mildly condescending tone before closing her eyes and reciting, "Initiating activation sequence, aktiva cons sequentia. Librius machina auroris dei. Contact established with machine spirit of "Archer" MEC, designate MEC-7-32a. Praise to the Machine God."

Weiss sighed, "The fact that you bothered to memorize that still astounds me."

"Hey! You might laugh now, but just remember that the Machine Spirit watches over me the next time I have to bail you out of a tight spot!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to mock her, Weiss," Pyrrha teased, "While Yang's incantation might be a bit over-the-top, you still have rituals of your own."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, curious, "Oh?"

"Every time you kill an enemy, you pull out your sidearm and fire two shots through its skull."

Ruby watched with amusement as her partner try to brush off Pyrrha's observation. In truth, Ruby began to notice the same thing, starting with the last mission her squad ran after Newfoundland.

Weiss sniffed, refusing to make eye contact with her accuser, "You can never be too sure about whether or not your shot really killed it. I do it as a safety precaution."

"Even when your shotgun already blasted a giant hole through its chest?" Jaune added, "And it's always two shots."

"Ouch," Blake laughed, "Even Jaune noticed. That's how you know you're being obvious about it."

Weiss crossed her arms and grumbled, "Oh shut up. I bet Pyrrha's got some dirt on you, too."

Pyrrha shook her head, "Sadly, I do not."

"I do," Ren said. Up until a second ago, the quiet hunter was enjoying his first (and likely only) alcoholic drink in silence. Now, seven heads turned curiously to look at him while he took another small sip of his clear beverage.

A small grin appeared on Blake's face, "Oh? Do you, now?"

"I do." Ren repeated, not offering to expand on his statement.

"… And?"

"It's not something that should be shared."

Yang waggled her eyebrows, "Ohhhh? Is that so?"

Ren shook his head, "Not like that. It's a personal thing."

Blake's grin faded, replaced with a look solemn respect, "I'm impressed you found out about that. How did you…?"

"Because I was going to do the same thing."

"You know they have more than one, right?" Blake pointed out with a small laugh.

"Come ON, guys!" Nora wailed, "You can't keep talking like that and not tell the rest of us!"

"Ren caught me meditating down by one of the Fission Generators."

Silence fell across the group before Ruby broke it with, "… That's it? You guy were making it sound like some sort of secret cult or something."

"I think I understand." Pyrrha said, "For people who practice meditation, having a secret spot where you can just get away from everyone and be alone is very important."

Ren nodded, confirming Pyrrha's guess, "And Blake does it every morning. Habits like double-tapping an enemy or regular chanting are one thing. Revealing someone's place of meditation…"

"Wasn't your place to tell." Weiss finished, rolling her eyes "Thanks for making the rest of us look petty, Blake."

"Well, not all of you." Jaune said, "There's gotta be some kind of story behind the dog tags that Ruby-"

"Jaune." Yang started, her tone growing icy. The young hunter looked at her in confusion before glancing over at her sister. Ruby's eyes darkened, though not in anger. She stared down into the half-finished drink between her hands, and her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. To Jaune, it didn't look like a face of someone pissed off at his apparent misstep. It looked more like the face of…

Sadness.

"Oh, shoot. Ruby, I didn't know."

"It's because nobody ever told you," Ruby answered, still staring down at the amber liquid in her glass, "And that's not your fault." The young Lieutenant heaved a sigh and forced herself to look up at her friends. She even made a feeble attempt at a smile, "It's my fault, really."

Nobody at the table said anything. They all watched their friend in silence, waiting for her to continue. Ruby took a moment to enjoy the comfort of her seven fellow hunters. These guys jumped through a portal and willingly threw themselves into hell for her without a second thought. Maybe re-living the past with them wouldn't be so hard. At the very least, Ruby knew JNPR deserved to hear the truth.

"Before you arrived," Ruby began, "Strike Eight only had five real members. The four of us," She motioned to Team RWBY, "And a gentleman known as Major Xander Vance. When we first joined XCOM, Bradford assigned him to us as a senior operative, and probably as a friend. If we had any questions, if anything seemed confusing, or if a fight got too dangerous, Vance was there."

"Well, the last one's a bit iffy." Weiss added.

"True," Ruby laughed, "Your first mission as Rookies went pretty smoothly, but ours was… well, awful. That's not really his fault though. One thing you learn about fighting for XCOM is that no plan ever really survives first contact with the enemy. My point is that in the absence of any familiar faces here on Earth, Vance became our friend."

JNPR waited patiently, easily guessing the story's ending. Ruby continued, "About a month ago, the Major died in a field op. We literally had a minute at most before the AO became a blazing field of ruin, and a monstrously large Chryssalid was about to keep us from the Skyranger long enough for everyone to die in the blast. The Major saw that we had no way to deal with the threat and get on the Skyranger before the countdown reached zero, so he did the one thing he knew would work." She closed her eyes, "He bought us time."

Realization slowly dawned on Jaune as he started to guess how this related to a pile of dog tags, but he knew enough not to interrupt Ruby's story.

"Major Vance wasn't the first soldier I lost, and I doubt he'll be the last. But he tried to teach me early on how to harness my grief and use it to push myself forward as a better leader." A bitter chuckle escaped her lips, "It's a shame that it took his death for me to truly understand his lesson."

She took a sip from her glass, sighed, and continued, "Before Vance left to stall for time, he gave Weiss his dog tags for me to keep. After we came back, I also asked Bradford for the tags of the other soldiers who died following me." She grabbed the bundle of clinking metal on her hip and allowed herself a smile, "So now I carry them wherever I go, a reminder that they died believing that I could make a difference."

She let the tags fall back into place on her hip and finished her drink. She looked around at all the faces of her friends and saw a mixture of worry and confusion. Ruby knew she needed to fix that, "So to get back to your original question, Jaune, the tags are a reminder to me of something I told you a long time ago. I'm a leader, Jaune, and I'm not allowed to be a failure. The soldiers of XCOM are depending on me, and now your team is, too."

Without asking, Ruby grabbed the glass in front of Yang and claimed it for her own, completely ignoring the indignant "Hey!" from her sister, "Looking back, I'm not proud of how I handled Vance's death. I ignored pretty much everyone in favor of building stuff. I justified it as trying to create tech that would save lives, but it was really about doing something comforting rather than facing the hard truth. I'm sure my teammates would've helped me if they realized what was happening, but being stuck in the same situation… well, it's hard to get a fresh perspective when you're already on the inside right?"

Her smile from before brightened as she looked back at her friends from JNPR, "Having you here helped me realize that. So thanks for being wonderful and diving head-first into danger simply because your friends might need you. I guess you were right in the end."

Ruby chugged the rest of the glass, which caused her to launch into a coughing fit.

"I'm alright!" She squeaked out between choking fits. Once she got her breathing back under control, she looked at her friends once more, "Well, now that we're all done being sad because of me, why don't we do something fun? The lounge has a surprisingly impressive collection of movies, and Jaune could sleep while the rest of us enjoy something."

The members of Strike Eight looked over at Jaune, who had already once more succumbed to his fatigue, and laughed.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, Ruby." Pyrrha agreed, picking up Jaune as she spoke.

"I call dibs on the movie!" Yang shouted excitedly.

"The last time we let you pick, we were forced to watch Kung Fury." Weiss grumbled.

"And it was the best movie of all time. What's your point?" Yang countered.

"Why don't we show JNPR a truly classic work of Earth cinematography?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, "Gone With the Wind is three hours, Weiss."

Ruby's partner shook her head, "I don't even know what that is, but I was thinking something a little more family-friendly. Something like Froz-"

"No."