X-Com: Abyssal
Chapter Two – Swift Tide
"First Alien War, The (Short version – please check for separate entries within the UFOPedia for more detailed information or go here if your viewer doesn't have Hop language installed and you would like a list of topics related to this subject).
The first conflict on which mankind saw itself involved against extraterrestrial forces started on the waning years of the twentieth century until its conclusion on March 9th, 2002 after the defeat of the aliens on Mars. Although the general population and the world governments had dismissed until 1998 the growing reports of alien activity and UFOs, on that year a series of aggressive incidents performed by the aliens prompted Earth's nations to start organizing an effective defense against the intruders.
After a number of failed attempts to determine the identity and intentions of the aliens were undertaken, it was decided under the aegis of the United Nations to form the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or X-Com, as the name was taken both inside and outside the force. It was to be composed of elite personnel drawn from the military forces of the countries that had signed the X-Com Charter and its mission was to investigate and stop the alien attacks on Earth with the help of the regular military forces.
By the beginning of 1999, X-Com had started to perform combat operations, although limited in coverage of the world. The first contacts with the invaders were successful for the most part, resulting in the capture of crashed vessels and equipment. Earth's technological disadvantage forced the troops to rely on superior tactics to defeat the aliens they encountered. However, the scientists that composed the force managed to understand the alien technology and reproduce it, allowing the strike teams to fight more evenly. X-Com's teams soon boasted the latest armor and new laser and plasma weaponry, together with craft designed and built using the secrets learned from the retrieved UFOs and powered by Elerium.
But they soon made a startling discovery: the aliens seemed to have a vast pool of resources from which to drawn, rendering useless all efforts made by Earth to stop them unless they could stop the flow of alien troops and ships. And the original extraterrestrials, or Sectoids were soon followed by other species such as the Floaters, Snakemen, Mutons and Ethereals. X-Com found itself finding a coalition of alien species whose propose was clear: taking control of Earth and reducing humans to slavery or even worse.
By 2001 the situation was beginning to get desperate for the humans. Not only the aliens were still expanding their activities but also some of Earth's nations had decided to establish peace treaties with them and stopped funding X-Com. And worse, the aliens had started to establish forward bases on the planet, which was interpreted as the prelude for a mass invasion by the alien fleet that had been detected on the far side of the Moon.
However, the interrogation of captured alien officers soon revealed the necessary information for the survival of Earth. It was discovered that the aliens operate in a hive society with a Queen, or in this case King, controlling the races that had been encountered so far from a hidden location on Mars. And after an raid performed on an alien base on Antarctica, the final piece of data was finally extracted from the aliens: the exact location of the Brain on the plains of Cydonia, an area of Mars that possessed a number of anomalous surface features that were discovered to be an alien base on that planet.
By then it had became obvious to X-Com's military leadership that Earth's only hope was to mount a strike that could penetrate the alien defenses on Cydonia and kill the Brain, leaving the invasion without its leader. For months the entire force prepared itself for the mission, building craft and weapons while enduring alien strikes on their bases and hoping that they had the sufficient time before the alien juggernaut started.
After months of waiting the force finally left Mars at the beginning of 2002 and arrived at Mars on March, using advanced Avenger class craft to make the interplanetary travel in weeks instead of the months required by Earth's technology. More than a dozen ships and two hundred combat soldiers were used on the attack, which succeeded in breaking through the defenses and killing the Brain, although the majority of the troops and ships never made it back to Earth.
The victory achieved on Mars dictated the result of the war. The aliens stopped fighting on Earth and the Moon, showing complete disorientation and panic after their Queen had been killed. Within months the remaining forces on the planet had been defeated and Earth could now start rebuilding what had been lost in the destruction of the fighting.
- X-Com's UFOPedia
September 9th, 2044
Baltimore, Maryland, US
The cab started to move away from the concrete surface of the sidewalk as Markovitch took her first step towards the green single level house in front of her. The windows were open but she could see no shapes moving inside as she walked past the metal mailbox on her way to the entrance porch. Just go to the door and ring the bell. It's as easy as that. She felt very weary of what she might face in the next moments, as she was about to finally meet her daughter. My biological daughter. And she's also Erwin's by that matter.
Camay had suggested in Norfolk that she'd make the first contact and explain how Markovitch had been healed and had been reawaken by X-Com. It would be better if her daughter knew the truth first from the physician since it would make the whole situation more plausible to accept. If she's a bit like me she would have either accepted it silently or make a ruckus out of it. According to Camay, the reaction she had seen on the woman's face on the visiphone had been neither. Linda had been shocked first but then had simply listened carefully to her explanations and while at first had balked at such a meeting she had finally accepted it. After all, Camay had helped her sister to conceive her daughter.
She tried to forget the absurdity of the whole situation as she pasted by the garage's door and stepped on the stone floor of the porch. A welcome mat was at the front of the metal door but she didn't step on it as she pressed the bell button. While waiting she saw a small camera placed over the button. For a few seconds there was no answer until the almost whisper of a voice was heard. "Yes?"
Looking at the plastic lens she gathered her strength and replied. "Hello. Linda?" She tried for her voice not to falter. "I'm Sheila, Caroline's sister. Dr. Camay called you two days ago to explain who I am". She refrained from speaking more. For a number of seconds there was no answer and Markovitch thought if she should ring the bell again until the door started to open.
The woman that stood by the door inside the house appeared to be the same age as Markovitch. Anyone passing by would probably have mistaken both as sisters. Their hair was of the same color, although Linda's was longer than Markovitch. They also shared the same perky chin and thin lips but the nose and deep eyes immediately reminded Markovitch of Johnson's facial expressions, especially in the moments where he stood silent and thinking before taking a decision.
Still looking at Markovitch in doubt and surprise, the young woman took the first step. "Hello". Her right arm was still holding the door as if she was unsure to let her in.
"Hi". Markovitch felt also uncomfortable, as she looked at the person that was her biological daughter.
"You're here". Linda's intonation told Markovitch that it wasn't a question but recognition of her existence. "I wasn't sure if I should do this also. But Dr. Camay convinced me otherwise in the last days".
"You were dead. She told me years ago that you and him were dead".
"Sometimes I wish I had remained that way. But it seems there are some things that we can't control". Her words made Linda jerk back and Markovitch wondered why she had reacted that way. But a moment later, she dropped her arm from the door and said. "I'm sorry for making you wait there. Would you like to come in?"
Five minutes afterwards they were seated in Linda's living room around a wooden table with cups of steaming coffee in front of them. Looking around in appreciation, Markovitch tried to make causal conversation. "Nice place you have here".
"Yeah, but I've worked hard to make every penny to pay for it. Still, it's a good place even tough Alex sometimes makes a point of making a fine mess around".
"Your son". Her grandson.
"He's out there playing. I didn't want for him to be here when he'll arrive. I haven't told him anything about this because I don't think he's able to understand. Hell, even I'm having a tough time".
"I understand". Markovitch knew that she wanted to see him but refrained from saying it for the time being. "Where's his father?"
That made Linda frown. "His father is dead. Alex never really met him since he was only a couple of months old". A painful memory crossed Linda's green eyes, making them shutter for a moment before she closed them.
To Markovitch it was apparent that, although a number of years had passed, the younger woman hadn't yet put the memories to rest. "I'm sorry. It must have been hard".
Linda shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing that no one can't get used to". So much like Erwin. The false bravado remembered Markovitch of one of his attitudes when he didn't want to admit that he had been hurt.
"I understand how you feel". She wished that she could hide the loss of him under a small white lie like Linda had done but everything was still too close. Camay had told her as a doctor that the best thing for her was to face the fact that Johnson was dead and go along with her life. But as a friend she had also told her that she would need time. Looking at Linda and her hidden fragility she wondered how much years it would require her.
"You mean….". Linda struggled with the word before it came out of her mouth. "…father".
"Yes. I'd wish that he could see you now".
"Colonel Johnson, the hero". A hint of sarcasm tainted Linda's voice. "That's how Tom called him. He and the rest of the Inquisitors at the office thought all of you to be heroes".
She had heard the expression before but hadn't paid attention to it. "Inquisitors? What are they?"
"You don't know? You sure have been out of this world, haven't you? Well, Tom believed that all evils on Earth came from the aliens. He and a number of others decided to do something about the Cult when it first appeared. At first they staged protests but things quickly got out of control and they turned into firebombing the Cult's offices and harass their members. At the time I also believed that they were right. Mom," She stopped for a moment then corrected herself. "I mean Caroline, had told me all about you and X-Com. How you and dad had fought on the war and had died on Mars to save us all from the aliens.
Most of the Inquisitors looked at X-Com with awe and respect also. You were martyrs for the most part and Tom even knew a soldier that had fought in the war. They all shared the same hate towards the aliens and things kept going worse, with more violence as each month passed. They would stalk known Cult members and give them a beating or even something worse. Until finally the Cult got tired and struck back at one of the meetings Tom used to attend at their office. He and most of his friends were killed and everyone knew who had done it but no one was ever able to prove the identity of the attackers. I just moved from Atlanta to here afterwards in case the Cult wasn't satisfied and wanted more revenge".
"I'm sorry…."
Linda stared back at her. "Well I'm not. I've stopped being sorry for a long time. When I grew up and Caroline explained to me who my biological mother was, I felt really proud of you had done in Mars. I guess that's why Tom and I got hooked up together. But when he died I decided that I just didn't want to care anymore". Her voice took an accusatorial tone "You can just take all your wars away for all I care and leave me and Alex alone".
"Linda, I didn't want all of this to happen". In fact she had never imagined that what happened could be possible, including talking to a daughter that had the same biological age as her.
She raised her hand. "Don't apologize, please. From what Dr. Camay and you told me I know that you're not to blame for all of this, at least directly. But I prefer if me and my son aren't involved into more of his either".
Markovitch recognized the passion inside of Linda. "If it helps I think Erwin would have been proud of you and what you've accomplished to be here today. I am".
The words made Linda froze in her chair. Then she dismissed then. "Yeah, well, I guess both grandparents made sure to tell us that a lot of times, especially grandpa Markovitch. They told me about both of you, but I had never expected to meet you in person". She shook her head. "I need to do some stuff now. Do you want something else?"
Her eyes looked up to Markovitch. "Oh, and I think I still have your personal belongings stored on the garage if you're interested on them. Mom gave them to me before she passed away". What else can I say? She didn't know so she simply nodded as the conversation ended.
Fifteen minutes later Markovitch was busy cutting the tape that sealed a cartoon box on the garage after Linda had dug the package from a pile of similar containers. She had them excused herself and gone into the house while Markovitch looked at the remains of her past life. The door that led into the parkway had been open and the late afternoon sun filled the inside of the room still gave enough light for her to see the inside of the box.
The first thing she saw was her old X-Com's dress uniform, with the dark gray fabric showing the signs of age, as some of the rims were worn out and the color was a little lighter than she remembered it. The jumpsuit still had the triple bar's insignia on the lapel to mark her former position as a captain and at the left breast her nametag was still attached. Taking it out she removed them a set of black combat boots. Searching through the inside she noticed that her black beret seemed to be missing and wondered where it could be but decided that the thing had plenty of time to be lost in forty years. However, she did find a package wrapped in red clothing that made her curious, all tied with a belt whose metal buckle had X-Com's X on a circle. When she removed it out of the box, the weight and the apparent shape told her immediately of what it was. Untying the knot, she carefully removed the clothing until a brown and red plasma pistol was revealed.
Markovitch was both surprised and contemplative as she remembered seeing the same type of weapon being used by both humans and aliens on the First War. The pistol was a relic from the conflict and she removed the cartridge still attached to it and confirmed that it was really dead. There was no Elerium left on Earth to power the weapon but it still made her wonder why X-Com had allowed that a piece of alien technology had been sent in the middle of her personal belongings. Until as she felt the weight of the pistol on her hand she noticed the chromed plaque attached to the side of the barrel. Moving towards the entrance of the garage to read it better she finally managed to read the small words written there.
"In the memory of Colonel Erwin D. Johnson, commander X-Com North American team – KIA 3/9/02".
She nearly dropped the inactive weapon as she realized that it was Erwin's sidearm, the same that he had used to kill the Brain on Cydonia after he had seen her dying. The thing suddenly seemed to weight a ton on her hand and her arm started shaking. "What is that?" The child's voice made her raise her head and she saw her grandson Alex standing on the parkway and looking at her and holding a basketball on his hands.
"Nothing. Just an old toy". She started to wrap again the clothing over the weapon as he moved into the garage, still looking in curiosity at the package on her hands.
"I saw one of those on holovision before. The skinny little people use them on the films to fight the soldiers?".
Was is he talking about?" The child nodded. "Mom doesn't want me to see them but sometimes I sneak out. Do you fight them?" The question made her stare at the kid in front of her. "One of what?"
"The Littl'Alien Story!" He added a moment later realizing her confusion. "Poid the Sectoid who has been isolated from his family from the bad human soldiers and is trying to get back to his ship?"
She just couldn't believe what she had just heard. She looked at him in puzzlement and he started to innocently explain. "They are in the holovision also besides the toys the other kids have. Captain Fury is my favorite. On the last episode she used her powers to control one of the aliens…"As the kid continued to describe what seemed to be an episode of a cartoon series depicting how the soldiers had made the UFO ran away and leaving Poid stranded on Earth she decided that she had heard enough. Markovitch shook her head as she finished putting back her gear in the box and sealing it. "That's funny Alex but now go back to playing with your ball". She finally said, making her grandson to look at her with a hurt face.
She sighed. Things keep going great don't they, Sheila? Do you really expect him to be able to understand why you are so stressed? The answer to her first question was not easy to accept but for the second one she decided that her grandson didn't have to put up with more than he already must have. "I'm sorry Alex. I didn't want to hurt you there". She smiled at him hoping that it would help but he simply lowered his head and walked to the outside. Her head also dropped to the box she was holding and realized that it had been the pistol that had made him so excited. She wondered how Linda would react if she knew that her son was seeing the Littl'Alien Story.
I can't take them along with me to wherever I'm going. All of this belongs to a past that is dead but that will always be present upon us. She placed the box back on the floor and covered it with all of the junk that had been hiding it before. Maybe she'll find more use to this. I don't need this stuff anymore.
September 11th, 2044
Atlanta, Georgia, US
"Heya Boss". Every time Williams came down to the office of the chief of advanced projects department he didn't knew if he should laugh or wonder how Jake Landon could still live in the past nowadays. Then he remembered that the vast majority of humans kept themselves to that way and even more in the rough times.
He might have entered a visishow picturing the typical environment of the 1960's for all he cared as he passed the doors, although the devices weren't that good at reproducing the scent of burning incense. The person he was going to meet had simply waved at him when he had walked inside as the sixty year old man stood seated on chair that looked more like a big living furry animal and typing commands on the air. Landon's hair and beard had turned salt and pepper over the years and he had a sweaty bandanna over his forehead. Long strands of humid air came down his head and over a leather vest that he was wearing. The walls and floor were completely covered with handmade Moroccan and Afghani carpets that were authentic, some of it worth several millions of neodollars. Amongst other paraphernalia spread around the room he found lava lamps that blew milky cocoons into blue and green seas together with some pieces of hardware. Although most of the people who knew Jake Landon called him a hippie, Williams quite disagreed with them since he was one of the best-paid employees at Cyberweb. And he had no problems in spending his money in a big capitalistic way.
Landon had worked with the original team of scientists that had broken the UFO's ship systems on the First War at Area 51. Williams considered that 'worked' could actually not be the exact term, since X-Com had discovered that he had broken into a couple of networks while still in college and had offered him a chance: help to decipher alien code or spent the next decade or so in jail. The then young man had quickly agreed and had helped them to crack the transmissions being sent from the UFOs.
And his accomplishments in programming had quickly been picked up by Williams after the war, which also had taken computer science at the university. His older brother Terry had shown him some of Landon's and had quickly recognized the potential. Their partnership had created a new operating system and microprocessors that were light years away from anything at the market then. Cyberweb was now the prime computer company on the entire world and Williams and Landon were the head and the heart for it, literally.
As Williams approached Landon, he wished that the slightly fat man had opened a window because of the smoke all around. "Hey Jake. How was the rocket parachuting yesterday?"
"I was needing it. Finally know what you asked me about that new stuff but you had already left. I actually nearly made it to the Oklahoma this time". Rocket parachuting was considered the closest thing to flying for a human. It consisted of strapping a small rocket engine in the legs after leaving the plane and using it to go as much faster and away before you had to pull the cord for the chute. It had been developed originally by the military as a possible mean to infiltrate special operations teams without over flying hostile airspace. Although the Army had dropped the project because of the risks it involved, the technique had been quickly adopted as a recreation sport. However, like the military had discovered, it proved to be one of the most dangerous sports with several dozen people dying every year on accidents where the rocket would suffer a problem or they wouldn't be able to reduce their speed enough to safely deploy their parachute. Together with low-orbit free falling it had been the danger sport of the last decade and apparently of this one also. "And?" Landon had a tendency to either leave the sentences half finished or full of a technical jargon that sometimes even he had a difficulty to understand.
The other man put his hands down and the visipics around him ceased, allowing Williams to see him clear. "Boss, first pass me the towel where you have just seated yourself on please?" Opening his legs, Williams saw a dark blue towel against the colored sofa where he had just sat. He pulled it you and threw it towards Landon who grabbed it on the air and used it to clean his face. "Great nature, it's hot today".
Williams smeared. "You could try putting the air conditioner on or open some of the windows. What have you thought of the device I've brought you?"
Lowering the towel to the back of his neck and holding it with two hands, Landon thought for one second before replying. "The good news: it might crackable".
As Landon reached down and grabbed a bottle Williams asked. "Might". He considered it for a moment before making the obvious follow up question. "And the bad?"
"I have no idea how long it will take. And there are portions of it that we don't have any idea of what they are for. Plus we are going to need some better than Ruuvi on icon semantics. He's good to cleat out the details but he has failed to get some sort of a general picture about what we are seeing. When I get somebody who can start recognizing patterns on the code we can have an idea of the work in front of us".
Williams thought of it for a minute then asked. "How much are the differences between the alien navigation system that they used on the first war and this one I've brought you?"
"Better if I simply show you". His hand started flickering on the air and the motion detectors built into the hidden electronic systems around him activated one holovision screen on the air. The excited air particles showed a symbol that seemed a mixture of Arabic and geometrical patterns. "For instance, this is the representation of the command used to define the altitude constant on the UFOs. And this" Another movement of his hand and a similar character appeared but only the curvy lines remained, although a bit blurred. "Is the equivalent of it on the navigation system used by the alien subs. Try to pick the differences if you feel up to. There's only about a hundred or so".
"An upgrade of the system they used?"
"Upgrade my ass. The stuff every human uses when a computer is turned on is the upgraded version. We designed it using the system that the aliens used to run their UFOs. Now this". He made the blurred thing to vanish on the air. "This is useless until we can figure out how it works. I'm actually not sure if I should call this another version or simply a completely different thing. There are portions of it which are common but in some cases I've seen code that is completely 'alien' if you don't mind the expression".
"And so, can you estimate how long it will take? We are going to need this Jake and the sooner the better".
"I know but those Council fascists should have allowed us access to this technology sooner. The guys at SORESO didn't even bothered with it and in my opinion they were right because they would have no idea where to start. How come you managed to get this stuff anyway? Or this one of the things I shouldn't ask?"
He shut off the rest of the visiprojection and Williams smiled. "Actually we're not breaking the law here. The Council decided to subcontract a company on the private sector to perform a preliminary analysis on the new systems since they decided that it would reduce costs. I simply made sure that Cyberweb was the one selected".
Landon shook his head in mock reproval. "You're the one Davis should have busted years ago and sent for long term in a federal penitentiary". And the former FBI Subdirector would most likely do so if he knew about it but he had passed away for more than ten years now, Williams considered. Landon eyes opened in horror as he remembered something. "I hope that doesn't mean that I'm going to have Council supervision here…."
His tone was menacing but Williams made him easy. "Don't worry. This thing has top priority, at least on my opinion. If Alkeviades gets down here just have Ruuvi to make a presentation to him of how things are going. A tutorial on icon semantics should wave him off. And that reminds me, be sure to hide the physical integration and implementation away from him until it's ready".
"That will be easy since we're not going to make any for the present being. A lot of the problems we're having also come from the fact that this code is meant to use with the magnetic propulsion they use. And I we won't be able to help much on that department. This is something completely new Boss, to use magnetic waves to run a system. It won't be easy to figure it out".
"Jake, just give it a look OK?" The other man grimaced and held the towel with his hands again.
"Don't tell me you're hoping that we might get lucky and find out that the only difference is the fact that one used Elerium and this one uses Zrbite?". His tone was ironical. "Do I look like a rocket doctor Boss? You'll have to find someone else to do that!" Slowly closing his eyes Williams grinned at the other man's disbelief. "I was just trying to cut some of the overhead expenses".
September 14th, 2044
Western Pacific
The dark blue plane flew high above the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean heading west. Most of the inside of the Triton transport was crammed with empty gray crates bearing the insignia of X-Com but there were also human two figures clad in navy blue one-piece jumpsuits. Markovitch was one of the pair, although the nametag on her chest read: "Watkins". Braddock and Delacroix had decided that it would be better if she had a forged identity, so now she went by the name of Anne Watkins, that had less seven years than her and had been born in New York City. She couldn't understand the need for the change since it was unlikely that anyone would ever care about who she was but they had been adamant. She had also been ordered not to discuss with anyone what had been done to her or the meeting that they just had.
But the most absurd aspect was that Braddock had also been transferred to the base where she was heading on the transport days before and she was supposed to ignore him. They had to pretend that they had nothing to do with one another and keep clear from one another. Not that it did really bother her since in fact she had exactly the opposite feeling.
However the secrecy put upon her whole existence made her wonder about the need those men felt for it. But the more she was finding out about the world it became apparent that many things had changed and that she would have to learn a lot before. She knew she didn't have any choice at the moment about the direction that she was following. It was the only one she could take, no matter who it put her in the hands of those men. Johnson was dead; she still couldn't forget him how hard she tried. And it was up to her to see that he had dying for something. And as long as those men's agenda included to final defeat the aliens she would be a part of it.
Remembering her daughter and her grandson she wondered how things would have gone if Johnson and her had ever got back and had a normal life after the war. As she scratched the sleeve of her jumpsuit to check on a grease spot she realized that the aliens had taken out something from her. But at least Linda had been born and had been loved by her sister as if she were her own daughter. She had left her house without saying more to either her or Alex.
The soldier in front of her stirred on the metal bench where he was seated. The Triton was one of the lousiest transports that she had ever flown. The ride was soft when compared to the Skyranger but the inside had been built so that soldiers on underwater gear could flood it to deploy more quickly. As a result the inside showed the effects of corrosion by salt water. And the metal on the seats had dents and sharp edges all over its surface as the result of being hit by weapons and personal armor several times. They would stab and find it hard for someone in a jumpsuit to seat down comfortably.
The gray inside simply looked and felt too worn the craft had obviously had seen a lot of service. Still, "Miss Lynn", as the pilot had called the plane before they boarded seemed to be performing nicely the thousands of miles trip from San Diego Naval Base in south California to Sixth Fleet HQ, a floating base five hundred miles off the Alaskan coastline. The pilot and "Miss Lynn" were also assigned to "Madhouse Rock", as he had called the base as she and the other soldier had presented to him his transportation papers. The nickname had gotten her worry about what she would found up there.
Her fears had started when she had first seen the pilot, who was wearing a jumpsuit like them but it was unzipped at its front, revealing a dirty white tank top and a bulge on his belly underneath. His dark hair looked as if he hadn't combed it or even washed it for days and his long sideburns only contributed more to the messy figure. And Ensign Books had barely noticed looked at them, only to show that he couldn't care less about who was getting inside. He seemed to have done a lot of those shuttle personnel flights and he considered them to be a boring routine.
That didn't felt good at all for Markovitch.
The other man inside the Triton was also a recruit who was much younger than her. He had the physical built of a Marine but his face was very smooth and the guys' cropped yellow hair was thick. His name was Carl Simmons and they hadn't spoken a word between them from since the Triton had took-off from San Diego. He looked anxious, more like a kid that was going for a ride and was scared.
As first she had thought about how such a kid would be fighting the aliens when in her time all of the soldiers had been veterans from top-notch units on the US military. But as she rumbled on her head she soon stopped as she realized that Simmons was deliberately acting as if she didn't exist. That made her even more confused and she wondered if somehow he had detected a trace of her psionic skills.
After two hours she had decided otherwise. There was something else that made Simmons avoid her. He obviously had something against her although she had no idea of what that might be. Therefore, she decided to find out what it was.
"Feeling anxious?" Her tone was nice as if she had been simply shy the whole time.
Her words sent a jolt across the recruit who looked at her with a bit of fury but at the same time curiosity. He thought for a second before answering. "What do you want Yankee?"
The tone of his voice made it sound as if it was an insult. That made her confused but she stopped before giving a reply and instead asked. "Yankee?"
The soldier looked puzzled at her answer. "Who are you trying to trick? You sure don't sound like Canadian to me".
"I'm not. What's the problem?"
He looked even more surprised. "What's the problem??? Where have you been for the past years? In a remote island or something?"
That actually struck Markovitch as true but she shrugged her shoulders. "Haven't paid too much attention to the news I guess".
"Didn't know that the US was sending people so dumb up here to fight. At least in Alaska my boot camp IQ seemed higher". That made Markovitch stiffen her spine and she only replied in a warning tone. "Let's just say that I prefer to keep myself of such matters OK?" The mention to the former State had confused her again until she made sense of the soldier's hostility. One of the things that she had discovered after being revived was that Alaska had succeeded from the United States in 2026. Apparently the Alaskans had gotten tired of the over exploration of the land and seas and the huge migration towards its territory. On that year the Alaskan Congress had issued a declaration of independence and had established a People's Republic based on a mix of communism and environmentalist ideas.
The move had caught the US government on its pants on the floor and completely unprepared to respond to it. The division on public opinion over the subject also prevented that any military action was taken to bring the state back into the Union. However, a lot of US companies had suffered badly after the new Alaskan government had nationalized all fishing and oil production interests in their territory. Tensions had also risen as both nations started to issue their claims into the Pacific Ocean. A number of armed engagements had taken place over the years with losses for both sides. While she didn't had time to think much on the subject, she also wasn't in the mood to take any crap from anyone other than the necessary in the military.
"Yeah, I guess if you people even noticed what your multinationals are doing to you also besides wanting to bleed Alaska to death things would change". That made the exchange to start to go to the level of a heated discussion.
"Most likely I would change…" She started as the soldier heard in amazement. "… If you explained to me what's the problem".
For a moment the private in front of her didn't knew how or what to reply. "Well…." Caught by her, he decided to give in. "They warned us about you in boot camp see? All the Yankees that never really accepted our independence because their corporations lost big and want pay back? That if there's a line of armistice right now is because you won't recognize our right to freedom and want to take over natural resources that are rightfully ours".
Apparently the Alaskan military liked to indoctrinate its soldiers well, Markovitch realized as the soldier kept glaring at her. She decided to drop the subject since it was coming again closer to a heated argument. "You might be right, I simply don't know. I'm here to fight aliens and that's it". She offered him her hand, hoping that he would break it off also. "I'm Anne Watkins".
He looked at her open hand but didn't make any reply. After some time she withdrew it and for the rest of the journey they stood silent towards one another.
After more hours had passed, the pilot warned them to put on the safety belts since they were going to emerge at the base. That had made Markovitch curious because the plane was flying over water.
A couple of minutes later her answer arrived. As the Triton slowed down his airspeed it also headed into the waters. Its immersion angle was a bit rough made the craft bounce off the surface of the sea once before they finally dove. The view ports of the Triton now showed them to be underwater and Markovitch realized that the plane wasn't an aircraft that could dive but a submarine that could fly. As the Triton swam in the Pacific waters the flight became very smooth. Then finally Books brought the ship back to the surface and she found herself to be in the middle of a sub pen.
Technically Sixth Fleet HQ was a Class II maritime base, consisting of several floating modules that were attached together and placed into position in the middle of the largest oceans. It was anchored to the bottom of the ocean so that its position would remained fairly stable and had a crew complement that could go to two hundred personnel, divided between seabed combat teams, pilots and flight personnel and scientific and engineer specialists.
Sixth Fleet HQ wasn't one of the biggest ones like Seventh's Fleet Indian base or even the one in the Norwegian Sea. It had only a combat platoon assigned, meaning some forty soldiers together with two Tritons and two Barracuda interceptor subs. Even the support personnel were kept to a minimum and the majority was assigned to maintaining the flying subs. Together with the necessary officers for running the base kept its population at less than a hundred.
They also differed from the other types of facilities for a singular factor. They were completely controlled by X-Com, unlike the seaside detachments positioned at seaside bases, which were under the orders of the national commander of the facility. And being placed on the middle of highly disputed areas of the oceans made them necessary to maintain a low profile. Things in that area usually already were a number of problems before the aliens appeared. And while off the western seaboard of the US it covered an area from the Aleutians in Alaska to the Panama Channel, including the armistice line between the People's Republic and the US, close to the border between the former state and British Columbia.
When the large hatch at the side of the Triton opened she found to be in a middle of the sub pen with a metal grated platform surrounding it on every direction. A seaman in a white wetsuit threw a couple of ropes to them, which they grabbed and tied inside the sub to bring the plane close and stabilize it.
Grabbing her bag and placing it over her shoulder she crossed the space between the sub and the platform with a jump. The clank of her boot hitting the metal grating sounded over the sub pen. Looking around as she landed, she saw a platform surrounding it and missile racks standing against the walls. There were also a lot of crates standing next to one of the airlocks that linked it to the rest of the base. Soldiers in blue jumpsuits were buzzing over them with pairs of troopers busy picking the two-meter long crates.
The voice of the non-commissioned officer leading the squad was barking orders. At his command they started to move the crates towards the Triton. Both she and Simmons back stepped aside to let the troopers past as they started to load the sub with the full crates. At the same time they also removed the empty ones and lifted them away from the pen. Ensign Books had also left the sub and was coming by them. "What are they doing?"
Her question made the pilot look at her with a satisfied smile. "Loading all the alien goodies. The stuff we get every time you capture one of their subs. That's how we make a living around here. The majority of this stuff is useless but there are some items that are worth a bundle of money out there".
"Does that include the weapons retrieved from the aliens?" He shook his head. "No. And nobody would want them anyway since all of the retrieved Zrbite is sent to a vault in Switzerland".
"All? How do you use the aliens weapons then?" He laughed at her enquiry. "Use the alien weapons? Sweetie, what are you talking about? Don't expect a sonic rifle on your hands when you get to combat".
The comment wasn't of her liking at all but a peculiar black package that a pair of soldiers was carrying made her look in attention. Both her and Simmons stood watching as a pair of full plastic body bags was carried by them to the inside where they were placed on the benches. "Meet the guys you're supposed to replace. I hope you're luckier than them". Checking Markovitch's body without even bothering to hide his interest he added. "And if you want came and see me at mess hall. I know a couple of ways we could have fun together".
Markovitch scowl told him to piss off and he wisely got back to the cabin of the Triton. She started to walk towards the Sergeant, no Petty Officer, she corrected remembering the different rank designations. He had a blue cap and stripes on his pristine wetsuit's shoulders. The NCOs face was sweaty, with a drop starting to form on the tip of his large nose and into the thin black mustache he had. He gave them a quick look before continuing with his ramp: "Morales and Teller, get yours asses moving! We aren't paid by the hour here people! Who the fuck are you?" His question surprised them both as they were about to salute him.
"Seaman Apprentice Watk…". As he turned towards her with his eyes glazing and a hint of a smile on his lips, she realized that she had just given him what he wanted.
"Don't give me that apprentice shit rookie! Get one thing straight from this moment on! You're nothing more that a rookie until you either survived after your fifth mission or if you managed to do something incredibly stupid twice and survived! Is that understood?"
The vehemence of his words made her stand on attention. "Sir, yes sir! I was only trying to present my….".
"Shut up rookie! You and that other piece of shit standing there can present yourselves to the barracks and report your lousy presence to Petty Officer Wieslow, the desk officer. Now stop distracting me! Dismissed!" Simmons nearly jumped on his feet but they both saluted and hurried past him. As they left the pen a couple of enquiries to a seaman that was passing by allowed them to find their way to the barracks.
The entrance to the Marine personnel area was nothing more than a small chamber with hatches on opposite sides. As Markovitch stepped inside another man in a khaki jumpsuit looked to her from the table where he was looking at a holovision screen that hung projected over the plastic table. She saluted him and presented his orders after saying her name. Simmons did the same afterwards.
Taking both of them, he studied them for a minute before setting them down on the table. "Well rookies Watkins and Simmons welcome to X-Com. I'm Petty Officer O'Connor, second squad leader. That's the squad you are going to be assigned to Simmons". The recruit stiffened as O'Connor's eastern accent revealed that the NCO was from the US also. And as for you, Watkins, you will fill a hole on third squad. You probably have seen there already since they had cargo detail for the Triton".
That made Markovitch swear in her mind since it meant that the other asshole Petty was her squad leader. But Wieslow's following briefing soon made her temporarily forget it. Each of the three squads was composed of thirteen soldiers, with a Petty in command plus three Able Seamen, the equivalent of corporals, to lead each four-man fire team. One squad would be on permanent alert the whole time, ready to deploy, another would be doing K-P stuff or providing base security while the third one was on rest and recovery on the base's few recreational areas. And even if they had only received basic underwater training they were considered full members of a combat team now. The implication of that quickly reached Markovitch: you either learned to survive or die even before you realized what happened.
After he finished his presentation Watkins gave them authorization cards to present for supplies at the base's quartermaster office. He dismissed them afterwards and went back to his visiset.
When she finally reached the general bunk area where all of the soldiers below Sergeant slept she found a large chamber with metal walls with lights hanging overhead. There were two floors connected through a stairwell at one end of the room. The ground floor had nothing more than a collection of tables and chairs and all sorts of equipment. There were also more bunks with metal cabinets next to them and some were occupied. The area was empty so she moved upstairs.
On the upper floor there were dark plastic walls separating three divisions which where connected by a corridor, allowing each squad to have its area adjusted for light. At the end of the corridor Moving past first squad's area to her left she saw through the heavy plastic wall that it was covered in darkness. Only second and third squad's areas were lightened.
As she finally stepped through the hole cut in the plastic wall she saw three bunks on each side of the area. A female soldier with black short hair was inside scrubbing a boot with a piece of cloth while seated on her bed. She wore an insignia on the shoulder of her jumpsuit with a white anchor that had a single small diagonal stripe on its side. She didn't look at her as she got inside but as Markovitch passed she raised her arm. "What are you doing?"
There were three beds empty in the bunks with no indication that anyone was using them. She was heading towards the one at the end of the row and pointed at it. "Hi. Isn't that bunk empty? It sure looks like it so".
The girl's body was lean but it showed also that it was muscled. "But that's a soldier's bunk, honey. The rookies section is over there!" She closed her hand into a fist and pointed with her thumb downstairs.
"What? Hey I've just been assigned to this squad. You give this reception to every new arrival?" In dread she already had figured how that the answer was positive. "Complain to the Petty Mellow next time you see him, he gave the order. But that wouldn't be much wise, let me tell ya. Try to relax and don't worry, if you're lucky you will actually end up here".
If you manage to survive. The consequences of not being lucky were to leave in a body bag and in that case it didn't mattered where you slept anymore, Markovitch realized. Things are going just swell.
**********
On another side of the base, Lieutenant Braddock had just checked that Seaman Apprentice Watkins had arrived at the base and had presented herself to her squad. He had been assigned to the naval staff of Sixth Fleet HQ not only because of her but he also wanted to ditch further dangerous combat assignments. Of course being the only Alaskan officer in the staff had its share of problems. Because the combat squads performed operations on the cease-fire Line no one wanted either a US or Alaskan officer filling high command positions on the area. Not only the area had its share of minor confrontations between forces of both countries but also both militaries seemed to look at the X-Com base with extreme suspicion. From its position on the middle of the Pacific the sonars of the base could detect any surface and underwater military deployments. And X-Com already had a bad reputation of interference in local affairs after the Brazilian Union had used their particular teams not just to fight the aliens but also to strike at Argentinean facilities and ships. Of course he now was in a position where he wouldn't have access to any operational matters, unless the Alaskan Politburo decided otherwise.
"Your replacements have arrived like you requested, Commander Gustafson". Braddock showed some pretense of proper officer etiquette by not saying his complete rank, of a lieutenant commander. The other officer was also wearing a khaki jumpsuit like him the only difference was the pins on their lapels that showed their different ranks. Braddock had a silver anchor with a chain superimposed diagonally on it while Gustafson bore a gold anchor with a chain on its right side. The Lieutenant Commander responsible for combat operations simply nodded. "Let's hope they change your recent losses, hum?"
The Icelandic officer shifted uncomfortably but refrained from answering and got up from his desk and headed towards the corridor. Inside, Braddock smiled as he remembered the mounting debts that Combat Operations had been experiencing on the past months. Technically Gustafson was superior in rank but in really he couldn't give a single order to Braddock. The Lt. Commander had been barely able to keep the unit out of the red ink, according to the files that Braddock had seen when he had arrived to the base. The former officer in charge of General Procurement had set a scheme to milk the combat crews as much as he could, by deliberately delaying supplies and replacement parts. It had worked fairly well until he had gotten too greedy and had started to try to smuggle Zrbite into the black market. At that point the officer had caught the attention of the Inspector-General's office and had warranted him a complete demotion until Seaman rank and his assignment to a combat team. Braddock thought it was a terrible thing to happen but it had cleared the way for Braddock to get to the position where he was now.
Lt. Commander Delacroix had ordered him to keep an eye on her but otherwise keep out of her way and don't make any waves to call up unwanted attention upon himself.
It would be easy.
As Gustafson left the room he activated the visiscreen on his desk and called up his message box. He had already a number of enquiries being sent by the clients of the previous officer that had previously occupied his position. Although the manager of the whole scheme was now alien bait the entire operation had been left intact and it only needed someone who wasn't too greedy.
And he couldn't care less about whom seaman Watkins really was.
September 20th, 2044
COMSTKXCOM Office, Norfolk, Virginia, US
Every time Admiral Jeanna Kole saw the COMSTKXCOM acronym stamped on the door that led into her personal office she wished that she could have the lettering erased and replaced by something simpler. It stated her official title inside the US Navy, meaning Commander, Strike, X-Com, the officer in charge of all X-Com operations and teams involving US personnel. She was the designated leader of all US X-Com forces although she took her orders from either the Chief of Naval Operations, the Admiral responsible for the Navy or from his superior up in the command ladder, such as the President or the Secretary of Defense.
On every country and economic venture present in the Council she had a similar title, ranging from admiral to marshal or even 'executive officer for anti-alien operations' as the Africa Corporation had named her position. She had never taken any order from their military or political leaders. The only ones who had anything to say about her actions was the Council and even they would be more than satisfied with her as long as she kept the neodollars flowing from the weapons sale. And for four years they had been more than pleased with her style of running one of the most profitable enterprises in the entire world. Most of the stock exchanges were slumbering into depression with the shares listed slowly losing their values over the years. However, the small amount of shares that had been sold, as a way to rise badly needed funds before the boon of Gauss technology had more than tripled their original value. As long as X-Com kept fighting the aliens there would be more than enough money to satisfy everyone on the business.
But to her it didn't matter to whom she was supposed to report and she wasn't even American in the first place. She had no care for dealing with overzealous admirals and bickering politicians which were more interested in going for their own interests or worse, to patriotically defend their nations' interests. Usually such affairs were better left to the X-Com officers in charge of land facilities since they were of the same nationality of the countries were the facilities were based. In the Norfolk case it meant Commodore Gregory Paris, a career Navy officer that had been assigned to X-Com two years ago although he had never served aboard a ship. She was expecting him for a meeting that was scheduled to start in ten minutes and meanwhile she was getting through the paperwork so that she could have a clear idea of what the man had been up to at the base.
Pressing a button on her desk, she called her personal secretary. "Tolk, bring me a cup of tea, please". She didn't like the Norfolk offices either, too cold and impersonal for her own taste. She preferred her own space at the Rotterdam installation back on the Netherlands or even the X-Com Headquarters in Geneva. But the construction of new research facilities to replace the ones lost at SORESO made it necessary for her to personally inspect the few bases that had been selected. She considered further research to be a pure waste of resources since they already knew everything they needed to contain the alien problem. The holovision device on her desk was glimmering with an artificial reality window containing a series of data work files that she would have to review and decide their relative importance. Her near vision was getting bad so she had a set of old fashioned glasses on her nose to help reduce the strain on her eyes. As her vision danced from one file to another, the optic sensors detected her pupil movement and magnified the contents of the files that she was selecting, most of them requests for additional research material and scientists.
The task took her complete attention so she didn't paid attention as the door opened to allow her secretary inside. Stamping another "REFUSED" virtual signature over the document she was reading she passed to the next one. It concerned a request made by a certain Dr. Camay for additional material to research the physical disturbances of the sites the aliens were building all over the world. For a moment Koles simply sent it the same way as the other requests down the trash bin but she thought it better if Inspector Alkeviades also confirmed her opinion. AS she was typing a memo to him she noticed that Tolk had already moved by her side and was waiting.
It took a moment for Koles to realize that the person standing next to her wasn't his personal secretary and that unlike Tolk it was wearing a dark blue combat jumpsuit instead of the white dress uniform the Ensign wore. As she started to turn towards him, Koles noticed that it was holding a tea saucer with a steaming cup on his right hand. As her chair continued with the swivel her legs had imparted on it, the tip of her nose nearly hit the muzzle of the gray Gauss pistol the figure was holding on his other hand. The inside of the stubby barrel of the weapon was black. Her nose rose until the glasses at the tip were at the level of the pistol. As she was about to demand an explanation to what was happening her eyes froze as they locked into the dark expression of the man facing her.
"Who are…". Her voice was cut by the cracking sound of the Gauss pistol being discharged. The accelerated particle beam burned through her face and the bone underneath until they finally reached the brain tissue. The blue and white china saucer crashed into the floor and broke into a million pieces, splattering the tea all over the plastic surface. The now faceless body of Admiral Koles followed it a moment later.
André Galvão, 2002