Matthew cursed under his breath as turbulence slammed against the Skyranger. He looked around at the three other three soldiers seated with him. Angela Rhine, a blonde woman in her mid-twenties, sat across from him clutching her gun and saying a silent prayer. Matthew looked to his right and saw Rubin Cortes, a fresh faced young man in his early twenties from Mexico. He had his eyes closed and was relaxing. Matthew figured it was smart of Cortes to relax, to seek a calm before the storm. A storm that was surely coming. Finally, Matthew saw the british SAS soldier Wayne King seated next to Angela. A veteran soldier, Wayne was easily the most experienced soldier out of the four of them.

Matthew took a final look around the squad seated with him, taking comfort in his natural habit of analyzing those around him. He was the only American in his squad, and he had grown up not far from where they were headed. He had been assigned to XCOM North America fresh out of West Point, and the first reported contact had been near Dallas. It was rumored XCOM Europe had had a run in with some aliens in Germany and had lost some good men.

But Matthew could not afford to think like that. He had been raised near Dallas, and if these reports about alien contact were true, then he would be damned if he was going to let some alien assholes run free in the same state as his family. Matthew was dragged from his thoughts by King shouting his name. "Hey Smith! Yeah you! Come kid, check your gun. We land in five." Matthew looked up and saw that the seated section of the plane had become a hub of activity. The silent prayers of war had been replaced by the sound of guns being loaded and body armor being checked. Each of them wore similar khaki body armor. Matthew knew as he checked his vest that although this was the best armor that mankind could muster it would pale in comparison to whatever the aliens were prepared to throw at them. On the back of the soldier's body armor near their neck the flag of their native nations was shown.

Matthew checked his rifle and pistol one last time as he casually chatted with Cortes. Being the two youngest recruits, they had both been surprised when Central had chosen them for this first mission. All chatter ceased as the Skyranger pilot announced they were over the Landing Zone. The back door of the plane opened quickly but silently. King motioned for Cortes to help him throw down the ropes. They let the ropes down and quickly slid down them. As soon as it was clear, Matthew and Rhine climbed out of their seats and prepared to follow the other two down the ropes. Rhine looked over at Matthew and said, "Ready to save the planet Smith?" Matthew just smiled and nodded before throwing himself onto the rope. He couldn't help but giggle as he slid down, the rush never getting old. Matthew and Rhine landed safely, and quickly took cover along with their squadmates next to some cars. It appeared to be a diner of some kind. Matthew quickly realized he knew exactly where this was, and that he had been here with his parents as a kid.

King motioned for Cortes and Rhine to move up to the door of the diner, while he and Matthew went on overwatch. Matthew heard a shout from Cortes as something ran quickly inside the diner. Hoisting up his gun over the hood of the car. Matthew waited to get a shot at whatever it was. Then he saw an alien for the first time. It was small and seemed rather cowardly. It went up to Matthew's waist in height, had a large purple head, and had big eyes to match. Matthew thought in his head about all the change this little creature would bring. This tiny guy could revolutionize how we thought about the universe and could completely transform how we saw ourselves. He didn't hesitate to shoot at it. XCOM was not here to negotiate. It was here to destroy. As the shots left Matthew's rifle, they flew through the air and hit one of the aliens directly in that giant ass head of his. Cortes took a shot at another and missed. Rhine busted through the glass, flanking the alien Cortes missed. She aimed and shot it directly in the eye. Matthew liked her style. She had guts. King ran forward, taking cover by the entrance to the diner with Cortes. Matthew moved to try and get a flank on the remaining alien, but he had fled into the kitchen. They waited for him to move as Matthew covered the backdoor, ensuring he would not be able to escape. A faint purple glow shone in the kitchen, and suddenly two of the aliens burst out of the kitchen towards the three soldiers at the front of the diner. They appeared to be faster and stronger. Chaos erupted, with soldiers running or better cover and the aliens laying down fire. A lucky shot struck Cortes in the shoulder as he pulled his arm back to throw a grenade. Matthew did not see it happen, but all he heard was Cortes screaming, an explosion, and King yell for us to avenge Cortes. Matthew slammed the back door open and saw two of the aliens appearing to be powering the others. Matthew felt something when he saw them, but he would not know what he had felt until later in his life. He was furious, his only friend in this mess of a war having been ripped away, and the rest of his squad cornered by the aliens. Matthew screamed in a wild fury and extended his arms. He felt something emanate from his body. The next feeling he had was collapsing onto the ground as he watched the two aliens implode, guts and blood flying everywhere. The others must have though a grenade had gone off, because the last thing he heard before passing out was of some scientist talking about the reasons not to use explosives.

Matthew awoke in the med bay, with Rhine and King seated on either side of him. Matthew asked about Cortes, but King just shook his head. Matthew looked up as the Commander himself walked in and smiled down at him. The Commander smiled with straight white teeth and a winning smile. Matthew thought he almost looked a bit like a middle aged man that never left the frat phase, his black hair in a perfect swoop. The Commander said, "You show promise kid. This war has begun. I want you on the front lines. Lead our troops kid. You have courage, skill, and respect. That is all I need in a leader. Understood." Matthew looked up at the Commander, meeting his eyes and saying, "Yes sir. Lets kills those alien assholes."