3/07/2084, 0745

X-COM Combat Protocol "Old Swing Jazz"

Clearance Level: Delta

Note: Security violations will be reviewed and prosecuted. If guilty, perpetrators will be charged with treason against the PGU, X-COM, and the human species with a sentence of life imprisonment or immediate execution. Distribution of this information is restricted to clearance level Delta and above within Mega-Primus. Circumnavigation of this clearance is to be logged for review. Failure to comply with documentation will result in the immediate charge of treason for all parties involved without access to a trial.

In the event of combat operations in Mega-Primus, X-COM operatives are to take care of intelligence gathering assignments. Teams are expected to gather intelligence about organizations, buildings, city infrastructure, opposition, and strategic points within the city. Field team leaders are to submit these findings to base intelligence for analytics. Information is to be forwarded to X-COMmand as soon as possible.

To supplement intelligence gathering and X-COM forces, the use of the local populace is permitted. Recruits are to selected under Hot Spot conditions in addition to standard requirements. Informants are to be monitored, paid, and silenced if necessary. Should standard procedures fail, X-COM field agents are to act as they deem appropriate. All activities, whether sanctioned by a senior officer or a field decision, are to be reviewed. Misconduct is to be disciplined as appropriate on a case by case basis.

Collateral damage is to be kept to a minimum outside of city gangs and the Cult. Deliberate damages are to be investigated and charged as appropriate.

In the event of security breaches, all information is to be secured and destroyed immediately if threatened. Servers, files, and individuals are to be handled as appropriate. This extends to civilians and X-COM personnel.

(See Case File Coffee House for Hot Spot conditions.)

It was no surprise that strange phenomena can cause panic and Mega-Primus was in a state of emergency. Citizens were hiding in their homes, businesses were empty, and only automated machines kept factories running while the nightshift tried to catch some sleep despite being too terrified to leave. The only good news was that there were no riots...yet...

"I'm not sure what they are Bolts. All I know is what Sensovision is saying," Genes was talking on the phone.

"Because flying pyramids makes sense," Bolts groaned, "Well this certainly makes this year's Senate voting interesting."

"You're telling me."

"Hey Genes, any word from Copper?" Ethan asked as he glanced out the window again.

"No Ethan. How can I hear from Copper when I'm talking to Bolts?"

"Let me speak to him would ya?" Bolts offered.

Genes, along with a few others who resided in B-14, were barricaded in one of the few safe rooms in the complex. Most were turned into storage or simply too dilapidated to serve their original function but a number of them still were serviceable. A television tuned to the news relayed whatever information Sensovision (and the rest of the city) was able to figure out about the unusual pyramids.

The only comfort anyone had was the knowledge that there was some canned food sitting...somewhere in the back and that they were among neighbors. Several were armed but had enough common sense not to flail their armaments around.

"Has anyone seen Evan?" a voice asked somewhere in the back.

"That nut job probably is partying with his Cult buddies."

"Are you sure he's a Cultist?"

Genes rolled her eyes and passed the phone over to Ethan, "Not the weirdest occupation to have in this dump."

"Tell me about it," Ethan said as he accepted the phone, "Yeah Bolts?"

"Knowing you you probably have that...toy of yours ready...right?" Bolts asked quietly.

Ethan took a moment to realize what the android was talking about, "Yeah I have it. What about it?"

"We picked something up last night right after the pyramids showed up. A different power reading... Much smaller than the pyramids but it was there. The X-COM hotline said it was an unregistered flier and I don't recall any gang activity last night."

Wait... "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Don't shout fire in a theater but keep an eye out for the smoke if there is one."

Ethan shivered at the implied statement. He never really expected to use the M 4000 even if he kept a hold of it. In truth, the gun was supposed to be more of reminder that he was safe rather than a means of self defense. Now...

"Right. Here's hoping the theater is simply having issues with the holos," he said with a nervous laugh.

"What? What do you-Argh! I've got to go. Stay safe and keep an eye out," Bolts said before the line hung up.

Copper felt like every cell in his body was replaced with lead. Enforcer Academy was alive with activity and the tension was suffocating. Panicked calls, radio chatter from patrols, demands from the Senate, everything was a mess. So far, the only group who seemed to have any organization was the one group specifically meant to handle issues like this: X-COM. Unfortunately, Megapol just had to mess that relationship up with bureaucracy. The relationship was cordial but Megapol did everything it could to appear as the top dog of the city. It was one thing to put hard restrictions on how X-COM was to operate within the city, it was another to treat the organization as another customer on the market.

Copper gave off another yawn for the umpteenth time and tried not to think about Megapol politics causing self harm. At the moment he was wearing full riot gear and was sitting in the armory. He had spent the majority of the night chasing the mystery flyer X-COM called about and even combed the back alleys of where it was last spotted. No one in the investigation had found anything and the only thing the team of officers could do was return to the Academy for some rest.

"Ugh...when was the last time things got this bad?" Henry asked as he downed the...what number was this cup of coffee?

"Never. Somehow I prefer the usual bullshit," Copper muttered as his vision flickered.

So far with the exception of the mystery flyer things had been quiet. The entire city was in an uproar and a hair away from anarchy but it was quiet. So far at least...

"What do they expect us to do? Send an eviction notice to three floating pyramids in the sky?" Copper asked.

"Knowing our usual operations, shoot them until they go away," Henry said with a bitter laugh.

Copper bobbed his head before as his eyelids threatened to fall. Taking a brief look around the room he was in, he figured he could afford a few minutes of sleep at the least.

"Wake me when we are actually needed," he said tiredly.

"What?! Oh hell no you're...asleep," Henry sighed as Copper slept dreamlessly.

Genes woke up to see a mug of coffee being offered to her. She did not recall falling asleep but the lack of rest last night and the anxiety did most of the explaining. At least Stinky was behaving himself the entire time despite growling and hissing at the doorway. Blinking her eyes, she saw Ethan was the one to offer the coffee.

"How long was I out for?" she asked as she accepted the mug.

It was straight black with no sugar or milk and at room temperature...gross.

"Four hours at the least. Everyone has been dozing off so you're not alone there. It's been quiet despite that," he answered.

"Any news at least?"

"None."

Worth asking.

Looking around, Genes saw that a fair number of individuals were indeed asleep. A nearby television monitor was on the Sensovision news channel but was looping a "please stand by" message as it had been when she fell asleep. Checking the time, she realized it was two thirty in the afternoon.

She did not feel hungry despite missing breakfast and lunch.

"Well, no news is good news at this point," she sighed.

"I'd say so," Ethan agreed.

"Breaking news! The Cult of Sirius has just publicly declared that the arrival of the unknown objects is a sign 'of our bright new future,'" the television went off.

"Figures, just had to open my mouth," Genes sighed.

"Of course those idiots are going to start something. Why are they still around?" Ethan agreed as they watched the news cast.

"Those idiots are either going to start a war or get involved in one," Bolts muttered as the news continued.

"We're at war?" one of the technicians asked tiredly.

"Call it a gut feeling or something along those lines but I think we should expect one. Also, get some sleep."

The technician mumbled something and passed out at their work station. Bolts was a tad envious that his coworkers could actually fall away into blissful sleep. Even if he were to go into "sleep mode" he would be aware of what is going on around him. He was not going to find any escape from the chaos, not even temporary ones.

Giving off an audible sigh, he glanced at his monitor. It was still displaying chaotic readings, messy lines of code, and diagnostic checks. Deciding to get away from this, he got up and started to head to the cafeteria. His coworkers would need the food and it would give him an excuse to leave the room.

It's amazing how...human I am, he thought as he walked.

The halls were too quiet and appeared sterile. Despite being a computer lab and a factory, the building was silent. Bolts shut off a few emotion routines to keep himself from shivering in discomfort. The odd stomping noise in was of no help either.

Wait...odd stomping noise?

"Hello?" Bolts stopped walking and leaned his head around a corner.

The noise stopped and he saw nothing. He scanned the hallway for a few more seconds and was about to leave when the noise started again. Against his better judgement, he started to follow it.

This is stupid. Either I'm hearing things or I'm walking to my doom. Either way, I've probably lost it, he thought and gave the equivalent of an eyeroll.

The noise grew louder as he walked deeper into the building. Bolts could tell it was likely big and heavy by listening. Every subroutine inside of him was screaming for him to turn and run but he somehow found the foolish bravery to keep going. His reward was a peculiar sight.

"Uh...hi?" he said awkwardly at the big blue...thing in front of him.

The creature was ugly and had a facial expression similar to a scowl. It had massive, meaty limbs built like tree trunks that undoubtedly were strong enough to break human bones. It also was carrying what appeared to be a rocket launcher that was crossbred with a shark judging by the odd appearance of the weapon. Add in the fact that the creature was almost two meters tall and it made for an imposing sight to behold.

The creature let out a moaning bellow as it raised its weapon. Bolts saw a fire extinguisher on the wall and quickly grabbed it. Without hesitating, he pulled the pin and sprayed the creature in the face.

"Shit!" he yelled, subroutines going haywire.

The creature flailed in as it coughed and moaned. Bolts took off as fast as he could, carrying the fire extinguisher with him.

"Shit shit shit shit. I knew this was a dumb idea. Why did I think following the loud stompy noises in an empty building was a good idea?!" he cursed as the bellows continued behind him, followed by another somewhere else in the building.

"Everyone up and grab your gear! We're moving out!" a sergeant yelled, causing Copper to wake up.

"What's happening?" he yawned.

"Hell if I know. Get up," Henry said, grabbing his own equipment.

Copper got up and stretched his back, a few vertebrae popped as he did so. Blinking, he saw everyone acting sluggishly but quickly grabbing their equipment. Rolling his shoulders, he checked to make sure his utility belt was still in place and and it was stocked.

"Where're we heading sergeant?" he asked, stifling another yawn that threatened to escape.

"Cyberweb factory. Got a call about a 'big blue alien armed with a shark bazooka.' Whatever the hell it is we're going to be on site with an X-COM squad behind us. Standard hostage situation. Everyone got that?" the sergeant quickly explained.

Cooper nodded before freezing in recognition. Bolts works for Cyberweb in one of their factories. He also was one of the ones to call in the power surge that started this entire mess and had an entire team of computer engineers trying to get the city back on its feet.

Fifty fifty Copper. It might be the other factory, he thought nervously.

"Hey, you all right?" Henry asked as the team moved to the garage.

"Worried about a friend," Copper said before grabbing a helmet and putting it on.

"I'm going to say this as a friend, focus on the job."

Copper grunted as he walked, not bothering to reply any further. Henry sighed as he grabbed his laser rifle and joined the march to the garage. Somehow, the one time Megapol actually put aside the corruption that caused more problems than the entity fixed has everyone on edge. Neither cynical officer would ever admit it, but somehow they preferred the corruption and arrogance compared to this stressful nightmare. That was at least normal for them even if it felt like they were stuck in purgatory.

The scariest part was the gut feeling that this was only the beginning and that Mega-Primus, despite all of its horrible flaws, was not going to escape this unscathed. Whether that was going to be for better or for worse being in the air made the uneasy feeling even worse.