A/N: So I'm not sure what happened last weekend, but seemed to be eating all of the reviews for Chapter 35. I got email notifications for the first couple of reviews that got posted, but they didn't show up on the website for days. It seems like the problem sorted itself out, because all the comments that I got notifications for are now showing up. If your review isn't currently on the review page, I didn't get it. =/

As the world came into focus for Colonel Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang, he first noted the comfortable silence that greeted his ears. No yelling or screaming, no ratcheting or jackhammering, and certainly no guns firing. No, the word 'comfortable' definitely sprang to mind when Zhang considered his surroundings. And as his other senses slowly kicked in, he realized that many other aspects of his environment could be likewise be considered comfortable. The soft ceiling lights, though bright enough to clearly illuminate the room, didn't hurt the Colonel's eyes despite waking up only moments ago. The room smelled clean, too, with none of the usual acrid scents that tend to accompany a military compound. Zhang's bed felt soft, the mattress firm enough to provide support without leaving him feeling stiff.

The only conclusion that Zhang could come to was that he'd woken up in the medbay. As his senses continued to acclimate to the room, the soft beeping of medical hardware all but confirmed his initial guess. He thought back to his last point of consciousness, and recalled his encounter with the Ethereal inside the alien base. He remembered getting blasted back by some psionic bullshit and feeling like he'd been hit by a truck. His memory failed him after that, though his current state indicated that the mission must have been an overall success.

Zhang rolled his head to the right and spotted Ruby seated next to him, fiddling with something on his bedside table. She must have been truly fascinated with her toy, as the young Captain seemed to be completely oblivious to her friend's awakening. Zhang didn't mind, since he wanted another minute to try and organize his thoughts and further observe his surroundings before mustering the effort to hold a conversation with someone.

He once again returned his gaze to the ceiling and concentrated on his body. He still felt sore from the fight, though the sensation was considerably worse than the usual post-op fatigue. Not only that, but Zhang also noticed a headache pounding against his skull. Whether he got it from getting his bell rung a little too hard, or if the Ethereal mucked around in his brain with the psychic blast, Zhang didn't know for certain. He'd have to ask Vahlen about running some psi tests on him, assuming she hadn't done so already.

"How're you feeling, Colonel?" Ruby asked, interrupting his thoughts. Zhang glanced over at her and saw that her eyes remained glued to whatever she had on the table.

"Surprised you could tell I was awake." He commented.

Ruby stopped with her fiddling and greeted Zhang with a warm smile, "Your breathing shifted about three minutes ago. I figured you'd say hi once you were good and ready to talk, but… I guess I got a little impatient."

"It seems that your senses are as good as Annette claims." The Colonel observed, clearly impressed, "So what are you playing with over there?"

Ruby picked up the item so that Zhang could see it, revealing the ornate pistol he used to shoot the Ethereal, "Your handgun. I gotta admit, it's pretty fancy. Nothing like the hardware XCOM uses." She spun the cylinder and listened to the clicking noise before gently placing it on Zhang's bed, "Where'd you get it?"

Zhang sat up in his bed, wincing as the movement aggravated his headache, before he answered, "From my time with the Triad."

"You know, that may be the first straight answer I've ever gotten out of you." Ruby said with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe I should have Vahlen check your brain one more time."

"Keep talking like that, and it'll be the last straight answer you ever get." Zhang smirked. He picked up the handgun and studied it, "Miss Belladonna has told me one or two stories about her time with the White Fang. While the goals of the White Fang vastly differ from the Triads, the two have their fair share of similarities, especially for the rank-and-file."

Ruby, intrigued by her friend's story, watched as Zhang examined his weapon as he continued his tale, "I was a 'Red Pole' in the Triad, a military commander. I earned the title, of course, but my superiors saw great potential in my tactical skills and put me in a position where my strengths could flourish. This handgun was a gift to me from my mentor, a symbol of my station and a tool to command respect of those under me."

"Does it have a name?" Ruby asked, "I feel like all weapons that have a story should have a name."

Zhang shrugged, "No. It never seemed important. The mere sight of the weapon instilled fear and respect in my men well enough without the need for a silly name."

"Well I want to name it." Ruby insisted.

The Colonel sighed and picked up the handgun so Ruby could have another look at it, "Since I know you won't stop pestering me about it until I finally agree, I'll just spare myself the annoyance and give you permission now."

"I knew you were smart." Ruby grinned, "Now let's see… a good name for this handgun." She grabbed the proffered weapon and turned it over in her hands while she thought, "It has to be badass, of course, but something that also fits… I know!"

"Oh? Done so quickly?"

"Oh hush, you. When ingenuity strikes, it strikes. And I have decided that this weapon will henceforth be known as Aureate Mercy!"

Zhang raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you even know what 'aureate' means. And then there's the fact that you've named a handgun 'Mercy.' "

"I was looking up other words for yellow, just in case Bradford wanted to have a third team to go along with Red and Blue. Did you know that Jaune's name is actually a hue of yellow?" Ruby asked, clearly proud of her efforts, "As for the name, you may not think of a weapon as merciful, but it certainly saved me in my time of need."

When Zhang said nothing, Ruby coughed, "Speaking of my time of need… you do remember what you said to the Ethereal when you shot it… right?"

"I called you my daughter." Zhang answered, as if he was giving Ruby the time of day.

"… Yeah, I don't know about you, but that's sorta-kinda a big deal to me. Do you think you could elaborate on that?"

"I'm… not proud of what I did during my time with the Triad." Zhang admitted, "As I'm sure Blake has told you about her years with the White Fang, growing up in a criminal organization is difficult. They become your family, yes, but they ask of you things that no family should ever want to ask." Zhang's amber eyes pierced Ruby's gray ones as he continued, "Stealing that information from the Triads and delivering it to XCOM was the first truly good act I can think of during my life."

"Okay, so you weren't a nice guy back then, but I've only ever known the Colonel Zhang that has been instrumental in beating the crap out of the alien invaders." Ruby said.

"Your 'Colonel Zhang' was a giant dick for the majority of his time at XCOM." Zhang answered, a mirthless smile on his face, "Though it may have been somewhat easy to leave the Triad and fight aliens, changing a man's personality after he's spent years meticulously shaping it… not so much. The one benefit was, of course, my effectiveness as a leader. I made very few friends, but I also experienced little difficulty in commanding Strike Two."

Zhang sighed, and Ruby guessed that their talk was causing him to think back to unpleasant moments and memories in his history. Before she could think of something to say, her friend spoke first, "Do you remember the first time we interacted in a casual setting?"

Ruby scratched her head, trying to recall the answer to his question, "Err… now that you mention it…"

"I'm not surprised. You were rather drunk." Zhang supplied for her, a true smile forming on his lips now, "Since you seem to have no memory of the evening, I will fill in the blanks. It was after the first weapons test with the technology you worked on with Dr. Shen. Major Vance was getting your team shitfaced while you wanted to thank me for helping Blake out of a bad situation."

"I remember that fight!" Ruby said with excitement, "And yeah, we did have a party in the lounge afterward, didn't we?"

Zhang nodded, "You were trying to learn more about me, or something equally silly, and you thought you could get this information by bonding with me over drinks. Naturally, I held my alcohol far better than you, and the results were… amusing."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Okay, okay, I'm a lightweight. Can we skip over that?"

"There was one thing you said to me, amidst your drunkenness, that I will remember until the day I die." He smirk turned serious, "I'll have to paraphrase here, because you were talking like a drunkard, but the translated version is thus: 'You have heart, Colonel. Some people are at XCOM just for the chance to murder, but not you. You can act silent and tough all you want, talk about how killing an alien is 'not so different from killing a man,' but that was a noble thing you did. Whatever else you say, that right there is the truth.' "

The two fell silent for a while, as Ruby pondered Zhang's story. She may have been young, naive, and whatever else Weiss enjoyed calling her, but Zhang's point was plain as day. For someone who spent his entire life performing unspeakable acts because his criminal family told him to, it meant a lot for the hardened Colonel to hear someone tell him that he was a good person. Not a good soldier or a good commander, but a good human being.

"I know very few people who can lie once they are as drunk as you were that night." Zhang said quietly, "While I'm not sure I see in myself what you see in me, I am honored that you hold me in such high esteem."

Ruby smiled at her friend, "I know I'm not the only one, either. If you don't believe me, ask Jaune. Sure, he has a healthy fear and respect for your training methods, but I'm sure he would take a plasma bolt for you without hesitation, just as he would for any of us. You don't get that kind of loyalty from being scary, Zhang, you get it from being someone who is worth the bolt."

She handed the revolver back to Zhang before standing up, "I'd love to talk more, but I promised I'd meet up with Yang for drinks after I had the chance to make sure you were okay. We've both been so busy gearing up for the alien base assault that we haven't actually had the chance to be sisters in a long time. I'll let Vahlen know you're awake so she can have a look at you and determine when you'll be back on your feet." At the doorway, she paused and glanced back at Zhang, "I think it would be silly to try to ignore your past, Colonel. Instead, use it to remind yourself of the kind of man you want to become."

After he watched Ruby leave the main wing of the medbay, Zhang looked down at his weapon. A revolver used to kill both enemies of the Triad as well as members who failed to live up to the 36 Oaths. Even after learning about his past, Ruby's view of Zhang seemed to remain unshaken. To her, he was a protector, a savior as noble as van Doorn or Bradford. The acts he committed in his old life didn't matter nearly as much as the choices he made now and in the future. Those choices, Zhang decided, would be things that he could look back on with pride when all was said and done. He owed Ruby that much.

"Aureate Mercy, huh?"

Vahlen paused for a moment at her console, hesitant to push the button that controlled the shutters for the interrogation chamber.

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" She muttered, double-checking her data and interrogation protocols. Eventually, Vahlen steeled herself to the task, and she watched as the shutters parted to reveal a Cyberdisc floating languidly within the confines of the chamber. The Chief Scientist recalled watching video feeds of the robotic monstrosities during field operations, and how they carried themselves with the air of something that knows it is superior to everything around it. This disc adopted a similar posture, and yet Vahlen didn't feel the usual vibe of condescension.

Penny floated over to Vahlen, "I've finished syncing Gidjit's communications to your terminal. His answers to your questions will show up as text on the screen. Due to potential problems with… parsing, we agreed that it's best if he sticks to short answers. If you need a more detailed explanation of something, I will be happy to serve as an intermediary."

"Thank you, Penny." Vahlen said, clearing her throat before preparing to begin with the interrogation. Was interrogation really the right word, though? If Penny was to be believed, this alien harbored no ill will for XCOM. Indeed, it allowed itself to be subjected to any and all protocols Bradford and Vahlen demanded, which included a full system shutdown while multiple science teams swept it for bugs, trackers, or other malicious hardware. Whatever Penny did back at the base assault to convince this thing that XCOM represented the good guys, she did a damn good job of it.

"Alien specimen 09-P84, you wish to be identified by the name 'Gidjit,' correct?"

CORRECT.

"And you come with the intention of helping XCOM defend itself against the alien invasion?"

CORRECT.

"Why is that?"

PENNY.

"Operative Polendina is the sole reason behind your decision to defect and become an asset for the XCOM Project?"

CORRECT.

Vahlen turned to Penny, eyebrow raised. Penny 'coughed' to convey her feeling of discomfort under Vahlen's gaze, "When I rebooted Gidjit, I activated his logic processors first. During that time, we were able to engage in a rapid transfer of information between our two platforms, and I managed to convince him that he was wrong and I was right."

"And it was that simple?"

"I may have engaged in some… rewiring before bringing Gidjit online. He is fully aware of my actions and understands the motivation behind them."

NECESSARY. Gidjit chimed in.

"I see…" Vahlen mused. Well, if a simple charge from an Arc Thrower was enough to hack a drone, then perhaps a specialist like Penny could perform a similar operation on a Cyberdisc. Moreover, she found Gidjit in a powered down state, which made her job even easier since it couldn't actively fight back against Penny's intrusions. Truly, the circumstances surrounding Gidjit's 'capture' couldn't have been more fortuitous. Vahlen continued with her questions.

"We took the liberty of removing your offensive capabilities during our sweep of your systems. In light of the recent development that alien weaponry can now detonate Grimm, this can be viewed as your first meaningful contribution to XCOM's cause."

CORRECT.

"Do you wish to be re-equipped with armaments and be sent back out into the field with Operative Polendina and her team?"

IRRELEVANT.

"Beg your pardon?"

A brief pause ensued before Penny turned to Vahlen, "He's saying that the basis of your question was formed around knowing his desire to do something. He believes that such a question has no purpose, as how you choose to utilize him is ultimately up to you."

"And I am saying such a question does have purpose." Vahlen countered, "Despite our autopsies of other Cyberdiscs and our previous examination of Gidjit, he knows his own capabilities better than we do. I would like to know whether or not he believes operating in the field is the best use of his skills."

"I will convey this to him." Penny paused before adding, "Thank you for not calling him 'it,' Doctor."

Vahlen allowed herself a smile,"It's evident that this means a great deal to you."

A minute passed by in silence while Vahlen patiently waited for an answer.

CORRECT.

"I'll assume that means that assignment in the field is correct." Vahlen noted, "Very well. We would need to develop and implement a killswitch as a means to decommission you if it turns out that you aren't acting with XCOM's best interests in mind."

ACCEPTABLE.

"In the meantime do you have any knowledge of alien protocols that we can use to better defend against the invasion? Any data banks with useful information that we can access?"

MAYBE.

Vahlen turned to Penny once more, eyebrow raised. In a few seconds, Penny translated, "Gidjit has no information on the subject of the invasion's command structure, weapon technology, or things like that. However, he is a silicon-based life form, and your first live one at that. If you think you can find a use in learning more about Cyberdisc physiology, he is willing to subject himself to research so long as it doesn't kill him."

"Thank you, Gidjit." Vahlen said, "I will consider your offer and let you know what decision I come to. In the meantime, our first priority is taking all the necessary steps towards making you ready for combat."

ACCEPTABLE.

"During your stay, we plan to keep you housed in this chamber under 24-hour guard. Operative Polendina has volunteered to supervise the detail, so you will have her to converse with during downtime." She turned to Penny, "And you can use the PA system to summon me if there's a new development that requires my immediate attention. For now, I need to get down to Engineering to help Dr. Shen with something even more important than our new friend here."

"No problem, Doctor! I will do my best to learn any useful information that Gidjit has to offer."

Vahlen gave the SHIV a friendly pat on her chassis, "Very good. Take care, Penny. I'll stop by when I can."

"Alright, Annette. Are you ready for this?"

"I'm ready, Ruby."

"Are you pumped?"

"Yes."

Ruby frowned as the two continued walking down the hallway, flanked by armed security, "I dunno. You don't sound very pumped. Lemme see if I can rephrase that for you: on a scale of 'one' to 'pumped,' how pumped are you?"

Annette looked down at her friend and winked, "Fuckin' pumped, kiddo."

"That's what I like to hear!" Ruby looked over Annette's suit once more, the latest brainchild of Vahlen and Shen. Extremely form-fitting, yet still able to withstand some punishment from alien weapons fire. Furthermore, evenly-spaced bright purple channels grew out from the armor's spine and formed small leylines of energy all across the Major's figure.

"Lookin' pretty snazzy, Annette. I gotta say, I'm kinda jealous."

The Major shrugged, "Yeah, well… maybe if you keep practicing your psionics like a good little psi op, you'll get to wear one someday." Annette's eyes flashed purple, and she smiled, "Our resident nerds did a pretty great job of making this thing work, though.-"

"Your 'resident nerds' can hear you, Major." Vahlen sighed over the PA.

Annette ignored her, "You always feel some mental resistance when trying to use psionics, but it's almost like someone greased up my brain when the Vortex systems powered on. The Annette Durand Pain Train has no brakes, and I'm loving it."

"Well, we don't know how dangerous it is to access the Ethereal mindnet." Ruby pointed out, "So I'll take any kind of psionic advantage we can get."

"Me too, Rubes."

The group came to a stop in front of a set of thick steel doors. Annette turned to Ruby and smiled, "Well, this is as far as you go. Thanks for taking the walk with me. Good company is always welcome before potentially life-and-death events, right?"

"Right. Give me a few seconds to run up to the observation deck before you start the fireworks, alright? Good luck!" Ruby gave Annette a thumbs up before vanishing down the corridor amid a flurry of rose petals. Annette shook her head in amusement.

"You boys mind opening the door for me?" She asked, looking from one guard to the other. Her security detail nodded before stepping towards the door. They both pulled out a security key and turned their respective locks simultaneously. The door shuddered and slowly opened to reveal a cavernous expanse of a room, and the Ethereal device sat alone at the far end.

"Good luck, Major." One of the guards said as they snapped a salute.

Annette smiled and returned the gesture, "Thank you."

With a slight sense of trepidation, XCOM's top psionic operative stepped across the threshold into the room and felt the door behind her rumble as it slid shut. For a few seconds, Annette did little more than stare at her objective. For better or for worse, this would very likely be the defining moment of her life. Now that she found herself face-to-face with the device, the gravity of the situation began to weigh down upon her.

Just as she started to worry that her legs forgot how to move, the bubbly voice of Ruby Rose whispered through her commlink, "You got this!"

Those words, spoken with such confidence, let Annette put one foot in front of the other, and the Major began her resolute march towards the glowing purple orb. The chamber echoed with every step she took, and Annette felt the hairs prickle on the back of her neck. With a final step, she found herself standing directly in front of the Ethereal device.

"Alright," She began, fighting to keep her voice from trembling, "I'm engaging the device now."

She held her hands out on each side of the orb, focusing her psionic energy and coalescing it between her palms. Truthfully, Annette had no idea what she was doing, but she figured that something useful would happen if she poured enough of her mental capacity into the orb. The Vortex Armor worked wonderfully to amplify her psionic potential, however, so Annette at least had that going for her.

"Nice and easy, Annette." She muttered to herself. She teased a little bit of energy out from her vast reserves and felt the device react to her initial prodding. Ripples began to form along the once-smooth surface of the orb, and Annette felt a subtle tingling in her mind. As she pushed a little more psionic energy into the orb, she felt it… slip, for the lack of a better word. It wasn't a physical sensation, as Annette didn't actually have a grip on the sphere, but she struggled for a brief moment to properly direct her energy into the orb. Once she readjusted her focus, the problem vanished, but Annette suspected that it would get harder to maintain a mental lock on the device as she continued to direct her psionic energy.

Her hands started to tremble as more and more psychic power flowed from her fingers into the orb. Iridescent 'spikes' formed within the sphere's core and rapidly fluctuated as the Major fed more energy into the device. Though they remained contained within the sphere, Annette could almost feel them jabbing at her mind when they first appeared. She took a moment to erect some proper mental barriers before she continued to infuse more of her energy into the device. As her efforts grew in strength, so too did the resistance she felt from the device.

Eventually, the spikes began to grow on the surface of the orb. Annette winced as her hand got stabbed by several of the sharp protrusions before she willed the random modulations into a more controllable state. The pain actually allowed Annette to focus. Rather than letting her mind get clouded by the mental strain and faint whisperings coming from the back of her skull, the Major managed to remain grounded in the physical world and keep her attention on the orb before her. Beads of sweat began to flow in small rivers down her face as Annette struggled to unlock the secrets of the Ethereal device, yet she remained focused and determined to succeed.

Annette didn't know what she did differently that triggered the event, but a flash of white momentarily blinded her eyes before she saw.. Things. As if she downloaded an entire library of memories into her brain, visions of aliens, humans, and locations flashed in rapid succession before her eyes. The speed at which the visions shifted from one to the next forced Annette to take one staggering step back from the device. There were so many images, and yet Annette managed to focus on every single one. After what felt like a lifetime of rapidly-flashing visuals, she finally heard it speak.

At long last, YOU have succeeded where WE have failed.

Although she'd never heard a voice like that speak in her head, Annette knew it was the voice of an Ethereal. It spoke with such confidence, such force… Annette briefly wondered how XCOM could possibly hope to ever overcome such an adversary.

For years we have searched, trying to find the key to our ascension. Many times we have tried… and many times we have finished empty-handed.

Annette took a few more steps back from the Ethereal device, which had returned to its original state.

The human race, however, shows great promise. From the moment you took up arms against us with your laughably inadequate weapons, we could see that your indomitable spirit far outweighed your technological handicap.

The prospect of directly uplifting you, while tempting, was ultimately deemed a poor plan of action. Well aware of our failures with the Chryssalid, this opportunity with your race was far too important to risk. The only other alternative that was both expedient and worthwhile: forcing you to fight and adapt.

Annette froze. What this Ethereal was saying… it couldn't be the truth, could it? That everything XCOM did, every scientific advance and technological breakthrough, was according to the designs of the aliens? But so many of her friends died, and her organization suffered so many setbacks at the hands of the invaders. Why would they do these things if they were actually trying to bring about humanity's 'ascension?'

We watched as you evolved, learning to use superior weaponry and adapting our gift of Meld to your own purposes, to create warriors of steel and alien flesh. As your advances became too great for our initial force, we deployed more dangerous foes to ensure your continued growth. When your accomplishments reached a critical point, we took the first serious risk in our search for the answer on this planet. We introduced humanity to The Gift.

It is good that you are the one to contact us, for you were the first we imbued with our power. That your… Bradford found you before The Others did proved to be fortuitous, as They were… a failed mistake, one that your new brood quickly rectified, much to our satisfaction.

No… no, this couldn't be happening. Annette didn't want to believe it. These aliens had to be bluffing. XCOM caught them with their pants down, and they were scrambling to misdirect her and maintain some sort of an advantage in a shitty situation. There was no other explanation.

"You're wrong." She whispered, more to herself than anything, "You're a fucking liar."

Tell yourself whatever you wish, but the truth will reveal itself in due time. The truth of our failings, and now… of our triumphs. Our plan is on the cusp of success, and you will be the first to see it brought to fruition.

We encountered… difficulties when the Red One and its brood made themselves known. They clearly possessed skills unknown to the rank-and-file, which disrupted our meticulously-crafted plan of escalation. Fortunately, we realized that the Red One still had its uses, and we adapted accordingly. The Grimm, while not an ideal solution, served our purposes well enough.

Annette's rage at the Ethereal's hubris blinded her to the fact that it heard her accusations. All she could think of now was how badly she wanted to tear the damn alien limb from limb, "I will kill you." She vowed, "Slowly and painfully, but it will happen. I will take this 'Gift' that you so generously sought to bestow upon me and use it to make you wish you were never born."

A boastful sentiment that, while ultimately empty, shows how driven the human race can be. After years of forging a specimen in the crucible of War, the fruits of our labor stands before us. Soon, it will be time for us to reap the benefits of our efforts. Soon, it will be time for your… arrival.

A massive shudder rocked the room, almost causing Annette to stumble. When she started to hear the quiet sound of klaxxons from beyond the Gollop Chamber, Annette knew that something was wrong.

"Sir… I'm picking something up."

From his console in Mission Control, Bradford observed Annette's interaction with the Ethereal device. Vahlen had invited him to observe from the Gollop Chamber's observation deck, but Bradford politely declined. Not only did he feel uncomfortable putting himself, Vahlen, and Shen all in one place during a highly experimental and (quite likely) dangerous interaction, but Bradford wanted to stay in Mission Control in case an alert popped up on the hologlobe. And though he really didn't want to be proven right, an uneasy feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach.

"Another cloaked ship?" Bradford asked as he made his way over to the technician's terminal. He didn't like the hint of tentative fear in the man's voice, but Bradford wasn't about to start panicking just yet.

"No, sir… It's big."

The pair looked up at the hologlobe, and Bradford raised his eyebrow when a chunk of the map the size of Brazil began to experience static. He was about to call for an engineer to double-check the projection system for any errors when a large ship appeared off the coast of Africa. Bradford almost choked at the sheer size of the thing, which was easily the most massive contact XCOM had encountered to date. As the two continued to watch, evidence of sizemic activity spread across the hologlobe, creating disaster sites at just about every coast and major city they hit. As the wave passed over the United States, the room shook violently, raining dust from the ceiling and knocking down several members of Mission Control's skeleton crew.

"Tell me that was a coincidence." Bradford said, though he knew the truth before the words even left his lips.

The tech sighed, "Wish I could, sir. That seismic event originated directly beneath our new contact."

"Nothing we have would even make a dent in that thing…" Bradford muttered, still slackjawed from the new development. Well, he spent the last month rushing base preparation and training in the event that using the Gollop Chamber triggered some sort of cataclysmic response from the invaders. Bradford just hated that his gut instinct was correct.

"Sir… I'm picking up more activity from the contact, and- … oh dear mother of God."

Bradford looked up to see a multitude of UFO contacts spreading out from the massive ship and flying in every direction. The Central Officer's throat went dry when he realized that the ships had been launched from the mystery contact.

"What… what class of contacts are those?" He asked, though he really didn't want to know the answer.

"B-Battleships… sir. That thing just launched sixteen Battleships."

Bradford jammed his finger down on the button to activate the PA system.

"This is Central Officer Bradford. I need all Strike Teams locked and loaded, and I need them now. We have a Code Black. The aliens have finally decided that this invasion is no longer worth the effort, and are now adopting a scorched earth tactic. One final opportunity exists to bring these bastards down for good, but it has to happen ASAP."

"Sir." The tech said, his voice sounding smaller by the second, "The contact has also just launched three Assault Carriers. Initial trajectory data suggests they're headed for the base."

Bradford nodded before continuing his message, "As if that wasn't bad enough, the invasion force plans to eradicate XCOM so that we have no chance of living to fight another day. This means that any and all personnel that won't be partaking in the Hail Mary op will be ready to receive the boarding party our guests have so kindly decided to send our way. This is it, people. It's do or die, and I'm not going down without a fight."

"I believe that's my line, sir." Bradford whipped around to see van Doorn standing in front of him, geared up in his combat attire and fully stocked with his usual array of equipment and Plasma Rifle casually slung over one shoulder. Behind him stood all of the Remnant hunters, with the notable exception of Ruby, likewise ready for battle.

"Captain Rose wanted to provide moral support for Annette during the activation of the Gollop Chamber, but I asked the rest of our friends to be on standby if a development arose that required immediate squad deployment." He glanced up at the hologlobe and raised an eyebrow, "Seems like I made the right call."

For the first time since new contact appeared, Bradford managed to crack a smile, "I knew I made you the Field Commander for a reason, Doorn. Report to the armory and oversee preparations for the rest of the Strike Teams. We'll figure out who's going on the field trip once everyone is ready. The sooner we get that done, the better."

With a salute, van Doorn did an about face and lead the members of RWBY and JNPR out of Mission Control. Once they departed, Bradford activated his personal commlink and secured a private connection between himself, Vahlen, and Shen.

"It's Brad. Please tell me that the Odin Project is finished."

"It is." Shen said, "I was going to tell you the good news after Major Durand's activation of the Gollop Chamber, but… well, the point is that it's ready for use on the mission."

Bradford breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank God. Vahlen? What about Gidjit?"

"Immensely useful, and ready for combat. I've even managed to squeeze in a few last-minute modifications that allow him to interface with the Odin and assist Penny with its operation." Vahlen reported.

"Then we just might have a chance at pulling this off." The Central Officer muttered, "Prep the second Skyranger in Delta Sector and get our little present loaded up. It's time to give these invaders their walking papers."

A/N: Once upon a time, there was a Long War player named Beagle. During one of his streamed campaigns, he suffered a bad late-game base defense that killed most of his A-team and crippled his base infrastructure. In a fit of rage, Beagle decided that a good "fuck you" to the aliens would be to go ahead and hit the button to activate the Gollop Chamber. Though it felt incredibly satisfying at the time, he later realized that his action spawned a new set of problems. Several key pieces of equipment were still in the process of being built/repaired, but activating the Gollop Chamber locks the player out of the "Scan for Alien Activity" action to pass the time.

However, Based Beagle made a discovery.

He realized that there was literally no repercussions for sending the Skyranger to the Temple Ship and then "aborting" the mission and bringing the squad back. The campaign didn't fail, the squad didn't gain fatigue... but time passed. So in order to get three game days to pass so that he could acquire his precious equipment, Beagle loaded up Big Sky with a single operative and sent him on a hellish cycle of flying to the Temple Ship and then back to HQ until he had everything he needed for the real assault on the Uber Ethereal.

And that's the story of why JohnnyLump modified the Long War mod to spawn Battleships with Infiltrate missions over every nation once the Gollop Chamber has been activated.