She'd died...

A bullet to the chest was all that it took...

She'd just died...

Isara Gunther, adopted daughter of Belgen Gunther, a Hero of Gallia, was killed by a Sniper they didn't clear out...

A sad fate...

But she didn't have time to cry about herself right now... Standing up with a groan, Isara felt her head throb like ten MAGS Machine Guns going off, as she tried to straighten herself into a seating position. The ringing in her ears was a dead-on sign of her being alive. It had the pitch and volume of what it felt like whenever a grenade or ordnance piece she invented would explode in her face. She swallowed empty, trying to clear out what felt like clogged ears, then shook her head.

The girl opened her eyes, but all she saw was blurry grey and black. She blinked twice in quick succession and the confusion vanished, her vision clearing. Breathing in, the girl saw she was laying on concrete. Specifically, a concrete sidewalk in the middle of what looked like a city street. She swept her gaze 180 degrees around her and saw buildings, storefronts and strange-looking cars sitting empty in the road. Breathing out, the girl only had one question to herself right now.

Where was everyone?

She stood up, feeling her heart skip a beat as she heard and saw no movement whatsoever around her. Where were all the people usually populating these city streets? This place was clearly a human settlement and she was alive, so she couldn't have gone anywhere in the afterlife. She tugged at her collar to loosen it, before looking over herself. She had the binoculars, her standard-issue handgun, some Ragnaid, her water canteen... Her shoal which had no hole in it somehow, her standard-issue Ragnite flashlight... and that was about it.

She saw upon a wall a scorch mark, still shining with what looked like green fire. It was across the street from her, so she quickly crossed, before drawing her pistol out of reflex. She saw both sides of the sidewalk were clear and moved her right hand, feeling over the scorch mark with her padded glove... It sizzled and burned, forcing Isara to discard it. She'd felt the heat through the glove. Looking at her fingers, she saw soot on them... Just what the heck had burned this wall so badly... Isara now saw it was half-melted too, with some molten construction materials dripping onto the floor beside her feet.

She saw several more scorch marks on the floor, of similar size to this one, as well as trails of blood following through into a broken storefront window. The girl hugged the wall, pistol ready as she slowly sidestepped toward the window, whose shards weren't visible... Whatever broke it jumped from the outside into the store. As she reached the corner, Isara slowly poked her head to view the insides...

Blood spattered on chairs, an overturned table, a burning counter and miscellaneous foods and sweets. The place was an indoors market with overturned shelves further back. It was also dark as all hell inside. She took the flashlight from her breast pocket, then turned it on and moved inside. She shone the blue light onto the walls, where the blood coagulated and repainted what looked like old posters.

Isara felt a chill shoot up her spine as she slowly turned around, panning the little blue light and the handgun with where her vision went. She became twitchy, irritated... Then heard gunfire in the distance, farther. On the other side of the market. She gasped, raising the pistol as she saw flashes of gunfire in the distance, then took cover behind an overturned shelf... She couldn't tell who was firing at what, but she saw them. Scarlet tracers slammed against the walls and what looked like emerald fire hit the walls opposite and farther back.

She heard movement. Footsteps, fast and rushing to her right. With a sudden screech, a little grey thing just appeared, jumping at her with bony, grey claws and what looked like a pistol that was attached to its arm. It screeched at her, its pearly blackish-brown eyes blinked, crawling toward her. The girl turned, aiming her pistol and cocked back the hammer... She shone the light upon it, making it screech and back off, hissing as it raised the weapon on its right arm at the girl.

The girl backed off, unsure if to scream, shoot, or both as she saw the grotesque little bugger take easy steps toward her... She backed away, then uttered "S-Stay away from me...!" and firing a single shot past its head. It snickered in its alien language... And Isara tripped as she walked back, falling on her rear. She gasped, scrambling to crawl back as the creature didn't fire, but rather crawled at her, a strange, lilac energy emanating from its eyes and an oversized cerebellum...

She aimed her pistol at its big head, unable to miss now, then squeezed the trigger... The gun clicked, with Isara's heart immediately going into overdrive. She gritted her teeth as she tried to pull away from the closing creature, feeling control slip from her more and more as it hissed at her, that energy growing in strength... She tried to fire, again and again, to no avail. Her pistol jammed, she'd just seen it. The casing hadn't ejected, dammit!

She saw a tendril of energy extend from the creature's forehead toward her own... Then froze as auburn blood splattered her face and a single bullet went past her, slamming into the concrete. The alien creature stared on, its pearly eyes wide... Before slumping over dead, with the pistol on its hand breaking and exploding into shards... The girl trembled, seeing the creature's blood splattered onto her clothing... She wiped her mouth clean of it, then spat out part of the blood... It tasted like copper infused with cough medicine...

"You alright there?" She heard a voice, a young man's voice, ask... Wiping her eyes clean of the muck for better vision, she then saw a handsome, blue-eyed boy sitting above her, a rifle slung on his back and a pistol with a still-smoking barrel in his right hand. He wore a strange, silvery-grey armor with chrome on the metal and the undersuit was colored white, as were the pistol and rifle. He knelt in front of her, holstering the handgun, then checked her. His black hair was crew-cut, clean.

He took her gloveless hand into his own, then looked at the burn marks and said "You touched one of the scorch marks... Not really smart, but your glove took the brunt of it, I imagine." He then nodded to her and asked "Who are you? What's your name? Do you have any relatives nearby?" calmly. Isara paused for a moment, trying to recall... Her brother wasn't around, no, she'd have seen him, nor was the squad...

"I... I'm Isara Gunther. Corporal, Seventh Platoon, Gallian Militia." The girl said almost mechanically, voice trembling.

She saw the boy raise a brow. He looked like he'd never heard of Gallia before... Where was she anyways?

"Where am I?" Isara asked, worried as she gripped her dog tags from under her uniform's coat.

"You're in the continental US. A small town called Raleigh, to be exact." The boy answered, scaring Isara. "I'm Corporal Jackson Bradley. We're here to get you somewhere safe, Isara." He then noted and finished "Call me Jack... Now c'mon." He stood up and extended a hand to her. She took it and felt a firm grip as she was pulled to her feet. She nodded, then smiled, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Thank you, Jack..." She said, before looking at the creature killed by him and asking with a hint of disgust "What is that?"

"Sectoid. An alien." The boy noted, before looking to the right as four more soldiers appeared, clad in similar armors to his, but each carrying a different set of gear, among them also being a heavy gunner from the looks of things. Only one wore a helmet... Among the crew she could also recount a sniper, who wore a lighter, black armor. She had silver hair and black eyes, as well as a piercing stare that could probably kill a tank. Following up, a girl with what looked like a Shotgun, scarlet armor, hair and emerald eyes, as well as a friendly smile and demeanor. Finally, there was a boy who had a blue uniform and a long-barreled rifle that looked like it could fire fully automatic.

"We've gotta move." The gunner noted, leaning her LMG on the back "Central just told us area's clear."

"Did you tell him about the Civvie we just found?" Jack pointed at Isara with his thumb.

"Told'em." The girl with red hair noted, leaning her shotgun on her shoulder "Central's worried she may have something to do with the sudden surge of Psi-power that happened when the Aliens got wise of our position. Or maybe that she's a biproduct."

"Ah..." Jack sighed. "Well, let's get to the 'Ranger." He then said, before flicking on his coms and saying "Big Sky, warm up the Girl. We're moving out. Civilian in tow and a body bag..." and, at those words, Isara saw them sadden a bit. She walked over beside one of the soldiers and looked at the door... Another soldier of theirs lay, dead... Missing his head.

Jack took her attention toward him with a light tap on the shoulder. He showed her to follow him, walking out with her and the others on his tail. Ahead of them, lay a massive ship with what looked like wings that fold into themselves. Her eyes wide, Isara felt the heat coming from its engines... As they climbed aboard, Isara was seated and the bloody corpse of the soldier that died was brought in a bodybag.

"Central's not gonna be happy." Sighed the gunner, taking off his helmet to reveal black hair and green eyes.

"Yeah, well, we're at war." Jack noted coldly. "Can't expect us not to have losses..."

"You're really an ass at times, Bradley." The Gunner snarled.

"..." The boy hummed, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"Really? Not even gonna deny it?" The shotgun girl said, leaning forward "C'mon, dude."

"Not the time now, Oakrun." The Gunner noted as a shockwave made the vehicle reverberate. They... T-They... THEY JUST BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER?!

"We just broke the sound barrier..." Isara noted, awed, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight. "What is this thing?" She asked, trying to undo a harness she just now noticed she was wearing. Jack tried to stop her, but the girl stood up and walked as quickly as she could to the front, toward the cockpit... And gasped at the marvelous machinery before her. Strange screens flashed with color and writing, displays floated in mid-air and on the glass ahead and sitting in a chair in the epicenter of all consoles and gear was a single man clad in the weirdest suit she'd ever seen. The man looked back and seemingly looked at her in surprise. He wore a khaki suit, with strange attachments, including an oxygen mask with a tube leading down to the tanks, a thick helmet with padding and a tinted black glass visor. His suit also held several patches on its arms, including the rank pins and stripes of a Lieutenant First Class, with a strange shield insignia on his right shoulder that spelled two words above an X going over a globe... Vigilo Confido.

"Hey, kid...?" The pilot said, his voice muffled by the mask he seemed to be wearing. "You aren't supposed to be up here."

"What's the status, Big Sky? Something happened?" The girl heard a disembodied voice. Her heart jumped as she looked at a console that seemed to be projecting a video feed of dark-blue hue. On it, the face of a man, probably about in his early thirties, lay plastered. He had an earpiece for communication and wore a sweater on top of what looked like a white shirt and red tie. He also had brown, buzzcut hair and eyes a shade of brown Isara could barely make out due to the video feed being colored the way it was. "The Civilian got to the front? I thought that Strike-3 had her strapped in and secured."

"Appears she got out, Central, stand by..." The pilot noted calmly, looking at the holo-screen. He turned to Isara, then said "Kid, do both me and you a favor and head back to your seat. We're closing in to our landing site and, trust me, you don't want to be on your feet when the girl decelerates..." The man said, patting one of the consoles without touching any buttons, before continuing calmly "With or without dampeners on. I've seen one too many rookies do that."

Isara ignored him and stared on, her pure, childlike awe at the technology on board the aircraft seemingly taking the better of her... There was so much stuff here. Consoles hummed, the hypersonic thrum of the engines was less deafened here thanks to the windows and the multitude of consoles showed so much data, Isara could swear she'd be in here for days... Provided her new friends(or captors, depending how she looked at it) would allow her to...

She twitched as she felt a gloved, heavy hand grip her shoulder and swiveled about, to see Jack on his feet, staring with a blank expression at her. He made a slight tilt to the back with his head. "C'mon. We'll be reaching the Anthill soon." He said to her calmly, before taking her back to her seat and strapping her in. The Gunner rubbed his forehead, then shook his head, annoyed.

"We really should hogtie her until we get to base." He said.

"She ain't Xeno, compadre. Calm down." the redhead said with a smirk to her squadmate, then looked to Isara, smirk holding "'Least I think she ain't."

"We can't prove shit until Vahlen gets a look at her." The gunner returned. "Whatever." He leaned his head back into his chair, fuming through his nose. Isara looked to Jack, who looked back and shrugged, before turning to his rifle and checking it. The girl then looked over to the Sniper, who was sitting farther in a corner, her rifle disassembled and under maintenance.

"Calm down. We will see as time progresses." Jack said to both of them.

"Aye, sir!" The girl smirked.

"We're beginning landing procedures, Kids. Make sure your food trays are locked in place and seats are in an upright position. Thank you for flying Air XCOM." The pilot's voice echoed through the ship's pressurized Cabin. Isara grabbed onto her harness and held on tight as the sudden jolt of deceleration hit her. She felt slightly nauseous for a moment as the craft began its descent... She heard outside thrusters power on to full and felt slight shuddering from the hull of the ship. And then, a quiet, metallic thnk echoed... And the ramp she was brought up into the ship with hissed and slid open, steam emanating from hydraulic pipes and legs as they cooled off. Jack undid his and Isara's harness, then stood up, holding his rifle by the fore-grip and extending his right hand to Is. She took it gracefully, standing up next to him, then saw them...

A blonde woman in a labcoat lay to the left of that sweater-wearing man she saw. Her hair was caught in a bun and her eyes seemed sunken. She had a white labcoat, with green shoulders and some stripes and wore a turtleneck sweater below that, as well as some baggy, wide pants and a pair of high heels. In her left hand lay what looked like a tablet and, hanging from the left breast pocket of her labcoat, a pair of half-rimmed glasses. Taking the sweater man's right side was a nice-looking elderly man who was balding at the top of his head. He had rimmed glasses. and a green engineer's coat and brown pants, as well as heavy-duty steel-toed boots.

"Welcome home, Strike-3." The sweater man said. The squad lined up and saluted as they walked off the ship, before the man looked to a hesitant Isara. Jack looked to her as well and nodded, giving a signal that 'it was all okay' before holstering his weapons and crossing his arms... The girl hesitantly stepped down, joining Jack and the four staff members and gazing around at the stone roof that was reinforced by metal and concrete... Were they in some inactive Volcano?

"Ahem... Isara." Jack cleared his throat. She looked to him, then to Central and the others and blushed meekly.

"Sorry..." The girl said, pressing her index fingers together, slightly embarrassed.

"It's quite alright, miss Gunther." The sweater man said, smiling. "I am Central Officer John Bradford, acting commander. These are my associates and fellow XCOM head staff."

"Doctor Moira Vahlen." The blonde doctor nodded professionally, her badge showing her name and photo as it hanged from a second pocket below her glasses. "Chief researcher." She finished calmly, then yawned. Isara saw the Doctor's weary eyes, sunken. She'd not slept for a while, that was for sure. Heck, she recalled back in the day, back during the Siege of Vasel, she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep either.

"One who hasn't gotten an ounce of sleep for a few days going now." The balding man said, then smiled warmly to Isara and said "I am Raymond Shen. Chief engineer. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Gunther." and he nodded. Okay, it was clear who the nicer of the two was. Isara looked to Jack with a raised brow. He stared on, blank expression forward, then shrugged.

"You seem really alarmed, miss Gunther..." Central observed. "I... Can understand that. You're in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people. And the only one you know here happens to be a man who just saved you by killing something. We understand if you... Need a minute to accommodate yourself. Any questions you have, I and the doctors can personally and happily answer in the Briefing Room. Provided you answer some of ours too..."

Isara's brow quirked up and she looked to Jack with worry plastered all over her face, to which the boy gazed toward Central calmly "I think she's asking me to come along, sir."

"It's only fair." Bradford sighed, looking to his comrades and receiving nods from them, before turning to Jack himself.. "You're her first contact with anything here and she seems like she's in a state of shock... We might as well give her as many anchors as we can to the real world."

"She spoke very few words to me, sir..." Jack noted calmly, then looked to Isara and nodded. The girl took a moment to collect herself... Everything that had just happened came back to her in a flash. The battle of Marberry. The victory... Getting shot... Her reawakening in... What did Jack call it, the US? Raleigh or something... And now her arrival at this place. A lot had happened in just the span of a few hours... She felt dizzy... She felt sick... She had died!

"I... Need a minute..." Isara murmured weakly, leaning onto a box. Jack took to her side and checked on her, holding her by the arm as to keep her from falling. The girl swallowed, going pale. She felt her forehead with her hand and tried to breathe in, then out... In... then out... She tried to calm herself despite everything that was going on around her.

"You'd be better off seated in the Briefing Room, Isara." Jack noted. "You can lean on me until we reach it... Afterwards, doctor Vahlen will perform a physical checkup and we'll be done. You'll get a cot to rest in..." He then told her, his eyes betraying the worry as he held Isara. The girl smiled weakly, then nodded and whispered a hushed 'thank you' to Jack.

"If you'll... Follow us." Bradford said, worried about the girl's well-being himself, as they walked, Is leaning on the boy's shoulder. There was a lot to go over, especially for Isara, who knew little of what was going on in the world currently. Right now, one thing was on her mind:How was the Gallian War Effort going? And how was she going to get back to her Squad and Brother?