"Sir! Sir!" My assistant shouted, barging into my office.
"What is it, Ralph?" I asked, tired after a long day of signing documents.
"Reports are coming from our monitoring outpost on Antarctica."
"Which one?"
"Uhh..." He trailed off, looking through his notes on the clipboard, "It's Sentinel."
"I don't recall any by that name."
"It's the space monitoring one. Top Secret."
"Oh right, yes." I vaguely recalled a monthly set of papers coming in from that place. Supplies that needed restocking.
"Anyway, they said that they have gained information about energy bursts appearing near our planet, which were followed by massive Unidentified Objects."
"Which means?"
"It means that something arrived. Something from outer space."
"You mean aliens?"
"Yes." I saw he was excited.
Great. Something else to worry about. I couldn't dance around with joy though, as this could bring many problems.
"Are they peaceful?"
"We don't know yet."
"Then we can't be unprepared if it turns wrong."
"But what can we do?"
"Call Officer Bradford and Commander Grant immediately, tell them to prepare plan X."
He gulped.
"Right away Sir."
He turned around and left.
I put my forehead against my desk, and with one hand massaged my temple.
Slowly, I grabbed my phone and called my wife.
"Hey, Dear!" She said cheerily.
"Listen, please you need to be quick. Pack some bags for you and the kids, only the essentials and get to The bunker in the rocky mountains. The one I told you about."
A Few heartbeats of silence.
"What's happening?"
"Currently nothing, but trouble's brewing, and I need you guys someplace safe."
"Okay, love you." She put down the phone.
I sighed before dialing the number. The number I was told never to call without serious reasons.
"What is it?" A harsh voice spoke into it.
"Tell the other world leaders to get to their bunkers. Big things are happening."
"Yes. Right away."
That was done too. Faster than expected.
"Ralph!"
"Yes, Sir?"
"Tell my Chauffer to get ready!"
"Where are you going?"
"The Bunker."
I hope that this all proves to be just a misunderstanding.
3 days later
"It's now been the second day that our intergalactic friends have come into contact with us. Their flying saucers are now seen all around the world. Though few people are skeptical that they come in peace, many more group together to greet our new friends."
Bzzz
"Now, we must warn everyone. Do not, under any circumstances shoot at these aliens, as they will take that as a sign of aggression. The government assures us that they come with peaceful intentions."
Bzzz
"Our viewers will now see a live television feed of a UFO, which is currently above Central Boston. It seems like it's docked."
"Yes Gabe, it seems so. No movement has been spotted- Wait something's happening. Look at that! The bottom of this UFO is opening up! This might be the First Alien Caught on Camera. Here on Channel Five News!"
"This might just be the start of a new frien-"
"Studio, I hate to say this, but things are falling out of its bottom."
"Maybe our aliens?"
"They look more like bombs. Or Landing crafts maybe."
"Stop being Paranoid!"
"It's coming towards the ground really fast."
"Keep your distance!"
"It's about to crash!"
The Camera shook from the impact.
"Hello, Gabe, you there?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. It just knocked me off my feet."
"Woah, look at that thing."
"Roger, let's get a closer look at that, shall we?"
"It's green."
"Yep, and glowing."
"Sure."
"It might be dangerous, you guys should get out of there."
"Nonsense, I was wrong to panic before. If we don't touch them, they won't hurt anyone."
"Gabe, there's a man walking towards it."
"Sir, don't touch it. NO DON'T! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS THING?" Screams.
"Gabe? Gabe? You there?"
"Czzzzz"
"I think we should go off-"
The screen turned black. No Signal.
The bastards did it. They attacked.
Whatever that green thing that came out of that pod was, it looked terrifying.
Thankfully, I foresaw this attack, and the High ranking officers were all here. Well, not everyone, but it's too late now. Van Doorn was still somewhere outside.
I just hope to god that Commander Grant was able to get everything set up in this short amount of time.
Though he is the Highest ranking officer there, he knows very little about the project, so I have to get in touch with them.
Somewhere in Mainland America
Commander Grant
"Hoxton, close the Bunker doors!"
"Yes, Sir!"
"We need a squad! ASAP!"
"Alpha Squad, reporting for duty!"
"Get in the skyranger, you're going to New York."
"Sir!"
I sighed deeply.
"Sir, while the squad gets there, you should meet the heads of the different divisions, better now then never."
"Fine. Send for them, Bradford."
"They're already here."
"Huh?" I turned around and saw two people. One was an older man, wearing glasses and balding, while the other was a lean woman in her mid-thirties dark hair.
"Commander, I am Doctor Moira Valhalen, the Executive Scientist of the Bunker's Laboratory. I have a handful of personnel, but I hope that with your cooperation, we can research whatever these Aliens throw at us, turn it against them." She said with a German Accent.
"Welcome to XCOM HQ, Doctor. We'll need your help, I'm sure of it."
"And I am Chief Engineer Doctor Raymond Shen. I command the Automated Workshop provided in the Bunker, as well as any new construction effort that might happen. I am also low on Personnel, so any chance that you can find engineers would help massively with the construction of New Gear."
"Welcome, Doctor. I recognize that both of you have needs that require fulfillment, and I know that we are short on supplies and personnel, but we have rich Sponsors, and we'll surely be getting new supplies as time passes. However right now, I've got to command a Squad, so please take your places in this bunker."
They nodded and walked away.
"Tell me, Bradford, how are we supposed to win this fight, how are we supposed to be Earth's Last line of defense, if we are so undermanned?" I sighed.
"I have no clue, Sir."
"Why did I sign up for this?" I muttered to myself.
"Sir, I don't mean to bother you, but a call is coming from your personal quarters." He said, looking at the Electronic Watch buzzing on my forearm.
I raised an eyebrow and looked at it myself.
The Spokesman.
His name? Unknown. His face? Unknown. His voice? Unknown. He is the Top Boss, giving all the commands.
"Thank you, Bradford," I said, walking up a set of stairs to my Quarters.
I Closed the door behind me and pulled down the Blinds of my window. A Red, Flashing Alert Symbol was on the Computer Screen.
"Accept Call. Password Five-Nine-Eight-Two-Four. Commander Grant."
The Screen immediately turned black, and slowly a face came out of the gloom.
"Hello, Commander."
"Sir," I said.
"You have heard the news, I presume?"
"Yes. I have locked the doors, and a response squad is already on their way to New York."
"Have you met the Two Heads of Staff?"
"Vahlen and Shen? Yes, I have."
"Good. I'm guessing both of them have a problem with the lack of staff. Tell them that we'll try our best to allocate Resources for the Project."
"I Understand, though it feels like we're going to fight a war that's only gonna go one-way, and that won't be good for us."
"That is the reason why I chose you for this Project, Commander. I knew, even back when I first contacted you, that you were fit for this role. You have many good skills, which are perfect in this situation."
"Great," I muttered.
"You are the last hope of mankind, do not forget that. The other members of the council won't either."
"Very well."
"Do you want to know anything?"
"Yes. Do we know what we're facing up against?"
"No, nothing. Your soldiers will be the first to see these Aliens, and capture them on video."
"It was worth asking."
"Goodbye Commander, and good luck."
The screen went black, and I cursed softly.
"Sir?"
It was Bradford, Knocking at my door.
"Yes?"
"Maybe you should rest a bit until the troops arrive. The last few days of preparing this place have left you tired."
"Huh. Maybe you're right." Thank you, Bradford.
"I'll take care of the base until then."
I smiled.
He closed the door, and I lay down on my bed.
He was right, I had slept only a few hours in the time leading up to this attack, and all the coordination it took to set up this base drained me of every drop of energy I had.
In no time, I was asleep.
Sergeant Rhys
The buzz of the skyranger made it hard to rest aboard the carrier. It was a much more unfamiliar sound than the jangling of Equipment, and the clinking of guns.
This Squad had been my family ever since 2001. A Group of Hardy Men and Women fighting on the frontlines of wars. First as soldiers, then as Mercenaries. Jungles, Deserts, Plains, Urban Areas. We've seen it all, brought ourself glory and fame.
But I was still shocked that we were going out there to fight Aliens. I mean, who could've foreseen that?
I remember the day we were recruited. A briefcase left at my doorstep, a Phone Inside. There I spoke with this Spokesman, told me all about the Project. We were up for it. Getting Paid for doing nothing for Years? Who wouldn't like a job like that? Living the Dream, waiting for a Command that would never arrive, cause Aliens couldn't exist.
That Command arrived three days ago, shocking us at first. My heart was still beating in my chest, worried about what our encounter against them would be.
The Skyranger was fairly fast for a Jet Aircraft, and in the Span of an hour, we were already hearing voices in our Radios.
"Central, this is Big Sky do you Copy?"
"We're reading you loud and clear Big Sky."
"We've reached the Target AO."
"Code Green Big Sky. Send in Falcon Squad."
The Doors opened, and we were running outside, scanning the area for threats. We knew what we were doing. Most of us had started out in the Original Squad, Fourteen years ago. Some had died, some had left, but those who had stayed, and who had joined, well... We made an amazing team.
The Sky was glowing red with the flames of the burning city.
"Falcon Leader, do you read me?"
"Yes, Central," I replied
"Is the Squad ready for insertion?"
"Yes."
"There are no Civilians in the AO, none that our scanners can pick up. Anything that moves is hostile, and you may fire at will."
"Copy that."
"Life Signals coming from up ahead of you."
I signaled for the Squad to follow me, and we pressed against the wall of a diner.
"What can you see, Falcon Five?"
"Movement inside the diner, Falcon Leader."
"Falcon Four, Five, Seven Left, Falcon Eight, Nine, Eleven Right, Falcon Two, with me. Rest of you Cover through the window."
"Copy that," Came back the replies.
I opened the front door.
"Signal is coming from behind the counter..." Came the voice of Doctor Vahlen over the earpiece.
Slowly, ever so slowly, we walked up to the counter and peered over it.
My eyes widened.
Three hairless, stooping figures stood around a body covered in Green strands of some kind. They looked right out of a Sci-Fi movie.
They didn't have a mouth, yet they communicated in clicking noises.
I raised my gun, carefully so as not to alert them, then one of them locked eyes with me, and a wave of nausea washed over me. The feeling turned to pain after a few seconds, and I collapsed to the floor, screaming.
Then it stopped. I was out of breath and couldn't stand up, but I heard them start scurrying outside through the side door.
Rifle fire pierced the air and I heard the aliens thrash against the concrete floor outside.
I got to my feet and beckoned for the soldiers outside to come inside.
Looking outside, I saw one of the teams I had sent around the side. Falcon Nine, Cameron Duncan, reached down to grab one of their weapons. Before he could touch them, all three sparked simultaneously, before crumbling into pieces.
"What happened, Sir?" Donny asked, Falcon Two.
"I- I Don't know, but it was them that's for sure."
"Must be some Alien Tech that does that to you. We need to be more careful." He muttered.
I looked around.
"Where's Falcon Four, Five and Seven?" I asked.
"They went around Left."
"Falcon Four, Five, Seven do you copy, I repeat, do you copy?" I called into the earpiece.
Nothing.
"God Damn it. Fred, Liz, Check outside." I commanded.
Fred checked the corner, and he was instantly struck in the face by a green blob of light.
He was dead right away, no scream of pain, nothing.
As he fell I saw his face was burnt to a crisp.
Two More of us rushed to the window, the Group I had sent to the right looped back around, the rest of us sat down behind the counter.
"How many?" I yelled.
"Five!"
"Fire at Will!"
A few seconds of silence, then the gunfire started.
Ryan was hit in the leg, and he went down screaming, but with the others concentrating fire, they were soon dead.
"Clear," Donny said.
"Someone take care of Ryan."
"Falcon Squad, We aren't picking up any more Readings in the Area. Return Back to HQ. Bring back everything. Bodies, weapon fragments, and any alien tech. What are your losses?"
"Falcon Four, Five, Seven and Ten were killed in action."
"We are sorry to hear that Falcon Squad. Bring their Bodies back for a proper burial."
"Copy that Central."
Four men, I had fought with for years. Dead within a single mission.
"Brendan, Donny, Cassie find Stephen, Joe, and James."
They nodded sadly.
After Meg gave him Morphine, Ryan seemed to calm down, though his leg was oozing blood.
The Bastards had hit him through the door frame. It had burned through the metal frame without a problem.
"Uhhh, Sergeant?" It was Cassie.
"Yes?"
"We've found something that looks like they wanted to defend."
"On my way."
I walked over to them, my first sight was the bodies. They had no burn marks, rather slit throats. Joe had a knife in his hands.
"What the-"
An orange glow interrupted my train of thought.
"What is that?" I asked, stepping closer.
They shrugged.
"Central, please report. We've found a strange Alien Artifact. What should we do with it?"
"Sergeant, according to the energy readings it looks like to be a bomb." Chief Engineer Shen said.
"A..."
"The Decaying energy shows a countdown. Our readings show there's no escape. It has too big of a blast radius. I'm sorry."
"How long do we have?" I said, without hesitation.
"Half a Minute."
"Could there be a way to deactivate it?"
"Try whatever you can. We cannot help from here."
"Liz, get here at once."
A few seconds passed, and she arrived at the end of the road.
"What you need, Boss?"
"That's a bomb. Too big to run away from. Try to deactivate it please."
Remaining calm in this situation was key.
She fiddled around with it for two minutes, before it suddenly closed off. The Orange glow disappeared, as the crystal shape was enclosed within it.
"What did you do?" I asked her.
"I don't know! Just played around with it."
"Central?"
"There's no energy signal anymore. It seems you're saved. Bring back the device so we can take a look at it."
I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead.
I didn't want to see another Alien for the rest of my life.
But I knew that wouldn't work out for me.