AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!
What's up everybody? Now that most of my schoolwork has been completed I should be able to update more frequently, Yay! Ready for the next chapter in the ever evolving adventure of the XCOM faithful? Me to! So last we left off, the rescue squad was heading back to base with Ghost, Black Widow, and their child in tow. Let's jump right in!
Chapter 4: Specializations and Power Supply
The journey back to base was a joyous one for the soldiers as the mission was a complete success and without injury. Ghost and Black Widow got to know more things about their new teammates such as their backgrounds and potential aspirations once they received their promotions to Squaddie. Ghost and Reaper were busy discussing tactics and how to best utilize the skill tree that both were going to be using which was the actual Sniper skill tree since both preferred to stay as far away from their targets as possible. Black Widow was regaling stories of her time in Old XCOM and during the breaks between wars at Tower's request who was interested in what life was like back then. Lucifer was busy talking to Smokey about how to better handle a situation similar to the crowd incident on the mission. Lucifer didn't want to bet the one responsible for getting his friends killed and was hoping to keep his emotions in check. During all of this, Steve Austin Roberts was taking a nap as the excitement of the situation tired the kid out.
The landing of the Skyranger jerked everyone out of their conversations, as they gathered up their gear and got ready to disembark the craft once the cargo hold's ramp lowered to the Avenger's deck. Once it was fully down the squad got to see the rest of the soldiers, Central, the Commander, and both Dr. Tygan and Engineer Shen waiting for them as they applauded the mission's success.
"Excellent work Smokey, you still got it. Ghost and Black Widow, welcome home." stated the Commander warmly as he shook hands with both Smokey and Ghost and hugged Black Widow.
"And is this your guy's kid you were expecting all those years ago. He's certainly grown." said the Commander as he gazed upon Steve who had hidden behind his mother's legs due to his shyness.
"Yep this is our son, Steve Austin Roberts. Steve this is the Commander, mommy and daddy's boss from the war a few years ago." said Black Widow.
"Hi." said Steve quickly before he resumed hiding behind his mother.
"Alright enough embarrassing the kid, I'm extremely proud of the mission outcome. As such you are all being promoted to Squaddie; including Ghost and Black Widow."
"Actually sir, I'm going to be sitting this one out." said Black Widow surprising the others except for Ghost who nodded as he stood by her side.
"Yeah Ghost and I agreed that someone should be available to raise Steve so he doesn't grow up without us in case the worst happens."
"Understood, it was a pleasure to have you as a soldier Tracey." the Commander commented as he saluted her.
"Likewise it was pleasure to serve as your subordinate sir." responded Black Widow as she returned the salute.
"Getting back on topic, all of you need to state your desired classes so we can properly outfit you with our limited supplies."
Going from left to right, the soldiers all stated their desired specializations, except for Smokey and Ghost who were remaining as a Heavy (Demolition) and Sniper (Sharpshooter) respectively.
"I'll be going into the Demolition class sir." stated Tower respectively, as he traded in his assault rifle for a minigun.
"I'll become a Ranger, boss." stated Lucifer as he grabbed a shotgun and a machete to replace his combat knife that was broken during the mission.
"Sharpshooter. Can I also receive a machete?" stated and asked Reaper getting a nod from the Commander approving his request.
"Excellent! Now that everyone is equipped, go and rest up because we may have a mission for you guys in the near future."
== Two Days Later ==
The return of the two veterans sparked new excitement into the XCOM faithful as they renewed their efforts to get the Avenger up and running and fulfill Dr. Shen's dying endeavor. The communication links were being monitored, when suddenly a transmission came through from Juneau, Alaska. The local resistance forces had ambushed an ADVENT convoy carrying a device that could act as a potential power source for the Avenger.
The initial surprise attack caught the ADVENT forces off guard, however they were responding fiercely and the resistance forces were going to be wiped out shortly if XCOM didn't arrive quickly. Sensing the urgency of the situation, the Commander and Central assembled a squad that was quickly shipped off to the Alaskan wilderness to battle the ADVENT troops and the cold.
== On the Skyranger ==
The four selected soldiers were currently checking over their gear and armor to make sure everything was in its proper place.
"Ah it feels good to be back in action." said Ghost as he finished calibrating his new sniper rifle since his old one was being refurbished by Shen.
"How's Dozer, Ice?" asked Ghost to his former trainee Benjamin "Ice" Watson, the Britain native had his orange armor on and was ready to rock.
"She's good, can't wait to take the fight back to ADVENT and the aliens like always." replied Ice.
"Yeah she always was a tenacious firecracker. Any idea of what we're doing?"
"Nope, just got the call from Central to get ready and head out."
"Whatever it is, it must be important since none of us are rookies." stated Jane Kelly, who was the other survivor from the Commander's rescue.
"I agree it's only logical." said Tower who was relaxing against the Skyranger's wall with his minigun leaning next to him.
The screen then turned on to reveal the Commander and Central standing in the briefing room waiting for them to give them their attention. The chatter ceased at that point as the Commander began his briefing.
"Alright Strike One you're being sent in to relieve a resistance unit that managed to locate a power source for the Avenger. The team managed to catch the convoy off guard at first, but they're now under heavy fire and won't hold on for long. Your mission is to get in, relieve the units and coordinate with them, and secure the power supply for transport back to the Avenger."
The squad acknowledged the Commander's orders as Central stepped up to give them some news.
"It appears as though the supply was damaged by an errant grenade throw and has become unstable. We're going to need to move fast before it goes off and kills everyone in the surrounding area. Looks like our job just got a lot more difficult."
"We can do it! We aren't the best the world has to offer for nothing!" exclaimed Ghost trying to give the team a pep talk.
"I agree we can do this like Ghost said." agreed Tower.
"Roger that Strike One. Central out."
The green light came on as the Skyranger hovered over the area of the forest where the team would be landing.
"Deploy!" shouted Kelly as the four fast-roped into the area to begin the relief effort and hopefully get XCOM headquarters airborne.
AN: And we're going to stop right there. Sorry about the long gap, but I was swamped with school again. Only two more weeks left though. Next chapter will be covering the mission in depth as well as introducing the new OC's who will be joining XCOM. Sorry about the brevity, but you guys deserved some sort of update to show that I haven't died. Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.
-PRAK #TheNastyOne