AN: Hey loyal readers. Sorry for the late update today, been out all day running errands and spending time with family that I haven't gotten around to writing the chapter yet. Anyway last time we left our heroes, Strike One was headed towards the UFO landing site with the intent to capture the Outsider captain of the vessel. Let's see how the mission plays out.
Disclaimer: Still don't own XCOM or any of its characters.
Chapter 11: Operation Scorched Earth
Strike One was currently zooming across the Atlantic Ocean en route to the latest UFO landing site in Paris, France. The squad was currently catching up on the last moments of sleep they would get before landing in the city of light. What worried the squad about the mission was the amount of Ravagers waiting for them at their destination. Since there wasn't a crash landing it was a logical conclusion that all of the crew would be present to resist Strike One. All five members hoped that the mission would go as smoothly as possible giving the situation. The squad was awoken by the pilot telling them they had thirty minutes until touchdown, and decided to go over their equipment one last time before commencing the attack.
Sgt. Javier "Smokey" Rodriguez was equipped with the upgraded M249 SAW laser light machine gun, his trusty RPG-7 rocket launcher, and the new Chitin Plating that strengthened his body armor ten-fold. Cpl. Eric Roberts was equipped with the upgraded Barrett .50 caliber laser sniper rifle, his new laser .44 Magnum, and he was equipped with an Alien Grenade he'd found on the last mission. Also, he was currently jamming to "Rockstar" by Nickelback. Cpl. Chin Mal Han was equipped with his new laser Remington 870 shotgun, the laser Five Seven semi-automatic pistol, and the new Chitin Plating for his armor since he didn't want to get injured again. Sq. Emily Blunt was equipped with her upgraded laser M4A1 assault rifle, the same pistol as Han, and the Upgraded Medical Kit the engineers recently manufactured in the new Foundry. Finally, Sq. Johnnie Sing was equipped with the laser AK-47, the same pistol as Roberts, and the Arc Thrower for capturing the Outsider. The squad finished their final preparations, and gave the green light to the pilot who touched down in the countryside and dropped the ramp allowing Strike One to disembark and head towards the landing site.
== At the Landing Site ==
Strike One arrived at the site without any opposition as they were on a rocky hilltop overlooking the UFO. From what they could gather, they were on the opposite side of the cockpit, as they couldn't see any sign of the Outsider who would be piloting the alien vessel. Observing the three floaters who were acting as sentries from the roof, they made a plan to draw them out towards them. Smokey ordered Roberts to stay up top and provide Overwatch as they approached the vessel. Once in a reachable distance, Roberts would fire ad hit one of the Floaters causing the other two to charge. Once that occurred the others would let loose on them, and hopefully destroy them as well. The others got into position as Roberts set up his sniper's nest on the hilltop overlooking the craft.
== With Smokey, Han, Blunt and Sing ==
Maneuvering down the hillside wasn't too difficult as there was plenty of trees and rocks to seek cover behind until they reached the craft's open ramp. Taking a quick once over, they realized it had to be at least three times bigger than the others they had previously encountered. Setting up the ambush the four gave Roberts the signal for him to open up, as a laser shot was heard, causing one of the Floaters to be incinerated on impact. The other two quickly charged at Roberts' location hoping to end the sniper's life with a few rounds, but both were quickly incinerated by the shots of Sing and Blunt sending them towards the Earth as nothing more than ash piles. Sensing the danger was over for now, Smokey conjured up a new plan.
"Alright guys, Han and myself will explore the inside of the craft and fight our way to the cockpit using the right catwalk. Blunt and Sing you two will take the left catwalk and do the same. I'll radio Roberts and have him circle around the ship to the cockpit and set up another nest for him to provide Overwatch if necessary. Any questions?"
Three simultaneous "No sir." were the replies he received as he radioed the plan to Roberts.
== With Roberts ==
Roberts received his orders and quickly proceeded to disassemble his nest, and started moving around the right side of the ship in the tree line. He was moving and sticking to the shadows, as he came upon two Thin Men patrolling the forest looking for any signs of intruders. Roberts cursed his luck as he knew firing his pistol would alert the one he didn't shoot to his position and end his life. So he decided to use the new grenade he just found and immediately tossed it at the two Thin Men. He forgot to do one very important thing though, pull the grenade's pin. One of the aliens picked it up and wondered where it came from before a red beam of light flashed before his eyes and hit the grenade. The two bodies were quickly incinerated by the plasma grenade, leaving nothing behind but the poisonous fumes that Thin Men give off upon dying. Roberts mentally kicked himself for forgetting about the pin, but quickly hustled to the cockpit as he heard laser shots in the distance.
== With the Others ==
Smokey and Han had made good time across the catwalk as there was no resistance on their side. They reached a large open room where their catwalk converged with the one Blunt and Sing had taken. They decided to sit here and wait for them to catch up to them. Blunt and Sing however, weren't as lucky as Smokey and Han. They encountered three hulking creatures that were under their catwalk waiting for them to approach. These new creatures were several feet taller than them, and had breathing masks over their mouths and had red cracked skin. They were also, equipped with thick metal armor, and holding plasma rifles. The three creatures opened up on the two soldiers as they quickly scattered to find suitable cover. Sing had jumped off the catwalk and was hiding behind a turbine that seemed to be powering the alien ship for his journeys. He peeked out and saw that only one of the creatures had noticed his absence and was preparing to fire at him when Sing let off a shot from his rifle hitting a grenade the alien had on its metal armor. The grenade exploded sending blood everywhere as Sing once again hid from the aliens. Blunt had found cover behind the wall of the pen the aliens were currently in, and was successful in taking down one of the other two creatures with her rifle. However, the final creature let out a blood-curdling scream that froze Blunt in place. The creature then charged at her intending to finish the battle when Han and Smokey appeared on the catwalk they just left and shot the mutant down before it could harm her. Han went over and checked her out to make sure she was okay, before they headed towards the cockpit.
They reached the large, open room and entered it cautiously. What they saw unnerved them to no end. Lining the walls were various holding tanks that looked to be housing various bodies in them. These bodies included not only humans, but some Sectoids, Chryssalids, Thin Men, and other creatures that the soldiers hadn't seen before. The sights sent a wave of fear into the soldiers has Han went and threw up again at the sight before him. They each looked at one another and silently vowed to make the Ravagers pay for what they had done to these creatures in their conquests. They made it to the other side of the room where there was a door that appeared to lead into the cockpit. Han and Sing both lined up on either side of the door, as Blunt and Smokey took cover next to either one of them along the wall. Smokey gave the signal as Han kicked the door in, and was immediately met with a blast from two plasma rifles.
== With Roberts ==
Having heard the shots, Roberts quickly got into position where in could look into the cockpit via its windshield. He saw that the door was kicked in, and Han was laying on the ground holding his chest from what appeared to be two plasma rounds from the two Outsiders inside the cockpit. Enraged at the sight of his friend in pain, Roberts immediately lined up a shot that hit the Outsider on the right causing him to faze away just as the other one from their earlier UFO mission. The second Outsider saw his copilot fall and immediately opened fire on Roberts' position. Roberts had enough time to dive behind a rock where the spot he was earlier had been set on fire from the plasma round that had struck it. He prayed that Han was alright, and that he had been enough of a distraction for his team, as the rock he was hiding behind was hit by a plasma round.
== With the Others ==
Noticing the alien's lack of focus on them, Blunt grabbed Han and dragged him out of the doorway as Sing rushed in with the Arc Thrower and immediately incapacitated the alien with a 50,000 volt shot. The Outsider immediately formed into a crystal shaped object and lay on the ground motionless, no longer a threat to the soldiers. After placing the crystal in a magnetic locking ring, Sing ran back to the others to check on Han. Thankfully, Han's new plating saved him from being eviscerated as the shots weren't able to penetrate the new layer, although he'd need a new body armor vest after this mission was over. The others gathered up the bodies, holding tanks, power supplies, and alien computers as Smokey headed out to check on Roberts.
== With Smokey ==
He had headed into the woods and had found the two dead aliens from Roberts' grenade fiasco earlier. He followed Roberts' tracks to the burning crater where he'd been standing before the Outsider's barrage. He then looked to his left where he saw a rock that had been vaporized by the second Outsider's barrage. He then looked closer and saw Roberts propped against the tree with his arm by his side limp. He had second degree burns on his left arm, and the bone appeared to be broken, as he wasn't able to move it around or grab anything. Other than that, Roberts was calmly sitting down listening to "Anthem for the Underdog" by 12 Stones. He looked up to see Smokey there staring at him and he uttered "What kept ya?" before passing out due to the pain radiating through his body. Smokey just laughed at his friend's antics as he carried him back to the skyranger for medical attention from Blunt.
== At the Skyranger ==
After getting Roberts stabilized and comfortable, the other members of Strike One finished securing the alien artifacts in the ship's hold, as they strapped themselves in for the long ride back to base.
AN: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'm pleased to say that somebody is taking the time to read my story. Never in my thoughts did I believe that anybody would give a damn about what I'm writing, let alone 200 different people. Thanks to everybody that has read at least one part of this story. I look forward to continuing this in the future. Remember all comments, reviews, and criticisms are welcomed. Until next time this is "The Nasty One" signing off.
- PRAK