Disclaimer: FF:TSW is property of the now-defunct Square Studios. X-COM is property of Microprose/Infogrames. I own stock in neither.

Author's Note: Here is the second half of the conversation.

Deep Eyes and X-COM: Captains' Discussions, Pt. II

July 28, 2067, 22:22 hours

   Curious eyes take in a 2-D photograph. "Now he's a scrawny little fellow."

   Laughter. "That's a Sectoid. We nicknamed them 'grays' ever since the First Alien War."

   An eyebrow arches. "'Grays', eh?"

  Another chuckle. "Sorry, captain. But don't let that big head and little pipe-cleaner body fool you. They possess strong telepathic powers and have the ability to mind-control weaker-willed humans. Check out the large eyes…they can see exceptionally well in the dark. Sectoids were really a pain in the ass whenever X-COM was deployed to a night terror site."

   "That is not a good thing…whoa, who's that one in the green bodysuit? He must be twice Ryan's size!"

   "A muton. They're the grunts of the alien forces. Tough bastards, not too bright, takes a lot to kill 'em. I've seen a muton catch six heavy plasma rounds in the chest before going down. That 'bodysuit' is some sort of organic armor that is fused to their skin which, by the way, is purple."

   "Purple. Right." The Deep Eyes captain takes another swallow of his drink. He looks across the table. "Need a refill, captain Broderick?"

   "Please. And Cheyenne will do fine. Now, back to the mugshots. Hmm…oh, here. Check this one out. He's one alien who you pray not to meet."

   "No beauty winner, for certain. Body looks wasted. Almost mummified–how can that neck support such a large head? And look, at the top of his skull…is that his brain showing?" The question registers distaste.

   "Yeah, that's the brain. This is our old friend, the Ethereal. He's every X-COM agent's nightmare. Their psionic powers make the Sectoids look like preschoolers. There have been stories of Ethereals mind-controlling soldiers and actually turning them against their teammates. Sucks, huh?"

   "You think they might be on that UFO?"

   Green eyes meet brown ones. "For both of our sakes, I pray not."

   The man tops off his glass with liquid amber and warms it between his palms. He is worried. "Great. And I thought the Phantoms were bad. Now it looks like were facing an enemy that can shoot back, and then some."

   "But again, that ship out there may be totally automated, Gray. We couldn't detect any life signs during our initial contact. The aliens have been known to deploy ships that were unmanned, usually probes and freighters. But even if there are aliens aboard the thing, hopefully we'll gain the upper hand and wipe them out in a surprise attack, before they decide to assault a city." She leans forward, crosses her arms, resting them on the tabletop. "My other concern is how to prevent widespread panic if a terror attack does happen."

   "That's a very real worry, Cheyenne. We have already been through hell with the Phantoms–all we need now is the threat of another war, just when we're getting back on our feet. General Tobias has expressed the same concern; I'm positive that he and the council will do all they can in this regard."

   "I pray that they do. Meanwhile–" A glass is raised and the other is tipped against it–"let's make sure that those egg-sucking bugs don't get half the chance. A toast to the Deep Eyes and X-COM. We're going to kick some alien ass."