Operation: Queen's Rise
"A contact of the local resistance informed us about an ADVENT facility in this region. However, this facility doesn't seem to be part of the Avatar Project. According to our contact, ADVENT is experimenting on a new kind of weapon. Our contact will be waiting for you nearby the facility. She'll have further details on what to expect inside."
The screen inside the skyranger showed a woman wearing black boots, torn old fashioned military trousers and a black jacket with a bulletproof west thrown over it. She had red hair, which was tied up into a ponytail, her eyes were green and her lips a little big too big. The screen also showed her carrying a sniper rifle.
"I hope she knows how to use that." Max Krüger, the german Ranger stated as a matter of fact. He was the lowest ranking members of the current team, due to others being too injured or too dead to take on the mission.
"I doubt she doesn't." Jack Cameron, the scottish grenadier and also highest ranking member (sergeant) of the team. He was known for getting really excited, once a fight breaks out. He was also the only surviving member of the latest rescue mission, which only served to increase his hate towards the aliens. "Not just anyone can carry a sniper rifle."
"That's right." Merlinda Cawthon (american), aka X-Ray, agreed. She was the sniper on the team and the only reason she wasn't higher in the chain of command was due to her lack of combat experience, which tended to happen if you have the strange luck of always being targeted by ADVENT soldiers. She earned her nickname by somehow successfully taking an overwatch shot through a statue!
"I just wish this would be over already." Muttered Lisa Tempson, also american. She just had the worst of luck and held the questionable title of being the most injured soldier in the entirety of X-COM. Many people wondered why she hadn't called quits as of yet. She got half of her kill count through her trusty gremlin, who she spoke more to than to the others.
"I wonder what kind of weapon ADVENT is working on." Wondered X-Ray.
"Probably a face eating bacteria gun." Grinned Cameron.
"Joe made that joke first." Lisa stated as a matter of factly.
Before more could be said, the light's in the Skyranger turned red, indicating they arrived. Grabbing their weapons, Menace 1-5 waited for the back of the skyranger to open, until they could jump out. They dropped inside a jungle area on a hill from where they already had a good view on the facility. From their drop point it just looked like any other alien facility they had encountered so far.
"You're late."
Everyone raised their weapons and turned around, ready to shoot. The woman in return wasn't fazed at all at their reaction. After taking a second to look, Menace 1-5 recognized the woman from the video feed they had gotten only a short while ago.
"Careful, lady. I almost turned ya to switcher cheese." Jack grinned, lowering his heavy gun. The rest followed his example, although Lisa did it a little reluctantly. Something about the woman didn't sit well with her at all.
"Someone give her a communicator." Central's voice ordered them.
X-Ray grabbed inside her pocket and took out a communicator, handing it over to her fellow sniper. Without asking questions, the woman put the communicator inside her ear. As soon as she did this, they could hear the commander's voice.
"Menace, this is Sarah Kerrigan, our contact. Miss Kerrigan, your report was rather...lackluster to say the least. Would you be so kind to fill us in, as to what is going on?"
"Certainly." Kerrigan replied. "I don't know what exactly is going on here, but rumor has it that ADVENT is working on some kind of bio-weapon. There were strange sightings of oversized, insect like creatures, though personally I have never seen such a thing. Still, the fact that this facility is here, is reason enough to investigate in my opinion."
"...Indeed. I assume you want to partake in this mission."
"I owe my life to the people in the resistance. It's time for me to pay my debt." Kerrigan stated.
"Then welcome to X-COM miss Kerrigan. Menace, investigate the facility and keep the chatter down. Kerrigan, Cameron in front of you is in charge this mission. I hope you know how to follow orders."
"Understood." Kerrigan nodded towards the man in question.
"Alright guys." Jack whispered. "Krieger, go ahead. You're the fastest of us."
"My name is Krüger." Krüger muttered before running ahead towards a tree and taking cover behind it.
"All clear." Came the report from the Ranger.
"Right. Let's go and stay hidden. Tempson, you with me. X-Ray, Kerrigan, stay back and hold your fire until I or the commander say otherwise."
Lisa and Jack ran ahead, taking cover behind some rocks. X-Ray and Kerrigan stayed behind a little, each finding cover behind a tree for them.
"You better listen well, newbie. Jack doesn't like to explain things twice." X-Ray told Kerrigan.
"Keep the chatter down." Came Central's voice through their communicators. "We're picking up unknown signatures from the inside of the facility. The theory of the bio-weapon might not be as far fetched as it originally sounded."
"Understood Central." Jack said, before addressing the team. "Krieger, same as always. Stay hidden and tell us when there's something."
"I know you're doing this on purpose." Krüger replied, before running to the next cover, this being a rock. "I got overwatch on the door. I think I can hear them talking in their strange language."
"Got it. Tempson and I are coming to your position. X-Ray, Kerrigan, stay back. Take overwatch."
"Gotcha."
"Understood."
Lisa's Gremlin flew ahead, taking cover behind a street wall. The owner followed suit.
"I got eyes on an advent position." Came the report from the grenadier, who positioned himself next to a window. "One officer and two lancers."
"Great. I hate the lancers." Grumbled Tempson through the comms.
"Tempson, Krüger, get into position on the sides of the doors." The commander ordered. "Cawthon, Kerrigan, take position behind the trees on your right. I want you to have a good overview."
Everyone complied to the orders issued. Both snipers had to be careful with their footing. It was getting considerably harder to stand on the hill, given that it got more steeply on the right side.
"Contact!" Shouted Kerrigan raising her sniper rifle. She had just landed on a flanking position of three vipers! The snake ladies didn't waste any time crawling into cover. However one of them didn't make it, as a bullet went through her head.
X-Ray managed to readjust her path, to take cover in a way, she wouldn't be flanked by the vipers. Without really thinking, she drew her pistol and tried to get a shot on one of the vipers, but missed, hitting a tree instead.
Down at the facility entrance the team was about to turn around and help their allies. However the shots obviously must have gotten the attention of ADVENT inside and they came storming out of the facility. They were fairly surprised, when they found three X-COM soldiers pointing their weapons at them and shooting lead into their bodies. It resulted in three dead ADVENT and three XCOM soldiers being covered in yellow alien blood.
The vipers didn't even register the deaths of their teammates. They instead both leashed out with their tongues, trying to get hold of the humans. The one shooting towards X-Ray failed, but Kerrigan was easily pulled to the viper, who quickly proceeded to wrap the woman around her coils.
"Urrgh, need some...help…"
"Crap!" X-Ray shouted, as a plasma shot hit the tree, she was taking cover behind.
"We're on our way, hold out!" Jack shouted through the coms.
"ADVENT's here!" Max shouted, shooting with his shotgun at a Sectoid. He missed. In fact from the side a patrol of a sectoid and two troopers happened to come their way and they were now flanking the team of three down at the hill. The sectoid took the risk of shooting back, but missed the Ranger. The two troopers followed standard procedure by running into cover, giving Tempson, Krüger and Cameron to look for cover themselves.
"Damn it! I don't have time for you bastards!" Shouted Cameron, before he shot a grenade out of his launcher. The grenade perfectly killed one trooper and injured the leg of another one. The sectoid hissed in pain, as shrapnels entered its upper body.
"Damn, this is not good." Cawthon muttered, firing over and over with her pistol. From this close it was practically impossible for her to use her sniper. And so far the second viper prevented her from properly aiming at the one that had Kerrigan in her grasps. The sniper was always forced to either dug from the tongue or feared of getting shot every time she went out of the cover.
"Tempson! Tell your Gremlin to shock the Viper that is holding Kerrigan."
"Under- crap! -stood." While the Gremlin flew towards the viper, Tempson proceeded to shoot back on the remaining trooper. The Sectoid was trying to use one of its psi-abilities, but Krüger was faster to cut its head off.
"Got it!"
"Damn it!"
Even Kerrigan felt the shock going through her body. The good thing of course was that the viper finally let go of her. The human then proceeded to literally stick her rifle into the throat of the alien, before pulling the trigger. It was then that the redhead learned something: alien brains did not smell good. At all.
A shout from further down announced the death of the last ADVENT trooper. The remaining viper hissed annoyed, realizing it was now alone. Shooting one last shot, it quickly proceeded to fall back. This turned out to be her downfall, as she was shot by a laughing like a maniac, scottish guy with a grenade launcher.
"This is for Jenny, you bitch!" The Scott spat out on the corpse, before reloading his weapon.
"Are you alright?" X-Ray asked Kerrigan, who was breathing heavily.
"Just catching my breath. Give me a second." The woman replied.
"Menace 1-5 this is not over." Came Central's voice from the comms. "We register multiple X-Rays closing on your position."
"Wish he would deliver us good news every once in awhile." Krüger mutter, taking cover again.
The rest of the team followed suit.
"Okay guys. Reload and get ready to unleash hell on those alien bastards."
It didn't take long for the "alien bastards" to arrive at the scene and what they saw was a little concerning. The troop that came running cover to cover consisted of two Lancers, one Officer and two Heavy Mechs. The white robots were running on the front line and of course everyone shot at them, which didn't mean that everyone hit. In fact only Jack and Kerrigan managed to hit the Mech to the left, with Jack shredding the "breast armor" a little.
"Hit off the armor." Kerrigan shouted.
The left mech then proceeded to put Kerrigan under covering fire, while the right one got ready to shoot it's rockets.
"Tempson, Krüger! Fall back, NOW!" Both soldiers complied, running just as the mech shot its rockets from its back. However the officer was expecting this and firing at Krüger. Luckily his shots missed the Ranger, who took position behind a car, while the specialist had to cope with the street wall.
The two Lancers advanced further, trying to get into close range. One was shot down from X-Ray, before the lancer reached the next covering position.
"Grenade out!" Announced Cameron, before shooting. The resulting explosion destroyed the already damaged Mech and damaged the second one. Now no longer under covering fire, Kerrigan shot down the remaining Mechanized Unit, leaving only the lancer, who ran up to Jack with every intention of slicing him up. The ADVENT unit got caught into Lisa's overwatch fire before he arrived.
"Hahaha, now that's what I'm talking about!" Cameron shouted.
"Celebrate later, soldier!" Central chided. "Now go into the building before reinforcements show up. We'll keep you informed."
"Roger central." Cameron said, a smile still on his face.
Whether none of the soldiers send out a distress signal or no signal went through, but for some reason no enemy reinforcements were on their way. Menace 1-5 used the peace to properly position themselves in front of the door, before the specialist opened the door.
"Don't see anything." Announced the specialist.
"Send your gremlin inside." Ordered the commander. "I don't want to be taken by surprise. The rest of you, keep your eyes open. We register an ADVENT transport heading your way."
Lisa took out a small tablet, which sprung to life as soon as she pressed a button. It now showed what the cameras of the Gremlin were registering. The Gremlin then proceeded to fly inside.
"What are these?" Lisa wondered aloud. There were pots inside the facility, which sadly so far was nothing new. What was new was the shadowy shapes inside those pots.
"Now this is new." Central commented.
"They really do look like insects." Shen commented on the coms. "Guess the information about a new bio weapons are right."
"Intriguing, yet disturbing at the same time." Tygan commented. "Commander, I advice we take one of these pots with us, so we can further study the specimen."
"One thing after another. The reinforcements are going to be there in 40 seconds. Get ready." The commander told the team on the ground. Lisa put her tablet away and called back her Gremlin.
The squad took in position, as they heard the alien transporter coming closer. Only instead of dropping right next to them, like ADVENT usually did, the transporter hovered above the ground on the other side of the building, letting out the troops, before flying away.
"Looks like they're learning." The commander commented. "Stay where you're and take overwatch. Knowing them they will-"
"Commander! We register multiple unknown X-Rays approaching the site!" Central interrupted.
"What?"
"Damn it!"
"..."
"Central, how many are we talking about?" X-Ray asked.
"Let's just say, there are a lot of red dots on my screen, coming from the forest on the other side of the building. Evac is on the way. Fall back to the hills, before you get overrun."
"Understood, Commander." Cameron nodded out of habit, before addressing his squad. "Let's go, but keep an eye open for any A-A-A-A…"
His speech became a stutter, when all of the sudden the ground began to shake.
"Wh-what the h-h-hell?!" Tempson shouted.
"Earthquake?!" Kerrigan suggestion.
"Look!" Krüger pointed towards a place, where the earth was seemingly being pushed upwards. Not a second later a HUGE worm shot out from ground, letting out an unholy scream, before settling down, so only the head stuck out. The best way to describe the worm was that it just looked freaky and a little bit insect like. As if that wasn't enough, huge, double a dog sized, insects came out of the mouth.
"What the hell?" Shen breathed out.
"My Lord…" even Tygan was at a loss for words, as they watched the insects starting to attack the building. Despite their small teeth, they actually did damage on the building and since there were so many of them, it didn't take long for them to dig hole in the wall and rush inside. ADVENT shots could be heard inside the building.
"Commander, I suggest you send us evac, as long as those...things haven't spotted us." Kerrigan spoke through gritted teeth into her com.
"Firebrand is on the way. ETA 30 seconds. Stay hidden."
"Too late for that." Tempson stated, already pointing her weapon at a group of those dog-like (not really, but there was no better way to describe them) things. The rest of the team spun around, ready to fire. Another earthquake destroyed that plan. A second worm came out of the ground, pretty close to the X-COM squad, causing them all to fall over. Dirt was raining down on them, with the worm settling down. In a matter of moments Menace 1-5 was surrounded by bugs and everyone knew they would not be quick enough to pick up their weapons. In other words, they were screwed. The insectoids were watching them intently and all the humans could do was to wait to finally be killed. However, one woman had other plans.
Firebrand saw the predicament Menace 1-5 was in and decided to take action. She flew pretty low, with the back of the Skyranger open. The ship certainly got the attention of these new aliens. Firebrand used the opportunity and pressed five buttons, shooting five grappling hooks down to the humans. As soon as they grabbed the ropes, they were forcefully taken into the Skyranger. It resulted in all five of them landing on a very uncomfortable pile.
"Central, this is Firebrand. All X-COM officers secure, heading home now."
"Understood Firebrand. Good work out there."
"Thank you, sir."
XXXXX
Shen, Tygan, Bradford and the Commander and everyone on the bridge watched intently the holographic screen, which received real time video footage from the Skyranger's cameras. It showed more and more of those aliens streaming out of the forest and ripping the facilities apart.
"This is insane." Shen muttered.
"Kind of reminds me of Starship Troopers." The Commander commented. "I'm not sure whether to celebrate that ADVENT's weapon program bites them back or to groan in dismay, because they just made everything worse." She spoke open minded.
"This is bad." Central crossed his arms. "Maybe we should evacuate the settlements in this region."
"If I may" Tygan spoke up "I have my doubts these...things are something the aliens created."
"What do you mean?" Shen asked, while everyone else turned towards the chief scientists.
"Well, for starters, the aliens normally control everyone under their command, mostly via their psionic implants. I highly doubt the Elders would allow something like this to happen."
"Are you sure? Just look at us." The chief engineer pointed across the room. "They aren't forcefully controlling every single human. At least not as of now." Shen added the last statement after a pause.
"So, what do you suggest? An old enemy, which somehow escaped their grasps and multiplied on our planet?" The Commander asked, shaking her own head. "They don't look like they can fly space ships."
"Maybe it's more aliens. Someone our "visitors" pissed off and are now striking back." Bradford suggested.
"Sorry, but none of your theories really seem sound." Shen commented. "I think I personally stick with weapon development gone wrong."
"You want to bet?" Bradford asked, half-serious.
"Wait a second. Look at this." The Commander pointed at the screen, where they saw a building collapsing and smoke covering the camera. As soon as it was gone, they could see a few remaining insect aliens retreating into the woods.
"They're leaving…" she said.
"But why?" Tygan stepped up.
"I don't know, but this may give us the opportunity we need. Something on the scanners?" The Commander asked an officer sitting in front of a screen.
"Signatures of these bugs, but they are all heading away from the facility."
"Any idea where?" Bradford asked the man.
"Not yet sir, they haven't stopped moving. What I can say is that they're nowhere near the resistance outpost and also pretty far away from any of the ADVENT cities."
"Keep an eye on them. Menace 1-5, the enemy has retreated. Get down there and see if you can get one of those things, be it a corpse or one of the pots. Move fast, before ADVENT makes his move."
XXXXX
After Action report:
Mission Complete
Operation Queen's Rise
Investigate Alien Facility
Enemies killed: 12
Soldiers wounded: 1
Soldiers dead: 0
Rating: Excellent
Squaddie Max Krüger: Kills: 5; promotion to Corporal
Sergeant Jack Cameron: Kills: 13; promotion to Captain
Corporal Merlinda "X-RAY" Cawthon ; Kills: 12; promotion to Seargeant
Corporal Lisa "SHOCKER" Tempson; Kills: 7
Sarah Kerrigan; Kills: 1
Items recovered:
Alien Stasis* (1)
Notes: *This stasis tank seems to hold one of the aliens encountered at the alien facility in Mexico. The subject appears to be still alive, thanks to the tank itself. Caution in handling this device is advised.
XXXXX
The Commander waited impatiently in her room for the speaker to make contact with the Avenger. Usually he was already waiting on line, but this time he certainly took his time. But she couldn't really blame him. There might be something he was caught up with, hell for all she knew he might be under ADVENT surveillance or worse, caught.
None of this was the case that day. Finally the screen changed from the X-COM logo to the one of the secure channel and then the speaker appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Commander. I apologize for the delay."
"I understand." The Commander replied. "Securing a channel from ADVENT must not be an easy task. The mission was a success, though it was more thanks to luck, than to skill." The Commander admitted. She sent the files to the man on the inside, who she could see overviewed everything.
"This...is very worrisome information, Commander. It seems our information about the new bio weapon was sadly correct."
"And it went out of control." The Commander crossed her arms. "These...I don't know what we should call them or what ADVENT calls them, but given the numbers we have seen today...I just hope these things are only within the Mexican border."
"Indeed. I will further look into this matter and provide you with information as soon as I find some.
There is something I wanted to inform you about. It seems that ADVENT's newest facility, which should have been completed next week was destroyed."
"Oh?" The Commander raised an eyebrow. "Was it one of our resistance cells?"
"No, in fact, the reason for this event is unknown. However, it certainly...let's say shocked ADVENT. I have no evidence, but this might have something to do with ADVENT's bioweapon program."
"Great." The Commander had a hard time not to facepalm. "Now we have even more aliens on the loose. That means even if we defeat ADVENT, we'll still have to deal with whatever they unleashed on us."
"As I said, there is no concrete evidence as of yet. But I advice you to be careful, commander. And, good luck."
With those words the Speaker cut the connection to the Avenger. The Commander sighed, turning off the screen. She could feel the headache coming already. The destroyed facility was a great thing, as it would slow down the Avatar Project, but was it really worth the price? Definitely not, that was the Commander's opinion.
"Commander, Firebrand is back." Bradford spoke through the coms.
"Understood. I'm on my way." She replied, standing up and exiting her quarters.
Maybe at least we'll get a new recruit out of this.