The incessant yelling continued. It was like a soccer stadium, only the chants were filled with political conjectures delivered with militancy built from weeks of rising tension. Flags were erect on the numerous rows of desks, each one symbolising their country and being knocked over throughout the night by their representatives. Nobody stopped to take a breath. Oxygen was only trivial compared to the subject at hand. Eventually, the representatives got tired of rambling and took a small break. A glass cup was heard slamming onto a desk and the howling ensued once again. The open debate was nowhere near its end. Henry was at his seat, letting the debate rage on.
"Pakistan will not allow this violation!" the Pakistani ambassador declared. "We will not allow Hindustan to operate under our noses in our country!"
"Hasn't Pakistan used the good name of the Council to send troops into Kashmir?" the Indian ambassador retorted. "Your intentions are crystal clear, you're using the situation to occupy land! As if you haven't spoiled yourself with nuclear weapons, you're now looking to alien technology."
"Pakistan has no wishes to violate the laws made in good-will by all nations. You should know that better than anyone since, after all, you've been constantly spying on us!"
The back and forth discussion came to an abrupt end as the American ambassador budded in.
"Look, this matter is only trivial. We have a much larger issue to deal with! We have to work hand in hand with the Reclamation Bureau and the XCOM body. This cann-"
"Wasn't the United-States strongly against the XCOM Reclamation Bureau?" the Chinese ambassador reacted. "It seems that your narrative has changed. Why were you against Reclamation in the first place? The United-States is slowly losing its hegemony. Perhaps during this invasion, the warmongering nature of your nation has come out! Were you dreaming of getting your hands on alien technology?"
Ambassador Anders Burton gave an annoyed look.
"The only nation in North America enjoying the spoil of having alien technology is Canada! Let's not ignore the fact that all alien tech goes there. I have trouble believing that XCOM has need of all of those artefacts. We have taken down scores of aircraft since the fighting began! I have a hard time believing XCOM has used all of them! Canada hasn't issued any reports yet too."
Henry was about to raise his palm to interject, but the North Korean ambassador suddenly stood up.
"Ambassador Anders Burton, I find it ironic that the reason why you're standing here is that your President has clearly conveyed that he wants alien technology. We've had the debate on whether or not states should have any, but you weren't there. It was your predecessor who strongly disagreed with your President and stood beside XCOM's policies. You're here only because you want alien technology whereas your much honourable predecessor advised against it. Let's also not ignore that you've sent many reconnaissance planes into North Korea from South Korea. You're hardly immune to accusations."
"Please, I find it hypocritical that the Hermit Kingdom is accusing the United-States of America of wanting and hiding alien technology when it has sent little to no reports to XCOM! The only reports you sent were deceptive. Your secrecy is a threat to international security. Also, North Korea hasn't contributed to XCOM in the least. In fact, the only 'contributions' are that your defectors are volunteering to save the very people whom you preach to be of the Devil!"
Henry sat at his podium, massaging his temples. He looked around the room as the rambling continued. Next to him was a soldier who bore a blue helmet. Despite the barrage of words that would ultimately affect his country, family and livelihood, he stood next to Henry, indifferent to all matters discussed. It was his duty to look after Henry during meetings with the Council of Nations. Even if he was disappointed by the indiscipline of the room, he had to stand there with an apathetic face.
He soon noticed Henry staring at him and nodded to confirm that it was time for an intervention. Henry let out a sigh drowned within the yelling and nodded in confirmation. The debate was mostly pointless, aside from finding out who was nervous around who.
"Attention!" the soldier yelled. "The Commander wishes to speak!" he continued after everyone went quiet.
"Thank you all for participating in this heated discussion," Henry said. "Frankly, I did not wish for this to be the outcome of the policies we have agreed to implement. We are now confronted by what is essentially an arms race. Not only that, countries have started spying on each other. We've got an alien invasion, we've got a pandemic and now, we've got another Cold War! The Council must ensure that no such Cold War happens as it will destabilise the fragile peace we have managed to create. Humanity will surely lose the war against the aliens if we end up fractured like we were before. I believe that it is time we discuss solutions. Instead of penalising a specific nation, it would be better to implement more rigour in our methodology. I propose that we augment the power of XCOM Reclamation so that these violations we are arguing about no longer happen. Every nation has to present its investigative bodies to the Reclamation Bureau and all activity will be logged by and operate under XCOM Reclamation."
The ambassadors looked at each other and discussed the idea. Henry knew that it appeared to be a simple and naive solution. Despite the fact, the ambassadors were willing to discuss the idea in another meeting. More importantly, nobody seemed to catch onto Henry's motive regarding his proposed solution.
Every nation had the duty to ship all XCOM assets in their country. After their army would deal with the alien incursions, they would pack up all artefacts themselves and a Clean-Up Team would arrive to bring them to XCOM. Nobody was allowed to know XCOM HQ's location, except for a select few. Nations were also trusted to take down any third parties in possession of alien artefacts so they dealt with their local black markets. The XCOM Reclamation Bureau was a branch of the Inner Assembly that would oversee the takedown of such black markets. To achieve their goal, the councilmen took control of local agencies and militaries to hunt down the black markets.
The Reclamation Bureau could easily fight third parties in possession of XCOM assets, but when nations started to hide alien technology, things got tougher. States spied on their rivals until they found them to possess alien technology. A previous meeting with the Council determined that such acts could lead to accusations of Treason against Humanity. Of course, most findings did not turn into accusations since the states were deemed to not harbour any intent on using the alien artefacts; the artefacts were simply kept safe in storage to be shipped to XCOM.
What countries did not like were other countries taking the reclamation process of XCOM assets into their own hands. They deployed military units and agents to ensure that the alien artefacts made their way to XCOM.
It was a messy way of handling things, but nations catching other nations red-handed was an effective way of getting XCOM property where it belonged. Henry wanted to take advantage of it; it meant that nations actually feared the powers that the Council of Nations and the Commander were given by the United Nations. Of course, such acts created mistrust between countries since they were acts of aggression. If Henry wanted the acts to continue without it turning into a casus belli, he needed them to be justifiable. Thankfully, the seal of the Reclamation Bureau was powerful enough to excuse spying.
Henry gave a knock on the wooden door.
He waited a few seconds before he heard a click from the doorknob. A soldier stepped out and saluted. He stepped aside and gestured the Commander to enter. The guarding soldier was ordered to guard the door.
Henry's escort looked at him. The Commander gave a nod. Henry's escorting soldier stood in front of the door, guarding it with his comrade. They closed the door behind the Commander.
A large lavish room surrounded him. It was too decorated, even for a politician's standards. Bookshelves surrounded him. Henry could identify the official documents stored in them. A small ornate low table was placed in the middle of the room with two wooden chairs with red velvet seats. On the table were an expensive-looking bottle and two glasses. Henry looked ahead and saw an empty desk with a computer. The desk was as stylish as the rest of the room. Unlike the rest, the chair was a simple office chair. It was most likely chosen for maximal comfort than its aesthetic.
The Council really gorges itself, Henry thought. He heard a small thud from the corner of the room. There was a small extension that was hidden by a corner. The room must have been L-shaped. A man poked out and gave a smile. He was blonde and wore a suit.
"Commander, we finally get a chance to talk in person!" he exclaimed.
"We do Councilman Solberg," Henry replied.
"Oh! Please, Solberg will do. Anyways, take a seat."
Solberg pointed at one of the red velvet chairs. Henry grimaced at the realisation that the bottle on the table was likely prepared for him. He chose a chair and took his seat. Solberg took the other. He spent a few seconds analysing the Commander head to toe. He seemed mostly in awe at Henry's uniform. Henry stared at him confused.
"Pardon me. I was just wondering what type of person you are. Sometimes the way you express yourself can say a lot. I can tell that you like things that are more . . . simple."
Henry looked around the room. Solberg's office was definitely not simple. Henry was put off. Perhaps, that was how he was able to guess. Most people did not desire lavish workplaces so it could have been a remark that could apply to anyone.
Solberg brushed his comment off and poured a glass. Henry stared at the glass nearest to him being poured with a transparent red liquid. He reluctantly grabbed the glass. Solberg chuckled.
"I've been told you're not a big fan of alcohol. No worries. I took a low-content vermouth for you. It should be to your taste."
Henry took a sip. He was immediately hit by the aroma. The liquid hit his taste buds. Not bad. He put the glass back on the table for the moment.
"I can also tell that you're very devious," Solberg said.
Henry frowned.
"Your proposition to increase the powers of the Reclamation Bureau, I'm almost flattered!" he jested. "But, that meeting was truly pathetic. We came to discuss a plan regarding the missing XCOM assets. Everyone just ended up yelling. At least we know that some nations could be doing it deliberately."
"Most nations just take out the aliens and wrap things up, Others, take out the aliens and act as if it never happened. Now, their rivals are blackmailing them. I wasn't expecting this to be the outcome," Henry reacted.
"But, you want the blackmail to continue, Commander. It works to your advantage. That's the crux of your argument for increasing Reclamation's powers. In the end, it will mean more work for me."
Solberg smiled. Henry gave a defeated look.
"It's effective," the Commander defended.
"And I like it!" Solberg exclaimed. "You're the type who fights with all of his cards out in the open. Some may call it foolish; others say its making use of every tool at your disposal."
Henry rose an eyebrow. Solberg took a deep breath.
"Commander, I wanted to meet you in person. Plus, I haven't been able to enjoy a drink in a while," Solberg confessed. "There is something I want to ask you, but it's rhetorical, so don't answer. XCOM and the Commander are exempt from international law. The UN, the Council of Nations and the Commander; that's the hierarchy. The UN can dissolve the Council and remove the Commander. The Council can replace the Commander and challenge the UN if it commits Treason against Humanity. The Commander can challenge anyone the UN and the Council if they commit treason. Of course, the UN doesn't have to answer to anyone and can get rid of you with the snap of their fingers. The Commander, he can do anything as long as he has popular support. If there is one thing I know about you Commander, it's that people love you. How much can you accomplish?"
Henry took the last sip of his vermouth. Solberg drank the rest of his. He poured another glass.
Henry let his body fall into his bed. Tired, he rolled around on his mattress to lazily take off his coat. He grabbed the armrest of his office chair and contented with keeping his coat suspended on the backrest. The political madness and the flight from Geneva to XCOM HQ proved more tiresome, mainly since Henry had a lot on his mind. Solberg definitely did not help. What was that all about?
He had an hour left until he would sleep according to his schedule. He built the habit of making last-minute checks before calling it a day. Henry did not plan to break it since it put him at ease during the night. He begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed, grabbed his coat from his chair and put on his peaked cap to cross out the last tasks before his day would end.
Typing; it was the only sound that filled Mission Control. The loudness was more pronounced in the morning. It only took half an hour to get used to. Henry rubbed the last of his sleep out of his eyes and pulled himself up on his chair. A cup of coffee was at his side and his personal phone-like device was in his right hand. Henry tapped up and down to review all reports he had missed throughout the night.
It was another uneventful day. The aliens were mostly quiet except for a UFO being shot down by a Chinese ballistic missile. Just as he had in the morning, Henry scrolled through the reports, only this time, he was on his computer. The words were as unexciting as usual, although something had caught his eye. Councilman Solberg had sent a report.
A group of armed smugglers were hoarding large quantities of alien artefacts. Reconnaissance confirmed that they were in possession of Meld, alien weapon fragments and preservative liquid. They were basic artefacts that could be recovered by anyone with a gun. The smugglers were likely the ones who took out the aliens and snatched all the goods before the army could arrive. The smugglers were almost at the Canadian border and would cross before anyone could intercept.
Henry leaned back in his chair in thought. No group of organised criminals could simply gather weapons, track down aliens, kill them, and obtain their goods. The hardest part was the tracking down. The aliens were swift and stealthy unless they launched a big abduction operation. The smugglers were either lucky or were somehow highly capable of intercepting alien parties. The smugglers managed to haul the alien artefacts all the way from Central America. Such criminals should not have been able to perform such a feat considering that the United-States had been aiding all of its southern neighbours.
"Central, this is the Commander," Henry called.
A few seconds went by before an answer came.
"Yes, Commander. What's on your mind?" Bradford asked.
"Queue Alpha-1. I'll be deploying with them at the location I'm sending you in a tad."
The Skyranger flew towards an abandoned warehouse, where the smugglers were operating. It was located in a small evacuated rural town. The inhabitants moved out to the city upon hearing news of abductions in their area. Now that nobody was left, the outlaws took over and used it as their base of operations. They stashed all their items into reinforced crates and were loading them onto trucks. Their operations were interrupted as they noticed a distant aircraft flying towards them.
"Alpha 1, your objective is to secure the alien artefacts inside of the warehouse. Then, you will proceed to arrest the leader for questioning. If things don't get too heated, arrest as many goons as possible. Otherwise, shoot to kill. Central out," Bradford said, debriefing one last time before the Skyranger slowed down to land.
"You heard him, guys. Watch your fire down there we don't wanna damage those crates," Henry ordered. "All targets marked by our scans are hostile. The boss will have a special marker so watch your fire around him. Everyone prepare your Arc Throwers!"
The team checked their weapons and gear before turning on their new toys. The Arc Thrower resembled a regular pistol but the barrel was composed of three "fangs" that served as electrodes. It was stronger than a taser, but harder to use since the mechanism was incomplete. Shen and Vahlen had a better plan for it other than using the typical taser mechanism. They did not have the time to implement it.
The device came with a kit containing batteries to recharge the weapon and other devices called "Immobilisers". They were used to follow up on a target disabled by the Arc Thrower. Once a target was disabled by the electrical shock, an Immobiliser would be placed on the "nape" of an alien to render and keep them unconscious. It was designed to suppress brain activity by "jamming" the nervous system while latching onto the skin once activated, and not come off until an XCOM soldier released it.
"All right guys, the lifeform scan is complete. Remember, your targets are human, that's why you're all wearing bulletproof armour," Central reminded as the Skyranger's bay door dropped.
"What a downgrade," Haidar murmured.
The comms picked up her voice activity so everyone was able to hear her comment and let out a chuckle. They grabbed onto the rope and descended into the area of operation.
The troops rushed to get to cover. The targets' outlines indicated that the smugglers were guarding all entrances to the warehouse. Henry ordered Yuri Kosta to prepare a rocket to breach and Gabriel Vargas to prepare his light machine gun to provide fire support once the assault would begin.
Yuri checked his squadmates before firing the rocket. After receiving a tap on his helmet, an explosion blew a hole and created an entry point. Colonel Jacquemin threw a flashbang while Vorobyova and Dante Moon rushed in with their Arc Throwers. The smugglers withdrew after a bright flash of light and sudden ringing in their ears. They fired blindly out of fear. The Arc Throwers hit two smugglers who fell after losing control of their body. Vorobyova dragged her opponent behind crates to put an Immobiliser on the back of his neck. Dante rolled to the side to dodge incoming fire while violently pulling his target towards him.
"Everyone, get down!" the smuggler boss yelled, seeing Gabriel preparing his barrage of bullets.
Compared to the goons, the boss was more apt with his weapon and showed tactical prowess. While his subordinates struggled against XCOM's soldiers, he shot accurately and at the right time. He momentarily sidestepped out of cover, only to have his gun shot out of his hands by Mcgrath. A well-aimed shot hit his rifle.
Vorobyova capitalised the moment and recharged her Arc Thrower to fire another electrical blast. She ran up to the boss while her squadmates provided covering fire. The leader grabbed a knife and charged at Vorobyova. She parried the strike using the Arc Thrower to block his wrists. She kicked him in the stomach and corrected her grip on her stun weapon. The boss staggered backwards only to stare down the barrel of the new stun weapon. A hit to the chest caused him to fall, unable to resist the shock throughout his body. All resistance was hopeless since he went unconscious after an Immobiliser was attached to his nape.
The firefight did not last long since the smugglers ran out of the building after the leader was taken down. Most of them were shot during the retreat since they had to unbarricade the doors to escape. By the time they opened the door, more of them dropped dead by gunfire. The warehouse emptied as XCOM operatives secured the grey boxes containing contraband.
"Commander, we've got the loot," Natalia confirmed.
The soldiers opened up the containers to check the contents. They all contained alien artefacts. Meld and weapons fragments were carelessly shoved into the boxes. Alien plastic containers containing green fluids were stacked on top of each other.
"Oh, what the hell! They're even selling Floater robotic body parts. God, they did a poor job cleaning all the blood off," Haidar said while reviewing the contents of her crates.
"They'll sell whatever fetches a good price, or whatever it is they're planning to do," Henry explained. "Everyone, round up the boxes. There are more smugglers outside so prepare your weapons," he reminded.
Alerts started popping in the squad's helmets as the enemies got closer and closer. They broke the silence by firing at the warehouse to no effect. Arthur broke a window and drew his pistol to take out the nearest enemies. Natalia threw a smoke grenade at her feet to perform XCOM's iconic combat tactic. With the enemies outlined in red, the soldiers did not suffer any penalties from the smokescreen. Vorobyova displayed her bravery and charged out to take on the smugglers that Arthur had missed. The foe was shaken by the disciplined fire from XCOM, but the thunder of Vorobyova's daring assault caused them to retreat. Some found the courage to turn back only to be shot by Arthur Stone or Gail Mcgrath.
The majority of the enemies dropped their weapons as they were routed towards their vehicles. Most of them got into the trucks and drove off. During the panicked flee, some of them were left behind. Nobody dared to pick up their guns and shoot. Instead, they all got down on their knees and rose their arms in surrender.
"Commander, do we let them escape?" Gail asked as he kept his scope on the trucks driving away.
"We'll let them live. They dropped their weapons. That's all for them. If anything happens it's the local security's jurisdiction."
"And what about these ones?" Vorobyova asked pointing her shotgun at a surrendered opponent's head.
The smuggler cowered as Vorbyova waved her shotgun carelessly at him.
"Immobilisers," the Commander ordered.
The soldiers went behind their captives. The smugglers expected them to tie up their hands, but they suddenly felt an object dig into their skin. In less than second, they dropped down to the floor. The troops carried the unconscious bodies on their shoulders and laid them down on the grass. The crates were carried outside to an empty yard where the Skyranger would land.
With the short engagement over, everyone took the time to relax. It was a long-forgotten familiar battle between humans; there were no aliens involved. Everyone was thankful that they no longer had to suffer from the smell of charred brick, wood and vapourised snow. The smell of gunpowder was in the air but it was less disliked than the ionised gas.
"Hey. I just realised the grass, leaves growing on trees!" Arthur Stone exclaimed, taking off his helmet.
"Time flies by, doesn't it?" Fernando Perez said, dropping off a box full of Meld.
"It's spring. The snow is finally gone," Haidar celebrated.
"Yeah. Can't stand it either. There isn't as much snow back home. Same goes for you, Haidar?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah. Good old heat. I just now realised everyone calls me by my first name. Nobody calls me Patterson anymore."
The squad reflected on it. It was true. At first, people called her by her family name. Over time, they associated her with her first name.
"Eh, I guess that's true," Gail Mcgrath responded. "I mean you don't look like a Patterson. And also, why does everyone still call me Mcgrath?!"
"That's because 'Gail' just sounds disgusting.", Arthur said, poking fun at him. "Haidar where did you say you were from again?"
"India," she replied.
"I see. Yeah, I sure wasn't expecting Patterson. What's the story?"
Haidar caught her breath after dropping her crate full of Floater prostheses. She displayed her disgust of the contents with a quick shrivel.
"My mum is Indian, dad is a Brit. They met in India. I spent most of my life growing up in the UK, but eventually, I moved to India with my mother. My dad stayed behind for work before joining us. There are a lot of advantages to being fluent in English in India. Everyone thinks you're smart and thus, you're more likely to get a higher education."
"You don't look like you've got Brit in you," Mcgrath commented.
"Indian genes are more dominant," she responded.
Henry walked up to the chatting soldiers.
"Guys, I hate to break it to you but the Skyranger's landing. Get those crates in," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded.
The Skyranger hovered downwards until the landing gear reached the ground. The soldiers got in as they stashed the crates in the small storage compartment of the Skyranger. They tucked in their captives using rope so that they would not fall or fling around during the flight. Some were lucky to benefit from the extra seats in the Skyranger.
The day came to an end as the moon shone on the forest hiding XCOM HQ. Everyone profited from the remaining time to hang out at the bar. They had a lot to say to their comrades. It was the first time they were up against human enemies since the invasion had started. Everyone had a sudden blast from the past. Human on human warfare was almost forgotten entirely after the troops got used to the aliens. Sadly, the human condition never changed.
In the labs, Vahlen was busy sorting out her inventory of alien technology while explaining her potential improvements to the Arc Thrower. Henry aided her with the occasional heavier items. Shen preferred to leave his muscles to rest.
"Well, Commander. I believe we can integrate the features of the alien Abduction Cannon into our Arc Throwers. I found out that one of the primary ingredients is a paste that gives it the 'starchy' texture. From what I understand, it's heat-seeking and will expand once attached to a source of heat, a human body. It works by some endothermic chemical reaction," Vahlen proposed.
"How are we gonna use this for ourselves, Doctor? We aren't exactly interested in abducting aliens in vegetative states. At least, I don't think we do. . . ," Henry asked.
"Don't worry, Commander. We can filter out the chemical which causes the vegetative state; that will leave us with the paste. All we have to do is make the Arc Throwers charge the electrical current and abduction paste will absorb it; it's highly conductive. The paste will then be shot out by our Arc Throwers and will expand to wrap a target, discharging all the electricity."
Vahlen looked pleased with the idea. It improved the range of the current Arc Thrower. The integration of alien technology would make the Arc Thrower better than any old taser. Shen agreed with her proposal. Even if he did not, he knew that he would be the one doing all the work after the blueprints were submitted. He let out a tired sigh; the engineers had worked without rest.
"Thanks to today's operation, we have a good supply of canisters full of liquified alien abduction web," Shen said, backing up his colleague.
"I'm all for it. I'll let you guys handle the arrangements," Henry responded.
He went out of the labs and went to the barracks. Henry walked through the familiar hallway until he reached a door he had rarely entered. The barracks had a containment ward that was unused since XCOM did not show the need to have prisoners. Alien prisoners were most likely to be given to the scientists and would be housed in a specialised facility that Shen was working on.
The metallic echo of Henry's steps was followed by the doors sliding open. Leon Skorsi and Tre Riggs were guarding the exit while Archer was interrogating the boss. The guards from Alpha-2 led Henry to the closed-off cell where the captive was being interrogated. A woman could be heard talking thanks to a phone on speaker. It was unusual for an interrogation. Henry waited before entering. He expected it to be one of Archer's dirty tactics. The captive and the woman argued with each other. Archer was still in the room but remained silent. It was filled with back and forth yelling between the man and the woman on the phone.
"Look. Mrs Mitchel, I called to be generous to you and your husband," Archer concluded. "You have two choices. Either Mr Fischer here spills the beans and comes back home tonight with a cwtch or we will perform an interrogation technique that will give us the information easily, but will result in your husband dying at the end. We could've started with the latter without any hesitation. Either I declare that your husband is safe and sound and will be returned or I declare his death. Simple," he announced to stop the argument between the man and his wife.
A long silence ensued. It was occasionally filled with faint sobbing coming from the phone.
"I won't say a damn thing!" Fischer declared.
"So be it," Archer replied, hanging up on the wife who burst into a fit of anger.
The Colonel got up from his chair and exited the cell. He noticed Henry leaning on a wall, waiting for him.
"Commander! I was trying to get our friend to spill the beans, but he won't."
"Who is this guy?", Henry asked.
"Used to be a Navy Seals. I thought it was odd how a mere smuggler was refusing to give us information. I could tell he wasn't an ordinary civilian with a gun and a lust for quick money. Even his wife couldn't convince him to give us what we want. Which begs the question, why is this guy being so stingy?"
"There's more to him than meets the eye. Also, how did you contact his wife?" Henry inquired.
"The Reclamation Bureau relayed her call to my comms," Archer responded.
Henry winced, remembering Solberg. Hopefully, he was not plotting something.
"Skorsi, Riggs, take him in," Archer ordered.
Skorsi and Riggs entered the cell to take the prisoner to the labs. Skorsi placed an Immobiliser on him and grab him by the feet while Riggs took the shoulders. They placed him on a stretcher. The prisoner could not offer any resistance. His chance to escape was gone. With the Immobiliser in place, his fate was sealed.
"I didn't think that our first interrogation would be on a human," the Commander commented.
Archer and Henry walked alongside the two soldiers carrying the prisoner as they went from hallway to hallway. Fischer's arms swung around as the soldiers held the stretcher up. Bypassers looked at the body being transported. Most soldiers were clueless as to what was happening, but those who were in Alpha-1 were quick to explain. It was not an injured mate, but a traitor to humanity, one who valued secrecy more than his life.
The door to the laboratories slid open and Vahlen came to inspect her first subject. Even she did not want the first victim to be human, but it was what it came down to in the end. The cart made its way to a security door. Henry put his hand on the biometric scanner. The light over the door went green and it slid open to let Skorsi and Riggs through.
They opened a hatch that led to the cylindrical interrogation chamber. From the inside, it looked like a room with no exit. The door blended in with the grey wall. Hidden cameras were stationed in the chamber that allowed the scientists to observe their captives from the outside. From their perspective, a screen displayed the live feed and made it seem as if they could see through the solid wall.
Skorsi carried Fischer on his shoulder, placed him inside the chamber and came out. After the door locked, he pressed the button on his device to release the Immobiliser. It detached from his nape and rolled onto the ground. Fischer woke up and found himself contained in a small empty chamber.
When he regained his bearings, he paced around in the room and banged on the wall surrounding him. It did not take long for him to curse at those who captured him. Everyone gathered around the chamber as the ex-Navy Seal, tried to find a way out. Vahlen directed Archer to the microphone from which he would be asking questions.
"Commander, shall we begin?" Vahlen asked hesitantly.
Henry sighed tensely.
"Do it," he ordered with a grimace.
Vahlen nodded. The unease was settling inside the spectators. The ceiling of the cylindrical chamber opened up and revealed two arms carrying spheres that emitted a loud humming noise. The prisoner tried to get away from them but the arms followed him everywhere he went. Vahlen initiated a scan on the Interrogation Chamber's terminal. Once everything was confirmed to be working, she took a deep breath before pressing the button to commence probing into the subject's brain.
Fischer fell to his knees as the humming got louder and louder. His grunts of pain eventually came to an end as all strength left his body. He swayed from side to side until he fell and rolled on his back. His body twitched as the two probes sent signals to the subject's brain and decyphered the echo. Vahlen nudged Archer, indicating him to start talking. He looked at the screen and read out the questions into the microphone. The staff waited as the console showed the decyphered brain signals extracted from the detainee.
No words were spoken from the almost lifeless body. It was a silent interrogation.