XCOM: From The Ashes of Temples
Chapter Nine: Abductor
Shaojie Zhang had found Commander Liang-Yue Hé a very easy person to dislike on principle. They were both citizens of the same country, true, but anything they had in common ended there. Zhang knew her type: a pedigree, born into privilege with an influential family and all the opportunities that came with it. Probably sent for higher education in the Ivy Leagues of America or some other Western country, since what local education could offer would not have been considered good enough for her class of Chinese elite. People like her, considered the cream of the crop, were more Western than Chinese, in Zhang's opinion. They spent their life hobnobbing with the influential people of other nations rather than their own people. Considering what kind of obstacles her gender and relatively young age would have presented, those connections had been probably been what propelled her into her current position as the Commander of XCOM.
Thinking about it left a nasty taste in Zhang's mouth. Maybe it wasn't her fault she had been born fortunate, but it was hard not to feel a little resentment at the unfairness of it all. Hard, when people like himself struggled just to make a living, struggled just for that one lucky break. Yet here Zhang was, his life presented before that woman in two dossiers, his fate riding on her assessment of his character.
Her male aides, both gwailos, watched him like hawks. Just like their commander, they didn't trust Zhang either.
"And you are certain that this alien device was linked to what happened to Shenzhen?" Commander Hé asked him. Before her, carefully confined within a shielded case, was the alien device he had been instructed to drop off in Hong Kong.
"Yes, ma'am," Zhang replied. "My fellow triad member did as he was instructed and delivered the other alien device in Shenzhen. I believe the activation of the device somehow caused the battleship, the one the press has called 'The Shenzhen Dreadnaught', to be summoned to the city."
"And if he hadn't warned you of what it did, you wouldn't have turned against the triad and Hong Kong would have met the same fate as Shenzhen?" She gestured at the screen on her desk. Playing on it was video footage of a massive alien battleship as it soared over the historic city. It was so wide that it blocked out the entire sky. Like little gnats, helicopters and military aircraft attempted to approach it, and fell to the ground as flaming wrecks. Then multiple green plasma cannons opened fire and rained destruction on the city. Finally, a blast caught the camera and the footage ended in a flash of green.
'So was this how you died, Shaobing? Was this the last thing you saw?' Zhang wondered, knowing full well that the video was but a weak echo of the real terror at ground zero. 'Is this how it feels? To see your death approaching and know there is nothing you can do to stop it? Or were you fortunate enough to be dead by the time this thing arrived to rain death upon us?'
He tore his eyes away from the screen and met The Commander's gaze. "Yes."
Operation Flying Hydra
France, 2.31pm
"Central to Strike Team: Be on alert! UFO has eluded TARDIS squadron and reentered France airspace. It's headed back for the dam!"
Barely seconds after Central's warning, a dark shape had appeared on the horizon and was rapidly increasing in size. Looking up as it approached, Zhang wondered what had happened to the interceptors that should have taken care of it. Had they been shot down, or was the UFO's propulsion system just that much superior? Either way, the Raven-class interceptors were nowhere to be seen. As the UFO came closer, Zhang could see that it was shaped like a symmetrical cross, and despite not looking as aerodynamic as the smaller saucer-shaped UFOs, it seemed to be able to move even faster. While also nowhere as large as the Dreadnaught from Shenzhen, it was still enough to inspire the same thrill of terror he had felt in Commander Hé's office not that many months ago.
"My God, it's an Abductor-class!" Lt. Kim's voice took on a tone of urgency. "Valdez, we need that Sectoid Commander dead before it gets here!"
"Firing rocket!" The truck the remaining Sectoid Commander had been hiding behind exploded as Valdez's RPG tore into it, triggering another explosion as the fuel tank ignited. The vehicle turned into a giant fireball, cooking everything in its near vicinity.
Not a moment too soon. The Abductor was closing in, and finally entered firing range.
Central could do nothing but warn them: "It's strafing the dam! Strike Team: Cover! Cover!"
The world erupted into chaos as the Abductor opened fire and the dam was rocked to its very foundations. Plasma bolts rained down like green hellfire, igniting vehicles which exploded and flew through the air. There was nothing the Strike Team could do but take cover and hope not to be hit. Finally the barrage ended, and Zhang could hear the deafening sound of the UFO's engines as it passed low overhead.
He raised his head. The dam road was nearly unrecognisable from how it had been less than a minute ago. Everywhere, wrecked vehicles and even the asphalt of the road itself burned and glowed with green plasma, sending choking fumes into the air. Getting to his feet, Zhang found that he was miraculously unharmed, but he wasn't so sure about the rest of his squad. As he turned around to look for survivors, he caught sight of the Abductor in the distance. His heart stood still as he realised that the alien ship had made an about-turn and was coming back for a second pass at the dam.
They were on the ground, exposed, and against a flying ship there was surely nothing they could do. Or was there? He remembered how the Skyranger had nearly been downed by an EXALT rocket launcher. While he harboured no delusions about being able to bring down a UFO with his own shoulder mounted rocket launcher, at least it would be doing something. Gritting his teeth, Zhang hefted the weapon and took aim as the alien ship closed the distance once more.
Maybe it wouldn't make a difference. Maybe it was just a futile final act of defiance and Zhang would soon find himself in the underworld where Shaobing and every person he had ever killed waited for him. But he fired the rocket at the UFO anyway, because if he was going to die today, he would do so leaving a mark on the one who killed him.
The rocket streaked through the air, and slammed against the hull of the Abductor as the craft's plasma cannons hummed. To Zhang's surprise, a second rocket joined it, this one striking the UFO's cannons. Despite the fact that the explosives did minimal damage, the attack still got a reaction from the alien craft, sending it swerving off course. The lances of green plasma meant for the dam missed the structure completely to vapourise the water of the reservoir behind it.
"I think we spooked it," the voice of Sgt. Valdez came over the comm. "Hey Zhang, I'm out of rockets. You?"
"I do not have any left."
"Thought so," Sgt. Valdez's voice was heavy with resignation. "And that bastard's coming back for another round."
The sergeant was right. The UFO, smoke trailing from the spots where the rockets had made contact, had once again turned around for another go. Having been bloodied, Zhang had a feeling it wouldn't mess around this time. He wondered if he was just being fanciful when he noticed that the thing didn't seem to be moving as well as it did previously.
It was then when Zhang also noticed the two silhouettes that had appeared in the skies behind the Abductor.
"Bogey is in sight, TARDIS squadron opening fire!"
The roar of the interceptors' cannons filled the air as the two Ravens pounced on the Abductor, shredding it at close range with their armour-piercing rounds. Caught unawares, the alien craft was crippled as one of the barrages hit something vital, and an explosion erupted on the arms of one of the crosses that made up the ship.
"Central, Phoenix cannons have direct hits on UFO!"
The stricken Abductor began losing altitude, flying low over the dam one last time. Open-mouthed, Zhang watched it pass overhead to crash into the reservoir, throwing up waves in every direction as it plunged beneath the water's surface. The steam that rose from its smouldering wreck gathered into a cloud that hung like a beacon above the crash site.
The interceptor pilot's voice was triumphant as it rang over the comm: "TARDIS squadron to Central, the UFO is down."
"Strike Team, what's your status? Strike Team, respond!" With the airborne menace taken care of, Central had shifted his attention back to the Strike Team.
Zhang heard a tap on the comm and Sgt. Valdez's voice came over the line. "Central, this is Strike-2."
"Good to hear your voice, Sergeant. Give me a sitrep."
"Myself and Strike-4 are active. No response yet from the rest of the team. We're regrouping and searching now," Sgt. Valdez replied. It would not be an easy task. The battlefield was an utter mess and Zhang wasn't even sure where to start. He missed keenly the leadership of Lt. Kim. They hadn't heard from their squad leader since the bombing, which was worrying.
Fortunately, Sgt. Valdez was there to take command. "I'm not seeing any hostiles so far. Zhang, search the south from east to west. I'll take the north sweep. Strike Team, if any of you can hear this, say something."
Zhang looked to the south as instructed. It was not promising. Most of the south side of the dam had been hit hard by the plasma cannons, and a good chunk of the road itself had collapsed. It was then when he realised that the pump tower Mercier had been camping on was gone, and in its place was a smouldering concrete stub. Zhang's stomach lurched. The UFO's plasma cannons had completely vapourised the concrete structure, and Mercier along with it.
"Central, Strike-6 is KIA," Zhang reported, trying his best to keep his voice even.
"Confirmed no-readings from Strike-6. Wait, I'm getting something... EKG monitor shows life signs from Strikes One, Five and Seven. One and Five are stable but levels for Seven are critical."
"Seven? That's Zervas..." Sgt. Valdez hurried towards the remaining pump tower, the same one the Mechtoid had opened fire on. "She must have survived the hit from that Mechtoid. I need to get to her ASAP. Zhang, find Lt. Kim and McLeod."
"Yes, sergeant."
Central proved helpful when he managed to get the GPS positions of the Strike Team members transmitted to Zhang's helmet's HUD. As it turned out, Lt. Kim was nearby and with some careful searching he finally found her partially buried underneath a large pile of wreckage. A large dent and a spiderweb of cracks was visible on the clear plexiglass of her helmet, and she did not move as he approached.
"Lieutenant...?" he called out, reaching out a hand to wake her.
He felt relief when he felt her stir. The next moment, Zhang froze as he found himself staring down the barrel of her laser pistol. It took another tense second before she recognised him and lowered the gun. "Sorry. For a moment I thought you were something else." With a curse, the lieutenant pulled off her helmet, complaining about how the cracked glass obscured her vision. "What happened to everyone?"
"Mercier has been killed. Sgt. Valdez has gone to help Zervas. I'm not sure where McLeod is, other—"
Right on cue, McLeod's voice came over the comm. "Hey, can anyone hear me...?"
"Mac, where are you?" Sgt. Valdez immediately responded over the comm.
"Dunno. I'm trapped under some wreckage. Trying to crawl my way out."
"Where? What does it look like?" Zhang asked.
"I think it's a truck. And I think there's something burning nearby."
Zhang looked around the dam road, which was littered with wrecked trucks and fires, and tried to keep the bite of annoyance out of his voice when he spoke again. "You will need to be more specific."
"Hell if I know. Can't see a thing. I'm okay though. I'll find my way out, don't worry about me."
There was a clang as Lt. Kim pushed something that might have been a door off herself, only to find that her leg was well and truly trapped under a metal beam. At least her reinforced boots had kept the limb from being crushed, but judging from her grimace, it still wasn't comfortable. "Zhang, I think I need some help here."
"Strike Team, you need to hurry," cut in Central's voice. "Strike-7's lifesigns are dropping fast. Strike-5, if you can get yourself out, head over to Strike-7's position to assist. Strike-2, are you there yet— what the...? Strike-2, you're moving in the wrong direction!"
Zhang thought it odd. Perhaps the Sergeant had become disoriented, but he just shrugged and turned his attention to freeing Lt. Kim. He crouched down, put his hands on the beam and was trying to lift it enough for her to pull her leg out when he saw her eyes widen at the sight of something behind him.
"Zhang, get down and get in cover!"
On reflex he hit the ground next to the Lieutenant. For a moment he was confused why she had given the order, then he caught sight of Sergeant Valdez approaching, heavy laser in hand.
"Sergeant, what are you doing back here?" Zhang had wanted to call out, but was quickly shushed by the Lieutenant. Then he took a second look at Sgt. Valdez and noticed something he should have had the first time. The sergeant wasn't walking normally but shuffling, moving extremely unnaturally as though his limbs and body were not in sync with the rest of him. Around his head was an aura of purple light, and connected to it like some sort of intangible leash, was a long streamer of the same energy. Zhang's eyes followed it from its target all the way back to its source: a spindly little figure that had been hiding behind one of the many wrecks littering the road.
"Oh no..."
The Strike Team had made one serious mistake. They'd all assumed that Sgt. Valdez's rocket had taken out the Sectoid Commander. But it hadn't. By some stroke of bad luck, it had survived, and this oversight had given the psionic alien an opportunity to exact its revenge. It must have stayed hidden after the airstrike and ambushed Valdez on his way to help Zervas. The clever little piece of...
"Central, Strike Team, Strike-2 is under alien control," Lt. Kim whispered into her comm, confirming his conclusion. "Hold your fire, I don't want to have to put him down if we can help it. Stay away from our position, Strike-4 and I are handling it now." She reached for something on her belt pouch. "Zhang: here!"
On reflex he caught the boxy white object the lieutenant had passed to him. It was an Arc Thrower, the stun weapon XCOM used for live alien captures. "You want me to stun the Sergeant?"
She shook her head. "Oh no, I've got that covered. That's for the Sectoid Commander. As much as I want to blow that little shit's brains out, Dr Vahlen's been trying to capture one of those alive for a long time now. Something about researching countermeasures. Stun it if you can, shoot it if you can't. Now go hide. I'll make some noise and lure Valdez over."
It sounded like a horribly risky idea. "But Lieutenant, you're still stuck and I cannot move the—"
"Don't worry, I have a plan. You just make sure you take that little snit down fast, Chilong."
Crazy. That woman was crazy. But there was no time to object to this plan because she picked that moment to call out: "Is there anyone out there? Help me please! Oh please help, I'm trapped!"
Her acting was really terrible and Zhang had to resist the urge to groan. Clearly the Lieutenant hadn't had a lot of practice at this; no human foe who had heard her could possibly think of it as anything but a trap. Thankfully, the alien controlling Valdez had no grasp on the nuances of such things. On hearing the sound, the mind-controlled Sgt. Valdez turned and moved in their direction, the heavy laser ready to fire.
"Zhang, go!" Lt. Kim hissed, shrinking back against the wreckage to stay unseen.
Zhang obeyed, ducking along the length of a long trailer that had apparently fallen to one side. He carefully kept the obstacle between him and the mind-controlled soldier, acutely aware that he had left Lt. Kim a sitting duck. Zhang hoped that the Lieutenant knew what she was doing. If history was to be believed, if Valdez was ordered to kill his own comrades, he would not be able to resist the alien's will. Given the closeness Zhang had observed between the two veterans, if Sgt. Valdez ended up murdering Lt. Kim of all people, Zhang was pretty certain that the moment the mind-control ended, the next person Sgt. Valdez would turn his gun on was himself. A very horrible thought.
His full focus returned to the present when from the other side of the trailer, there was a tinkle of something small and metallic hitting the ground. It was followed by a sudden fwoosh, a deafening bang and a cry of pain from Sgt. Valdez.
"Valdez has been neutralised. Hurry, Zhang!"
A flashbang grenade. Clever, Lieutenant. Very clever indeed. With the coast clear, Zhang sprinted out of cover, and made a beeline for the Sectoid Commander. The cowardly little alien, realising it had been tricked and that its mind-controlled pawn could no longer protect it, decided to scamper. Zhang was having none of that.
He dashed after his prey and fired the Arc Thrower. A miniature lightning bolt arced from the stun weapon and the alien crumpled with a high-pitched scream. The same scream was eerily mirrored by Sgt. Valdez, then the purple light cord that connected them both snapped and vanished. With the alien's hold over him gone, Sgt. Valdez, who had been previously stumbling around blinded by the flashbang, collapsed onto the ground near Lt. Kim.
Zhang nudged the stunned alien with his boot, then tapped his comm. "Live capture of Sectoid Commander confirmed. What of the Sergeant?"
Despite her leg still being trapped, Lt. Kim had reached for Valdez, and was checking him over. "He's alive. Hector, wake up. Come on, snap out of it!"
The sergeant still seemed disoriented, but the removal of his helmet and a light slap on the face from Lt. Kim brought him back to his senses. His eyes widened when he realised what had happened.
"What's my callsign?" Lt. Kim demanded, cutting him off before he could speak.
"B-blitz."
The Lieutenant had taken no chances, and continued covering him with her pistol. "The other callsign?"
"Kimchi."
"And the callsign of the one who gave it to me?"
"Crumpets."
"Good, looks like you're back with us. Central, Strike Team: Strike-2 is no longer compromised." She lowered her pistol and holstered the weapon. "Make yourself useful and get this thing off me, Hector."
"Hyun, did I..."
"No," Lt. Kim replied quickly.
"You tried," Zhang felt obliged to mention as he hurried over to help, "—but did not succeed," he added hastily on receiving a furious glare from his squad leader.
Valdez groaned, mortified. "I'm sorry. I—"
Lt. Kim put up a hand to quiet him. "It's not your fault, Hector. Well, not all of it, anyway. We'll talk about it later. Can you continue?"
"Yeah. Got a killer headache, but I can carry on." Judging by the sergeant's pale visage and shaky stance, Zhang privately thought otherwise, but he suspected that if he were to mention that weakness in front of 'Hyun' right now, Sgt. Valdez would shoot him, and this time with real intent.
It took both of them to get the metal beam off Lt. Kim. She didn't seem very hurt, and got to business at once. "Mac, where are you?"
"I'm with Zervas. I think I have her stabilised but the plasma blast melted her gun and her arms got hit bad."
"How bad is it?"
"Her arms? They aren't there anymore." McLeod replied. It took a moment for her words to sink in. For the second time in a very short period, there was horrified silence on the comm.
Lt. Kim found her voice at last. "Mac, get Zervas back to the Skyranger and do what you can for her. Zhang, Valdez and I are going for the truck and Durand. Big Sky, we might need a pickup later."
"Yes ma'am. We'll fly in for pickup on your signal. Make sure there aren't any rocketeers about, all right?"
Lt. Kim turned to him and Valdez, and the grim look in her eye sent chills down Zhang's spine. "I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of chasing after this goddamn convoy. Let's finish this."
Zhang stepped over the corpses of several dead EXALT troops, and inched closer to the back of the stationary convoy truck. The road in front of it was blocked by a mess of rubble and wreckage, and the vehicle was not going anywhere.
The entire truck suddenly shook as something made contact with its inside wall, hard. Zhang signalled a warning, but everything went still again and Lt. Kim motioned that they should proceed. Warily, Sgt. Valdez took up position opposite him, and nodded.
Her scatter laser ready, Lt. Kim approached the truck door and reached out to open it, but before her hand had even touched the handle, the door opened of its own accord. Well, to be accurate, it swung open because of the corpse of an EXALT trooper that had been thrown against it. Zhang had a glimpse of Lt. Kim's startled face as the body thudded to the ground, then there was the sound of running footsteps and all hell broke loose.
He remembered that moment well because he was the one furthest away from the truck and had the best view. Both doors of the truck literally flew off their hinges as a wave of pure force erupted from it. He saw both Sgt. Valdez and Lt. Kim knocked down as though by an invisible hand, and a single figure in civilian clothes leap out and dash away. He also realised then just who that was.
"Annette Durand!" he called out after their fleeing target. "Stop!"
She didn't. Not until he had fired the first warning shot, anyway. After that, she froze and raised her hands in surrender, shaking with fear.
"Annette Durand?" Lt. Kim had scrambled back to her feet. Sgt. Valdez was a bit slower to follow.
"Please..." Durand begged. "Not again. I just want... please, not again!" Zhang briefly wondered just through how many different hands she had been passed around since her initial abduction. Far too many, certainly. She reminded him of nothing so much as a panicked hare that had been cornered by a pack of wolves.
"We're not here to hurt you," Lt. Kim assured her, "but you have to come with us, it is not safe here." Unfortunately this seemed to hit a nerve, for that was when Annette Durand snapped.
"Have to? Safe? It is never safe anywhere for me! There will never be!" There was a terrible crackling of energy in the air, so potent Zhang could feel his hair stand on end. Durand glared at Lt. Kim and made to turn and leave, then hesitated when she saw that Lt. Kim still had a gun steadily trained at her.
"Annette, I can't let you walk away from here." The steel in her voice reminded him of Central's orders. It had been 'retrieve Durand or deny her from falling into enemy hands'. He really hoped they would not have to resort to the latter.
Durand, on the other hand, clearly didn't care. "You don't understand, do you? Do you know how many of us they killed?" she screamed, each word building up in force. "Do you know how many of us I killed?!" As the word 'killed' passed her lips, something broke loose from the girl. A wave of energy, almost similar to the one when she had jumped out of the truck, hit all three of them in a furious charge.
For a moment, Zhang nearly lost consciousness. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lt. Kim stumble, saw Sgt. Valdez drop like a rock, but he couldn't do anything to help them. The voices of the dead were in his ears, whispering to him, welcoming him to the underworld...
The sound of a second warning gunshot snapped him out of it. He was surprised to find himself on his knees, his head pounding painfully. "When...?"
Lt. Kim's gun was in her hand, and despite the paleness of her face, she was back on her feet and was staring Durand down. "Yes, Annette. I know how many people the aliens killed. I remember each and every one of my friends who died fighting them. Look behind you."
Annette Durand turned, and saw the wrecked dam, the corpses, and the expression on her face changed. "You... you can kill them?"
"We did it before, we'll do it again. We saved you once before when you first escaped the aliens, do you remember Johan Hamdar? Col. Jackson Spencer? XCOM?"
"Johan..." she repeated slowly. "I remember. He was very kind."
"He was."
"But he's dead now, isn't he?" Durand continued softly.
Lt. Kim said nothing, but a slight flinch betrayed her inner feelings. "Look, there's nowhere to run. They'll just find you again. Your best chance is with us."
"That's what they say, that's what they always promise!" Durand's eyes were wild as she screamed, and Zhang could have almost sworn that for a moment, they glowed. "But what will happen is that the aliens will come again. And I will have to watch as my friends scream as they are captured, scream as the aliens use them, scream as they beg for death. No, no more! I would rather take my chances alone!"
"I'm not just offering you protection, Annette," Lt. Kim cut in. "I'm offering to teach you how to kill them. l'm offering you a chance to learn how to protect yourself and the others around you. Wouldn't you rather have that than be constantly on the run?"
There was a moment of surprised silence, then...
"Yes." The change in the girl was startling. For a brief moment, the expression on Durand's face, so reminiscent of that of a hunted animal, had changed into that of a hungry predator instead. "Yes, I would like that."
"Then come with us."
For a brief moment, the instincts of both prey and predator fought for control, but in the end, the predator won out. "I will come," Durand said at last, "but you must promise me one thing."
"Which is...?"
"Help me save the others."
"I didn't want to leave him, but he told me to run if I had the chance. I don't even know if he's still alive..."
Having decided on her course of action, Durand meekly followed Lt. Kim back to the truck while they waited for pickup. This was also when Durand revealed that she hadn't been the only prisoner in the EXALT truck.
"Whoa, you stay here and help me wake my guy whom you knocked out," Lt. Kim told Durand, stopping the girl. She pointed at the still-unconscious Sgt. Valdez. "Zhang will check out the truck and find your friend."
Zhang suspected that Lt. Kim actually wanted to spare the girl the potential trauma of seeing another person she knew dead. Given what happened when the girl got upset, probably a sensible precaution. He acknowledged the order, ducked into the cavernous interior of the convoy truck and gave his eyes a little time to adjust to the low light before moving in deeper.
At the back of the truck, surrounded by the unconscious forms of several EXALT operatives, was a man. His hands had been secured behind his back and his legs were similarly tied. A black cloth bag had been placed around his head. For a moment Zhang wondered if he was looking at a corpse, but on hearing his approach, the prisoner immediately started struggling against his bonds.
It was a moment's work to pull the bag off, revealing a gagged Caucasian man with a buzzcut and a particularly bloodied face. The prisoner flinched as the light from outside hit his eyes; one of them was swollen and bruised. Despite this, he seemed alert.
"Patrick Carlock, Specialist Sergeant, Service ID number..." the man said immediately on Zhang's removal of the duct tape over his mouth. It sounded like a mantra. Realising that the prisoner thought he was about to be interrogated, Zhang raised a hand to silence him.
"It is all right. We are not enemies."
The man squinted at him, then relaxed. "Oh sorry. Thought you were one of them EXALT."
"Ah." Not flattering, but understandable. "No, I am with XCOM. What did you say your name was again?" Zhang asked as he began freeing the man.
"Name's Carlock. Sgt. Patrick Carlock. I was investigating a water contamination case and well, I think I got in over my head. Did the girl escape?"
"Yes we have her safe. Can you walk?" Zhang's experienced eyes took in the damage to the man's face and body and quickly deduced that he had probably been tortured for information. Despite this, his attitude about the treatment he had received was very matter-of-fact.
"I may need a hand. Bastards roughed me up a bit." Carlock tried to get up and uttered a colourful oath. "Yeah, I think they broke a rib or two. And my right kneecap too."
Zhang winced, and it was not because of the persistent headache left over from Durand's earlier outburst. Looking at the bloody mess that was the man's leg, Zhang decided that EXALT were almost as vicious as the triad, and offered Carlock his shoulder to lean on. The man was injured enough to accept. "We have a medic with us," Zhang said as he half-supported, half-carried the man out. "He's just outside."
The situation outside however, proved a mockery of Zhang's words. He and Carlock limped out of the truck to see Sgt. Valdez was still out cold, despite the efforts of the two women in rousing him.
"What the hell did you do to him?!" Lt. Kim was asking Durand.
"I'm sorry!" Durand shrank away from Lt. Kim's gaze. "I didn't mean to... I don't know how to undo it!"
"Annette! What happened?"
"Patrick! I didn't mean to hurt them. I didn't want to... not again." The girl broke down into tears at this point. Much to Lt. Kim's increasing alarm, Sgt. Valdez remained unresponsive and had to be carried back to the Skyranger.
All in all, it was not exactly a triumphant rescue.
McLeod shone a light into one of Sgt. Valdez's eyes with a torch and shook her head. "Zero response whatsoever, but at least his vitals seem ok. Geez, whatever she did, she got the Sarge good. He's really out of it. Is that's why she's a super secret weapon? She can knock people out without touching them and give them killer headaches?"
"Among other things," said Zhang, who was still nursing his own irritating headache which had persisted despite all attempts to alleviate it.
"It's more than that," Carlock explained. "But cut her some slack, will you? We've— she's been through hell nine times over. It's more than enough to make anybody lash out at somebody."
"Well, I hope the Sarge wakes up soon after getting 'lashed out' at then," McLeod replied, turning her attention back to treating Carlock's wounds. "Geez, Carly... you're kind of bony. When's the last time you had a square meal?"
"Might've been some days ago. Can't remember," Carlock admitted. "I think I wasn't important enough for EXALT to give proper feedings to," he added self-depreciatingly.
While McLeod blanched at this, Zhang decided to be practical and fished out an energy bar and a bottle of water. "What about you?" he asked Durand as Carlock gratefully accepted the offering.
There was no answer from where Durand sat huddled up in the corner. Zhang gave a long drawn-out sigh. The girl had been crying and refusing to talk to anyone but Lt. Kim and Carlock.
"How's the head, LT?" McLeod asked, leaving Carlock to wolf down his meagre rations.
"Ugh, the painkillers you gave me aren't doing anything, Mac. My head still feels like it's been tumble-dried." Lt. Kim didn't usually complain, but apparently even she had her limits.
"Well, I suspect you got a concussion from whatever hit your helmet, LT. Could've been worse, you could've ended up like Sarge here after that— what's it called, that Brainfart of Doom...?"
"I said I was sorry!" Durand burst out angrily.
"Enough, McLeod." Lt. Kim's professionalism didn't allow her to show too much emotion, but Zhang noticed the way she kept looking at the unresponsive Valdez, the horribly-maimed Zervas, and at the two empty seats where Kotsi and Mercier should have been sitting. The entire operation had been a costly one for the Strike Team. Central had said something about sending XCOM's Salvage and Recovery Team to look for Kotsi, but it had sounded like wishful thinking at best.
There hadn't been anything left of Mercier to bring back.
As the Skyranger flew homeward bound, Zhang looked at the guilt-ridden girl curled up in the corner of the Skyranger, and wondered if the strange power Durand possessed had really been worth it.
He supposed that they would find out soon enough.
End of Chapter Nine
Notes:
You will note there is some deviation from the actual event of the Progeny and Slingshot storylines in canon. I like to mix things up a bit.
On the casualties: this was actually what happened to Mercier in the actual playthrough. Getting a new recruit you like and then getting them killed on the end of their first mission after they've done all sorts of heroic and awesome things? Ouch. As for Kotsi, getting a beloved soldier you've had for a while screwed over because you got careless and sent them to flank a mob you were sure they could take out, only trigger a new patrol... double ouch. As carefully as I try to play, there are times when I get a little lazy, get complacent, and make mistakes that cost my men their lives. I like to think this mission reflects that.
Lastly, Sgt. Patrick Carlock and Anna Sing were the only VIPs from the Council escort missions that I've ever actually felt inclined to protect to the best of my ability. General Van Doorn on the other hand, can go eat a grenade. -4P
As usual, feedback, comments, and curses for killing off characters are welcome ;)
