Epilogue
Larry Mann
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"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

EPILOGUE

A.D. 2099
UNITED NATIONS BUILDING, NEW YORK MEGACITY

	"And that was the last time I saw her," Stefanie 
finished. "I visited her friends many times, but I never saw 
her myself after that time."
	"What happened to her?" one of the Human children 
gathered around her asked.
	"Did she die?" a Gillman girl asked.
	"No," Stefanie smiled. "She just went back to sleep, 
as did several of her friends. They knew, someday, that the 
Starspawn might come back again. And if they did, not only 
would X-Com be needed once again, but X-Com would need capable 
warriors to staff its ranks. The Elemental feels a strong 
duty to the people of her world. Human, Gillman, and Dreamer 
alike. This is why she went to sleep, so that she could 
awaken again, when she was needed."
	The children were all duly impressed. "Do you think 
the Starspawn might come back again?" one worried Human girl 
asked.
	"I don't know, my child," Stefanie replied. "Perhaps, 
perhaps not. But if they do, the Elemental will be there to 
protect us. You can count on that."
	A knocking was heard at the doorframe, and Stefanie 
looked up to see a young Human male standing in the doorway. 
"Your Excellency? The Council will be convening shortly."
	"Thank you," Stefanie nodded, and turned back to the 
children. "Now if you'll excuse me, little ones, there are 
some things I must do before the day is out. Run along and 
play now." The children dutifully darted away to engage in 
children's mischief, and Stefanie gathered her robes about her 
and got to her feet, adjusting the thick collar about her neck 
which kept her gills supplied with oxygen-rich water while she 
was above the oceans fulfilling her duties as the leader and 
ambassador for the Dreamer race.
	"You're a good storyteller," said a voice from the 
doorway. Stefanie looked up to see the elderly visage of 
Himiko Nagano.
	"Thank you," Stefanie chuckled. "I've had a lot of 
opportunities to develop that skill. Amazing how many 
children had never had a story told to them in the early 
days."
	"What do you really think?" Nagano asked as she joined 
Stefanie in her journey toward the Assembly chamber. Steffie 
slowed her pace a bit so that the elderly woman could keep up 
more easily. She herself had aged very little in the past 
sixty years, something she supposed was due to her alien 
physiology.
	"About?"
	"About the Starspawn," Nagano answered quietly. "Do 
you think they're coming back again?"
	Steffie was silent for a moment. "I'm not certain," 
she said at length. "They might, they might not." She 
turned to her companion. "Do you regret your decision to not 
go into stasis with the others?"
	"No, no," Himiko shook her head slowly. "It was time 
for me to live my life, and that's what I did. I don't regret 
my decision at all." She paused. "I'm just... concerned 
about the future, about what our children might have to deal 
with... if they do come back again."
	Stefanie nodded solemnly. "Our children have enough to 
worry about as it is, what with our planetary environment in 
such disrepair now. But I can promise you one thing, my 
friend." She laid a hand on the elderly woman's shoulder, 
and the faintest of golden glows flickered across her black 
eyes. "If the Starspawn do threaten us again... this time we 
will be ready for them."
	Himiko found much comfort in Steffie's words, and smiled 
faintly. The two women walked the remaining distance to the 
General Assembly in silence, where once again the future of 
the planetary environment would become a heated topic of 
discussion.
	Hopefully, the future the children could look forward to 
would turn out to be a good one.


 FIN


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