"As long as it takes," she replied somberly. "Because if you give up, you'll lose all the ground you've taken, and everything you've suffered was for nothing."
She knew that particular pain quite well. She had faltered, she abandoned her family and everything collapsed in her absence. She might not have directly caused the fall of Overwatch, but she still hadn't been there to fight against it.
She pulled out a small, circular device, and hit a button on the side of it. A holographic image appeared above it, depicting a group photo of a number of soldiers wearing blue body armor. Towards the middle stood a much younger Ana, surrounded by her closest comrades. Some of them looked out of place, with unique equipment or prosthetics.
This was Overwatch, near the beginning.
One by one, she started pointing out different faces in the photo.
"Johnson joined the military to pay for his brother and sister to go to school. Zhao lost his home in the first Omnic Crisis. Jakande needed money for her father's cancer treatments. Mateu was just an idealistic kid who wanted to help people."
She pointed to a group down near the bottom. A hulking soldier wearing high tech, knight-like armor. A diminutive Swedish man with an unusual cybernetic arm. Ana herself, flanked by two slightly younger men. They all appeared to be extremely close friends, a bond forged in battle.
"Everyone in this picture but these five are long gone. Most KIA, some MIA. They were like family to me, and I lost so many of them. I could only protect them so much.
"But there have been more members of Overwatch since then. And even though we lost many of our friends and family, we kept fighting. I protected those I could. I did what I had to, even when it hurt more than anything. Because losing more family would hurt far worse.
"Overwatch may have fallen, but many of its old members are still alive because we fought to protect each other."
She turned off the holo-projector, and looked back at Pidge.
"But you're far younger than any of us ever were when we fought. It is unfair that this falls on you. Which is why if you need anything, I'm here."
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She knew that particular pain quite well. She had faltered, she abandoned her family and everything collapsed in her absence. She might not have directly caused the fall of Overwatch, but she still hadn't been there to fight against it.
She pulled out a small, circular device, and hit a button on the side of it. A holographic image appeared above it, depicting a group photo of a number of soldiers wearing blue body armor. Towards the middle stood a much younger Ana, surrounded by her closest comrades. Some of them looked out of place, with unique equipment or prosthetics.
This was Overwatch, near the beginning.
One by one, she started pointing out different faces in the photo.
"Johnson joined the military to pay for his brother and sister to go to school. Zhao lost his home in the first Omnic Crisis. Jakande needed money for her father's cancer treatments. Mateu was just an idealistic kid who wanted to help people."
She pointed to a group down near the bottom. A hulking soldier wearing high tech, knight-like armor. A diminutive Swedish man with an unusual cybernetic arm. Ana herself, flanked by two slightly younger men. They all appeared to be extremely close friends, a bond forged in battle.
"Everyone in this picture but these five are long gone. Most KIA, some MIA. They were like family to me, and I lost so many of them. I could only protect them so much.
"But there have been more members of Overwatch since then. And even though we lost many of our friends and family, we kept fighting. I protected those I could. I did what I had to, even when it hurt more than anything. Because losing more family would hurt far worse.
"Overwatch may have fallen, but many of its old members are still alive because we fought to protect each other."
She turned off the holo-projector, and looked back at Pidge.
"But you're far younger than any of us ever were when we fought. It is unfair that this falls on you. Which is why if you need anything, I'm here."
She paused, and gave Pidge a warm smile.
"My name is Ana, by the way."