Counter Clockwise
Chapter 4
Darius looked through the list that the Psi labs had passed to him. Going through the list he was glad that his name did not appear on it. It was a list of names of those who had the psionic gift. Darius heaved a sigh of relief. It has been 2 weeks after the incident with the Ethereal device in the storage hold. The science research team has started working on the device and has found out that it was a communication device of some sort. They are now calling it the Psi-Link device. Dr. Vahlen was confident that by using the device, they could find out where the aliens were hiding and XCOM could bring the fight to the aliens rather than just reacting to them.
He pushed the report folder away and decided to go for lunch first. Leaving his office, he headed for the cafeteria.
After getting his food from the line, Darius walked to an empty table and sat down. The TV screens in the cafeteria were on. As Darius sat down, he glanced up at the nearest screen. The news was on. The reporter was covering a story about UFO sightings and abductions. At first the governments of the world tried to deny the presence of the alien threat but as the aliens stepped up their attacks, there was no way to cover it up. Panic gripped the world. XCOM was the result but there was little one organization with limited resources can do when the threat was worldwide and simultaneous alien threats often showed up forcing XCOM to respond only to those that were most pressing.
As Darius was watching the screen, another person sat down beside him. Darius turned his head and saw Dr. Shen sitting down.
"Mind if I join you, Commander Lee?" the elderly man said smiling.
"No. Not at all. Please, just call me Darius," Darius replied. He was not comfortable with the fact that people older than himself used that title.
"Watching the news will just give you indigestion, commander," Dr. Shen said half in jest.
"I don't think news reports have half the effect that our own reports have," Darius replied keeping the banter light.
"I know what you mean," Dr. Shen said as both of them ate slowly. "Sometimes I find it hard to understand this whole thing."
"They are invading. What's there to understand?" Darius said.
"I mean, these alien invaders.. what do they want from us? They have better technologies. They don't seem to be going after anything specific. They are not trying to steal our water or any earthly elements. By golly, we are the ones that are finding alien elements much more useful! Look at the Elerium generator! Much better power output than our nuclear reactors and much cleaner!"
"Now that you mentioned it, your deductions are valid," Darius said. "What is it that they want? Maybe they want the Earth? Maybe they want a place to live?"
"Real estate?" Dr. Shen chuckled. "I think that's the least of their problems. They can travel through the vastness of space with ease. Finding a place to live will not be a problem. Besides finding an uninhabited planet will be more preferable. Why go through the trouble of trying to rid a planet of its previous inhabitants?"
Darius raised his eyebrows at that comment. Dr. Shen's arguments were solid. He would have never thought about that. He was and still is a soldier at heart. Going into the battlefield was his thing. Philosophy? Not so much.
"What are your thoughts on this, Dr. Shen?" Darius asked intrigued. "What do you think the aliens are after?"
"If I had the answer to that question, we will be halfway to winning this war," Dr. Shen replied.
"Winning?" Darius said with an apologetic smile on his face. "I'll settle for breaking even any day. I don't even think I'm cut out for this job."
"You're doing fine," Dr. Shen said smiling warmly. "Taking into consideration all the circumstances, of course. For what it's worth, I have faith in you."
Darius just smiled and the two men ate the rest of their meal in silence.
When Darius came back from his meal, he gave the Psi labs report on his table another look. The list of psionics capable personnel was a short one. Only five names. Darius stopped at the name listed under number three: Zaytsev, Vassili.
So the rookie that shot a Sectoid commander off him about a year ago was psionically gifted. That was interesting. Of course, he was a Major now.
He closed the file and threw it onto his table. Since his first psi contact with the Sectoid commander, Darius had taken a big interest into the Psi lab's psionic training programme. Although the official training have yet to begun, he had read all the materials and applied the training to himself secretly.
He now knew that the so called Psi Link device is a powerful multi-purpose device the aliens utilized. Communication was only one facet.
After gaining a better hold of his own psionic powers, Darius had been able to make some sense out of the images that had flooded into his mind. It was like a journal of some sort. Historical data. It concerned mainly the Sectoids. It seemed that they were reaching out for help. Darius could feel that the Sectiods had a lot of anger aimed towards the Ethereals. Almost as if the Sectoids wanted to get rid of the Ethereals as badly as they did.
Could it all be a ruse? A trap? Those questions had been playing over and over in Darius's mind. Maybe the aliens had wanted to lure him and then to somehow control him so that they could in turn use him for their benefits? But what if the Sectoids are really reaching out for assistance? Having a revolution within the aliens' own rank could only benefit humanity. How to be sure?
Darius knew that there was only one way to find out. He had to use the device again.
###
"You want me to do what?" Cindy exclaimed incredulously when Darius told her his plan.
"I know you can arrange it, right?" Darius said pulling her closer and holding her tightly in his arms.
"It's too risky! I.. I don't know," Cindy stammered as she pushed Darius away and turned her back towards him.
"You're the senior researcher on the team right? You could give the engineers some excuse and have them go for break for an hour or so? That's all I need."
Cindy stepped further away but she could only move so far away inside her room. It was not like the room was large. She bit her lips. "I don't know... Dr. Vahlen could turn up at any time.. and.. and…." her voice trailed off.
"It'll be fine," Darius said and embraced her from behind. "Dr. Vahlen is taking this Tuesday off and she's now tied up with the Psi training. She had already had a turn with the Psi Link device. Besides, they are just moving the device into the Gollop Chamber. It's not even hooked up yet. Dr. Vahlen will not have any interest in the thing until it's properly hooked up. She doesn't know that I do not need the device to be hooked up."
Cindy turned in his arms and buried her face into his chest. "I just don't like the idea of you using the device. You yourself have said that it could be a trap. What if it really is a trap? What if the aliens want to harm you? You'll be walking right into it!"
Darius held her even more tightly. Cindy's fears were not unfounded. Even he himself could not eliminate that possibility but he had to find out. "If they had wanted to harm me, they would have done it the first time. Why wait and let that chance go by? Besides, you'll be there. You can pull me away. Once I'm some distance away from the device, the link will be broken. It'll be fine," he said more to convince himself than her.
"I just hope you're right!" Cindy conceded. She then looked up and found Darius's eyes looking back at her. She closed her eyes and slowly brought her lips to his and they kissed.
###
Two Days Later
The elevator descended to the lowest level of the Ant Farm. The doors opened and Cindy stepped out. Turning right, she could see the workers from the Engineering department not too far in front. Cindy took a deep breath and walked towards the group. When she reached the entrance of the newly excavated Gollop Chamber, she called out loudly, "Attention everybody! Could I have your attention please?"
The workers paused and turned their attention to her. The site supervisor came forward.
"What seems to be the problem, Dr. Chang?" the site supervisor asked as he came to a stop in front of Cindy.
"Ahh.. there's no problem actually," she started a bit hesitantly. "It's just that we need to calibrate some settings on the Psi-Link device so we would appreciate it if you all could take a break for about an hour or so."
The supervisor looked puzzled. "The device is just there," he indicated to the middle of the chamber. "It's not like we are going to touch it or anything. We're just hooking up the consoles and electrical cables. You could do your calibration and we could do our work."
"Ahh... I'm sorry but we need the chamber to be evacuated during the procedure.. not that we're trying to delay anything but…" Cindy replied, her mind racing to find the words that would sound at least logical.
"What seems to be the problem here?" came a voice from behind Cindy that made her jump.
"Dr. Shen!" the supervisor greeted and seemed relieved to have the elderly head of engineering present. "Dr. Chang here has just told us to take an hour's break. We are already on a tight schedule," he said looking not too happy.
"Is that right, Dr. Chang?" Dr. Shen enquired, turning to face the researcher as he came to a stop next to Cindy.
Cindy turned towards the head of engineering but she avoided eye contact. "Err.. that's right," Cindy said trying to look busy scanning the document folder she held in her hands. "We need to do some calibrating on the Psi-Link device."
Dr. Shen looked at the young lady without saying anything. An awkward silence fell upon the group. Cindy still avoided any eye contact with Dr. Shen.
After what seemed like forever Dr. Shen finally said, "Well. Dr. Chang is the senior researcher on the Psi-Link device. If she says she needs an hour, then she needs an hour. Come now boys, let's take a break."
Cindy heaved a breath of relief as the engineering guys started to file out of the chamber.
"Thank you Dr. Shen," she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. She glanced at the elderly gentleman's eyes and immediately wished she hadn't. Behind the glasses, Dr. Shen's eyes were piercing and searching for an answer. Cindy averted her eyes quickly.
"No need to thank me," Dr. Shen replied. "Just make sure that this does not become a habit. We are on a tight schedule, you know?" With that the elderly gentleman turned slowly and walked towards the elevator.
When she was finally alone in the chamber, Cindy headed for the nearest chair and collapsed into it. She barely had the strength to stand. Her heart was still beating fast inside her chest. She tried to slow it down. When she calmed down a little, she reached into her pockets and fished out her smartphone. She tapped on the screen once and waited.
Darius's smartphone beeped once. That was the signal. He left his office and told the officers that he was taking a break and headed towards the elevator. After making sure that no one will be sharing the elevator with him, he pressed the button to close the doors and tapped the button for the lowest level.
He stepped out of the elevator and headed straight to the Gollop Chamber. As he entered, he saw Cindy running towards him. Darius had to stop her from dashing into an embrace. Without a word he closed the door to the chambers and turned his attention towards the Psi Link device.
"Cindy," he said as he walked towards the device. "If you see me behaving strangely or if you feel something's wrong, pull me away from the device!"
"Oh Darius, I don't like this one bit," Cindy pleaded. "Could we just forget the whole thing?"
"I have to find out, Cindy," Darius said not breaking his stride. "Lock the doors."
Darius stopped right in front of the Psi Link device. Cindy lingered a few paces behind him, arms wrapped around herself, looking worried. Darius raised both his hands and put them close to the glowing sphere. As his hands neared, the sphere began to glow a little brighter and mottled patterns appeared on the surface.
The jolt and then his mind was linked. Darius tried to picture the face of the Sectoid commander that he saw the first time. A little while later the image came into his mind. Their consciousness was linked. This was it.
"Who are you?" Darius formed the question in his mind. At the same time he tried to shield his mind from any incoming psi attacks.
"Finally, we have made contact again," the Sectoid commander's voice filled Darius's head. "I am Fyzklehweeruit. A commander of the aliens you all called the Sectoids. There is no need for your psi shield. We have no intention of causing you harm. We must be brief else our masters will be aware of our conversation."
"Masters? What do you mean?" Darius questioned.
"The ones you call the Ethereals. They are our masters. They have cloned us for war. They have experimented on us cruelly. They have invaded our world as they are trying to invade yours. I am here to seek assistance from you, human. We have the same enemy."
"You mean the Ethereals?"
"Yes. For too long have we suffered under their oppression. I lead a group of rebellious compatriots. We seek your help to free our world and yours."
"How can I trust you?"
"You must feel it. Our sincerity. Via this link, you must know that we hold no deceit. There is no time. This link will be discovered if we remain connected for much longer. I will feed our plans directly into your consciousness. It will take too long to convey it via conversation. It will feel strange for you but please do not resist. Contact me again if you are willing to co-operate. I will commence the transfer now."
Suddenly images began flooding his mind again but this time, it was more intense and the flow was much greater than anything he had experienced before. He wanted to break the link but something deep inside him told him to hold on. The information upload process went on and on and just as Darius felt that he could take no more, the process stopped and the link was also gone. Darius found himself on his knees and Cindy was close to tears trying to drag him away from the device but she was much too small to be able to move Darius without his help.
"Darius! Stop it! Stop it please!" Cindy was begging, her voice on the verge of breaking.
Darius raised his arms and grabbed Cindy's arms as he tried to get onto his feet.
"I'm.. I'm fine," he said shakily. "Gone.. It's gone. The link's gone." Darius tried to get up but he faltered on his first attempt but managed to get his footing on his second.
"How long was I..?" Darius asked as he leaned on Cindy.
"Only about a minute!" Cindy said as she tried her best to hold Darius up.
"Is that so? That.. that's incredible!" Darius said. He could hardly believe that the exchange was so brief yet he felt that he had got about a lifetime worth of information.
"What happened?" Cindy asked, concern still heavy in her voice.
"I'm not sure," Darius said as he started to walk towards the door. "I need to lie down. Can you help me to my room?"
"Mine's closer. Let's go there instead," Cindy replied. Darius just nodded.
###
The Skyranger raced through the clouds in the night sky. Inside the 6 six squad members concentrated on the briefing of their latest mission.
"Our drop today is in Egypt. Right in the heart of Cairo. This is an extraction mission. We are to rendezvous with the science and technology minister, Tharir Al-Azhar and bring him out of Egypt. He has vital information regarding the alien invasion. We need to ensure that he makes it out alive," Central Officer Bradford briefed the squad.
"Central, this is Big Sky 01," the pilot of the Skyranger called out over the radio. "We have arrived at the drop zone."
"Roger that Big Sky 01. Strike One Alpha, you are cleared to deploy. Get Al-Azhar out of there and minimize civilian casualty. We will be monitoring from here. Central out," Bradford's voice came through.
The Skyranger touched down with a bump and the ramp at the rear of the aircraft came down revealing the urban scape of Cairo's night. The VTOL had landed in a park in the city. Overseer checked the display on his wrist-com. A yellow circle flashed on it indicating the location of the car about 1 kilometer away from their location.
"All right squad," Overseer said. "I want this done quick and clean. We go in and we get out. Priority is to secure the target. All others are secondary, understood?"
"Yes, sir!" came the reply. Overseer nodded and signaled the squad to deploy. Rogue was the first down the ramp followed by a rookie, Sean Delaney call sign 'Desperado'. Then Peacekeeper ran out followed closely by another rookie, Thomas Abagbe, call sign 'Thunder'. Hex and Overseer were the last to exit.
Once outside they quickly made their way through the park towards the exit and the road where Al-Azhar's car would be situated. At two in the morning, they were the only people in the park. Presently they came to the exit of the park. The access road ran along the horizon in front of them, effectively splitting the park into two sides. The park was elevated and there were a couple of pedestrian bridges that crossed the road that ran underneath. Overseer signaled the squad to stop as he checked the GPS display on his wrist com. The target's car would be a little distance towards their right.
Suddenly flashes of light came from that direction. Plasma rifle blasts and conventional gunfire could be heard. Overseer quickly split the squad into two. He signaled Hex, Rogue and Desperado to cross over to the other side while he led Peacekeeper and Thunder on this side. They ran towards where the sounds came from.
As they drew near another bridge they saw the where the sounds were coming from. About a hundred meters in front of them a couple of cars were parked by the side. Their occupants were taking cover behind them and firing their pistols at the still unseen assailants across the road. Plasma shots came in reply to the pistol shots.
"Contact! A group of Thin Men. I count six," Rogue's voice came over the radio. Thin Men or what the XCOM operatives nicknamed the aliens. They were very humanoid in figure but very tall and thin. They wore tuxedos and had unusually pale skin that covered their heads. Just below the neckline, if you are to look carefully you would see scales instead of skin. They also always wear dark glasses to conceal their reptilian eyes.
"Copy that Rogue. Move in carefully. Hex, cover them. I will get Peacekeeper and Thunder to the cars. Let's hope Al-Azhar is still among the living," Overseer said and signaled to Peacekeeper and Thunder to move towards the cars.
From across the street 2 shots in quick succession from Hex's sniper rifle rang out in the dark. "Minus two Xrays!" Hex announced. Almost immediately Overseer could see that the plasma fire aimed towards the cars ceased. The Thin Men were re-acting to the new found threat from Strike One Alpha.
Plasma shots were now shooting towards Rogue's team positions.
As Overseer closed in towards the cars, he could see three persons huddled behind the cars. Each had a pistol in his hands. Peacekeeper was sprinting across the open space from her last cover behind a statue towards the nearest car. Overseer parked himself behind one of the big vases of palm that lined the park's road and prepped his plasma sniper rifle. He watched for the plasma rifle from the Thin Men to determine their location. Once he got one, he pointed his rifle towards the direction and peered through the scope. The scope magnified the image and he saw a Thin Man taking cover behind a large rock. He aimed for its head and squeezed off a shot. The Thin Man lost its head and went down.
"Peacekeeper, what's the status on the extraction target?" Overseer asked as he searched his scope for another alien.
"Target has run into the park when the attack started! One of his bodyguards has given chase. No exact location of target for now," came Peacekeeper's reply.
"Shit!" Overseer cursed. Now they had to find him before the aliens do. "Rogue! I'll leave the mop up here to you. You're Strike One Alpha One! Once you've secured the area, setup a perimeter halfway to the Skyranger. We'll bring the target back and we'll get the hell outta here!"
"Roger that, Overseer!" came Rogue's acknowledgement. "Hex! Desperado! To me!"
"Thunder! Let's go! Let's find this Al-Azhar guy before he gets his ass kicked by these Xrays!" Overseer called into his radio as he shouldered his sniper rifle and drew his plasma pistol. "Peacekeeper! Lead the way!"
"Copy, Overseer!" Peacekeeper said and she sprinted towards the tree line in the park. Thunder and Overseer quickly followed. They ran towards a wooded area in the park.
"Strike One Alpha Two, eyes open!" Overseer called out as they went into the woods. "Keep to cover!"
They moved swiftly from cover to cover, keeping each other in sight at all times. Not long after they entered the woods, Peacekeeper who was taking point, signaled to stop and drop. There was some movement in the shrubs ahead of them. They quickly dashed behind trees and raised their weapons.
Two men broke through the bushes. One of them was supporting the other with his arms draped his shoulders. The one that was obviously wounded was carrying a pistol. The other was unarmed.
"Halt!" Overseer shouted. "Are you Tahrir Al-Azhar?"
"Thank God! Yes! I'm Al-Azhar!" the unarmed man replied in a panicky voice. "Please! Get us out of here! They're coming! My bodyguard is injured! Please!"
"Peacekeeper! Check them!" Overseer ordered and Peacekeeper ran towards the 2 men. She gave both of them a quick look over.
"Fuck! Zombie!" Peacekeeper called out. "We've got Chrysalids! How many of the monsters were there?" Peacekeeper asked Al-Azhar.
"I'm not sure! Dozens maybe! They just came out of nowhere!" Al-Azhar said still panicky.
"All right! Let's get out of here!" Overseer called. "Thunder! Get Al-Azhar! We're moving out back to the LZ! Strike One Alpha One! We're headed back to LZ! There's Chrysalids around. At least a dozen! Be on alert!"
Thunder grabbed Al-Azhar and pulled him away from his wounded bodyguard. Al-Azhar protested, "What about him? He saved my life! We can't leave him here!"
"He's already gone!" Peacekeeper yelled. She roughly pushed Al-Azhar away and when they were about half a dozen paces away, she turned and shot the wounded bodyguard with her alloy cannon.
"What the hell are you doing?" Al-Azhar shouted trying to lunge towards Peacekeeper. Only Thunder's vice like grip stopped him short.
Just then something broke through the bodyguard's body from the inside. The stomach ruptured and claws broke through. Then out came a creature straight from a nightmare. It has four sharp claws or legs connected to a body of an oversized insect-like beast. It hissed as it shook itself free from the corpse. The creature was still an immature one. If left for another hour or so, a fully mature alien will emerge from the doomed human host.
Peacekeeper fired another shot and the insect like alien shattered into pieces with a high pitched shriek. She then turned back to Al-Azhar who had a horrified look on his face. "Any more questions?" she asked. Al-Azhar just shook his head and the group ran back towards where the Skyranger would be. Thunder, Peacekeeper had Al-Azhar in front while Overseer took up position of rear guard.
As they broke out of the tree line, they could hear the high pitched clicking noises from the Chrysalids giving pursuit. Overseer turned and saw about five Chrysalids just exiting the bushes. He quickly raised his pistol and fired a double tap at the nearest one. It dropped to the ground. He shifted his aim to the next one but more of the Chrysalids broke through.
"Get the target back to the Skyranger! Don't stop until you've strapped him onto the seat!" Overseer commanded as he dropped the second Chrysalid with another salvo.
He then had to turn and run as the aliens are quickly closing the gap. Thunder and Peacekeeper was about five meters in front of him, keeping Al-Azhar in between them.
Overseer sprinted as hard as he can but he knew that humans cannot outrun a Chrysalid. Each time he turned his head back, the Chrysalids have gained on him. He didn't know if he should keep running or turn and face the beast in a last stand and buy his squad members some time. Before he could decide a voice broke through on his radio headpiece.
"Overseer, drop!" Rogue's voice came. Overseer threw himself to the ground. Something whooshed past him and an explosion was heard a split second later. It was rocket. Rogue had ordered Desperado to fire his rocket at the pursuing Chrysalids. The blast knocked off half a dozen of those closest to Overseer and caused the rest to pause for a while due to the sudden change in the situation.
"Time to haul ass, Overseer!" Rogue called out again and Overseer quickly got his feet under him and ran. A hundred meters In front and to the left of him, he saw Strike One Alpha One at their pre-designated checkpoint. They were responding to the Chrysalids.
Hex was firing off shots as quickly as she could. Rogue was doing the same. Peacekeeper and Thunder had Al-Azhar past Rogue's position already. He was glad they were sticking to his orders. He had drilled his squad hard that no one should abandon their primary objectives under any situation. Whole squads were lost when orders are not adhered to. Overseer did not want that to happen. At least, not on his watch.
"Strike One Alpha One! Back to the LZ on the double!" Overseer yelled as he sprinted as hard as he could, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He saw Rogue's team packing it and running towards the Skyranger. They still had around a dozen of the Chrysalids in pursuit.
The Skyranger VTOL came into view as the squad ran with their pursuers closing the gap by the minute. "Big Sky 01! Drop the ramp and gun the engines!" Overseer shouted. He could see the VTOL's engines glowing as the aircraft powered up for take-off. The rear ramp came down. Peacekeeper pushed Al-Azhar into the Skyranger. Thunder followed closely behind. Rogue's team boarded after that. Hex took up position just inside the ramp and started firing at the pursuing Chrysalids.
"C'mon Overseer! They are right on your ass! Move it!" Hex called out as she fired shot after shot.
"Take off! Take off!" Overseer ordered as he neared the VTOL. The Skyranger lifted off the ground. Summoning all the strength he had left, Overseer jumped the last couple of meters. He reached up for the edge of the ramp that was rising into the sky as the Skyranger gained altitude. To his horror his hand missed the ramp. As his hand clutched at empty air, he felt something grabbing onto his arm.
"Gotcha sir!" Thunder said as Overseer lifted into the air. He glanced upwards and saw Thunder leaning over the ramp, his arm clutching tightly to his squad leader. Overseer looked down. The Crysalids and the park were rapidly shrinking away as the VTOL powered up and rose higher into the sky.
"Thanks! Owe you one," Overseer gasped to Thunder as he was pulled into the Skyranger and the ramp closed.
"Don't mention it, sir!" Thunder grinned as his squad leader collapsed onto his back, trying to catch his breath.
Overseer lay there for a couple of minutes as the Skyranger headed towards home base. He sat up and found that the holster strapped to his right thigh was empty. He looked around the hold they were in, eyes scanning the floor.
"Hell, where's my plasma pistol?" Overseer asked when he saw no sign of the object he was looking for.
"You dropped it?" Peacekeeper asked.
"Again?" Hex chipped in. The mood lightened perceptibly.
"This is like... what? The fifth time?" Rogue chided amid the chortles from Peacekeeper and Hex.
"Maybe I need to tell the armory guys to reserve a crate just for you, sir!" Rogue continued poking fun and laughter broke out in the hold of the Skyranger as it sped towards the Ant Farm.