XCOM: The Unknown Menace

by Hobbes

This is my take on the story of the First Alien War (1999-2003), following the plot of UFO Defense. THE STORY IS COMPLETE - Warning: Some of the reviews contain major spoilers!

2. The First Tunes

X-Com – The Unknown Menace

Chapter One – The First Tunes

December 9th, 1998

Swiss military air base outside Geneva, Switzerland

The invitations to the sixteen most developed nations of the world had arrived about a month ago after a long closed discussion between the Secretary General and the Security Council of the UN. They simply proposed the realization of a secret meeting, with the purpose of discussing the extraordinary events that had been taking place on Earth for more than a year now. 

During that time the major economic powers had tried to respond to them, bringing up the alert levels of their armed forces and trying to get scientific explanations, but so far the results were less than zero. And the word was already out on the streets, despite the efforts of the various governments to impose a black out on the subject. For most of the invited countries the response to the conference was immediate. The others took some more days in even acknowledging the reception of the message but all countries accepted the invitation.

On the day before the proposed date, military and governmental passenger planes from all the invited nations started arriving at a Swiss airfield near Geneva. The air traffic controllers first noticed the unusual nature of the flights as they saw the origin of the incoming place was spread out throughout the planet and from the few information available to them they started to realized who the passengers might be. Then, as they landed, the ground personnel also took notice of the international nature of the flights arriving and even recognized some of the planes. Both the tower and ground crews wondered what was going on, but they kept quiet as they were all bound to strict security rules and verbal warnings that prohibited them from discussing the matter with anyone.

The ground crewmen, who saw the officials arriving by car to greet the visitors, where even more surprised to see the light blue of the United Nations flag on the some of the limousines and that no less than the Secretary General of the UN was present. They were quickly also to recognize both the Swiss President and Prime-Minister, which were also present, greeting the world's leaders as they stepped off their individual planes.

Although Switzerland was keeping its neutral profile, they had agreed on hosting the UN summit. After each leader greeted the UN's General Secretary and the Swiss leaders, each of the chiefs of State and Government attending the summit quickly headed to one of the available limousines with his entourage and sped off to a facility outside the city.

December 10th, 1998

Governmental facility outside Geneva, Switzerland

The sixteen delegations were seated in a large meeting room in a circle, each country and the UN occupying a table, with more chairs available to the lesser officials behind the tables. The Chiefs of State and Government of all the countries were present, together with their military leadership and selected officials.

Outside the room a full staff of UN translators was working around the clock to provide simultaneous translation for the summit. But even though they were well-trained professionals, surprised and interrogative looks were exchanged at times between themselves when they realized the importance of the exchanges of conversation being made in the room next to them.

All the attention of the people in the larger room was focused on a screen in one of the walls. The first image that appeared consisted of radar data, superimposed over a map of Siberia. The most surprisingly to the delegations was the date and time displayed in one of the corners. It showed that the records were from just about a week before.

Several flights were identified and catalogued as either civilian or military aircraft, but suddenly a blip coming out of the Arctic pole appeared on screen. It was marked as "Unknown" and data scrolling showed his speed to be over Mach five and to be quickly descending. It headed southwards until finally stopping some 20 miles from the Russian-Chinese border. The map showed it close to a circular icon that apparently designated a either facility or settlement.

The screen when black and a phrase come up, written in Russian but with an English translation underneath. It stated: "Visual report on the investigation of the distress signal received from Outpost Zbrynia 41".

After some seconds the screen transformed itself into an image of the Siberian tundra, with a military compound in the back. As the camera operator moved towards the buildings, heavily armed Russian soldiers could be seen in the background along with assault and transport helicopters as the camera slowly moved to the sides to give a general view of the installation.

As it approached the entrance it could be clearly seen that the front gate and the watch post had been blown into pieces. Some military snow vehicles could also be seen, reduced to their metallic skeletons after being charred by flames. The operator then switched the view of the camera to the floor. An AK-74 assault rifle was sitting there along a pool of blood and spent cartridges. The rest of the images showed big blast holes on the buildings and the same amount of chaos. As it progressed along the inside of the installation it paused in the radio room. The communications equipment was trashed and another pool of dried blood was on the floor along with a sidearm and empty casing shells.

The screen flickered a bit again and the following phrases appeared being written on it: "Transcript of the first radio report sent by the relief forces that arrived at the scene ten hours after the reception of the distress signal.

All 152 members of the garrison stationed at Outpost Zbrynia 41 are missing, presumed dead. Evidence of heavy combat in the area, but no bodies found, either of the garrison or of the attacking forces. We also have no indication or tracks of the means of transportation used by the attackers to leave the area. Air Rifle Battalion 271 will continue to investigate and secure the surroundings".

After the image disappeared and the lights came on an uneasy silence was set upon the room. It was however quickly replaced by a distressed comment.

"This can't just happen anymore!" The Russian President was quite upset, striking the palm of his hands into the wooden table where the Russian delegation sat. The other representatives of the world's biggest economic powers just sat in silence on their own tables, contemplating what they had just seen as the electronic screen was starting to recede back into one of the walls.

Behind one of the tables the US President turned to a man next to him and asked: "How come our intelligence agencies hasn't picked this up?" The other man was the Director of Central Intelligence, or DCI, the individual responsible for the entire intelligence community in the US that is also the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA.

He half turned his head before replying. "Mr. President, so far our resources have been more oriented into assessing how this unknown forces may pose a threat to our national security. The amounts of reports from our sources worldwide have been backlogged so that we can deal with the information that we have regarding our national territory. We have maintained contact with our allies and are regularly exchanging information with them, but in this case we didn't have enough time to sort and analyze the reports coming from the former Soviet Union. Besides that we have also other operations in progress regarding this matter that had priority. Also the Russians must have been keeping a tight lid on their security".

"Is there a probability of something like this happening over one of our military installations?"

"I would say very likely sir. We are one of the major powers on Earth and we can't pass unnoticed by them. Of course their intentions are still unknown, which makes any prediction of their future actions an educated guess. But from the interference we have already experienced over some of our military bases around the world this action can certainly be seen as an act of escalation".

"Ladies and gentlemen. I think we all agree about the need to take a concerted action on this subject". The Secretary General of the United Nations rose from his seat and looked around, addressing each of the statesmen present. "So far all reports that were brought to the meeting of the Security Council and now to this conference indicate that the strange and unexplainable phenomena that the world has seen in the past years cannot be the action of any terrestrial power."

"Unexplainable? Try telling that to my dead servicemen!" The Russian President suddenly rose. "Let me tell you all what you have just seen right now: a pure act of war! Simply speaking there could be no other explanation for this!"

When the translation was finished another voice replied. "Mr. Larianov, just for the sake of asking: couldn't your troops have taken actions that could have been considered as aggressive to these aliens, thus provoking some sort of retaliation by them?". The Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party didn't move or even look directly at the Russian president while asking the question or afterwards while waiting for the translation.

"Mr. Zhu, my armed forces have been on alert since the first corroborated reports came in of these strange craft flying over the skies. They are under orders not to fire unless fired upon. And that outpost didn't have any aggressive role". What the Russian president didn't admit was that it was in fact a listening station for Chinese radio transmissions. The Chinese Premier was aware of that fact but he chose not to pursue it, yet. "Still, there are no survivors that can tell us of what really happened in Siberia, are there?"

"That is besides the point. The last transmission received from the base was an emergency call, stating that they were under attack by unknown forces. And believe me that if we had wanted to attack these extraterrestrial craft we would have used all of our military capabilities, not just the garrison of an outpost in the middle of the Siberian tundra".

"You would not have achieved anything if you did". The Japanese Defense Minister cut in.

"What? How would you know?" The Russian Chief of State turned his stare towards the Japanese delegation. Looking to the side the minister saw the nod of his Prime Minister and continued. "Some months ago our country established a force to investigate these phenomena. We equipped them with the latest technologies our defense forces have available and tried to intercept the crafts. The results were zero. We disbanded the unit last month because we simply couldn't justify its costs anymore"

"And how come you haven't informed us before of that?"

"So far any nation present here hasn't bothered to inform the others about what is happening and preferred to consider it as an internal affair. We saw no advantage of doing that, especially until we had proven that this threat didn't come from any terrestrial nation"

The Chinese Premier quickly picked the implication on the Japanese argument. "And who can really prove that these craft are truly extraterrestrial in origin? Couldn't this be the work of, for instance, the Americans having discovered some advanced technology?"

"Mr. Chairman, I can assure you that my country isn't involved into any of these attacks. I sincerely wish that we had the advanced capabilities possessed by those craft, but the truth is that we don't". The US President had been having a tough time with China from ever since Zhu had risen to the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Already a full war had nearly erupted between China and Taiwan about two years before, with the US intervening to keep the island's independence.

"Gentlemen, this is leading to nowhere". Bomaka, the Secretary General interrupted. "The reports so far have been staggering: cattle mutilations and individual abductions happening all over the world. Sightings of those…." He hesitated before saying the word "UFOs, which possess capabilities unheard of over population centers and military bases. If they aren't made on Earth there cannot be any other explanation than that some alien life form is behind all these events!"

The Secretary General of the UN was trying to establish some control and direction to the discussion. But his power in the world was close to nothing and so was his ability to be listened by the participants in the room. The several delegations that comprised the conference were busy talking, but for the most part conferring between themselves and ignoring the words his words. .

President Winston turned to his DCI and asked: "This couldn't be right, could it? Could Iraq or North Korea have developed this sort of technology?"

"Impossible sir. This would require a level of technological development that we would have noticed by now. The same applies to the Russians, Chinese or any other nation in this room. If you remember we have discussed this before when the sightings appeared and the conclusion both the National Security Agency and the CIA came up with was that there wasn't any nation capable of developing and deploying such craft".

"So we consider them as having an extraterrestrial origin then like Bomaka is saying?"

The DCI just slumped his shoulders and said: "Yes sir. Although as before this is still quite unbelievable".

Across the room and behind another table the Chairman of the CCP turned to his deputy and said: "We now watch and go along with the events. There is still this question about American involvement to explore".

"Comrade Secretary, to explore? The general feeling seems to be that there is the need for have some action. If not collective at least individually."

"And there probably will be. And we will participate…for now"

Unknown location, North America

On the other side of the world a group of men watched the conference on a large screen with all their attention. Images of all of the delegations were present on the screen, with subtitles provided in every case that the language used wasn't familiar to the men. The software program did quite a good job in every case. Of course it would take years, if not decades, until it's capabilities were available to the general public and the same with the technology that was providing the group of men with the eavesdropping of the conference.

They were all seated on chairs disposed in a half-circle in the middle of a small amphitheater. None looked to be less than forty years old and their age increased from the sides to the center of the half-circle. The one on the middle of them all was the eldest and the lines over his hawkish eyes and white hair struck a sharp contrast between him and the younger men. Keeping his eyes on the screen the man known in the group as Number One simply spoke. "Looks like our friends just advanced the schedule a little ahead of what was planned".

There was no immediate reply from him to the comment that had come from the blonde man seated on his left. "Yes, but this was not unconsidered by us before". On the right side of One, Number Two gave the reply he was expecting with his low bass voice. Anyone ignorant about the group could assume that by his position he was his right-side arm but that was not the case, although in this situation he had proven quite skillful in carrying out his plans.

"What actions should we take now? Should we undermine any possible cooperation that comes out of this gathering? There are a lot of mistrusts that can easily be exploited in that room". Still silent, One waited to see the end of the discussion.

"No, that would be compromising the whole plan. At this stage we can't risk that national intelligence services discover our existence or any of our operatives",

A third figure seated on the left of One but far from the trio added his comments: "But if we already have top positions in the intelligence services, couldn't we cover-up our activities like we have been doing all these years?" One cleared his throat as a warning and made a mental note to himself. Like others on the room, Nine held a high-ranking public position and he didn't agree with that amount of exposure.

Two shook his head. "They could, but with the political, social and intelligence turmoil that this will provoke any attempt to prolong the cover-up will be sure to fail after a while, when the reports of several sources start to arrive. Then they will be asking: who is concealing the information? We simply cannot keep this whole thing in the bag anymore and have public and government opinion attribute it to a bunch of mental cases or social paranoia. No, like a chess game we wait for their next move. And then we act accordingly to it".

"And whose move will that be, Two? The Earth nations or our friends?" asked number Four, in an English that had a high-pitched accent. 

"Both, it seems. Our 'friends' duplicity is well known to us. From now on we will not assume anything about them. And we will think of ways of turning events so that our plan goes forward."

"Then, if this conference turns into international cooperation, I suggest that we infiltrate whatever comes out of it". Number Three's suggestion was the right course of action and the man seemed to take pleasure in knowing it.

"That has been already taken care of". Number One's first statement into the discussion brought well-concealed looks of surprise from those in the room who had not been made privy to his previous work.

Quickly recovering from the surprise, Three asked. "What? You have taken action without consulting with the rest of us?"

"This is an emergency situation. The attack on Siberia and the news of the resulting conference in Geneva would require us to take measures, so I simply anticipated what would be our response, acting on the prerrogative of my position as One. But, like you have said, this demands a ratification of my actions by the remaining eleven. We shall finish debating it and afterwards you will vote to decide if my actions were correct or not"

The decision was taken after two hours of cold, rational debate. The position of Number One only allowed him to vote as a tiebreaker. While he was the major coordinator of this group of men, all of them with the same goal, but each one representing different interests and possessing different ambitions, he needed to convince the others of his actions. But these events had been long predicted and discussed, so his decisions were ratified. By a majority.

Geneva, Switzerland

Despite the fact that the conference room had been checked for bugs by each of the counter-intelligence services of the seven countries whose leaders were present, the sweeps failed to detect the devices that were transmitting it to the other side of the ocean. The seven Chiefs of State and Government at the meeting were the leaders of the NATO countries that were attaining the conference. They had decided previously to gather during the event, due to the previous exchanges of information.

"Gentlemen, first of all, let me guarantee you that the US does not possess such aerial craft which we have all reported right now". Winston started and the French president nodded to him.

"Mr. Winston, the French Government had its top scientists investigating since it started to see if it could be man made. The results were negative and they were verified by information from other resources".

The US President raised an eyebrow at that statement, but then logic took over him. He had personally signed the executive order authorizing Operation Close Friend some months ago. Basically speaking, everyone had apparently spied on each other trying to discover the origin of the craft.

"Yes, I believe we all had our own investigations and all of them agree that the statement of the Chinese Chairman is incorrect". The British Prime-Minister added and nods from the other leaders present confirmed his opinion.

"So what should we do now? Should NATO take its own measures, according to the Alliance's Charter?" asked the Italian Prime-Minister.

"That might not be the best case. If the US were to act on its own in this matter, others could see it as some individualistic effort aimed at getting an advantage over the others. The same might happen if NATO decides to respond alone to this threat". The French leader replied.

"But can we trust the other nations? Japan, for instance, hid from the rest of the world the creation of a force to deal with the aliens". The German Chanceler's argument brought worried nods.

"I think that by now we all have come to realize that this isn't anything originating from this planet. And if we want to have success we need to act together". Winston was growing restless and anxious to get to the point.

"Planning a multinational operation? That would be a nightmare! We had almost fifty years of experience with NATO and we still have problems coordinating our armed forces after all that time. How can we expect to fight this collectively if the whole world is involved? We can't just throw in troops and expect that they fight like a unit, side by side. And who gets to provide leadership by the way? Les Americains again? Now how would Russia or China feel for Russia?" A hint of sarcasm filled the French President's voice.

Great, not the French attitude again! Winston thought as he thought of a diplomatic reply. "But Mr. Latour if this operation is undertaken by NATO, it makes sense to use the present command structures existent"

"And who will be the first country protected by the NATO military then? You expect us to believe that it will be a European country if an American stays in command?"

"Gentlemen, we are getting besides the point here. We already know that worldwide cooperation will be essential. What we need to discuss is how we will use our military force on this matter and establish some coordination and command over global efforts". William Holt, the British Prime-Minister, was more than used to the task of trying to reconcile both the American's and the European's positions in NATO reunions after the intervention on Kosovo.

"Well, the Japanese efforts seem to shed some light on that matter. We need our best pilots and troops equipped with the latest equipment available. I propose using special forces units such as my country's SEAL and Delta teams, or England's SAS Regiment or France's elite paratroop regiments".

"Oui. My military staff has also come up with the same conclusions before". Well, at least the French bastard can be reasonable sometimes, thought Winston.

"That sounds agreeable but again, what structure will we use? Our own survival may be at stake here". The German Chancellor still had childhood memories of the devastation brought on his country by the Second World War. The heated discussion occupied one more hour until the leaders decided to adjourn and wait for next day's conference results.

CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

"Well MacAllister, what's the story on the Project Blue Book files?" Major John MacAllister made a frown on his face before answering to his superior. At the same time as the international conference was taking place in Geneva, a similar meeting was taking place early in the morning, at the CIA headquarters at Langley Virginia. "Strange to say the least".

Terry Williams, member of the National Intelligence Committee, looked at his subordinate with an interrogating look. Some time had gone since he had been assigned to a multi agency effort, formed through an Executive Order from the President, to assess the threat of the UFOs to national security. They were dealing mainly with reports from other organizations like the FBI, CIA and local and state law enforcement agencies.

But they were also going through other pieces of information coming from strange sources, such as Project Blue Book. From the late 1940's the Air Force had decided to investigate the general reports of UFOs through a number of projects. The latest one was called Blue Book and was closed in the 60s, after the analysis concluded that such objects could be explained by nature or man-made action. But there were still some events that remained unaccounted for.

Williams turned to MacAllister as a puff of disbelief came from the other side of the table. It was hard at times to deal with the several elements that composed his multi-agency team like him or Mark Davis, the FBI representative attached who was less than thrilled. The previous tasks of the subdirector included dealing with counter-espionage and counter-subversion and those were the roles that he was representing on this meeting. For his part, Williams was a member of the National Intelligence Commission, which advised the Director of Central Intelligence, who overall coordinated the efforts of several federal agencies. And as such, Williams's job was to provide his superior, the Chairman of the Commission, with information that would go again up the ladder, through the Director of Central Intelligence to the President himself. However Davis had been a field agent and he disdained desk analysts like himself and MacAllister.

"Strange? Well there are reports of abductions and experimentations on American citizens over and over. What could be more strange than some files dealing with alleged UFOs?" The official of the Defense Intelligence Agency moved on his chair. MacAllister was a major on the intelligence arm of the US armed forces and he had been assigned to review all UFO information gathered by the military on the past.

"Well let's put it this way. Most of the files are junk. A light seen someplace, a buzz heard… things like that. They are either a misinterpretation of military planes or natural phenomena or even hoaxes. But some remain unexplained to this day. Of course now it seems that they are accounted for, taking into light the events of the past months."

Williams pressed for more. "So?"

"While I was looking at some of the files I recognized the name of one of the investigators. He worked on Blue Book for some years right before the thing got axed and he later went on to teach in the Air Force Academy. That's from where I know him 'cause he was one of my instructors when I joined the DIA."

"Maybe you should arrange for a class reunion with him then" Mark Davis retorted.

McAllister didn't even bother to look at the FBI man. "In any case, I gave him a call the other day and asked him what he could remember of Blue Book, now that it has been declassified. He mentioned some files that really puzzled him, because there was no logical explanation for them".

"Have you checked them?"

"I would if I could. The thing is that are absent from the records".

"What? Are you sure? Couldn't they have been misplaced?" Bureaucratic errors were not uncommon Williams immediately thought but MacAllister shook his head. "No, because all the files are there".

"What the hell are you talking about then?"

"Well, for instance he mentions the case of an airline pilot that saw a big UFO escorted by two smaller ones back in the 60's and that one of the small ones had harassed the 707 that he was flying, making his engines flame out. I went to look for that file and it isn't there"

"Maybe he's just old and his memories aren't that good anymore. I don't know, Alzheimer or something". Williams gave a hard look at Davies because of the comment but the other man didn't bulge and stared back.

"I thought that he might be making a mistake and I asked him if he remembered anything else. Apparently this guy's memory is still impressive. He could recall the name of the pilot, so I found out if he still was alive and called him on his place in Florida. The old timer could still remember every detail and confirmed everything".

Confusion made Williams wince. "Who the hell took that file out of Blue Book then?"

"That's the thing. It wasn't taken out, not officially. According to the logs existent all the files are there. But this one incident is absent from the central records".

"Wait a minute. Are you saying somebody changed the logs and replaced the file?" Davis attention was suddenly caught on the conversation. "Before you go on giving any other explanation just remember that this could well have been a bureaucratic error instead".

MacAllister shrugged his shoulders. "Well, either way I can't think of any other explanation. But you might be right, of course".

"Let's get back to the possibility someone might have changed the records. Who could do it? Parker, any ideas?"

Brian Parker, the CIA liaison with the team was a very quiet man, rarely speaking unless he had something to say or ask. Officially he had come from the Agency's Directorate of Analysis but Williams had never heard of him when he had been on the employ of the CIA. The fact wouldn't be surprising considering that the Agency had thousands of workers but   he had worked under the Directorate of Analysis before being assigned to the NIC. He suspected that the man really worked for the Directorate of Operations, the section responsible for conducting clandestine actions and that his present role was simply a cover.  "None. I can't see the point of any foreign nation wanting to cover-up this. Unless they ready had knowledge of the UFO affair and decided to keep the rest of the world in the dark. But this is really something for the Bureau to check out in any case".

"What about the forces involved in all of these incidents, presuming that they are not from Earth?" Williams was unsure that Parker was right. "Nonsense. How could they either have knowledge of such a project or even manage to infiltrate our military bases to gain access to the project?" The idea made Davis think but the man refrained from sharing anything. Williams attributed it to the mistrust between both the FBI and the CIA: no one wanted to admit a foul-up to the other and both didn't like much to cooperate with one another.

But the list of questions kept growing and Williams wasn't sure that they would find the answers, even if he got both agencies to work together. "Well, something strange has happened with Blue Book and somebody did it. The question is who since we now acknowledge the existence of UFOs, the files missing are hardly important now".

"That's true, I found nothing in the remaining files that could give us an indication of their intentions or their methods", added MacAllister.

"Well, that door let to nothing then. Davis, what do you got for us?"

"So far law enforcement agencies throughout the country have reported a growing number of cattle mutilation incidents, along with abductions and claims of alien experimentation on them and even missing people. Related to that there's a general feeling of insecurity with all of those reports that are leaking to the media. But the FBI has never found any evidence that there might be extra-terrestrial activity being all this. Some weird cuts on cattle and some kidnappings, but that's it."

"For crying out loud! You have seen the NORAD reports about UFO activity in those areas during the time of those incidents. There is a relation between things!" shouted MacAllister. NORAD was the North American Air Defense, a command created in the Cold War to monitor the airspace of the United States and Canada against aerial and nuclear attacks.

Davis dismissed his objections. "I prefer to take more believable explanations about what's happening, MacAllister."

"Enough of this". Williams cut in. "Parker, what's the international situation?"

"Pretty much the same as here. The information that we are getting of our allies and our sources report the same type of incidents. We are still considering the possibility that this might be the work of some nation, in order to generate worldwide panic for some reason, but so far that trail has lead to nothing".

"Maybe the CIA should go to an eye doctor". Davis snap comment even made Parker look at him with an annoyed look.

"Davis, that's enough from you! You got your orders and if we want to succeed we all need to collaborate together. I'm not saying you might not have a point there, but as of this moment we are considering all possibilities, is that clear?" Williams asked himself why the FBI man was so hard on his head. Maybe he just can't deal with the fact that ET has come.

Davis responded laconically. "Yes".

When the tension began to drop a little bit MacAllister asked. "And what is the NSA getting?"

"Zip", started Pharris, the last person in the room. "So far we have failed every attempt to detect any transmissions from the craft. We also don't have a clue about their intentions. Either they are using some transmission devices that our technology can't detect or they are operating in some total electronic blackout".

"That doesn't leave us much to work on". Frustration was patent in MacAllister's voice.

Williams looked at his watch to check the date. Only two more days before he would have to report to Washington. "Well in any case, I got orders from the upper office: we wrap up what we know about them and present a report in a few days. I suggest that we start with an estimate of the number of craft that are behind these events and their possible intentions, whatever they might be. Parker, want do the honors?"

December 11th, 1998

Geneva, Switzerland

The Russian President was furious. A week had pasted over the attack on Siberia and the reports from military commands all over the Federation kept mentioning the presence of unidentified craft. In all the cases interceptors were sent to deal with the intruders and the air defense systems were on full alert, ready for action. But every attempt made at intercepting the craft had blatantly failed, because of their agility and speed. Nuclear forces were being kept around the clock in full alert, but there wasn't any target available and blasting pieces of the country into atomic oblivion just to get some planes, or spaceships or whatever they were would be a waste. "So Marshal Boganovitch, you are telling me that our armed forces are incapable of defending the Motherland?"

The high-ranking officer responsible for the Russian Federation's armed forces was very uncomfortable. "Yes sir. We simply don't have the technological resources to match those of the intruders. And even if we had the resources of the Soviet Union the results would be the same".

Piotr Larianov looked at the uneaten part of his breakfast. He wasn't hungry anymore, stopping when he got the full measure of the crisis. "Suggestions to prevent further attacks then, Marshal. There simply has to be something we could do".

"Sir, to give you an example, our MiG-31 fighters are one of the fastest in the world, not even considering that the previous model, the MiG-25, is even faster. However, both of them move like snails, compared to the speed of the craft we encounter. We have recorded speeds of plus Mach Six with these invaders. That even beats our fastest surface to air missiles. The same applies with the MiG-29 and Sukhoi-35 fighters. They are some of the most agile in the world but they don't match the enemy's capabilities".

"We can't intercept them? How about reacting to further attacks on military installations?"

"Either these forces strike bases right next to available reaction forces or the problem is that by the time we get there the attackers are gone. I deployed a full airborne rifle battalion to assist the Siberian outpost, but by the time they got there the enemy had already departed. I'm sorry sir, but the Motherland is a big country".

"I see". Larianov lowered his head in frustration.

"But I would like your permission to implement the Skyranger program sir. We might get enough time to react that way".

"The what?" At least was something positive, Larianov thought. "Skyranger program. Do you remember the Yak-141 Freestyle program sir?"

Searching through his mind he remembered something about that plane. "Didn't we cancel it some years ago?"

"Yes sir. It was originally developed during the communist regime and was a supersonic fighter with vertical take-off capabilities. But although the program was abandoned, the Yakolev manufacturers continued to develop and implement the VTOL technology. A couple of years ago they presented the Yak-155 model, called the Skyranger, as a parallel to the American Osprey Vertical Take-Off and Landing transport program, only that is much faster than its American counterpart."

"I see, and what do you propose then Marshal?"

"In spite of heavy government cuts they have continued to develop the program even with scarce private funding. They have some prototypes in flying condition. I suggest we give the plane top priority and deploy it as fast as possible".

"And how would we use it?" Maybe Boganovitch wasn't as useless as he sounded. "To transport Spetsnaz elite commandos to react to further attacks. With the Skyranger it might be possible for them to get there on time".

"Your plan has merit Marshal. Well done. You are hereby ordered to implement it as fast as possible, using all resources available".

"Thank you sir. And may I propose something else?"

"What?" All of the sudden the Marshal was starting to perform his job, Larianov thought.

"The Anti Ballistic Missiles deployed around Moskva. I believe we should re-equip them for anti-satellite use. It would give us a weapon in case these invaders are truly not from Earth"

"And leave the capital defenseless?"

"It already is sir. If one of those craft decided to drop a hydrogen bomb today on Moskva, the early warning we would get would be of the image of the nuclear blast on television".

"I'm still not convinced Marshal. Make the necessary arrangements, but wait for my command to perform the change"

"Right sir. And finally, I believe we should militarize the Mir space station". Boganovitch knew he was going a bit too far on that one, but he also believed it justified what it would cost in political terms.

"And throw into the garbage the Non-Militarization of Space Agreement? Are you mad Boganovitch?"

"Sir, Mir was designed also to have military functions as well. We do not need to deploy spatial weapons into it right now, but we can man it with personnel and equipment to extend our detection and intelligence capabilities".

"You seem to have the arguments for everything, don't you?"

"I'm paid to serve the country sir. We might be a shadow of our former might but we still have some assets available. The General Staff and me spent all night analyzing what we have through videoconference so that we could have some options. On your order we can start the preparations to launch a Soyuz capsule carrying personnel in a few weeks. Later we will send a Progress rocket with the necessary equipment as soon as we prepare it for zero-gravity environment".

He actually had liked the military man's attitude at the end. "Well done. Now go and have some rest. There's a lot that still needs to be decided and that might be the toughest fight of all so far".

NORAD Headquarters, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States

The underground command facility responsible for the defense of North America had been on Defcon Two alert for months, in full preparation for war. General Bigelow, the commanding officer of NORAD, looked at the window of his office to the Board that was the heart of the Air Defense Center. A large image of the CONUS, or Continental United States was being displayed in a full three-dimensional mode. Another "fast mover" had been tracked, entering the American Air Defense Zone some 100 miles north of San Francisco, flying 30 thousand feet over the Pacific at Mach Six. He looked at his desk and saw the amount of reports from this month alone. The pile already seemed to be of the same height as that of November, with two weeks still left until New Year's Eve. Bigelow felt extremely tired like the rest of the men he commanded.

On the floor a systems operator had just ordered a flight of F-16 Air National Guard fighters to intercept the intruder. Again the same drama unfolded: the planes just weren't fast enough or didn't have the enough fuel to catch up with the intruder. Other airbases went into full alert along the predicted path of the fast mover. Bigelow started wondering what was the point using the same worthless tactics over and over.

Area 51, Nevada, United States

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Harris finished his pre-flight preparations and grabbed his helmet. It wasn't a regular helmet. In fact it looked more like one that might be used by astronauts rather than a jet pilot. But he was used to them. Having flown the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance bird for more than a decade he knew the necessity of wearing the bulky flight equipment necessary for flying a plane at tremendous heights and speeds. And, after the retirement of the SR-71 in the 1989 he continued flying the same way as before.

Only now his ride was a different one. When plans were announced for the dismissal of the Blackbird, Harris was readying himself to work as a test pilot for NASA or some technical department. That thought quickly disappeared when some of the top brass asked him if he would be interested in participating in some special project under top security. He knew what it meant: not being able to talk about it with anyone and being posted to a location lost in the middle of nowhere. But he jumped right at it after two seconds of thought and had never regretted it.

The plane Harris now flew was responsible for some of the Earth shakes felt by Southern California citizens in the last years. It was still a "black" project, officially denied by the government but that was operative for some years now.

It was called the Aurora and it looked more like a machine straight out of Buck Rogers than a plane.

Its short wings stretched back and connected with its twin tails, making it look like a stretched triangle when looked at from above. And there was no "bubble" canopy for the pilot. From the nose to the tail the fuselage made an ellipse where the pilot and the rear electronics officer where located together with the reconnaissance equipment and the huge fuel tanks. The intakes for the advanced ramjet engines where situated on the belly of the plane. The reason for that was that the plane needed to spread the air over the entire length of its body in order to be able to reach Mach 6 speeds. The aero-thermodynamic ducts, or ramjets, located there used the whole underside of the plane to compress the air before it went to the engines. The engineers that built the Aurora also realized that they would have to control the heat made by the friction with air of a craft going over six times the speed of sound. The heat would have to be evenly distributed over all parts of the craft and disposed of. Thus the liquid methane fuel used was heated before it went to the engine and then the excess heat would be expelled through the exhaust situated in the rear underside of the plane.

The Aurora was a technological marvel. It could cruise at speeds so far only reached by test planes and for short periods of time. Although it only had limited stealth abilities, its strength wasn't deception but speed. It would be extremely difficult for a surface to air missile or an interceptor to reach a plane that moved miles per second. 

The mission scheduled for tonight was extremely different from what the plane had been developed for though. Harris hardly believed it when he was briefed some hours later. As the General had put it: "it's hard to believe Colonel, but we need to get some information on the abilities of those machines up in the air. And there might be some danger involved. We don't know how they will react to the Aurora's presence". At the same time it was a challenge that Harris knew would take him to the extreme. And that's why he accepted it.

The plane was already on the tarmac, fully equipped, hardly illuminated in the middle of the black night. Some hours before technicians had equipped its cargo bay with reconnaissance and electronic surveillance equipment. Harris looked at the sight and smiled. Tonight we are going for a wild ride baby.

Air Force One, Military Airbase outside Geneva, Switzerland

The Air Force One was the name of the Boeing 747 specially modified to transport the US President. It also allowed the Commander in Chief of the American military to direct a nuclear war from there, due to the communications and electronic equipment it carried. President Winston had decided to spend the night at the plane, declining the use of the facilities provided by the Swiss government.

Not that the comfort of his room on the 747 was better though. Operation Hawk had been authorized some months ago. Although the date set would put it in the middle of the conference, the Go order was given in order for its results to be used in the conference. And in the early dawn the American leadership was up, cramming themselves into the communications room of the airplane.

"Mr. President, the Aurora is ready on the runway. We are already informing NORAD of the mission profile. Pretty soon they will have a target for the Aurora." The image of the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff flickered on the computer screen for a second.

"Very well General. Gentlemen, further recommendations?" The Secretary of Defense and the DCI shook their heads.

"Let's get this show running then. Execute Operation Hawk when ready".

"Yes sir. Transferring command to Cheyenne Mountain this minute".

"God's speed, General". President Winston turned to the Defense Secretary. "Are we on communication with our allies?" He looked at one of the Air Force officers who nodded to him before replying. "Yes sir, we are informing them of every step we take".

"Good, Mark, what's the status of my National Security Adviser?"

"Candace is doing great sir. I just talked to her on the secure line. The tumor removal operation was successful and she's constantly arguing with the hospital staff to let her go to her work". The DCI frowned: "Unfortunately it will take a few more weeks for her to even be able to leave the hospital".

"Keep her informed about things". The DCI then looked at another officer. "Yes sir".

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States

Deep inside the mountain General Bigelow smiled when he read his new orders signed by the President. Tonight things would work out a little different, he considered as he called the communications officer and informed him of how things would go tonight.

He looked at the Board. The fast mover had taken a southeasterly route after reaching land and reducing speed to Mach 3. Still too fast for the F-16 interceptors, but now he had an ace up his sleeve. "Notify the Nest. Tell them to release the Hawk and give him an approach vector to the fast mover".

"Yes sir." The communications officer also smiled. Tonight things would be different.

Area 51, Nevada, United States

Lt. Colonel Andrew Harris got his final instructions from the tower and pushed the throttle lever to full and nearly 80,000 pounds of aircraft and fuel started to move down the runway. After take-off he quickly reached the altitude of angels twelve, or twelve thousand feet. Then he engaged the afterburner and the Aurora started going hypersonic. Usually aircraft would be forbidden to reach that speeds at such a low altitude over land, but tonight three air traffic corridors had been cleared by NORAD just for Operation Hawk. The passengers would just have to take a few more hours to get to their destination, Harris thought and smiled at the excuse the airports would making up for the delay. Looking down his display unit, filled with information being beamed directly to his craft from NORAD, he saw that the target was 500 miles away, only some minutes away from him.

Air Force One, Geneva, Switzerland

"Sir, I got word from NORAD. The Hawk is hunting." The JCS couldn't hide his satisfaction as he reported to President Winston.

"Good. Keep the reports coming General, I want to be informed about everything in the minute. If there's even the slightest possibility of danger tell the pilot to back off, is that understood?"

"Fully, sir"

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States

The whole floor of Strategic Air Defense became mesmerized when the icon for Hawk appeared on the Board heading out towards the fast mover. Usually, the operator that picked up an Aurora on the radar had orders to dismiss it and not even make it visualize on the board, due to its classified nature. But tonight things were different and everyone had their eyes on the screen. "Hawk is approaching target sir, range 47 miles".

"Tell Hawk to make a pass about one mile in front of the target. And for his rear electronics officer to start preparing his equipment".

Northern California, United States

Harris slowly moved the plane to the direction plotted on his Head's Up Display. The computer had the mission parameters and was relaying him of the course that he should take. He keyed his mike. "John, how are we doing back there?"

The voice of the officer on the back cabin that operated the Aurora's reconnaissance equipment replied on his headphones. "Great Andy. I think I'm gonna puke again, the way you are pushing this beast". The velocity at which they were moving made for some hard pressures on the human body and John was always complaining about it. .

"Stop horsing around like the beast you just mentioned. Is the equipment set?"

"Yup. As of some dozen miles ago we started picking up the bogey on the IR camera and the data is being transmitted back to base. Just get us a little closer for the other sensors and our job will be done".

Air Force One, Geneva, Switzerland

"Mr. President we are starting to receive data from Hawk. Range to target is thirty miles". The tension inside the 747 was rising as reports kept increasing coming from NORAD kept increasing. "All right, General"

Northern California, United States

Twenty more miles to target, Harris thought. Although it was a black night out there, he had his night vision goggles on and was looking at the target's direction, every now and then checking his instruments. He had managed to place himself on the fast mover's six and was closing the distance.

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States

"Hmm, Sir". The voice of the controller showed surprise and shock. "Target is changing speed and decelerating fast". The excited comment made Bigelow head for one of the consoles. Staring at the monitor he tried to understand what was happening.

"What? What's the target's speed right now?"

"Well, radar shows it has dropped speed to zero sir!" As the Air Force technician looked at Bigelow he saw him shaking his head in disbelief. "From Mach three to zero in a few seconds? That's impossible!"

"Sir, at that speed the Hawk will intercept it in ten seconds. Also he will come in much closer to the target". Another technician warned from another station.

"Notify the Hawk immediately!"

Northern California, United States

Harris suddenly saw the UFO through his night vision goggles as the plane pursued its target. First it was only a spot in the night sky that quickly become larger.

Then he realized that something was wrong: the target wasn't supposed to be in that quadrant of his vision and he had kept to the route being relayed to him by NORAD.

A quick check on the radar confirmed told him what John was starting to warn over the intercom. He checked his instruments again, as he refused to believe that the UFO had literally stopped in the sky since its speed was zero and it was hovering.

By the time he thought of reacting a blue flash of light had already swept over the plane. The NORAD warning came a few seconds later but Hawk wasn't there anymore to receive it.

Air Force One, Geneva, Switzerland

The eyes of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff suddenly went wide as he held a phone to his ear. A second later he simply said. "Mr. President we lost contact with Hawk!"

Winston couldn't believe the words. "What? What do you mean?"

"The Hawk dropped off our radars and we don't have radio communication anymore. Also, its data link has been severed".

"Just what on Earth happened?"

"I don't know sir. The target simply ceased it's speed to zero and seconds later we lost contact with our plane".

"Is the UFO still being picked up by our radars?"

"Yes, it has regained it's original speed and is heading towards the Midwest".

"Keep tracking the UFO and start finding out what happened to our plane and men, General".

"Yes sir". Winston turned to his advisers. "Mark, Edward, what do you think it has just happened?"

"Until we retrieve what's left of the bird and analyze the data sent, it's too early to say Mr. President, but I believe the Russians are right: their intentions are clearly hostile" responded the DCI. "Well, that's agreed for sure. Suggestions?"

"We should be talking to the whole Cabinet, sir. We already have to take measures to deal with a situation that is akin to being in war. The press is already making noise about it and while we can for the time being say that we are investigating it, we can also attribute it to some internal or external threat. That is, to say it's an earthly threat, sir. But, eventually we will have to inform the Congress and the public. There's already talk amongst congressmen about  forming a joint Committee to investigate this matter"

"Ask for my Chief of Staff to arrange a meeting with both House and Senate majority and minority leaders as soon as we get back. Is the Vice-President also informed?"

"Yes sir. He's been receiving reports ever since we got here for the meeting".

"Good. Edward, raise the level of all of our armed forces to Defcon Two and inform the Russians, Chinese and our allies of our decision and the reasons behind it. While me and Mark go back to the meeting I want you to convene with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and start thinking of ways of dealing with this threat more effectively using the information gathered by the Hawk."

"Yes, Mr. President."

"Where's the State Secretary?" Winston had assigned him to keep a permanent contact with the other leaders during the conference. "Still having breakfast with the Japanese delegation".

"Get a full report to him and tell him to join me when I arrive back at the conference building. Also, get all of this information available to the General Secretary of the UN and the other delegations beside our allies".

Although Mark Casper was a reasonable man his long years in the CIA and the habits picked on immediately reacted: "Sir, we will be revealing some of our defense abilities and a top secret military program if we do that ".

"I know Mark, but at this time we have no choice. Either we get everyone working together or we will all fall to the forces that were behind what happened this dawn".

Northern California, United States

The first team to arrive at the wreckage site was a Blue Beret Air Force security team, flown out of Nellis in an MV-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft. The flight took some hours to reach its destination, but the pilot had been given precise information on the area when the crash had occurred. After a quick search they soon spotted smoke rising in the air from the ground and the plane quickly flew into its direction.

It was a good thing that the crash had happened over mostly uninhabited country, the captain in charge of the team was thinking. At least we won't have problems with civilians popping around and seeing what they shouldn't. The plane landed nearby the wreckage that was still burning. They started forming a perimeter around the remains and waited for the recovery teams to arrive.

Geneva, Switzerland

The mood in the meeting room had turned very somber after all the delegations saw the radar, infrared and visual images of the attack of the UFO on the Aurora again. The Secretary General of the UN took the floor afterwards. Apparently Bomaka had more taken courage from the video to express his opinions on the subject. "Are there anymore doubts? We need to combine the world's efforts to deal with this threat. The Russians were struck without a chance to react; the Americans used the best of their technology and were also swept away by these forces. There isn't any nation that can face them alone".

"Mr. Secretary, I think the rest of us stand convinced of your words after what we just saw. I've just convened with the rest of my government and Japan is ready to place its armed forces under UN control to deal with this threat". Looks of surprise turned to the Japanese Prime-Minister. "We urge all the other nations to do the same"

"And under whose command I might ask? The UN? They are just a bunch of diplomats! You must be crazy" shouted the deputy of the Chinese Chairman. "We will not place our forces under UN control, since that would be placing them under American command for sure. You have all seen what the American actions have taken us for. Who knows if they didn't just forger this incident and had attacked the Siberian outpost just to make us take that decision!"

Winston thought of himself as a patient, but yet determined man, when the circumstances demanded it. But right now he could only think of throwing some punches at the Chinese deputy, which had just sat again under the approvingly, yet subtle, look of the Chairman.

But the Indian Prime-Minister stepped in first. "After all I've seen in the past months and now this, I can only think that this could not be work of man. But I must say, and I feel I speak for others in this room, that the American action of this morning was rash and precipitated. Who knows if the aliens didn't understand it as an act of aggression on our part and their actions were just self-defense? Therefore I also support the Chinese restrictions against placing my armed forces under UN or US control."

"If I might address the conference, Mr Secretary". A man in the center of the French delegation rose to his feet at the hopeless look of Bomaka. "Please, President Latour".

"Last night the seven nations that belong to the defensive alliance called NATO, that are here present, had a meeting and decided upon a number of things. We first thought of calling our defense agreements to form a force capable of facing this out of this world threat but we decided that this shouldn't be simply NATO formed. The question of American leadership was also mentioned on that reunion and we couldn't reach a consensus about it then. After much thought last night, which I suppose all the delegations did since we all look very tired," A number of grins formed at the ends of several mouths of the officers present in the conference. "I believe our delegation came up with a solution".

"And what do you propose then Mr. President?"

"In spite of what the Indian and Chinese delegations said, my country believes that the UN should be the rallying place for our efforts. Firstly it will give our forces a sense of union, and it will also show to the public, when they are informed of our work here, that we are doing something together about it. We can divide it into regional commands, each responsible for a world area and each country will be required to contribute with troops and equipment. But control should remain under the hands of a UN Commander in Chief, although the organization can request assistance from national military forces and vice-versa. The countries involved can judge its work by the funding they provide. The more satisfactory results, the more money the force will get from each country". He paused for a minute to let the other delegations to consider the idea before continuing. "However, we must name leaders for that covert force that will be both consensual and satisfactory for the mission, which will involve coordinating the military and research efforts into this threat".

Bomaka nodded, clearly impressed. "To be talking so convincing I take it that you already have the names for both, Mr. Latour."

"Yes I do, Mr. Secretary, although they are only possibilities at this moment and others can be discussed. For military command of the operation, I propose Colonel-General Dmitri S. Illyuschenko of the Russian Federation's Armed Forces".

A silence descended into the room for a second. "A Russian ?!?" Several voices exclaimed at the same time. Piotr Larianov looked puzzled at the French President, not knowing how this stroke of luck had come for him.

"I'm sure that you will all verify later his credentials with your own intelligence services, but I will present a brief profile of him and I asked the Russian delegation to correct me if I make any mistakes". Latour then started speaking.

Air Force One, Geneva, Switzerland

The American delegation had used a break during the conference to get back to the plane and discuss the new situation. "Well those sneaky French really did their homework, that I can say. And we didn't have a clue that they were also acting towards it". Casper was simply appalled at their boldness.

"Get to the point Mark. The conference is convening again later in the afternoon to vote on this subject and I need all the information I can get before I make a decision".

"For starters they picked a Russian. And he's quite a leftover from the former communist regime. That will surely please both the Chinese and also the Indians, since some of their military know quite well the man since he has liaisoned with them. For us it presents us a dilemma: if we go against him we will be accused of thinking only of ourselves as in trying to impose our views all over the others. And, while a lot of countries would follow our lead, France and probably some other NATO members would bail out which means the Alliance would be broken, at least in spirit". It made sense although he still did not like it. "I'm still listening".

"On the other hand" the Secretary of Defense picked up, "this guy is a tough bastard, from what Latour told us and the Pentagon confirmed. Presently he's at the head of the Russian Spetznaz forces. He has climbed through the ranks through hard work and is seen as one of Russia's, if not one of the world's top strategic and tactical minds regarding Special Forces".

Casper continued. "Which, as we had seen before in the meeting with NATO, would be the main focus of our defense actions, supported with aircraft and light vehicles and supplemented with a scientific and technological staff. The reasons behind it are that we need the best men around and also because it doesn't involve large forces, which might bring the media's attention and alarm the population. Finally it will make them harder to detect by the enemy and the research and manufacturing efforts can be coordinated and not be dependent of any country".

"Exactly. No one gets too much control over this and Bomaka is the overseer of that".

Winston wasn't sure of Defense's last conclusion. "But what about political control or influence over the force? Isn't there a risk?"

"I doubt it sir. This guy was one of the youngest officers to become general. He served in Afghanistan and we suspect that in some liberation movements in Africa and Latin America. He's loyal to his duty and his troops. When the Soviet Union broke apart he managed to keep most of the Spetznaz forces still active and well equipped, in contrast with the rest of the Russian Armed Forces". The DCI concluded his arguments. He had already been convinced that it was the only possible solution.

"I second the Mark's opinion, sir". The Secretary of Defense also nodded in resignation.

"Congress will skin me alive for this you know?"

"Not really sir. Our participation on this is voluntary. We can always step out of the project when we want, as the French proposal states. And whatever information this force gathers will be distributed to all the countries involved. And US troops assigned to it and our regional command will have an American general in front of them for sure".

"And how do I deal with Congress then?"

"We will just ask them how they would like to be replaced in their seats at the Capitol Building by aliens". Winston nearly laughed if not for the gravity of the situation. "What?"

"If the progression of their activities increases at rate we are seeing, this will come out to public opinion, sooner or later sir. And by then we could expect more serious incidents if not….total war. We will need to rally our people behind a cause by then and it could very   well be this new force. And if they fail, then we fail." The President looked hard at his DCI's words. After all he was paid not only for spying but to give the best advice possible to him before he took any national security decisions. And his subordinate's words were getting to him.

Geneva, Switzerland

Most of the French plan was accepted right away in the afternoon by all of the countries, leaving only the small details to be adjusted in the debates that followed. When overall consensus was found, the General Secretary and his staff were chosen to write the final document that would be signed by the signatory nations, defining the future combat force.

Its prologue stated the following:

"On the day of the 11th of December, 1999 of the Christian calendar, We, Sovereign States of the Planet Earth, therefore compromise ourselves to investigating and responding to the extra-terrestrial threat to our planet under the guidance of the Organization of the United Nations and with the goal of achieving human survival and advancement. For that, we shall contribute to create a force for this purpose called the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or X-Com, to be placed under United Nations command to defend us all".

When the delegations dispersed and proceeded to return to their respective countries, the deputy approached the Chinese Chairman.

"Forgive me Comrade Chairman, but that wasn't logical. I seek guidance".

"You question my orders?"

"Yes, Comrade Chairman. Because of my duty to the PCC and to you, if you want me to keep giving you worthy advice, I would like to know that you have not gone mad".

"Very well. Tit is your right to ask and to learn". Although not too much, he considered in private. "The French won the upper hand when they presented that proposal. They knew that neither us or the Americans or the Indians couldn't refuse for the sake of losing face and being seen as individualistic, while the Russians must have become thrilled and the Europeans were assured of some balance. The Japanese will also gain more control overall without the Americans giving all the orders. The remaining nations also saw most of it and decided that they also had to approve it, being afraid that they would be left out".

"But are we going to collaborate with this X-Com force?"

"Be patient. We soon will start working our way around them". In a similar way, the Russian President turned to his Chief of General Staff, grabbed softly his uniform jacket, the medals biting at his fingers, but without paying attention to the pain and said:

"Order Colonel General Illyuschenko to fly and report to Moscow this instant! Also activate all the defence plans we had discussed before and that where pending of my authorization. Mobilize all available resources into them. And I want a full report for tomorrow afternoon".

"Yes, Mr. President".

However, without anyone present at the conference knowing, a location in the Rocky Mountains in the United States started transmitting several messages to individuals around the world. Who soon received them and started complying with the orders that they had received some days ago.

André Galvão, 2001