A pile of ash and bricks was the best bed one could find in such a wasteland. It crumbled under the weight of her body. Natalia looked up to the night sky. For the first time in her life, she had seen darkness in the middle of a city. Only small fires illuminated the rubble around her. In all of her entourage, a single lamp-post managed to survive the bombardment, and somehow, had access to power.
She opened a map in her interface, having nothing better to do. The trail of destruction was visible. The officers hatched out all the combat zones in red. The zones formed a line that went from Watertown, in New York, to Kingston, Ontario. The trail stopped in between the two cities as there was nothing to attack. The aliens apparently saw no benefit in attacking small rural houses. Luckily, they were spared from the bombardment. Natalia only had to turn her head around to remember.
By the time Alpha-1 had arrived, a lot of damage had been caused. With dozens of aircraft focusing on taking down all hostile bombers, it allowed the city to breathe. It was short-lived as the aliens dropped large landing parties to terrorise the survivors. At least, Alpha-1 came in time for that. The alien corpses were still fresh and formed a perimeter around the squad's zone of control. Alpha-1 had taken the time to clean up after the battle, knowing that the fight was not over and that a mountain of corpses would prove to be obstacles. Natalia had justified the act as forming a wall to ward of aliens or to hinder their advance into their zone of control. A wall of corpses seemed like a very Medieval tactic, but the situation was not characteristic of civilised. The rubble all around reinforced the sheer lawlessness.
The buildings were unrecognisable. The streets were full of damaged vehicles and debris. There were alien abduction pods littered around with countless wrapped bodies surrounding them. The soldiers did not dare venture near them, knowing the potential health risks. There were the occasional tank wrecks and crashed aircraft that showed that there was, at least, an attempt to fight back. UFO wrecks were still slammed into once tall buildings. When the situation came back under control, someone would have to clean up the mess. Thankfully for Natalia, she was not in any way responsible for that operation.
Hunger soon struck. The colonel did not wish to use the nutrient injection, opting for the more traditional method of caloric intake. She could have gone to a nearby relief camp to grab a few rations for her men and women, but she could not abandon her post; not when aliens could still be lurking around. The camps were in the unhindered districts of Kingston so it would take a while for her to travel to the other side of the city and come back. There was no bus or active subway station to bring her back and forth in a decade of minutes.
The Skyranger had rations she could use, but it was nowhere near Kingston. The earliest that she could get a midnight supper was in a few hours, and by then, it would be an early breakfast. There was nothing she could do but sit around with her battered squad and wait for some aid to come or a much-wanted extraction.
It had been hours since they fought off the alien threat. The army said that it would sweep the combat zones after rounding up all displaced civilians in the area. Alpha-1 focused more on fighting the aliens while their allies escorted their citizens. From the looks of it, their comrades were still not done. For now, the squad kept their watch over the area while some of them slept to eventually take over for their tired comrades.
Some soldiers had the fortitude to keep themselves awake all night. Dr Erena or any of her underlings would have scolded them, but she was kilometres away. The awake soldiers alleviated their situation by whispering away at each other while on the lookout. Arthur was one of them and surveyed the area inside of a half-destroyed apartment building. He had his sniper rifle on the floor while he scanned around with his eyes. There was not a single movement, like every other time he had checked. The area was devoid of life except for his comrades walking, sitting or sleeping around.
In the corner of his eye, he noticed Gail heading in a surprisingly intact convenience store. It seemed untouched by the bombing due to the upper floor absorbing all the damage. McGrath carefully navigated the isles of shelves using his helmet's flashlight. The windows glimmered as he walked around. The sound of him moving boxes and casting aside glass bottles echoed throughout the streets. The only background noise that could attempt to cover him up was the crackling of the fire near his squadmates. Without the hustle and bustle of the city, every sound could easily be heard.
The light shone out of the broken glass door as Gail pushed it aside with his feet. He had a box in his arms which he gently dropped next to his sleeping comrades near the fire. He managed to lower it slowly enough to cushion the clinking of the bottles he put in it. Fernando got up to inspect the contents.
"Gail, you serious?" he whispered disappointedly.
"What? It's not like the clerk was going to sell these anytime. We've been here for hours, can't we have a little snack?"
"Just because we're XCOM doesn't mean we should be stealing from stores!" Fernando whispered back.
"It's not stealing . . . it's scavenging. As I said, this store won't see the light of day. We don't even know if the owner is alive. Hell, look at this place!"
Fernando sighed and grabbed whatever packaged food interested him. Gail grabbed a few energy bars and climbed up the pile of ground bricks leading to the second floor of the nearby apartment building. Arthur heard the sound of bricks clattering on each other and looked to his side to see Gail.
"You want to switch?" Arthur asked.
"I don't think it's time yet. That's not why I came, anyway. Want some energy bars? I got . . . let's see . . . Coffee Snack Bars. There's also Coffee Crisp, but it doesn't look like it has caffeine or even anything coffee related. Why do they even call it that? Anyways, there's more stuff in the box if you want something else. I got some fresh fruits, a lot of drinks, chips, instant meals, you name it. I do warn you that some of the items haven't been refrigerated since the power went down. You know, the drinks are kind of hot and the fruits aren't cold."
Arthur sighed and reached his hand out over the edge of the exposed floor. Gail gave a slight shrug, gave his coffee bars and turned to head down.
"Oh and I'm making some hot dogs, but it will take a while to set up the fire spit."
"Where did you get the sausages and buns?" Arthur questioned while unwrapping his snack.
"The convenience stores here have hot dog stands in them so I just grabbed some. They are raw so we'll have to cook them ourselves."
Arthur was not immune to hunger either so he left Gail to his task. He felt hungrier than usual, exhausted from the fighting. It's not like he got some sleep either. At least the coffee bars would sustain him for a while longer until someone decided to take his place.
Mission Control was as busy as it would be at day. The officers went to sleep as the Night Teams rapidly took over. Henry managed to get some hours of rest before he woke up to check on his soldiers. Surprisingly, Bradford had done the same. As soon as Henry entered Mission Control, Bradford followed. They both looked at each other to acknowledge their presence but did not say anything since they were tired.
"Welcome, Commander Henry Avant. . . and Executive Officer John Bradford," the announcer heralded.
The staff rose to salute and sat back down to get back to their task. Bradford walked to the Hologlobe to inspect every point of interest. The situation seemed to have both improved and worsened. The aliens stopped sending their UFOs and landing parties, but they had already caused enough damage and let their remaining forces linger to wreak more havoc. At least, it meant that no more new threats would appear. The alien ships slowly lost their dominance in the skies as the nations deployed their ballistic missile systems and fighters to deal with them. Henry could only predict the nightmare that Reclamation would find itself with all the UFO wrecks and alien corpses.
"God, let this nightmare end," Bradford pleaded.
"I don't think we're dreaming," Henry reminded, lacking the honour he intended to display.
Bradford saw through Henry's lack of energy and got the joke.
"I wish we were. This is all too sudden," Bradford replied.
"How many times have we said that?"
"Far too many, Henry. Far too many."
The Commander rubbed his forehead in thought.
"Officers, have you saved all footage of the new alien aircraft?"
A nearby senior officer rose to answer.
"Yes, Commander. We've forwarded them to the Science Department and Engineering Department," she responded.
"Good."
Henry went to his station to review the new vessels encountered. The cities were attacked by a fleet of Corvettes, landing foot soldiers into the cities. They operated under the cover of their new Bombers. The vessels glided above the cities while dropping plasma bombs every score of metres. The Bombers were easily taken down after removing the cover fire from their escorting Corvettes. After the wave of UFOs was taken down, the remnants scattered to create as large of an annoyance as possible. The aliens on the ground went into hiding and skirmished with their foe.
What an intricate strategy, Henry thought. The aliens had a plan; Henry was sure of it. They ceased all activity around the globe to converge on a couple of targetted cities. They were somewhat big cities or towns, but not the worst place the strike. Maybe, the aliens might have figured out something? The attack on the cities could have been a display of the alien's ability to organise, but as soon as it died out, they resumed their usual independent skirmishes. Perhaps, the skirmishing is part of their plan? The aliens were not mindless after all.
Henry could not wrap his head around their strategy. The small skirmishes were useless since the aliens did not attempt to recon or abduct as they usually did. If it was part of their "bomb hospitals and cities" strategy, it would make a little more sense to what lack of sense there was. He dropped the matter for when he would be fully awake. For now, he had to inquire on the status of his troops.
Alpha-1 was completely awake. They were woken up by the smell and sound of Gail cooking his findings. Everyone was confused at first, but they all gave in to the free meal in the middle of a quiet warzone. Still, they had to keep up their guard so half of the squad stayed on the lookout while the others ate.
"Hey, Alpha-1. How's it going over there?" Henry's voice asked through everyone's helmet.
It took a while before they could process the question.
"Commander? You're awake?" Natalia asked in a low and tired voice.
"I woke up in the middle of my sleep so I decided to check up on all of you."
"We're holding up, Commander," the colonel informed. "We could use a supply drop from the Skyranger, though."
A pause ensued as the Commander waited to respond.
"Yeah. Big Sky's gonna take a while. Hold on as long as you can. You're up in his flight path. That's all I can guarantee."
"I'll take note then," Natalia replied with some relief.
"Well, I'll have to let you all go. There seems to be fighting on Myers' end. Stand strong, all of you."
The soldier looked up into their interface and noticed the Commander leaving their channel. He had done all he could for now. The soldiers resumed their meal, waited for the relief and kept an eye out for aliens. As long as they were not at base, they had an important job to do.
Gail grabbed one of the largest metal measuring cups at his side and put it over the burning alcohol-drenched cloth in a can. In a fit of annoyance, he grabbed his helmet and flung his head out to catch some air. He inhaled loudly until he slowly exhaled.
"Damn helmet! Smells like charcoal," he grumbled.
"I wonder why, Gail," Yuri commented.
"Damn aliens can't let me breathe," Gail replied.
"Eat a hotdog. It will get your mind off of things. You've cooked it so enjoy your work," Fernando proposed.
Gail looked around for a bun and grabbed a sausage with his hands, feeling a slight heat build up in his finger from the heated metal plate.
"Hot. Hot," he whispered.
He only put on a few strips of condiments, not wanting to delay his meal further.
"I'm seeing movement up ahead," Arthur reported.
The troops grabbed their weapons and got behind cover near their camp.
"Where?" Gail asked deploying his sniper rifle.
"West, at 163 degrees from our epicentre."
Gail looked up at his helmet's internal compass and found a good position to view the location. He went up some stairs inside an intact building and found a window that looked in the desired direction. The rest of the soldiers waited around for the confirmation of a threat.
"I see it! It's a woman. She's running down the street. Looks like she's in panic," Gail reported.
"What do you mean a woman. The whole area was evacuated. She shouldn't be here. It could be a Thin Man," Vorobyova warned.
"I'm not so sure about that. She isn't armed," Arthur said.
"It's not like the Thin Men were armed in our last mission either," Fernando remarked.
"Plus, I haven't seen a Thin Woman before. Most Thin Men were disguised as men," Haidar realised.
"What is she, Gail? Anything off about her hair, eyes or scaly spots?" Natalia asked.
"I don't know, she's as human as it fucking gets!"
"Positions, everyone!" Natalia ordered.
The squad spread out behind cover, hiding inside broken-down houses and large chunks of debris. They prepared to fire as the woman came closer and closer towards them.
"Arthur, I'm checking your feed," Natalia alerted.
"Go ahead, Colonel."
Arthur connected his scope to his helmet's interface. Natalia observed Arthur's view. The woman did not seem abnormal in any way. She looked more panicked than anything. She rarely stopped to catch her breath, and when she did, she tried to inhale as much as she could before going back to running. She kept her pace while looking behind her.
"She's being pursued?" Arthur asked.
"Could be," Natalia answered.
The marksmen kept their eye on the target. Another figure appeared as the woman passed a line of rubble on the road.
"Oh, she is," Gail reported. "Sectoid, up ahead. Permission to fire?"
"Go ahead if you can make it," the colonel answered.
Gail steadied his aim as he followed the target with his scope. The Sectoid only ran after the woman. It was armed but did not use its weapon. It was most likely an abduction attempt. Gail did not notice any abduction web cannons on the Sectoid. It did not make much sense to him, but he had the shot and waited for the moment to take it. The Sectoids abruptly stopped in its tracks to shoot behind it. Its plasma weapon fired its projectiles at an unknown location and an unknown target.
Natalia's voice echoed in Gail's helmet.
"Wait, McGra–."
It was drowned out by his shot. Gail realised what he had done. He had already prepared to shoot as the alien fired at an unknown enemy out of the squad's line of sight.
"Crap! Sorry, Colonel," Gail reacted.
"No, it's fine. What was it shooting at though? Take a look!"
The snipers looked out for any more movement in the distance. There was nothing.
"There isn't much," Arthur reported.
"The alien, was it running away from something?" Natalia asked, looking to see if her squadmates judged the same.
"Running away?" Vorobyova responded.
Natalia brushed her idea off as the woman waved her arms in the direction of the gunshot she had heard take out the alien behind her.
"Haidar, how's your shield?" Natalia asked.
"Not in good shape. It lost a lot of mass during the fight. My armour is almost untouched, though."
"That's good enough. Go out in the open to get her. You should survive a shot. Sorry to do this to you."
Haidar got out of cover and picked up her shield. It was battered but could still provide some protection. She hesitantly walked into the open street with little to no cover to hide behind. She reached the middle of the wide road and waved her empty left arm in the air. She did not get any response from the woman, but she kept waving. She could have been hit at any moment so she braced to endure whatever wound would be inflicted on her. Her risky move ended up being useful as the woman noticed the waving.
The soldier gripped her shield in a way that would cover her entire body. She drew out her pistol in case the woman turned out to be a Thin Man. Every second, she anticipated feeling that iconic burning following a plasma bolt. It was better than feeling a brick slammed into her by a bullet, but it was still unpleasant. Thankfully, no such plasma bolts flew at her.
The woman ran as fast as she could to Haidar. As soon as she reached Haidar's side, the shieldbearer went behind her to cover her back in case they got shot at. She walked backwards to the broken cluster of buildings that Alpha-1 guarded. Fernando was the first to inspect their guest.
The woman crouched down and Fernando checked her for any wounds. He paid extra attention to her eyes, hair and neck to verify that she was not a Thin Man. His lack of sleep made him extra paranoid. He could not help but notice her heavy breathing. It was obviously due to her running away from whatever threat she saw. Her panicked and disturbed expression was unmistakable; it was that of some person who had been through Hell. Her trembling made it even more obvious.
Natalia dashed from her broken wall towards the rubble the woman and her guards hid behind.
"Ma'am, is everything okay? What happened?" Natalia asked, putting her helmet on speaker.
The woman slowly looked up to her and opened her mouth to force her words out. She let out a smile of relief that got twisted as the panic took over again.
"Th-the aliens, they're here!" she yelled.
"We are XCOM. We will fight off the aliens. What happened, ma'am?" Natalia asked again.
"They attacked us. I was sleeping and I. . . heard screaming and loud noises. Everyone was dead! Everyone was dead! They are dead! I mean they were still moving. . . I don't know."
"Listen to me, take deep breaths. Focus. What happened back there? We have to know to help," Fernando said, helping his colonel.
"Am I going to become like them?" the woman asked.
"Like who?" Fernando responded.
"The people who are dead . . . and moving!"
"No, it won't happen. The aliens, what did they looked like?" Fernando asked, trying to focus her on the topic.
"Bugs . . . big devilish bugs! They were running after me!" she whimpered.
A loud shriek could be heard in the distance. More shrieks accompanied it. They got louder and louder by the second. It did not sound anything like the cooing and squealing of Sectoids or the roaring of Floaters.
"It's those huge purple bug things again," Vorobyova pointed out.
The woman suddenly acted up.
"No!" she cried. "They're here! You have to run."
"Don't worry ma'am. You're safe with us," Fernando said.
"Everyone get ready for a fight!" Sargeant Dante Moon ordered.
The squad shifted their positions to adjust to the direction of the shrieks and roaring. Natalia let Dante take command while she requested a local lifeform scan.
"How much time till the scan, Colonel?" he asked.
"Officers are on it. Stay vigilant!" Natalia ordered.
A faint tapping could be heard in the distance, accompanied by occasional monstrous howls. The squad kept their weapons pointing ahead. A crackle came into their helmets.
"All right squad, here's a little heads up. The new alien you have encountered has been named the Chryssalid. They will show up as unknown contacts in your scanner so pay close attention. They can move very fast and are melee-oriented. Watch out for its legs; they're sharp and can pierce through your suit if you aren't careful. Once it kills a target, it uses its mandibles to dig into its prey and turns them into a . . . zombie. Yeah, you heard me correctly."
With the scan active, the squad checked their radars and surveyed their surroundings. Fernando stayed beside the woman to comfort her. She started to freak out as the source of the shrieks and roars got closer.
Another person appeared in the distance, stumbling towards their position. They were outside the range of the lifeform scan so identifying them was not possible yet.
"Colonel, we got some guy walking towards us. He looks to be injured," Arthur reported.
"You sure it's a human?" Natalia asked. "Zombies have entered the picture too!"
"I wouldn't say so, Arthur. He looks more like a zombie," Gail corrected. "Wait, there are more behind him! It's a swarm!"
"Alpha-1, prepare to fire," Dante ordered.
"Hold up!" Henry interrupted. "Squad, I have a note from Vahlen. She wants one of those zombies for examination. Vorobyova, if you got your Arc Thrower ready, go in for the stun and plant an Immobiliser."
Vorobyova looked to Natalia and received a nod. The Colonel signalled her troops to hold their fire.
"Haidar, get your shield up. We're going in," Vorobyova ordered.
The two stepped out of cover. Haidar took the lead while Vorobyova crept behind cover. The zombies noticed them walking up and charged at them. The rest of the squad provided support by aiming carefully at the charging zombies.
"Everyone, watch your fire! We don't wanna hit our guys," Natalia warned.
One of the zombies ran closer and closer to Haidar. Vorbyova prepared her Arc Thrower and picked it as her target. She primed the stun weapon and it generated an electrical shock within its fanged barrel. With one quick motion, Vorobyova aimed the shot at the zombie and hit its chest. The paste did not expand and bounced off of the zombie's torso. The paste suddenly expanded and was lured to the zombie's head.
Haidar rushed forward to cover Vorobyova as she dug through the paste to plant an Immobiliser on the zombie's nape. She quickly grabbed the body and hoisted it on her shoulder. She ran back to her allies as fast as she could while Haidar ran backwards covering the retreat.
"Commander, FO-3 has got a zombie in our custody," Natalia reported.
"That's what we wanted. Now take all those things out," the Commander ordered.
Suddenly, the shrieking came back and the woman started to panic again. She eventually escaped from Fernando's side and ran down the road behind them.
"I'm getting out of here!" she yelled as she ran away from the fight.
Fernando yelled out to the woman noticing an obstructed marker moving towards her. An unknown alien emerged from a damaged building, revealing its needle-like legs that supported its thin body. The big purple bug leapt towards the woman and slashed at her using its legs. It then bit into her neck using its mandibles. Specialist Cairo Wade was the first to react and shot its head with a burst of his rifle.
The woman got back up but looked different. Her wounds were still pouring blood but her expression was unaffected. She had a lifeless look while meaninglessly moving around. Eventually, she saw the XCOM soldiers and dashed towards them. Wade understood that she became an enemy and swung his rifle to get a clear shot at their former friend.
His move was prevented by a Chryssalid bursting out of a window. It used its pointy legs to jab at Wade's arms. His armour prevented it from penetrating too deeply, but it was not enough to completely stop the attack. Wade dropped his rifle through the pain and crawled away from the Chryssalid. Vorobyova rushed to his aid and shot a shotgun shell at it while its attention was fixed on its victim.
"Everyone, watch your flanks! Those Chryssalids are damn fast!" Vorbyova reminded.
Another Chryssalid popped up, this time, attacking Vorobyova. It jabbed at her leg and took another one at her torso to no avail. The torso plates were strong enough to resist the Chryssalid's hard chitin claws. She was knocked back by the sudden pain in her leg. The pain disrupted her grip on her shotgun so she missed her shot in an attempt to defend herself. The Chryssalid slashed again at Vorobyova's armour but the plating held strong.
The Chryssalid crumbled to the ground as a pistol shot echoed next to her. Wade fought through the pain in his hand and unholstered his firearm.
"You should watch out too, Corporal," Wade retorted with a groan.
Wade and Vorbyova were reminded of their newly transformed zombie stumbling towards them. Wade aimed his pistol at the zombie while fighting off the pain. Fernando rushed to the two wounded soldiers to stop the bleeding. He took out his medical spray kit and selected the coagulant spray. A small dose of morphine was injected to distract from the pain of the Chryssalid slashes and punctures. He selected the stem cell spray and carefully created a coating to plug up the wounds.
More Chryssalids popped up in the radar as they ran towards the XCOM squad bearing their sharp, fanged legs. They ran to the wall of corpses the squad had formed after their initial fight. The aliens bit into the corpses, regurgitating some glob into the dead bodies. The Chryssalids then ran in as close as they could and attempted to stab through the gaps in XCOM's armour. The squad aimed their weapons with steady hands to counter the aliens' agility. A few passed through and went for a slash at the soldiers, only to be stopped by their armour. The snipers in the back could not use their lengthy rifles effectively so they switched to their pistols. They aimed for the closest aliens to aid their comrades under assault.
Haidar ducked behind her plasma-proof shield. It was mainly built for heat resistance and did not provide much protection against puncture damage. The Chryssalids jabbed at her shield, getting their legs stuck in the holes they made. Haidar easily picked off her grappled targets by using their embedded limbs as leverage; Chryssalids were easily thrown off balance by a strong tug to their legs.
The purple creatures were plated in chitin which offered enough protection against the bricks and bits of rubble hurled by XCOM's forces as free projectiles. They conserved as much of their ammunition as they could since they were almost out. Yuri grabbed a handful of bricks and chucked them at charging Chryssalids while the Snipers took them out with their pistols.
The team finished off the staggered Chryssalids by aiming carefully as not to waste a single bullet. The zombies were much easier to kill since they were sluggish. The only effective way to inanimate them was to shoot the head.
The squad preferred to save up their bullets against the zombies. They were not too dangerous since their attacks lacked much of the reanimated body's strength. That allowed the troops to ignore the zombies' melee attacks while they took out their knives and tried stabbing or cutting off the head. The troops wrestled against the moving corpses as they used their pain-free arms as maces against their opponents. The smashing of the Jackal armour against their bodies caused some discomfort to the troops, but they ignored the pain and stabbed at the head.
They had to fight the fact that they needed to mutilate the body of a fellow human, but they were no longer who they were. They were turned into puppets by the abominable Chryssalids. The soldiers made a quick cut to the nape to render the zombie back to a lifeless corpse, and stabbed the head to kill whatever was making the bodies move.
The fight was over after a few gunshots took out the walking corpses in the distance. The squad realised that the swarm was taken down. It felt like something out of a movie, but it was real life. The large purple bugs and previously moving corpses almost made them want to pinch their cheeks to wake up from whatever dream they were in. The comfort of it all being a dream would not come.
The squad needed dire rest and efficient medical care. The Skyranger was called in to evacuate the wounded soldiers while the still combat-capable soldiers remained. Everyone wanted to go on board, but their job still was not over. They had to protect their part of the city, or what was left of it. Thankfully, the Skyranger carried extra supplies for the squad to restock on ammunition, grenades, stimulants, and more importantly, food. Gail managed to scavenge some locally, but he was not in the mood for a second run. He was exhausted from the sudden wave of enemies.
The night sky painfully reminded everyone of how slowly time passed. All they could think of was to pile up the alien and zombie corpses. Sargeant Dante carried the immobilised zombie body and dropped it into the secure compartment of the Skyranger.
"Commander, this is Big Sky. I've got the wounded and the live artefact. I'm coming back to base," he reported.
"All right, Big Sky. Those guys deserve some rest. Hopefully, you'll be back soon to pick up the rest of our troops," Henry replied.
As the Skyranger departed, the squad got back to their stations and maintained watch while preparing for another potential fight. Gail went back to his post and noticed more movement. He alerted his squad and grabbed his sniper rifle. A Sectoid. It moved sluggishly down the road. Its arms flailed as it slowly stepped closer to the squad's zone of control.
"Not again," Fernando complained.
"It's just one Sectoid," Arthur comforted.
"Wait. Don't shoot it this time," Natalia ordered.
The Sectoids stumbled closer towards the squad. They held their fire as Natalia had ordered. It showed no interest in using its wrist-mounted plasma cannon. It slowly walked towards the XCOM position, stumbling over the occasional dead bodies.
"What the hell?" Arthur exclaimed.
"Is that a Sectoid zombie? It has a large wound in its chest," Gail remarked. "Is it from a chryssalid? It has a bite mark on its head too!"
Natalia walked up to the sluggish alien and examined it while maintaining some distance. The zombie was aggravated but lacked the seed to keep up with Natalia. After a few seconds, she rose her rifle and shot it in the head.
"Commander, you see this?" Natalia asked.
Henry watched Natalia's camera after reviewing the Skyranger's flight plan. A zombified Sectoid? Are the aliens attacking each other? Vahlen will have a fun time with this.
"I saw it, FO-1. The scientists will have some explaining to do," the Commander replied.
Henry looked away from the screen to get as much sleep he could. He still had a few hours since he would usually wake up. Something told him that he would need the extra hours of rest for what was to come. The Council wanted even more answers than before. He was sure of it. Things were going to get busier than usual in XCOM.