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

Author's Note: Nothing really to say here. So sit down & read it, lol.

Elerium-115

Nose twitching, the rat squatted back on his haunches. His whiskers trembled and his black eyes were wide in the dim underground light. Something was coming down the series of concrete switch-backed ramps that led to the subterranean storage facility three levels down, making the floor shake. A faint roar echoed and grew and a glow illuminated the wall at the top of the nearest incline. Suddenly, a military jeep roared around the corner, tires protesting, but its driver counter-steered and deftly brought it back into line. The terrified rodent would have become road kill had he not darted for cover. The taillights flared, washing everything in red as the vehicle reached another bend and vanished around it, sending back another howl of tires and leaving behind a reek of rubber and tortured brakes.

Sitting in a rear seat, Lanier had to narrow his watering eyes against the windblast. "How much further?"

Neil raised his voice above the engine's bellow. "Hang on, guys! We're almost there!" In the back of the jeep, Matt, Martin and Tyler held on for dear life as they all caught a little airtime over an expansion joint.

"The sooner the better!" Hughes shouted back as they landed and bounced a bit. They rounded a final bend, and at the end of a long corridor ahead was a door painted in yellow and black diagonals. Above it an orange warning light glowed. The driver, however, didn't slow–in fact they accelerated.

Tyler's eyes went wide in alarm. "Hey!"

They were almost at the end of the corridor, and Neil grinned. "Watch this!" The brakes suddenly locked and front wheels cut to the right as the rear end came around. They slid sideways right up to the door with a half-meter to spare. As its suspension settled and the engine was shut down Neil looked comically at his passengers behind him. Hughes dumbly stared back at the driver, jaw agape; Lanier was coughing and flapping a hand, unsuccessfully trying to dispel a cloud of acrid tire smoke. Atwood had vanished…no, there he was, or at least some of him–eight white knuckles were clutching the sides of a seat. Then his dark blue eyes warily appeared over the top edge.

Martin laughed and clapped the lanky pilot on the back. "Ty…you mean to tell us that you can fearlessly chuck an interceptor into a furball but suffer from a little car-sickness? What a nancy boy!"

He tried to gather his wits. "Car-sickness, my ass! That was a hell of a way to parallel park," he groused, scrabbling for the seat belt release. He finally managed to unlock it and rose on shaky legs before letting himself out, relieved to feel solid ground beneath his feet.

Neil looked over at the driver. "You know, doc, the general's gonna have your head on a platter if he ever finds out how you're treating military property."

Aki grinned back wickedly and brushed a sheaf of stray hair aside. "Then I'll have company, because yours will be right beside it. Who do you think taught me to drive like a maniac?" They both unbuckled and got out and Neil went up to the door. Okay, now what was that code again? Oh, right, Jane's birth date. He blocked the view of the keypad with his body and punched in the access code, then jabbed the largest key–unlike the fancy holographic controls elsewhere, this control pad used old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness buttons. They were covered in grime, and most of the fingerprints were his. There was a delay as the security system tried to make up its mind to accept the password or not, and then with a hum the door slid open. The darkness beyond was cool and smelled oily.

Neil gesticulated grandly and gave a silly bow. "Hey-presto! Gentlemen–and lady–welcome to my realm!" He ambled in, throwing some wall switches just beside the doorway. Clusters of overhead lights cast down bright pools, chasing away the gloominess in the wide, low-ceilinged space. However, not all shadows were banished. Sitting smack in the middle of the floor, watched over by surveillance cameras up in the corners and partially surrounded by hastily rearranged crates, cargo containers and empty ovo-pack cylinders, were the two X-COM ships.

He felt like a kid in a candy shop. They had entered through the back way of his little retreat, where he often tinkered in his spare time. The repository supervisor looked the other way–for a nominal fee, of course–whenever the tech dropped a hint that he was going to "take a break." And when he did venture down here he also brought along his little homemade security program that handled the surveillance system, creating a feedback loop that made it appear as if the place were vacant.

Now that was a stroke of pure genius, he thought, satisfied with himself. Almost no piece of hardware was safe from his insatiable curiosity…the more complex it was, the better. Not too long ago he really had a wild hair–he towed a Copperhead into the main lift, brought it down here, and began to hot-rod the ramjets. Neil's excuse was that he merely filed his actions under the 'maintenance/upgrade' category, but someone (probably the deck officer) had blabbed and the captain had found out. But instead of reading him the riot act, Gray had thought about it, and the tech had wound up, ears burning, explaining himself in the general's office. As it was he thanked his lucky stars that he was sweating it out in front of Tobias and not Hein; he was let off with a stern warning. Then the other shoe dropped and the captain had spent the following month watching him like a hawk. This equaled no wrenching. It also meant that he and Jane couldn't sneak off anywhere for an occasional little rendezvous, and his frustration had nearly driven her nuts. But now all of that was conveniently forgotten because here before him were two of the most sophisticated flying machines he had ever seen. His mind was going a mile a minute trying to visualize what made them tick.

Beside him, Aki felt wonderment too. "So, what's the plan?"

Lanier reached up to give the Black Phantom's fuselage an affectionate pat. "Go over the ships and repair the Super Avenger. But first, we're going to pull some Elerium." He strolled towards the front of the ship. "See, we can fly on regular fuel but without Elerium, we can't venture outside earth's atmosphere, our phase cannon has severely diminished range and power, and shields are inoperative. I doubt if the cloaking device will even work. And Elerium can't be 'recharged' like, say a battery. Once it's used up, it must be replaced."

Neil winced. "Ouch."

"Exactly. It's a good thing it's long-lived. Naturally occurring Elerium is extremely rare, but the GSC scientists perfected a synthetic variety type last year. With this sample we can provide you, hopefully something similar can be produced, and soon." His expression was solemn. "We don't know where the aliens are now, and if, when or where they will strike. We've got to be ready."

"Is it safe to handle?" Aki wondered aloud.

"Oh, absolutely. If you're worried about radioactivity or anything like that, don't be. Give me a minute." He withdrew a compact device from a pocket no larger than a key card. Pointing it at the ship he thumbed a button. There was a chirp; just below the cockpit canopy a panel opened and a rod telescoped down, stopping about a half meter above the floor. Short perpendicular bars created a ladder that he proceeded to mount. He climbed up to the cockpit, thumbed his controller again, and part of the canopy hissed open. He reached in and fiddled around with something–from below Neil couldn't tell what, but then the next moment he appeared to be done. "Okay. Security systems disabled."

Hughes crooked a finger at Aki and Neil. "This way, please." They had to stoop slightly–Atwood especially–as they neared the belly of the ship. He pressed his fingers against a certain spot on the hull's smooth black surface and a panel slid open. Behind it was a chrome handle. He grasped it and pulled in one smooth motion, and a gunmetal cylinder slid out about a meter, stopping with a click. There were several seams running down its length, as they would have been nearly invisible had it not been for the barely-discernable threads of light trickling along their edges. Whatever was in there was a powerful source of energy; Aki could almost feel it.

"Doctor, if you would be so kind? Just press that recessed button there."

She did so. The cylinder's eight panels spread wide like flower petals, and she found herself squinting at an orb of amber light as large as her head. For a split second her breath caught, because its shade was disturbingly familiar.

It was the same color as a phantom spirit!

But as her initial shock wore off and her eyes grew accustomed to it, she could see that it roiled with faint yellows and reds, too. Not only that, it was resonating steadily with a sub-aural hum. Behind her, Neil peeked over her shoulder and whistled in awe.

Matt reached up into the hull's innards and manipulated something else. The inner container dropped down further and the clamps retracted. "This is it. Refined Elerium-115. Whatever disturbance we came through drained most of it, somehow. Go ahead, you can remove it."

Following his directions Aki grasped the pod. After a slight tug, it came free from its shock cradle, weighing less than she had expected, and she carefully set it down on the floor; its upper end reached about mid-thigh. Like the shielded container that had housed it, the pod was cylindrical, its main body constructed of a clear material that felt cool and slippery. Thick metal plates capped its ends and were coupled by eight equilaterally arranged rods. Inside all of this the energy ball floated like a wraith. She knelt to take a closer look.

"The primary chamber is made of transparent alloy. The Elerium itself is suspended in a stasis field produced by generators in the end caps," Lanier continued. "The Black Phantom carries ten pods total. The Super Avenger over there–" he pointed to the interceptor a few paces away– "uses six."

Hughes closed the pod cradle and pushed it back up into the body of the craft and Neil crouched beside Aki, the glow making strange shadows on their faces. He held a tentative hand out but felt nothing…odd, since all the ovo-packs he had ever seen radiated at least some warmth. His gray eyes glanced sidelong; Aki's face wore a curious expression that he had never seen before. A little concerned, he nudged her gently. "Hey, doc? You awake?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Looked like you were in a trance, or something." He turned to Martin. "You sure that thing isn't hypnotic?"

The X-COM tech laid a chummy hand on his shoulder. "Neil…don't worry! Say, could you use a hand with that, doctor?"

She stood, the Elerium sphere shining like a small beacon at her feet. "Thanks, but I'm fine–I was just thinking, that's all. Dr. Sid will be very intrigued!" She carefully picked it up and began to head back towards the bay entrance and the jeep waiting just outside.

"Don't try and beat my time going back up!" Neil called after her.

Aki laughed as she secured her invaluable load in the passenger seat, unpacked a cargo web from the vehicle's toolkit and secured the tough mesh over the pod. She slipped behind the wheel and strapped herself in.

"I'll be in the lab. Call me when you're finished, and I'll be back down to give you a lift." She started the engine, turning to drive away back down the corridor, but at a much more sedate pace this time. Standing beneath the wing, Hughes watched her go until the taillights disappeared.

"Now she can resuscitate me any time!" He jerked a thumb in the direction of the door. "So, Neil, buddy…what's her deal?"

Beside him Tyler shook his head and rolled his eyes heavenward. "Oh, God, here we go...unbelievable."

"What?" Neil felt left out of some inside joke. Lanier was still within earshot, and let him in on it. His voice was cool as ever, but his brown eyes danced merrily.

"It appears that our resident computer systems whiz has the hots for your doctor. Mr. Hughes is X-COM's designated skirt-chaser whenever he's off-duty. We don't call him 'Horndog' for nothing." He chuffed laughter as walked round to the Phantom's rear entrance, opening it and disappearing inside. "Let's get to work, guys."

Neil chuckled and Martin's puppy-dog look slipped as he sensed something amiss. "Okay, what gives?"

He was answered with a cackle.

"Waitaminute, she taken?" His face abruptly looked pinched. "Who's the lucky guy, then? You? Or that old dude she's with?"

Fleming almost choked. "Christ, no!" he spluttered. "Dr. Sid is like a father to her!"

"Well then, who, dammit?"

He beamed with good humor. "Dr. Ross is in cahoots with the captain."

"Captain?"

Tyler gave his bamboozled squad mate a smack on the back of the head. "Jesus, you're as dumb as a stone boatCaptain Edwards! She's his girl, man!"

Digesting this bit of bad news, Martin's face fell sulkily. Then he brightened and gave Neil a crafty look.

"Does she have a sister?" he asked slyly.

Aki was nearly back to the base's ground level again, but spying a turnout before the last exit she pulled over and parked but left the engine running, and looked over the Elerium pod for a long moment. She slid a fingertip through the netting and touched the housing again, and her eyes started to glaze. It felt warm, but not in the manner that bio-etheric energy did, just…different. Her curiosity was stronger now.

Strange, she mused. If this is merely a mineral, and not organic, then why do I feel something odd about it?

She mentally shook herself with a jerk and snapped out of her reverie. She was eager get back to the lab where the testing could get underway. They might get some answers there, so she hastened her pace.

A little further up her jeep rolled through a patch of gloom where some of the ramp's overhead lighting had burned out. This barely registered on her preoccupied mind. But had she glanced in the rear-view mirror upon emerging from the dimness, she might or might not have noticed the shadow that detached itself from the others behind a support column. It silently watched until she was out of sight, and then merged back into the darkness again.

Broderick leaned against the balcony outside of her quarters, holding a cup of coffee, and took in the Houston skyline. A breeze teased her auburn hair, which was hastily caught up in a ponytail. She was still trying to get used to seeing a metropolis that was different and yet similar to the one that she used to visit…strange new city above, familiar old one below. Back home, in our world, all of this was evacuated after the T'Leth explosion at the end of the second war.

"That has got to be the weirdest damn architecture I've ever seen," Eri commented from beside her, also gazing at the city. Her eyes shifted to track what looked like a cargo plane approaching from the south.

"Well, according to what we've been told, they built that city on top of the old one. Their barrier totally contained the new one on all sides in order to keep the phantoms out."

Harper shivered. "And all of their cities were built like that? I couldn't live in a bubble. I'd rather die fighting than waste my life in a…a cage."

"Sometimes life doesn't hand you much of a choice."

She sniffed, and it sounded more like a snort. "You sound like Matt."

"Hmmm, I suppose so." Broderick and Lanier had a solid working relationship, but it went no further than that despite what others read into it. He was five years older, a close friend and confidante, and sometimes said things that were a bit on the deep side, but they made sense when she took time to think about it. She sometimes joked that he acted like a wayward monk. "So, what do you think so far?"

"About what?"

Cheyenne swept a hand across the railing, encompassing all that could be seen in an expressive gesture. "About all of this? We haven't even been here 24 hours, yet who would think–no, believe that we're in Houston, of all places? I remember hearing about possible alternate realities, parallel universes and whatnot, but to actually experience it firsthand…"

Harper cupped her chin in one hand. Then her eyes twinkled impishly. "Can't tell you for certain…but Neil is cute!"

The X-COM captain shook her head. "I would advise you to stow the raging hormones. We're here to do a job, not chase guys. And once that's done, we won't be staying. Besides, what if he's already taken?"

"Well then, I'll just have to take him away from her," she smirked. "That's the challenge, isn't it?"

"You'll do no such thing. Your brains must still scrambled from that hit you took!" Just then there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Harper said eagerly. Maybe it was Neil! She dashed back into the apartment and opened it, only to find the imposing figure of Ryan in the hallway, carrying a nondescript rucksack. Damn. Then she also saw the Deep Eyes' sole female member standing just behind him holding an oblong case, and in spite of her disappointment she felt her curiosity rise.

"Ah, sergeant! We've been waiting." Cheyenne had stepped in off the balcony and shook his hand warmly, greeting Jane the same way. Then she eyed the packages that her guests placed on the table. Ryan favored her with a smile. "Captain Edwards thought it would be best if we familiarize each other with our weaponry." He turned to his companion. "Jane? Ladies first."

"My pleasure." She unlatched the case, raised the lid and lifted out a sizeable rifle, hefting it with obvious practice. "This is the nocturne, the USMF's primary assault weapon. Twelve-gauge, Oersted-induced, with a magnetic-flux aligned barrel and powered by a high-capacity bio-etheric ovo-pack, fitted here." She indicated the vacant space in front of the trigger.

Broderick's brows knit. "There's that word again, 'bio-etheric'. What is it?"

Ryan rummaged around in his bag, found a small, flat rectangular case and handed it over to Jane, who slapped it into the nocturne's loading port. "Well, I'm no scientist, but essentially it's power derived from living organisms. I'm sure that Dr. Ross and Dr. Sid would gladly sit you down and lecture for hours on end about it." He dipped into his bag again and brought out a light gray cylinder. The slots in its sides glowed softly with a bluish light. "Me, I just keep the team in line when the captain isn't here."

"This bio-whatever…it runs all of your technology?" Broderick inquired. "How can you utilize energy from something that's alive? I mean, come on, unless you have hamsters running in wheels day and night."

The sergeant bellowed laughter. "You'll have to get the details from the doctors, ma'am! I wish I knew where to begin."

"How about with that!" Harper's eyes had fixed on something familiar. Poking out from the bag was the pommel of a knife. She grabbed it.

"Harper! Don't be rude!" Broderick snapped.

Eri grinned. "Ceramic-alloy sheath." She located the release catch and thumbed it, withdrawing the weapon, giving the naked blade a professional appraisal. "Hmmm. Timascus…looks like CP and 6AL4V alloy. Nice honing job, whoever maintains this cares about it." She ran her bare thumb along the edge of the blade and was not at all concerned when a red line appeared on the pad of her digit. Ryan glanced at Jane, who replied with a shrug.

She slipped the knife back into its holder, looking at it wistfully. "I want one!"

"You already have quite a few, if I recall." Broderick held her hand out. "So stop moping and hand it over. We have a lot of ground to cover." Pouting, the shorter woman hesitantly relinquished the weapon and her captain in turn returned it to the sergeant. Ryan accepted his knife back with good graces and let his typical altruistic nature take over.

"You seem to know your stuff. Tell you what…later on today I'll see what I can do about obtaining a 'spare' one. Will that work?"

Harper's eyes lit up but before she could say anything Broderick's communicator warbled. A glance at the wrist device's caller window revealed Lanier's code. "Broderick here," she answered, all business.

"Captain, repairs to the Super Avenger are complete. We're almost done giving the Phantom a going-over."

"Give me a sitrep."

A slight delay: "We're out of missiles and fusion balls, and our phase cannon probably couldn't do anything more than tickle that UFO."

Broderick swore under her breath. "Is there any good news?"

"Well…the corporal thinks he can somehow adapt some of the USMF missiles to fit our ships, and we're going to test some of the fuel here to see if we at least can get some flight time without burning up what's left of the Elerium. Speaking of which, Dr. Ross took a pod up to the lab for analysis, as per your orders."

"Keep me posted on your progress."

"Yes ma'am. Lanier out." The channel remained open for a second longer, and the four people around the table could hear something like an electrical discharge in the background, followed by a familiar yelp. "You said the blue wire..!"

"If he keeps that up he's going to fry every brain cell he's got!" Jane said through a half-grin.

"C'mon now. You know Neil loves you, in a bumbling sort of way," Ryan rejoined. He brought something else out of his bag and began explaining its functions, but Eri didn't hear it, instead glancing sidelong at Proudfoot as a little worm of jealousy began to gnaw at her heart.