AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!

Welcome back everybody to the first chapter of a brand new story here on the site as we delve back into the world of Xenonauts by Goldhawk Interactive a spiritual successor to the original XCOM games fitted into a Cold War circa 1970s world. This is my second attempt at a story like this, so hopefully this one goes a little bit better than the last one. Without further ado let's jump into it!

Chapter 1: First Blood

== September 1, 1979 ==

It all started as a regular Saturday just like many others before it, but today was the day that the world would be forever changed as an extraterrestrial force made their presence known. Their attacks came swiftly over the Eastern Coast of the United States and the Caribbean Islands. Reports of strafing runs and weird storms occurring out at sea highlighted the news early and often as the world began to panic and ponder on the possibility of other life existing in the universe. All except a handful of individuals who watched the events unfolding and were eager to show them what they were made of, these were the Xenonauts.

The Xenonauts project headed by an unnamed Commander was created following a disastrous encounter with the aforementioned extraterrestrials on the fields of Iceland in 1958. Only the commanding officers and the wounded evacuated from the battlefield had survived the encounter reporting back to their superiors with hard to believe accounts of the monsters they faced in combat. The major governing bodies of the world made a secret pact to create this project to face the pending threat whenever and wherever the threat appeared it seemed as though 21 years was the wait time for the aliens retaliation force to arrive.

In the time since the disaster, a singular base equipped with the best personnel had been built in secrecy on the southernmost island of Greece along the western coast away from the public eye. The base came equipped with one top notch radar array, a fully equipped workshop, a fully equipped laboratory, a storeroom, four hangars, a living quarters and a center command post. Of the four hangars, three were occupied with two fighter jets and a Chinook troop transport helicopter. On site in the base were sixteen of the world's best soldiers each specially trained and briefed for this project and each were itching for a fight. Also on site were a radar technician, the commander, a colonel who oversaw the barracks, seven scientists, one engineer, one quartermaster, and three pilots. These personnel were the first to engage in the project and wouldn't be the last.

The Commander got right down to work once the attacks began ordering for workers that had arrived at the base to begin work on constructing two more hangars, a second laboratory, a second workshop, a second radar array, a missile battery, and a medical center. These facilities would be crucial to the project's success in the coming months. His next order of business was to choose ten soldiers to send into battle of the sixteen present to send into contact once the first site of battle was identified. He got this underway while simultaneously ordering for four more scientists and nine engineers to arrive at the base to help with the workload. This would take them up to maximum occupancy in the living quarters, but another would be built once funding allowed.

== Four Days Later ==

The newly acquired personnel arrived in the afternoon hours on 9/5/1979 and immediately got to work helping out where they could. The chief scientist, Dr. Snidely, had already submitted his findings for the moves the Aliens had made already and had set his team to work on drawing up plans for a newer and faster fighter jet to help keep up with the alien crafts' superior speed. The Commander glazed over the report with a half-interested gaze as he was more concerned with what occurred earlier on in the morning hours.

== Flashback (Five Hours Earlier) ==

The Commander was in his office and pacing around the small space wondering why the aliens had yet to appear on his radar after four days. So far the attacks had only hit North and South America. Perhaps the aliens were feeling them out? Trying to identify the area where they were located. He was lost in his thoughts and stressing out when the red phone on the right side of his desk rang. It was a call from the radar technician aptly named Radar.

"Sir, we've gotten a call from Alaska it seems as though the local military out there has succeeded in shooting down a UFO in the frozen tundra near one of their research outposts." said the young man approximately around twenty from the sound of his voice.

"Understood Radar, I'm sending the strike team now. I'll be down at the Geoscape to assess and watch the action." came the reply from the grizzled Commander.

"Roger setting it up on screen shortly see you there sir." replied Radar as he hung up and went about his duties.

The Commander put the receiver down and glanced at the map on the wall behind his desk as his gaze narrowed on Alaska.

'It's a long flight there for the Chinook. Hopefully the squad is ready to go and not too bored by the time they arrive.'

== Flashback Ends ==

== 32 Hours Later (September 6, 1979 8:22 PM in Greece, 7:22 AM in Alaska) ==

It was the early morning hours of Alaska, well the limited daylight it had anyway, as the military helicopter was approaching its destination after 32 hours in flight. The order was to land in the southeastern corner of the outpost, have the squad split up and secure most of the area while ultimately meeting up in the northwest corner of the outpost where the UFO had reportedly crashed. Piloting the craft was established Air Force veteran Leon Barnes, 33, an African-American airman known for being reliable on any mission. He was eager to get the chance to fly again and readily accepted the offer for the long trip. There was no better man for the job in any case as he'd never failed a mission once in his thirteen year career. He saw the destination approaching through the windshield and turned on the intercom to alert his charges.

"Rise and shine kids, its game time!" he said as the back of the transport came to life with the sounds of guns being checked and cocked while others were checking their equipment one last time. The ten soldiers represented nine different nations and ten different branches of the military, but one thing they all shared was a common eagerness to take the fight to the alien threat and show them what humans could do! The descent was controlled and smooth as Barnes set them down right where they needed to be as the ramp and doors opened giving them a shot of the white snow blanketing the ground only interrupted by the odd rock walls, rock piles, trees, and building here and there. The command was given as the ten souls disembarked and prepared to take the fight to the aliens.

'Godspeed soldiers.' thought Barnes as the last one disappeared out of the plane.

== On the Ground ==

In command of the soldiers on the ground was Sgt. Alten Vidrai from Australia, having trained in the Special Air Service Regiment he was selected to be the leader of the Strike Team for his coolheaded approach to fire fights and his accuracy with the Precision Rifle. The 28 year old sported slicked back brown hair, with a small brown goatee and stood at a respectable 6' 2'' tall. He assessed the team and knew they were going to be cold very quickly so the key was mobility to keep them from freezing to death.

"Alright mates were going to do this quickly so we can get back to somewhere warmer. Does everyone remember their team assignments?" he asked as the group nodded as best they could because of the cold temperature.

"Great, teams three and four with me as we maneuver along the southern edge of the outpost until we reach the western edge and then will approach the crash site from the South. Teams one and two will clear the buildings along the eastern edge and will advance in a northern direction until reaching the unfrozen lake. Once there swing left and approach the site from the East if this works we should have them in a pincer movement and they'll be unable to escape, any questions?"

Seeing none coming forth, he motioned for the squads to move out as he headed with his group along the Southern edge of the outpost. With him in team four was Cpl. Masao Fujita from the 1st Airborne Brigade in the Japanese armed forces. Fujita sported a black crew cut and clean shaven face on his 35 year old 5'9'' frame. A serious figure in the squad due to being one of the oldest soldiers, he mostly kept to himself but engaged in conversation when called upon. Flanking them was team three consisting of Cpl. Joaquim Rodrigues and Cpl. Fernando Santos both capable soldiers. Rodrigues hailed from Brazil and was a part of the Comandos Anfibios; he was 28 years old with short curly light brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. The 6' tall soldier was the squad jokester and got along particularly well with his teammate, Santos, who was his partner in crime for his jokes and pranks. Santos was 25 years old and despite his young age was one of the few soldiers on the team with combat experience. He fought in Mozambique as part of Portugal's Corpo De Fuzileiros and stood at 6' 3'' tall with slicked back black hair and sporting a five o'clock shadow along with a 1000 yard stare most combat veterans seemed to have. All three men carried M16 assault rifles while Vidrai had an H&K MSG90 precision rifle given his designation as one of the team's two snipers.

The four man group approached a rock wall and split off from one another to cover their assignments. Fujita and Vidrai split off to the left along the rock wall while Santos and Rodrigues swung right and had a clear view of an open patch of ground to the left of the buildings teams one and two would be clearing.

== With Teams One and Two ==

The other two teams had exited to the right of the transport and immediately spotted the two blue buildings that housed the supplies and living quarters for the research team stationed at the outpost. Team one moved up to the bigger of the two buildings which housed the living quarters and stacked up on the door.

On the left side was Cpl. Jens Meier a member of West Germany's 26th Fallschismjager. Meier was an angry but respected member of the squad for his years of wisdom having grown up with the military his entire life. He stood at 6' tall sported a shaved head with a thick blonde mustache and was only thirty two years old. On his right was Cpl. Delfina Calvo one of the few female members of the Argentina Comandos Anfibos. She stood at only 5' 6'' with shoulder length black hair but despite her small stature she had a fiery personality that matched her up well with the other team members. Covering their approach was Cpl. Konsta Mattila the squad's other sniper, a 26 year old Finnish national part of the Erikos Jaakarit. He sported a brown crew cut with a goatee and mustache combination and stood at 6' 3'' tall making him one of the tallest soldiers. Arguably one of the more reserved soldiers in the unit, Mattila rarely spoke unless ordered too and was known to remain stoic in even the most stressful situations.

On their left was team two as they moved up to the smaller supply building with a red snowmobile/bobcat with cargo still in the back of it parked out front. At the two windows to the front of the building were Cpl. Rameen Bhabra and Cpl. Claire Lefebvre. Bhabra was of Pakistani descent and sported dark tan skin with her black hair pulled back into a bun under her helmet standing at only 5' 8'' tall. She was the oldest female soldier in the team at 35 years old but had a youthful enthusiasm that seemed to brighten the room when others were down. She was also a combat veteran having served in Afghanistan as part of the Punjab Rangers. Lefebvre was a tall and slightly muscled redheaded Canadian from the Royal Canadian Regiment. She was an avid bodybuilder and had to be to lug around her FN Mag machine gun which was child's play for the 5'10'' tall strongwoman. She had her hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes which seemed to be attributed to numerous clumsy moments back at base. Supporting their left flank behind the bobcat was the final member of the team Cpl. Benjamin Muller from Brazil. He was definitely the most enthusiastic of the soldiers always volunteering for any task no matter how dangerous the assignment. He was formerly a member of the Grumec and sported a black crew cut and was clean shaven on his 5' 11'' tall frame. He was thirty-three years old and was good friends with his fellow South American squadmates, Rodrigues and Calvo. The two female members peered inside the small shack and observed no enemy presence or any presence at all really as the three entered and fully cleared the building. With nothing there they pressed on out the rear door and through the chain link fence to the snow covered field behind the building.

Back with Group one, Meier and Calvo breached the bigger building and cleared it but heard the crunching of snow to their right down the little alleyway to the right of the building. They signaled to Mattila to check it and the Sniper advanced cautiously towards the noise. Peeking around the corner he saw a civilian in a purple winter coat, blue pants, and blue boots cowering next to the door. He came out fully and got the civilian's attention.

"Are you alright sir?" he asked with a slight skew of his words due to his Finnish accent.

"Yes, o thank goodness you guys are here! Have you seen Tony or Bart?! We got separated when those things crashed here. I managed to get away unscathed and hid." he exclaimed as Mattila got him to calm down.

"Head inside and warm up, we'll take a look around for them…" not a moment after those words left his lips two screams were heard from the western part of the outpost as they were no doubt human in origin.

"Shit, I think we just got our answer!" said Meier as he bounded out the front door with Calvo not far behind him. The three soldiers linked up with team two and as one big group pressed northwards towards the giant unfrozen lake.

== With Teams Three and Four ==

Both teams heard the screams and rapidly increased their speed as they pushed towards their respective objectives. Team four was against the left side of the rock wall pushing forward when Fujita signaled Vidrai to stop and motioned him forward next to him.

"What you see old man?" asked Vidrai jokingly as Fujita just side eyed him and pointed towards two small trees to their front.

"It appears as though our enemies grace us with their presence." replied Fujita astutely as a lizard like creature was standing between the two trees with its back towards them. The alien creature had a tail and was freakishly large and muscled clearing eight foot tall easily.

"Well I'll be they really do exist! Those reports weren't exaggerated in the slightest mate." said the Aussie as Fujita took careful aim at the creature and fired a shot.

BANG! *SCREECH*

An inhuman screech escaped the monster's lips as the bullet struck true in the back of the lizard causing it to spin around in a frenzy looking for the individual that had the audacity to shoot it.

BANG! *MOAN*

A pitiful moan soon followed as the beast crumpled to the ground unmoving in its purple blood. Vidrai had capitalized on the monster's anger and shot it straight in the forehead ending its life. The first alien casualty had been recorded by none other than the squad's leader.

"Alright I got one!" he exclaimed as the two human screams were heard right afterwards.

"Sounds like civilians just got hit." said Fujita as the two quickened their pace to the edge of the outpost and discovered human blood on the ground but no body. They then swung northwards around two smaller lakes and progressed towards their final objective finding one of the dead civilians crumpled behind a tree in a red winter coat, blue pants and blue boots. They both shook their heads and pressed onwards.

Team three meanwhile had moved north along the building's left wall on a vehicle path and reached a rock wall on the left side of the road. Peeking around the corner Santos spotted another creature near a patch of trees to the right of a smaller access road. He motioned Rodrigues up and both observed the creature before turning and nodding at one another. They both raised their M16s and fired.

BANG! BANG! *SCREECH*

A screech pierced the air as the two bullets smacked into the lizard's back at the same time but to the two pranksters' surprise it was still standing and then seemingly healed in front of their eyes. It then bull rushed towards their position but hid in the blind spot behind their rock wall. The two then charged after it with Santos arriving at the corner first. He fired as he swung around the corner three times leaving no time for the creature to react.

BANG! BANG! BANG! *MOAN*

The creature fell over after the three shots entered its neck dead for good as the purple blood leaked from its wounds. The two soldiers then pressed on northwards and linked up with teams two and one.

Team four encountered another lizard creature at the top of the lake they had been walking alongside and had taken aim with their weapons. Vidrai got his shot off first.

BANG! *SCREECH*

The creature yelled at the wound to its chest, but it had no time to dodge the next three shots from Fujita's burst fire from his M16.

BANGBANGBANG! *MOAN*

The creature fell over dead as all three shots hit it in the neck and chest putting an end to its killing spree as they saw an armed civilian on the ground behind the now dead lizard. The two just shook their heads and pressed on towards the UFO.

== UFO Location (NW Corner of the Outpost) ==

The four teams had all met up at the craft and had the remaining aliens boxed in with nowhere to run. Fujita and Vidrai were on the front left side of the craft using trees for cover, while the larger group had linked up behind a satellite dish and some tree cover to the right front of the craft. Rodrigues and Muller had volunteered to push up the right side of the craft and were currently pressed against it using it for cover. The UFO door quickly slid down as two more of the lizard creatures were at the door ready to exit. The first one took a step and was met with a round from Meier's M16 as the creature fell backwards into the UFO but was still alive.

The second one charged out and dodged some shots from the two groups as it caught site of Rodrigues and Muller. It opened fire on Rodrigues who was the closest target with its plasma pistol as a round hit Rodrigues in the side as he hissed in pain and fell against the UFO. Shots from Santos and Fujita though felled it as Fujita's shot did it in hitting it in the back of the head.

Rodrigues knelt down and assured Muller he was fine as he pulled out his medical kit and went about patching up his wound as best he could. Muller had fire in his eyes as he charged towards the front of the UFO looking to avenge his wounded friend.

"Stand down Muller! It's too dangerous!" shouted Vidrai in vain over the radio as the wind had unexpectedly picked up drowning his words out. Muller pressed the door downwards and saw the second lizard standing there with its pistol raised at him already. He tried desperately to raise his rifle in response but was too slow.

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT! *DEATH RATTLE MOAN*

Muller crumpled to the ground and promptly bled out as the three shots had struck him in the heart, face and stomach. If he wasn't dead by the time he hit the ground, he didn't last much longer.

"NO!" exclaimed Rodrigues who could do nothing but watch as one of his close friends and fellow countrymen died before his eyes.

BANG! *SCREECH*

Fujita shook away the sense of loss and immediately fired a round which struck the lizard in the arm but it still stood strong.

BANG! *MOAN*

A single shot followed that one as the bullet struck the lizard creature in the face killing it instantly as it crumpled over dead. The others turned to see Mattila crouched behind a tree with his gun barrel smoking as he gazed over the dead lizard with anger in his eyes. It took a moment to register to the others that the battle was over as no other sounds greeted them just the quiet sobs of Rodrigues for his dead friend and the howling arctic wind. They then got over their shock and went about securing the body and the craft for transport back to the base. The first battle was over, but both sides had drawn first blood. It would be the first of many to fall in the battle for the planet, which side would come out of it on top?

AN: That's a wrap on this chapter as we see the squad embark on their first mission and lose their first soldier. Can they recover quickly before the next mission and what will happen around the base next chapter? Tune in to find out next time! Until then don't forget to follow, favorite, and drop a review to let me know what you think of the chapter. Can it be improved, was it awesome? Let me know! Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off!

PRAK #THENASTYONE