Date: 2 April, 1999
Location: XCOM-CENTRAL, Commander's Office
The Commander was sitting at his table with his deputy, the senior scientist and the chief engineer. They were all tired, the previous day was a long one, but they had some very important things to discuss.
"Boris Anatoli is in stable but critical condition. He's going to be out of the fight for a while, perhaps the entire month. Lotis Calbred is in better condition, he should be back on the roster in a week. The Peronal Armor has helped, but we really need those Power Suits. Mr. Harrison, how long until we can fit the entire team?"
"If I push my team, we can have the first set complete in three more days."
"How long for another ten?" The Commander asked.
"About a week, until more engineers come in, then we can put them work right away."
"You'll get enough engineers to fill up your workshop in the next day or so. The new workshop should be online in a few weeks, and you'll have more engineers to match. How are our stocks?" The commander was referring to Elerium and the Alien Alloy.
"We salvaged a bunch of each from the recent assault on our base. We have enough for ten more sets of Power Suits and the next Firestorm."
"Ok, good. I want you to build another Firestorm after we send the second one to AUSSIE. If the timing works out, the hangar should be ready in America."
The Engineer nodded.
The Commander turned towards his scientist. "Dr. Albright, how is work coming along on the Hyperwave Decoder?"
"Cracking the code is the easy part," the Doctor replied, "getting it to interface with our existing radar systems is proving a little more difficult."
"Can you 'trick' the system like you did for the Firestorm controls?" The Commander asked.
"We've tried but had no success. We may have to start from the ground up and create an entire room for it. We're studying that option now. Once we have something I will brief you right away."
"Thank you, Doctor. Being able to intercept their communications and locate their UFOs will help us tremendously." The Commander said.
"Will it though?" Colonel Lancer asked. "Sir, forgive me if this is fatalistic, but we're fighting a losing battle on earth. No matter how many times we defend our base, they come back. No matter how many UFOs we shoot down, they send more. We can't just sit and wait for them to attack us, we must take the fight to them."
"I actually agree with her," Dr. Albright said. "The only hope for humanity is fight the aliens at their source. Our research seems to indicate a nearby base of operations inside our solar system. If we can capture one of the high ranking aliens, maybe we can interrogate it and get some more information. Some of the larger UFOs should have an alien leader of some sort."
"Ladies, I agree that it would be nice to take the fight to the aliens, but we're nowhere near equipped to do that. Yes, they have attacked us in our base three times in the first three months we've been operating, and yes, their resources seem unlimited. However, we're just now being able to hold our own. How will we capture an alien leader alive? The aliens we've captured alive so far are by luck. How will be able get to the aliens? A Russian Soyuz? An American Shuttle?" The Commander lamented.
"With respect, Commander," Dr. Alright replied, "that's where we come in. One of the artifacts recovered last month appears to be a stun weapon, launched from a small launcher. What if I delay research on the…" she looked at Michelle "…Hovertank and focused on that first? Then, between the research on the Firestorm and then the Hovertank, we should be able to use the alien's technology for a new troop transport."
The Commander considered her words for a moment. "Ok, Doctor. After you complete your work on the Hyperwave decoder, your next focus will be that stun launcher weapon, then the Hovertank and then a new troop transport."
The Doctor nodded.
"Sometimes it feels like we're a mosquito trying to fight an elephant. With your work so far, Doctor, we may now be at the level of a humming bird. Keep up the good work and we'll soar like an eagle. We'll take down that elephant yet. Thank you all for coming this morning. Dismissed."
They rose as one and everyone but the Commander left his office.
Date: 4 April, 1999
Location: XCOM-CENTRAL, West Hangar
Major Lori "Big Lori" Littlefield was waiting on the hangar with Colonel Felicity "Ferocity" Smith. They were waiting for the Skyranger, filled with 14 new recruits. Both of them remembered being on the other side, being met by then Captain Miguel Jimenez. A lot had changed in the few short months since then.
The massive hangar doors opened overhead and the Skyranger entered the base, landing right on schedule. The ramp lowered and 14 soldiers disembarked two by two. They were all wearing the same light gray XCOM jumpsuit.
"Welcome to XCOM, privates, I am Colonel Smith and this is Major Littlefield." The Colonel began. "And before you all complain, none of you have been demoted. You will all retain your ranks in your native service branch. Here at XCOM, we do things differently. Here, Rank is based on how you perform out in the field, and here at home, against the alien threat. "
"Easy for you so, you're an officer." One of the new privates quipped.
"Major Littlefield and I both started out as privates, walking down the same Skyranger ramp, in this very hangar. I was previously a Colour Sergeant in Her Majesty's Royal Marines. The Major here was a Staff Sergeant in the British Army. We were promoted based on our actions and experience since we first walked down that ramp. Everything you have done up to now earned you the right to stand there. What you do from this point forward will determine if you are promoted or if you are killed."
Major Littlefield suppressed a smile. She remembered one of her cohorts complaining when they arrived. When the Colonel was finished, she spoke up. "If you all will follow me to the briefing room, we'll present you with our orientation. You would do well to heed the words of the veterans here. Nobody is trying to knock your experience or abilities, we're all trying to keep you alive."
Base Briefing Room – Five Minutes Later
The Commander was up on stage, with his cane, waiting for the new recruits.
Colonel Smith opened the door to the briefing room and allowed the new soldiers to enter, single file. They filled in the first two rows of the center section.
"Commander," Smith announced, "I present you with the soldiers of our soon to be operational American Base."
The Commander nodded and scanned the new recruits, looking at each one of them in the eye. Then he raised his cane, "This is my gift from the aliens, and I'm the lucky one. Eighteen soldiers never came home. You'll all do well to listen to these ladies, and your team or squad leads. They're trying to keep you alive. There is no room for bravado or ego. In our job, bravado and ego are what get you killed. Colonel." He nodded towards her and stepped down, using the cane to help him get down the stairs.
The Commander left the room, closing the door behind him, and the Colonel sat on the stage. "Before we begin, are there any questions?"
One of the new privates raised his arm. The Colonel nodded and he stood. "He seems a little young to be a Commander, or to carry cane, ma'am. I mean no disrespect, but what happened?"
"Commander Jimenez is one of the few remaining troops from the very first encounter with Aliens." The Colonel began. "He watched Private Lornstrom get gunned down, right as he stepped off the skyranger and, in spite of that, took charge. The base commander took note of his abilities and promoted him right after that mission. He was a Captain when I first arrived, took me on my first mission. I watched him get got in the leg, getting knocked off the ramp. I was his medic, actually. He refused more than the basic care, saying to save it for those who really needed it…then with an injured leg, which turned out to be broken, he continued on, led the troops from the front and completed the mission."
"Is that where he got the cane?"
"No," The Colonel replied. "That came a few weeks later, when we found our first alien base. His leg was not fully healed, but he insisted on going on that mission, right up to the point of court martial. The Commander allowed him and the commander's deputy to go. I was on that mission as well. Then Major Jimenez saved the lives of everyone on his squad, but he was shot in the leg…again. That was a difficult mission, we lost some good people, and Miguel Jimenez was permanently removed from the roster. That's when he got the cane. The base commander made Jimenez his deputy, and a week later, our base was attacked. Both Jimenez and the base commander saved a lot of lives that day and we held our ground. The base commander was killed in that attack though and Jimenez was made commander of all of XCOM."
"There's your history on the Commander," Major Littlefield wrapped up. "You'd all do well to treat him with respect. Now, for the history of XCOM itself. Colonel Lancer was a member of the original team, so she'll give you a quick overview of our history. Colonel?"
"Thank you, Major. This organization was started by a group of countries that were concerned about the alleged UFO activity in their respective nations. They gathered together, launched an informal investigation and determined there was something to the reports that should be investigated. That's when they decided to form the Extra-terrestrial Combat Command, commonly known as XCOM."
"Excuse me, ma'am, but how did they know the aliens were hostile?"
"Actually, they didn't. That was quite a heated discussion. It wasn't until our first encounter that we realized their intent was hostile. We sent out an interceptor and it was fired upon as soon as it was in range. The interceptor fired back and downed the UFO. It was mostly intact, so the Commander at the time decided to send out a mission to scout the area."
"Both the Commander and I were on that first mission. We started out as privates, like yourselves. None of us knew what to expect, but things got very real, very quickly when Mike was shot coming right off the Skyranger. Commander Jimenez, Private at the time, took charge. He organized us into squads, gave us direction and took out a few aliens. We succeeded in that mission, in spite of their superior firepower and technology."
"After that first mission, our scientists raced to level the playing field. After every mission we brought back more artifacts and technology for them to research. The priorities were for weapons and armor. That's why we have the Mark 1 Personal Armor and the soon to be deployed Mark 2 Power Suit. It's also why we are now able to wield the aliens own weaponry."
"The main concern, with both Commanders, was protecting the soldiers. We've in in operation just over three months. We've successfully shot down and recovered six UFOs, we've clean up two terror sites, destroyed two alien bases and defended our own base three times against alien assaults. We've lost eighteen soldiers, some rookies like yourselves, but also some experienced soldiers. As a result, we're here to brief you on what to expect. If you're scared afterwards, good. Fear will keep you alive, just don't let it turn into panic, or you'll get your teammates killed. Major Littlefield will brief you on the aliens you'll be facing and the weapons both they, and you, will be using."
The Major moved up to the podium and the screen came on behind her. It displayed the autopsy report of a Sectoid. "This here is a Sectoid. It was the first alien we encountered. They are short, with abnormal proportions, but they are deadly. They serve as scouts, as far as we know. They mainly carry Plasma Pistols and Plasma Rifles. They can be killed with any weapon in our arsenal. They are not very tough, but they are also not to be underestimated."
The screen changed to display the autopsy of a floater. Major Littlefield continued without missing a beat. "This is a Floater. According to our research, they serve as medics and scientists for the alien collective. They are call floaters because of the anti-grav devices that are surgically grafted into their bodies. It allows them to float up in the air. Their favorite tactic is to 'hide' up in the air and fire from above. They are vulnerable to our ballistic weapons, but laser and plasma weapons are much more effective.
The screen changed again, this time displaying the autopsy of a Snakeman. "Next up, the Snakeman. They are primarily terror agents of the aliens. They are accompanied by Cryssalids, which we'll get to shortly. The Snakeman typically carries a Plasma Rifle or Heavy Plasma. They are fierce, but go down easily with Plasma Rifles or Heavy Plasmas. When cornered, they can lash out with powerful claws. Do not underestimate them."
The screen behind her changed to show the autopsy of a Muton. "This is called a 'Muton.' They Mutons are the shock troops of the aliens. They are tough, they are smart, they wield heavy weaponry and are hard to kill with our ballistic weapons. Plasma Pistols do little damage against them. The best thing to take one of these down is a Heavy Plasma. The Mutons are better at tactics then the rest and will move to outflank you, or hide behind cover to ambush you. The look like hulking brutes, but they are also intelligent."
The screen changed to display the autopsy of a Cryssalid. "This is the most potent terror weapon the aliens have. It's called a Cryssalid."
"That's the stuff of nightmares!" One of the soldiers exclaimed.
"The stuff of nightmares?" The Major responded. "The Cryssalids give them nightmares. These things are fast, they're deadly, they're hard to kill and they will use you to reproduce on the battlefield."
There was a shiver around the room, and the Major continued. "We've encountered them twice, once at a terror site and once here in our own base. The Cryssalid will use its sharp claws to puncture its victim, then inject a kind of venom that turns the victim into a zombie. It will then lay an egg which will fully mature in just a few minutes, literally eating the victim from the inside out, before a new Cryssalid hatches in its place. They are vulnerable to explosives, but my advice is to fire everything you have at it the moment you see it. I won't lie, these things are absolutely terrifying, but like everything else, they can be killed. Don't forget that."
She paused for a moment, looking around the room. She received a few nods, but mostly scared looks. Good, she thought. Now they'll pay attention. "Any questions on the aliens themselves?"
"Ma'am, is this all the aliens out there, or just the ones we've encountered?"
"Neither," The Major replied. "These are the main ones we've encountered and studied. There are a few more that we've encountered, but research priorities are such that they have not been studied yet. For example, there is this floating kidney thing that spits acid and a silicoid thing that we don't really know what it does. Also, some of the aliens we've capture have mentioned the 'ethereal ones.' We're not sure what that means, but we suspect it's a race that controls all the other races we've seen."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Major Littlefield nodded. "Any other questions?"
Another soldier raiser her arm. "Ma'am, these 'cryssalid' things. You said they inject a poison that turns someone into a zombie? Is there an antidote for that poison? Any way to cure the civilian or the soldiers?"
"No," Colonel Smith cut in, "and frankly if there was, there would likely not be enough time to administer it or for it to take effect. The best thing you can do is kill the zombie immediately, before a new Cryssalid hatches. I have seen one of these things tear off its human skin like an old cloak. It's something you never forget. You see a zombie, you kill it. Someone near you is turned into a zombie, you kill it. Don't think, just shoot it and kill it." She was so firm and matter of fact, that the audience was even more unsettled.
The Colonel changed her demeanor and her tone. "Ok, enough of the scary shit. Let's take a break. Meet back up in the Armory in an hour."
Base Armory – One Hour Later
"Alright kids, nap-time's over. Now we get to the good stuff," Colonel Smith began. "Major Waser will give you an overview of each of the weapons."
Major Johann Waser was recently promoted to backfill Major Smith. He was in the armory to instruct the rookies on the proper use of the plasma weaponry.
"Thank you, Colonel." Major Waser was holding a Plasma Pistol and wasted no time. "This is a Plasma Pistol. It was the first alien weapon we encountered. It is more powerful than the M-18, Advanced Infantry Weapon. One shot from this cuts through Kevlar like it's nothing at all. Observe."
The Major gripped the weapon and fired a plasma bolt at a dummy 10 meters away. The dummy was "wearing" Kevlar armor and the plasma bolt cut through it, causing a deep, scorched indent in the dummy itself. "Keep in mind, this is the least powerful weapon the aliens have."
"Sir," Private Jenna White asked. "Does that armor have the…umm…extra protection?"
"No need to worry about classified stuff here, Jenna," Major Waser replied. "We've been provided with the best armaments each nation had to offer, and we've made a few of our own since then." The major then walked over to the dummy. "In answer to your question," he pulled a broken piece of the ceramic plate from the middle of the frayed Kevlar and tossed it her way."
Private White caught it and her eyes went wide as she turned the piece over in her hands.
"I told you earlier, Private Michael Lornstrom was first off the Skyranger on that first mission. One shot went straight through his armor, killing him instantly," Colonel Smith said.
"So, how do we survive out there then?" Private Galina Vornin asked.
"Well get to that in a little while," Major Waser replied. "We have developed better armor, but first, we'll go through the rest of our weapons."
Major Waser went into detail on the finer points of the Plasma Pistol and then put the new soldiers through their paces with the weapon, getting each one checked out on it. Once that was done, he did the same thing for the Plasma Rifle. They had more of those on hand, having sold many of the Plasma Pistols they recovered, so it went a little quicker. Finally, they got to the Heavy Plasma.
"Ok, this is the heaviest infantry weapon we've seen, aside from some launchers the guys in white coats haven't figured out yet. It's called the Heavy Plasma." Major Waser was interrupted at this point.
"Excuse me, sir, that's more like a plasma cannon or plasma gatling or something. Why is it called the Heavy Plasma?" Private Mathias Esser asked.
In response, the Major tossed the weapon his way. Private Esser caught it with both arms and was forced back a few steps, bending over the weapon slightly. "Oooff, never mind," he said, as he handed the weapon back to Major Waser. Some of the other soldiers laughed in response, but none of them had any more stupid questions.
"It's a heavy weapon, but it packs quite the punch. Observer." Major Waser leveled the weapon and fired at a concrete block that was sitting on a metal table 10 meters away. The concrete block disintegrated, and the metal table was warped. The soldiers were astonished. "You do not want to be on the business end of this, I tell you that much." The Major observed. He worked with the soldiers to get each of them checked out on the Heavy Plasma, and then he switched gears and started briefing them on the armor.
"This is the Mark 1 Personal Armor." Major Waser pointed to Major Littlefield, who donned the armor for a demonstration. "It is crafted from Alien Alloys. It is light, durable and affords a lot of protection. Except for a glancing shot, it won't keep you from getting wounded, but it can prevent you from being killed. This is our current level of Armor, although, our engineers are working on fabricating something better."
Major Littlefield stepped away and Colonel Smith stepped forward in her Power Suit, much to the amazement of the soldiers. Major Waser smiled. "I present you the latest to come from our scientists and engineers. The Mark 2, Power Suit. It gives twice the protection of the Personal Armor. It is flame resistant, smoke resistant and augments both your motion and your carrying capacity. We only have a few of these, the workshop is cranking them out as fast as they can. Eventually each base will have enough for a complete team."
Colonel Smith removed her helmet. "Thank you Major Waser. Are there any questions on what he covered here today?"
None of the soldiers had any further questions.
"Good take an hour and meet back in the briefing room. Dismissed."
Base Briefing Room – One Hour Later
The soldiers were all in the room, talking in small groups when Colonel Smith walked in. They quickly settled in their seats and quieted down. The Colonel sat on the edge of the stage and addressed them more informally than she had earlier. "Alright, so you've seen what we're up against. You've seen the tools we have at your disposal. You've been familiarized with the base and with our brief history. Any questions on any of it?"
There was silence for a few minutes, before one of them, Private Adam Watson, raised his arm. The Colonel nodded and he stood, "Ma'am, the Cryssalids. Are they really that bad?"
"Short answer: yes. Longer answer, I watched one of those things tear open the human skin from the inside and emerge ready to claim its first victim. That's not something you forget. We're not trying to scare you in some hazing ritual, although the thought had occurred to us," she said to a few chuckles.
"We're trying to give you all the knowledge you need to survive your first mission." She continued. "In all likelihood, some of you won't, and that's not something any of us want. We've lost a lot of good people and we're trying to prevent that. Part of that is researching things like the Power Suit. Part of it is scaring you now, so that when you meet these things in the field, you'll kill them instead of panicking."
"Speaking the field ma'am, when are we going to get assigned to teams? It looks like there are a lot of soldiers around here already," Private Patrick Bailey asked.
"You all will get out into the field pretty quickly. As far as the roster goes. Some of you will be coming with Major Smith and I to the new base we're opening up in the United States. Some of you will be assigned to teams here, and some of you will be send to our base in Australia. Currently, we operate in teams of ten. Each team has a lead, a medic and two squads. There are two teams here and two in Australia. When the U.S. base first comes online, we'll have one team. As the base expands, we'll start up a second team."
"Thank you, ma'am. When will we know?"
"Depends on the aliens," The Colonel quipped. "I want to see each of you in action. Once I have, I'll decide who to bring with me. I'll probably poach a few veterans from here, so some of you will backfill them and some of you will be in a reserve status. The rest of you will be sent to Australia. Other questions?"
"Ma'am," Private Jane Watson started. "Why America? Not that I wouldn't mind being on my home turf, but why are we opening a base there?"
"It's based on the amount of alien activity. At first, it was decided to start the project at this site, because we could provide coverage to the most countries. After our first month, the Australians were displeased. They had a tremendous amount of activity and no response from, so we started a base there to deal with their country and the Pacific region. Turned out, the aliens built a base in their country, which we only found by scouting the area for ourselves."
"Sounds like that worked out well." The Private observed."
"It was very fortuitous," the Colonel agreed. "As for the U.S., lately, there has been a lot of activity there, specifically terror attacks by the aliens. It was decided to start our next base there, in order to quicken our response time to the alien attacks, and save more lives. That base is currently undergoing construction. We'll move in once the living quarters, hangar and radar centers are finished an operational."
Private Ivan Korkia raised his arm. The Colonel nodded and he stood, "Ma'am, are there any…well…live aliens on this base?"
That question caused quite a stir. Some of the soldiers thought it was off color. Some of them though it was gross. Some of them found it slightly humorous.
Colonel Smith let them blow off a little steam before answering. "We do not have any live aliens at this time. We have managed to capture a few, but that was purely by luck. Two of them were unconscious when we found them. One of them knocked its head against a table. They do not last very long. Each of them have died partway through their interviews, usually in the middle of an important piece of information. So no, we do not have any live aliens here, but yes, we have in the past. However, they don't live very long once they're put in containment and interviewed by our scientitsts."
"Are there any more questions?" The Colonel looked around, but there were none. "Ok, it's been a long day and you've had a lot of information thrown at you. Go get some rest, absorb what you've learned, and be ready to hit the ground running when you hear the klaxons go off."
Date: 6 April, 1999
Location: XCOM-AUSSIE, Radar Center
The base had recently been upgraded with a long range radar system. There were rumors of a new, advanced type of radar that would be deployed soon, but that's all they were, as far as the techs knew. That still didn't stop them from engaging in wild theories to help pass the time while they were on watch.
Their theorizing was cut short by an alert from one of the consoles. A UFO appeared to be inbound. The Alert-5 was launched to investigate, and Colonel Tomiere was called to the radar center. The Colonel arrived just as the Alert Interceptor was closing on the UFO.
"Report," he ordered.
"Sir, Interceptor-4 is closing on the UFO now," the tech reported. He hit a switch and moved the incoming transmission to the speakers.
"Control, this is India-four. Closing to visual range. UFO appears to be medium sized. Two levels. Looks like an asterisk, of sorts, over."
"This is control, Roger, break, close to Avalanche range and engage."
"This is India-four, closing. Going hot. Fox….oh shit!"
Before the pilot could fire, the UFO accelerated away. The interceptor followed as far as he could, but even with afterburners, he lost the UFO.
"Control, India-four, I lost him, sorry, sir."
"This is control, roger, return to base. Out."
"Alert Central," the Colonel ordered. "It could be heading to their coverage zone."
XCOM-CENTRAL, Two Hours Later
The Commander was in the Radar center with Colonels Lancer and Smith. They had received word from the AUSSIE base and were waiting for the UFO to appear on their radar.
"Felicity, I want you to take as many as the new soldiers as you can for this mission. Let's get them out in the field and see how they hold up." The Commander instructed.
"Still trying to keep away from AUSSIE, sir?" Smith replied with a hint of mischief.
The Commander laughed. "You'll have plenty of time to get there, don't worry."
"Excuse me, Sir, but do you think it's wise to send out an entire team of, well, rookies for this?" Colonel Lancer asked.
"Good point," The Commander replied. "Felicity, I assume you've chose your squad leaders?"
"Yessir."
"Good. Take Major Littlefield and your two squad leaders, round out the team with the new soldiers. Gather them now and suit up so you're all ready to go. Oh, and don't die."
"That's always the goal, sir." Colonel Smith replied as she left to carry out her orders.
The UFO showed up on their radar a few minutes later. The Alert-5 was launched immediately. About halfway to the interception, the UFO disappeared from Radar.
"Firestorm-1, this is Control. We lost the contact, do you have visual or radar, over?"
"This is Firestorm-1, negative control."
"This is control, proceed to the following coordinates and conduct a radar sweep."
The Firestorm pilot did as instructed and managed to locate the UFO.
"Control, Firestorm-1, UFO-One-four located. UFO has landed, marking coordinates."
"Firestorm-1, this is Control Actual. Remain onstation until Skyranger arrives." The Commander ordered. Then he turned Michelle, "Send the Skyranger, immediately."
Date: 6 April, 1999
Location: UFO-14 Landing Site, Near Poniatowa, Poland
"Alright you Sectoid-lovers, listen up!" Colonel Smith was standing at the rear of the Skyranger, just after it landed. "Sergeant Jones and his team will go with Major Littlefield. You will spread out head east. Stay within sight of each other to back each other up if you need to. Sergeant Allure and his squad are with me. These Power Suits will provide a lot of protection, but you are not invincible. Don't be stupid. Now go kill some of those ET bastards!"
The ramp descended and the two squads filed out of the skyranger, exploring the area. Colonel Smith's squad located the UFO. "Zeta Squad, this is…" the Colonel paused, as this mission was rushed and she didn't actually have a team, but rather a hodge podge of soldiers, she wasn't sure what to call herself. She decided to go with the next unused letter of the greek alphabet. "…This is Eta-1, we've located the UFO. We'll secure the UFO, you secure the immediate area, over."
She received two clicks in reply, the unspoken equivalent of "roger out." The Colonel and her squad found the opening on the south side of the UFO. They lined up on both sides of the entrance, and when ready, Colonel Smith opened the UFO and entered. There was a foyer just beyond the entrance, well, what would be called a foyer in a house. There was an internal door, a few feet in.
The Colonel and her sergeant took position on either side, just inside of the UFO entrance. The rest of the squad entered and lined up by the internal door. They looked back at the Colonel who motioned for them to get ready. Then, over the internal suit comms she said, "3, 2, 1, go!"
Private Bailey was first through the door. He found himself in an examination room, there was a large table in the center, with the unidentifiable remains of a person on it. There were two smaller tables on either side which had what appeared to be tools of some sort, but the private couldn't really tell.
There were also three Floaters in the room. Private Bailey got the drop on one and fired three bolts from his Plasma Rifle, killing it. The other two fired three bolts each from their Plasma Pistols. The plasma bolts hit the armor, which protected Private Bailey. Sergeant Allure fired through the doorway, killing one of the remaining Floaters, and Private Jenna White fired, killing the last of the three.
"These things are incredible!" Private Bailey exclaimed. "They do make us invincible!"
"Tone it down, Private." The Colonel warned. "The Power Suit did its job and saved your life. It affords a high level of protection, but is does not make you invincible, clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Private Bailey replied, although he didn't really get it.
They lined up by the opposite door. Colonel Smith motioned for them to be ready and then opened the door. She went through first, followed by Sergeant Allure. The immediate area was clear, so the Colonel gave instructions. "Ally, you take Werner and go right. Jenna, Patrick, you're with me, we'll go left. Move."
Sergeant Allure and Private Seidler went right and turned the corner. They found one of the UFO Power Sources and a Floater. Private Seidler killed the Floater with his Plasma Rifle and the Sergeant ensured the area was clear.
Colonel Smith and her two privates went to the left. They found a UFO Power Source, but otherwise the area was clear. There was a lift at the south end of the UFO, they moved towards it. As the got close a Floater came down. All three of them opened fire, killing it before it got all the way down.
"I can see why they call you Ferocity," Private Bailey observed.
The Colonel shrugged and stepped onto the lift and went up to the second level.
"How did you do that?" Private White asked.
"Step on the red square and think, 'up'," the Colonel replied.
She was joined by the privates a moment later. The second level of the UFO looked like the inside of an asterisk. There was what appeared to be a big circular room in the middle. They went north, trying to find the entrance to that room, but came to a dead end. They turned around and circled back around, going the other direction, eventually coming to the entrance on the north side of the UFO.
Colonel Smith opened the door, but before she could do anything, Private Bailey rushed in. "I got this," he claimed.
Only he didn't. The Floater inside the room got the drop on him, firing three blasts from its Heavy Plasma. The first plasma bolt tore away at the armor where the leg met the torso. The second blast penetrated the armor, scorching the flesh beneath. The third blast shattered Patrick's hip, partially severing the femoral artery. Private Baily went down, bleeding profusely from the wound.
Private White freaked out when she saw her compatriot get shot. She dropped her weapon and froze in place. Colonel Smith killed the Floater and turned towards Private White.
"Jenna?" Felicity prompted. "Are you ok? Jenna!"
There was no response. "Private White! Snap out of it! I need hour help!"
The Private came to her senses after just a moment. She picked up her rifle and apologized to the Colonel. They both entered the room, but it was clear of aliens. Colonel Smith tended to Private Bailey, but there was little she could do. He was losing too much blood.
"I'm sorry, Colonel." Patrick said through labored breath. "You were right. We're not invincible." His body went limp. Colonel Smith wanted to scream. She wanted to scream at the Floater for killing her soldier. She wanted to scream at Patrick Bailey for being stupid. She wanted to scream at Jenna White for freezing. She wanted to scream at herself for not stopping the Patrick. She pushed the urge to scream deep down insider. She'd deal with it later. Right now she had more pressing matters.
"Gamma-1, this is Eta-1, second floor is secure, two X-ray KIA. Report status."
"This is Gamma-1, first floor is secure. I count 4 x-ray, KIA, over."
"Roger, break, Zeta-1, report."
"This is Zeta-1, area secure, two X-rays KIA, no casualties on our side."
That was good news at least. Colonel Smith acknowledged and then called control.
"Control, this is Eta-1, UFO and site are secure, one team member KIA, eight alien corpses to bring back. Recommend sending salvage team, over."
Date: 6 April, 1999
Location: XCOM-CENTRAL, Briefing Room
All the new soldiers were gathered, even the ones who were not on the mission. Colonel Smith stood up front, leaning on the stage, and addressed them all.
"Normally, this is where the team would be debriefed. The team lead would go through and summarize the events for the Major or myself, or both. Since both Major Littlefeild and myself were on this last mission, we'll skip that portion. However, there is one very important matter we need to discuss. Namely, stupidity will get you killed."
That last line caught their attention. She had all eyes on her.
"When you all arrived a few days ago, we ran you through a short but intense training program. That program was designed to bring you up to speed on the threats you will face, as well as the tools you will be using to engage those threats. We gave you a brief history of what we've done and a brief intro into the tactics we've learned as a result. All of this was designed to keep you alive. However, none of it can guard you against stupidity."
She paused and looked around the room, she still had their full attention.
"Far be it for me to speak ill of the dead, but what Patrick Bailey did was stupid. These Power Suits are brilliant. Our scientists and engineers did a fantastic job. These suits can keep you alive. They can protect you from enemy fire, but they cannot protect you from your own stupidity. If an alien gets the drop on you, the suit can help…if you take action immediately. Patrick Bailey thought he was invincible because he took a few hits from a Plasma Pistol. The Heavy Plasma is twice as powerful. The suits were not designed to withstand a direct hit. Certainly not three of them."
The Colonel let out a breath. "Listen, if you pull some sort of American John Wayne bullshit and go charging in, presenting the aliens the perfect target, the suit won't help. We have developed tactics and procedures, most of them as a result of the losses we've taken. When you are out there, you need to listen to you squad leaders. Playing John Wayne will get you killed, and we've had enough soldiers get killed. Listen to your squad leaders and we'll do our best to make sure you all come back alive, are we clear?"
Colonel Smith looked around the room to a series of nods and 'yes ma'ams.' She hoped what she said had sunk in. Time would tell. Hopefully their losses would slow down and even stop all together. That would depend on them.
Author's Note: A little bit of a background chapter again. I always wondered how the rookies were able to use the advance equipment (power suits and alien weaponry) immediately upon arriving at the base. I figured a little bit of training was in order. As for the Power Suits, I've had soldiers take up to 9 hits with a Plasma Pistol and get no damage whatsoever, but 1 or 2 hits from a Heavy Plasma and they were dead. Hopefully the soldiers will wise up and our survival rate will increase a little.