EXALT HQ – 20th of February – 21:32
"Now!"
As Harrec both shouted and thought the words, a massive EMP blast was launched on EXALT HQ, not hitting anything else, just the building. Moments after Big Sky came flying in with XCOM soldiers ready for payback against EXALT. But something was not right…
Concealed laser turrets in the building started shooting at the Skyranger, completely caught off guard. Before Harrec could say a word he saw smoke rising from the craft as its pilot still tried to get it on the landing pad. It only barely managed to, as it crashed in to the plaza next to the pad.
"Move, Move now!"
Harrec shouted from the top of his lungs. If they did not intervene now, the XCOM soldiers would be massacred. Scuba needed no further encouragement as he jumped of the Overseer onto the top of EXALT's HQ, Jetboot modules making sure he would not crash through the roof and several other floors. To the EXALT it appeared the MEC came falling out of mid-air, and they scrambled to position themselves against him, the first shots barely missing the man in the machine.
Scuba's distraction allowed the others on the craft to land on the other side of the building before the overseer took off again, its cannons still ready though, to be fired at the base if all else failed. The distraction had also relieved some of the pressure on the XCOM soldiers, who managed to pull out of the burning wreckage of their craft, miraculously with Big Sky behind them, and returned fire against EXALT.
But they were all stuck behind their cover, even the MEC was forced to hide. All the lights in the base were still on, the EMP had done nothing it seemed, it was deflected somehow. Automated turrets firing at anything that had a heat signature and no EXALT-tags. Lasers and slugs filled the air around their positions, with no way out it seemed. Then one of the turrets got knocked out by a barrage of lasers. The S.H.I.V. had no heat signature significant enough for the turrets to notice it, and its alloy carapace deflected most of the incoming fire from EXALT operatives that managed to hit it.
"Forward!"
The command he issued was followed immediately, and the Telekinetic field that he threw up shielded them from the remaining turrets' barrage. The few surprised EXALT elites that had been shooting at the S.H.I.V.s destroying their turrets and managed to notice them were quick to react nevertheless, as one ran forward with a blade attached to his arm, no doubt of a very strong alloy, to kill one of them had it not been for Richter. The back of his sniper rifle connected with the man's jaw in a shocking fashion, and the man flew forward a bit more before falling down on the floor with the back of his head.
Another EXALT soldier immediately turned his attention to Richter as he broke his concealment, but was stopped almost immediately by Johnson's knee striking in between his legs. The genetically enhanced legs of the heavy caused a *squish* sound as the man sank to the ground, uttering a single swear word before falling over, eyes in pure shock and voice nothing more than a soft throat rasping as if the man was crying. He most likely was. The look of triumph on Johnson's face disappeared rather quickly however as a rocket came flying towards him from the roof of the building. But with the mechanical accuracy only a MEC could obtain, a grenade hit the rocket in mid-air.
Debris flew all around and a piece of brick nearly hit her head, but another hit her square on her shoulder. She got knocked over by the impact, and struggled to get back to her feet. The firing of lasers and bullets was still present al around her. She felt something tingle in her mind, and she looked to the source. A few EXALT Ultras joined the fray from within the building, and one had just tried to mindfray her. She focused on the current of energy between them and grimaced as she saw the man in question stumble back with his hands to his face, his weapon dropped to the floor. She drew her pistol and shot the man. It was meant to be kill-shot, but her shoulder gave way to the slight recoil of the weapon and she instead hit the man in the knee, and watched him tumble further backwards, out of a window, followed by a loud scream that no doubt ended in a *splut* sound had she been able to hear it.
She felt her mind tingling again, but this time it was not just one Ultra attacking her, it was 6 of them. And she felt her mind give way… she heard someone shout "Farisani!" before she went blank.
Annette noticed something was of about her battle sister just a few moments before she collapsed. She rushed forward immediately to help and then noticed the Ultras from the corner of her eyes. She changed her trajectory and blasted one of them straight of the stairs inside the building, as she crashed through the remains of the window and sliced another's hand of with her alloy blade. An elite that was with the group threw himself at her, and they both crashed through the same window again, but this time out of the building. The man tried to hit her with the back of his laser rifle, but a slug to the man's side from Scuba's railgun threw him right of off Annette. She quickly rushed into cover as fast as she could from her position as lasers scorched the ground where she just lay. And she watched in horror as the men she was taking aim at suddenly got torn to shreds by a rift.
He turned away from the carnage he caused quickly, blood and limbs flying through the building and the pillars on the outside. As soon as Kira went down he had rushed over to her, with no concern about his own life, as if the EXALT did not exist. He had promised her that this time they would both live, no matter what. He checked her pulse. It was present, but she was out cold. Enraged he had turned towards the Ultras that had caused it just to see Annette almost going down to their lasers. No. No one under his command, who he had led here because they believed in him would die for him anymore. And before he knew it, he had ripped open a rift of energy where they stood.
The fight on their side of the building was over for now, but on the other side, XCOM was still stuck on the landing platform behind the air-conditioning vents. He did not care. All he cared about was for her to open her eyes again.
"Harrec, is she…"
"She's alive, don't worry about it, I'll stay with her, you guys go help XCOM."
"Are you sure that is a good plan?"
Harrec looked up as Johnson cut in to the conversation. He looked back down to his fiancé, and then back to Johnson. With a voice of steel he spoke.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll get her back on the overseer or ready to fight. Either way it won't be long before I'll join you guys again. Just make sure you leave some of the bastards for me."
He said the last part with a twisted grin on his face, but the others could not see that behind his helmet.
"You guys coming or what?"
Scuba's voce crackled over the comms, lasers and bullets sizzling through the air in the background. The MEC apparently had already rushed back to the other side of the building as soon as the fighting on their end had ended.
He gave a nod to Johnson, and the man started running to the other side too, with the Chosen right behind him. Richter most likely had already found a good place on the roof to snipe from. He lay Farisani with her back straight against one of the vents, and rushed to climb the water pipe on the side of the building.
With Richter and Scuba suddenly joining the fight from the roof behind EXALT's position, the XCOM soldiers rushed forward in to the building. Just in time, as a rocket flew to the position they had just been at, and completely destroyed one of the S.H.I.V.s that was still there. Shrapnel reached the large windows before they did, and some of the men in Kevlar fell to the ground screaming as hot pieces of metal stuck out of their backs. Nevertheless the remaining soldiers pushed on, as they rushed through what little remained of the large glass panels.
They were met with immediate fire against them from behind cover positions next to the doors of the front room, as no less than 4 elite heavy's unleashed their laser LMG's on them. XCOM's assault was almost grinded to a halt, but then Johnson decided he was going to show off his own fireworks, as his rocket struck true and one of the walls the heavy's were hiding behind was torn to bits and smolders, as well as the corpses of the two elites in question. Two of the chosen quickly knocked out the other two across the room with their Psi-powers. They now had a foot hold inside the base.
Out of nowhere suddenly an electrical current struck one of them, and then the other. A man in an Exo-suit armed with heavy arc weapons and alloy blades, that were no doubt also charged, suddenly rushed forward against Johnson. He blocked the first strike with his LMG, but the second one tore the weapon in two. He kicked between his assailant's legs. But to no avail. He felt no balls to crush, and those eyes were those of a woman. He felt the shock scorch his skin, and then one of the blades pierced his shoulder. He fell to the ground as his second heart kicked in, only barely keeping him alive. The last thing he saw before he hit the floor was Scuba crashing through the skylight and crushing the lady in steel with his KSM, before the current of her weapons nearly fried his systems.
Harrec cleared out the last room of the EXALT base occupied by EXALT forces with ruthless efficiency. He blasted a whole conga line worth of them with one psionic blast, and cleared out the other remaining few with a grenade and a few shots from his plasma rifle. He saw the last enemy in sight go down to the KSM of Scuba, and an XCOM medic attending a critically wounded Johnson. He walked onto the platform the led to the EXALT hologlobe, with Richter and Annette right behind him.
That laugh, he remembered it all too well, the laugh of a maniac who just lost everything, but still thought there was a way out of it. But with so much confidence in it, it sent shivers down everyone's spine. A soft and slow applause followed, as a man rose from the chair in front of the red globe.
"I'm impressed you made it this far, but it will all be for naught soon enough. I take it my Furies failed me, for otherwise you wouldn't be here. They deserve to suffer in their defeat, their arrogance exceeded their powers."
"How dare you even speak of human beings like that, they aren't just pawns in your game!"
"Not my game, our game. You played it well enough yourself, enough men died for you too."
"Only because you attacked them, they fight for me because I saved them from you."
"And what of those I saved from the gutters by giving them jobs? Giving them a cause to fight for? Providing care for their families? You did not honestly think I was pure evil now did you? It all serves a greater purpose."
"Spare us the lies, your only reasons are greed and megalomania, and you try to cover it up by pretending to shelter those people, while you slowly indoctrinate them to become your mindless slaves!"
"If that is what you accuse me of, there is no point to talking to you. The fourth stage will start now!"
The clock struck 00:00, 21st of February, and Cortex's hand reached for the button that would signal stage four.
"Oh no you don't, you bastard!"
A sudden blast of energy followed Farisani's voice, as the force knocked Cortex in to Annette's grip. She removed her helmet and Cortex stared with wide eyes as he recognized her.
"Recognize me, old man? I'll be sure to watch more carefully then you had me watched."
Richter smiled at the remark, he had heard the stories from Annette herself, and they walked Cortex out of the ruins of the EXALT base.
Harrec rushed down the stairs to support Farisani, who nearly fell over again because of all the strength she had used. He removed both his own and her helmet and kissed her, before she backed away slightly and whispered softly: "You kept your promise, I kept mine."
Etherion command center broadcasting section – 5th of June - 21:35 GMT
"Are you ready for your big speech, mister Chosen One?"
"As ready as I will ever be I guess. I'm still just a soldier at heart."
Farisani leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, and adjusted the tie of his officer's uniform. She then held her hands against his cheek, the cold alloy ring on her hand did not bother him, as he wore the match of it after all.
"You got this darling, go show it to the world."
Xalieg appeared from around the corner.
"My lord, everything is ready for your broadcast."
"Thank you Xalieg, I'll be there shortly."
He kissed his wife on the lips, and then turned around. He would give his message of hope, and peace, with no more EXALT to spoil it.
"Axios" he said.
"Axios" Farisani answered him, and they both smiled.
Their ascension had begun, and they were worthy.