Author's note 1:
EDIT: I had published this on another profile but I'm fairly sure it bugged out since I'm not from America and each time I clicked inside it counted my visual as an American one. So I decided to upload it here to see how it goes. Didn't want to, but I suppose it's time to replace mediocre to decent stories with proper ones.
Alright, what in the hell is this?
I always liked strategic games and a few years ago I started with some simple yet recognizable stuff: Total War. After that, I found myself very interested in the X-Com universe and started with Enemy Unknown all the way up to War of the Chosen.
Reading Lighthearter's novelization only ignited more passion in writing something like this.
However, I do not want people saying that I'm copying him. I think, instead, that more novelizations are a thoughtful and peculiar way to show the experiences of more players on the field. (That also relies on the "inspired" adjective. I was "inspired" into making my whole full version and not to take huge chunks of his work without permission to start from there or just to expand upon. Although some small and insignificant concepts are good and I may make my own version, who knows).
This is why, to respect the amount of work he put in his story, I'm taking the liberty of placing small to bigger easter eggs in his honour. Whether they may be phrases or names. One is already present in this Prologue, in plain sight just as you click on the story. For those who may not find it, I'll say what it is in next chapter and so on.
I'm not expecting this fanfiction to, one day, drop on TV Tropes and I'm not gonna apply there or request access if it works like that.
So I bow to Master Lighthearter (whom I tried to contact in case hell breaks loose but unfortunately I was unable to reach him) and invite you in reading my hard work.
Enjoy!
"Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
-Arthur C. Clarke
He sighed in anticipation, arms crossed and left foot tapping the floor of the room representing their supposed bridge. Eyes around him paused their work to glance at the woman as she tapped a keyboard with her fingers.
The atmosphere was tense, but he knew this may very well be their last hope to inflict serious damage to their unrelenting adversaries. Especially if the intel their strange new friends provided was indeed reliable.
"Accessing the feed now." John Bradford's gaze snapped to her the moment she announced that. The monitor showed a gene therapy clinic. "We're in..." She switched from camera to camera, analyzing the entire terrain. "…but I don't know for how long."
Fair enough.
"Good work, Lily." John squinted his eyes at the monitor, noticing the various ADVENT patrols moving around and scanning for threats. He wasn't the only one catching this detail.
"You seeing this?" Lily Shen asked, glancing behind her shoulder for a moment. "Way too much security, even for ADVENT."
XCOM's second in command uncrossed his arms, choosing instead to place them on his hips. "That's no ordinary gene therapy clinic." He frowned, realization hitting him like a train. "They were telling the truth."
The engineer snorted. "Or they're leading us into a trap. A really obvious trap."
Bradford rolled his eyes and shrugged. "We'll have to take our best shot then."
"Well, we'd need an army to march in there right now."
He almost scoffed. Or just one soldier to infiltrate and confirm our suspicions.
John chose to smirk instead. "I've got a better idea." He placed a finger to his ear. "Outrider? This is Central." He looked back at the feed.
"Go."
"Roger that." She whispered, sliding for cover. Outrider glanced from behind the plant at the ADVENT soldier stationed near the entrance.
She crouched and circled around it, using the announcement echoing from the towers as bait. But she knew it wasn't enough, she heard its footsteps approaching with each second.
Outrider looked up and her lips twitched, she quickly climbed the pipe and hid inside the ventilation shaft. The ADVENT soldier scanned the street but found nothing out of the ordinary. Still, she readied her knife in case her cover would blow up.
When the alien marched away, she continued down the system until she reached a hatch for the room the target was supposed to be in. The Reaper heard parts of the muffled conversation between a scientist and an ADVENT Officer. A trooper guarded its superior as it transported the human away.
She graciously fell on the floor and stalked towards the two remaining beings.
"There's no need for any of this!" The scientist exclaimed as he continued to use his wrench on the alien pipe. "I will do what you ask of me, I just need additional time!"
She buried her knife deep in the tropper's neck, blood splattering on the ground and on the wall.
The man blinked. "Did you… say something?" He dropped his tool when the body fell and raised his arms in surrender, making Outrider tilt her masked face. "You! Y-You're one of those-" He lowered his face, appearing completely submissive. "You must understand, I had no choice!"
She raised her melee weapon and-
"Outrider? Report!"
-rolled it in her hand, hitting the human with the handle. He dropped on the floor, unconscious.
Pleased with the results of her infiltration, Outrider removed her mask and nodded at the sight of the stasis pod… and at its current occupant. "So, you do exist." Elena Dragunova grabbed the radio on her shoulder. "Outrider to Avenger, I have visual confirmation."
"Are you sure?" Central clearly had problems with trusting her. She almost retorted how XCOM was willing to bargain with Skirmishers out of all the factions.
"Reapers are always sure." She instead answered, patience thinning by the minute. "Should I retrieve the package?"
"Negative. I'll take your word for it. Cover your tracks and get the hell out of there. They can't know we were there… yet." Bradford remained silent. "Make it look like a simple security breach, especially if you took down tangos."
"Understood." Elena clutched the lever and lowered it, the pod began to close and an alarm blasted thoughout the structure. "Now the real war begins." She placed the mask back on her face and calmly walked away.
A true Reaper never leaves tracks behind.
Berlin…
9 p.m.
John watched the giant monitor as the journalist assured that the celebrations for ADVENT's twenty anniversary would continue as planned. He breathed a sigh of relief, at least Outrider's scout mission hadn't cancelled this event. Which was the perfect cover to act and retrieve Redcon-1.
"Perfect." He whispered to himself. Everything was going as planned, now came the hard part.
John blended in the multitude of Berlin's citizens as they approached the next checkpoint, glancing around the less focused ADVENT patrols. They thankfully paid him no mind.
"Approaching position." He heard the voice of their newest recruit, Jane Kelly. "You were right, they've definitely got their hands full today."
Bradford hmmpf-ed, it wasn't a good time to be impressed by the aliens' resistance. "Stay focused." He positioned in line and did a quick calculation. He looked behind him and saw that no other person was watching him. He pressed a finger to his ear to get a better connection to Kelly's comms. "Prep Gatecrasher. Sixty seconds."
The trooper garding the detector beckoned him, it was his turn. He walked to the other side and froze when the alarm activated, an Officer shouted orders to its soldiers and stopped in front of Bradford. "Mor Balaten." It ordered.
Bradford may or may have not understood what he said, but he did not respond. He wasn't surprised when the rifle's back was pushed to his chest in a great blow. It sent him to his knees and he gasped for air.
Not bad. He thought as he raised his eyes to meet its helmet. Just gotta work on the strength, buddy.
"Mor Balaten!" It repeated, voice louder this time.
John shifted his gaze to the black van and saw Jane quietly leaving the area. Thank the Black Market for their generous help.
He coughed and spat some saliva on the Officer's boots, he then rose and found the audacity and courage to put a finger to his ear.
"Now." He ordered and immediately ducked down.
BOOM!
"Signal received. Loud and clear." Amusement just dripped from Shen's voice. "Alright, Gatecrasher. Your turn."
Peter Osei and Ana Ramirez's heads perked up at the mention of their squad's name for the mission.
"Yes, ma'am!" They chorused together and nodded at each other. Peter prepared their rifles and magazines while Ana dealt with the armour.
"You think this mission will have a meaningful impact on the war?" Peter paused his work and frowned at Ana's conflicted expression.
He sighed, the fear of dying was always present each time they were dropped into enemy's territory and outside the Avenger. Some soldiers embraced the concept of death without questions, deliberately sacrificing their lives in the name of a free world from the Elders' grip. Others thought of what they had abandoned and often monologued about it.
Ramirez fell in the second category.
"If half the stories are true, then yes." Osei launched a magazine at his companion, she caught it in her hand and inserted it. "We all hope Redcon-1 will be worth it." He adjusted the tactical gear he wore and disengaged the safety of his rifle. "Ready to kill some aliens, Ana?"
The phrase had a direct effect on the female soldier: she grinned. "Vigilo Confido."
"Vigilo Confido." Peter agreed.
"We're almost at the drop zone. From up here it looks hot!" Their pilot, Firebrand, warned. "Fifteen seconds!"
Osei and Ramirez strapped their rifles to their backs and waited as the rear bay doors opened. The rappel lines dropped, signaling their arrival. They caught them and slid down, effectively touching the ground without crashing on it after hours of exercises.
Peter flanked Ana and aimed down his sights, checking if anyone had seen their entrance. "No tangos in sight." He declared after a second. "Where's the clinic we're supposed to crash in?"
"Directly in front of you, proceed with caution. Advent forces are swarming to the blast point, we need to move the package before they figure out what we're up to."
"I'll go to the left side." Osei nudged his weapon to said direction. "You take the right." He smirked. "Sounds like basic strategic movements, mmh?"
"You're right on that." She chuckled.
They separated and advanced, Peter scrambled for a small black crate while Ana went for a plant on display.
"Tangos spotted." Peter announced, passing his free arm on his forehad to dry a trail of sweat. "Six of them. We don't have enough firepower or numbers to deal with this problem, Shen."
"They have the numbers but we have a big surprise incoming. Central and Kelly retrieved their gear, watch out for fireworks!"
The two XCOM operatives looked at each other, Ramirez shrugged and held her fist up. She wanted to wait.
Seeing no other option, Peter kept a low profile under his cover.
They did not have to wait.
BOOM!
He grinned. "Remind me to thank the old man."
An Officer barged through the front door and growled at the sight of the explosion. It pointed at two troopers and barked orders in their language, they ran for the location leaving their mates behind.
"I've got the drop on them." His eyes landed on the middle trooper, he carefully took a step back and placed his rifle on his cover, like with a sniper. He swallowed and looked in the metal scope. "Permission to engage?"
"Do it!" Shen's voice cut through the silence.
He did do it. Peter tightly squeezed the trigger and sent a mental curse to the alien, his bullets buried deep in its chest, ignoring its armour. Two or three shots hit it square in the head, it was sent flying and its body crashed on the ground. Its friends quickly recovered from the schock and fired upon Osei's position, he gritted his teeth and hoped the cover would hold.
Ana joined in the firefight, unfortunately her aim was off but she contributed in making the aliens scramble for cover and Peter sighed in relief. She groaned. "I need a better angle! Going for the car, cover me!"
"Affirmative!" Osei focused on two of the ADVENT soldiers and applied suppression fire for his squadmate to achieve her objective. His gun clicked and he widened his eyes, he ducked down and reloaded his rifle as the air above him was cut with magnetic bullets.
Ramirez peeked from her cover and chose the right moment to raise her weapon. This time, her aim was perfect and she rained hell on the alien. Yellow blood painting the street and windows of the clinic.
Osei rose to shoot again but gasped when his eyes landed on the flanked Mexican. "Crasher-two behind y-"
Too late, the soldier's magnetic pulse roared with glee as Ramirez shrieked in agony. The strength of the shots sent her flying, she coughed blood and her eyes rolled in the back of her head.
"Fuck! Okay, so that's how you wanna play?! Fine!" He rushed for the small wall-like cover and kept his head low as projectiles crashed on the floor to his left, he thanked God or whatever omnipotent entity out there for his luck.
The trooper's rifle clicked and Osei immediately seized the opportunity. It shrieked, rolling backwards.
Bullets buried in his cover, Peter threw himself on the ground and breathed deeply. His stamina was running out, he wouldn't be able to go on for much longer.
CRACK!
His luck was still present, a human bullet hit the soldier in its neck. It stalled from the shock before letting itself fall, it scrambled a few feet away before putting a finger to its helmet. "Morta… Beltor…"
"It's calling reinforcements! Stop that…"
Bradford raised its foot and stomped on the trooper's skull with a single and fatal blow.
"…transmission." Maybe Shen did not believe what she just witnessed, maybe she was impressed. Or maybe she was just annoyed.
Either way John simply hummed. "Central, reporting in."
"You're late. What have you been doing down there?"
"The usual. Taking in the sights, blowing up some stuff…" He rolled around the soldier with one foot and stared at the reptilian features of its face when the helmet detached. "…and killing aliens." He finished.
"What the hell are these things?" Kelly winced as she jogged up to Bradford.
"They're us. Least they used to be. Human hybrid soldiers. ADVENT's reward for obedience and service." He spat on the corpse. "Sons of bitches."
"We've all heard rumors. I just never believed it was true."
"No one wanted to. But we find what we're looking for today? I promise you that's gonna change."
"I sure hope so, sir." Peter finished taking in breaths and joined them, saluting. "Crasher-one reporting in. Crasher-two didn't make it."
Bradford glanced at Ana's body and sighed, he placed a hand on Osei's shoulder. "It won't be in vain, Osei."
Peter opened hit mouth to answer but they all snapped their weapons to the ADVENT transport flying towards their position.
"Transmission must have passed through." John advised, he waved two fingers to the entrance. "Let's get inside people!" He literally crashed through the front window and used the wall as cover.
Kelly caught something at the corner of her eyes, one of the troopers must have dropped a scope. Knowing any additional supply would only benefit their cause, the Irish woman sprinted for the fallen object before following Central through the same window.
Peter stood on guard, he waited for the two troopers and Officer to drop on the ground before opening fire. He mowed down one of the aliens while he heard Kelly's cries for him to follow them. He growled. "Go! I'll stall them here for as much as I can!" He bolted for a street lamp behind him and blindly fired.
KIU! KIU! K-KIU!
He gasped when the first two shots ripped through his chest, he brought a hand to his chest and blood sprayed on his fingers. But when the last two arrived, he stumbled back and dropped.
Peter Osei looked at the sky and tiredly smiled as his lungs filled with blood.
At least he was one of those soldiers who deliberately sacrificed their lives without fear.
"Crasher-one is down!" Bradford peeked from the wall and unleashed a storm of bullets towards the Officer. "Kelly! You get the door, I'll cover you." He covered the young woman as she hacked inside ADVENT's security, maybe he needed Shen to teach him a few things about it. He really needed to be up to speed with newer technologies.
"It's open!" She announced, grabbing the strapped rifle from her back. "I'll cover you."
John barged inside the room and scanned for hostiles, his flashlight being the only available light source in the dark. He turned right and lowered his weapon, pressing a finger to his ear. "This is the place."
"Are you sure?"
Dejavu. He did not dwell on it too much and lowered the lever, the stasis pod opened and the alien jelly-fluid started flowing out. Since it maintained its occupant in place, the suit slightly jerked to its right.
"Looks like there's an access panel attached. If you get me a better look I might be able to-"
Bradford turned his rifle around and used the handle to shatter the glass. He closed his eyes to avoid unnecessary damage and grabbed his old friend before the suit would fall.
"Maybe next time." He puffed out.
Meanwhile Jane cursed under her breath when her gun clicked. She caught the black shape of the trooper attempting to breach in. Oh no you don't! Gathering all her strength, she utilized her rifle like a baseball bat. The soldier dropped its weapon and held its head, Kelly snatched her knife from her belt and buried it deeply in its throat.
"That's for Peter and Ana!" Her celebrations did not last long, the Officer forced her to duck down as magnetic bullets flew past her and on the wall. It was then that Bradford joined her, carrying the suit on his back.
"I'm out of ammo and there's not exit, sir!"
John scanned the room and nodded to the damaged wall behind them. "Use your grenade to make one!"
She reached towards her belt again. "Breaching!"
BOOM!
"Let's move out!" John carried the suit out and covered behind a wall. Jane was about to do the same until the Officer appeared and fired.
A groan, Kelly looked behind at the old man clutching his flank. "Shouldn't have hit vital spots." They waited for the alien to waste his magazine before running.
Firebrand was a bless for the eyes, she dropped the rappel lines and the duo rushed for them. They were pulled up just as another ADVENT platoon arrived to take them down, magnetic projectiles almost taking them.
The Skyranger safely flew away.
If Bradford thought getting out of the alien compound while facing ADVENT troops shooting at them was hard… well, now came the hardest part. And that was to keep him alive.
He followed the two technicians as they transported the Commander on a stretcher. They raised him and set him on a medical bed, Bradford started pacing with his arms around his back. He was also tempted to empty a whole damn whisky bottle after the stunt they pulled and two soldiers dead. But he had to be there.
"Carefully!" That was Richard Tygan, the man placed a hand on the Commander's chest. "There's potentially decades of atrophy to contend with." Shen was there too, they connected strange pipes to the suit.
"Wish we had more time."
"I don't disagree. But as it stands now we risk losing the patient if we don't begin the removal procedure immediately."
"We're ready."
John narrowed his eyes at the wods and approached the other side of the bed. "Good. Then let's get on with it."
The doctor slowly removed the mask, both stared at the Commander's face. Some… degrees of consciousness were achieved by the man, his eyes blinked and tried to focus on the shapes around him.
"Remarkable." Tygan commented, perhaps fascinated by the Commander's ability to immediately regain sights after his rescue. Or perhaps he was staring at something entirely different.
Bradford nodded. "Just like twenty years ago…"
Images of XCOM'S headquarters flashed before him. Central checking his comms and staring at the Hologlobe.
"…we were still calling it a war back then."
The Skyranger landed and four soldiers armed with the best, human, killing machines dismounted.
"We had no idea what was coming."
A ship. A big alien ship approaching Earth.
"Response from the cerebral cortex. Good! Prepping for cranial intrustion."
The images shifted from the black doctor to a Thin Man handling the same device. They both approached his face with it and did… did something. The Thin Man however watched him with a smirk.
"I've managed to identify the connection. Preparing to make final incision."
Lily frantically tapped on a nearby datapad. "These readings are getting really erratic!"
"Of course they are." Tygan left his device where he took it to snatch another. "These implants were never designed to be removed. We are risking severe-"
"No Plan B here people!" Bradford shifted his gaze to both of his acquaintances and glared at them. "Do it."
This… doctor used the device to severe a connection. He could feel it, just as a chip was somehow extracted.
He watched… memories? From aliens attacking Paris (was that the Eiffel Tower?) to a human politician shaking hands with a Thin Man. An Elder silently watching the exchange.
"Doctor!"
He was now inside the base, everything was falling apart. Were they under attack? He ducked down as the ceiling almost collapsed and looked to his right. A Muton sprinted towards him and hit him.
Everything went black…
"No pulse."
Silence…
He stared at an Elder in the distance, without knowing or perhaps without being in control of his body he approached it. It used psionic energy on him, his vision turned to purple.
He returned to reality, a bright light shining in his eyes. It was a flashlight, he tried to avoid its beam to look at the people surrounding him.
"Pupillary response normal. Vitals stabilizing." Tygan nodded, mostly to himself than to Bradford. He turned off the flashlight. "Procedure complete." He disappeared in the background.
John smiled and leaned further in so that the Commander could fully see him. "Told 'em it would take more than that to keep you down."
For the first time since his strange awakening, Andrew Harrison widened his eyes and realized just who he was listening to.
"Welcome back… Commander."
Author's note 2:
OOF! Now I know what my Master is feeling when writing entire portions of cutscenes and changing some stuff.
I always wondered how XCOM decided that Kelly should have been a Ranger, so I added that segment with her knocking down a trooper with her rifle, lmao.
So! Aside from normal soldiers auto-generated by our dear game, I will also include some OCs of my own which I created with backstories. I also think that a true Novelization should stay as faithful to the original material as possible so things like combat will accordingly be dealt with. I would like the middle way between the Commander giving orders and the soldiers acting on their own.
Did you spot the easter egg? I hope so!
Just another penny for my thoughts before we depart. I was also inspired by Lighthearter's completely "I don't give a fuck" attitude towards reviews, favourites, follows and general views stuff.
Unless you write a fanfiction about a transformed human in a male viper which fucks other vipers or about lemons in general, your story shall never receive much or barely any attention.
And unless Fire Axis pumps out a XCOM 3, the interest in the franchise will remain the same as what I described.
Good thing I too don't care!