AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE IS BACK WITH THE NEWEST CHAPTER OF XCOM: EARTH'S GUARDING SAVIORS! Welcome back guys I hope you're ready for the base defense chapter. Also, the poll is up on my profile for how you guys want the story to end, so vote for that please. I'll leave that up until Chapter 23 is posted. Also, I'm thinking about novelizing one of my playthroughs of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Let me know if that's something you guys would be interested in reading by dropping a PM or Review for me to read. Anyway, enough rambling let's get on with the chapter.

Chapter 21: Protect This House!

Bradford was still hunched over the control panel attempting to regain control of the XCOM base electronic door locks, unaware that his life was in serious danger. As the traitor pulled the trigger on the standard-issue sidearm of the base personnel he fantasized about letting the rest of the invaders free roam over the base and how he'd be treated as royalty amongst the aliens but was awoken by an unexpected sound.

*Click*

Quicker than a flash, Bradford spun around and disarmed the traitor and placed him in a sleeper hold, hoping to knock him out. He immediately recognized the man as Peterson, one of the dispatchers who had been with XCOM since the beginning.

"Why Peterson? Why betray your own race to those monsters?!" questioned Bradford as Peterson broke free and faced him down.

"Power of course my friend. Power and the promise of a better life as royalty amongst the Ravagers. I'd be known as the one who sold out the humans and gave them the victory."

"But, what about them betraying you and murdering you after the mission was finished?"

"I have a contingency plan for just that scenario."

At this point, Peterson swung wildly at Bradford going for the one hit knockout, while Bradford ducked under the swing and used Peterson's momentum against him. Throwing him forward into Bradford's rising knee and the sound of a broken nose was the result of the impact. Now blinded by pain and blood, Bradford chopped the back of Peterson's neck sending him into sweet unconsciousness. After securing him with handcuffs, Bradford then got back to reactivating the locks to help turn the tide against the Ravagers surprise attack.

== In Mission Control ==

The control room was in complete disarray as the Base defenders were trying to organize themselves against the Floaters and Chryssalids that were swarming their positions on the Balcony overlooking the room. So far only two of the Floaters, and one Chryssalid had been felled by the base personnel as two of them had been killed, one by the Floaters' plasma rounds, and one by the Chryssalid poisonous bite. Mercifully, the personnel had the sense to put him down once he got back up as a zombie. Currently, three personnel remained against the wave of four Floaters and two Chryssalids.

The first member was Isabella Maroni a mercenary formerly associated with the Italian military. She stood at 5' 7'' with long brunette hair stylized in a spiky ponytail and parted on the right side of her head. She was the acting squad leader and was equipped with one of the leftover laser assault rifle from the Armory. She was currently preventing the Floaters from flanking their position from the right with potshots.

Next we have Bernard Dickey an American pilot who was making the transition from pilot to soldier after discovering his fear of flying. (Shocking right?). He stood at 6' 0'' and had ran into the fray with a Laser Sniper rifle that he found lying on the ground next to a dead soldier. He had a faint buzz-cut of sandy-blond hair and was currently sporting a 5-o'clock shadow. He job was to prevent the Chryssalids from moving up the right flank from his perch behind a support column and taking potshots. He had already felled the first Chryssalid with a well-placed round.

The final member was Marcel Dubois a former French soldier who was currently suspended to base security after disobeying orders on the field. He stood at 6' 2'' and was well-built with muscles that were barely restrained by his base uniform. He was an Algerian-Frenchman and had immigrated from Algeria at a young age with his family which explained his dark complexion. He had a Black Mohawk that stood a good three inches from his scalp that intimidated his own comrades. He was equipped with a Laser SAW and was suppressing the Floaters attacking from the front of the group from his position behind an overturned table.

The situation looked grim for the defenders as they were slowly running low on ammunition. The Ravagers realized this and were currently amplifying the pressure ten-fold against them. Just as one Chryssalid broke through the line and prepared to end Dickey, a shot rang out as it was felled by a Plasma bolt to the chest. Surprised, Dickey turned and saw Prophet standing there with her rifle still aimed at the invading creature before being satisfied that it was dead if the twitching was any indication.

"Thanks a lot." Dickey replied with his distinctive southern drawl, being a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

"No problem cowboy." said Prophet with her Scottish accent shining through. "Renegade and Kauffman should be handling the others as we speak."

"Huh?" he responded as he saw the other aliens already dispatched and being disposed of by the two aforementioned soldiers who had annihilated the opposition with the help of Maroni and Dubois.

"Who are you guys?" questioned Dickey as the two regrouped with the others on the first floor.

"We're Strike One the best group of soldiers XCOM has to offer, we are the ones that get sent out to deal with most alien excursions that no one else can handle." replied a smirking Renegade as Prophet kissed him for his heroics.

"You know you sound like an asshole right Renegade?" asked Kauffman with her thick German accent.

"I know, just kidding. But we're the most successful group according to mission statistics."

"Agreed."

"Anyway, what's our next move?" asked Dubois who was growing impatient without having something to shoot at.

"Bradford has radioed and said that the motor pool is under attack, we need to get over there and stop the attack before too much damage is done." responded Maroni as she silenced her radio.

"Alright you heard the lady let's move people!" exclaimed Renegade as they rushed off to support the motor pool's defense team.

== At the Motor Pool ==

Only one member of the Base Security had managed to avoid the deathly rain of plasma bots from the two Cyber disks, and four Drones that were currently lighting up the vehicles stored here by XCOM. She was currently hiding behind one of the few remaining vehicles that were currently untargeted by the enemy.

Her name was Sandy Shipman a native of the Republic of Ireland and standing at 5' 8'' with long red hair that extended to the middle of her shoulder blades and was tied back in a simple ponytail. She was utilizing a Laser Rifle, and had a Medkit strapped to her left leg. She was her squad's designated Medic and had been held back in Support while they set up a defensive perimeter around the vehicles in the center of the motor pool. Unfortunately, the Ravagers had quickly surrounded them and dispatched them before she could attempt to heal their wounds or provide cover.

Now she was currently praying that her distress call would be answered as her position was discovered by one of the drones which alerted the Cyber disks to her location. She watched in sheer terror as the disks unfolded into their attacking stances and charged their cannons to fire at her. Believing this to be the end, she raised her rifle and unleashed a beam at the nearest drone hoping to at least take out one before she was incinerated.

The sight of the two disks exploding in front of her was what greeted her next as she saw two green plasma bolts hit the disks causing them to fall to the ground in heaps of flaming wreckage, as the drones were dispatched by the sound of two light machine guns ripping them to shreds.

She turned and was greeted to the sight of two snipers and two Mutons that she recognized instantly. They were Benjamin Watson, Black Widow, Johnny, and Chris four of the members of Strike One her idols on the base. They were what motivated her to apply into the soldier program as she wanted to go out in the world instead of only staying back at the base all the time. The foursome moved up to check on her, as the doors behind them opened and the group from Mission Control arrived.

"Looks like we got her just in time." commented Black Widow as she helped Shipman to her feet while surveying the damage.

"Sorry about your squad, we tried to get her as quickly as possible despite the malfunctioning doors." replied Johnny as he and Chris mourned the fallen soldiers.

"It's okay, you guys did the best you could given the situation. I just hope to be able to fight alongside you guys in the field one day." replied Shipman with a nod of thanks towards the squad.

"Us to, we always welcome new recruits." responded Watson as he hugged Kauffman, glad that she was alright.

"Anyway where's Ghost and Benson?" asked Chris since everyone else was also wondering the same thing.

"They've moved to the Hangar. That's apparently the only place left with any aliens still alive in it." replied Black Widow as she checked in with the Commander. The attack had been dealt with and the last surviving Ravagers were sealed inside the base with no hope of reaching their superiors and escaping. Now they were surrounded and the others were now on their way as they were in for a surprise.

== At the Hangar ==

The group consisting of two Mutons, five soldiers, and four base security personnel reached the Hangar and saw the final three members of Strike One waiting outside of it. Benson and Smokey were currently engrossed in a conversation involving their plans for later that evening, as Ghost was listening to "Young and Crazy" by Frankie Ballard on his IPod. The others sweatdropped at their lackadaisical approach to the aliens as Dubois spoke up.

"What are you guys doing? Aren't you concerned about the aliens in there?" he angrily replied.

Ghost heard him despite his loud music, and took out an ear bud to respond. "Nope, we already have a plan."

"And what pray tell is that?" replied the Frenchman.

"Fuck them up!" replied Smokey as he kissed Benson and grabbed his SAW from its perch against the wall. He kicked in the door and then shouted "Protect this house!" as he unloaded on the nearest alien situated inside. The poor Floater had no time to react as its life was ended in half a second.

The others rushed in after him as the other twelve aliens tried desperately to escape. It was all for naught as they were quickly dispatched by laser beams, plasma rounds, and copious amounts of explosives from the Muton brothers. Smokey even used his new training against the last two aliens. He used his Mind Fray ability to psionically mess with one alien causing it to panic and run away while he used his Mind Control ability to possess the other and shoot the first one in the back before it committed suicide on his order.

"Well that takes care of that, let's report back to the Commander than grab some chow." ordered Smokey as the group began the trek back to the Situation room.

"Wow these guys are good." whispered Dickey to Maroni as they trailed behind the rest.

"Yeah, no wonder they're the best squad of soldiers we have." replied Maroni.

"I just hope we impressed them enough, I'd hate to not be able to fight alongside them in the future." said Shipman joining their conversation.

"Yeah, maybe they can get me off of my insubordination punishment?" questioned Dubois as he too had dropped back to talk with the others.

"Look at them, they're already conversing with each other as a team." said Ghost to Black Widow as she embraced him in a hug as they walked.

"Yeah they'll make an excellent squad to replace Bravo team." concurred Black Widow as the rest of the walk was conducted in silence.

== At the Situation Room ==

"Thankfully, this situation has been dealt with. Hopefully, they'll think twice before they attempt another attack on our base." said the Commander to Bradford, Dr. Vahlen, and Dr. Shen as they discussed the attack.

"I agree, they will be reeling from this defeat and must be dealt with quickly before they regain morale." replied Bradford having sent Peterson to interrogation where he was currently spilling his guts on the deal he made.

"Yes, Peterson is very forthcoming with information regarding the Ravagers. He may be trying to barter with for his life." stated Dr. Vahlen who was taking a break from interrogating the traitor.

"Very true doctor. My crews are already back on line and are currently working to repair the damages and replace anything too far gone. We should be back at full strength within the week." contributed Dr. Shen.

"Excellent, now let's get Strike One's report on their battles." said the Commander as the group had just arrived.

== Several Hours Later ==

"I must admit, that is very excellent news Smokey. I'm glad that the training has paid off. Once we get back online we can test your compatibility with the Ethereal device to see if you can find out their plans."

Smokey nodded his affirmation as he stepped back in line after giving his report.

"As for you four" he said looking at the base personnel. "I'd be happy to create a new squad for you guys to replace the recently disbanded Bravo Squad. From now on you shall be official soldiers in the XCOM program operating as Strike Two. Maroni you shall be acting squad leader under the rank of Corporal as an Assault soldier. Dubois, Dickey, and Shipman will all be commissioned as Squaddies and be assigned as the Heavy, Sniper and Support soldiers respectively. Go ahead and move all your stuff into the Barracks near Strike One and then go ahead and get some chow and rest with the others. You'll all be training together in the future. Dismissed."

The four newly appointed soldiers saluted and moved off to do what they had been ordered to as the Commander returned back to Strike One.

"You guys have all been officially promoted. Ghost, Renegade, and Prophet will be Majors, Black Widow will be a Lieutenant, Benson and Johnny will become Sergeants and be allowed to choose nicknames, while Chris, Watson, and Kauffman will become Corporals. Go ahead and get some rest. Dismissed!"

The soldiers saluted and proceeded to exit the room and head off to the Mess Hall for some chow with the newly appointed Strike Two.

AN: And cut! That's the end of Chapter 21. Like it? Hate it? Leave a review or PM letting me know what you think. My profile will be updated with the new ranks and nicknames, as well as the information of the Strike Two Members. I love hearing from you guys and strongly suggest letting me know how I'm doing with this story. Also, remember to vote on that poll I mentioned earlier. Until next time this is "The Nasty One" signing off. -PRAK