ZCOM: Rise of the Resistance

by Untraveled

Twenty years have passed since the Aliens won the war. An Advent raid on a fringe settlement left most of Judy Hopp's family and friends dead. Drowning in despair Judy had given up until a mysterious organization took her in and gave her purpose. XCOM. Judy aspires to be the first bunny to join XCOM as a freedom fighter, only if she can survive her comrades first.

14. Chapter 14: Operation Havenfall

Chapter 14: Operation Havenfall

When every monitor on the Avenger flickered to life it was like looking at a window into a circle of Hell.

For the Veterans from the first Invasion it was like reliving a nightmare.

Speakers shook and trembled on their mounts as screams of agony and terror ripped from the throats of mammals that had been dead for 20 years.

The old recording shook violently as the Zootopia of old was bombarded from afar by fog pods. Alien bio-weapons that crashed into streets, businesses, homes and unlucky mammals fleeing in panic.

When the pods opened a sickly green mist erupted from its prison like a feral animal. Any unfortunate soul close to the fog pods when they opened were ensnared by the unearthly abomination and dragged into the green mists screaming as the life was drained from their bodies, leaving nothing left but a crumbling gray husk curled forever in the throes of agony.

This was Hell on earth.

This was the last days of Zootopia.

This was Haven's fall.

[OPERATION HAVEN FALL]

[DATE: 03 MARCH 2015] [TIME: 01:32 LOCAL]

[LOCATION: ZOOTOPIA]

[Helmet Camera: Colonel Nicholas Wilde] [Designation: OUTRIDER]

"CONTACT LEFT! CONTACT LEFT! FUCK, GET DOWN!"

A salvo of green plasma bolts blink through the dark rain drenched street of downtown Zootopia. The clatter of XCOM's conventional firearms respond in kind with their own brand of hot metal death. Each shot's violent report vibrating deep in Nick's chest, rattling his guts against his spine.

Nick's helmet mounted camera bounced wildly as the vulpine soldier sprinted through the heavy downpour, the rain making everything seem to go static. his heavy breathing drowned out the plasma bolts' impact and his squad's gunfire.

It was 30 minutes after 0100 in the morning, the only thing keeping the fox from mis stepping or running into something in the war torn streets was his natural night vision. Something his squad mates were lacking.

A glint out of the corner of Nick's peripheral vision was the only warning the red fox had as a huge bulky Alien leveled an equally massive rifle in his direction.

Instincts borne of dozens of battles had him working on auto-pilot. His body moved without conscious thought. He splayed his arms out and his padded knees scrapped the asphalt as he turned his hail-mary dash down the street into a baseball slide into home base.

Sickly green flashes and the hiss of burned ozone cooking the air where his head had just vacated, the plasma bolts narrowly missing him by a hairsbreadth as Nick slid across the rain soaked asphalt.

Before his momentum died his sidearm was already drawn and trained on the creature's head. The 9mm semi auto barked three times, the small caliber rounds drilling into the Alien's thick flesh, severely wounding it.

The bulky Alien roared in fury and sprayed a hail of plasma fire at the fox, but Nick's slide had taken him behind the cover of a large mammal sized four door sedan.

The car rocked from the Alien's gunfire and the stench of melting metal and plastic scorched Nick's sensitive nose. The Alien's weapon was literally eating away at his cover, but the fox seemed wholly unconcerned with his situation. He clicked his headset with a free paw.

"Hey Lucky, found our trigger-happy unwelcome guest. Mind taking care of him?"

"Yes Colonel!" An enthusiastic, youthful bellow shook the tod's headset. Nick chuckled and checked his weapons.

"Whenever you're ready Lucky, just take the shot."

A booming clatter ripped across the night times street. The muzzle flash of a massive light machinegun lit up the grinning face of an American bison as he mowed down the Alien keeping Nick pinned down.

The Helmet Camera followed as Nick peeked around the sedan's melted engine block, giving Skye and everyone else on the Avenger a good look at the carnage.

Each of the large rifle rounds punched through the Alien's armored torso, rending it into an orange swiss cheesed mush. The extraterrestrial didn't even have the chance to scream before its lungs were mulched and it collapsed to the rain soaked sidewalk.

Nick hauled himself to his feet and spared a glance at the creature that nearly took his life.

It was a Muton. A bulky mass of muscle, green armor, and rage with the vague shape of a rhino around its shoulders, though its face was that of a spider mixed with a shark.

"Good job Lucky. Fine shooting." Nick casually slung a two fingered salute in the bison's direction.

Lucky's face brightened, and he stood a little taller at the fox's praise, his hooves gripped his light machinegun a little straighter.

If someone had told Nick a year ago that mammals, and specifically prey mammals, would not only tolerate his presence but look up to him he would have scoffed and hustled them out of their wallet's contents.

Now, it was a different story, though, if given a choice, he would give this all up just for things to go back to the way they were before the Alien invasion. He missed his wife, daughter, and the peaceful days spent with them both in his arms.

He also missed not getting shot at by monsters falling from the sky almost as much, though he would never tell his wife that. She worried enough as it was while taking care of little Vivian and Skye.

His eyes unconsciously tracked to a photo taped to the inside of his helmet's visor. A quaint little family portrait with his wife and daughter. All three of them grinning like fools while tangled up on the photographer's chair.

The ewe that took the picture had the sourest expression he had ever witnessed on a sheep's snout, it was so bad even Mary, a mild mannered vixen of legendary proportions, had started giggling right along with him. His little girl didn't know what was going on, but she loved to laugh with her parents. Next thing they knew they were panting and pawing at each other in breathless laughter.

They didn't even know that the sour sheep had snapped the picture, but Nick fell in love with it had decided she deserved a tip, regardless of the prey mammal's clear distain for foxes.

Nick braced himself and took a breath. Not now Wilde. You can miss them later.

He clicked his headset.

"This is Outrider. EVAC route is clear."

Two heart beats later and Commander Bogo's low, grouchy rumble shook in Nick's ear.

[Outrider, this is Command. Saw it all on the Helmet Cams. Good work Gibson.] The bison's wide grin somehow stretched even further at his hero's praise. Commander Bogo was the young bovine's idol.

[Tomson, Grizzoli, secure the VIP.]

"Yes Commander." A Wildcat with brown fur and black stripes clipped. Tomson and Nick didn't really get along that well, though both were bitter cynics with similar views both quarreled constantly.

Despite this they did work well together, a fact both the fox and the wildcat loathe.

Tomson waved over Grizzoli (the same Gregor Grizzoli that Skye knows, though 20 years younger).

"Mr. Emmet, we have to go. Follow us." Tomson tucked his X-9 assault rifle under his shoulder and offered a paw to the small mammal leaning against a dumpster.

"You all made short work of our uninvited guests. I'm just glad XCOM's on earth's side."

An older otter accepted Tomson's paw and pulled himself to his feet with a grunt of pain. A bloody bandage clung to his side and his normally neat business suit was soaked from the rain and shredded into uselessness from Tomson's first aid.

Though he still carried himself with a sense of authority Nick could see the slight tremble in Emmet's knees. The otter was putting on a tough front, but his wounds were taking a toll on his body.

He's not long for this world if we don't get to the Skyranger soon.

A crack of thunder and a flash of lightening overhead lit up the sky, giving the Helmet Camera a momentary view on the devastated state of the cityscape around them. Husks of burned out vehicles and bodies littered the street. Some were gored from their fellow mammals fleeing in panic, others bore neat holes or exploded limb from Alien weaponry.

Others were partially devoured by some unearthly monstrosity that fell from the sky. Exposed flesh hung loose from gnawed bone with ribs pulled open and heads cracked, spilling their contents onto the rain soaked concrete. The blood and viscera dyed the streets of Zootopia crimson.

It was as if the city herself was crying tears of blood.

Nick's gaze froze over the small crumpled corpses of a male wolf shielding his mate's body with his own. Both were eviscerated beyond recognition, the female gutted, and the male's severed head held in her lap, both pairs of eyes clouded in death.

Then the moment of clarity ended, the cragged bolt of lightening winked out, plunging the city back into a sea of roaring rain and darkness, hiding the ugly reality behind an impervious curtain of night.

Even though XCOM and all of Earth's militaries fought valiantly against the Alien threat the truth is cold.

Earth was losing.

"We need to go." Nick was the first to break the silence. "We need to go now."

He pulled his sniper rifle to his chest and took off down the street at a trot as he thumbed his headset.

"Outrider to Command. We have the VIP and are enroute to Savanna Central Station for EVAC. How Copy? Over."

Commander Bogo's powerful growl rumbled over the radio. His voice was a bedrock operatives clung during any of XCOM's missions. When the Commander spoke mammals jumped with a quickness, when an order was given it was followed without hesitation.

Every single mammal in XCOM had an unbending loyalty and trust in Commander Bogo, even a cynical reformed criminal like Nick Wilde.

[Outrider, this is Command. Good copy, Charlie Mike. Break. All units be advised local forces are currently engaged throughout the city with Alien forces, assist them if able and escort any survivors to Central Station for EVAC by train out of the city. How Copy? Over.]

"Roger Command. Good Copy, proceeding to EVAC and assisting any taking their boots to our uninvited guests backsides. Outrider Out."

Wilde flicked a paw forward, his usually smooth, joking, charm stripped away, revealing the ruthlessly fury and cold calculating mind that he hid under his affable leniency. It was just another mask he wore, one he could take off and simply replace with a different mask.

If other mammals could see what was under those playful emerald eyes and easy smirk they would be running in the other direction.

"Gibson, take point. Grizzoli take the 9 O'clock. Tomson, take the 6. Mr. Emmet, stay with Tomson. I'll take the high ground at 3 O'clock."

No one spoke against the fox tod. No one dared cross him or crack a joke. He may act casual and look relaxed but there is a reason Nick Wilde had the highest kill count in XCOM.

The storm worsened. The helmet Camera's recording fizzed and shook, making those on the Avenger watching the 20 year old recording a little disoriented as Nick sprinted through the punishing torrent and practically flew up a rusted drainpipe to the rooftops above with an agility even rivalling squirrels.

As soon as his friction taped hindpaws hit the rooftop the squad took off down the street as Nick flung himself from rooftop to rooftop with an ease and relaxed demeanor of a morning jogger through a park. Even when several stories up in the air in the middle of a hurricane force thunderstorm and inches from plunging to his death Nick was calm and casual.

It was the sort of nonchalant indifference to danger only the crazy or truly insane possessed. No one was quite sure which Nick was, though few wanted to find out.

A coughing symphony of frantic gunfire close by drew Nick's attention. A flash and a roar a few streets over shook the boulevard. Gibson brought the squad to a halt and Nick slid to a kneeling position on the roof of some dilapidated department store.

[Command, this is Lucky. We got friendlies and mess of freaks tangling a couple streets over. What do we do? Over]

[Lucky, this is command. Flank them. Tomson, take the high ground when we get eyes-on. Grizzoli stick with the VIP. Gibson, you keep point and light up anything that's furless and ugly. I'll bring up the rear and support. Move.]

Skye clapped a paw to her muzzle as she watched her Uncle Nick from 20 years ago slowly lean over the roof's edge and let gravity take him. A muffled scream escaped the arctic fox as the sidewalk rose up to meet Nick.

The wily fox was not trying to commit suicide however. In an unreal test of strength and flexibility Nick caught a dead street light with a free paw and spiraled down the pole to kill his momentum. When he neared the bottom he let go and hit the street at an easy stroll without so much as a break in his easy stride as he followed his squad towards the furious gunfire.

When the squad made it to the gunfight it became apparent that the survivors were losing. ZPD officers were clumsily fumbling with unfamiliar conventional sidearms instead of their usual tranq weapons and they suffered severely for it. A dozen civilians cowered behind a collection of plasma bolt riddled vehicles as the mammals in blue feebly held off the vastly superior Alien forces.

A collection of Mutons and knee high gray creatures with comically large heads attached to feeble little bodies, Sectoids it looks like, were systematically dismantling the survivors with little casualties of their own.

As the squad was rushing into position one of the ZPD tigers took a plasma bolt to the face, his jaw and cheek exploded. Flesh and skull hissed and fizzled as the cat screamed and fell behind the car clutching his face. An elk in a black track suit saw the officer fall and in a panic made a dash for the alley before a flurry of plasma bolts blasted through his abdomen and spilling his intestines across the rain soaked streets.

The huge deer crumbled to his knees in shock and mechanically tried to scoop his guts back into his ruined stomach until his grey matter was spaced out the back of his skull by a plasma bolt and his suffering came to an end.

"This is Tomson. I got those fucks in my sights."

[Let 'em have it.] Bogo ordered.

A savage grin split the cat's lips. "With Pleasure."

Muzzle flashes and clattering gunfire from the storefront roof cut through the one sided stand-off. A sectoid's bubble shaped head burst like a watermelon and a muton's arm and knee shattered into oblivion, its savage bladed plasma rifle clattered to the ground.

All movement came to a grinding halt as the muton bellow and crumpled into an orange blooded heap. The Aliens stared in confusion at their screeching comrade.

That second of stunned hesitation was all the opportunity Nick needed.

The powerful .300 Winchester Magnum rifle punched against Nick's shoulder and the massive 220 grain full metal jacketed round roared out of the barrel at nearly Mach 3. The air shuddered as the sound barrier shattered with a deafening crack and a massive fireball from the lit up the night an instant before a muton's head exploded into a foundation of orange gore.

The muton's head splattering across its buddy's shell shocked face seeming to flip off the pause button and the Alien's ranks descended into chaos.

The child sized Sectoids scampered into a cowardly retreat and the mutons scattered for fresh cover as Tomson unleashed another salvo of assault rifle fire across their line, killing the wounded muton and splattering a second sectoid's insides across the door of a minivan.

A Sectoid vanished underneath a huge hoof pounding into the pavement, orange hued viscera spewed across the rain soaked sidewalk.

The retreating sectoids stared down business end of Gibson's machine gun in horror. the huge bison having appeared like a specter from a side alley with a maniac grin on his snout.

"Sup."

Gibson chuckled darkly at the blank expressions that gawked up at him before pulling the trigger. The 7.62 NATO rounds tore through the Aliens with a vengeful fury.

The knee-high frail naked gray bodies ruptured and burst under the salvo, shredded organs and orange blood splattered the sidewalk like some psychopath's abstract painting.

The survivors cowered behind their meager cover as Nick and his men made short work of the Aliens with brutal efficiency. The ZPD officers had the good sense to keep their heads down as the bullets whipped through the air and otherworldly screams tore from the throats of the dying invaders.

A muton's chest imploded, the invader slumped face first into a puddle, its rifle fired wildly as its limbs jerked wildly in its final death throes.

186…

Rifle's bolt twisted and pulled with a single motion. the spent cartridge spun free with a satisfying ping. Nick rammed the bolt home with a fresh round stripped from the magazine and the firing pin primed.

Another fleeing muton broke cover from behind a burned out sedan, its rifle spitting green plasma wildly in Nick's direction. A section of brick exploded a few inches from Nick's foot, the plasma bolt cutting through the rock like butter and blasted out from the roof behind here he was kneeling and narrowly missing his bushy red tail.

The close brush with death did not even elicit a twitch from the vulpine as he leveled his weapon at the offender and pulled the trigger.

A mad purring laugh rumbled from Nick's chest as he relished in his weapon's recoil and the geyser of orange gore that burst from the back of the Muton's skull. The deep rumbling noise crackled eerily over the recording, sending a chill up Skye's spine. It was an evil laugh, a vile warped perversion of elation and savage delight.

187…

"CLEAR!"

The hammering clap of Gibson's machinegun died, settling the bloody battleground into a shocked silence. Nick racked another fresh round home and clipped his rifle to his chest to make his descent to the street below.

A couple of the ZPD officers, an older male coyote and a mare with a scar across one eyebrow, made their way towards Gibson as he approached the survivors. The police officer's blue uniforms were bloody and torn, their equipment missing in some places with their paw and hoof wrapped tight around their pistols.

"ZPD! Halt! I-identify yourselves." The mare stammered as she struggled to crane her neck back to look up at Gibson in the face. Her eyes glanced nervously every now and then down at the huge (and still smoking) machinegun in his hooves.

"Special Forces." Gibson replied with the typical answer to that question.

"Special forces?" The mare looked down at her coyote partner. He shrugged, and she turned back to the huge bison with strange body armor and massive and very illegal weaponry.

"Special forces with who?" She asked.

"That's classified, I'm afraid."

The pair of officers turned to see an oddly familiar red fox in similar body armor with a sleek black sniper rifle strapped to his chest. The coyote's jaw dropped.

"W-Wilde?" He asked. The mare choked and gawked in disbelief at the grinning fox.

"Hey Officer Whifur, Officer Whinnybright, Long time no see." Nick waved.

"What the fuck are you doing here you lowlife scum?!" The mare snarled and drew her pistol at the vulpine soldier.

Nick looked completely unimpressed.

"Well I was just saving your sorry tails from getting your inside disintegrated by a bunch of little grey men from outer space, but who's counting?"

"DROP THE DAMN RIFLE!" Whinnybright roared. Wilde grinned.

"Make me."

"ENOUGH!" Officer Whifur snapped at his partner, his hazel eyes icy. "Jessie! Get a hold yourself! He just saved us!"

The mare stared in outrage at her partner.

"This FOX is a fucking criminal!" She hissed.

"He just saved us." He countered.

"This fox a felon with an illegal firearm!" She shouted in exasperation.

"You do know that 'this fox' is standing right here?" Wilde replied with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, by the way, Whinnybright, its unconvicted felon thank you very much. None of those charges stuck."

"You son of a bitch!" Whinnybright snapped.

Suddenly pain exploded from her head and everything turned white. When the mare came to her senses she was sprawled on the ground staring into twin pools of icy emerald fire.

"Care to repeat that little pony?" Nick whispered sweetly in the terrified mare's ear. Her mute, wide eyed stare and trembling ears was all the answer he needed. Officer Whifur watched in surprise but did nothing to assist his partner, even he was offended. Calling someone's mother a "bitch" was one of the worst insults you could utter to a canine.

"Good girl."

Nick hopped off the stunned officer's chest and started barking orders to the two other soldiers that materialized from the rainy gloom like phantoms from a nightmare.

"Grizzoli, get a head count of the survivors. Gibson, how are you on ammo?"

"I have a belt and a half colonel!"

"Just call me sir, kid. Take point, same as before. Tomson!"

"Yes sir?"

"Get with any wounded and try to get them on their feet and be quick about it! We're running out of time before the Skyranger is back in range for pick up."

"On it."

"Thanks. Officer Whifur?"

Nick turned to the coyote. The police officer had a conflicted frown on his muzzle but met Nick's eyes with an open expression.

"Yes?"

"How many officers do you have left?"

The coyote deflated and looked away in sorrow.

"Including me? Five. We lost contact with a few of the others while they were on patrol throughout the city districts so all the officers you see here are the survivors from Precinct 1. The chief of police and most of the others didn't even make it out of the building when the Alien's started hammering us with those damned fog pods and Aliens started dropping all over the city."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Nick said. To the officer's surprise the ex-con actually sounded sincere.

"What about your family?" Nick pressed gently. "Are they alive?"

The coyote seemed thankful for the change in conversation.

"Yeah, yeah. My wife's fine. She's with my little Adriana over there, by your grizzly bear."

"Good." Nick nodded.

"What about you?"

"What?"

Nick was caught off guard by the question. He wasn't used to receiving any sort of concern from other mammals, least of a from a cop. It took him a few moments to catch on to what the officer was asking about.

"Oh, my family? They're safe. We moved out of the city when I got offered this gig."

The older coyote snorted.

"Some gig. Never thought a street hustler would end up being me and my family's savior."

Nick chuckled.

"I know the feeling."

Their pleasant conversation was interrupted by Tomson's shout.

"Hey Wilde! We're as good as we are going to get while out here in this damned rain! Let's get moving!"

"Sounds good! I'll call it in." Nick clicked his headset.

"Command, this is Outrider. Civilians and five local law enforcement secure. Waiting on further orders. Over."

[This is Command. Good job mammals. Proceed with escort of the VIP with civilians in tow. Big Sky will pick up at Savanna Central Pavilion. How Copy? Over.]

"This is Outrider. Good Copy. Charlie Mike with escort of civvies and VIP to EVAC site. Outrider Over and Out."

The survivors groaned to their feet and started the march down to Savanna Central Station with Gibson leading the way and Nick trailing behind with Tomson to guard the rear.

For some odd reason lost on Nick Officer Whifur hung back in the rear with him after spreading the surviving police officers along the perimeter. Nick felt uncomfortable about the coyote officer's scrutinizing stare boring into the side of his head.

The fox looked in every other direction except towards his inquisitive admirer. Eventually he ran out of places to look at and his eyes trailed up to the thunderstorm overhead.

Seems the rains finally letting up for now. Though… why does that thundercloud over there seem strange?

A huge billowing behemoth of thunder and angry dark grey clouds rolled across the night sky. Lances of light raced across the inside of the huge cloud formation as it approached the city, cutting through the storm like a knife.

"I've seen you before."

Nick was shaken from his musing of odd cloud formations by a teenage female coyote, about 15 years old or so, with a look of disdain on her lips. Her gray tank top and shaggy green shorts clung wetly to her lithe frame.

"Yeah?" Nick asked, not quite understanding what this young stranger was getting at.

"Yeah, now I remember." The coyote spat. " you're a criminal! I saw Daddy arrest you."

"Adriana!" Officer Whifur snapped, pulling the rebellious coyote's scowl from Nick to himself.

"What? Its true!" She exclaimed to her father.

"Mr. Wilde was never convicted of any crimes, as frustrating as that is, but he did just save us, so show some respect."

"No its fine Officer." Nick chuckled. "Your daughter's right to be cautious around mammals like me. You wouldn't have had to arrest me otherwise."

"Paranoia is never a good trait to encourage." Officer Whifur grumped with a curl of his lips.

"Paranoia kept me and my family alive for this long." Nick replied. "In times like these being overly cautious is a necessity."

"Speaking of cautious." Adriana cut in with a sly grin on her narrow muzzle. "Dad, I want a gun."

"No. absolutely not." Officer Whifur put his foot down on the matter. "You're only a child and, even if you weren't, guns are illegal unless you're a police officer."

"But dad-" She pleaded.

"I said no Adriana." Officer Whifur cut her off.

"Fine." Adriana turned her icy gaze to Nick. "Hey you. You're not a cop. Can I have one of your guns?"

"Adriana!" Officer Whifur looked about to smack some sense into his daughter.

"What?" She threw her arms up in the air. "He's some kinda ex-criminal right? That means he used to be a bad guy. Bad guys always carry a bunch of guns, so that means he has to have a few guns on him, right?"

Nick chuckled, interrupting whatever Officer Whifur was about to say.

"Well, you're not wrong there kit." Nick reached down to his right ankle and tugged a small hold-out revolver from its concealed holster.

"It's a memento from my days as a 'bad guy'." He explained to a wide-eyed Adriana. "its not much, just an old .38 snub nose pistol. This little thing saved my life, and my family's, more times than I care to count."

He carefully passed the small revolver over to the young coyote, who took held it with shaking paws as if it were some venerated relic.

"It's only got six shots though, so make sure you hit what you're aiming at." Nick cautioned. "But remember to listen to your dad. He has more experience than you with guns, can you promise me that?"

"Y-yeah…" The young coyote mumbled in a small, dazed voice. "Yeah, I can do that. T-thank you."

Adriana wrapped her fingers around the pistol's molded rubber grip, her eyes wide in awe at the weight of the small weapon and the power she now wielded. It scared her a little.

"Mr. Wilde, a word?" Nick was pulled aside by a scowling Officer Whifur.

"What do you think you are doing?" The coyote snarled in a harsh whisper. "You just gave my daughter a bloody gun of all things!"

"I just gave your daughter her best chance at surviving this mess." Nick shot back. "can you guarantee that while you're running around trying to protect every mammal here you can always be there to keep your daughter safe?"

Officer Whifur's mouth opened but no words came out.

"I thought not." Nick continued. "Someday your daughter is going to have to learn to fight for herself, and she even came to you first. She wanted you, her father and protector, to show her how to fight. Instead she had to rely on some stranger, someone she saw you arrest, to give her the means to protect herself." Nick narrowed his emerald eyes into a venomous scowl at the stunned coyote officer. "You should be ashamed."

Officer Whifur looked away, finding himself unable to hold the fox's piercing gaze.

"Perhaps… Perhaps you are right. Thank you for showing me what I have to do." The officer admitted.

All further conversation was cut off by an excited shout from the front of the survivors.

"Look! I see Savanna Central Station! We're almost there!"

A cheer rose up from the exhausted survivors. The train station was a beacon in the dark city. Its back up generators still powering the massive spire shaped building, giving life to the lights shining through its massive windows and its trains that were running non-stop to evacuate as many mammals as if can from the devastated city.

All that was between the survivors and freedom was the central pavilion, a wide circular expanse that lead up to the majestic train station.

"Come on! Let's go!" An excited badger shouted and dashed across the pavilion towards a barricade manned by a scattering of local military and the surviving members of the ZPD. The badger was soon followed by a group of other zealous mammals whooping and hollering in joy at finally reaching sanctuary.

The mammals guarding the barricade noticed the commotion the mammals were making and opened the barrier for them.

"Damned fools." Nick rolled his eyes skyward. "They were lucky no sniper had picked them off running full tilt out into the open like that."

[All units, this is Command. Big Sky is inbound to your location, ETA 10 seconds.]

Nick cast his eyes skyward as a sleek VTOL with twin engines and swept back wings circled around the station to prepare to land in the center of the pavilion.

"Alright, my ride's here. I can't wait to get back." Nick sighed.

"Do you think its safe?" Adriana asked nervously. Nick shrugged and chuckled.

"I think your idiot friends up there cleared that for us, unless the Aliens are waiting for something…"

Nick said as he watched the strange thundercloud he had seen before roll right over the train station. A deep rumble shook the air as lances of colored lights raced across the huge cloud and collected all in a single spot.

No.

His eyes widened in horror.

"WAIT!"

Nick shouted with his arms waving in the air as the rumbling hum deepened as dread grew heavy deep in his chest.

"RUN!"

He roared at the mammals staring at him skeptically from behind their safe barricade. What was this fox doing, telling them what to do? They were safe behind a barrier with a mountain of guns and soldiers. What could this shady criminal be doing, sprinting towards them and telling them to run?

Nick pointed to the sky, towards the huge "thundercloud" hovering directly over the station.

"IT'S A TRAP!"

The confused expressions on the soldiers' faces were forever burned into Nick's memory.

One of the wolves opened his mouth to curse the fox out- right before a huge beam of energy engulfed the train station, incinerating the massive building and all its occupants, erasing them from the face of the Earth.

A massive shockwave blew Nick off his feet. The heat followed the fox tumbling through the air, singing his red fur and turning the ground around what was once the train station into slag.

Skye yipped in emotional pain as she watched Nick smack into the pavilion and skid across the pavement, leaving a streak of blood in his wake. The vulpine soldier landed bad on his shoulder, his arm wrenched into his ribs. The impact left him gasping for air.

"N-no…" Nick gurgled. His eyes stared at the mountain of magma glowing in the night time darkness. They're gone, all of them. Nick closed his eyes. How is he going to get the rest of the civilians away to safety without the train now?

[Outrider! Outrider, Report!]

Commander Bogo's concerned voice over Nick's headset pried the fox into action. With a wince and a small groan of pain Nick clicked his headset.

"It-it's okay. I'm okay Chief…" Nick panted. "I'm alive."

[What was that? What did you see?]

"A warship." Nick struggled to draw breath. "Those… those fucks blasted the fucking train station with a god-damned warship."

[This is Big Sky. I managed to gain some distance from that huge UFO's weapon. I'm coming around for another pass for EVAC. ETA 60 seconds.]

Nick turned his eyes up to the massive construct hovering ominously over the city. The huge energy blast cleared the clouds that concealed it, revealing a huge set of rings with arcs of power jumping from one ring to the other.

Nick struggled feebly to rise to his feet but failed to get off his knees.

"I got you colonel." Huge hooves wrapped around the fox's back and effortlessly lifted him to his feet.

"Thanks Gibson." Nick said. The bison grinned.

"Come on col- sir. Let's get-"

"GIBSON! BEHIND YOU!"

"Wha-?"

The bison barely turned around in time for a massive wall of taut muscle encased from head to toe in blood red armor to smash headlong into him, carrying both Gibson and Nick off their feet into a brick wall.

Nick was lucky. He had enough advanced warning to push off of Gibson's flank right before impact. When he smacked into he wall his helmet took the brunt of the abuse, though Gibson was not so fortunate. The wall cracked and crumbled from the huge impact. The Bison wheezed from having the air knocked from his lungs.

A berserker, fuckin' wonderful.

The massive Alien roared in rage and cocked back his arm, twin blades affixed to the berserker's gauntlets flashed in the magma's red light. The massive weapons smashed into the young bison's skull, sending one of his huge horns spinning and cutting a swath of flesh and fur from Gibson's face.

The young Bison screamed in agony and thrashed his remaining horn, the curved point caught the Alien under the chin, jerking at off of him.

Gibson held a hoof to his bleeding face. He felt the base where his severed horn once sat.

"Fucking Aliens… and your… fucking… cheap shots…" Gibson wheezed. The berserker roared and charged.

"Go… to… Hell…" Gibson shook the blood from his eyes and rose his machinegun to his hip and held down the trigger. The huge weapon sputtered out a salvo of high powered rifle rounds, most of which finding a permanent home in the berserker's flesh.

But even that didn't stop the crazed monstrosity. The huge berserker ignored the bullets tearing into its armor and body and swung with its bladed gauntlets, the sharpened metal punching into the bison's shoulder.

Gibson roared in pain threw a wide left hook into the behemoth's helmeted face. The vicious blow actually took the Alien off its feet and wrenching its blades free of Gibson's shoulder.

[Wilde, get that thing's attention!] Commander Bogo shouted over the radio.

"Got it Chief."

Nick found his opening and snapped his rifle to his shoulder and fired. The berserker's shoulder whipped back from the heavy round's impact, the taut muscle underneath the compromised armor exploding out its back in a foundation of orange gore.

The berserker snarled and barreled straight for Nick, a mistake the cost it dearly.

With a guttural bellow Gibson lowered his head and charged, catching the Alien under its arm and straight into its exposed flank. The bison felt bone and flesh buckle from the impact, leaving the Alien in breathless agony.

Gibson flicked his head, slinging the berserker to the ground where he and Nick filled it full of holes until both mammals' weapons ran dry.

"Y-you alright colonel?" Gibson asked between gulps of air.

Nick checked himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just lost most of my pistol's magazines, the rest of me is rattled but alive."

The spinning whine of Plasma rifles split the silence. Sections of pavement kicked up and exploded around the two XCOM operatives, forcing them to take cover behind a building about a hundred yards away from the survivors and the rest of the squad.

"Shit, it's another trap!" Tomson swore over the radio.

[Outrider, this is Command. Get to a vantage point and take out those snipers!]

"No problem chief!" Nick turned to Gibson with a sly smirk spreading across his muzzle.

"Hey Lucky, mind fastballin' me to the third floor window?"

Gibson's bleeding face split into a smile matching his superior's.

"With pleasure colonel." He laid his hoof out for Nick to step onto it and curl his legs lick a spring. The fox chuckled.

"My Lucky, what enthusiasm! Its almost like you can't wait to get rid of me!" Nick snarked.

"Perish the thought colonel. Now I don't have to wait to get rid of you! Ready?"

"Do it."

With a grunt Gibson slung the fox skyward as Nick snapped his legs off the bison's hoof like a springboard. He caught the third floor window sill and vaulted inside with his rifle already pressed to his shoulder.

"This is Outrider. I got eyes on the uglies taking pot-shots. Three Mutons on rooftops. I think I see more movement over there too. I think we are about to have a lot of company."

[This is Command. Waste 'em. Give the survivors cover fire until Big Sky can get them all onboard.]

"Right. Firing."

The first muton's cranium burst with a pop. The corpse tumbled from the edge to splat on the street below.

188…

The second muton was not as stupid as its fellow and dove for cover behind a metal beam, though that proved useless as its mass was still visible around the slender metal plate. Nick put a round through his knee to make it fall then drilled a second round through its heart.

189…

The last sniper received a fist sized hole through its throat, decapitating the monstrosity in the process, its head spun away into the darkness as its body crumpled to the floor.

190…

[This is Big Sky coming in for a landing. Hurry it up, this jumpship isn't meant to take too many hits.]

Tomson and Grizzoli went first with Mr. Emmet. The wounded otter had to be half-carried across the pavilion to the Skyranger waiting for them.

[VIP secure, send over the civvies next.]

While the civilians dashed across the pavilion Gibson limped to the Skyranger and took cover beside the ramp with his machinegun at the ready.

About half of the civilians made it across when Nick felt the building he was in tremble.

That's not good.

A sudden crash and the building groaned and buckled in on itself as something down in the floors below smashed the building from the inside out.

"IT'S A SECTOPOD!" Tomson shouted in panic.

"I can see that!" Nick snarled into his headset as the room he was in tilted inwards, the furniture surrounding him began to slide across the floor, threatening to take him with them.

Who wants to live forever anyway?

Nick flung himself from the window. The same window that was three stories off the ground. The fox spun in midair and squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the impact.

The breath was knocked out of him and his back lit with fiery pain as he impacted onto the hood of a wolf sized sedan and bounced off onto the pavement. He landed and tried to roll with the impact but all he succeed in doing was wrenching his tail something fierce and collecting a new set of bruises.

Well, I'm not dead. Somehow.

Nick struggled to force some air into his screaming lungs and climb to his feet. He gripped the sedan that saved his life and pulled himself up.

The building he was in collapsed with a thunderous roar and a huge wave of dust that peppered Nick with stinging bits of debris.

The ground trembled, causing the sedan to bounce a little across the asphalt. A massive metal foot smashed into the ground with a booming thud.

A two story tall robot with two bipedal legs and a huge energy cannon stood up from the collapsed remains of the building it just destroyed. It's body was a glossy silver pod with a single crimson eye shining in Nick's direction.

"Fuck."

Nick scrambled away as the plasma cannon unleashed a salvo of energy bolts. The air popped and hissed as the plasma superheated the air, catching it of fire.

[Command, I got to take off. If the Skyranger takes a direct hit from that Sectopod we're all dead.]

[Roger Big Sky… you-you are clear for takeoff.]

"What?!" Nick snarled into his headset. "You can't leave! What about all these people you're leaving behind?! What about me?!"

[…]

"Chief!" Nick roared into his headset and ducked a burst of plasma bolts that seared a trough into the pavement.

"Commander!" Gibson piped up over the radio. "Let me go and help take that thing down!"

[NO! Gibson you board the Skyranger. That's an order.]

"But-"

[NOW GIBSON! Big Sky, take off immediately!]

"NO!" Nick roared as the Skyranger's ramp clamped shut with a hiss and the twin engines roared to life.

"BOGO YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!" Nick screamed. "YOU CAN"T LEAVE ME HERE! I HAVE A FAMILY YOU BASTARD! I HAVE A WIFE! I HAVE A DAUGHTER!"

[I'm sorry Wilde.] Bogo's voice was heavy with regret. [But the risk is too great. I'm… I'm sorry.]

"NO! BOGO, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE! BOGO?!"

Skye stumbled back as her Uncle Nick pleaded, begged for Bogo to save him.

"WOLFORD?!"

The arctic vixen fought to tear away from the screen, but she was rooted to the spot, forced to watch this nightmare unfold until the end.

"SHEN?! PLEASE!"

A shuddering sob slipped from her throat as a wave of nausea crashed into her system, making her head swim and the room spin.

[COMMANDER BOGO SEVERED CONNECTION]

[RECORDING END]

As the screen froze and Nick screams for mercy died stunned silence consumed the workshop. The quiet only broken by Skye's sobs.

Commander Bogo closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He didn't want her to find out this way.

He turned and reached out for the Vixen's trembling shoulders as she buried her head in her paws and cried.

"Shen, I-"

Skye savagely struck his hoof aside. Her chest heaved in sorrow and her eyes reddened as hot tears poured down her cheeks.

"Traitor."

Her voice was barely above a harsh whisper. As she stared up at the mammal responsible for her Uncle Nick's death.

Bogo opened his mouth, but Skye beat him to it and slapped him with all the strength she could muster.

The buffalo's head jerked from the blow, his cheek burned where her paw had struck him. He looked up in time to watch the broken hearted vixen flee from the room crying.

Bogo looked down at the floor and took it all in. He deserved this. The anger, the hate. He was responsible for it all. He betrayed Nick Wilde and he died a very violent death for it. He died hundreds of miles away from his family.

He couldn't even give them a body. The only thing left of Nick Wilde was an empty pine coffin and an XCOM flag.

Theses thoughts stuck with the cape buffalo was he marched from the workshop to the Command Bridge.

When Commander Bogo looked up [RECORDING END] flashed accusingly from every screen in the room and every eye in the room was on him.

Character Dossier

Creator: Carbonrap45 (AO3)

Name: Adriana Whifur
Age: 35 (Age during Operation Havenfall: 15)
Gender: Female
Species: Coyote

Appearance: Black fur and deep golden-brown eyes with a lean muscular physique. Dresses light in favor of mobility and stealth, often seen with a recon hood and half mask with a shemagh around her shoulders.

Brief History: Grew up on the streets of Zootopia before the invasion. After capture by an Advent raid early in their occupation of earth Adriana escaped from custody and has been on the run ever since with extensive experience in paw to paw combat.

Personality: Paranoid, determined, lets slip little about herself while willing to talk to others

Positive traits: Empathic to those that suffered under Advent, has knowledge of combatting most Advent trooper types.

Flaws: Has little faith in new recruits and often refers to them as "fresh meat", paranoia tends to flare up at the worst of times.

Creator: Thelegendliveshere (AO3)

XCOM DATABANK RECORDING BEGINS
Name: Rory "Lucky" Gibson
Age: 41 Years Old (Age during Operation Havenfall: 21)
Gender: Male
Species: American Bison
Appearance: Shorter than average, lost left eye and horn sustained from service within XCOM, dark grey eye (remaining), rich brown coat.
Personal Service History: Prior to the initial Invasion of Earth Rory lived and worked within the central United States with his father Chase Gibson as an automotive mechanic. He preferred such quoting "A good life need not be an exciting one, but one filled with purpose and self-satisfaction.", however his home quickly became a target for abduction raids by the aliens. He was only one rescued and recruited by XCOM, where he began to take vengeance for his broken home. His nickname "Lucky" was derived from his sole survivor combat status and personal experience. When XCOM was discovered it cost him his second home, his left eye and horn, as well as his pride. Now twenty years have passed, but there are whispers "XCOM LIVES".
Personality Profile: Devoted, Sage Advice Quotes, Father Figure, Team Player.
Positive Traits: Mechanical and Explosive expertise, Prior War Experience.
Negative Traits: Overly cautious, Personal Distain for Advent and Ex-Advent Personnel.
Wolford note: If we can find him, Rory would be an invaluable asset to XCOM. it is unknown if he is fit for combat duty after the raid on home base, but his experience would more than make up for it. Maybe Shen could use the help in engineering…
XCOM DATABANK RECORDING ENDS

Name:CommanderOps (AO3)

Name Gregor 'Brick' Grizzoli
Age: 40 (Age during Operation Havenfall: 20)
Gender: Male
Species: Grizzly Bear

History: Gregor was a fresh face heavy weapons specialist when the XCOM Headquarters was assaulted by the Invaders. He and his comrades/squad buddies that also were freshly promoted to some specialist was tasked defending a maintenance tunnel. They bravely held it till the dreaded sound of skittering from above. He was the lone survivor of a squad of six that escaped with the other survivors of the base. He continued to dutifully serve what was left of XCOM, but as the years go by and the more comrades he lost he became slowly numb to the loss of the life that he regards any new rookie as just another number to the wall. He was denied the rank of Sergeant based upon the mixed review of his leadership, leading successful operations but at the cost of an injured/dead rookie.

Basic Personality Traits: Serious, Reserved

Positive Traits: Heavy Weapons Specialist, Strong, Prior War experience

Negative Traits: Chronic Alcoholic, Hates Robots of any form, PTSD with Chrysalids.

Name: Scott Tomson

Age: 48 (Age during Operation Havenfall: 28)
Gender: Male
Species: Felis silvestris (wildcat)
height: 3 feet 2 inches
Fur pattern: brown with black strips
eyes: amber brown
Personality Traits: a cracked Stoic mask that hides a broken mammal

Back Story: Before the invasion to say Mr. and Mrs. Tomson had it all was not far from the truth they ran a small corner store that had the income for them to live comfortably as that prepared to welcome a bundle of joy to the world.
The invasion hit Tomson's world like a storm, Tomson had been out buying new stock for the store when the attack came and was all but over by the time he got back to his store to find his wife crushed under rubble of the floor above, the invasion had come and taken Mrs. Tomson and left Mr. Tomson a husk.
when X-com started looking outside the military for volunteers Tomson signed up without question the aliens has crushed his world now he was going to crush them, it did not take long for Tomson's comrades to learn of the fury that had consumed him he fought with an almost reckless abandon till the mission that changed him.
Tomson and his comrades where responding to alien attack on civilian populated zone well in transit the Squad was informed to hold on use of explosives as their where still civilians in the builds, on mission Tomson saw an opening to take out two squads of combatants with a grenade, Tomson tossed the grenade it took the aliens but also brought down the build near them.
Reports later confirmed that a family of five had been killed by the buildings collapse, opening Tomson's eyes to the rage that had possessed him and how made him no better than the monsters that took his wife from him, this changed Tomson but before he could start to atone for what he had done X-com was disbanded.
Now twenty years later as firebrand landed at the encampment, it is "The Call" and he will answer, always. the rhino and panther looked on as the feline briskly walked up to Wolford, Tomson stood to attention and saluted "Scott Tomson reporting for duty, Sir!"

Good Traits:
1. experienced with most standard-issue X-com weapons and gear preference being an assault rifle and sword.
2. Quick working mind lets Tomson adapt to un for seen circumstances quicky and efficacy.
3. expert in Pistol Marksmanship with one of his wife's last mementos a small sidearm that is always loaded and never far from his side even when he sleeps and showers.

Negative Traits:
1. willing to draw his firearm to get his point across in an argument.
2. not willing to carry grenades in any form or use grenade launchers.
3. cannot deal with flirtation from females (or anyone) often ended with a hiss from Tomson making most women back off, when that did not work a raised paw baring not only his claws but his wedding ring did.