Seeing as the Countdown Calendar for XCOM 2 was such a massive success, I decided to use some discarded character concepts and a couple new ones for what is essentially season 2 of the project. For those of you who don’t know: Every Tuesday until the day WotC is released, I will reveal a new soldier on the Avenger, so you can get a small dose of XCOM to bridge the gap.
Quick reminder: I am in no way affiliated with Firaxis, and all this content is fanfiction/headcanon/whatever term you prefer.
An encounter with:
Citlalmina “Azteca” de Goya, from Mexico:
De Goya is sitting at the common shrine, which contains idols from all religions represented on the Avenger. She’s using a laser shaper to etch the likeness of one of her gods from a block of wood.
“The God of the Abrahamic religions has failed us. He said he would protect his children, but he either failed or did not stay true to his word. Either way, he is not an ally we can count on. He became a non-interventionist, really, after his son was killed. Maybe our actions put him off humanity, who can really tell? His rise in popularity is the product of our preachers, not his own pursuit of worshippers. Humans were the ones who replaced the old gods, the true gods, the gods that would have protected us. The Roman pantheon, the Germanic idols, the Canaanite faith, the spirits worshipped by the many tribes native to my continent. The Buddhists didn’t help, either. Their gods are nothing but men, and what, if not man, makes for a flimsy deity?”
Her look is very serious as she gives the little golden Buddha a glare. She gives the stainless steel winged snake standing next to it a kiss of the forehead.
“We must return to our old guardians. The Conquistadores may have defeated them, but they were not slain. Wherever you are in the world, find the gods that were forbidden by the colonisers, and worship them. Give them the strength to make a return to our world, invoke them to save it from the alien threat. For what can defeat gods from another world, but gods from this world? And if this isn’t clear enough, I speak to everyone. I do not just mean African animists and Aboriginal diviners when I implore them to return to their old ways. This goes out to the Norse and the Celts as well. I care not about the colour of your skin, I care only about the faith that is in your heart.”
Satisfied with her work, she gives the carving its finishing touches and begins murmuring incantations in Quechua. When she is done, she douses it in alcohol and sets it ablaze in a brass bowl.
“What we do here is not fight. What we do here is sacrifice. This is a war we cannot hope to win on our own. We pay with our sweat, blood, and glory, so that we may show the gods of old that we are still here, we need their help, and we will do anything to get it. Only when Quetzalcoatl rises into the heavens once more, this time to destroy UFOs, will we be saved. That will be the day when Ares will battle the hordes of ADVENT, when the Kami swallow alien structures whole, and Papa Legba takes the Ethereals into the afterlife. I may never get to see it, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make. I fight for XCOM, because we need a beacon the old Gods can find to return to our aid.”
Who is Betty? 