Disclaimer: FF:TSW characters are property of Square. X-COM is property of Microprose.

Author's note: X-COM arrives in Houston and suspects that things are…different.

"We need to talk…"

The alarm sounded and the shape curled up beneath the bed covers gave a dozy grunt, then stirred and muttered some more. A slender hand emerged, unerringly smacked the snooze button and disappeared back beneath the blanket. Five minutes later the buzzer sounded again and the hand reappeared, nearly knocking the offending piece of hardware off the nightstand this time. It finally managed to slap the off button. The edge of the bed sheet flipped down, and Doctor Aki Ross, savior of the earth and champion of the human race, cracked open a bleary eye at the holographic numerals floating near the ceiling.

Umph…only 7:30? Either I'm dreaming, she thought, or getting up actually is an option. For a second she lay there befuddled, and then remembered that yesterday was the end of her graveyard shift at the lab, and she had merely neglected to reset her alarm. Well, no matter since Dr. Sid had to practically beg her to take a few days off anyway.

Aki was reluctant to leave the cozy nest of her bed, and was dozing off again when a soft thump on the covers heralded the arrival of Mikuni. He drew near her face, purring and pressing a chilly nose against her own; from this vantage his blue eyes appeared even more crossed than usual, and Aki couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, all right, I'm awake! Thanks for reminding me," she said, sitting up and scratching him between the ears; the young Siamese cat was a gift from Gray on her last birthday. To this day he would never say where he had found him, no matter how much Aki tried to coax it out of him. "You are a little pest, you know that? And I suppose you're hungry now, huh? Well, you're just going to have to wait until after my shower." She put him aside, and satisfied that supper was coming Mikuni hopped down to the floor and began grooming himself.

Aki tossed the bed sheets aside, stretched her back, her vertebrae popping a little, and got up, slipping into her favorite robe. "Heat on medium," she said aloud, stifling a yawn. Her apartment's voice recognition system complied and almost immediately the warm air ducts clicked open. She stopped in the kitchen long enough to get some coffee going before heading to the shower, snapping on the bathroom light and cranking up the taps to just short of scalding. She smiled, recalling how Gray complained about her choice of temperature. It certainly made for some interesting moments whenever they both squeezed into the stall together. As the steam billowed she undressed, grabbed a washcloth and a soap bar, got in and proceeded to work up a thick layer of lather, sighing as the spray tickled her skin and the suds swirled away down the drain along with the last remnants of her drowsiness. Presently, she shut the water off, stepped out, wrapped herself in a thick towel and padded back to the bedroom, bare feet leaving tracks on the rug. Her hair she dried as best she could, especially considering that it had grown considerably longer and now hung well past her shoulders. She was reluctant to cut it; both she and Gray liked it long.

Aki rambled around in her closet and Mikuni watched, his eyes slanted sapphire ovals, as she selected clean jeans and a sweatshirt and began to dress. That done, she went into the kitchen, the cat mewing on her heels, and noted that the coffee was ready. She fixed a dish of cat food and set it down on the floor. Humming to herself a little, she had just poured a cupful when the com-unit on the wall beeped. Curious, she walked over to it and pressed the 'accept call' key, activating the audio and visual pickups. The holographic screen glowed to life and Aki blinked in surprise as the no-nonsense visage of General Tobias appeared. "General! What can I do for you?" she said over the rim of her cup.

His gray-green eyes, ordinarily carefully neutral, were apprehensive. "Good evening, doctor. I realize that my contacting you at your residence is highly unusual, but circumstances have arisen that have forced me to do so."

Beneath her damp hair her brow furrowed, and her mood shifted from detached curiosity to a heightened wariness. Aw, damn. Why do I have the feeling that this is not good news? "What happened?" she asked tentatively.

"Just over an hour ago, a vessel of unknown origin appeared in sector three, zone twenty-seven."

Aki did a rapid-fire calculation, and her brown eyes widened. "The old wastelands of Eastern Kansas?" The last location my team had been assigned to. And hadn't the solar eclipse passed through that area as well?

"Yes. It attacked the survey ship without warning or provocation." He paused, taking a deep breath. "There were no survivors. I'm sorry, doctor."

The color began to fade out of her surroundings. With an effort Aki composed herself, clutching the counter for support. Her coffee sloshed out of her cup as she roughly set it down, but she ignored the hot liquid that spilled onto a trembling hand, instead squeezing her eyes shut, trying to drive away the faintness that threatened to sweep over her. She felt personally responsible for each of those fellow scientists, people she had worked closely with for over a year. Get a grip, Aki, she ordered herself. She had to swallow past the lump in her throat before she could speak again.

"And the Deep Eyes?"

"They escaped, thanks to Corporal Fleming's exemplary piloting, and also thanks to the timely arrival of some 'assistance', that managed to drive off the intruder."

Aki's eyes popped open. "Assistance?' Who–?"

The general let a ghost of relief slip into his answer. "They're returning to base even as I speak; Captain Edwards is already on his way. But there's been an injury, so I want you and Dr. Sid to meet us at Hanger Two without delay. Am I clear?"

"Understood, sir." Aki was already marshalling her thoughts, running through a mental checklist. As she did, Tobias spoke once more before his image winked off of the screen.

"And keep an open mind, doctor. I suspect that there may be a very long question-and-answer session ahead."

"How is she doing, captain?" Hughes asked quietly, keeping his balance with ease as the Black Phantom's aft compartment swayed beneath his feet.

Broderick checked the stained bandage on Harper's right temple again. "She might need stitches," she sighed. "And I'm concerned about her psi-implant." No larger than a pea, all X-COM agents carried the tiny self-contained psionic implant deep in their skulls; it was their only means of personal defense against aliens that utilized psionic powers…Sectoids, the dreaded Ethereals, and worst of all, the nightmarish Psilords.

"Don't worry," Hughes said, checking an updated display on the med-kit's screen. "Readout is still showing clean."

"Of course it does, you ass. I'm fine. Where are we now?" Eri's words were slightly slurred, and her pupils were dilated

Broderick frowned in concern. Sure sign of a concussion. "Shh…relax. The Deep Eyes are taking us to their base. They have medical facilities there, and you're first on the list."

"Oh." The younger woman appeared to chew on this, and then asked a totally off-tangent question. "Are they cute?"

The captain rolled her eyes, and Hughes brayed laughter. "Christ, you're such a flirt! Good thing Atwood didn't hear that!"

"He can go suck an egg," she replied through a grin–it was known that Tyler had a thing for her. She put that out of her mind as she leaned her head against the seat's backrest and closed her eyes, ruminating…

During the last firefight, while Lanier concentrated on flying, and Broderick had her hands full operating the touchy fusion ball launcher and Hughes was attempting to ensure that the ship wouldn't fly apart under its pilot's attentions, it was fiery-tempered Eri Harper who manned the Black Phantom's gunnery control with much gusto. She loved shooting things and was so into it that she had neglected to buckle in or don her helmet. An abrupt maneuver had tumbled her out of her seat and she ended up bouncing the side of her skull off a bulkhead. Stubbornly she fought on, though, ignoring the pain and not pulling out her medi-kit until they had landed.

"Lucky for you your head is denser than this ship," Lanier said afterwards, shutting off the kit's small scanner and calmly wiping away what blood he could before applying an antibiotic. His easygoing voice held a slight note of humor. "You probably got your bells rung a bit, I'd gather. You're a regular darling for the school of hard knocks."

"Bite me, monkey-boy. I'll live," Eri growled. She held the pad against her head as her eyes glittered from beneath ragged bangs of short dark blonde hair, which looked as if she had hacked at it with a knife. Seeing as how she enjoyed her blades and always kept at least a couple somewhere on her person all the time, Lanier wouldn't have been surprised if she did her own haircuts. "I want to know whose butts we pulled out of the fire, boss."

"We'll know soon enough, Eri. They landed nearby, and are still poking around out there. You'd think they never saw an X-COM ship before," Broderick had quipped, tugging on her helmet as Hughes and Lanier joined her by the ramp controls, preparing to disembark and meet those outside. Atwood, under her orders, had left his craft as soon as the Black Phantom had touched down, and was already concealed in the nearby tree line, plasma rifle at the ready. She had had him activate his suit's optical camouflage, just in case. "Sit tight. After we see who we played hero to today, we'll get you fixed up."

Harper threw her a jaunty salute. "Aye-aye, cap'n."

Now, not thirty minutes later, Broderick entered the cockpit and wearily slouched into her seat. Outside, the dark countryside flowed past beneath an occasional wisp of blue-gray cloud. The sun had long since set, and only a vague band of lighter sky on the western horizon remained. She was uneasy, and had been ever since they had emerged from that anomalyin time to see the UFO destroy one hapless ship, then try and pull a repeat performance on the Deep Eyes. Yes, they had managed to run it off, but they had not destroyed it. If there was one thing that she detested it was loose ends. But something else still tugged on a corner of her mind.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low beep. Lanier said something and shut it off.

"What was that?" she asked edgily.

"Our fuel," came the candid answer. "We're on reserve now."

She sat upright. "What? We launched with a full load, didn't we? Even after all this time we should have plenty remaining!"

Illuminated by the cockpit controls, Lanier's unreadable expression was visible in the small interior mirror. "Yes, we should. But there's no damage to the ship, nothing that could account for such an abnormal loss of Elerium. Believe you me, I'm as surprised as you are. But, I was thinking…could that warp jump have had something to do with it?"

Broderick sounded anxious. "I don't know. Can we make it to Houston?"

"Yes. The engines are in atmospheric mode now. However, I've noticed something a little odd…the air traffic chatter I'm picking up around here is different."

"'Different?' How so?"

"Well…it's in plain English, make no doubt, but the frequencies are for the most part unfamiliar."

Broderick sat back, exhaling. "I'll be picking the brains of HQ when we land. I want to know what the hell is going on here!"

"That makes two of us. Hold on, getting a hail from the sergeant." With a casual gesture he pushed a button and flicked a small switch. His thumbs-up indicated to Broderick that she was live.

"Yes, sergeant, go ahead."

"We're about ten minutes out from the base, captain. How's your injured crew member holding up?"

"A little better, but I still want her to get some medical attention."

"We'll have a medic standing by. We're cleared for final approach now."

Not too much later Houston appeared as a carpet of light. Headlights illuminated the network of roads and freeways as ground traffic entered and left the metropolis, which reclined in the near distance. Blinking white strobes and the navigational beacons of aircraft could be seen in the night sky. Neil's Copperhead made a gentle turn, banking away from the city proper and descending towards a smaller cluster of stark buildings that hunkered low to the ground, clearly the USMF base. Brilliant blue strobes defined several intersecting landing strips; darkened aircraft were parked on the tarmac but before Broderick or Lanier could positively ID any of them another transmission came in from Whittaker.

"Attention X-COM. Follow us down and taxi to the larger hanger. General Tobias is awaiting our arrival."

"We copy, sergeant." Broderick acknowledged, and then cut the link. She stared out of the canopy as landing lights speared down from the Copperhead; a beacon flared up from the nearest runway, almost in greeting. Then Lanier and Atwood activated their own floodlights.

Got a funny feeling about all this, she thought. Something's not right.

The interior of Hanger Two was huge, covering an area of almost three football fields. With Jane beside him, Gray noted that the small cluster of guards nearby had their weapons conspicuously displayed. The captain stole a brief glance at the other woman who had positioned herself on the opposite side of General Tobias, who himself stood nit far away. Transferred from Chicago almost a year ago, Major Lynne Schaefer served as the general's military advisor. A rather ordinary looking middle-aged woman, Schaefer boasted excellent credentials and an upbeat personality, but he occasionally caught an odd vibe from her.

A medical vehicle entered the hanger from a side passage and a pair of MP's hustled over. A few words were exchanged. After an ID card was presented the vehicle proceeded to park nearby, and from the driver's side a figure stepped out, one that Gray recognized immediately. He kept his greeting low-key as Aki approached, her field pack slung over her shoulder. Behind her the passenger door also swung up and Dr. Sid exited, albeit with a bit more care.

"Let me guess…the general called, right?" Gray asked her in a low voice.

She let a small grin slip across her face, while attempting to appear comfortable in the presence of the general and his aide.

"How'd you–did you tell him?" She narrowed her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Actually, I did. Ryan requested a medic here at the hanger, and guess who came to mind?"

Her reply was cut short as a klaxon blared and the massive hanger doors began to rumble open, revealing a widening slice of darkness. A cool breeze entered and it bore the familiar whine of an approaching Copperhead. The noise grew louder, assaulting everyone's ears and the military drop ship appeared, landing lights ablaze, engines down and landing gear deployed. Upon touchdown the ship taxied in and over to one side, and outside more brilliant cones of white light drew circles on the landing apron. Then the sources of those beams became visible; as Ryan and Neil had described, the X-COM ships were extraordinary in design and as black as the evening sky from which they emerged. And they sounded quite unlike anything else–they neither whined nor howled but produced instead a haunting shriek as they dropped their undercarriage; whatever drive they used for final maneuvering raised very little dust and debris. Once their wheels made contact, they followed the Copperhead's lead, rolling in between the open doors.

Major Schaefer barked a terse order through her com-link. The signal was relayed to a tech who, in the overhead control room, tapped a translucent keypad before him. The hanger doors took almost a full minute to close then sealed with a hollow boom. Another key was pressed and more banks of interior lights snapped on, the harsh illumination casting sharp-edged shadows. At a signal from the major the guards surrounded all three ships. They became more alert as the Copperhead's lower access hatch yawned open. Whittaker and Fleming emerged, helmets in hand and their gear slung across their backs. The two approached and exchanged a brief salute with Tobias.

"Welcome back, sergeant. Corporal Fleming, I understand that you had to draw on some fancy flying to keep your tail out of trouble?"

Put uncomfortably on the spot by the general, Neil shrewdly noted that the captain was looking at him steadily, while Jane's gaze was cool.

"Ah, thank you, sir. But if it weren't for those guys–" here he indicated the other two craft–"the captain would be posting in the recruitment ads."

Tobias gave a half smile. He opened his mouth to say more, when the major spoke.

"Sir…" Her hazel eyes were fixed on one of the X-COM ships. The canopy of the Super Avenger was opening, its rear half swinging upwards. Several small panels on the side of the fuselage flipped down, evidently serving as access steps. With the hanger security detail covering his every move, the pilot unfastened his flight harness and extracted himself from the cockpit and, boot soles clinking on the steps, carefully let himself down. The black armor of his flight suit fitted his lanky form almost like a glove. Facing them, he unfastened his helmet and removed it, and the features revealed were one that made Neil do a double take. The tech leaned towards the sergeant.

"That kid can't be a day over twenty!"

Amusement tinged Ryan's voice as he gave Fleming a nudge. "But you saw how he handled himself in that fight, though. He might even be able to fly rings around you, Neil."

"Bullshit!"

"I'll wager twenty bucks."

Jane couldn't resist getting in a well-placed jibe. "I'll double that and throw in a case of ale."

"Cool it, guys." Their captain looked on as hydraulics activated and the ramp in the rear of the Black Phantom hissed open. Four more armored figures emerged–three of them held their helmets in hand, and all were blinking in the bright hanger. One of the two men was supporting a short blonde woman; the strip of white cloth around her head was stained maroon on one side, but she still appeared fairly lucid. Aki and Dr. Sid hurried over, as did the young pilot.

The other woman approached the general. She was tall, and her emerald eyes showed no nervousness at the guards or their weapons. Her bearing and directness immediately identified her as X-COM's captain. She stopped within a pace of Tobias and saluted him. "Captain Cheyenne Marie Broderick, X-COM Black Ops, registry number A490361, sir." She paused. "We…are uncertain of just what happened, but–"

The general returned the salute and kept a poker face, but all sorts of questions were forming in the mind behind it.

"In all good time, captain. First, though, I recommend that you see to your team–" here he pointed towards Harper, who sat on the edge of the portable stretcher Dr. Sid had retrieved. Aki was trying to examine her injury but the patient was fidgety–"and then we will convene with the council."

"'Council?'"

Schaefer replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Yes. You'll be brought to the council chambers and speak with the assembly."

"There was no such council, not at least last time I was earthside." She turned to her fellow squad mate and confidante. "Lanier?"

A quizzical expression had formed on the otherwise composed face. "Sorry, captain. HNN never broadcast such a thing."

Captain Broderick squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and asked something that had been troubling her since their arrival. "General, please tell me…what is today's date?"

He raised an eyebrow but answered her request. "June 26, 2067."

She found herself swaying on her feet and had to wave off a concerned Lanier and Hughes. Her voice came to her from a distance. "That's impossible."

"Why is that?" the major asked.

Eyes wide, Broderick didn't reply right away. Lanier placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "We launched on the August 14, 2067." He stopped as his captain shot him a glance before sweeping her brilliant green gaze across the small group of strangers. Her voice wavered almost imperceptibly.

"General…Major…we need to talk."