Hello everyone!
This idea just popped into my mind, and I thought about writing it while trying to get my creative writing juices going. I would be grateful for any constructive feedback regarding this story.
Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter.
Chapter One "Otaku at Ginza"
Itami Yoji stared at the mismatched collection of ruined, still being repaired and new buildings in Ginza, a shopping district of Tokyo. It was another painful reminder that the Ethereals and their puppet government, ADVENT, might be gone, but humanity had paid a horrible price in winning back its freedom and regaining control over Earth in the Independence War. Still, Itami looked at the happy and exciting atmosphere he detected with a warm smile. Humanity was starting to heal from its wounds, and it was an era of peace and rebuilding.
A scream caused Itami to pause. He was about to investigate when another scream followed by several more. The screams were soon joined by sounds that Itami had thought he would hear again until he was called out of his retirement and put into active service.
In another place and time, Itami would have marvelled the sight and sound for being realistic in their depiction of war, but he knew very well it wasn't. His psionic powers allowed him to peer into the minds of the attackers and civilians at the same time. What he found living breathing people committing acts of war or fleeing.
Itami so much enraged at what was happening before him that he forgot restraints placed on his powers.
"Operative Otaku, what are you doing?! You are not allowed to release your limiters without permission from XCOM! I repeat you are not allowed to release your limiter. If you do not respond in the next minute the nearest XCOM team shall be dispatched with orders to subdue or eliminate you!" A voice echoed in Itami's mind.
"This is Operative Otaku!" Itami shouted in response whilst trying to keep his anger in check. "Let the Commander and Central know that Ginza, Tokyo, Japan is under attack. I request the immediate support of all available XCOM assets in the area!"
"I hope you're not joking, Operative Otaku. The penalties for lying and releasing your limiter without authorization is punishable with a life sentence or execution." The voice spoke in a grave tone. "I am passing your words up the chain of commands."
"This is Central," Said a familiar voice to Itami. "Please describe the nature of the threat you're facing."
Itami did not bother responding with words as words couldn't completely capture what was happening before him. He activated his XCOM-grade implants that started to record everything he saw, heard and smelled. The data was soon uploaded in the highest encryption known to mankind before making its way through several communication systems before finally ending up in the orbiting captured and reconverted Temple Ship, which served as XCOM's current HQ.
"We are receiving the data, Otaku. You are authorized to use whatever means necessary to combat this new threat. Attempt to contain the threat if possible. All XCOM assets within Tokyo and the surrounding towns/cities are being mobilized as we speak and the Japanese armed forces are being notified right now."
"Understood, Central. Otaku out!" Itami responded before turning his attention back to the enemy force that was capturing and slaughtering innocent civilians before him. "You're going to pay in blood!"
What had looked like an ordinary otaku transformed into a human weapon honed through the bloodiest and cruelest conflict known to Earth. Itami smashed into the closest group of attackers that looked as if they came straight out from Roman Legionnaires of the ancient Roman Empire. Their shield and armor offered no protection as Itami's body, enhanced through XCOM's biological and mechanical enhancement programs to superhuman levels, crushed through the defensive gear to pulverize vital organs.
Corpses were thrown flying. Very few of the soldiers that Itami killed had intact corpses left as most were torn apart from the sheer force behind his movements or ripped apart upon impact after being sent flying.
The soldiers started to scream in their alien language and started to panic. Nearby soldiers paused in their capturing or killing of innocent civilians as were attracted by the sound of scared and panicking comrades.
Itami grinned at the response he got. All the attention of the nearby attackers focused on him, allowing the civilians that had been in danger given the precious time and opportunity to run away from the unknown attackers.
"This is just the start!" Itami shouted as he smashed into another group of soldiers.
He saw from the corner of his eyes a group of soldiers return their attention to the fleeing civilians that Itami had hoped would buy time for. Itami's expression turned serious. It was not a wise decision to unleash the full extent of his power as that would quickly exhaust him, but if he didn't the fleeing civilians were likely to end up dead.
Itami unleashed his psionic powers in every direction. It was invisible, but a psionic would have been detected as an explosion of psionic energy. The force threw the soldiers into the air, some smashing into objects like a car or wall, and others sent into the sky before gravity took effect once more.
Any attention to the fleeing was lost when Itami presented himself as a danger. Many of the newly recruited or inexperienced soldiers were scared and about to panic, but some level of calm and discipline returned when the experienced veterans and officers shouted in their alien language a mix of encouragement and threats.
Curious about what the enemy soldiers were thinking, Itami reached out to peek into their minds. Itami was not surprised to find it was an easy task to enter the minds of his enemy. You needed to be specifically trained in the detection of mental intrusion to learn if your mind has been infiltrated.
"Leave the extraction of vital intel to us," Said Bradford to Itami. "Your only focus is the containment and elimination of the enemy."
Itami groaned as he felt the world around him seem slower. He hated the experience as he knew brain implants designed to enhance his abilities of his brain were redirected in sifting through the minds of the enemy and under the control of XCOM HQ. His ability to process data collected by his body might be slower, but he had to get used to it. The Independence War showed that intel was the greatest weapon.
Itami quickly dodged out of the way of a single arrow shot at him. More arrows soon followed up as the lone archer was soon joined by several more as they fired at Itami. He quickly took evasive actions, but there were too many arrows for him to dodge. Thankfully, his Iron Skin genemod helped prevent any wounds as they bounced off his iron-like skin.
That hurt, Itami groaned as he felt several lucky arrows hit his eyes, or somehow nearly entered his nose or ears. If it wasn't for Vahlen's continued refinement of the Iron Skin genemod to cover all parts of the outer body then I might have lost my eyes, sense of smell or hearing.
He quickly noticed that several soldiers that had been previously focused on him having their attention rediverted to chasing down the fleeing civilians. Itami cursed the reinforcements for being so slow and stopped dodging and went on the offensive again. He ignored the arrows that bounced off his skin and unleashed his considerable psionic powers upon the enemy, in particular the soldiers targeting the fleeing civilians.
The massed formation that the roman-like soldiers preferred to use moved futile before Itami's psionic might. Blasts of telekinesis smashed apart every formation. Broken bodies and equipment were thrown into the air. Itami's psionic attacks started to drop in speed when fear fully took hold and no matter of military discipline could hold at the utter annihilation Itami caused.
"So they finally get it through their thick skulls to change tactics." Itami muttered as the roman-like soldiers stopped trying to shoot arrows at him or attempt to charge at him in massed formation.
Itami kept a careful eye on the roman-like soldiers despite not moving to attack him anymore. If they were going to give him some space then he had no problems with that, but not if they started to move upon the fleeing civilians. He was curious what the enemy was going to do now as whilst they were no longer attacking, Itami would bite a bullet if they were not planning something.
His suspicion was soon confirmed when he saw a perimeter formed around made by the roman-like soldiers. Itami raised a brow when he saw parts of the perimeter give way to reveal creatures straight out of fantasy. Roman-like soldiers were one thing, but for him to accept fantasy-like creatures was a whole different thing. Yet, he couldn't deny the evidence he saw before him or the psychic probing that showed he was really dealing with non-human beings from human imagination.
"What a nostalgic combination as cannon fodder. Goblins and orcs charging at the enemy is such a clinched fantasy military tactic." Itami grumbled as he launched telekinetic blasts to explode upon the charging goblins and orcs.
"Otaku, do not kill all the goblins and orcs from range. We would like to gather intel on their physical capabilities." Said Bradford in Itami's mind. "Our intel currently on the goblins and orcs are very sparse, but what we do know is that they should not be able to physically overwhelm your enhanced physique."
Itami was surprised by the order. It had always been a dream of his to fight in close combat against fantasy creatures since he was first enhanced during his time in XCOM and further enhanced physically, mentally and psionically until his retirement. He had been half-expecting that Bradford would tell him to not engage in close combat.
"Understood, Central." Itami replied before he thought up a question. "Please don't tell me Vahlen is asking me to keep the goblin and orcs corpses intact as possible…?"
"Funny enough, we have reports of too many goblins and orcs that Vahlen and her science division will likely be overwhelmed by the number of corpses." Bradford chuckled. "If at any point of time you feel your life is endangered, disregard the order to fight the goblins and orcs in hand-to-hand combat."
He resisted the urge to laugh. Itami might not know what the goblins and orcs were completely capable of, but his instincts had some idea of what they were physically capable of given his experience from the Independence War. If the physically formidable aliens and ADVENT soldiers had not been able to kill him in close combat, he doubted a couple of goblins or orcs could.
The first goblin to reach Itami was surprised when its club shattered against his skin. "Iron Skin" was not used to name the Iron Skin gene-mod as an exaggeration. It really did make a human's skin as strong as iron, and even stronger if the latest and top of the line Iron Skin genemod offered to current XCOM soldiers were being used as a benchmark.
Itami pulverized the goblin's skull with a lightning-fast jab. Blood, bone fragments and remnants of the brain was sent flying into the air.
A sword coming at Itami's neck from the back was blocked as he brought his right arm to block. Itami winced at the pain, but a light scratch was left where the sword had been stopped at. The orc using the sword soon found itself flying courtesy of a flying roundhouse kick by Itami and it landed several meters away in a dazed.
Itami became a blur as he dodged, blocked and attacked the charging goblins and orcs. The fact that goblins and orcs were sent flying injured or dead didn't seem to have any effect on the enemy. For a moment, Itami thought that the goblins and orcs knew no fear until he saw the intoxicated or signs of someone being high on drugs.
It was not long after Itami first started fighting in close combat that the goblins and orcs were no longer coming to fight him as they were: lying dead on the ground, nursing their injuries or warily keeping a distance from him. The shock and fear that Itami sensed was all that it took him to know that be it the roman-like soldiers, goblins or orcs that they were unlikely to try fighting him anytime soon.
When Itami sensed the presence of a psionic presence coming close, he nearly jumped in joy that a fellow psion was coming to his aid. He looked in direction at the psionic presence to find a human that dressed up like a mage. Itami was about to make a comment about his fellow psion's taste of clothing when he heard the alien language used by the roman-like soldiers and spike in psionic energy coming at his direction.
"What the hell are you doing?! I am on your side!" Itami shouted when he dodged out of the way of a fireball.
The question of why he was being attacked by a fellow psion no longer appeared in Itami's mind as instead another question took his place. Psionics might be described as a magic-like ability by those who couldn't use it, but psionics were not magic. With a few rare exceptions, which Itami knew off by heart, those that could use psionics outside of the usual mind-related abilities were rare and Itami sure didn't remember any pyrokinetic Psions that looked or had the psionic signature as the one that attacked him.
"Be advised, it has been reported by the Tokyo police and civilians that Psions dressed like mages have appeared amongst the unknown enemy." Bradford spoke in Itami's mind.
Holy shit, you should have told me about that earlier! I nearly got hurt! Itami screamed in his mind as he continued to dodge several more fire-related spells.
Itami called upon his psionic powers to find that the mage had a magic shield around him. Blasts of telekinetic power rained upon the mage, but the magic shield held strong. He started to feel the pressure when Itami detected more incoming psionic signatures that were clearly not Psions he was detecting and much more closer in resemblance to the mage he was fighting.
"Central you better hurry up with those reinforcements!" Itami shouted before focusing all his attention trying to stay alive.
- O -
In the captured and converted Ethereal Temple Ship, known as the Avenger, which was XCOM's current HQ, was the legendary and mysterious figure known only as the Commander, who entered the Situation Room.
"What is the situation in Ginza?" Commander asked the sitting XCOM Council as they made their way to the seat reserved for them.
"The situation isn't as bad as it was several minutes ago. For now, the Tokyo police has been able to stem the enemy from spreading further into Tokyo. The Japanese military is responding as quickly as possible and our nearby assets are within several minutes from arriving at the AO." Central Officer, John Bradford, replied.
"Who are we facing and what is the threat assessment?" Commander continued inquiring.
Bradford reported, "A large part of the enemy in Ginza is what is equivalent of Roman Legionnaires, but there have been reports of what would be considered creatures from fantasy fiction such goblins, orcs and even wyverns. The most dangerous enemies have been Psions that are dressed and fight like a fantasy mage."
"What are your opinions; Shen, Vahlen and Tygan?" Commander asked.
"The low-powered weapons in the hands of the Tokyo police have been surprisingly potent against the unknown enemies at Ginza," Raymond Shen noted. "From what I can see the only reason why the Tokyo police are having trouble with these attackers have nothing to do with technology but other factors. It is because the Tokyo police lack the training, experience and equipment to fight wars that they are suffering many losses."
"I agree with Shen's assessment." Bradford added.
Richard Tygan spoke up as he offered his assessment as a medical officer, "There is very little information on the biology of the attackers, but we know so far0 suggests that we are facing regular humans before the adoption of biological and mechanical enhancements. Any weapons currently in service should be more than enough to take out these unknown human attackers regardless of the protective equipment they use."
"I really don't know if I should be crying or fascinated that many of the 'fantasy' creatures reported in Ginza match up their fictional depiction." Moira Vahlen grumbled at how unscientific the situation in Ginza was. "The greatest threat in Ginza right now are those creatures with thick natural armor that are stronger than the armor used by these unknown attackers. Until the Japanese military or our local assets in Tokyo and the nearby area are able to respond it will be difficult for them to be eliminated with the low-powered weapons used by the Tokyo police."
"The enemy 'mages' would have likely been the most dangerous threat before the days of Psions." Bradford commented humorously. "Their repertoire of psionic abilities might match the fictional depiction of magic, but we know that we are dealing with psions."
"Is this your personal opinion, Bradford, or does anyone else support this claim?" Commander asked as he turned to other members of the XCOM Council.
"I agree with Bradford," Said Raymond. "I might not know as much biology or medicine as Vahlen or Tygan, but the psionic energy readers clearly picked an increase in psionic activity in the location of these mages."
Vahlen and Tygan had been about to speak when they stopped. They saw that Commander was deep in thought, and past experience told them that in such a situation as they found themselves it was best to let the XCOM Commander think. If Vahlen or Tygan were to peer into Commander's mind they would be proven correct.
The mind of Commander was incomparable to that of a normal human, even with the advancement and wide-spread adoption of biological and mechanical augmentation that enhanced the human body and mind. It was like comparing the difference between a personal computer to that of a supercomputer. Commander's mind was so fast at processing data and thinking up ideas that it made them a tactician and strategist that was unmatched in the present time, and possibly only comparable to some of humanity's past greatest military minds.
What seemed like several seconds passing was akin to several hours in the Commander's intense focused state before they returned their attention back to the XCOM Council. They gestured at Tygan and Vahlen to continue.
"I will go first as medicine is my specialty," Said Tygan. "So far the most detailed data we have on these 'mages' come from Operative Otaku. In my opinion, there is not a shred of doubt that we are facing Psions. It's just that what these mages are capable of are beyond the usual psionics that we have encountered so far, which has been largely limited to mind manipulation with a few exceptions." He paused for a moment. "As to why our own Psions or other human Psions on Earth are unable to use the same large range of 'magical' psionic abilities as these mages I can only guess."
"I believe the Psionics that we are familiar and capable of before the appearance of these 'mages' were an influence of the Ethereals." Vahlen spoke up.
"Vahlen, are you suggesting that if the Ethereals had not come to Earth then we would have ended up with psionic abilities like the fantasy-like 'magic' that the mages are using?" Bradford asked, incredulously.
"Yes, I do." Vahlen nodded. "I believe that if we had been allowed to advance scientifically and technologically without the Ethereals showing up on Earth that what psionics were capable would have been similar to these mages. Or at least something similar to 'magic.' That is my personal opinion."
"Whatever the case," Said Commander. "XCOM's top research priority will be these mages. Whether or not we can replicate their magic, we need to have a strong understanding of what they are capable of. Inform the Japanese military and our assets that the capture of these mages for interrogation and research is a huge importance, only are mages to be killed if there is no other option."
"I will make sure that the Japanese government and our forces get the memo," Bradford affirmed. "Do you have any other orders, Commander?"
"We don't know if this attack by the new enemy a probe or a diversion is, so have all of our forces on standby for any possible future attacks." Commander replied. "Do we know how this new enemy was able to bypass all our defenses that would involve getting past the naval patrols of the Sol System or orbital defense assets of Earth."
"The first reports of the new enemy appeared soon after the sighting of what looked like a large roman-style temple appearing out of nowhere. What it was soon revealed when the enemy appeared in Ginza and launched their attack. As of so far, we have dubbed this portal, 'Gate,' until someone decides to come up with a better name. How the Gate was able to bypass our defenses without us knowing is unknown and will likely remain that way until we investigate the Gate." Bradford explained.
"As distasteful as this sounds," Said Vahlen. "I think it was a blessing that this Gate didn't lead to any Ethereal worlds. Things could have gotten much more worse."
The XCOM Council unanimously agreed with Vahlen. The claim that, "things could have gotten much more worse," was a very great understatement. As tragic as the ongoing attack by the current unknown enemy was that could lead to casualties in the hundreds or thousands, it paled in comparison to the tens, hundreds of thousands or millions that an Ethereal Portal would cause as the Ethereals would do everything in their power to reconquer Earth.
Vahlen continued, "In fact, the Gate is a blessing. Wherever the Gate connects to we have a new source of resource waiting to be exploited with all the population and infrastructure to make such endeavor possible as seen by a military expedition by the unknown enemy. The only opposition we face is likely an empire akin to the Roman Empire plus fantasy creatures."
"Vahlen, we are not bloodthirsty conquers." Raymond spoke up in disapproval. "XCOM is the first and last line of humanity's defense. The only reason we have been able to expand outside of Earth and into the Sol System and beyond is because there were no living creatures inhabiting the places we went."
"I agree with Shen," Said Bradford. "Our directive is to protect Earth, not invading other nations." He looked at Vahlen seriously. "You are greatly underestimating the new enemy. Who knows, they might have sent a probing force of mercenary or militia for all we know. Their proper military could be much more capable and dangerous then we can ever imagine. The Ethereals and ADVENT learned it the hard way for underestimating the enemy."
"I am usually someone that advocates for peace, but we shouldn't discount Vahlen's suggestion outright so quickly. Please do not forget that Earth is currently facing a huge resource crisis despite our best efforts to combat it. Too many people died and too much crucial infrastructure was lost during the Independence War." Tygan said in the defense of Vahlen. "Besides, we don't necessarily have to wage war to use whatever is on the other side of the Gate as a new source of resources. Diplomacy and trade can just be effective, if not more than conquering."
Vahlen looked at Tygan gratefully for coming to her defense, but she didn't exactly like Tygan's suggestion. History had shown such as the European empires conquering much of the Earth in the past how much the conquering power gained through the use of military force.
"Whether or not we will use force or diplomacy will have to wait until we send people to investigate the other side of the Gate." Said Commander as a neutral mediator. "Our first goal is to eliminate the new enemy at Ginza. Are there anymore things that I should know of?" The XCOM Council shook their heads. Commander stood up. "We will meet again if they are future developments. I will act as a psionic conduit to coordinate all of our forces on Earth and across the Sol System. Vigilo, Confido."
"Vigilo, Confido." The rest of the XCOM Council replied back as they stood up and returned to their respective branch of XCOM that they were in charge of.
Codex
Independence War
The Independence War was a long-lasting war that spanned several decades and changed humanity in so many ways that the history before it was named Human-Only Era and after the Independence War as the Ethereal Influenced era. Humanity was forever changed in just every facet; socially, culturally, economically, militarily, politically, scientifically and technologically.
How it all started would be related to the shadow war between XCOM and the Ethereals in which humans were discreetly abducted and XCOM responded to alien sightings while hiding the existence of aliens. The shadow war would come to an end when the first alien terror attacks occurred. The terror attacks would change how the war would be fought as it was no longer possibly to keep the existence of aliens a secret.
In response to the terror attacks that demonstrated the Ethereals' overwhelming military and technological advantage many nations in fear of the Ethereals power or being infiltrated would surrender to their new alien overlords. This would mark a drastic shift from a shadow war to one fought openly using whatever means possible to defeat the other side.
Somehow over the years, XCOM would continue to fight against the Ethereals despite the odds, being able to reverse-engineer the alien's scientific and technological knowledge for humanity's own use. XCOM would take numerous defeats and casualties, many times close to being defeated, XCOM would manage to reach the alien HQ and eliminate the enemy leader known as the Uber-Ethereal.
When the aliens seemed to be defeated, the true might of the Ethereals would come crashing down on Earth from mighty armanda and massive invasion force that made everything XCOM had faced so far akin green recruits. The new alien force would prove to be the battle-hardened and very capable war veterans that suddenly attacked Earth simultaneously across the globe.
Earth would become conquered by the aliens despite XCOM's best efforts. All the nations that once supported XCOM with resources taken out. This would force XCOM to go underground, losing much of their resources that had allowed them to operate as humanity's strongest fighting force. The greatest loss that XCOM and humanity would face would be their abduction of the enigmatic XCOM Commander.
Without the Commander, XCOM would fight a losing war for the next two decades where they would survive on the brink of destruction and only through great sacrifices and luck able to survive until through years of sacrifice and hard work the Commander was found and rescued. XCOM, being commanded once more by the Commander, would eventually shift the war in humanity's favor, but long and brutal fighting would still continue for decades.
By the end of the war, XCOM would go from a resistance force and with the defeat of ADVENT, the alien's puppet government, and the Ethereal forces to becoming the de facto leader of the human race.
P.S Can I get people's ideas for what kind of Classes or weapon types that members of canon Third Recon Team should be?