X-Com – The Unknown Menace
Chapter Twelve – The Eye of the Storm
July 19th, 1999
Mother One, Black Forest, Germany
News of the attack on Azamas 36 was already
starting to come out and they weren't comforting to hear at X-Com's
headquarters. After the failed attempt by the Russian team to defend the
research facilities, the Red Army was now preparing to take things into its own
hands and make a full frontal assault using several armored divisions. All
across Russia military units were racing to position themselves along with
fleets of bombers and fighters. Meanwhile the whole High Command of X-Com was
online, together with Dr. Chevereux, to discuss the gravity of the situation.
"Finally, the other races of aliens involved, previously unseen. This Snakemen are formidable fighters and are more resistant and better protected than either the Sectoids or the Floaters, although they seem to be slower than humans. Our scientists have just finished dissecting one of the bodies we managed retrieve and bring back. From what I'm told, they carry up to fifty eggs inside of them and it appears their metabolism and reproductive system is very efficient and fast". Colonel's Boronin mouth was a gruesome sight. Several front teeth were missing from the hit he had taken from the zombie trooper and his face was covered with band-aids for the small injuries he had taken when the Skyranger had exploded.
"And the second type of aliens that you have encountered? Your initial communications were quite unbelievable, I must say". The scientific commander of X-Com had immediately waved off the idea that a living organism could have such a quick metabolism but his sense told him otherwise when it came to the biological abilities of the aliens.
"Dr. Chevereux, I've seen them with my own eyes, those slick dark beasts, as they attacked my team and civilians. They are parasites or whatever you choose to call them. They infect humans with some sort of egg that takes over the unlucky individual and quickly grows and transforms itself into another monster".
"And destroying its human cocoon on the process, like a chrysalis that transforms itself into a butterfly, if I recall the first report correctly".
"Yes I do believe that is the word in English. I will have the specimens we managed to collect shipped to you as fast as I can, for you to do a more detailed scan".
"Very well, Colonel Boronin. What's your team status?" Illyuschenko didn't know what to do with the feeling of hopelessness that he was feeling.
"Four squads completely decimated sir. We even had to shoot some of our own men after they transformed themselves into monsters. These things are terrible and fast sir. Somehow by the work of the Devil they either cut us to pieces or transform whomever meets their embrace into one of them!"
"Have you told them of our availability to provide with more forces to deal with this attack?"
"I just got word from President Larianov. He is furious about our failure and has refused any further help from us. He even warned that any X-Com forces near the area will not be allowed to get into combat and made a disguised threat that we might be shot at. I guess we didn't make a good impression, General". He sank his head in defeat.
"Not your fault, Boronin. No one could have predicted this or the decisions our country has taken or the aliens' response. Question now is what we do". Yes, what other exit is there?
"Commander, I demand that something is done!" Dr. Chevereux had both the touch of urgency and assertiveness on his voice.
"Doctor, my country's forces are preparing to deal with this. We can't do anything else right now!"
"You don't understand, so I will try to explain it simply. My staff have been going through the few data available from the capabilities of that weapon and, more important, over the technology it uses. Bottom line is, like the Americans say, we need to save the research made by the now dead scientists there. To make sure that their work wasn't in vain!"
"What are you speaking of?"
"We have come to the conclusion that their work on the ionized particle weapon, and more specifically on the electromagnetic fields necessary to contain and direct the beam is the missing part on our weapons research. It took us too long to come up with that conclusion and to verify it, unfortunately. But we now know that if it's lost we might never know how to build plasma weapons and use Elerium power until it's too late!"
"But the laser and the research facility has been already destroyed by the aliens and the scientists killed. You have seen the battlefield report from Colonel Boronin and the satellite pictures taken afterwards. It's already lost!"
"No it isn't. Usual research procedures say that there must be always back-up files, regularly updated and stored at a different location to prevent for accidental loss of data on the main computer. We need to go there and get the research they have done. Afterwards we can interpret it and use it to start using Elerium as an energy source. I can't even speculate with the amount of things that will be possible!"
"In any case, I can't do anything, Doctor. The Russian government has told that the area is off-limits to our personnel. We can only hope that the Red Army is successful in defeating the aliens on the ground and the data won't be lost. For now we can only wait and hope that they will recover it".
July 26th, 1999
Outside Azamas 36, Russian Federation
Igor Stavkov, Senior Sergeant in command of a T-90 tank platoon couldn't believe what was happening. In the last days the entire division had been ordered to move as quickly as possible to Siberia. They had mounted the available tanks and vehicles up rail cargo transporters and had ridden thousands of miles until finally disembarking into a huge military camp that kept growing everyday. As more men, vehicles and attack helicopters arrived Stavkov and his men couldn't imagine what sort of exercise was this. Then they become concerned that it might not be an exercise and on that case, what sort of threat could it be that required that much firepower?
The answer had came up some hours ago in the morning as the captain in charge of the company had returned from a staff meeting, badly shaken. They were about to attack and regain control of the city that was some twenty kilometers away. But more shocking was the nature of the enemy: extraterrestrials. Some of the men had prayed upon hearing that word and they all had kept a grim silence when making the final preparations for battle.
Now, two of the Division's brigades had massed together and started attacking the outskirts of the city with the last brigade waiting to exploit a breakthrough in the aliens' lines. But more than a kilometer away from the city the aliens had started to snipe at the company's tanks, their deadly weapons releasing green bolts of fire that opened large holes in the frontal armour of the tanks and killing the occupants inside or blowing off tracks and stopping the tank. The Captain in charge of the company had been one of the first to die, some of the crewmen managing to get off the tank screaming of the burns they had suffered until a plasma bolt or machine gun fire would mercifully cut them down. With him gone, command stepped down to the Lieutenant, who was too damn young and inexperienced. However he tended to ask and rely on Stavkov's advice. At least the young officer knew its limitations.
The BMP-3 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicles and BTR-80 Armored Personnel Carriers that transported the foot soldiers weren't doing also much better. They just blew up whenever hit by one of the enemy's weapons, the plasma cutting through the light armour and igniting the ammunition and fuel inside at the same time that killed all the men on board. And it was hard to hit the monsters with the 125-milimeter cannon the tank carried. They were always on the move and the turret couldn't track them fast enough to fire. However the company was giving almost as much as it was receiving, and the battlefield there were also the bodies of orange colored aliens with a shape that reminded the Sergeant of serpents. But the advance was being too costly.
Stavkov was considering his tactical options when his radio stared speaking: "Battalion command here. We have a breach on enemy lines! All units charge to enlarge it!" That's it, Stavkov thought and reached for his unit's radio channel. "Platoon, charge out at full speed! We have a breach!" The driver of the tank immediately pressed the accelerator and the metal tracks started to move faster, driving the crew into a series of bumps as it went over the terrain.
The monster's fire is slowing down, Stavkov noticed. Good, they are on the run. If we can just now move the reserve brigade on time…the wind had changed and they were now going into the middle of the battle fog, in part created by the smoke launchers mounted on the turrets of the Russian tanks, moving towards a group of small hills. Looking around the turret through the portholes he could see that what remained of his armored company was charging into the alien's positions, which seemed to be in full retreat, together with the mechanized infantry.
Then he started noticing black figures moving through the fog in front, almost too fast to be noticed. "What the hell? Full stop! We are being counterattacked. Gunner, open fire at once!" The man in charge of the tank's main weapon started looking for a possible target. Seeing a group of Snakemen on top of the hill, he lined up the barrel at their direction and pressed the trigger. Unfortunately the aliens had already left the position when the High Explosive charge hit the ground, blasting and throwing earth and pebbles in a radius of several meters.
After the weapon had fired, filling the crew compartment with noise and smoke, Stavkov suddenly noticed that the APC that was accompanying the tank on his left was being surrounded by the black crab figures coming out of the fog. A machine-gun burst from one of the personnel carriers hit one of them but it merely shrugged it off and kept advancing. When it reached the APC it raised one of its oily black limbs. It had a massive claw on it and when he slashed it over the side vehicle, it cut through the armour and the tire like if it was a knife going through warm butter. The APC stopped and the thing kept striking at it, hitting the occupants inside, each time the claw drawing more blood on it. The back doors opened and some of the soldiers managed to get out. One of them raised its AK-74 assault rifle at the aliens and let go of a full burst. The black monster didn't even bother to notice the hail of bullets that ricocheted off his body. He turned and charged the soldier immediately. And Stavkov saw something that made vomit come to his mouth. An appendage came out of the thing when it was on top of the soldier and the monster impaled the human with it. As it removed it, the trooper eyes become white and greenish goo begun to come out of his mouth.
The alien attacked the remaining soldiers and the zombie trooper also turned and started to smash them, throwing vicious jabs that broke jaws and crushed arms. The last remaining soldier managed to fire a full lot into the zombie. It staggered but instead of going down, his body started shaking and he started screaming. His flesh begun to rip off and his neck exploded, throwing the head back and facing Stavkov, who saw that it was still attached to the body by some strings of tendons and muscle. And a small monster's head started to come out of his neck, together with claws that ripped his arms from where they appeared. Stavkov said in panic: "Driver, start the tank and get us out of here! This is an ambush!" The engine immediately increased its rotations but the sound of a clank against the tank armour was what took the sergeant's attention. A metal noise, of something landing on the top of the tank. Stavkov started looking through the portholes to find the alien, but suddenly his ears were filled of a sharp noise of metal going against metal and a warm sticky substance on his face. As he looked left he saw the claw of the monster piercing through the top armour on an angle and cutting through his gunner's neck, spewing red blood from the carotidal arteries that covered him. The claw suddenly removed itself and Stavkov looked up. He never saw it coming back again.
Underground Command Facility outside Moscow, Russian Federation
The massive underground bunker built by the Soviet Government to maintain command and communications in case of a nuclear attack was fully manned and all of Russia's top leaders had moved into the place after the first reports of the attack on Azamas 36. The Emergency Room of the complex was crowded with people, with almost all individuals deeply afraid and somber. Only Larianov had a different attitude and it was hard to tell if the military and civilian personnel were more afraid of the aliens or of his President. .
"We have just received information from the Military District Commander", the Ministry of Defense started, unsure of how to say it. "The attack of our forces has failed. The aliens managed to ambush a full tank division leaving few survivors and severely hurt the other formations through the means of an unexpected counter-attack. They are still in control of the city and military facility".
"Find me a responsible for this or you will be it!" Larianov was enraged.
"Sir, the intelligence estimates made on the reports provided to us by X-Com and our assessment of the aliens crews from the UFOs reported were found to be completely inaccurate. We just had no idea that they had deployed so many of those Snakemen and their monsters".
"You mean that you failed twice on your duties. First in properly evaluating the threat, second on being misled by X-Com!"
Verchenko moved on his chair and decided that it was enough, if they wanted to have some things done. "If I may interrupt, there's something more, Mr. President, before we start looking for responsibles". The director of the SVK saw that he got Larianov's attention and he continued: "We have received the preliminary report on the aliens from X-Com. Both types of aliens are capable of quickly reproducing, with no need for artificial facilities. This was unexpected and is no one's fault. But even worse is that this can be the beginning of an invasion!"
Larianov's eyes slowly closed, the man not believing what he was hearing. "You mean they have started to make a ground invasion?"
"Look for yourself, Mr. President. They aren't leaving after all this time and they have already destroyed the weapons facility, so why are they still there? They must be preparing to expand their bridgehead but multiplying themselves. Those Snakemen carry eggs. And we heard of what the other monsters do to persons! That simply takes care of a lot of supply and replacement questions for a force equipped with that sort of combatants".
"We will have to expel them at once!"
"Yes, but with what? The best divisions of our Army have tried and failed. And I also doubt that they are able to restrain an alien attack".
"What do you mean?" Larianov was slowly starting to understand the implied message. Irinov, he Defense Ministry, also come up with the same conclusion and added: "Due to the circumstances I also agree with Mr. Verchenko sir. We have tried with conventional means and our men and tanks were killed and the fighters and bombers were shot out of the skies by their air defenses".
"A nuclear strike? In our own country?"
"If we are to save the rest, we need to make sacrifices. The remaining civilians in the area are as good as food or reproductive material for the aliens. We are only saving them from that fate by a quicker one".
"I see". Kill some so that the remaining can survive. "Marshal Boganovitch, I assume our Strategic Rocket Forces are able to perform the task, in the contrary of our troops". The Russian President wasn't making a question.
"Sir, they are available and at your orders. Just give us the command and we will eliminate the aliens from our land"
"If I may, sir," Verchenko cut in, "what we are looking here isn't one of our ICBMs. First they wouldn't have time to deploy and arm, since they were built to hit targets thousands of miles away. Second, their precision isn't enough for the type of strike we need. That excludes also battlefield missiles such as the Scud or FROG unguided rockets. No, the better alternative would be to drop directly a bomb by the use of a plane in the middle of the parked alien craft. But since the bomber would be shot down in the approach, in this we need to use our cruise missiles, armed with an enhanced radiation warhead".
"A what, Mr. Verchenko?" The Defense Minister answered instead.
"Enhanced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon that releases massive amounts of neutrons sir. That sort of radiation can penetrate specially hardened targets, while being a more 'clean' weapon than the normal atomic weapons".
"Exactly like Mr. Irinov said. What we need here is precision, in order to hit their craft that are landed on the ground and effectively destroy them. Of course that depending on the already miserable state of our armed forces". The President took the bait and turned to the Defense Minister. "Do we have such weapons available? Do not give me a negative answer or you might find yourself quickly away from your position and on the way to Azamas 36".
The man looked at the Chief of General Staff who nodded and replied. "It might take some time to prepare the mission, but I we have still some of those weapons stockpiled along with the means to deploy them".
Larianov turned to the Marshall and the Defense Minister: "Make all necessary arrangements. I want this option to be completely at our disposal when we have to resort to it".
I just offered both of those fools a way out of this mess, Verchenko thought. Let's see how they deal with it, he said to himself while smiling.
July 27th, 1999
White House Situation Room, Washington DC, US
The board was lit up with a map of Siberia, showing the latest satellite pictures of Azamas 36. President Winston remembered the message he had just received from the Russian President and started thinking. He had been too young to take notice of the atomic bombs that were dropped on the end of World War II in Japan, but he had been grown up in the middle of nuclear attack preparations. He still remembered the fear he felt during those days and it was coming back to him now. Turning to the rest of the National Security Council in front of him he started saying:
"I got a message for Mr. Larianov about half and hour ago. The Russians don't think that they can control the aliens and prevent them to expand their lines through conventional forces". He paused to add a grave tone to his next sentence. "If they consider it necessary, they are willing to use nuclear weapons to permanently eradicate the aliens out of their soil".
Looks of surprise and terror came across the room. "They are informing all other Charter nations to prevent any mistaken evaluations of the explosion and to avoid the possibility of a World War III right now". Wouldn't that be ironic, Winston thought, adding that we may just deserve it. "I have regretted the necessity of going with such means but Larianov just cut me off, complaining about Russia's overall treatment by the other nations and how it is behind their current situation. I offered our military's help also but he declined and warned us to stay off their land".
"In other words, they will deal with it as they see it fit and they don't care for the rest of the world", concluded the US Secretary of Defense.
"Exactly what he made a big deal of pointing out to me. I need options, gentlemen and ladies. I have already contacted X-Com's High Command and let them know that our forces are fully at their disposal in case they need them to their operations".
"Let the Russians bomb themselves back to the Stone Age. Why should we given our resources to them if they don't want it?"
"General Thompson, I will try to do anything to prevent the use of nuclear weapons, is that understood? Either by them or us!"
Before the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could respond, the Candace May said on his defense: "Mr. President. General Thompson stated what everyone shares on this room. If they had collaborated more with X-Com, they probably wouldn't be on this mess…or would they?"
"What do you mean Candace?"
"They have deployed and used a weapon that threatened the aliens. They reacted by destroying it. One should consider if the aliens shouldn't simply be left alone".
The Director of the CIA took the challenge. "Your point is moot, Mrs. May, the aliens have attacked other nations that don't belong to the X-Com Council".
"Yes, but only after X-Com itself was created. We can be throwing away all efforts of a compromise with them if we proceed through this course of action".
"They never answered back any of our attempts to communicate, Mrs. May, it's foolish to think otherwise".
"That might not be true, Mr. Casper. The reports from the analysis team are quite clear on saying that the aliens might be trying to establish contact through unofficial means to the leaders of the world".
"Don't play with the words, Mrs. May, they said that, but they also added that since we can't really verify the aliens claims other than through interrogation, the uncertainty and their psionic powers make it a very high risk. We could be selling ourselves to the Devil".
"But what if another nation signed a pact with the aliens that gave them access to their high technology? Shouldn't we consider then if it's wise to maintain our present affairs with them?"
The President cut in the discussion: "To solve it all out, I will repeat what I've said. This administration's policy is not to engage in any deal regarding the aliens, is that understood? They have proven themselves to have no respect for human life and to be ruthless enough to wage war on civilian populations". All the men in the room remained silent. "I have urged X-Com to deal with the situation. Now what I want to hear is how to prevent anything like this ever going on in the US".
Area 51, Nevada, US
Johnson was on his office, going over the unit's rooster, both X-Com and US Military to try to came up with a plan that the Russians would accept and eliminate the aliens. He had been given information on the most top-secret projects that were being tested at Area 51, but unless they could get authorization by the Russian government to act on their country, it would be useless.
An icon suddenly appeared on the computer monitor where he was going through the unit's readiness and strength figures, telling him that he had an incoming communication coming from High Command. He moved the mouse on his hand until the pointer was over the icon and clicked on it. An image of Commander Illyuschenko appeared some seconds later on a window and the faces of the other geographical command leaders and Dr. Chevereux appeared later to join it.
"Good morning, sir. Is there a problem?"
"My government has just informed the Secretary General of the UN and the Council of Funding Nations that they are going to use a thermonuclear weapon against the city to permanently eliminate all the aliens". Johnson's heart sank. "The Secretary tried to dissuade him and obtain permission for us to intervene, but with no avail".
"They can't do it! We need the research like Dr. Chevereux has pointed out!"
"The Secretary General tried to explain it to President Larianov, but he simply cut him off. He told him that the reason Russia was in such a dire situation was exactly the secrecy we have been keeping about our weapons' research. And that more important than the research is to assure that the aliens didn't gain a foothold and used it to expand themselves. They want to cut away an infected limb to prevent contamination of the remaining body".
"So we don't have another try?"
"No, he specifically refused it".
"You Russians are so stubborn!" Dr. Chevereux cursed.
"Commander, what if we set up a covert operation to retrieve the data?" Colonel Boronin asked. "We have already an idea of the complex. We could hit it, retrieve what is necessary and get out before the attack".
"Colonel, the only team close enough to make such a raid is yours but you are in no condition to set up an attack. Sending you and you few men available would just get all of you killed".
"We could be reinforced by any of the other teams".
"But how Colonel? Although I want also nothing more than to retrieve the data and piss on the decisions taken by the leaders of our countries, any Skyranger and transport plane that approached Russia would be found and shot down. There would be hell to pay with my country if they ever found out about it".
Johnson remembered something he had just seen on the files and interrupted the exchange. From ever since he had been assigned to X-Com he had been given full security clearance to US military data, including the black budget projects. The National Security Council had recommended it, since the regional US X-Com commander would need to know with what North American resources it could count on. He had also been warned not to share that information with the rest of X-Com, but in this case he had decided that there were other things at stake than security of one project.
"But if we had the mean to get ourselves there covertly and on time to extract the data, would you consider it?" Illyuschenko immediately understood that something was up, his expression becoming very intrigued. "If there was a way to conceal X-Com's activities, yes I might consider it".
"Have you ever heard of a plane called the Super Valkyrie program Colonel?"
"One US top secret project, I presume, Colonel? I don't remember if I saw about it in the list that I got from your military when X-Com was being formed."
"It's still top secret but I've been let privy into it. It's a program that was started right after the Challenger space shuttle disaster as an alternative measure to put a craft into space. It consists of a huge mothership, based on the former XB-70 supersonic bomber program. They changed the project into a research plane in the sixties and developed the Super Valkyrie based on the results. It carries a launch vehicle that can enter low earth orbit. It can be also used for other roles and they have an operational prototype here".
Illyuschenko's image on the monitor winced. "I'm not understanding Colonel. What is it of use to us?"
"The motherplane can reach speeds of more than Mach Three and one of the configurations includes carrying a personnel pod for special ops underneath the craft instead of the usual transatmospheric plane that is carried piggyback".
Illyuschenko opened his eyes: "Are you suggesting that we use it to transport your crew to Siberia? That is insane, the Russian Air Defense Command would detect you immediately and shoot you down".
"No they wouldn't Commander, because we would be flying too fast and high for their interceptors or missiles to get us. And because of our flight profile we would be mistaken for another UFO. The Super Valkyrie would drop the pod over the area were it would immediately open its parachutes and slow down, enabling us to leave it and make a high altitude jump. The pod is equipped with Radar Absorbent Material and even if your country's air defenses detected it, they would be more concerned about other things to even start thinking of what it could be".
"But the plane would have to leave. You would have no way to come back".
"We use the Skyrangers of the Russian teams to get to a safe location. Since they still have authorization to fly over the rest of Russia, they can approach the area and secure a retrieval point for us to rally when we are done. Your country's forces will have other things to worry about on that moment like getting into cover from the nuclear explosion than to be directly looking at it. Or we hide as close as possible to the Russian lines and when they move after the blast to mop it up we escape the area".
"And I could officially request to Russian High Command to observe the clean-up operations. We have that right under the Charter and on the middle of the whole operation who will bother to start counting the number of X-Com troopers in the area?" Boronin added in support of Johnson's plan.
Illyuschenko thought for long seconds and then replied: "Very well. I want a full-detailed plan in one hour, together with the necessary authorizations. Colonel Johnson, I take it that you believe you will get your government's approval for the use of this Super Valkyrie?"
"Some military and civilian leadership will oppose themselves into it, but President Winston has been more than pleased with our work lately. He would even have approved a bigger raise in their contribution to our budget, but he didn't have success in convincing the congressional leaders who know about it. This was done before sir, and most likely they will take advantage and install some cameras to also take a couple pictures of Russia. If something happens they can always claim that they had no knowledge for which they had lent the plane to us and say that they were only trying to help X-Com as much as they can, without getting on our way. Besides the risk of losing the plane they have more to win".
Illyuschenko didn't like the prospect of having another country taking advantage of Russia, but he knew that there were other things that surpassed that annoying thought. "Let's hope you keep on having all the answers then Colonel".
Hotel in the center of Moscow, Russia
The Group had been gathered together since the
first news of the attack on the facility had came to their attention, like it
had been planned. Too many things could go out of control in the whole
situation and they needed to be on top of the events in order to influence
them. Number Seven walked into the room where they were all seated or standing
up, but none talking to one another, preferring instead to look at the
television set in one corner or to look at each other.
"I have news. The Russians will launch their nuclear attack the next day to stop the aliens. They are moving the remains of their forces meanwhile to a safe location and waiting for reinforcements for the cleanup".
Everyone's attention in the room turned up to him at the same time, all considering the same thought at the same time. It was going as planned.
"Have our friends been warned about it?" Number One was still very skeptical of this whole idea.
Number Seven replied: "They are making no preparations to leave the area. They seemed not to be worried about the use of atomic weapons as we had always assumed".
"Which makes their intentions as I predicted" Number Three cut through the dialogue to bring his point. "And so are the Russians. This will only bring more disturbances. The Russians will be seen as crazy by the other nations and that definitely close the ties between them and X-Com. And a lot of the others will be scared and starting to think about themselves, being more open to any offer we make".
Area 51, Nevada, US
Area 51 had been built on a valley right at the base of a mountain right next to a dry lake basin called Groom Lake. The geological formation gave its name to the facilities belonging to the Air Force and part of the several thousand feet runway was indeed built over the dry flat lake. While X-Com planes and personnel was being housed at Area 51, the access of its personnel to the Groom Lake installations was restricted to the research facilities located there and to the command center, which was better than the one installed at the X-Com part of Area 51.
On the other side of the mountain and connected through a dirt road there was another dry lake, Lake Papoose. The installations that X-Com had occupied there to house its combat operations didn't appear on any civilian map or photographs. The reason was that everything had been built underground to hide its presence from prying Soviet satellites. Even the runway had been painted with the color of sand and had a coat made of special materials to hide it from an infrared photograph.
Johnson and Major Patterson both looked at the massive gray plane situated at Hangar 18 on the Groom Lake installations. The structure itself was amazing to look at, with a length of more than 250 feet and eight stories tall but the main star was the plane housed there. The lights that suspended from the ceiling and flooded the inside of the building with bright revealed his sleekness and futuristic appearance. On a first look an observer would recognize the similarities between it and the French-British Concorde jetliners. It was bigger than a B-1 or B-52 bomber, with a total length of more than 190 feet and a height of a bit more than ten feet with its landing gear in place. The wings were designed in a delta configuration and when at more than Mach 1.6 the tips would fold down 65 degrees to permit for stability during hypersonic flight. It also had triangular canards at the nose to maintain stability while on flight. The assembly on which the space plane was carried prior to its release was empty and the bomb doors were open with technicians going over the airplane. The six engines air intakes were situated directly in front the weapons bay and a man could walk inside them. The infiltration pod, resembling a massive bomb, measuring more than thirty feet in length, was also being readied close to the plane.
Looking at the Super Valkyrie, Johnson thought about what else was hidden inside the other hangars that formed the complex. He knew that the stealth planes, such as the F-117 and B-2 had been tested there and that he probably would find Aurora planes. His mind went over other top-secret research projects and he wondered which ones would he find over there.
Patterson shook its head and said: "We are going to get a lift from that monster?"
"Seems like it. It took some quite some arguments from Williams for the President to authorize it but the order from the Secretary of Defense made it clear that it's ours to use".
"I hope that the CIA man keeps himself on our side, otherwise we might be into some serious trouble". Johnson looked back at the Afro-American major, wondering if the man had read his thoughts. "Yeah, but if anything ever happens to me you listen to him. I don't trust him completely, but he knows some things". The Major raised an eye, but Johnson didn't say anymore so he decided to bring another subject.
"Speaking of which, how is that wound of yours," he thought for a moment, smiled and added: "Ironheart?"
"Shit! No you too Mike. I wonder who got that nickname going on the troops. It must have been Jones. Tell Hopkins that from now on whoever uses that name gets permanently assigned to point duty". Patterson gave out a little laugh but stopped right afterwards and added: "I can do the job if you feel you're not yet recovered for it Colonel".
Johnson moved his shoulder to check for the mobility of his arm. The heavy plasma blast that had hit him on the chest had burned a lot of muscle and he hadn't fully recovered from the burn. The base physician had complained when he knew that Johnson had already doing physical exercise to restore mobility and strength. But he had ignored him, conscious of the need to be besides the troops in the field and not back at headquarters. The chest still gave him some paints but at least it was on the left side and it didn't affect his ability to carry his rifle on the right arm. "I will do OK, Mike. It's not that I don't trust you, but this one is really important".
"Just checking to see if you know your limits
Colonel. This whole mission already seems too much hastily planned. I still
have my doubts about being dropped like a bomb inside enemy territory with no
means for retrieval".
"Well the guys who are going over the pod and the plane are the ones who originally designed it and built it. It has been already tested, although with no troopers inside".
"I hope so Colonel". As he finished talking both soldiers saw Captain Markovitch coming out of the pod and going towards them. As she reached them she shook her head. "You know, I never imagined that you would pull something like this Colonel. I have never heard of a mission that was the definition of suicide".
Johnson ignored the punt on her statement: "How many troopers can it take?"
"Eight squads. We can't take everyone".
"We will take both yours and Forrester's Platoon plus Omega and Sigma squads".
Markovitch nodded and replied: "Your personal squad? I hope Crossett does his job well. Otherwise I will have his hide. And the same with Forrester, I hope he learned something back at Iowa".
"Crossett is military a rookie, I know, but I hope he will do well. He only needs to watch my back. Forrester got a bit shaken, but seeing my recovery must have lifted his spirit a bit. I've cleared things out with him and trust him".
"The only final mistake you make is the one that gets you dead". She countered.
No time for this now. He deliberately ignored the comment and moved on the conversation. "Forrester and the rest of the junior officers and NCOs should be done briefing the rest of the men and getting themselves ready. Let's join them and make the final assignments. We should be leaving in an hour or so".
"I'm not too comfortable about that flying piece of can. And neither I like not knowing exactly where our objective is".
"When they finished equipping it we are ready to go. The pilots have been already briefed and they seen to have penetrated Russian airspace before since they didn't react as if it was a big dangerous thing".
"But we still have to found where the damn back up files are! For all we know they could right by the aliens ships. I know it's logical to assume they would be in the barracks area since it is the most protected place on that facility, but who knows how Russians think?!"
"I know Markovitch, but we can't just ask the Russian government about the location of it. Just do your job". She was about to answer when the sound of a jeep hitting the brakes outside the hangar made them all turn. General Smith came across the half opened doors and looked around. When his stare caught Johnson it locked into target and he came towards him, taking few time to cross the fifty yards that separated both men.
"That plane ain't going anywhere! You can't just walk around while I'm not on base and giving orders to men under my command!"
"General", Johnson started to respond, "This is an emergency situation. I don't wanted to step over you, but we need the plane".
"You are not understanding. That plane is under my command and my security! What are these two officers doing here!?" He pointed at Markovitch and Patterson who were now on the sides of the Colonel. "They have no security clearance to be here or to know about the existence of that project! Remove them this instant!"
"Captain Markovitch and Major Patterson have been authorized to have access to the Super Valkyrie program under Presidential Directive 85/99, sir! Furthermore the same order from the US Commander in Chief states that the US Air Force should put the plane and every necessary means to X-Com's assistance, sir!" General Smith went livid and replied on a menacing tone:
"Are you trying to see who is the big dog around here, Colonel? You have gone over the line over and over. You can rest assure that it won't happen again". He turned his back on him and left. Markovitch whispered.
"The good General sure seems pissed".
"Get Prescott to come here while we are finishing readying the team and supervise the final preparations of the craft. Takeoff is scheduled in half and hour and we will land at approximately 2230 Zulu, with the explosion scheduled for 0630 Zulu in the next day. We can't loose time because of him. Let's go". All three men left the hangar and went to board a jeep to head towards the X-Com installations.
Unknown location, Earth
The last report coming from the forces assigned to destroy the Terran weapon had been more than satisfactory for the Sectoid Commander. Not only had they managed to destroy the energy weapon but also they were preparing to take the next step of the plan after having defeated two major Terran counter attacks.
Seated in a blue chair around a large pink console in the middle of the new base that had been set on Sol Three, the Commander looked at the lesser castes directing all aspects of the craft and the fleet. The Starspawn united them all and he could know what everything he wanted about his forces by just concentrating. All the physical power present on the base and at his disposal was nothing compared to it. The location of the facility made it perfect to coordinate the operations, although the extreme weather conditions put a strain on both his subordinates and material.
He suddenly detected a thought that distracted his attention. Images of a world lost forgotten in the passage of time, with two suns burning on the sky and vast surfaces of water. He immediately recognized his ancestors' planet. He considered that the memory might have risen from the fact that he now had set foot upon a planet after a long time boarded in a spaceship, the natural gravity making him remember past events. But he quickly dismissed it. No one of his kind in the entire fleet had ever touched the surface of what once had been their home world. Concentrating he discovered the source. One of his subordinates was daydreaming and they all shared that collective memory through the Starspawn. He immediately dismissed it and gave a mental command for the technician, ordering him to stay in focus. It was time to be prepared for the next phase, not to be dreaming of now a now dead past.
Area 51, Nevada, US
Johnson was on his office putting on his body armour when Markovitch got in and said: "Colonel, a minute please?"
He decided to take care of this now than to be listening to it the whole mission. "Give me a hand attaching the back plates while you talk". He held out to her the rear section, which she grabbed and started to put into position.
"Don't you think you are going over your head into this one, Colonel?" He turned around and she stopped. "What do you got on your mind Markovitch? Speak it"
"This whole mission is insane. This is something Colonel Jackson would have come up with, not you. We are going to use a deployment system never fully tested, going to face superior numbers and we are not sure of our objective's location or means to escape. This sounds like one of those cases they teach back about the academy on how not to plan a mission! And every trooper back there thought it also as they heard you doing the final briefing. Even Patterson isn't too convinced but like the rest of them they trust that you know what you are doing. Are you Erwin?"
He lowered his head in defeat: "No". But he turned back and motioned her to continue her work while saying: "But I got an idea that just might work out".
"The Russian team had a better plan and they got squashed. What makes you think you are different?"
"We will do this my way. Get in, get what we want, get out without anyone seeing us".
"But what if we take more time? The whole place is going to be fried eight hours after we hit the ground".
"As long as we save the files it doesn't matter. Besides, it should take us about two hours to get there and locate what we want inside the wrecked command center, two more hours to retrieve it and the rest to get outside the blast radius. We will make it".
"Of course it matters! There you go again!" She finishing locking the back plate into the other ones with a heavy push that made him jump. "You have been too strange from ever since almost died. You are already a damn hero, you don't have to worry about performing more heroics during the rest of this war!"
He moved his shoulders to check for mobility. "Thanks for the help. As for what you are saying, the matter is pretty simple and has been discussed with High Command. The appearance of the new aliens makes it impervious that we get better weapons. It's a technological race. We got lasers to deal with the Sectoids and the Floaters, they then got tougher weapons and aliens. If we don't get back the initiative and discover how to use their plasma technology we are as good as dead".
"Crap! Forget about that! It sounds really strange to be saying this but you are pulling a major stunt here Johnson and you are getting everyone following you into it!"
"We will be all dead one way or the other Captain". He stopped. "His that what this is all about Sheila? You are afraid of dying?" She looked away. "You bet. Just know what you are doing. I'm going to do the final preps and I'll meet you back at the plane". He tried to say something as she was leaving the room but couldn't come up with any words. Johnson shook his head to clear it out of any thoughts and continued with his preparation.
Laser rifle, check. Electroflares, check. Night vision goggles check. Someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Grenades check. The voice replied: "Agent…err…I mean Private Crossett sir. You told me to present in fifteen minutes here". Tactical radio check. "Yeah, get in, I'm almost done". What am I going to do with this man, Johnson asked. The Council of Funding Nations had finally approved a resolution for the development of X-Com's Intelligence and Security Branch. Many of the military leaders and a few of the scientists had disapproved such a matter, but Illyuschenko's threats and arguments had at least managed to see that the hired spooks would be directly under his command. Still, it was troubling to see the ever-increasing former spies and law enforcement agents back at the base. And another unexpected addition had been the soldier now entering the room.
A medium-sized muscled man with a military cut on his black hair got inside the room. He was already fully equipped for the mission, carrying the high altitude maneuverable chute on his back, together with the spare on his front. In one of his hand he had the suspended bag that would carry his equipment and the helmet and oxygen mask necessary for the jump. He was carrying a M79 grenade launcher on a bandolier over his large chest and he also had a Remington 12-gauge shotgun on his back.
Johnson was surprised by all the firepower the men was carrying. "Jesus Christ, why do you need all that stuff?"
"Long and short range stopping power sir. Those laser rifles you use only make a single entry point and won't stop the motion of the most attackers. I prefer to have something that hurts a lot anyone who tries to come near you".
Pointing with his head, Johnson warned: "That shotgun might not be any good against the Snakemen".
"For your sake let's hope it is". He made a yellow smile.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about it Crossett. Your role on the team. Just keep yourself out of my way while you are guarding me and we will get along fine".
"Sir, please let me correct you. You keep yourself out of my way and do as I told you if you want me to perform to the best of my abilities".
"Crossett you came from the Secret Service. You know what's a chain of command so I don't need to explain it to you".
"Colonel, the President was my Commander in Chief and in some situations he had no power or control over me. You will have just to learn to trust me. Depending how quickly you manage that is the amount of time you have left on this life".
"I could send you back to the Secret Service you know? It was generous from President Winston to provide me with an escort but I didn't had to accept this offer from him if I wanted".
"You could, but after what happened to you on your last mission when you decided to go kamikaze, I'm not sure if General Illyuschenko wouldn't assign me to take care of you permanently. And I was on your shoes I'd prefer that the men didn't call me 'Ironheart', like I heard among the ranks. It would mean that I'm not getting hit by the enemy".
"OK, you made your point. Anything else?"
"Just relax Colonel. I will be your shadow from now on. Just try to ignore we when I'm not needed and do what I say when I tell something". He saluted. "I will be waiting outside, sir to escort you to the plane". Johnson saw him leave without knowing what to do with him. He shrugged and decided to see what happened.
Engels Air Base, Russian Federation
The technicians dressed in white lab coats carefully moved one of the attack missiles out of its storage compartment inside the nuclear weapons depot using a specially designed forklift. The old Soviet denomination for it was Kh-17 but NATO had designated it AS-16 Kickback. The name didn't actually matter for its purpose. It had been built to be carried by a bomber and attack a 500-kiloton warhead at Mach 5 speeds and attack a target at a 100 kilometers distance. The firepower it would release would be equivalent to 500 times the energy unleashed by the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima. After removing it from storage the engineers slowly and carefully placed it over a workbench and proceeded on removing the warhead cover.
Carefully they then checked all the components of the nuclear warhead with electronic equipment, making sure that every element was working properly. It was a long process, since after the warhead they would have to verify the solid fuel engine system, which could be even more dangerous than the actual thermonuclear bomb placed in front of the missile. In order for the nuclear reaction to go off it was necessary to have present a certain amount of Pu-239 plutonium present for the material to achieve critical mass. As with all nuclear weapons it had two parts: a main section composed of plutonium modeled as a globe, but with the center missing; and a smaller ball also composed by the same material but outside the globe. When the weapon was triggered an massive conventional explosion would propel the ball inside the globe and both parts would achieve critical mass, initiating a nuclear fission reaction. The resulting explosion would be already terrifying, but thermonuclear weapons used the blast to compress hydrogen and deuterium molecules with helium atoms. The process was what stars used to energize themselves and was called a fusion reaction, the inverse of a fission reaction. But it released far more energy, greatly extending the destruction potential of the warhead and transforming the bomb into one of the most destructive weapons mankind had ever seen. Or at least until the arrival of the aliens.
The missile wasn't armed yet, with the section containing the ball still outside the compartment where it would fit later. But the weapon still contained a lot of explosives necessary to detonate the nuclear reaction and rocket fuel that could easily ignite. In the days of the Soviet Union these missiles would be kept ready around the clock, in case it was necessary to quickly equip aircraft bounded to respond to a US nuclear attack. Nowadays maintenance was down and improving in response of the recent alert exercises but they still had their share of problems. And they still had another three missiles to ready after this one.
Area 51, Nevada, US
The Super Valkyrie was ready to take-off, with all the crew already inside the cockpit and the final X-Com troopers were boarding the pod right below the weapons bay. Johnson and Crossett got out of the Humvee they used to get to Groom Lake from Papoose and crossed the now open huge doors in the direction of the craft. Suddenly Crossett put his hand on Johnson's arm and he stopped. What did the man wanted now, he thought?
Looking to his left he saw General Smith walking fast towards him. He looked at Crossett. The man was completely concentrated on the military officer approaching them, as if assessing a threat. Shit, won't this guy relax a bit? He will eventually start getting on my nerves with this crap. The General came near them and Crossett grabbed his shotgun with both hand, griping it tighter.
"Colonel, a word please regarding this whole affair"
"General, be quick I got a mission waiting for me right now".
"Yes, your mission. I need to talk to you about it". He seemed about to give Johnson another verbal assault because of the way he had been overstepped.
"There's nothing more to discuss about it, sir. I got my orders, you have yours".
"That's not what I'm talking about. I got right now a call from the President who gave me some important information destined for you. You had already left the barracks when it arrived".
"Well what is it?" Smith looked at Crossett before answering.
"He shouldn't be present". The soldier stiffened but the General continued. "It's Top Secret and it's too much of a risk to tell you this here. Let's get to a less crowded place".
Looking at the General, Johnson thought what could possibly have happened. Had the Russians anticipated their attack? Had the aliens moved first? He started going with the General but Crossett spoke: "I should go with you sir"
"Get to the pod, I will join you in a minute, I will only need you later". The trooper looked pissed off but turned around and started headed for the plane. Johnson and Smith left the hangar, heading out for one of the offices in the hangars section of the base.
When they reached it Smith closed the door after they had entered. He then moved behind a desk and sat down on a chair.
"Be quick please General, time is running out". The other officer suddenly moved and on his hands he had an alien plasma rifle pointed at him. "Don't move. You are not getting anywhere!"
Johnson started heading back and Smith barked: "I know what that armour can take and I can fire a couple of shots that will stop any stupid attempt on your part. Now tell your men to head back into their quarters".
"What do you think…". The door suddenly opened with a large thump and both men inside the room looked in surprise. Smith tried to react but his shot when wide, the green bolt fizzling in the space between Johnson and the door and hitting the wall to his left. "Down!" Johnson heard as Crossett fired the laser pistol he was holding with both hands.
Three bolts of light crossed the air between them and the General, with Johnson immediately smelling the ozone they produced. The first one missed, but the other two hit Smith right on the chest, one of them burning the chest bone until it reached his heart, effectively killing the General. Crossett quickly walked into the room still pointing the weapon at the corpse. He kicked the rifle away from it and gave it a kick to make sure the body was truly dead. Only then did he speak.
"Did you got you hurt?" Johnson shook his head.
"Well Colonel, next time I tell you to get down, you get down or I will shoot you in the knees!"
Johnson was too shocked from what he had just seen. "The…the General was trying to kill me".
"Yeah, I could sense immediately that he wasn't up to anything good, so I dropped my gear at the plane and went back to follow you".
"Where did you got that pistol from?"
"I borrowed it from one of the officers back at the pod. When fighting at close quarters better if you do not use weaponry that can also hit whom you are expected to protect. Standard procedure ".
"And where did the General got that alien weapon? And why did he tried to kill me?"
"Good question. But the one who could clarify all that is already dead. From what I've heard you have checked for alien infiltration before and came up with nothing. Maybe he was who the intelligence people missed on their queries".
Johnson moved to the body and started to pick it up. "Gimme a hand here".
"What you want to do Colonel?"
"Let's hide his body in some closet or anything for now. If he was working for the aliens, the whole portion of the base that is occupied by the USAF could be also part of the fifth column. We need to get this mission underway and hide the Colonel's death the longer we can until we came back to deal with this situation".
"After some time someone will be sure to notice the smell". Crossett moved over and grabbed the legs of the dead body.
"I will tell our personnel to pick it up when we are gone. They also have to be warned about this treachery. We don't know who else on this freaking base might be also involved". Both of them lifted the body and when outside to find a closet that didn't show signs of use. After finding one they put the body inside and covered it.
"Now let's go. We have a mission to accomplish".