O.D.D.: One Desperate Defense

02. Emergence

See: Part 1 - Shen's Last Gift, Alien Hunters, SPARKS, Psi

*TOP SECRET*

Mission Designation: OPERATION GATECRASHER

ADVENT Security Block, Tijuana

Operatives Kaycee Carmine, Trevor Fields, Spectre Protocall, and Sean Walker to provide diversion as Central Officer John Bradford attempts to extract a VIP critical to all future XCOM operations...

February 28, 2035

11:36


"Alright everyone, I'm counting on you to get those X4 charges planted. This isn't a test, nor a simulation. That statue comes down or none of us are coming home, am I clear?"

"Copy Central," Sean 'Shadow' Walker barked into the radio, wiping the droplets of rain sliding down his cheek. "We know what's at stake here."

"Good luck. Out."

Walker heaved a sigh. It'd been a while since he'd been out in the field, but he figured now was as good a time as any to get back in the game. He gave a quick study of his teammates. Beside him, someone who looked like they were well past retirement age had already opted to rifle through his backpack. Behind him, a woman and – something else stared back at him in complete silence.

Walker clapped his hands together, ready to go over the plan. "Alright, so here's –"

"It's with great honor that I offer myself in service of humanity."

Walker raised a brow, irked by the interruption. Somebody had given this thing a voice module? And they chose a cheery British one at that?

"Uh, this your toy there, doll?" Walker asked, shooting a bewildered glance at the woman.

"Kaycee," she said, her face mask barely containing the contempt in her voice. "And no, I can handle myself. I don't need some mechanical lug to protect me."

"I can confirm my identity to be 'Spectre Protocall' sirs and madam, also known as 'Protoform'. I was commissioned to be of service to Mr. Odd."

"Who?" asked Kaycee, creating some distance between her and the unit.

"I would be happy to show you a photograph, but my connection to the public wireless access here in Tijuana is constantly interrupted due to high latency."

Silence enveloped the group for a moment, leaving only the pitter-patter sound of the rain filling their ears.

"Oh, this is great," Walker said, a sarcastic smile spreading across his face as he stroked his chin. "This is what I came out of the shadows for?" His smile evolved into an exasperated chuckle. "It turns out that this new XCOM team is just a sad bunch of wannabes of the original team twenty years ago?"

Kaycee shot him daggers while the old man continued to ignore the situation.

Walker clasped his hands together in front of his mouth, closing his eyes and looking as though he was praying for a do-over. His initial assessment of the situation led him to believe their chances of success were slim. "I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here. Am I the only one on this rooftop with combat experience?"

"No," Kaycee protested. She could feel herself getting hot under the face mask, and it wasn't because they were in Mexico. "I've seen action before. I've hauled soldiers and equipment in and out of the battlefield."

"My fabrication was only completed a few days ago. I find it hardly fair to have my combat modules judged before I can properly demonstrate my capabilities."

Eyes wide, Walker turned to the old man kneeling beside him. "And what about you Mad Max? What's with the man of few words act?"

The man said nothing, instead opting to fiddle with his mini project. He'd managed to configure some kind of volatile IED.

He grasped it tight in his hand, nodding in approval at his handiwork. "I'm done. Let's go."

Walker raised his hands in frustration, permitting his rifle to dangle from the strap tied around his neck. "Whatever. If you all don't mind, I think I'll take point. Monument's just across the road to the north-east. I'm hoping I don't have to hold your hands as we make our way across."

Kaycee scowled, holding her arm out with an open palm. "After you then."

Walker approached the safety rail of the roof, surveying their surroundings. Not much action, apart from the few straggling citizens wandering out in the rain. Kaycee, Protocall and the old man followed, taking up positions alongside the rail.

"Psst," the man hissed, snapping his fingers and pointing at a nearby sports car. The squad turned their attention towards it and caught a glimpse of a hostile unit carrying out a routine vehicle inspection.

"Beautiful," Walker said, salivating at the opportunity for an ambush. "I fucking hate troopers."

"Should we let them come closer?" Kaycee asked, keeping her voice to a whisper.

Walker gave a quick scan of the street below. The nearby civilians were no threat, and there weren't any other ADVENT in sight, for now. "Sure, seems like a reasonable –"

"Frag out."

The team watched as the old man hurled his IED towards the enemy troopers. A flash of light erupted from the charge the moment it landed, followed by a deafening boom. Debris shot into the sky, followed by a large fireball that swallowed two of the troopers. Inside the cloud of smoke, there was essentially nothing left of them, bar a lone trooper struggling to keep himself alive. He squealed something incoherent, pointing up at the roof before attempted to flee.

"Oh no you don't," Walker muttered, reacting to the movement. Stabilizing his gun, he popped a few bullets into the enemy, knocking his corpse backward into the flames to take care of the cremation.

"Just like mom used to make," the old man said, dusting off his hands. Kaycee struggled to contain a laugh of amazement while Protocall simply stared at the chaos below.

"Not bad old man," Walker said, a genuine smile emerging as he slapped him on the back. "Not bad at all."

"Call me Fields," the man said, rubbing the patch on his back where Walker had just hit him.

"Alright. Fields it is."

"We must press on. Central Officer Bradford requires us to destroy the Elder monument before he can complete his task."

"It's not wrong," Kaycee said, shrugging. "We'd better keep moving before any more show up."

"Agreed," Walker said. "Fields, see if you can catch a glimpse of any more patrols before we secure the base of the statue. Err, Protocall, you should probably give him some company." He gestured at Kaycee and himself. "We'll stay up here to hold the high ground."

Fields nodded, sliding down the side of the building and taking cover behind a nearby semi. Protocall jumped after him, landed with a heavy thud before sliding into cover. For a moment, its sensors had picked up something in the distance, but it faded just as fast.

"Potential hostiles at twelve o'clock. Recommended course of approach would be to lure them back to our position where we have the vertical advantage."

Kaycee strained her eyes, but the heavy rainfall made it difficult to see very far and confirm Protocall's information.

"Fields, can you verify?" Walker asked, also struggling to get visibility on the enemy squad.

"Can hear something," came his brief reply.

"Alright, Protocall get back up here, we should get in position for another ambush. Fields, try and get eyes on 'em."

The mechanized unit made a dash back to the rooftop, creating some distance from Walker and Kaycee. Meanwhile, Fields shifted around the front of the truck to try and get a better view.

And just like that, the enemy spotted his silhouette through the downpour.

"They've seen me," Fields gruff voice echoed on the comms channel.

"Damn it, fall back," Walker commanded, prepping his rifle. Kaycee mimicked his actions, preparing for a fight.

"Got eyes on a pinky and another trooper," Kaycee said, her lips forming a cheeky grin. "Pinky's standing out in the open, we should be able to get a clear shot on the son of a bitch." She turned to Protocall. "Wanna go get 'em?"

"Negative," Walker said with a growl. "We've got the high ground for a reason, doll."

Kaycee's jaw twitched as she felt a burst of anger rise inside. "Yeah, and there's no way I'm sharing it with an asshole who thinks he's overqualified. C'mon Protocall, you take point."

"Agreed madam, a flanking opportunity should lead to a greater chance of a successful execution."

And with that, Walker remained alone on the rooftop. He clicked his tongue with impatience. "God damn it."

Protocall moved up the farthest, taking position behind an abandoned vehicle as Kaycee set up behind a lamp post.

"Taking into account trajectory, wind speed, and precipitation, I have about a 67 –"

"Just take the fucking shot before it drops out of sight," Kaycee said, still pissed about Walker's attitude.

"Engaging." The mech rose out of cover and dished out an unhealthy burst of bullets. Five of them connected, penetrating the exposed pink skin of the Sectoid. It screeched in pain and frustration, only just realizing its position had been compromised.

"Batter up," Kaycee said, lining up her own shot and firing. The Sectoid took a moment to comprehend what had just happened before succumbing to its wounds. It crumpled to the ground like a puppet without a string.

"Not bad," came Walker's voice on the comm channel.

"Gee, thanks." Must've taken everything you had to give me that one, hot shot.

Above her, she saw a trail of bullets rain down from Walker's position, colliding with the trooper behind a set of benches. He staggered, struggling to keep himself fully covered.

"Damn it," Walker yelled, trying to get a better look at his quarry. "How the hell is he still alive?"

Protocall took a shot at finishing the job, only for its bullets to go wide.

"Bollocks."

Kaycee smirked both at the robot's language and the fact that she had a decent view of the trooper's exposed shoulder.

'Why, I'd be honored to steal your kill, Walker.' Shutting one eye, she focused her attention on the trooper and put him out of his misery.

"Kill confirmed," she said, glancing up at the roof. "Enemy's down."

"Okay," Walker said, grumbling as he slammed another magazine into his rifle. "You've proved your point."

"Don't you ever call me 'doll' again."

Walker rolled his eyes, his cheeks glowing red as he swallowed his pride. "Alright, sure, I promise." He mentally slapped his own forehead. Next time you give your squad mates shit, at least prove you're not a rookie too.

He continued. "We've still gotta get to the objec –"

"Wait, shut up." Kaycee held up her arm, tapping her ear. Footsteps. Heavier than the normal troopers too. "Listen. They're headed this way."

"Acknowledged, activating Overwatch."

Reloading, Kaycee took a deep breath to calm her nerves. A few seconds later, another group of three wandered into view, spotting the carnage already produced by the XCOM squad.

"Open fire," Kaycee yelled, dispensing lead in the direction of the enemy unit. The bullets traveled between two of the soldiers, connecting with neither. Walker bit his lip, withholding a quip. He'd displayed enough arrogance already, and they'd done more than enough to prove his perception of them to be wrong. They'd all gotten a kill so far, except for Protocall. Either way, it hadn't caused a catastrophe for them just yet.

Realizing the situation, the ADVENT officer commanded his troops to scatter. At once, they made separate dashes for cover.

"Prioritize the officer," Walker said, concentrating on the officer's path. Both he and Protocall fired simultaneously, catching the ADVENT officer in the crossfire and sending him sprawling into the mud.

"Two left," Fields said, startling Walker. With all that had been going on, he'd forgotten Fields had been next to him on the roof the entire time.

"Moving to flank," Kaycee said, pushing up closer to the enemy and falling behind full cover. Her heart racing, she aimed around the corner and put down the nearest trooper.

"Fire in the hole," came Protocol's warning as it hurled a grenade towards the last trooper. The explosion sent shrapnel flying in all directions, though the trooper's anguished cries betrayed him, revealing that he'd survived.

"Pin him down," Walker said, giving Fields a nod. The old man leaped off the roof without protest before proceeding to open fire on the trooper's last known location.

But there was nothing but flames.

'Something's wrong', Walker thought, keeping an eye on the statue. Sure enough, his gut feeling proved to be correct, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the trooper sneaking around the side in an attempt to get the drop on Protocall.

"Protocall, watch out!" Walker shrieked.

The mechanized unit spotted the enemy at the last moment and made an evasive maneuver, but the magnetic bullets from the trooper grazed its upper torso. Within seconds, the unit began to go haywire.

"Critical system failure, retreating from area of operations."

Sparks flew as drops of rain sank into the exposed wiring of the armor. Protocall went on the fritz, screaming incoherent babble as though it were a human being.

"Son of a bitch." Walker cursed, shifting vantage points. Fields attempted a revenge shot of his own, but the bullets couldn't quite connect. Arranging himself to have a flanking opportunity with the high ground advantage, Walker didn't even have to try to aim.

"Dodge this."

The trooper could not.


"Area seems secure," Kaycee said, swallowing as she stood surrounded by ADVENT corpses. "Gonna set the charges."

"Confirmed," Walker said, popping a flare and dispersing it on the rooftop. "Meet up here for extraction. Fields, make sure you recover Protocall. No one gets left behind, not even a machine."

Fields remained silent, jogging over to check on Protocall.

"System partially restored. Defragmenting drives and restoring non-critical functions. Operational capacity at 20%. Hi, I can confirm my identity to be Spectre Protocall."

"Mission accomplished guys." Walker nodded to himself, watching as Kaycee planted the X4 and Fields wrapped Protocoll's mechanical arm over his shoulder.

Guess they can handle themselves after all.