The Art Block

By the time the invasion was full-blown (circa mid-XCOM 1 or so) a sect of Hauds elected to relocate to a remote outpost somewhere along the US/Canada border. They joined a collective of other tribal peoples from across the nation who were fleeing in terror from the chaos taking place in the urbanized corners of the country. Summer, as a prisoner of war, was dragged along with the Haud elements as they fled! They had hoped to continue pressuring him to gain useful intel for their own survival and, in the event that alien invaders advanced on their camp, they hoped to use him as a negotiating tool. The reality was, of course, that Mr. Silver resisted all of those early interrogation efforts, and was never going to be useful as a hostage against the invasion. The people would eventually give up on trying to extract information from him, and instead made use of his springy jump in foraging, construction projects, and scouting their territory.

Obviously these new tasks came with allowances like... time outdoors, unrestrained, with a longer and longer leash each time. Summer was offered more trust in exchange for his participation in the camp's burgeoning society. During this time he was exposed to the personal histories of these myriad Indians, listened to their elders talk about their abuse and displacement at the hands of the US Government, and how they saw these atrocities beginning anew, on a global scale, with the arrival of extraterrestrial invaders. In time, Summer arrived at private questions of his own about how the Vipers ended up in the position they were in as servants, nay... perhaps even slaves to the Elders? He had, afterall, been physically smashed into a wretched new form for the sole purpose of serving the Elders' interests on Earth. Where once he had believed it was his honor and his pride to serve in whatever capacity the Elders demanded, Summer began to wonder if he'd actually been horrifically wronged by these so-called masters.

As time went on, Summer's chances of being able to rejoin the invasion without being melted down for his inadequacy dwindled, and the people recognized his value as a contributing member of the camp, over his value as a prisoner that only absorbed resources. It would still take years, but eventually Summer did just kind of... become a proper part of the outpost community.

He now resides domestically with his former handler and interrogator, a woman by the name of Meadow "Snake-Eater" Macklin, in a camper trailer at the edge of camp-territory. There, he serves as a sentry and guard, as well as a hunter, trapper, and mower. Summer's time with the people has only deepened his sense of injustice regarding what the Elders did to him and his own kind, and he seeks to revolt against their plans for him by supporting the survival of this camp of refugees. It's only a small thing, but it's all he can do right now!