Objective: Retaliation
The Citadel, Mess Hall
"He shouldn't have lived," Abby stated flatly as she took a sip of her water.
Patricia snorted in derision. She was always miffed when people said that, since they were clearly wrong. Otherwise it wouldn't have happened. "I suppose Luke disagreed." She responded, shrugging.
Abby gazed at her wearily, exhaustion in her face and eyes. "You didn't see the body when it was brought in. I thought they were bringing him in for an autopsy at first."
"So how bad was it?" Patricia asked as she ate one of the rolls she'd gotten.
"Bad," Abby answered unhelpfully. "Multiple puncture wounds in his lungs, chest and heart. Also one in his leg, though that wasn't an issue. His blood loss was catastrophic and his lungs had essentially collapsed."
"Bad." Patricia agreed. She was actually impressed that he was still alive based on that list of wounds. "Good thing Creed brought that med-kit."
"Good thing they cleaned up so quickly after he was shot," Abby corrected wearily. "If they'd brought him back even a half-hour later, he would have died, med-kit or no."
"So…" Patricia continued after a pause. "How is he now?"
"I'm keeping him in an induced coma for now," Abby explained, resting her arms on the table. "He'll live…but I'm not sure if there'll be permanent damage or not, and if so, to what extent. He needs to have all his energy focused on healing for a few days, then I'll let him wake up."
"How bad could it be?" Patricia asked.
"Worst case?" Abby answered worriedly, her eyes filled with exhaustion. "The amount of blood he lost could lead to mental deficiencies. He'll be more prone to heart attacks and could suffer breathing problems. I don't think he'll lose any functionality in his limbs, but it's possible he loses feeling instead."
"Bad." Patricia repeated grimly, looking down at her plate.
"That's a worst case scenario, though," Abby reminded her, perking up slightly. "It probably won't be that bad."
"I hope you're right," Patricia agreed. "At that point I probably would have just wished they'd just killed me."
Abby shrugged. "Luke doesn't strike me as the type to really complain about that. He'd likely just shrug and move on."
Patricia nodded in agreement thinking back to some of their conversations. "Probably. It's one of his admirable traits."
Abby raised an eyebrow. "He has unadmirable ones?"
She took a drink. "He can be stubborn."
"That's probably why he's alive," Abby gave a faint smile. "It certainly isn't because his wounds were trivial."
"Are you keeping him in one of those rooms I was in?" Patricia asked, finishing up her roll.
"No," Abby shook her head. "I've got him in one of the ICUs. He needs to be on life support at least for now."
"Ah," Patricia nodded. "I suppose that means no visitors?"
"Not into the actual room," Abby clarified, taking a sip of her drink. "But that hasn't stopped Mira from coming in to check on him."
Patricia raised an eyebrow. Hmm. "Mira came to check on him?"
"Trust me, I was surprised," Abby agreed, shaking her head for emphasis. "I didn't know they knew each other well."
Patricia frowned for a second, then smiled. "You clearly haven't been paying much attention," she told her amused. "They've been talking quite a bit recently."
Abby looked at her with interest. "Really? Huh. Didn't really expect that," she shrugged. "Well, good for them, I guess. Maybe Mira will lighten up if she managed to make a friend."
"That will probably be contingent on how well Luke recovers," Patricia speculated. "In any event, I think I'll go see how he's doing as well."
"Just don't go in the room." Abby warned her as she got up to leave.
"Don't worry," Patricia assured her. "I won't do anything to make it worse."
The Citadel, Medical Ward
Patricia waved her hand absentmindedly as she approached the door which slid open as the motion sensors detected her. No one was in the small waiting room, so she waited a few seconds. When it was clear no one was coming, she shrugged and kept walking into the hallway towards the actual wards. She looked up at the signs and found the one marked "Intensive Care Units" and headed that way.
The hallway was utterly silent, barring the faint beeps and hissings of automated machines. She didn't particularly like it. Medical wards were downright creepy when seemingly abandoned. She supposed it was a good thing since it indicated that they weren't needed as much. Didn't make her any less uneasy, regardless of how irrational it really was.
As she turned the hallway the walls to her left gave way to large glass windows with a door beside them. Inside the rooms were the ICU machines and virtually nothing else. The rooms themselves were fairly small, more like cubicles, but since the people in them were usually unconscious, that probably wasn't a big issue.
She paused when she saw Mira standing in front of another ICU room. The Kidon operative was wearing her customary gear and staring stoically into the room, although there was one major difference than usual. The hood that normally concealed her face was down.
From the side, she almost looked like a normal woman. Her cropped raven hair obscured the side of her face and the light gave the illusion of her skin being slightly redder than usual. Still, to her knowledge, Mira had only removed her hood once, and that was just to make a point. Not to mention she'd put it back up a few seconds later.
She walked slowly up to her, so as not to startle her. Actually, knowing Mira, she'd probably known she was here the moment she turned the corner. Mira didn't acknowledged her regardless and Patricia stopped beside her and turned to look into the room.
Abby hadn't exaggerated. Tubes and wires were hooked into Luke's body, bandages and cases were on his chest and leg. Some sort of breathing apparatus was also attached to his mouth. It looked incredibly uncomfortable. The machines beside him blinked methodically as his chest rose and fall.
"You spoke with Abby?" Patricia asked, not looking over.
"Yes," Mira answered, neutrally as ever. "He'll live."
Patricia pursed her lips. "There may be complications."
"Unlikely," Mira stated. "He'll recover fully." The sheer certainty with which she said it almost convinced her.
"You really think so?" Patricia asked, looking over at her.
"He's stronger than you think." She answered, still looking into the room. "He will."
There was silence for a few moments. "I'm somewhat surprised to see you here." Patricia finally said. "You didn't strike me as the type to be overly sentimental."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mira look up at her and she returned her piercing gaze. She suppressed a shudder looking at her skinless face, it was worse than she remembered. It honestly reminded her of a corpse rather than a living person. Her eyes were the only part of it that retained any semblance of life. The rest was a dead mockery.
"Tell me," Mira asked holding her gaze. "Do I look sentimental to you?"
"Not expressively, no," Patricia maintained eye contact, not convinced she was hiding her facial expressions overly well. "But you are here regardless."
Mira's ruined lips curled into a mockery of a smile as she looked away. "So I am. I wanted to see him. Is that hard to understand?"
Patricia sighed and looked back into the room. "I suppose not. But it's abnormal for you."
Mira didn't respond to that and they listened to the beeping of machines for a few minutes longer. "I make you uncomfortable, don't I?" She finally asked, looking back at her.
Patricia contemplated her response. Mira wasn't stupid and she'd probably respond better to honestly than an obvious lie. And Patricia didn't do obvious lies very well to begin with. She shrugged. "Yes. I'd be more surprised if someone wasn't, to be honest."
"So would I," Mira mused, looking back at Luke. "I'm under no illusions of how I look. People tend be uncomfortable around me. Once it got to the point where it became a hindrance to effectively work with others. That's why I started wearing the hood, not a perfect solution, but a decent one."
"Considerate," Patricia acknowledged. "I suppose it's made some conversations less awkward."
"Without a doubt," Mira agreed. "It's an effective tool. Human fears and psychology are fairly easy to predict. People who wouldn't normally talk suddenly became very chatty when someone who looks dead comes to speak with them."
Leave it to Mira to turn a horrific disfigurement into an advantage. It was slightly amusing to picture some criminal scared witless by her walking into the room. "Does it hurt?" She asked, hoping it wasn't too prying a question. But she was curious and Mira seemed surprisingly chatty at the moment.
"All the time," she answered tonelessly. "Every movement causes pain. The first few days I wanted to die. Just being exposed to the air was like having acid eat into you." She shrugged. "But now I've gotten used to it. Speaking and small facial movements almost feel numb. But the pain never goes away completely."
Patricia didn't really know how to answer that. It sounded painful beyond belief. She had a high pain tolerance, but couldn't really imagine actually living with continuous pain every day of her life. "Not many people could live with that," she finally said slowly. "The fact that you are says a lot. Perhaps Luke isn't entirely wrong about you."
Mira's tone now had small inflections of amusement. "I suppose I'll take what I can. It was higher than the last time we spoke." She paused for a few minutes. Patricia got the impression she was preparing to ask something else. "You spoke with him before the mission yes?"
Patricia nodded. "I did."
"What did you tell him?" She questioned, looking up at her.
"I suppose you're asking for a reason?" Patricia countered, wanting to know what she was getting at before replying.
"No, I'm asking because those words just randomly came out of my mouth," Mira answered in the same tone, her sarcasm briefly throwing her off. "Yes, I'm asking for a reason. Luke mentioned 'talking' before he left, and he seemed…off."
"Oh, I didn't say much," Patricia answered, keeping her voice as nonchalant as possible. "Just that you two should probably talk."
Mira pursed her lips and Patricia sighed. "Stop pretending. You're interested in him and anyone even half-paying attention could see it."
"That is none of your business." Mira snapped, her tone dangerously cold.
Patricia raised her hands in appeasement. "Very true. But if my conversation was any indication, it probably goes both ways."
Mira was silent. "Now, you could keep avoiding this," Patricia continued. "However, I doubt it's going to go away and if you wait too long it might be too late. Don't think I didn't notice you glaring at that KSK operative talking with him."
"You should probably leave before I punch you." Mira warned icily.
Patricia cracked a smile. "I'll do that. Goodbye, Mira. Don't worry about Luke, especially if he's as tough as you say." With that she backed away and left the woman alone, standing in front of his room like a guardian angel of sorts.
Or a demon.
The Citadel, Office of the Commander
"How essential do you think it will be?"
Zhang paused before answering. "That depends on how essential you believe this transponder could be."
The Commander rested his chin on his fist. That alien transponder Zhang had stolen from the Triad was currently sitting dormant with everything that had been happening and Zhang believed that they could extract something useful from it now. Which was true, literally anything taken would be useful…the question was how useful.
"How long do you estimate it will take with what you have now?" He asked to get an idea.
Zhang pursed his lips. "I have only one agent who could even begin to make sense of the alien code. She's one of the best hackers I know, but this is uncharted territory even for the best. Working alone, a month at least, probably two."
"And whatever's inside could be time-sensitive." The Commander finished grimly. "That's too long."
"I need an expert cryptologist at least," Zhang suggested. "And probably another expert programmer. Three should be able to crack in much sooner."
"I'll see what I can do," the Commander promised. "Do you have any particular recommendations?"
Zhang pulled out his tablet and began tapping on it. "Yes. I have potential recruits in America, Israel and Mexico. I'm sure you could find others just as skilled."
The Commander crossed his arms. "How are the Israeli agents assimilating?"
"Well enough," Zhang shrugged. "They follow orders well and are excellent at their jobs."
"Are you certain of their loyalty?" The Commander pressed.
"That isn't an easy question to answer," Zhang answered slowly, looking up with a frown. "For the moment yes. But I'm not convinced that they would hold to that same loyalty if the Prime Minister gave them an order."
"And that is why I'm wary of recruiting more Israelis into XCOM Intelligence," the Commander finished wearily. "I don't want us relying on one country for most of our espionage operatives. It's too much of a security risk."
"Agreed," Zhang nodded. "However, until we make more permanent alliances with countries, Israel is our best option for expert operatives."
"Speaking of Israel," the Commander interjected. "You have anything new from your operative inside?"
"Nothing obvious," Zhang answered, looking down on his tablet. "But based on some rather interesting details he found, it seems Israel may be preparing to form it's own alien fighting force." He handed the tablet to the Commander.
The Commander raised an eyebrow as he read. "The Crusader Division. Interesting."
"People have been moved from all across the Israeli Military and Mossad," Zhang recalled as he read. "And all of them were told they were being transferred to that division. A division that technically doesn't exist yet."
"You trust your source?" The Commander asked him, looking up.
"I trust him to value his own life," Zhang corrected wryly. "And the Triad certainly wouldn't treat him well if they were to learn his location."
The Commander nodded. "And has the Triad moved on since you left?"
"They've stayed quiet for now," Zhang informed him with a frown. "Which means their either consolidating their forces to stay low, or planning something big."
"Any ideas on which one?" The Commander inquired curiously.
"By now they'll have appointed my replacement," Zhang speculated slowly. "This alien invasion creates chaos and opportunity. Laying low wouldn't make sense. They're planning something," Zhang grimaced. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what."
"Do you think they'll come after us to get you?" The Commander asked.
Zhang shook his head. "I highly doubt that they know XCOM exists, and even if they do, they won't make a move. Even the Triad know better than to openly move against any arm of the United Nations. Especially since they know that I would be able to counter them if they did."
"You did take something pretty valuable from them," the Commander reminded him. "It might be a matter of pride."
"I have no doubt they would skin me and hang my corpse as an example," Zhang stated firmly. "But they can't and they know it. Trying to get revenge on me would be a pointless waste of time and resources. And the Triad doesn't do either unless it suits their interests."
"Let's hope you're right," the Commander said, picking his tablet up. "I would rather we not add another name to our list of enemies."
"Which is potentially everyone." Zhang stated wryly.
"Everyone to varying degrees," the Commander amended. "I don't have anyone who would be considered a completely trustworthy ally."
"Can that be said for anyone?" Zhang asked, slightly amused.
"Not with an organization like XCOM," the Commander admitted. "Or with me for that matter." The Commander handed his tablet to Zhang. "Veering off this train of thought, there's something I've been drafting. I figured it appropriate with our enemies and possible security risks."
Zhang took the tablet and briefly scanned. His eyebrow rose. "Atlas."
"The overarching protocol," the Commander corrected. "Within it will be subsections for each division. Yours, for example."
Zhang looked up. "I presume this supersedes the Hestia Contingency?"
"I felt that the contingency as it was written was too inflexible," the Commander explained with a wave of his hand. "It dealt well with the military scenario, and that will be my particular contribution to the Atlas Protocol. But I'm not an expert in your division, or Engineering and Research for that matter. The specific protocols should be drawn up by those in charge of those divisions. The ones who know their strengths, weaknesses, and how to best counter them."
"A good idea." Zhang agreed with a nod as he tapped on the tablet. "I'll begin soon."
"I'll bring the rest of the Internal Council up to speed as well," the Commander continued. "This should ideally be completed as soon as possible. We can't afford to be caught unprepared."
"You think that is a real possibility?" Zhang asked, actually sounding slightly concerned.
The Commander looked down. "No idea. But I'm not taking chances, not with so much at stake. I've also accelerated preparations for the Hephaestus Contingency as well."
"You've found a suitable location?" Zhang questioned.
"See for yourself." The Commander handed him a file which he took. "I don't want this spreading. Look these over and tell me which one would fall into line the easiest."
Zhang inclined his head. "It will be done."
"One more thing," the Commander raised a finger. "Have you finished your reconnaissance?"
"Yes." Zhang pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it to the Commander. On it were written a list of names as well as addresses beside them.
"Well done," he complimented, satisfied. "This will hopefully keep the Council in line for now."
The intercom beeped suddenly and the Commander pressed the answer button. "Bradford?"
"Commander, you need to get down here." Bradford answered urgently.
"What is it?" the Commander demanded.
"We've got a UFO on our scanners. A big one."
"On my way." The Commander assured him and ended the call.
"He sounded worried." Zhang commented.
"Which means it's probably not good," the Commander added grimly. "Come on. Let's see what's going on."
The Citadel, Mission Control
Zhang to his right, the Commander strode into the bustling Mission Control. Bradford practically ran over to him. "Commander!"
"Bradford, what's the situation?" He demanded.
"See for yourself," Bradford told him worriedly as he pointed toward the hologlobe which was now showing a new type of alien ship. It appeared rectangular and less alien looking than the previous UFOs.
"What is it?" The Commander asked, turning to face him. "It's not like the others."
"If I had to guess," Bradford answered. "I'd say this was a supply transport of some kind based on the shape and size."
"And if so," the Commander continued, following his train of thought. "Downing it might cripple their supply network."
"We don't know for sure." Zhang reminded him.
"Have you deployed the Ravens?" the Commander asked Bradford.
"No," Bradford shook his head. "We have no idea on this UFOs capabilities. I felt the call should be yours."
The Commander nodded. "Send up four Ravens. That should be sufficient."
"Yes, Commander." Bradford told him and walked off a short distance, talking into his headset.
"Taking that thing out would certainly send a message to the aliens." Zhang mused as he looked at the holographic recreations. "Regardless of its purpose, anything that large has to be at least a little important."
"No doubt," the Commander agreed. "And would probably hold quite a few soldiers as well."
"Probably enough to overrun a six-man squad." Zhang realized grimly.
The Commander turned to him with a slight smile. "Then we'll use more than six soldiers."
"Ravens are in the air!" Bradford called out, and gestured at the hologlobe. "Display!"
The hologlobe changed and showed four green holographic Ravens flying towards a red rectangle. At the rate they were heading it would probably be five or ten minutes. He looked toward where the UFO was and where it would probably be when the Ravens arrived. Somewhere around Idaho was where it would land if they shot it down.
"This is Raven One to Citadel Command," The pilot told them a few minutes later. "We're approaching the UFO now."
"Fire at will," Bradford ordered. "Target the engines and any vital components you see."
"Copy that, Raven Two, you're with me. Three and Four, take opposite side."
"Acknowledged, Raven One," Raven Four answered.
"Onscreen!" Bradford ordered the analysts and the 3D image of the UFO reappeared with the Ravens approaching from behind.
"Firing!" Raven One yelled and the Ravens unleashed a salvo of missiles onto the massive UFO, seemingly doing no damage. And that was the first real display of how much larger the UFO actually was. The little green Ravens seemed like insignificant flies compared to the massive vehicle.
"They know we're here!" Raven Three yelled as bolts of plasma started shooting from turrets on the UFO.
"Evasive action!" Raven One ordered and all the pilots scattered and divided up the hostile fire.
"Raven Two, circle around and destroy this turret!" Raven Three ordered as he kept dodging the perilously close plasma fire.
"Will do," Raven Two acknowledged. "Coming around." The Raven pulled a sharp turn and let loose a salvo towards the turret which exploded with a pixilated burst. Raven Two let out a whoop. "Got it!"
"Returning to targeting the engines," Raven Three said as he pulled away and pulled up to go in for another run.
"Raven Two," Raven One ordered. "Repeat that maneuver for the rest of the turrets."
"Copy that!" Raven Two zoomed around the ship as more turrets started focusing on it. He let loose another salvo and another turret exploded.
"Firing!" Raven Three informed and fired another round of missiles which struck something vital if the UFO suddenly shuddering was any indication.
"I'm taking fire!" Raven Four yelled as three turrets focused on her.
"Moving to assist!" Raven One acknowledged urgently and pulled a sharp turn towards the direction of the turrets.
"Look out!" Raven Two yelled as Raven One flew directly into the crossfire of two additional turrets. The Raven took four shots in quick succession and began falling from the sky.
"Eject! Eject!" Raven Three yelled as he pulled up for another shot at the engines. Whether the pilot heard him or not, it didn't matter as the Raven exploded a few seconds later.
Raven Three unleashed another volley of missiles which again struck the engines or something just as vital as the UFO started very slowly dipping.
"There's too many!" Raven Two yelled in a panic as plasma bolts flew around them. "We can't hold out much longer."
"Abandon the turrets," the Commander ordered. "Target the engines and bring the ship down."
"Yes, Commander!" The two Ravens taking all the fire immediately went into a steep dive to then pull up under the UFO. Both unleashed volleys of missiles even as plasma fire rained down on them.
"I'm hit!" Raven Four yelled as her plane was hit in the wing. "Losing control-" She was abruptly cut off as her Raven slammed into the bottom of the UFO with a large pixilated explosion. Ironically, that seemed to be the finishing blow as the entire UFO shuddered.
"Should we pull back?" Bradford asked urgently. "We're losing pilots fast."
"No," The Commander stated. "Watch."
The UFO was unquestionably losing altitude now. One more volley should put it down for good. "Raven Two, draw fire," The Commander ordered. "Raven Three, do one more round then both of you pull back."
"Copy, Commander!" They acknowledged and everyone watched tensely as the massive bolts barely missed the small jet while Raven Three went under for another round.
"Firing!" He shouted and the final salvo of missiles apparently caused some sort of chain reaction as the UFO went from a slow dip to a full crash.
"Pull back!" The Commander ordered and the two pilots easily avoided the turret fire from the falling ship and headed back.
"This is Raven Two, we're clear and heading back to the Citadel."
"Copy, Raven Two," the Commander acknowledged. "Good work."
Bradford let out a breath. "That could have gone better."
"It was worth it," the Commander answered with a grim smile. "Now we need to finish the job. This is our chance to send a clear message to the aliens."
"I take it this won't just involve sending a squad down?" Bradford asked wearily.
"We need a show of force, for both the soldier and the aliens," the Commander said firmly. "Prepare two skyrangers. That should be sufficient to take the ship."
"I'll do that," Bradford promised. "But if this goes wrong…"
"It won't go wrong," the Commander assured him, rolling his shoulders. "I'm going down as well."
Bradford's head shot up in surprise. "You? But-"
The Commander raised a hand to cut him off. "This is one mission I need to be on to effectively lead. And it's time the soldiers see me fighting alongside them."
"This should at least be talked about," Bradford insisted. "If you-"
"This isn't up for debate," the Commander interrupted, steel creeping in his voice. "If you're that concerned about my safety, do your job and make sure I don't die."
Bradford looked helplessly at Zhang. "Tell me you don't think this is a good idea?"
"It has merit," Zhang shrugged. "You underestimate how effective it will be for morale and loyalty to see the Commander himself take the field as well."
Bradford scowled. "Let me go on record saying this is a bad idea."
"Duly noted," the Commander acknowledged. "Get the skyrangers ready, I have a mission to prepare for."
"Yes, sir," a resigned Bradford acknowledged wearily. "And good luck, Commander."
The Citadel, Office of the Commander
He pulled on his gauntlets and flexed his hands once they were snug. The armor that had been designed for him was slightly bulkier and offered more protection than the regular armor. He didn't approve getting special treatment, but accepted that he would have to make concessions somewhere.
He honestly preferred the black armor he'd worn during his sniper masquerade, mostly because it was light enough to move pretty quickly. Now he felt more like he was in an exoskeleton than wearing additional protection. Well, there were pros and cons to both.
And if he was going to be slower, he was going to make up for that in damage output. He grabbed a regular laser rifle and attached it to the designated hook on his back, then grabbed his sniper rifle as he primary weapon. The pistol was still strapped to his leg, but that was inconsequential compared to what he wielded now.
Finally, he picked up his helmet and donned it with a click. The HUD initialized and the regular icons and images appeared as normal. He looked into the mirror in his room. Admittedly, the bulkier armor did make him an imposing figure and, combined with the silver sheen of the paint and XCOM insignia on his collar, clearly designated him as the person in command.
Satisfied, he turned away and paused when he heard the door hiss open, then smiled. He had a good idea of who it was. There was a hiss as the seals were broken when he removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm.
As he suspected, Vahlen was waiting outside, she looked concerned, though to anyone else it would just look like she was irritated. Catching sight of him, she blinked and crossed her arms as he walked up.
"Bradford told me you're going down there." She greeted flatly without ceremony.
"I hope you aren't going to try to talk me out of it as well." He answered with a small smile.
She sighed. "Knowing you, it would be a waste of time and effort. However," she turned her piercing gaze to him. "That doesn't mean I agree with it."
"Trust me, Moira," he assured her seriously. "You don't have to worry. This isn't my first combat op."
"But if you're really set on this shouldn't you…I don't know," Vahlen waved her arm. "Go down on some easier mission? Not when we've downed the biggest UFO we've encountered."
Oh right. She didn't know he'd clandestinely been going on missions. Hmm. "I have practice," he said, hoping she wouldn't press too hard. "I know what to do. Remember my history."
She paused and narrowed her eyes. Of course she'd picked up on it, she was just as smart as he was. "Practice," she repeated slowly, her worry slowly giving way to suspicion. "What does that mean exactly?"
Unfortunate, but there wasn't much he could do and he didn't want to lie to her. "I may or may not have gone on some of the more…easier…missions as you put it. Without telling anyone."
She face palmed, and that looked so odd on her he almost chuckled. "I would tell you how much of an idiot you are," she said wearily. "But I'm sure you know that."
"Bradford seemed to agree," the Commander nodded. "So as much as I appreciate your concern, I would prefer not to hear about how I'm too valuable to be risking my life again."
Vahlen sighed. "I'll spare you that. But I do have some personal investment in wanting you back alive."
The Commander smiled. "I also have a personal investment in helping you fulfill that want," he placed a gauntleted hand on her shoulder, growing more serious. "Trust me, Moira. I'm not going to die today."
She put her hand over his. "You do that." She answered softly then stepped back. "I'll see you when you get back."
He placed his helmet back on with a reassuring smile. "I'll see you soon." Leaving her in his office, he walked out into the hallway. As he walked, the staff he passed all paused and gave his salute to him. He honestly felt it was unnecessary but didn't have time to really deal with it.
It didn't take him long to reach the hanger where all the soldiers he assembled were already there. Unlike how they normally just milled around until the pilot showed up, they stood in two rows in a strict military posture. The pilots stood off to the side and also followed suit.
"At ease," he told them, stopping in front of them. He pointed to the pilots. "Prepare the skyrangers."
They both saluted. "Yes, Commander!" And dashed off toward the skyrangers. The Commander turned his attention to the soldiers in front of him.
"We've downed a UFO," he told them as he began pacing. "Far larger than any before. We believe it's a transport of some kind, which means this is an opportunity to deal a blow to their supply lines."
He stopped momentarily. "But this is also where we send a message to the aliens that we will not be beaten. This is retaliation for every attack on our planet and every loss we've suffered. Today we will avenge the fallen and give the aliens reason to fear us!"
As one the soldiers gave his salute, right fist over chest. He nodded in approval. "Gertrude, Alba, Webb, Vauner and Rodriguez, with me." He ordered as he walked toward one of the skyrangers. "Everyone else load up!"
"Yes, Commander!" They shouted and marched into the skyranger. Everyone got seated quickly and the ramps closed and the hum of the engines soon filled the room.
"This is Fallen Sky, reporting in. Ready to lift off on your order, Commander."
"This is Burning Sky. I'm ready and waiting."
"You are cleared," the Commander answered. "Take us there."
With a brief jolt the skyranger lifted off and the Commander felt the turbulence build as the vehicle shot off towards the crash site.
"Listen up," the Commander said, leaning forward, "The aliens are going to throw everything they have at us. We're going to deploy just outside the UFO and secure the outside before continuing."
"How large is the expected force?" Mira asked, sitting across from him.
"Unknown," the Commander stated. "Central, do you have an estimate?"
"We got lucky today," Bradford answered. "We've got satellite coverage over the area. Sending to you now. Based on the alien activity at the moment, we're estimating at least thirty aliens."
In the corner of his HUD, a feed from the satellite showed the alien crash site. Outside the apparent entrance, small figures were swarming around it and appeared to be setting up defenses of some kind. "Can you magnify?" The Commander asked.
"Will do." Bradford answered and the feed zoomed in and the Commander got a good look at the forces arrayed against them. The majority of the aliens were the green armored ones with some sectoids behind them. There were also some thin men in the mix, who appeared to be taking positions behind the front line. All in all, he counted fifteen aliens ready.
"Everyone receiving?" The Commander asked the soldiers, who all nodded.
"There's quite a few," Carmelita commented, flipping her blade in her hand. "What's the plan?"
"The armored aliens are going to have the advantage with their cover," the Commander answered. "We will negate that first. Trask, Vauner, you take two soldiers each and move to flank. We'll draw their fire."
"Understood." Patricia answered.
"Will do, Commander." Mira nodded.
"Lulling and I will take out the sectoids and any support they have," the Commander continued, referring to the KSK operative who also specialized in sniping. "The continuous fire should limit the sectoids from performing too many psionic attacks."
"Take a good look," Bradford warned suddenly. "We've got a storm heading that direction, the cloud cover will obstruct any visuals and disrupt our scanners."
Ah, fighting in the rain. Difficult conditions were something he always considered a blessing since he adapted to them so easily. Doubly so since the aliens likely wouldn't be able to adapt nearly as well.
"Understood," the Commander acknowledged. "We'll make do on our own."
He looked around at the soldiers. "I would also expect to encounter outsiders as well deeper in the UFO. Be vigilant and do not move in until we secure the entrance. The rain will obstruct their visibility, take advantage of that."
"I will take Alba and Webb," Mira told him. "We'll take the right side."
"And I'll take the left with Chandler and Friendly," Patricia also informed him.
"Excellent," the Commander answered. "Is everyone clear?"
"Yes, Commander!" All of them affirmed from both skyrangers.
"Commander, we're going to hit some turbulence in a few moments," Burning Sky warned. "That storm is right over the LZ. We're coming in hot."
"ETA?" The Commander asked.
"Three minutes."
He nodded. "Copy that." Grasping his sniper rifle firmly, he stood and walked over to skyranger exit ramp. The rest of the soldiers stood as well and took places behind him. Mira stood to his side.
"We'll peel off as soon as we land," Mira told him. "Give the order when you want us to strike."
"Will do," he responded as the skyranger shook violently. Some of the soldiers grasped the handles above them as the shaking worsened. The Commander could feel the skyranger dipping forward and adjusted his balance to compensate.
"Thirty seconds!" Burning Sky told him.
The Commander looked behind him. "Ready?"
"Yes, Commander!" They shouted. The skyranger shuddered as it landed.
"Wipe them out," the Commander ordered as the ramp descended. "Today we take no prisoners." He looked out into the pouring rain and readied his weapon. "Deploy!" He ordered and as one, the soldiers charged into the torrential maelstrom.
Rain whipping around them, the soldiers charged and took cover behind trees and rocks as the fortified aliens began shooting green plasma fire at them. The Commander took a position behind a tree at a slighter higher elevation and noted Patricia and Mira moving around the sides.
"Return fire!" he ordered and red laser beams joined the colorful exchange of energy. The aliens had set up some sort of metal barricades strategically placed in front of the massive transport. The Commander aimed down his sniper rifle and scanned the back of the alien forces. Three sectoids and four thin men.
The plasma fire slammed into a nearby tree and he looked at in amusement. They would have to do better than that. He looked over to see Lulling far to his right, also aiming. "Lulling, you have a target?"
"Yes, Commander," The German answered. "Though the rain is making it difficult to line up a clear shot."
"Target the sectoids on my mark!" The Commander ordered, lining up a shot on one of the little gray aliens.
"Mark!" Two scathing beams to red energy cut through the rain and slammed into two of the aliens, killing them instantly. Now realizing that they weren't safe, the thin men and remaining sectoid scattered to some additional cover. The Commander shot again, but missed this time.
"Keep them pinned." The Commander ordered Lulling. "They're too far back to assist now."
"Will do." He acknowledged and the Commander looked to see how the others were doing.
Scorch marks littered the trees around the XCOM soldiers and alien barricades, but there were no casualties on either side. The Commander noticed two of the aliens clustered behind one barricade. He switched to his laser rifle. "Wong! Grenade on the two clustered ones!"
The Jinan operative gave him a thumbs up and pulled out one of his AP grenades. "Grenade out!" He yelled.
"Prepare for them to scatter!" The Commander called out as it flew through the air. A small explosion detonated by the two aliens who attempted to run in opposite directions. One was thrown to the ground from the sheer force and the other's armor absorbed most of the shrapnel.
Three laser bursts from Abby, the Commander and Gorman shot at the aliens. The Commander and Abby claimed the one still mostly alive while Gorman finished off the one on the ground.
"Nice shot!" The Commander called out.
"I'm going to need to reload!" Lulling called out.
"I'll cover them." The Commander assured him as he switched back to his sniper rifle and settled his sights on the five pinned aliens. Time to take one out so they didn't get cocky…
He took a deep breath and entered a state where all sensations ceased. He saw the rain around him but didn't feel it, he heard the explosions around him but they faded away. His reticule focused squarely on the face of the thin man and just one more inch….
There.
He fired and the alien fell to the ground, dead, and toxic gas rose from the corpse. "One down." He muttered.
"Commander, my team is in position and ready to engage." Patricia informed him. "We have clear shots on three of the aliens."
"Still undetected?" He asked as two plasma shots got uncomfortably close
"For the moment. That may not last."
Good enough. It would actually help Mira when her team was in in position. When the aliens realized they were being flanked they would retreat…
Right into Mira's team.
"Vauner," he called out. "Patricia is about to strike. Aliens will probably be coming to your location."
"Acknowledged and understood. They will die."
"Excellent," he answered. "Patricia, now!"
"With pleasure." Three lasers shot from the left and struck the heads of three unsuspecting aliens. The three remaining green armored aliens paused and tried to frantically scramble away as Patricia, Chandler and Friendly charged up and began taking cover behind the aliens own barricades.
The thin men hissed and also changed position in response to the new attack. Now in range of enemies, they began firing their plasma weapons as well. A shot from Lulling struck a thin man in the back and it collapsed with a scream.
"We're pinned down!" Patricia called out as plasma fire rained down around her. "Where the hell are you Mira?"
"Grenade out." Mira ordered and the brilliant explosion of a frag grenade hit the clustered green aliens taking cover from two directions and Abby and Wong quickly killed them. Quick laser bursts also came from the right towards the thin men and sectoid.
The Sectoid and thin man fell but the final doppelganger dashed back and let out a loud shriek before she was eviscerated by the combined fire of Patricia and Friendly.
Silence fell over the battlefield, aside from the pattering of rain.
"Secure the front," the Commander ordered, switching to his laser rifle. "Check and reload before moving forward." Each soldier took cover behind the alien barricades, the heavier armed ones like Patricia and Mira taking the barricades closest to the entrance of the ship.
The Commander moved forward until he was at the front of the small group of soldiers. The alien transport was massive. Boxes were strewn around the floor of the ship and slightly beyond that were three entrances, each one shielded by the familiar shimmering multicolored force fields. The middle entrance was about half as wide as the ones on the sides.
"Move forward." He ordered, weapon raised and quickly moved to the next layer of alien barricades. He blinked as the air rippled up ahead. He raised a fist and the soldiers behind him froze.
"What is it?" Patricia muttered, autolaser sweeping the area.
"Something up ahead," the Commander muttered, raising his rifle at the distorted air. "Enter overwatch, something is cloaked."
He fired at the distortion and the laser slammed into something, which fell to the ground, sparking. One of the squid-like seekers.
Behind him several soldiers yelled in pain as the cloaked machines appeared and began strangling them. They had smartly targeted the back line.
"Mira, down!" Patricia yelled and the woman threw herself down as Patricia fired above her at a de-cloaked seeker which had appeared over her. Two more of the machines appeared, behind Carmelita and Friendly.
"Behind you!" Friendly yelled at her as the seeker behind him wrapped its tentacles around him. Carmelita looked up and rolled away, just dodging the alien machine grabbing her. A small compartment opened up in it's 'mouth' and glowed green. But it was too late as her laser bored a hole into it and it fell to the ground.
The seekers strangling the back line were mostly dead, the one that remained was flying above trying to dodge the laser fire, but couldn't outlast the combined power of six soldiers. Mira shot the seeker off Friendly who collapsed to the ground, gasping.
"Check!" The Commander called once all the seekers were dead on the ground. "Everyone alright?"
Eventually, and through some coughing, everyone answered with an affirmation. The Commander turned back to face the entrances and frowned. Whatever was left inside had to be a trap. "They'll be waiting inside." He mused.
"Once we go in, they have the advantage," Mira agreed.
"Advance slowly," the Commander ordered. "Watch the walls and ceilings, rear soldiers, watch behind us!" Raising his rifle, the Commander walked forward, flanked by Mira and Patricia as they reached the three doors.
Nothing.
"Take positions outside," the Commander ordered, pointing at the force field edges. "Let's see what they're hiding."
Mira and Patricia motioned several other soldiers to come forward, each side was covered and two soldiers knelt in front of each door, weapons raised. The soldiers not on the entrances were watching behind them, so as not to be surprised.
"The force fields react to touch," the Commander remembered. "Open them on my mark."
"Everyone ready?" Patricia called.
Every confirmed. The Commander nodded and reached out to tap the force field in the middle. "Open them."
The force fields receded like a popped bubble revealing…
Nothing.
The narrow path in front of the Commander was a ramp up and nothing else. The other entrances were likewise empty. They appeared to be simple rooms with odd supports along the sides which eventually had a ramp that led up at the far end.
The Commander noticed that there were also ramps along the side of the ship that appeared to go above and alongside the room. "Mira, Patricia, take three soldiers and go up the ramps. Watch for ambushes."
Mira and Patricia nodded and the Commander gestured towards the nearest soldiers to him. "Gertrude, Friendly, Alba, you're with me."
Mira and Patricia had gathered their teams and were waiting to move forward. "We are ready to proceed." Mira informed him.
"Advance," He ordered, raising his weapon as he began walking forward. "Slowly. Watch the roofs and walls." They methodically walked forward, their boots echoing on the apparently deserted UFO. All the paths appeared to end in another large room and just at the edge of it, he paused.
"Halt at the end," he ordered softly, lowering himself to one knee. The soldiers behind him followed suit. He listened for any audio cues…and heard a faint whirring and slobbering sounds. He pursed his lips, some of the alien animals?
"Orders, Commander?" Patricia asked, looking across at him.
"See anything?" He asked.
"There's a force field shielding an entrance to another room," Patricia answered. "But I don't see anything, no."
"Same here," Mira confirmed. "The ship appears to be symmetrical to a degree."
"It sounds like something's down in the room in front of me," the Commander said, looking forward. "Try to secure the rooms before we advance."
Both teams moved forward and he saw them pause outside the thin entrance. Each team in a standard door breach formation.
"Opening." Mira said as she reached over to dissipate the force field. Patricia did the same.
"Contact!" Mira shouted and all the soldiers began firing into the room.
"Move up!" The Commander yelled and his team charged forward and took positions over the railing that overlooked a depression in the room. And on the floor were those purple alien creatures. All of them turned their beady eyes towards them and roared, spittle flying from their mouths.
He quickly counted six. "Fire!" He yelled and the floor quickly became a deadly laser trap which the creatures managed to avoid for the most part. One was cut in two but the rest had lighting reflexes and charged up the ramps along the walls. Whatever aliens were inside the rooms Patricia and Mira were dealing with, they were returning fire as green plasma slammed into the walls behind them.
Thinking fast, the Commander aimed his weapon at the wall and fired. "Sustain the beams!" He yelled. "Let them run to their deaths!" His strategy worked brilliantly, two of the aliens creatures ran right through the beam, not realizing what it was and were promptly severed in two.
Abby had caught on as well and repeated the same procedure for the opposite wall and claimed the life of another alien creature. The Commander was forced to cease his beam and hastily reload while Carmelita took over, though she used a much weaker pistol since she had one of the laser shotguns.
Two of the creatures remained and Carmelita's weaker pistol beam wasn't enough and the animal stormed through, it's chitin armor cracked and scorched even as it charged his position. Carmelita quickly switched to her shotgun, but the Commander interceded before she could and kicked the creature back.
It roared in pain and attempted to stab at him with it's claws but he dodged and slammed his foot down on the joint. With his left hand, he pulled out the laser pistol and severed the opposite leg, then stepped back, made several quick laser cuts to completely dismember the alien. Finally, he slammed his boot down on the head attached to the wriggling torso, grinding it into the smooth metal of the alien ship.
The shell around it's head cracked like a beetle and yellow blood oozed from it as it died. He looked back to see Friendly and Abby slicing the final animal into small pieces and he from the continuous laser and plasma fire, Mira and Patricia were still dealing with whatever was in the rooms.
"Status!" He called. "What's in there?"
"Some of those floaters," Patricia called, ducking from more plasma fire. "Those augmented flying aliens."
Ah. At least they were pinned where they couldn't use their height advantage. "Can you use grenades?" He suggested.
"Yes," Mira confirmed as she returned fire along with several of her team. "But there's a power source in here. We might blow up this ship if we damage it."
Damn it. "We'll move to flank!" He called and motioned to the ramps that led up to the two rooms the floaters were trapped in. "Alba, with me. Gertrude and Friendly, help out Patricia!"
"Yes, Commander!" They yelled and the Commander and Carmelita charged down the ramp and began moving up the other side. There was another large force field that likely led to another area of the ship, but disabling it now would not be a good idea. They moved to the entrance into the room and disabled that force field, revealing two floaters exchanging fire behind a small pedestal supporting a glowing power source.
Two floater corpses littered the ground, likely from first contact, but the others were firmly entrenched. That was, until Carmelita reduced them to blood and twisted metal with two quick successive shots from her laser shotgun.
He heard another alien mechanical groan and squeal and took that to mean Patricia's help had cleared up the remaining floaters. "Patricia?" He called out. "Status!"
"Clear," she answered. "All aliens are down here."
"Form up in the center of the room," he ordered. "Watch for more ambushes. We're probably close to the bridge now."
"Hey, Commander, come down here!" He looked down into the small depression where the alien animals had been waiting and saw Abby and Friendly motioning him over.
He pointed at the shimmering force field. "Prepare for another breach," he ordered Mira. "Let me check this out." Quickly jogging down he made his way over to the two soldiers.
"What is it?" He asked, walking up.
"Look at this," Abby tapped on one of the green pods he realized were lining the walls of the small depression. Each pod was filled with some kind of green substance, taking a closer look, there was a vague outline inside. A human outline.
"Is that…"
"Human?" Friendly answered. "It appears so."
"I'm not sure this is a just a transport," Abby said slowly, looking at the rows of pods. "I think this is how the aliens are transporting the abducted civilians."
"With just…" the Commander paused and counted. "Sixteen pods? There has to be more."
"I can try working on the system," Friendly suggest, looking at the alien pad on the side.
The Commander shook his head. "Let's clear the ship first." Both soldiers nodded and they jogged up to where the rest of the soldiers were positioned for the massive door breach.
"Open when ready," the Commander ordered, raising his weapon. Mira touched the shimmering field and it receded to reveal another large room with a similar depression in the floor, except the elevated area at the other end contained alien computers and navigation equipment.
"Mira, ready your rocket launcher," he ordered and she complied. He switched to his sniper rifle and took a closer look by the alien computers. He was fairly certain the outsiders deployed from the bridge and if he could destroy them before they transformed into their crystalline bodies….Vahlen and Shen would disapprove the destruction of the alien computers, but it might be worth it to end this fight now.
"Take the overlook," he ordered, motioning to the small wall that blocked the edge of the depression. The Commander looked over the wall and saw nothing in the depression. He pointed at Carmelita and Friendly. "You two, watch the entrance. Make sure nothing sneaks up behind us."
The nodded and took positions outside along the entrance walls. Satisfied that there would be no surprises from behind, the Commander motioned for Mira and Abby to follow him and they slowly walked towards the array of computers.
"If you hear anything, blow these to hell." The Commander ordered Mira, who still held her rocket launcher at the ready. She nodded and sank to one knee as he and Abby approached the computers.
"Nothing seems to be here," Abby muttered as she began fiddling with the controls on the row of interfaces and computers facing the entrance. "It's dead."
The Commander tapped one of the button on the row of consoles along the far wall. He froze as he heard a click.
"Move Commander!" Mira yelled and he dashed away without looking back and leapt over the small wall into the depression. Abby had done the same and they crouched as the sound of a massive explosion hit them.
"Status!" He called.
"Nothing," Mira answered, walking down and slinging the rocket launcher over her shoulder. "The computers are reduced to ash and anything inside them was as well."
He didn't bother asking if she made sure. Mira didn't leave much to chance. "Excellent," he told her. "That-"
"Disks coming in!" Friendly shouted and all the soldiers quickly scrambled to cover as three of the shining disks descended. Carmelita and Friendly fired, but the lasers washed off the chrome plating like water.
"Wait for them to open!" The Commander ordered as he dashed up the ramp and took cover behind one of the defunct computers. Pulling out his sniper rifle, he glanced down the sight at the three disks.
"Mira, do you have another rocket?" He asked her, glancing over.
She was already loading another one. "One of the shredder rockets." She answered quickly. "Might help with that armor."
"Use grenades at will!" The Commander ordered as the disks kept advancing, confident in their invulnerability. Several of the soldiers tossed grenades that didn't appear to do much more than dent them, however it forced one to open up and by then every soldier knew it's weakness. Before it could even fire out a single shot, six different laser beams tore into it from nearly every direction.
Sparking with yellow light, the disk exploded, flinging shrapnel everywhere.
"Firing rocket!" Mira called as another orange streak tore across the room. It struck true and utterly annihilated another disk while tearing the armor of the third. No longer the shiny, spotless machine, it began flying back, leaking yellow fluid.
But the damage was too extensive and the laser tore and widened the holes and cracks from the rocket until they pierced vital systems and the machine slowly fell like a feather until it crashed to the ground and exploded a few seconds later.
Silence once more fell over the battlefield. "I think that's all of them." The Commander told them, walking up. With the wrecks of the alien disks and corpses of an entire ships crew behind him the Commander turned to face his soldiers, smiled and raised his rifle. "This ship is ours!"
The soldiers cheered in victory and the Commander imagined that somewhere, the fallen XCOM soldiers were smiling down on them.
Score one for humanity.
After-Action Report
Operation: Vengeful Vengeance
Note: Really? – The Commander
Personnel:
Jaguar 1 (Squad Overseer): The Commander
Status: Active
Kills: 6
Jaguar 2: Specialist Mira Vauner
Status: Active
Kills: 8
Jaguar 3: Specialist Patricia Trask
Status: Active
Kills: 5
Jaguar 4: Specialist Abigail Gertrude
Status: Active
Kills: 2
Jaguar 5: Specialist Carmelita Alba
Status: Active
Kills: 4
Jaguar 6: Specialist Myra Rodriguez
Status: Active
Kills: 3
Jaguar 7: Specialist Karl Lulling
Status: Active
Kills: 4
Jaguar 8: Specialist Glenn Friedlein ("Friendly")
Status: Active
Kills: 2
Jaguar 9: Specialist Cai Wong
Status: Active
Kills: 2
Jaguar 10: Specialist Vickie Webb
Status: Active
Kills: 1
Jaguar 11: Specialist Rob Gorman
Status: Active
Kills: 2
Jaguar 12: Specialist Pete Chandler
Status: Active
Kills: 2
Mission Director – The Commander
Pilot 1: Riley Ignis – Call sign: "Burning Sky"
Pilot 2: Tristin Ward – Call sign: "Fallen Sky"
Artifacts Recovered:
-3x Sectoid Corpses (Moderate Damage)
-4x Thin (Wo)men Corpses (Moderate Damage)
-8x Alien Shock Trooper Corpses (Moderate Damage)
-6x Alien Creature Corpses (Severe to Moderate Damage)
-6x "Floater" Corpses (Moderate Damage)
-6x Seeker Wrecks (Moderate Damage)
-3x Disk Wrecks (Moderate Damage)
-123 Alien Weapon Fragments
-400 Alien Alloys (Stripped from UFO)
-2x Alien Power Sources
-2x Alien Computers
-6(?)x Alien Computers (Damaged)
-16x Alien Stasis Pods
-6x Canisters of Unidentified Alien Substance
