Base Treachery
Larry Mann
Back to X-Com Page
"X-COM: UFO Defense" and "X-COM: Terror From The Deep"
Copyright (c) 1994 MicroProse and Mythos Software
"X-Com Saga" Copyright (c) 1994 Russ Brown
"X-Com Saga II: Tales From The Deep" Copyright (c) 1996-97 Larry Mann
ASPECT EIGHT:: Base Treachery
- - -
Steffie finally began to come back to consciousness, but it was not an
easy task. There seemed to be a dark haze over her awareness, making it
difficult to think straight. She could tell she was underwater again, and the
smooth vertical surface she was lying against suggested she was back in
the containment capsule--
Suddenly she jerked back to full awareness, her black eyes opening
wide. Her hands were shackled behind her back, but she managed to get to
her feet and look around frantically. She saw almost immediately that this
was not the containment facility she had become familiar with in the past
weeks. It was larger, more complex... and several of the other containment
vessels held occupants as well.
Where had she been taken?? The last thing she remembered was
that scientist barging into Dr. Takaya's bathroom with a stunner, and then
oblivion. Where was this place? Had the Elemental been trying to prevent
her being taken here? If so, what danger was she in now?? She still felt that
odd haze in her senses, almost as if cotton had been stuffed into her head
and muted everything slightly.
She took a better look at the occupants of the other capsules she
could see from where she was. There were several creatures to be found
here. She recognized the giant form of a Hallucinoid floating indifferently in
one tank, its innards giving off a gentle phosphorescence, as always. It was
a beautiful animal; she could not help noticing that. The Xarquids -- giant
chambered Nautiluses -- were too, in their own way. In another tank was the
unmistakable form of a Tentaculat, moving back and forth within its cylinder
as if it were pacing. Steffie shuddered at the sight; those monsters made her
very nervous. There was also one male Gillman here, who seemed to be
looking back at her with interest, and a little curiosity.
What really captured her attention, though, were the cylinders which
contained beings like her.
She could see at least three, one male and two females. All were
shackled as she was, and unclothed. Steffie quickly looked down at herself
and saw, with considerable relief, that she still wore the bathing suit she had
been provided with on arrival at Atlantia. She noted also that all three were
bald; it was most noticeable in the male, who seemed to have no body hair
of any kind. Steffie had discovered early on that she no longer had hair
under her arms or in her pubic region; why she still had her head hair was a
bit of a mystery, though, especially after seeing these others. Perhaps she
had escaped before that could happen to her? (But what about the others in
the colony who'd also had hair?)
They all seemed to be just sitting there, staring straight ahead with
mostly blank expressions, their gills closing and flaring in a regular
breathing pattern. All wore psi-suppression collars, just as Steffie did. She
had to wonder who they were, who they had been before they had suffered
this fate.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" she called. She didn't know if the
vocoders on these tanks would work, but she had to try and contact them.
Almost as soon as she'd done that she saw movement, and turned to
see the Gillman gesturing at her. He held a webbed finger to his mouth in a
gesture any human would recognize, and then pointed at something behind
Steffie. Steffie followed his pointing finger to a security camera mounted on
the upper corner of the wall, slowly sweeping back and forth. She turned
back to the Gillman and nodded her comprehension.
The Gillman appeared to say something then, using exaggerated
mouth movements. Steffie watched closely, and she was fairly certain he
had said "You still have free will, Dreamer?" (The way he cocked his head
to one side indicated it was a question.)
Steffie looked down at herself again, then back at the Gillman.
`Dreamer' was the name she had been called by the aliens several times.
She supposed it must be her race name. Her memories told her that it was --
the ones the aliens had implanted, that is. Answering his question required
only a simple nod.
At this, the Gillman seemed surprised and his mouth actually formed
a smile. "We must talk--" he started to gesture, then glanced at something
behind Steffie and immediately stopped moving. Steffie turned to see the
door to the facility opening, and a group of people strode in. Half were in X-
Com duty uniforms, the other half in white lab coats. The apparent leader --
for the stance of all the others was obviously subordinate to him -- was a
youngish man with blond hair and an officious air about him which Steffie
instantly disliked. She also recognized among the scientists the bastard
who'd stunned her, and that helped to mute some of her fear, turning it into
anger at the sight of him. If she could just get these damned cuffs and collar
off...
"Ah, good," the leader intoned. "You're awake. Welcome to
Tsunami, Miss Dreyfus. I am Robert Collignon, Captain of X-Com."
"Why have you brought me here?" Stefanie asked acidly, the faintest
hint of gold light illuminating her dark eyes for one moment. She was further
irritated by the scientists' excited chittering amongst themselves, and their
gawking at her like she was some sort of lab animal. She'd stopped being a
lab animal when the Elemental had set her free, and by damn she was not
going to go through that again if she could help it.
"Patience," Collignon intoned calmly. "Soon the rest of the players
will have arrived, and then everything will be made clear."
Steffie didn't like the sound of that at all.
Nor, for that matter, did the Gillman behind her, as his cowl knit in
consternation, although Steffie had no way of knowing or feeling that.
"Captain," one of the officers held a hand to his head for a moment.
"Leviathan Zero-One is approaching."
Collignon smiled a small smile. "Excellent."
TWO HOURS EARLIER
X-COM AQUATIC BASE "ATLANTIA", NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
Himiko Nagano was not a woman given to worrying about the combat
or command fitness of her fellow troopers. Usually it was the other way
around, since she was the well-known loose cannon of their little group. But
today Lyu and Zen were definitely not themselves. Lyu in particular,
because she was acting crazy again. Everybody had gotten a little edgier
ever since that raid on the alien communications site, because of that black
flash they'd all felt for a second, but now both Lyu and Zen had a tightly
controlled fear in their eyes. Himiko found herself both wanting and not
wanting to know what they had seen in the Mediterranean.
To add to the mess, the scientist from Tsunami had left the base,
taking with him the Manta, and the prisoner Lyu had directly ordered full
protection for, and Himiko hadn't even found out about it until the order to
transfer the Manta and Leviathan back to Tsunami -- along with transfer
orders for several high-ranking troopers including herself -- had come in. By
then the Manta was already leaving. All while Himiko had been in acting
command of the base. How something like *that* could go completely
unnoticed by anyone was beyond her, but it had. She would have been
mortally embarrassed if she weren't so busy being scared of what was
happening to Lyu, who seemed to be bordering on full-blown hysteria now.
"I'm coming with you, dammit!" Zen almost shouted as he kept up
with the fast-moving Lyudmila, who was now headed back toward the
Leviathan, still in her armor.
"No!" Lyudmila shouted back. "You'll be putting the base at risk
unnecessarily!"
"Like you're not?! You are *not* going there alone, *Commander*,"
Zen practically spat the words. "We have to stick together, you need backup
and that submarine has plenty of room!"
"Zen, I need you *here*," Lyudmila grated. "You've seen it! You
know what's going to happen!"
"Yeah, I've seen it and I see you walking right into their goddamned
*trap*!!"
"Guys! GUYS!!" Himiko hollered. "Listen to yourselves!!!" To hell
with military protocol. She really wasn't sure she wanted to know what `it'
was. But she *was* sure she didn't want this kind of bickering going on
where everyone on the base, particularly the rookies, could hear. The
shouting had already attracted the attention of too many people.
"I don't know what you saw down there," Himiko went on, trying to
keep her voice calmer than she felt. "I don't *care* what you're talking about
right now. But I do know one thing: X-Com needs soldiers more than it needs
heroes!"
Lyudmila and Zander had no reply for a moment. How many times
had they said those exact same words to an overambitious rookie?
After a long silence, Zen spoke quietly. "She's right, Lyu. We gotta
get a plan."
"I have to go to Tsunami," Lyudmila went on, calmer but still
insistent. "They've taken Stefanie there, and if Collignon is doing what I
think he's doing, we're in serious trouble. We need to prep for a possible
evacuation and garrison our troops for defense, and they need a leader.
Sorry, Himiko," she added when the latter looked downward.
"No, you're right," Himiko sighed, her earlier embarrassment
creeping back in. "Gun in my hand, bugs shooting at me, *that* I can handle.
But I can't run a base." She looked up. "Let me go with you, Lyu. They
want me at Tsunami anyway."
"Fine," Lyu sighed, then looked thoughtful. "I never did find out; who
all got transfer orders?"
Himiko counted on her fingers. "Me, you, Zen, Marcelle, Dujardin...
Escobar got called back... the tanks and a lot of heavy equipment got called
back too... wait a minute, except for Ensign Ramirez that leaves only Able
Seamen and rookies on the duty roster here!" The full significance of the
orders was creeping in. "And no psis either! What's he *doing*? If this
place gets attacked--"
"I'm starting to think that's what he *wants*," Lyudmila said darkly,
rubbing her chin. The more familiar cool and calculating side of Lyudmila
had re-emerged, much to Himiko's relief, but her eyes told of a hundred fears
and emotions which were warring for her attention.
"So what do we do, Lyu?" Zen asked at length.
Lyu thought some more, then turned to Himiko. "Get me the
manifests for Stores."
LEVIATHAN ZERO-ONE
ON APPROACH TO TSUNAMI
"You okay, Marcelle?" Himiko asked, noticing that Marcelle had
started rubbing his temples.
"Dunno," Marcelle answered. "I feel like somebody stuffed a bunch
of cotton in my head. Gets worse as we get closer to the base."
"Must be a Mind Shield," Himiko said.
"Different from the old ones, though..." remarked Lyudmila from the
controls of the Leviathan, in a less than positive tone. "It's a lot more
powerful... more effective." The other crew members weren't sure what to
make of it. But they all knew that, at this point, they should be ready for
anything.
"Leviathan Zero-One," Lyudmila keyed the comm, transmitting the
usual security codes. "Requesting docking clearance, authenticating now."
The comm speaker crackled and a voice, flat and almost
emotionless, could be heard. "Leviathan Zero-One, codes accepted.
Proceed to sub pen two. Tsunami out."
"Sheesh," Marcelle remarked once the connection was cut. "Have
some Valium, why don't you? Guy sounds like Mr. Spock."
"I didn't like the sound of that," Himiko remarked.
"Neither did I," Escobar replied. "I'd really like to know what the
hell's going on."
The ocean doors slowly slid open, and the sleek submarine glided
through, into the base. It took only a moment for the submarine to position
itself and rise up, halfway out of the water. Mooring cables were quickly
attached and the sub powered down, secured.
"All right, people," Lyudmila turned to the troopers and spoke quietly.
"Form up and file out, keep quiet, and whatever you do, *act natural*. I don't
like what I'm feeling."
The Leviathan's main hatch hissed open and a gangplank was
lowered to accommodate the troops. Lyudmila led, followed closely by Zen
and Escobar, then Himiko and Marcelle, with Dujardin (who was still limping
but his armor hid that fact quite well) bringing up the rear. They filed out
quietly, although a few quick glances at their surroundings were spared.
They found themselves being approached by a small knot of people.
In the lead was Collignon, followed closely by the scientist Korsakov. Four
more uniformed troopers with Blasta rifles stood guard over an easily
recognizable blue-skinned humanoid--
"Elemental!", Steffie cried and started to walk forward but was
promptly restrained by the guards. A huge wave of anger welled up in
Lyudmila and nearly crashed down, but she held it in check.
"Ah, so you *are* familiar with each other," Collignon remarked with a
smirk. Steffie shrank back, realizing she might have made an error.
Collignon turned back to Lyudmila, his tone becoming a bit icy.
"Withholding of information concerning high-ranking aliens is a serious
crime, Commander Mannski. In another time and place this would merit
serious disciplinary action, however I'm willing to overlook it this time,
provided you follow my orders better than you have been."
"What's going on, sir?" Lyudmila almost demanded. This whole
thing got more rotten with each passing minute.
"You will find out shortly, Commander," he answered. "That is why
you and your troopers have been brought here..." He paused, looking over
the line of troopers. "Where is Lieutenant Zander?"
"He was injured on a mission earlier today," Lyudmila lied. "I felt it
prudent to leave him at Atlantia where he could receive full medical attention.
Moving him would have been counterproductive."
The Captain said nothing for a moment, then sighed. "Very well, I
suppose we'll be able to manage. Come, I'm sure you're wondering what
this is all about, and there are quite a few things you need to know."
With that, he turned around and the others followed him back into the
inner reaches of the base, the minds of the troopers from Atlantia now full of
questions, questions which Lyudmila suspected she already knew the
answers to, but she had to be certain...
The personnel present in the command center took more than a few
troopers by total surprise. In addition to the five human troopers, all sitting
immobile like Secret Service agents and bearing the insignia of psi-troopers,
there were three blue-skinned humanoids like Steffie, all clad in what looked
like X-Com wetsuits. Escobar was sufficiently taken aback by the sight to
voice his thoughts: "What the hell is this, Captain?? Where did these...
things... come from and what are they doing in our uniforms??"
"Patience, Lieutenant," Collignon replied calmly. "I know most of
you aren't afforded the precognitive power of your Commander and so don't
have as much of an advantage." Several involuntary glances were sent in
Lyudmila's direction. Lyudmila, for her part, kept her gaze fixed on the
Captain. "But all will be made clear in due course. Isn't that true,
`Elemental'?"
Lyudmila did her best not to glare, instead replying evenly: "What
exactly *is* going on here, sir? I really would like to know."
Collignon smiled a private smile. "Commander, soldiers," he turned
to each of the small group in turn. "I would like to introduce to you the future
of X-Com, and to the weapons which will turn this war back in our favor." He
gestured toward the seated human troopers, who got to their feet and met
Lyudmila's gaze evenly. "I would like to introduce Lieutenant Christel
Hafner, Ensign Carl Spanburg, Ensign James Estavez, Lieutenant Greg
Ayliffe, and Able Seaman Sylvie Bouton. They are the `Elementals'."
Lyudmila arched an eyebrow. So did several of the other troopers
behind her, and Steffie as well, who had been seated next to the other
humanoids.
"Like yourselves," Collignon went on, speaking mostly to Lyudmila
now. "These troopers have demonstrated a very high psionic potential --
they are all rated at P-9 or higher -- as well as high physical strength and
stamina. We have invested a considerable amount of time and money into
their training, and it has proven worthwhile." He turned to the psi-troopers
and nodded. Lieutenant Hafner nodded in response and turned to face the
humanoids.
Stand, she said, calmly and quietly, her voice reverberating with
psionic amplification. The three blue-skinned humanoids abruptly got to
their feet, standing straight up and looking impassively across the table at
the psi-troopers. Steffie, for her part, winced and seemed to be resisting an
invisible hand trying to pull her out of her own chair, a faint golden glow
creeping into her eyes.
Stand! Hafner repeated more forcefully, a faint red glow creeping
into her own eyes. Steffie started to get shakily to her feet, her breathing
coming in shallow gasps.
Enough! Lyudmila snapped angrily, her own voice tipped with
psionic energy for a moment. Collignon nodded to Hafner, who immediately
relented, and Steffie fell back into her chair, her gills flaring, panting like a
fish deprived of water.
"As you can see," Collignon said with a smirk which Lyudmila fought
a brief urge to punch off his face. "These troopers are quite capable of
controlling anything the aliens currently have to throw at us, including these
Dreamers."
"`Dreamers', sir?" Escobar asked. There were several things he'd
obviously been kept in the dark about during his training and tour at
Tsunami. Why hadn't he seen or noticed any of these people before now?
"Yes, Lieutenant," the Captain replied. "That is the name the aliens
have given them. These creatures are apparently the aliens' vision of the
ideal species for this planet. They *are* quite hardy creatures, capable of
surviving on both land and in water. Of course, all the ones we've been able
to capture have proven to be mindless slaves..." He looked directly at
Steffie. "Except for one, for whatever reason. It would appear that this will
be the fate of all humans unless some action is taken quickly. It's hard to
say how much longer we have before the colony vessel resurfaces."
"What colony vessel?" Marcelle asked.
"Ah yes," Collignon said. "I suppose I should start at the beginning;
much of this data has been kept highly classified.
"Some 65 million years ago, the then dominant life forms on our
planet began to die out. We always thought this was because of a large
meteor, or perhaps a comet. It was neither: it was a crashed alien colony
vessel named T'Leth."
Steffie was heard to inhale a little more sharply. Collignon paused to
allow the lesser troopers to mumble among themselves. When the group
quieted down again he continued: "The aliens tried to colonize this planet 65
million years ago, but a freak accident -- a massive solar flare according to
the Lobstermen we've detained -- caused the navigation systems of the
vessel to fail, and it crashed into the Yucatan, sinking into what would
become the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the life on the planet was wiped out in
the nuclear winter that followed, and the Gillmen -- who were the dominant
sentient race at the time, for those of you who didn't know -- were forced into
symbiotic relationship with the new arrivals; before long most of them were
mindlessly loyal, just more components of the shared mind like our blue-
skinned friends here."
"Shared mind..." Marcelle said. "A central brain, just like last time?"
"Not exactly," the Captain replied. "In the first war the controlling
entity was just a low-level cyborg brain, not particularly efficient or
intelligent, but capable of managing a small recovery and harvesting
taskforce. What we're facing now, however, makes the Cydonian Brain look
like a child's toy computer. At the heart of that city-ship is a colonial
overmind, a Great Dreamer, which is connected to every single alien on this
planet."
"If this thing is connected to every alien, then how do we know
*these* aliens aren't under its control right now?" Escobar asked, gesturing
at Steffie and the other humanoids.
"Two reasons, Lieutenant," the Captain answered. "First of all, psi-
waves and energy emissions from the Molecular Control Net cannot enter or
exit the area surrounding this base, thanks to our Negative MC Generator."
"I was wondering why I felt like I had cotton stuffed in my head,"
Lyudmila remarked.
"And secondly," Collignon went on. "The Great Dreamer is not in
actual control yet. It isn't alive."
"I don't understand, sir."
"The thing is not alive," Collignon explained. "But it is not dead
either. It's in a sort of suspended animation, connected to the outside world
peripherally, through the MolNet... and through the dreams of the psi-aware.
Have any of you ever read H.P. Lovecraft?"
There was a brief moment of non-comprehension, and then it dawned
on several people.
"`That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even
death may die.'" Marcelle said, paling.
"Holy shit," Himiko said. "You're not serious, are you sir?"
"The Gillman word for Dreamer is `Tulu', Lieutenant Nagano," the
Captain went on, deadly serious. "To say `Great Dreamer' in their language,
you add a `K' emphasis. What does that make?"
"K'Tulu," Lyudmila nodded quietly. It was all so clear. She turned to
her uneasy squadmates. "Looks like Lovecraft was more right than he
knew."
"We have to get to T'Leth," Collignon said. "And destroy K'Tulu
before he has a chance to awaken. Because if he does... then this planet
*will* belong to the aliens."
"Sir," said the unemotional voice of the communications officer.
"Tracking multiple USO signatures across the globe. Transmission
Resolvers indicate retaliatory strikes against Atlantia, Vishnu, and El Nino,
and strike patrols checking other sectors."
"Any vessels approaching this sector, Owen?" the Captain asked.
"Negative, sir," Owen replied calmly as Lyudmila crowded over to
the geoscape map, the mention of Atlantia being under attack having gotten
her attention very quickly. "The MC Generator is working perfectly."
As Lyudmila watched, two of the red crosses marking the USOs
changed to green `X's as the attackers arrived over their destinations --
Vishnu and El Nino, the small automated, and unprotected, listening posts in
the South China Sea and South Pacific. There were several blasts of static
and unidentifiable alien transmissions from the comm systems, and then the
two blue boxes marking those bases vanished from the map.
"Vishnu and El Nino have been destroyed, sir," Owen said. "Atlantia
has been evacuated and is taking heavy fire."
"We'll have to assume the base will be destroyed," Collignon
nodded grimly, turning to Lyudmila. "This is why I requested the troops I
requested, Commander. I suspected something like this might happen."
"You put our major hardware at my base long enough to attract their
attention, didn't you sir?" Lyudmila growled quietly.
"That's right," Collignon replied, unrepentant and looking ready to tag
her for insubordination. "Commander, I'm sorry about Lieutenant Zander
and whoever else may have been left at that base, but there's no time to
mourn the wounded or the weak. We have to move quickly now."
At this point he turned back to the assembled troopers and raised his
voice again. "As you may have heard, there's just been a full-scale assault
launched at several of our bases. They undoubtedly think they've destroyed
our major strength. They're in for a surprise. If you'll all follow me, we need
to organize quickly. Hafner, keep an eye on the Dreamers."
Lieutenant Hafner nodded, and remained in her place as the rest of
the troopers filed out of the room, leaving the command center occupied only
by herself, Steffie and the other Dreamers, and Owen.
Owen sat, still quiet and impassive, monitoring the new flurry of USO
activity on the geoscape, allowing the surviving Transmission Resolvers to
work on deciphering the various transmissions which were now racing
through the conduits of the MolNet at a much higher speed. Only when he
was quite certain the room was vacant, except for those who had been
ordered to stay, did he listen more closely to the strongest of the
transmissions coming over the MolNet.
A'k sl'hafn, k'lat'sk. Sl'hafn a'k'wakh. A'k sl'hafn, k'lat'sk. Sl'hafn
a'k'wakh.
Sleepers hear, and answer. Sleepers awaken.
Owen keyed several commands into the comm system, which
obediently followed his orders, opening a low-band communication channel
and sending out a carrier wave to a predefined location. An answerback was
not long in coming, and new data began to filter in, being assimilated by the
geoscape computers, which obediently began to update the maps. The data
connection ended a moment later and was replaced by a voice.
A'kl'hash, sl'hafn. N'lha jiad'nak tr'sta.
Acknowledged, Sleeper. Show the path.
For the first time, Owen's mouth twisted into a dark grin. He turned to
another console and toggled a set of switches to their OFF positions.
Christel Hafner abruptly became aware of an odd presence behind
her, which she hadn't noticed before, and turned toward the communications
station, where it seemed to be coming from.
The last thing she heard was the sound of several psi-suppression
collars shorting out all at once.
"Suppression collars or not, is it wise to leave one guard over
them?" Lyudmila asked as she loaded a case of Pulsers into the Leviathan.
There was a lot of ordnance still to be loaded onto the submarine, and
Lyudmila was beginning to feel a bit anxious, as though time were growing
very short.
"Lieutenant Hafner is quite capable of controlling all of those
Dreamers with minimal effort, as are all the Elementals, including yourself,
Commander," Collignon answered, checking another item off a list. "They
are helpless without a connection to the overmind, just like all the other
aliens."
"And on that note, how exactly are we supposed to destroy this
thing? As I recall, the legends talk about this creature being indestructible."
"Once he's awake, yes. What we need to do is destroy his
connections to his army before he has a chance to wake up; there are eight
major power conduits connecting his crypt to the power systems of T'Leth
and to the MolNet; if we can eliminate those, T'Leth will be destroyed and
take K'Tulu with it, and the alien army will fall apart. Simple."
Lyudmila snorted. "Easier said than..."
She trailed off into silence then, as a combination of two different
sensations fell into her mind in a not-quite-harmonious manner. The first
was a sense of clarity, a loss of the black cotton which had fogged her head
all the while she was here. The second was a sense of danger, imminent
danger, and panic. The latter she fought down almost as soon as it popped
up, but it didn't go away easily, and she realized then that the panic was not
hers.
"What's the matter, Commander?" the Captain asked, nonplused at
her abrupt silence. All of the other psi-troopers were similarly frozen as well
"The shield..." she said quietly, mostly to herself.
At about the same time the alarms went off, a scream ripped through
the mind of every psi-active person in the base: NO!! ELEMENTAL!! HELP
ME!! Then there was gunfire.
"STEFFIE!" Lyudmila was running before anyone even had a chance
to think.
Almost as soon as Steffie had felt the strange but somehow familiar
presence she knew there was danger. She was unsure whether to try
mentioning that fact to the woman seated across from her; Hafner seemed
unwilling to tolerate any action from her other than staying perfectly still.
She had done so the whole time, trying to ignore the increasing discomfort
as her skin and gills continued to dry out. The woman had obviously felt the
new presence and knew its source, for she had turned in the direction of the
man named Owen.
Then all hell had broken loose. The psi-suppression collars of the
slave Dreamers suddenly sparked and broke apart, along with the hand-
shackles they all wore. Hafner had gotten halfway to her feet when she
abruptly jerked and froze in place for a moment. Then one side of her skull
had exploded outward in a fountain of red, at the same time Owen had pulled
out a sonic pistol and pumped three shots into her body, killing her instantly.
Owen's eyes were glowing orange, and his mouth was twisted into an evil
grin.
Again, her alien-implanted memories gave her the name of the thing
she was facing: Sleeper. An infiltrator, equal in power to a Dreamer but
completely human in appearance. A creature which was designed to blend
in with the nations of the world and induce them to cooperate with the aliens.
Or, in this case, to sabotage the humans' efforts to resist.
Hmph, foolish humans, the Sleeper sneered. Only a few more
loose ends to deal with. He leveled his weapon at Steffie.
NO! Steffie shrieked, and bolted out of her chair, very thankful that
only her hands were shackled, as it made her escape into the outside
corridor much less difficult. With her powers suppressed by that infernal
collar she wouldn't stand a chance against that abomination. She had to get
away. She had to get to the Elemental... to Lyu. ELEMENTAL!! HELP ME!!
A psionic assault struck Lyudmila violently as she drew near the
command center, and she just as quickly threw it off with an equally strong
shield. Gunfire sounded within, and then Lieutenant Ayliffe came stumbling
through the door, a gaping wound in his side, falling face first onto the
decking. Behind him, one of the allegedly "safe" Dreamers appeared,
aiming a sonic pistol toward his head.
He never got the chance to complete the kill, however, because
Lyudmila whipped her own sidearm from its holster and pumped three shots
into the alien's head, spraying bone and brain tissue across the wall.
Somewhere in the back of her awareness she heard the Captain's voice
shrieking at her; she ignored it.
More shooting echoed through the corridors; it sounded like it was
coming from the general vicinity of the containment facility, if Lyudmila
remembered the layout of Tsunami correctly. But the mental activity within
the command center captured a far more important measure of her attention.
She spun on her heel and lunged through the door, immediately diving for
cover at the foot of the table as sonic blasts tore through the space which
had been vacated by her head the moment before. In an instant she
assessed the situation: the corpses of four human troopers and one
Dreamer sprawled throughout the room, red and orange blood pooling
everywhere. Another Dreamer was accounted for in the hallway, as was
Ayliffe. That left one more Dreamer... and Steffie.
So much for Collignon's grand plan.
"COMMANDER!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU--" came the near-
hysterical screeching of the Captain as he bolted through the door, and then
stopped dead in stupefied horror at the carnage he saw. From her position
underneath the table, Lyudmila saw the gunner at the communications
station -- Owen was his name, she remembered -- stand and chuckle darkly.
She chanced looking out from her hiding place and saw that he had an evil
smile to match the laugh.
"Owen?!?" Collignon gasped in stunned disbelief. "What--"
"What have I done?" Owen said, chuckling, and his eyes took on an
orange glow. "Merely my job, that's what. We've known every move you've
made since the beginning, fools, and now it's time to end this feeble attempt
at resistance once and for all."
"TRAITOR!!" Collignon howled in insane fury, bringing his gun to bear
on the Sleeper. Blasts of sonic energy howled over Lyudmila and sprayed
Collignon across the wall.
"I'm not a human, you fool," Owen growled. "Only humans can
betray." He was turning his gun toward Lyudmila when more shots rang out
from the doorway and caught him in the chest, spraying orange blood over
the control consoles. He fell to the floor, his weapon clattering away. Lyu
glanced back toward the door to see Himiko lowering her Blasta rifle.
Sensing the threat had passed, Lyu got to her feet and strode toward the
downed alien.
"we've already won..." he half-chuckled in a gurgling wheeze, blood
leaking from his mouth. "surrender now--hhhkk--Elemental... make it eas--
*kaff*--easy on yourselves..."
"No thanks," Lyudmila growled, put her pistol to his head, and pulled
the trigger. The Sleeper twitched violently as the shot rendered his brain
into so much hamburger, then went limp. Shoving the body away, Lyudmila
began punching controls on the geoscape console, studying the tactical
display. Multiple red crosses had appeared, as well as a large number of
purple boxes identifying enemy bases, at least twenty more than had
previously been accounted for. The red crosses, for their part, all registered
as dreadnoughts. And they were all headed for the base. She rotated the
globe 180 degrees, bringing the Atlantic Ocean into view. Atlantia had
disappeared from the map. "Shit..."
"What's our next move, Lyu?" Himiko hurriedly asked as she joined
her.
"Get everyone and everything we can cram into the Leviathan,"
Lyudmila replied tensely, quickly flipping several dozen switches, arming
the base's defense systems. "The PWTs won't hold off six-plus
dreadnoughts for long. We've gotta get the hell out of here."
"Commander!! Get over to Containment--" Escobar was shouting but
stopped in his tracks at the carnage in the command center. "Good lord,
what *happened*?!"
"No time to explain, Escobar," Lyudmila replied, picking up Owen's
dropped Blasta rifle and slinging it over her shoulder. "We've got about five
minutes left until the bugs have this base for dinner. Get everything loaded
into the Leviathan and fast!"
"Yes ma'am!" Escobar saluted sharply.
"And what were you saying about Containment?" Lyudmila asked,
her mind immediately switching back to the problem she'd backgrounded for
the duration of the fight.
"There's an alien there who wants to talk to whoever's in charge, I
guess that's you now, ma'am," Escobar replied, noting the Captain's corpse.
"He's got Stefanie."
Lyudmila arched an eyebrow. "Right, I'm on it. Get to work!" she
snapped, then tore down the corridor toward Containment.
"Status!"
"He's right inside," Dujardin answered, his gun aimed at the closed
hatchway to Containment. "He's got a pistol and he took out the last
Dreamer but he's got Steffie and I'm not taking any chances." Indeed, as
Lyudmila looked in the nearby window she could see a Gillman standing
there with a sonic pistol. He didn't have the gun pointed at Steffie but his
posture left no doubt he would use it if threatened.
"I'll take it from here, Dujardin. Get back to the ship!"
"But what about--"
"MOVE IT!" Lyudmila snapped. "If I'm not back there in four minutes,
go on without me! That's an order!"
"...yes ma'am!" Dujardin hesitated for only the barest instant before
saluting and hurrying back down the corridor.
Once he was out of sight, Lyudmila keyed the door intercom, keeping
her weapons holstered. "I'm alone," she said.
"She's telling the truth," Steffie's voice crackled dimly over the
intercom. A moment later the door opened and Lyudmila stepped inside.
Around her were strewn numerous shattered containment vessels, along
with the corpses of the aliens which had been held there. She turned to face
the Gillman, who was apparently sizing Lyudmila up. "It's all right," Steffie
said, though to whom was unclear.
"We don't have much time," Lyudmila said quickly. "What do you
want?"
"To help you," the Gillman replied in a surprisingly human voice.
"My name is Rann. I'm sorry for threatening your friend but it was the only
way to be sure you'd hear me out. My people have been mindless slaves to
these alien invaders for sixty-five million years. I personally am tired of
being a slave. This planet belongs to us, not them; let me come with you
and I'll tell you all I know about them, their strengths and weaknesses,
everything. I swear this to you." He engaged the safety on his pistol, and
handed it to Steffie. "I have nothing except my word to convince you..." He
glanced at Steffie again. "...and perhaps the confidence of a fellow victim."
Lyudmila looked at Steffie, who nodded back solemnly. She knew
instinctively that the Gillman was telling the truth; she didn't need Steffie to
tell her that.
"Then let's go," she nodded. "We need all the help we can--"
She was interrupted by the sound of the PWT cannons firing, and the
base rocked violently as a loud explosion occurred nearby. "Shit! They're
already here!!" Lyu snapped. "Come on!!" Unslinging her rifle, she charged
down the corridor toward the sub pens, with Rann and Steffie close behind.
"Where the hell is the Commander?!" Marcelle shouted as the
explosions echoed in his ears.
"Keep loading that sub!!" Himiko hollered back, picking up a Sonic
Cannon and slamming a new power clip into it. Moments before, the doors
of the base's primary airlock had exploded outward, and a small horde of
Aquatoids and Calcinites had swarmed in. Himiko pressed herself against
the wall of the submarine and primed a Pulser, lobbing it overhead. It
clattered amid the dispersing group of Aquatoids and blew, scattering them
across the deck. Unfortunately more Aquatoids swarmed in to take their
places.
"Path's blocked!!" Escobar shouted, gunning down a Calcinite which
had been running toward him. It fell in a spray of green ichor. "No way to
get past the airlock anymore! The Commander's still down there!"
"Damn it!" Marcelle growled, shoving one last tub of ordnance into
the submarine, leaving just barely enough room for the soldiers. "That's it!
We're loaded!!"
"Then let's get the hell out of here!!" Escobar responded.
"Not fucking yet!!" Dujardin yelled back.
"Damn it, Dujardin! You heard what the Commander--"
Escobar's angry retort was abruptly cut off as gunfire from the
opposite side of the airlock cut down several Aquatoids. The remaining
Aquatoids suddenly froze, and then turned their weapons on each other.
Alien screams filled the sub pen for several seconds, silenced when another
Pulser clattered into the midst of the battle group and blew them all to
kingdom come.
"Hold your fire!" Himiko shouted as three shapes emerged from the
conflagration. In the lead was Lyudmila, followed closely by Stefanie, and a
Gillman. The three charged at full speed towards the submarine as more
explosions rocked the base.
"EVERYBODY IN THE SUB!!" Lyudmila roared, her eyes glowing a
dull red. "THE GILLMAN'S WITH US! LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF
HERE!!!"
The troopers all crammed themselves into the Leviathan, and
Lyudmila slammed the hatch shut. Lyudmila flew to the controls and
powered the sub up. It tore free from its moorings and quickly sank into the
water, which reverberated with explosions and the sound of weapons being
fired. The ocean doors opened in the next second, and as soon as they
were navigable Lyudmila punched the throttle wide open.
The Leviathan shot out of the opening like a bullet, screaming
through the waters towards the surface and relative safety. One of the closer
alien dreadnoughts spied the submarine and turned to pursue.
"Shit! Bandit on our six!" Himiko snapped. "He's got a lock on us!"
"Not for long..." growled a voice behind them. The troopers, and
Rann, turned to see an angry look on Steffie's face, her eyes glowing yellow.
Go away!
Sure enough, the dreadnought suddenly slowed down and began to
change course. Unfortunately for the alien vessel, this made it a very easy
target for the base's PWT cannons. As the troopers watched, two torpedoes
slammed into the vessel and blew it into a thousand fragments.
Then a series of explosions rocked the waters, and sonic beams
punched through Tsunami's outer hull and compromised its interior. Within
seconds the power generators had been swamped by water and shorted out,
all remaining systems within the base going offline. In its last seconds of
life, the computer keyed emergency self-destruct charges placed throughout
the base. Flashes of white and yellow lit up the water for several moments
before the remains of Tsunami Base were obscured by a wall of bubbles,
which the alien vessels sailed through like victorious sharks.
Stifling the sense of loss which threatened to overwhelm her,
Lyudmila kept the throttles wide open, angling for the surface. In a matter of
seconds the submarine broke through the surface of the water and became
airborne, sailing into the sky. No more alien vessels pursued the Leviathan,
probably considering it not worth the effort. After all, they had accomplished
their mission: the human resistance movement was all but crushed.
In silence, the troopers looked through the rear camera view at the
ragged halo of bubbles and debris on the ocean surface which marked the
former location of Tsunami. Nobody dared say a word for several long,
agonizing moments.
Finally, Himiko broke the silence. "What do we do now... Captain?"
she asked quietly.
Lyudmila looked back at her, then cast her glance back into the body
of the sub. The troopers all had their eyes on her, as did the newly defected
Gillman Rann, and Steffie. It took a moment for it to sink in: by default, she
*was* Captain of X-Com now. Everyone was looking to *her* for direction
now. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
Then she turned back to the controls of the submarine, activating the
comm system. "This is Leviathan Zero-One. Acting Captain Lyudmila
Mannski, calling any viable X-Com forces from Atlantia or Tsunami, please
respond."
Static.
Lyudmila sent the message again, more forcefully this time.
"Captain Lyudmila Mannski to any X-Com forces, please respond. Is there
anyone else left?"
More static for a moment, and then a crackling sound gave way to a
familiar voice: "That's affirmative, Zero-One... Triton Zero-Three
responding."
"Zen..." Lyudmila heaved a huge sigh of relief. "What's your status,
Zero-Three?"
"Atlantia's gone," Zen replied, despondent. "We hoarded everything
we could, per spec, and got the hell out. They ran right over us, Lyu. Zero-
Three awaiting orders."
Lyudmila let out a long, slow breath. It really was all up to her and
what was left of her command, now. "Proceed to Contingency Site Alpha,"
she said. "We'll regroup there. Further orders will follow."
"Roger that, Zero-One," Zen answered. "Proceeding to CS Alpha.
Zero-Three out."
Lyudmila cut the connection, then laid in a course for the emergency
landing site and engaged the autopilot. As the flying sub swung onto its new
course, she sank back in her chair, the burden of command already
beginning to weigh on her shoulders.
The human race might already be out of time.
END EIGHT
END