Fanart of a Skirmisher, one of the new resistance factions in the War of the Chosen Expansion for XCOM 2. The Skirmishers are ex-ADVENT hybrid soldiers. They have rebelled against their alien masters and removed the chip that psionically controlled them."I am your puppet no longer"Edit: This particular Skirmisher's backstory

The day I was born it rained like this. I remember first caring about how it smelled, how it felt coming down my face, how it washed the blood from my hands. The day I was born was the day I found out I was the monster, not the humans I had been tasked with purging.



I was a Captain and our squads had been tasked with collecting and delivering a group of resistance to an Advent facility for processing. Long story short they fought back. Receiving my tactics, I was able to direct my troops to elevate and flank. I had closed in on the right coming up behind a human female. She must have heard me because she turned around and looked at me. In one hand she held a handgun of some kind, the other hiding under a coat over a small child. Approaching with my weapon raised I demanded she surrender and drop her weapon.



"You will not take her" she barked back and without hesitation fired. The bullet glanced off the side of my helmet and I heard it hit a wall behind me. I heard the sounds of other ballistics weapons begin fire along the ridge.

Tactics update came in “eliminate threat". I took aim with my weapon aiming for her head and was ready to fire. She shot again, and again until all the gun did was click. The small child was now screaming and crying. Tactics update "eliminate targets". My finger was on the trigger. I could hear the sounds of fire from the other squads. The female now had placed herself in front of the child, her look resolute. Behind her the child sobbed, "mommy don't let the monster take you". Tactics update "eliminate targets.



I cannot explain why I could not fire. With each instruction to fire also came a feeling that made me almost sick. What was wrong with me?



The rain began to fall, drowning out all other sounds until there was just me with my gun raised, and this human female and child whimpering in the dark. I felt sick, confused, angry, frightened.



Tactics Update "ELIMINATE ALL TARGETS". I felt the update and with it a surge of something else I cannot explain.



Moments later Trooper C26 came in around the side, "rendering assistance!" he said raising his weapon to the woman. Before he could fire I emptied my clip into his head. I watched as he fell to the ground then pointed my weapon back on the female and child. Their faces mixed with fear and shock. I lowered my weapon.



My head was filled with tactical orders and compulsions to follow them, but I could no longer. This wasn't.... right.



I removed my helmet and threw it.



"Run" I barked at the them. The woman did not hesitate. She scooped up the child in her arms and bolted leaving me alone in the rain with the body of C26 bleeding out in front of me, the instructions in my head screaming for compliance. I knelt down beside C26. The wounds were fatal, his orange blood pouring out over my hands.

Apart from the rain, now something new streaming down my own face, my own … tears.



I could hear the others approaching, new orders "eliminate traitor"



I didn’t know what to do, but I would not stay here to die. So I ran too.



The next few months would be spent in confusion and chaos, but by some fate I found others like me. They helped me become free of the voices, free to think for my own, free to know that I had been the monster on this world and Advent the enemy. That they had created us from these humans, then used us as they had all the others to do the Elders whims. We were fodder, minions, slaves, and puppets. Well Elder kraksut, I am your puppet no longer.



-End

Drawn and painted in Corel Painter 2015.XCOM 2 is a game by Firaxis Games and published by 2K games. See more fanart here adkkitty.deviantart.com/galler…