[ “italicized in quotes” = speaking in xeno ]

Asuna POV

“Asuna…” Xena hisses from her twin bed, directly across from mine in our small room.

My eyelids peel back to observe her. She stretches her yellow and orange scaled arms, high over her smooth head; split tongue slithering out between her lips in a wide yawn. I stare at her long dual fangs, elongating as her jaw stretches. My sister is truly an envy among viper women. Her scales nestle together neatly, a slight shine in the light. Her patterns are almost elegant, the way the diamonds weave in and out around her tail. Xena stands tall and proud over most other alien races, her height considered tall even among our own species.

Between us, I pale in comparison. I sit just slightly under her height, my diamond pattern just slightly skewed; my scales feel lackluster next to the brightness of hers. My fangs are just a sliver shorter...but for everything I lack, I make up for it with larger poison sacks. Something that often gets pointed out in training.

Something that often makes her glare at me from across the training yard. 

            “Is it time already?” I ask in xeno, craning my head to stare at the clock hung on the wall between us. We will have to report for drop in a few hours. Nervousness sits heavy in my abdomen. 

Our room is small aboard the capital ship, in the viper sector. We have just enough room for the beds with corresponding night stands; a small bathroom and a shared dresser. Nearing our twentieth birthday, we were finally granted permission to participate in our first supply mission.

“Yeah! I am excited to finally kick some XCOM ass,” Xena replies excitedly, the hood of her snake head animatedly spreading wide. Hoping off her bed to slither to the dresser, she slips on a tight fitting tank top, reaching just under her breasts. Our brood mother recommended us the clothing, to help our armor sit more comfortably against our scales.

“The point of the supply train is to deliver the supplies, Xena. Not pick fights with anyone we think is XCOM,” I tease back at her, stretching and curling my tail to help crack my back against the bed. I let out a small groan as the pops sound off, up to my neck. I shake out the tension, climbing off the bed to mirror my sister.

“Do not act like it wouldn’t be cool to get in our first firefight!” Xena exclaims excitedly. Between us she has always been the most outgoing, ready to jump into the heat of any drama or battle. She is loud and easily excitable, a quality I often find endearing and refreshing amongst the stoicness of most ADVENT peacekeepers.

“I think it would be cool for our first mission to succeed without any hitches,” I laugh at her, pulling on my tank top. “...you know what our den mother said about XCOM. They-”

“...are ruthless and unforgiving. I know,” Xena sighs, waving me off with her hand. She slithers towards our bathroom, no doubt getting ready to buff some lotion into her scales. I can never be bothered to do it every day, it takes so much time.

“You are going to do that right now?” I ask her, curious. “...We still have to go put on our armor and get briefed. The others will be waiting for us…”

“We have plenty of time, sister. I want to make sure if we do encounter XCOM scum, their last visions are of how beautiful and utterly devastating I am,” Xena grins at me, rubbing her hands delicately along the curves of her hood.

I roll my eyes at her antics.

The walk to the debriefing room is longer than normal. I am not sure if I am gliding across the floor slower than usual, or if the tension is just weighing heavy on my mind. My sister Xena is abnormally silent, stuck inside her own mind as well. While we both trained hard and long for the opportunity to prove ourselves for ADVENT; nerves still flutter in our abdomen.

Up to this point we had only engaged in lower level objectives. Patrolling various cities and encampments. Patrolling the ship. Patrolling the air. All we were ever assigned too was patrolling. While it was easy...Xena always grew restless and more antsy with every passing year. We have been training our whole lives, we did not want to be stuck patrolling the civilians.

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We wanted to be on the front lines.

Training has been rigorous and demanding throughout our lifespans. Our own den mother was high ranking in the ADVENT alien organization. The elders demanded any brood she had immediately be placed into rotation, and thus our lives had been born. We had trained alongside many different species through the years, learned many different tactics- different patterns of thinking and planning. All with one goal in mind: to maintain control over planet earth and all its human inhabitants. XCOM has always been a rebellious organization against us, and thus, target enemy number one.

Unlike most of the other alien species, we have been granted our free will and independence. Our matriarch reports to the elders, commanding us as they see necessary. With the elders and ADVENT technology, our species would have died out completely. Our males are extinct, our world destroyed. The viper species pledged loyalty to ADVENT almost two centuries ago and in return they promised to help sire our new generations to come. However, only females have been introduced; keeping our loyalty under lock and key.

The first thing they taught us about XCOM, is their dedication to destruction.

They showed us video after video of their slaughter. Any species outside of the human race ridiculed and put to death. They showed us everything from news clippings to media posts, to propaganda spread through the human colonies. Everything depicted ADVENT as the bad guys, the villains; when in reality, it was XCOM who were murdering civilians in the streets without so much as a hello. They could not understand that the humans under ADVENT were happy- they were taken care of. They could only see the faces of aliens, undeserving of even the bare minimum respect and decency.

“Here we go,” Xena whispers to me in xeno, as we enter our changing area. The other members of our squadron are already here, pulling on their armor. We slither towards the other viper, their scales a deep green and black. The vipers yellow eyes widen as they are startled by our presence, quickly easing when they realize we are both vipers as well.

“Hello,” I begin the conversation calmly, with a slight tilt of my head. I flair my hood respectfully, in a show of peace. 

“Are you ready for the mission??” Xena comments excitedly, pulling her armor off the wall and inspecting it for defects.

“I am,” The green scaled viper responds, her hood shrinking back. “...It has been a while since I have done a supply demand. I wonder where we will be going,”

“Probably somewhere quiet, hopefully,” I reply smoothly, checking my helmet for dings before putting it on and settling it against my scales.

“Hopefully?? Nah! Hopefully somewhere… interesting!” Xena exclaims beside me, eyeing the green viper with vibrant orange irises. 

“Interesting huh? Maybe,” The older green viper smiles back gently. Pulling on her helmet.

We chat idly as we finish suiting up, following each other in a group towards the drop ship. The others in front of us consist of a berserker, two sectoids and a faceless. The later who shape shifts in front of us, into a common human. We gather onto the docked ship, securing ourselves tightly.

“That looks like a lot of supplies,” I ponder out loud in xeno, eyeing the tall bundles secured down onto the ship.

“Good. Several territories have been lacking proper medicine and food, down on earth. We need to make sure these make it to their destination,” The green viper comments, eyeing the load closely as well. 

“Big loads mean greater chances of meeting XCOM,” My sister states excitedly, the hood of her head flaring out.

“Stop it,” I laugh at her, rolling my orange eyes. My stomach churns with nerves, anxiety rising in my chest.

If we meet XCOM on the field, this will be our first firefight. Sure, we can hit targets on the wall, or even when they are thrown in the air… but a real firefight is much different. Much more unsettling. Much more to lose. I wonder if my sister feels the same as me. Everyday citizens are counting on these supplies and I can not help but feel the pressure weigh heavy on my shoulders. The lives of other aliens and humans alike, rest on these supplies.

“Attention,” a voice booms over the intercom, robotic in nature as it speaks in xeno. “We will be descending in five minutes. Your objective is to defend this supply cache, as it heads into the city. We are estimating XCOM hostiles. If engaged, eliminate all enemies present on the field. No survivors allowed,”

“Hell yeah,” Xena mumbles under her breath, propping her assault rifle close to her chest. I relax against the seat as we start our descent to earth. I clench my jaw against the pressure rising, my ears uncomfortably popping at the pressure. The other aliens on the ship do not seem surprised by the information of XCOM soldiers. I wonder how many of them have gone into battle before. How many XCOM they took the last breaths from.

The ship rumbles and shakes as we land, an uneasiness settling in my bones. My sister seems energized and excited; but I feel a sense of foreboding gently buzz in my instincts. Swiping my split tongue to taste the air, I do not detect anything out of the ordinary. We exit the ship together, following close behind the other aliens. I see an Archon in the distance, speakers to soldiers as they unload the supply crates. My sister and I take the back of the train, standing idly as it’s loaded and secured. My eyes scan the horizons, looking for the slightest bit of movement or shine from a long distance scope… but I never notice anything out of the ordinary.

“Relax Asuna,” My sister whispers to me as she also scans our surroundings. “...If they are going to attack, it is not going to be right now. If they were smart, they would wait to make sure we unload all the supplies,”

“If they were smart,” I tease back. “...They would not go for the supplies at all,”

“You are right,” My sisters laugh eases the nervousness in my belly.

The mission continues slowly, for a while. Eventually the supplies are fully loaded and transportable, we begin our course to the destination with ease. I am surprised by how friendly the banter is with the green viper, who we have only just met. Over time my nervousness eases, replaced by a strange sense of routine. I wonder if most of the missions are going to be like this. Is it over exaggerated that XCOM frequently dismantles our operations and steals our supplies?

Or is it just the calm before the storm?

“Enemies inbound!” A telepathic echo goes through my mind.

“Stay near the end and guard the last supply crates,” The older green viper hisses at us, as she slithers up forward with her rifle at the ready.

“What is going on?” I mumble back, eyes darting frantically to my surroundings. I do not see anything yet. There is no ship in the sky. No troops on the ground. Were they lying in wait for us?

“Quiet!” My sister snaps at me, her assault rifle aimed and ready. “Be on lookout!”

I flex my fingers as I raise my gun, trying to will the shaky nervousness from their grasp. I have done this a million times in training. I just have to aim and shoot. Shoot anyone who tries to take anything from us.

Better said than done.

“What are we supposed to do?” I ask my sister in xeno. In response I hear gunfire, loud and roaring near the front. Our heads snap to attention, eyes widening as I spot the notoriously known Skyranger dropping a squad of four. Dread blooms in my stomach, forcing me to doubt myself.

My sister, however, seems only amped up more.

“Here we go!” She grins wildly, sights aimed in their direction.

I follow her example, tail swishing back and forth.