X-Com - The Unknown Menace
Chapter Seven – Revival
March 17th, 1999
CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia, US
It was almost amazing to see that the Sectoid constrained to the chair had at least one feeling in common with humans. Pain. The restrained alien's eyes and whatever few muscles it had on his face showed tension and stress from time to time under the effects of whatever the unseen men on the room were doing to him. The cameraman had shot the interrogation well, Williams thought, at least he was sparing the audience the view of whatever tortures the CIA questioners were inflicting on the alien.
An unseen human voice kept asking the same questions, making it sounds like a mantra. In English, then in French, German, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and every major language that existed on the planet. Think of the Babel Tower that would connect men to the skies, what a coincidence.
The horrific spectacle lasted for a ten more seconds until finally, the alien opened his mouth and tried to speak. It had actually taken many hours of such equal treatment, Williams considered, but there was no point to see it all and there were other more important things to discuss. He was then moved by faceless figures next to a monitor and a keyboard and his arm was set free. The human voice asked merciless:
"Do you understand English?" The Sectoid looked at the keyboard and, after some moments of hesitation, punched a few keys. The answer appeared white in the black screen: YES.
"Who are you?" THE STARSPAWN.
"What is the star spawn?" ALL THE LIVING BEINGS COMBINED TOGETHER BY THE WILL.
"And what is that will?" THE WILL THAT RULES US, THAT WILL ALSO MAKE YOU A PART OF US.
"Are you here to dominate Earth?" YES THE THIRD PLANET FROM THE SYSTEM YOU CALL SOL IS OURS.
Even though Williams had already seen the video, he still felt a chill down his spine whenever this part come up. And the rest of the assessment team that were watching the projection also went cold, suddenly realizing that Armageddon was more closer than they ever could have imagined. The interrogator's confusion was apparent as he tried to remember another question. He tried another line of approach:
"What is your species? Who do you call yourselves?" WE ARE THE HIERARCHY WE ARE THE STARSPAWN THAT IS OUR NAME. You are a fine mess we have on our hands, Williams thought as the rest of the interrogation went on until the recording finished. The lights went back up and a graveyard silence stepped into the room. There were no more doubts, only one certain: Mankind faced extinction, slavery or something worse.
"Let's start by going through the resume of all the information the two-day non-stop interrogation took".
"Are they still questioning him?" MacAllister asked, afraid about what other horrors might come out.
"He died during interrogation. From what the scientific staff could determine during the autopsy, the reason was fatigue".
"Jesus!" MacAllister coughed, or pretended to, taking his hand to his mouth at the same time to hide the shock.
"They didn't want to risk that it wouldn't be cooperative next time, so they took multiple rechecks of its answers". That still made Williams sick every time he thought about it. Pretty soon, we might be getting back to barbarism because of the aliens. "It was necessary". Yes, but was it justifiable? "In any case, we now know that this Hierarchy, as these Sectoids call themselves are part of a larger invasion force designed as the 'Starspawn'".
"How do the other aliens fit into that picture?" For the first time on the meetings, Williams could see Parker actually showing any kind of interest on the subjects being discussed.
"Apparently the Sectoids and the other race thus far discovered on Earth, the so-called 'Floaters' are working in common under this 'Starspawn'. Whatever the term exactly means is completely unknown".
"An alliance or coalition of extraterrestrial races?" MacAllister volunteered.
"Or that the Sectoids, or some other species, have defeated and put into submission the other extraterrestrials. The autopsies of the Floaters shown that they have been massively changed by genetic engineering and surgery. Their ability to hover in the air comes actually from a cybernetic implant". Interesting, Williams thought while assessing the possibility thrown by Parker.
"Which would also explain the tone used by the Sectoid on his replies to our queries regarding the Floaters. Although it is an error assigning human emotions to the aliens, the interrogators' conclusions pointed to the fact that he sees them as inferior life-forms, the same way as he sometimes talked about humans, displaying what seemed like contempt".
"A possibility to exploit, perhaps, the existence of power relations between the aliens?" Parker suddenly turned into a Machiavellian tone, but more jokingly as if it was a rhetorical question.
"If we ever come up with a plan that would assure success. But it's doubtful that the Floaters could see us as allies and that they would even risk going against their masters. We are nothing more than an insect to be crushed in order for them to achieve their goals. Why would you change sides into the weaker part?" Why would the conspirators care about humanity if they had achieved an agreement with the aliens that would guarantee their survival on an alien dominated Earth, Williams concluded for himself. He continued with his briefing.
"The information he gave about his home star allowed NASA to identify it as Zeta Reticuli, a double-star system situated on the Orion Constellation. That doesn't tell us much, but he also mentioned the Hierarchy's motives behind the invasion: to improve their structured society. And through the development of hybrids between them and the human species". Another gasp filled the room. "Wait, there's more. Apparently they are organized like a hive, with Soldiers and Workers being the lower castes, then up to the leadership. Which the alien confirmed that possess psionic powers capable of controlling or demoralizing humans. They are also behind the cattle slaughtering and the human abductions, realized for the purpose of obtaining nutrients and genetic materials for cross-breeding of the species and also to make clones capable of infiltrating human society". All men in the room stood on shock. Williams knew that he needed to get them working. They would all have to find ways to deal with the terrible truth that they had just learned. He had to live with an even bigger burden. At least the interrogation had confirmed many of his assumptions so far. Colonel Johnson had undoubtedly met with a hybrid during the Alaska raid. But what he wouldn't know was that probably the hybrid might be working with the conspirators.
"What about the composition of their forces? Their tactical plans? He didn't mention anything about it?" MacAllister seemed almost desperate.
"He was just a drone, one of their lower castes, what we would call a basic infantry soldier. Why would he know? And they can be not telling their lower ranks what their real plans are, in order to keep them a secret from us". Parker countered. "We need to check this information with data coming from other methods. And we need to capture one of their higher castes to know more about their plans".
"Also, one thing that can be assumed from their answers is that they must have a base on our solar system, since it can be assumed that it would be nearly impossible to control such an operation from that far, even with their technological resources. From the numbers of UFOs we have been tracking over Earth's atmosphere this isn't a limited operation. They must have huge amounts of resources, probably of entire planets and solar systems". More bad news on the way. "The logical conclusion is that we can't stop them military. We need to find out more about them, otherwise it would be like trying to stop the sea with a sand castle."
"Can't NASA use their resources to find the alien base?" Williams already knew the answers for that query. "No. It's like looking for a needle on a haystack. The solar system might be small, when compared to the galaxy, but there's still a lot of space for them to be hidden. And even if we found it we probably couldn't do anything about it. We couldn't just arm and launch a Shuttle against it". More consternation fell into the room.
"However there are other pressing matters that we need to act upon. As we had predicted gentlemen, alien infiltration is a serious risk in our societies and might even be spreading through other ways that we had never imagined". He pressed a button on the video remote control and the machine started playing the tape again.
This time the recording was of a live news clip. The recording of one of the major networks showed a manifestation being held next to Congress of several hundred people holding banners and shouting words. The female reporter on the scene was interviewing one of the protesters, a bearded male that had a huge sign where a Sectoid's head, painted in black with almond shaped eyes could be seen.
"Sir, why are you were?" She pointed the microphone at her. He inexpectly grabbed it and started answering loud: "We are here to demand that the US government recognizes and welcomes our extraterrestrial brothers! The truth cannot be hidden anymore! It's out there on the skies!"
"You believe that the recent unexplained phenomena seen is the work of aliens life forms?"
"Yes! Enough of the propaganda and lies that the government is saying! Let's welcome our saviours!" Another click of the button and the image disappeared into blank while Johnson paused to recollect his thoughts.
"The FBI has confirmed that local and state police report manifestations like this happening all over the major cities in the country. And the NSA has also checked, through their interception of foreign transmissions that this is happening worldwide. If it keeps growing like it was for the past months, pretty soon people will be starting asking questions to their elected officials and so will the media about what is the government doing about this". And the intelligence and military will also be under constant scrutiny, which will only make things worse. More bad news on the way, Williams thought and then cursed it. "We need answers to deal with this".
Parker was so quick to respond that Williams was surprise. The CIA man simply said, keeping his eyes down: "Spread rumours".
"Excuse me Parker?" What was the man talking about, Williams thought?
"A few unidentified phone calls. With phoney, almost unbelievable stories that also can explain what is going on. Pretty soon everyone gets confused because of the contradiction between all versions and decide to forget the whole story, thinking that the government must be correct. Of course, this is public and media manipulation and, if it ever gets find out we will be spending the rest of our lives in jail".
"Out of the question! That goes against all that we believe in!" After speaking, Williams still kept his mouth opened in surprise of what had just been proposed.
"All work in the intelligence business, besides Davis over there, whose job is to hunt down our foreign counterparts. So, we all know what this is all about. Rules get broken on this business, so let's not have a futile discussion now about morale or ethics and let's consider the alternatives: one, we do nothing about this and until eventually the whole truth comes out like a bomb, that the government has been hiding the truth from everybody; two, we admit it and chaos sets in, national panic that will only hinder our efforts; three, we come up with a temporary excuse that will only delay and worsen the problem; or four, we act to do our role, which is to protect the public, which doesn't know that they are being manipulated by the aliens. What is at stake here is how far we are willing to go to fight these aliens, but we, the ones in this room and our superiors. If we win our actions will be eventually discovered but they will be morally justified. If we loose there will be no country, no media, no courts to judge us!"
Suddenly the words of the alien during the interrogation came to Johnson's mind and he knew already the action to take. Only one thing left to decide. He looked at Davis, the FBI man showing to be going through the same dilemma, made even worse for he, unlike the rest of them, was a policeman. Sworn to uphold the law, and on this case it stated that the government was prohibited of spreading disinformation. Both their eyes crossed and after two seconds Davis lowered his eyes, in concession. All the other members kept quiet, already coming up with the same conclusion.
Is that how they started? Williams considered, a cold darkness filling his heart. By coming to the logical conclusion that they needed to give away all they values, their feelings, their humanity in order to survive? How all the secrecy begun, how the conspiracy started, years and decades ago. Are we going to come up with the same conclusions as them, deciding that collaborating with the aliens is our only way to stay alive? "Very well, but this will go up to the DCI for final authorization. If we have it we will then start making up a plan". The silence in the room indicated the consensus of all men. At least when the shit hit the fan they could always allege that they were following superior orders.
March 18th, 1999
The Kremlin, Moscow, Russian Federation
Larianov was getting bored with the technological briefing he was receiving. He had studied to be a party bureaucrat and had managed to rise to the Central Committee of the old Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the break-up of 1991. The last time he had any sort of scientific interest had been long lost in the memories of his childhood, back to the days passed on the CPSU's Youth Pioneers when everyone had their fair share of enthusiasm about the space conquests of the Soviet Union. But upon passing teenagehood come other dreams, fostered by a father that had the right connections and a strong will to succeed. And finally his dreams had come through, when the old Yeltsin fool body's had finally succumbed to a lifetime of abuse, allowing for him, then vice-president to assume his proper place. The following elections the year after had been easy to win. And this is what I need to keep things as they are right now, he thought.
"Dr. Ziguanine, please stop this awful presentation! What I need to know is how we can properly use the laser to kill these invaders!" His tongue startled the scientist who then recomposed himself and talking with a hurt dignity then spoke:
"The targeting system is as much as we can do. The computers simply can't deal yet with the amount of calculations necessary to hit an UFO at it's full speed. Or at least keep the beam locked into target long enough to assure it's destruction. That is also because of the deterioration of the beam power by a series of events, such as clouds, air diffusion and so. That also makes it impossible to hit anything on our atmosphere."
"So we spend a big portion of our meagre resources for nothing?!" Larianov felt like about to explode.
"No sir." Larianov looked at the man carefully, warning him to watch out for his next words. The scientist just plainly ignored him, giving an almost imperceptible look of content for someone so stupid. "We have done a lot of work before on particle beam weapons, which are more powerful than lasers. We can apply that work to the Umbrella project and then, we will have a weapon capable of hitting anything on space or Earth. If any craft lands on our territory it will be immediately destroyed."
"And how long will it take?"
"A couple of months sir, at the best estimate".
"I expect to see practical results as soon as possible Dr. Ziguanine and this time don't disappoint me!" The scientist looked appalled but collected his presentation material, excused himself and left the room. When the door closed, Larianov turned to the head of the foreign intelligence service, which had kept quiet until now and asked:
"Mr. Verchenko, what is the evaluation of the SVK over the worldwide repercussions of this weapon?"
"At national level the initial test has surprised a lot of Western governments. And their decision not to bring this up to the UN or into public view shows that they don't want to risk the effects of public opinion knowing about our new weapon, because of it's disestablishing factor. Our estimate regarding other world players aware of the laser also shows that, while making discreet warnings, they won't do anything about it".
"And the aliens?"
"They either don't perceive it as a threat, which is understandable, or otherwise they would have attacked against it. Another possibility is that they failed to detect it, which is also likely due to the absence of alien craft during the test".
"So, if we manage to bring Umbrella into his full potential we would be able to surprise them?"
"Yes, and get an upper hand. They would have to react to it and the weapon would make that very costly in terms of military losses. Better yet, we might offer our assistance to other countries, in exchange of commercial or monetary assets. That way we could circumvent the actual necessity of X-Com and build our own defence network, directly responsible to us".
"Very well. What else is to report about the bastard Illyuschenko's force?"
"They are into deep financial problems. They have overextended their deployment and right now a lot of bases are undermanned and under equipped. Other nations, besides us, are also complaining about their lack of success over their territory. In specific terms, they have about five bases that can be described as operational, with the others being handled by skeleton crews. The two in North America, the one in Germany, the other in the Caucasus area and the final one in Japan. More grumbling will come from that fact, especially since they are all located in the northern hemisphere. Which might allow for the necessary majority required to take the changes we have been asking, specially in the Charter aspects regarding chain of command and release of weapons data".
"Data you have failed to supply so far".
"The security mechanisms built into their information network make it impossible for my operatives to access it without compromising themselves. Weapons research data is only available to the senior military commanders and specific scientific personnel. My services need more time. We should ask our Defence Minister why our glorious armed forces haven't succeeded so far in recovering an UFO instead!" When on being attacked better to deflect the fire into someone else, Verchenko thought.
The final men on the room kept silenced for a couple of seconds until he finally tried to come up with an explanation. "The Charter gives X-Com complete priority upon the assault and recovery of alien craft, in order to restrain public knowledge. And our forces simply don't have the amount of preparation and material necessary to intercept or raid UFOs. Furthermore, every time X-Com manages to defeat the crew of an UFO they limit the access to the area, preventing our forces to get access to it. Besides engaging on a full confrontation with them there's no other way. That unless we had command over the Russian team".
"And Illyuschenko would prefer to die than allowing that". No wonder the old CPSU had so much political control over the Soviet Union's Armed Forces. Military just couldn't grasp the politics behind warfare, Larianov thought while cursing again the commander of X-Com.
March 20th, 1999
Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Another UFO had been detected as it approached the North American continent through the Pacific Ocean, but this time it headed out for Mexico. After consultations with the Mexican authorities, the team had been given the go to assault the craft after it had landed. The Skyranger had then flown a course that had led it crossing the border over the Rio Grande, before heading south into the Yucatan Peninsula.
The satellite reconnaissance had provided sketchy details. It seemed that the fast mover had landed on a deep-forested area that contained unusual natural elevations. But this time they wouldn't alert the aliens of their presence by landing close to the craft. The men on his team were paid to develop infiltration skills and this time they would sneak on the aliens.
Jones moved again on his seat again, trying to get to find a better position. Failing, he then spoke: "Man, we needed to take the change and drop by at Cancun, you know what I mean? I could use some days off this crap since my butt is getting squared by these damn Russian seats".
King was seated in front of him and looked as if he was sleeping, his head hanging against the hull of the Skyranger and his arms locked in front of him, holding his laser rifle. He half opened his eyes and spoke: "Why don't you suggest that to the Big Lady?"
"The what? What are you talking about King?"
"You never heard of her? I thought her reputation went over the Army, but I guess you Navy boys tend to keep your ears full of water".
"King, what the fuck are you talking about?"
"Base rumour has it that Captain Sheila Markovitch, the hero of the 82nd Airborne Division is about to sign in with X-Com".
"Wait a minute. You are talking about 'the' Markovitch that during Somalia single handily managed to save an entire platoon that had been ambushed?" Jones gasped.
"None but her. But like I said: base rumour. Still, from all of the sudden the Colonel has ordered the construction of separate living quarters for women".
"Markovitch is a woman? Holy shit!"
"Just get a hold on your hormones while near her Jones. Otherwise she will cut your balls and force you to eat them for breakfast, from what I've been heard".
A couple of hours later, the Skyranger landed in the middle of a clearing in the tropical forest. Orders from Colonel Johnson had dictated that operational doctrine for the West team would be of stealthy maneuvers, in opposition of the frontal attacks that were being used by the East team and Captain Forrester was more than willing to comply with the order. After having secured the LZ, all the squads assembled themselves and started moving for their target, which laid some kilometers away keeping a complete silence.
King was acting, as usual, detached from the main squads, this time accompanied with a rookie from Quebec that had arrived two days before from the Canadian military. The trooper looked anxious but had been well trained into sniper assistance role, so King didn't mind the chance of things although his role in this deep forest greatly negated the range of which he could spot an enemy.
When they had arrived at thee vicinity of the UFO the teams had deployed and King had been assigned the left flank since it had some elevations that could be used to pour fire down at the aliens. Moving carefully with Deschamps behind he stopped when he heard the muffled sound of laser fire, almost imperceptible to one that wasn't used to it, on the distance followed by alien weapon's discharges.
"Gamma flank the snipers between us and the UFO". The radio cracked with the voice of the Captain. King proceed as planned. Epsilon come up front and give us a hand suppressing these idiots in front of us!"
Looking back to check on Deschamps he saw that the private looked back at him with a questioning look. "They can handle themselves. Let's get moving". They continued through the thick deep forest, now all-quiet from the usual bird and other animals' noises. The place looks too quiet, King thought, too damn quiet. Then he looked at one of the mounts and saw the reason.
Two Floaters were coming in from inside the deeply forested hill that was in front of them, through some opening that was completely with illumination. They probably had also heard the gunfire at the distance and were coming out to check the origin of the noise. King immediately got them and Deschamps quickly followed his motions. The trooper then crawled at the sniper's indication joined with behind the large fallen down tree they were using for cover. King made a two sign and then pointed to the left. Both men took position and aimed for their targets.
Looking through the sight he had installed in his laser rifle, King focused on the chest of the pink alien. Satisfied he then pressed the trigger on his weapon twice. Deschamps did the same thing a second afterwards and both aliens fell to the ground, releasing a gruesome death scream as they died. King immediately moved to the opening of the hill, while his partner kept the darkened hole covered. Upon reaching it, his hand went to his belt and grabbed a flare. He broke it to light it up and them threw it into the opening, taking a peek right afterwards. No movement or aliens inside. He gestured Deschamps to come forward and started going inside the cave, checking every shadow. The tunnel was about eight feet high and thirteen wide. He took small steps until he noticed something strange. King looked down and saw the reason: the ground had changed into stone. "What the hell?" he asked. And then he looked downwards and become even more surprised.
Trooper Jones wasn't having a good afternoon. Gamma team had flankered the snipers that were dropping fire into Alpha and Epsilon and had managed to surprise them, killing three in a few seconds of laser fire. Pershing had been hit, but the new armor had kept him alive, although if barely. But other aliens had attacked them at the same time, forcing them to dug in. He looked at the Lieutenant who was trying to contain the bleeding coming from Pershing's stomach. Great, no help there.
He and Rodriguez were trying to see the direction of the shots but the dense foliage prevented them from spotting the aliens. But after some attempts that were greeted by alien fire both of them decided it was a dangerous business. Fuck this shit, Jones thought.
Rodriguez crawled up to him and, a few seconds later, a grenade went on the spot he was just laying at. "Shit! Pinche idiot cabrón!"
"Would you mind swearing on a language comprehensible to the rest of us, Rodriguez?"
"They are closing on us Jones. No time for Spanish classes now. Pretty soon more grenades will follow. We need some support here and fast!"
"No can do. The LT just talked to the Capt. Epsilon is storming the UFO and Alpha also got hit by wondering aliens coming back from their jungle stroll and have taken casualties. Dexter bought his six foot".
"Shit! Why do they accept guys who look like if they drink their milk every morning, by mum's orders?"
"Shut up and let's save our asses instead. Cover me and I will make a run for that elevation there on the right. Maybe I can get a better position to shoot back at them". Rodriguez looked. A good fifty yards separated them from the small hill. "You will only waste your miserable life".
"Hey. I played running back at the Navy football team. Now just cover my ass". Raising himself on a leap, he grabbed his laser rifle with both arms, as if holding a football and started running. He heard Rodriguez calling him an idiot, before the green bolts begun to fizzle their way to the point where his body was just one second ago, burning through the tropical vegetation and carving big chunks of the bushes.
Rodriguez took opportunity and, getting up, brought his autocannon into play and fired high explosive rounds in the direction of the shots. "Rodriguez, get the fuck down!" The lieutenant was still trying to patch Pershing while taking notice of the situation. "Sorry sir. Too many crazy people on this squad. Just keep Pershing alive". And he continued firing his cannon, blowing fair shares of the forest that hid the aliens.
Jones thought that he had just broken a world record when he threw himself to the side of the hill, the last Elerium bolt making a scratch on his back armour and slightly burning him. As he turned to point his laser he noticed that the terrain was unstable, having nothing to do with what he expected. Ignoring it for the moment, he trailed his weapon. A Floater, his pink colour now clearly visible behind a huge flowered bush in the distance was fondling with a grenade.
"Oh no, you don't!" He instantly sent a volley of laser fire and missed completely. "Shit!" Correcting his aim he managed to kill the alien before it could end the motion of throwing the grenade into his direction. The explosive felt on the ground and another Floater who was also hiding nearby got up and tried to escape. Rodriguez shots blew his back; covering the nearby vegetation with pieces of his red cloak, pink alien flesh and green blood. The explosion of the grenade helped wreck further the scene, completing desecrating both bodies behind recognition and showing the metal implants they were.
"About time!" Jones spat and then remembered to look down. Instead of earth he saw mortar bricks. "What the fuck?"
On another place of the battlefield, trooper Manning was also feeling a different kind of surprise, although because of a completely different situation. It was his first time inside an UFO and although he had been briefed on what to expect and the general layout he still couldn't keep his amazement. In spite of the illumination inside that illuminated the metal walls and the magenta instruments inside there was no lights to justify for it. He looked ahead. The other members of Epsilon had first thrown in a concussion grenade inside the Celtic cross type UFO and then stormed the room. The Floater that was inside was too stumbled to respond to their entry and had been killed instantly. They had entered through one of the craft's arms and now there were two rooms on both side arms. Sergeant Grisham and Trooper Manning were moving towards the left one, while him approached the right one, with Pickering on cover.
When he reached the door it suddenly went up and a Floater carrying one of the black Elerium rifles appeared. He thrusted his own weapon forward and shot him at point blank range. Another Floater stepped in and he had only time to move away from the barrel of the weapon when it discharged. A human scream was heard. Logan saw the blast hitting the Pickering directly on his shoulder and shearing the arm off neatly, showing a blackened collarbone and the up of his rib cage and a stream of blood that painted it quickly red.
Logan went crazy on the sight, his mind seeing too much to handle. He grabbed his laser rifle with both hands and started pouring fire on the alien. The Floater spasmed after being hit for the first time on the abdomen, and them dropped to the floor as the next shots took him on the chest. The X-Com trooper then charged into the next room, without paying any regard to his attention.
Two blue chairs rested on what he assumed was the front arm of the UFO, with a door that led to the engine room on the centre. Other lights were visible from monitors and machinery placed in front of the seats, but Logan was too absorbed to pay attention to them. He saw two Floaters that were looking to the way that the other half of the team had chosen to enter the control room and immediately opened fire at their sight. The shots hit the monitors, short circuiting them and making them go off as the stream of laser fire moved from right to left, finally catching the aliens and making them drop with death shrieks that clicked Logan out of his bezerker condition. Shaking his head to clear it off and regain control of himself, he failed to notice that the door to the central room had just opened and that another Floater had just stepped out. He only had time to see the big mouth of the barrel of the alien's weapon before it all went to dark.
Captain Forrester removed his alien alloy helmet and passed his hand on his forehead to clear it of the sweat it was swarmed in. Crap, why did I have to pull such a scratchy mission on my first time on command, he asked. Everything had went according to plan until the aliens had also flanked them and putting the whole team into a lot of trouble until they were defeated. He had already checked with Gamma and find out about Pershing. The Lieutenant had managed to secure his condition although the man needed some urgent medical assistance to survive. Activating Epsilon's command circuit he them went to check on the other squads.
"Grisham, what's your status?"
"UFO secured, we killed a lot of aliens inside and lost Pickering. That is Logan killed a lot of aliens inside after seeing his companion went down and going bezerker on the middle of the craft. Thank God no other team members were with him at that time or they also would get squashed."
"How is he?"
"Unconscious. The guy was lucky that the Floater who got him used a stun type weapon. I've never seen a bastard with such luck. We got the alien afterwards."
"Very well, clear out the UFO of all transportable items. Let's leave the rest for the recovery crew". Meanwhile Gamma squad had joined his own squad outside the craft, with Jerrel and Rodriguez carrying the wounded trooper on a makeshift stretcher made out of branches and foliage. Jones was carrying the other trooper's weapons and he turned to the Captain and said:
"Capt, there's some strange shit around. The mounts and small hills are of an artificial origin. I stumbled into one in the middle of the battle and found out it was made of carved stone".
"Just leave it Jones".
"Sir, this is strange. Why did the aliens land here?"
"Let's leave that to the clean-up crew. We are just paid to kill them". The radio went active suddenly with King's voice.
"Sir, this is Omega squad. We have found something you might want to check. We are to the north nearby a small hill".
"Hold on King. I'm coming". Turning to the rest of his men he said: "Finish mopping up this place and take Pershing back to the Skyranger. I want to get out of here before sun dawn". He then moved in the direction of Omega's position.
He found King and Deschamps waiting for him on the side of one of the small hills, their weapons on their hands but keeping a relaxed position. Two aliens were on the ground, dead, their weaponry already assembled at a pile by the two troopers. When he got near them King spoke: "The area is clear for almost half a klick sir. But what we found isn't aliens". Forrester felt tired and wanted this to be over. But he also knew the valour of the sniper and weight of his word. King had already saved his butt once.
"What is it then King?"
"Just follow me sir, and you will see. It beats any description I can make". He turned and went inside the hill through an opening that Forrester had disregarded until then. Electrical flares were on the ground lighting up the place. The Captain then noticed that, some yards after the entrance the tunnel looked more like a built corridor, with the ground made of flat stones. The jungle hadn't completely invaded the inside and, after a while the whole tunnel looked as if it had to be artificial.
"What the hell is this King?"
"Sir, from what I know, this area is full of pre-Colombian old cities that have been taken over by the jungle".
"Pre-Colombian?" Forrester asked as they kept going through the deeps of the hill, turning left and right in what seemed to be a maze. But King looked as if he knew where he was going.
"The ancient American civilizations sir. Here I think it was the Mayans or the Aztecs I'm not sure. And this hill sure looks like one of their pyramids but long abandoned and left to the jungle".
"King, we have better things to do than archaeology. If this is what you wanted me to see, let's head back now".
"Just hold on a second sir, we are almost getting there". They made a final turn and suddenly the two of them found themselves on a big chamber, about some twenty feet high, inside and under the pyramid. More flares lit it up, giving it a yellow light that forged shadows into the walls. A big shape was visible inside the room.
"What the hell is that and how did it got here?!" Forrester couldn't believe it. An flying saucer type UFO rested itself on the middle of the chamber, the grey craft reflecting the yellow lights.
"Your guess is as good as mine. But I guess the folks down here had better relations with them than we presently do". Jones pointed to wall that was covering with what looked to be language of some sort. Forrester knew that he wouldn't be able to understand it, but as he looked at it he saw some familiar representations. Of a multi-staged pyramid and a UFO landed on top of it. And of a Sectoid, recognizable by the black eyes, with human figures standing next to him, but at a lower level.
"Holy shit!"
"Damn right sir. My guess is that these dumb idiots adored the bugs as Gods or something".
"But how did this thing get inside the pyramid?"
"The ship is pretty much wrecked inside, with signs that the engine might have exploded. Probably this thing crashed centuries ago and some of them might have survived and contacted the natives".
"If you come up with that much King, maybe you should be together with the lab rats instead of eating dirt like the rest of us".
"I don't think so, sir. Killing bugs is more fun than trying to understand them".
Area 51, Nevada, US
A lot of agitation had been going on the X-Com base, due to the recovery of the UFO, but Eva Johannes just ignored it while she looked at the captured flying saucer that rested on one corner of the hangar. The Colonel was over there looking for the retrieval operation and she wanted to keep clear of him, after knowing what had been the final destiny of the captured alien. He reminded her of her grandfather and the terrible stories that had been told about his actions on Second World War while fighting in the Russian front. It puzzled her at the same time how could a man so civilized to show such a barbaric behaviour but she stopped thinking about it and kept her attention at her work.
Dr. Mantell was also present and they had just activated the engine inside the UFO, while taking particle readings from it. After a couple of seconds she become frustrated with the results and Mantell, noticing her reaction shut down the engine.
"Absolutely no results. This is incredible". She found one of the blue seats, ignored the laser burn on it and sat down, exhausted.
"Like I told you, the energy it releases is undetectable. The Elerium gets consumed but with no visible results. And our work on the control elements to try to get different reactions has also led to nothing. We can't understand the basic principles of the system".
"And we have found out that it releases antimatter when bombarded with high-speed particles but we are unable to control the process. The energy from the reaction just unreleases itself in a massive explosion. Something is missing us here".
"Yes. We have theorized that they must be using something close to the magnetic fields used by the Soviets during their fusion reactors development program, but we are unable to replicate it."
"Could we try to apply their research on it?" The frustration was making her too tired.
"The concept was still far a long way to go when it was first announced back on the eighties. I doubt if they managed to go any further or we would have seen the results by now".
"Leaving us with a growing amount of trash that can't be used because we don't understand how it works".
"They can be used, Doctor, they just aren't reliable on combat, since one never knows when it eventually stops firing for good, first after the first blast or the tenth and that why High Command has banned their use". Johnson stepped into the UFO.
"Good afternoon, Colonel". Her tone got cold at the same moment.
"Good afternoon, miss, Dr. Mantell. Sorry for interrupting but I just finished directing the recovery operations and wanted both of you to look at some if the items retrieved".
"What do you mean they can be fired Colonel?"
"Just got a report meanwhile from Mother One, Doctor. Apparently they discovered a security mechanism on the weapons that prevented from being discharged from anyone but their owner. It had to do with DNA detection from what I remember. It apparently checked the user's genetic code and if a negative answer was given the weapon would unpower down by itself".
"Why haven't you told this to me before? I need to get back there to study the beam it releases". She got out of the craft running for the door that led into the communications room and nearly knocking Johnson on her way.
"Hey! Watch out!" But she was already too away to hear him. "Crazy woman", Johnson said to herself.
"If you don't mind Colonel, I must be going also". Johnson acknowledged and Mantell also left following the direction she took. "Crazy lunatic scientists" he said with a laugh. The lights and siren that warned of an incoming light started to be heard on the hangar and Johnson thought what could be scheduled for landing. He had seen the flight rooster for today and the recovery team was only due for some more hours. Looking up, he saw the massive roof doors begun to open and the blast protections raising themselves on the floor of the hangar. Light from the outside come up and against it Johnson saw a V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft slowly descending itself into the depths of the X-Com base. It kept lowering, filling the inside of the hangar with noise and a wind that made Johnson take cover inside the UFO. He only come out after it had landed and the engines were off, the fans on the sides of the hangar already working to eliminate all the fumes released by its engines. Johnson looked to the body of the plane to try to identify who might be arriving. He saw that by the almost imperceptible "AP" that was painted on its side to make it appear as an US Air Force plane that it had come from the Appalachian X-Com base, probably on a non-stop flight until here. A door opened on its side and a group of soldiers came out dressed in X-Com black jumpsuits and carrying bags. He started to recognize some of the faces from his personnel logs. They were the new recruits that had just been hired to allow for the expansion of the X-Com's West team. But why were they here already? Major Priscott, the responsible for flight operations suddenly appeared on hangar, surrounded by a fully armed team of security personnel and an enraged General Smith.
When both of them saw Johnson they changed their course into his direction. General Smith got to him first and started firing, his eyes blood-shot red: "You can bet that you will never pull another stunt like that before Mister! You might control this here but you just can't disregard security protocols like you did!"
Johnson momentarily puzzled looked back at Prescott for an explanation.
"Sir, that aircraft right there just appeared out of nowhere, unscheduled, without proper clearance and demanded to be let access into the facility through the X-Com's frequencies and codes". He took a dire look and completed: "I allowed them to land, otherwise we could bring unnecessary attention into ourselves. I take responsibility for that, but there will also hell to pay for the guy on charge of that plane!"
"What Mr. Stupid did right here was to ignore every safety protocol of Area 51! And while we don't need to give you authorization we have the right to be informed of every upcoming flight in advance!"
"General, I apologize for this event and can only assure you that will never happen again. Now, if you don't mind we will discuss this later for I have some explanations to receive".
"You can bet all your money on it!" He turned his back and stomped out of the hangar, pushing aside the security troops that were waiting for orders.
"I don't think we'll need them Major. I have an idea of who might have arrived. Please get back to Command Center and I will deal with this. And please ask Hopkins to join me here". Johnson went over to the craft. The latest results of the ground teams had enabled them to lessen down a bit the physical and mental requirements and had allowed for more recruits. Pretty soon West base would have available eight four-man squads which would allow the others some well deserved rest after near two full months of a great deal of activity over the North American continent. He already knew the identity of all these soldiers and their provenience. Most of them had come from the Marines or Army, some even from the Air Force like Johnson himself and the Major in the group of three officers that awaited him. He had worked before with the female officer in front of him also and he decided to get things started by her, with no doubt the cause of all this mess. Just her appearance smelled of confrontation as he approached her. The woman was the walking definition of a female storm trooper. Almost matching his six-foot, eight-inches height, her forehead stood at his eyes level, the brown curly hair cut in a purely military fashion, but when he looked down to see her directly as he approached her, she lift her head as if challenging him while saluting. The same attitude again, it seems. He had known her when they both server together in the same unit, right before he had went to his old 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and het to the 82nd Airborne Division.
"Captain Sheila Markovitch reporting for duty, sir!" He returned the salute with a quick one of his own and started speaking:
"Captain Markovitch, might I ask what have you just done? I take it this to be your work, since Major Patterson and Captain Clark here would never try anything like that from what I know of their profile?" Johnson gave her a stern look. As always she needed to know who was in charge.
"Sir, reinforcements presenting, sir! I decided that we weren't doing much waiting for the final paperwork to be done at the Appalachian Base so I arranged for proper transportation to here, sir!" She kept firm, without showing any regret.
"Captain, we will discuss this later on my quarters. Let me say that you just got yourself suspended from combat duties for now for an undetermined period!" Her eyes flashed briefly with rage but she quickly composed herself and with grim determination replied: "Yes sir!" Turning away from her, she moved to the next officer in line.
"As for you Major Patterson, before I welcome my new Executive Officer and the rest of you into Area 51 can you please tell me if the Air Force hasn't learned anything from the collaboration between the 16th Special Operations Group and the 82nd?"
"Just to not get on their way Colonel. And I think that is lesson number one". The Afro-American man made a quick smirk, before its moustached mouth went back into a emotionless position.
"I see". Turning to the final officer, the replacement of Tyrell after the Californian pilot had been killed by the hybrid, he said: "You got yourself into a pool full of sharks here, Captain Clark. Sure you want to continue with us?" The Texan former Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter jockey just nodded and said, with a clear smile: "I always loved a good brawl… sir!"
Everyone is getting too cocky, Johnson said to himself. Sure the new armours and laser weapons had put the fight on the battlefield more balanced for the humans, but we can't allow to build any slack into ourselves or we might get some nasty surprises in the future. He looked at the grunts that were waiting in full attention. They looked as aggressive as the first members of the team had been until the first confrontation.
"As for the rest of you, my name is Colonel Johnson and I am the commanding officer of the West North American X-Com team. You have been chosen and asked to volunteer for this assignment because of your skills and combat experience. I congratulate you on your decision to jump into such a dangerous assignment and welcome you to the team". Hopkins had suddenly crept by his side and he decided to let the Sergeant start whipping them.
"This here is Sergeant Hopkins, he will be your guide from now on since other, expected, duties wait me. Carry on Sergeant!" They all saluted again and, after responding, Johnson left, giving a last glance at Markovitch. The woman maintained her pose. "And if you please, Captain, let's talk about this whole incident in my office".
"All right, you rookies, stop looking like that at my face! If you're dumb enough you won't be this lucky to only come out will small scratches like this and will leave this base on a body bag! Get your gear and let's start moving!"
Johnson headed out for his office, with Markovitch on tow. When they reached it he opened the door and headed straight forward, leaving the female Captain the task of closing the entrance. When she finished doing that, he started speaking:
"What the hell of a stunt was that Captain? Failure to comply with safety and security procedures! Unauthorized requisition of military equipment! And a gung-ho attitude that we don't need here!" He kept himself standing up, while waiting for her answer, eyeing her furiously.
"Sir, permission to speak freely, sir!"
"Go right ahead Captain!"
"Erwin, don't tell me that all of this is because you're still pissed off that I left you."
Shit, there it goes, Johnson thought. I knew it was a mistake allowing her into the team.
"Captain, we have resolved those matters a long time ago. What I'm questioning right here is your failure to follow rules and procedures!"
"Don't give me that crap Erwin! I know that you were always sore that I refused to follow you into special ops after you decided to leave the 82nd. When I accepted X-Com's proposal I had no idea that you were running this stint and I become surprised. Either you had let it go into the past or you had something else in mind".
"First, that's Colonel Johnson to you, Captain. Second, X-Com Commander in Chief asked me for my personal evaluation of your combat abilities since you served under my command. I told him what I knew: that you were a crack officer at tactical level and pushed your troops to their limit and far beyond. And also that you had a problem with discipline and that was the reason why you are still a Captain".
"I take it that you failed to mention this thing we had going on between both of us while we served together. Tell me Colonel, was that because you didn't want to stain your record? Because since we kept it hidden so well before from the hierarchy that you still wanted to maintain your perfect image of following orders with no question? Of course, a relationship like this takes a lot more to maintain a secret when both of us are distant, doesn't it?"
"That is enough Captain! My personal feelings have nothing to do with this situation! You acted your own stubborn way like you always did! Keep it that way here and you will be getting into a lot of trouble, mister!"
"Very well then Colonel, sir! I will try to
follow operational procedures from this day on…sir!"
"And you will, Captain, you will. Until I'm sure of it you are off combat
operations! We don't need the cavalry storming around here; in fact I'm
surprised you didn't ask to be assigned for Colonel Jackson's command. His
style is more like yours!"
"Very well sir. Permission to leave then"
"Granted!" Johnson was beginning to calm down when she turned to him on her way out and spoke while closing the door: "And Erwin, I know you are wondering why the hell did I decide to come here instead of staying at the Appalachian base. One reason is that your team is the best in the business. The other is that I miss those long shower debriefing sessions after a mission".
"Get the hell out of my office!" He shouted at her as she closed the door. I knew this was a mistake, he thought. Shit! Someone knocked on the door. Her again? He barked: "Enter and be brief!"
Major Patterson's head appeared on the side of the door cautiously and the officer asked: "Sorry for bothering, Colonel, but I heard some noise down the corridor and I saw Captain Markovitch leaving your office afterwards and I was just checking if everything was allright"
"Everything is dandy, Patterson! Just lovely, thanks. Now if you please, I got work to do". The Major relaxed and answered back: "Sure sir. Sorry for the inconvenience". As he closed the door, Patterson said to himself that things were already starting to be like back on the old days.
March 23rd, 1999
Headquarters Strike Command, RAF High Wycombe, UK
Another cry came out on the communications radio, "I'm hit! The primary hydraulic system is gone! I can't get the plane to respond any of my commands!"
"Tiger Three, this is Lair. Eject! Eject!" The controller looked helpless as another of the Tornado F.3 interceptors had just been hit by one of the UFO's weapons. The Royal Air Force had committed four interceptors to shooting down the large UFO that had been detected approaching the British Isles from the northwest and was heading for central England. The radar signature of the craft had made it possible that it was one of the type used in the LA raid and the Air Vice-Marshal in command of UK Air Defence didn't want it to get close to the Home Islands.
"Tiger Three, do you copy?" Silence only greeted the air interception officer. "Tiger Three eject now!" Looking at the board he saw that the friendly icon that identity the remaining Tornado on the formation had disappeared and that the UFO was continuing its course.
He turned to the Air Marshall. "Sir all the planes on Tiger flight have been shot down. We could scramble some Hawk training fighters equipped with Sidewinder missiles to try to shoot it down".
"They would only manage to commit suicide, son. The Tornados had to launch at the maximum range allowed for the Amraam missiles and still couldn't get any hits. And that thing is equipped with a weapon that has a greater range than ours. No, get me to the Minister of Defence. They are coming and we need to get prepared".
Mother One, Black Forest, Germany
On the other side of the Channel, Colonel MacTaggert and General Illyuschenko were also receiving the same radar information back at Mother One base on the German Black Forest.
"Commander we need to deploy this minute! They are going to hit some target on the UK!"
"How many men do you have, Colonel?" Illyuschenko already knew the answer.
"I have two complete squads sir. Third is down to fifty per cent strength after the mission on Iceland a couple of days ago. And nearly all men of the Fourth are on the medical facility with all types of injuries. We simply had no idea that the aliens had the equivalent of a grenade and that it was much more powerful than ours".
"That leaves you with only eleven combat capable troops, Colonel. Do you think that is enough? The LA raid showed that the aliens deploy a big amount of troops on these incursions".
"Sir, I can't just let my countrymen get killed by the aliens with me doing nothing. You will have to throw me in the brig if you want to stop me!"
Illyuschenko looked at his officer and coldly realized that there wasn't any option. About MacTaggert or anything. Things weren't getting better. The amount of reported UFO incursions had increased and X-Com simply didn't had the resources to deal with most of them. A lot of countries were growing dissatisfied at their performance, which only meant more financial bad news next month. And they couldn't allow that the British had motives to cut back on their funding, a possibility most likely to happen if the UFO was about to conduct a terror raid and if it X-Com didn't respond to it.
"Very well. Get your men ready this second. But I'm coming also. I can't sent all of you to get killed and sit here watching".
"Commander, that is bloody insane, sir! You are the responsible for all of this and are too precious to risk your life going against the aliens!"
"If you think I'm not ready for combat, Colonel, let's both of us quickly head out for the gym and settle this on a fight. Otherwise, the choice is yours: either we all go or we stay here and watch the killings".
"You have personal orders from the UN's Secretary General and the Council of Founding Nations not to expose yourself into dangerous situations sir!"
"All of them are on their luxurious offices, doing whatever useless things they can find to fill their time. I'm in charge of military matters. And I decide that the risk of not dealing with this threat is much greater than any personal security matters. Let's go Colonel". And the hell with all the rest!
Coventry, United Kingdom
Two hours after it had taken off, the Skyranger landed on a neighbourhood near the centre of Coventry. The last radar report of the UFO showed it stopping its course over the city and landing somewhere inside the city limits. The British Army units assigned to deal with the attack were still hours away and the X-Com commanders, after receiving the sparse reports existent from the British Ministry of Defence had decided to deploy without support, to hold back the aliens until reinforcements could arrive.
Illyuschenko had the Skyranger pilot make a flyby over the city for reconnaissance and they had found the UFO landed in the middle of a park before a near miss from a blast of the craft's weapons had forced them to turn back. Smoke was starting to come out from areas near the flying saucer's landing zone, starting to form a dark cloud over the city in the afternoon sky. While retreating they had been fired from one of the Floaters that were running amok on the streets, firing at everything that moved.
As soon as the first trooper got out of the Skyranger he was greeted by alien fire that come from the right side of the landing door. The squaddie fired back and moved to clear the ramp, other men already racing out to deploy. As a concession to the Colonel, Illyuschenko was the last soldier to leave the Skyranger, waiting impatiently as the men in front of him quickly got out, took cover and started firing back.
When he finally deployed he saw that they had already cleared the landing zone and were moving forward to consolidate a perimeter around the plane. Not at some cost. One of the sergeants was lying on the ground near the ramp with his back turned to Illyuschenko and smoke coming out of his chest. He when to the trooper and turned him around to see his condition. Blank eyes greeted him, together with a silent bloody mouth.
It came back. The ambushes on the Afghani Mountains that took many of his subordinates, the findings of their death captured countrymen, their bodies disfigured by the guerrillas. "Commander, are you all right?" MacTaggert's voice brought him back to reality. "We gotta leave. The Skyranger is taking off to go to a more secure location".
"What's the situation?"
"The local police forces report on the radio of being overrun. I don't think we can expect any help from them. But the British's Army 16th Air Assault Brigade is getting ready to deploy here, although they are still getting ready".
"We need to strike. Make them react to gain more time". MacTaggert thought for a second and then asked: "The UFO?"
"Yes. For some reason it hasn't taken off yet and it must be the place where they are coordinating their attacks. If he hit it there we may disrupt their plans"
"What about the civilians sir?"
"We don't have enough troops to try to hold them back all over the city. If we come forward any situation were civilians are threatened we will help them. But our main objective is taking control of that monstrosity".
"Very well". You bastard, MacTaggert thought, I would like to see if you reacted that way back if this was happening in Russia. "Recce Squad, take point and get us to the park where the UFO is landed. Support and Assault Squads follow them on the flanks. Move out!"
Halfway between the landing zone and the park, the team entered an area of working-class housing, the old brick building standing on the sides of the street. So far everything looked desert. Either the evacuation warning had been on time or too late. Besides sporadic gunfire nothing else could be heard until a shriek suddenly greeted them. The European team stopped on their tracks. The noise was heard again and again, coming out from several directions.
"There!" The shout of one of the man made everyone else suddenly turn on his direction. Coming from a side street, one massive alien had just entered the small avenue and was turning to their direction, running. It looked like a huge brown furred frog in appearance, although it only had two massive legs with claws on the feet, which were pumping his body fast. Metal appendages covered parts of his limbs and back, giving him also a pair of gray horns on the side of his head. Red eyes added to the terror of the sight, together with a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Assault Squad was the first to react, firing their laser rifles and autocannons at the beast. Most of the shots went wide, but a few of them hit, leaving the creature with blackened spots and smoke coming out of them. But it kept running. And other aliens joined him, coming from the opposite side and from streets that the team had already passed. Illyuschenko targeted the first large toad with his laser rifle and taking aim, fired two shots in the direction of its head, hoping to hit whatever thing it had for brain. The laser discharges all hit the monster in the forehead and drilled through his tough fur but failed to stop it.
A human cry came from close to Illyuschenko and he turned suddenly on the direction. Blood splashed all over his face as one of the giant frogs that had circled the team, kept shredding the corpse of a X-Com trooper he had taken by surprise, his teeth cutting through muscle and bone as if it was wet paper. Illyuschenko pressed the trigger and kept his finger on it. When the first shots hit the alien it turned and got ready to attack. But the X-Com commander never hesitated while the alien approached him; the laser cutting through the fur until the monster finally dropped dead to the floor and continuing afterwards, to assure it was dead.
"Commander, stop firing! The alien is dead already! We have to go!" Coming out of a trance, Illyuschenko looked at MacTaggert. One of the frogs had bitten him on the leg, the armor baring resisting to be completely snatched off, and taking a piece of his limb with it.
"How are we?"
"Two dead. And five of these things killed. Recce Squad has found the UFO meanwhile to the northeast. They report no enemy activity in the area. The way to the craft is bloody clear sir. And British Army units are already starting to arrive. I'm trying to contact their commander but it's still an overall mess".
"Contact Mother One and have them inform the UK Ministry of Defence informing of our presence and giving information about this new type of alien we have just encountered. And let's move!"
The run to the park where the UFO had landed happened without further incidents, although they passed on their way by civilians that had been killed by the aliens weapons, leaving charred bodies behind, or by the claws and teeth of the larger aliens. The Grim Reaper had arrived, Illyuschenko thought, just like in the American movies it has come into this town and took the lifes of everyone who stood on its path. He automatically restrained of looking to the corpses, afraid of his own reaction.
The UFO rested in the middle of the grass, showing no activity. Although it had been seen before by the unlucky British pilots who had tried to stop it, it was the first time X-Com had ever encountered such a craft. It was a large ship, with a circular central body that was two stories high. It had two shorter extensions on the sides from which large closed doors could be seen.
Illyuschenko joined MacTaggert beneath the cover of some bushes where the team had hid themselves. Suddenly engine noise started to be heard and, after some seconds, a Gazelle recce helicopter flew over some meters above their position and approached the UFO. A blast coming from an unseen weapon mount in the flying saucer hit the chopper, exploding it into a firewall. The burning wreckage landed noisily against the ground, the fire spreading to the nearby trees. "Bloody hell!" MacTaggert exclaimed as he saw the destruction.
"Another reason for us to assault that thing, Colonel. We need to give your countrymen a chance to deploy and use their weapons on the aliens. Let's throw some smoke screen to cover our advance and divide the team between both doors".
"What if the outside aliens try to regain control of the craft?"
"Let them try. We can them ask for assistance and eliminate all of them while they try to dug us out of there".
"Sounds like a plan to me Commander. But I'm still wondering what the hell they are doing. The plan just looks too much deserted".
"Whatever it is, we will get them inexpectely while they are at the middle of it".
MacTaggert clicked on his radio and spoke: "Assault, take the left door. Support, get your weapons ready for close combat and take the right one. The rest follow in behind. Anyone with smoke use it to cover our approach. Target is getting control of that thing and holding it. Kill every alien on sight".
A couple of squaddies threw in phosphorus grenades and they started burning when they hit the grass, burning it into ashes and spreading a smoke cover that pretty soon engulfed all the area between them and the UFO.
The team then started to move, trying to keep an eye on the doors through the smoke to see if any alien decided to take a look outside. Illyuschenko took a short run following the Assault team and joined them as they reached the opening. Giving the trooper closest to it an OK nod, he saw him pressing the door with his hand. It immediately went up with a whoosh and the team members jumped inside. A surprised Floater tried to respond but he was too slow and when down as a Corporal unleashed the fury of his autocannon into him, filling his body with armour-piercing rounds.
Gunfire noise could also be heard from the other side of the craft. Illyuschenko pushed inside the UFO in front of all others. He was inside a room where a large red canister was standing on a corner, supported by blue pipes that connected it to the ground. It was connected to the main body of the craft through a passageway that divided itself into two directions, circling what seemed to be a smaller room in the middle of the UFO.
The Commander started to move forward but he stopped when he approached the central body astonished by what he was seeing. Men and women were restrained to the walls by some invisible force, their silent but conscious faces trying to call for help. Now there was an explanation for the delay on the departure of the UFO: leave one cargo of terrorists behind and board another.
As he started to try to help the civilians that had been imprisoned by the aliens, a noise of an opening door could suddenly be heard. Illyuschenko looked up and saw that right in the junction the corridor extended upwards to make a small alcove where a platform could be seen, together with an door that was now opened, showing a Floater. The alien pointed his rifle at Illyuschenko and fired, but missed, the Elerium leaving black marks in the floor of the craft. The X-Com commander dashed to the side trying to get some cover. Other team members reached the alcove and tried to respond to the alien's fire, but he got back inside, and their shots hit the door while it was closing.
"Find a way to get these civilians out of here! And one of you keep an eye on that door!" Illyuschenko then reached for his tactical radio and activated it: "Colonel there are civilians inside and watch out for an opening at the junction that leads into the upper level".
"Already know about the civilians commander. We got into a nasty firefight on this side and some of them got hit. We got an alien that tried to take a peak from that door and tried to reach it, but it's too dangerous. I have someone covering it right now. It seems that there's a door in this middle room. I suggest we join there since there must be an elevator upstairs inside". Illyuschenko left a man back and took the rest of the team in both directions.
They found MacTaggert and Support squad waiting for them by a door facing the same direction that they had entered the UFO. "What happened back there Colonel?"
"Two Floaters were finishing restraining some civilians when we got in. They fired back and in the gunfire some civilians got hit. I left two men behind, one of them covering the upper door and the other trying to help the wounded, but they need medical assistance badly".
"Let's take control of this thing and call in for the helicopters. On your mark, Colonel". MacTaggert nodded and pointed to the trooper near the door, telling him to go forward. The squaddie opened the door and all remaining men looked inside with their weapons ready. The circular room was deserted of any aliens. Dispersed over the room, the X-Com soldiers could see four Elerium engines giving an orange glow, circling a red spot right in the middle of the craft that was also illuminated orange, fitting perfectly the North American team's description of an alien elevator.
The soldiers moved carefully inside, checking every inch of the compartment until they suddenly stopped on their tracks when the glow coming out from the engines started to become stronger and a humming noise began to be heard. "What in the bloody hell is that?" interrogated MacTaggert. Illyuschenko was already running for the lift before he replied: "They must be trying to get away! We need to get to the control room before they can lift this thing up!"
Checking to see that no aliens were waiting for him in the upper level, he positioned himself then under the opening and raised his arm as the North American team had reported. He immediately started to be moved upwards by some strange, unseen, force. When he reached the upper floor he found himself in a smaller room, completely clear unless for a door directly facing him. Another X-Com trooper joined him, carrying an autocannon after some seconds. Illyuschenko opened the door and looked carefully. The opening led into the middle of a corridor that extended to both sides of the door. He immediately got back inside as, when he looked to the right side, saw the muzzle of an alien pistol coming around the corner. He got out a grenade from his armour belt, pulled out the plastic cover from the trigger and pressed it, throwing it afterwards in the direction of the alien. Both troopers were more or less shielded by the blast and noise of the explosion from the door that started to down again. Other team members had meanwhile entered the upper level. "Where is the Colonel?" Illyuschenko asked quickly.
"He's trying to disable the engines before this thing takes off…shit!" The trooper stopped in the middle of the sentence as they all sensed that the craft was moving. But one second later they felt that the ascent was going erratic as if the UFO was having trouble lifting off the ground.
"I guess he partially managed that. Both of you take the right side, blow up every instrument and alien you saw. Go!" Illyuschenko followed the troopers as the exited the room through the door, but turned left. Running down the corridor he come up to a T-junction. He looked right and saw another small door. But when he saw the other direction he noticed that it opened to a much larger room, where there could be seen a seated alien at the controls of the craft. He pointed his rifle and started shooting, one of the three Floaters suddenly going into panic and firing at every direction. When he hit the pilot, the last one dropped his weapon and froze into place. Gunfire coming from the other team member blew him into pieces, the high-explosive rounds smashing his body and all the machinery around it. But the trooper carrying the autocannon didn't notice his commander on the other side of the room until it was too late. A round hit the wall right close to Illyuschenko and he was thrown into the ground, projected by the blast. Then the UFO suddenly hit the ground and Illyuschenko was thrown up in the air, as the dead engines were helpless now to counteract the effects of gravity and the inertia it brought to the craft. When he finally hit the ground Illyuschenko blackened out from the crash.
Illyuschenko regained consciousness slowly and noticied he was laying on the grass outside the UFO, being tended by a British Army corpsman. The remaining members of the European team were close by, some of them also receiving medical attention while the others rested while seated on the ground, their weapons nearby. Transport helicopters flew in the air, together with armed gunships. An explosion could be heard occasionally at the distance. He checked himself and saw that he had no major injuries. After that he tried to get up but the soldier cut him off saying: "Please lay down, you have suffered an concussion and need to rest".
"I'm OK for the moment. There's civilians over there that need help more than me. Go and help them now!" The corpsmen jumped away, surprised by the strength of his voice. He decided it would useless to argue and start to collect his medical gear. Illyuschenko got up and saw Captain Pearson seated on the ground with a red stained while bandage wrapped around his head. He turned to him and asked:
"Captain, where is the Colonel?"
"He's giving tactical assistance to the Army's forces on scene. Most of the opposition has been swept away, especially after they saw the UFO going down".
"Very well". He then remembered the other thing that was disturbing him. "What about the captured civilians inside the UFO?"
"We managed to save the majority of them". Illyuschenko froze. "The majority? What about the rest?" Pearson pointed to a line of covered corpses. "They got hit in the confrontation", he paused before adding, "some by friendly fire".
The Commander of X-Com managed to get up, in spite of the huge headache that was starting to hit him. He got to one of the plastic tarps that covered the bodies and pulled him back. The face of a dead woman greeted him. God, it never ends does it? No matter how much we try, they still keep dying although they have nothing to do with this. And now we have become again killers, instead of soldiers. We are nothing better than the aliens, are we? We have failed. You have failed, the voice kept pondering on him until he finally couldn't take it anymore and went back into unconsciousness.
André Galvão, 2001