[You Interviewing Amalie]
"I believe there is a… favorite phrase you 'XCOM' people have… or was it a rule… or saying…" She hissed while twirling her pistol by the trigger. "Anyway, you said… 'we will take their weapons, study them, and make them ours"
She chuckled giddily.
"I liked that saying… so much, that I took 'their' weapons, and made them my own."
She stopped twirling it and lifted her other hand up, and showed the wristband she was wearing.
"Funny… how a silly 'game' image… could inspire so much…" She hissed as she ignited her Plasma Blade. "My life for hire~!"
"Never quite figured out what that last part meant… stupid idea if you ask me." She hissed while deactivating her blade and twirling her pistol again. "Why offer me 'money' to kill something, when I'd happily do it for free?"
=Chapter 7, D.L. Infinity=
(Commander's PoV)
"Alright, that's everything." Eagleeye said as his Gremlin finished uploading the reprogrammed commands. "She's ready to roll!"
"Let's hope this works." Sharptooth muttered as she finished setting the Sectopod's power to use the backup generator it carried. "Commander, we are literally turning on something that could easily turn on us if we aren't careful. This is a huge risk we're taking!"
[I think I know the situation 'Colonel Kelly', now get back and move behind that desk.] He said.
"Ouch… rank and last name, Sharptooth is in 'troooouble~'!" Puppy whispered quietly over the coms.
"I swear if we make it back I am going to use you for target practice 'dog'!" Sharptooth muttered angrily.
He ignored them as he stared out the window while two rooms to his left, Mercy and Hawkeye were watching another street, and upstairs T-Rex, Falcon and Puppy were hiding behind a desk watching the other side of the building. As Eagleeye finished he turned and headed to Sharptooth's room where she had been watching the street they'd just left through a crack in the door.
In the ten minutes since they'd discovered this second abandoned Sectopod he had come up with a strategy to counter the AI General's encirclement tactic and even the odds.
His plan was a three-part deployment, with part one being reactivating this first Sectopod and having it attack and destroy the nearest AA Sectopod preventing them from calling in rescue. This would have the added benefit of distracting nearby enemy units as well, as they would be forced to deal with said 'rogue' Sectopod, buying them time to move from building to building without being spotted first.
The second part of his plan was to use the initial distraction caused by the Sectopod to split up his Sharks into three squads, and move from block to block, locating and activating the depowered Sectopods and reprograming them to assault AA Sectopod positions. During this phase, his Sharks, divided and hidden, would perform hit and run operations while the Rogue Sectopods distracted and performed the work of destroying the AA Sectopods, trying to take out as many Advent Units as possible before the distraction ended.
The third and final part of the plan, locate and destroy the AI Generals if possible, or gather as much intel on their capabilities as they could, before pulling back and escaping in the Skyranger. If they could secure enough rogue Sectopods to break a hole in the encirclement, the AI Generals would be 'forced' to engage him to prevent their escape, and this would take away their biggest advantage, the playing field they had carefully crafted to 'their' choosing.
This entire city was their battlefield, they had chosen the field, set the pieces, and prepared everything so that he had no advantage besides what little the city itself offered. If he could take them out of their comfort, it would put him in charge of the field for once.
At least, that was his belief.
He was taking a massive gamble, dividing his already outnumbered forces was a massive risk. Without the whole squad together, they would have to fight nearly three times as hard if they were spotted.
[Alright, let's get this started…] He muttered. [Shen, you said this program will target 'only' the AA Sectopod right?]
[Right Commander, since I don't have the time to perfect the program that's the best I can do. Once you turn it on, it should move to the nearest AA Sectopod and begin attacking. It will ignore all other units, even after it destroys the AA Sectopod, so if you're going to destroy any Advent units, that would be your best chance while they're all distracted by a giant rogue tank.]
[Noted, alright Sharks… once we turn this on, we'll need to move fast! I've divided you into three squads, Squad 1 will consist of myself, Mercy and hawkeye. Squad 2 will include Falcon, T-Rex and Puppy. Squad 3 will be Eagleeye and Sharptooth. We need to activate as many of these Depowered Sectopods as possible to break out of this trap, so we're splitting up to do so. On my signal, move to your assigned buildings and move fast, this won't distract them for long!]
[Eagleeye, remote activate the Sectopod!]
He nodded and sent a signal to his Gremlin, which flew over to the Sectopod, hacked into the depowered machine's AI, and gave him access to its commands. Moments later said Gremlin flew back over to Eagleeye, just as it began to shake and stand up.
Once it stood up, it backed up through the hole in the building that it had made to get stuck inside the building's first floor previously, and then turned toward the nearest AA Sectopod Position.
Almost instantly a spotlight was on the Sectopod and tracked its movement, sounded by a warning siren.
Over the coms he heard the AI Generals.
[What is going on here, I don't recall seeing that Sectopod Model among the models we acquired and modified!] E.C. 1 declared in an open channel for all to hear. [C.X. 2, tactical analysis, what is happening with that model?]
He took a chance and ordered Mercy toward the open and had her watch the Sectopod's progress as it marched down the street. At the same time, he had Sharptooth's Squad and T-Rex's squad standing by for the signal to split up and head for different buildings. Each of them gave him vision of the various streets, and it was getting hard to keep so much in mind, but he managed to split his attention thanks to the Gremlin's help, which fed a constant stream of information for him.
[Unclear… unit unresponsive…] C.X. 2 replied. [Unit does not respond to orders.]
[A Rogue Sectopod, impossible!] E.C. 1 said.
[Come on… work…] He muttered as it marched onward, being watched now by multiple Aerial Drones.
It stomped closer, before it came into range, opened up its sides to reveal multiple anti-infantry plasma weapons, and open fired on the AA Sectopod, which sat there the entire time.
[What the?!] E.C. 1 yelled. [Who ordered that thing to fire on us?! What is going on here!? C.X. 2 Report!]
[Unknown, unit rejecting command queries.]
[You're telling me that thing is attacking our own forces for 'no reason'?] E.C. 1 replied furiously. [Whatever the case may be, its attacking our AA Sectopod, all units, destroy the rogue unit! Do not allow it to destroy the Sectopod!]
[Not yet, not yet…] He said.
Moments later the nearby Advent units protecting the Sectopod began open firing on the rogue, but its heavy armor protected it against the non-heavy weapons fire. All that was protecting the AA-Pod's position were two MEC units and an Aero Drone, on top of the spotting Aero Drone that had spotted it and followed it.
He watched the Rogue Pod pummel the AA Sectopod with endless fire, slowly wearing down its protective armor.
[Primary Objective under attack. Current defensive units inadequate to protect. Require additional units…]
[If we do that then there will be a massive gap in our search zones, we will be blind!]
[Analysis indicates position compromised… must reinforce if Primary Objective is to remain… Alternative actions: none found.]
[Fine, if you insist... Delta Teams L-7, P-8, and K-2 regroup and defend AA-S 19. All Aero Drones within Section 9 move to Position Sixty three, Protect that Sectopod! Destroy the Rogue Unit at once!]
From outside he heard various metal footsteps and the whirling of levipads moving around. He watched through Mercy's visor as seven MEC Units marched past, rapidly trying to reach the attack position. Above he saw several Aero Drones converging as well, ignoring their spotlights and instead targeting the Rogue Pod with their light weapons.
[Now's our chance, while they're busy! Move!] He ordered, and instantly everyone broke from their cover and ran.
T-Rex, Puppy and Falcon ran down a side street toward a series of buildings that once looked like a shopping district. Sharptooth and Eagleeye ran down the street they were in and headed toward what looked like a series of restaurants. Meanwhile he, Mercy and Hawkeeye fled through the hole in the building to the buildings opposite theirs, what seemed to be apartment complexes.
[Move Sharks move!] He ordered as their distraction began bearing into the AA Sectopod's inner body structure. [Our distraction won't last much longer!]
Sure enough, not two seconds later, just as everyone reached their positions, the Sectopod shuddered, twitched, and then exploded. Meanwhile their Rogue Sectopod, with no target left to attack, sat there and let the Advent Units destroy 'it', which resulted in it too staggering, collapsing, and then exploding, taking one of the Mec units with it.
But it gave them enough time to get into the buildings without being spotted.
[Command squad, we're in, squad leaders report status…]
"Sharptooth squad, close but still got all our teeth." Sharptooth muttered over the coms.
"Puppy unit, we're in, tails and all!" Puppy said while breathing heavily.
[You're not in charge Puppy!] He said. [Alright let's move out, we need to locate additional Sectopods before they catch on.]
No sooner had he said that and began issuing move orders, did the AI generals begin openly discussion what just happened.
[We've lost one of our AA Sectopods. I don't know how that Rogue Unit appeared or where it came from, but what I want to know is why you 'failed' to inform me of it!] E.C. 1 said.
[Tactical Analysis indicates a lack of information… Unknown variable discovered… Situational Analysis confirms this.]
['Unknown Variable'? You are lucky that our 'net' is still active and that the loss of this one position does not affect the net as a whole! In any case we must resume our search for the Commander and his forces. I will scour the section they were last encountered, 'you' continue to examine the data and figure out what is going on!]
(Hawkeye's PoV)
Hawkeye followed behind the Commander as Mercy followed behind him, both keeping their weapons at the ready and making sure to be as quiet as possible. As they walked through a torn down wall connecting two of the restaurants together, a spotlight approached the wall nearest the street.
Instantly the Commander ordered them to take cover behind some overturned chairs and a table, and they moved fast to avoid being spotted.
Thinking about the other squads he switched his visor to look through Sharptooth's field of view, which showed her crouching low while she went up a flight of stairs to look around. The Commander had ordered her to give him more vision while Eagleeye covered the lower floor. Eagleeye hid below a table to avoid being spotted as well.
"Huh… three for one special… pity this invasion happened the day before this event was supposed to happen." Eagleeye muttered as he saw an old flyer literally melted into the table, unable to do anything while they waited for the patrol to pass.
Switching to Puppy, he watched as she and Falcon crawled past an overturned bookshelf, avoiding being spotted by an MEC that was marching past the window. T-Rex was trying to remain hidden as he used an old clothes rack to conceal himself 'and' his weapon. It would have been funny because it reminded him of that stunt that one of his favorite cartoon characters did, if not for the fact that he was sweating bullets as a spotlight from an Aero Drone passed over him, hung for a moment, before moving on.
The Commander got his attention seconds later and both he and Mercy were ordered to move again. They continued onward through the building, avoiding the patrol's vision as best they could.
Soon however, they had to take a gamble and ran out into the street, to reach their next set of cover, another apartment complex. Fortunately, there was an overturn bus that had smashed into the building which gave them cover from an Aero Drone.
"Is this a bus or a dump truck?" He muttered as he glanced around at the trash littering the floor of the bus.
Surrounding him were dozens of old cans, paper bags, old newspapers, and other such leftover trash that made his nose scrunch in disgust at the smell.
"I… do not like this…" Mercy hissed nervously as the Commander told them to not move, waiting for it to pass. "Hunted like… like rats…"
[Better to be hunted instead of evaporated.] The Commander countered.
Hawkeye agreed, as he gripped one of the chairs to keep himself grounded, the metal of the bus was very slippery.
Seconds passed and the Aero Drone flew past, not spotting them, and he let out a sigh of relief.
[Alright let's go…] The Commander said, ordering them to move through the bus.
They both nodded and moved through.
But Mercy, who's body anatomy was vastly different to a human, failed to take into account that she had to 'slither' stealthily as well as be 'quiet' verbally.
Just as she reached the edge of the rear of the bus, the end of her tail tapped one of the old cans, causing it to clatter across the metal of the bus. Back in the day, nobody would have bat an eye at a coke can clattering around, except for that one guy who would yell and tell whoever dropped the can to throw it out.
Tiing ting tnnnnng…
But in their current time, current situation and location, it sounded like she had set off a nuclear warhead.
[RUN!] The Commander yelled, sending them the path to take instantly.
They broke and ran, just as an Aero Drone flooded the bus with a spotlight.
[Enemy Forces Detected… Targeting last known position… Coordinates locked… Firing!] C.X. 2 declared.
Seconds later there was a blinding flash of light, followed by a massive explosion which blasted not only the bus but also a section of the building they had just fled from. He ordered them to take cover behind a nearby wall, and both he and Mercy raced there, hearts racing and breathing heavily.
Just as a spotlight shined into the front lobby.
[Scans… negative…] C.X. 2 said over the open coms.
[Really C.X. 2, and I thought you were the one who cautioned 'me' to avoid needless destruction.] E.C. 1 responded. [Resume standard search parameters, avoid using your artillery option until we can 'confirm' their location.]
[Affirmative…]
The spotlight left and they were once again in darkness and shadow.
Both he and Mercy collapsed after that, subconsciously holding each other's hand while their others gripped their weapons.
"Watch… your tail… dear…" He muttered.
"I will… 'darling'…" She responded.
[Get up… we found one!] The Commander said, breaking the moment and causing them to look over to their left, and saw that the head of a Sectopod had shoved itself in between two buildings, concealed by one and buried within the entire floor of theirs.
The Sectopod had apparently walked through a building, all but collapsing it, and simply shut down right there.
"This is Puppy Squad, we got one as well… watch the explosions, will you? A patrol almost spotted my butt with that stunt!" Puppy muttered.
"Well next time don't stick it out, but this is Sharptooth Squad, we found a Sectopod as well, these things sure like burying themselves in buildings."
[Alright, I have eyes on three total Sectopods, I want…] The Commander began saying before going silent. [Uh… right… yea… alright, Eagleeye, Puppy, move close and have your Gremlins upload the hack program while Sharptooth and Falcon, activate the backup generators. Hawkeye, you activate this one's backup generator… I'll upload the program.]
"Alright sir." He said, not sure what was going on.
It looked like for a moment, the Commander lost his focus.
Still he shoved that thought aside and began looking for the backup generator controls on the Sectopod.
(Commander's PoV)
He floated up toward the Sectopod and began accessing his Gremlin's hacking protocols. He then formed a link with the Avenger's computer so that Shen could send the program through his Gremlin.
[Alright Shen, I'm in… now… start the upload.] He said, just as he became distracted by the other Gremlins belonging to Puppy and Eagleeye doing the same thing.
[Commander, I can't until you actually 'hack' in.] Shen said.
[Right… sorry, was distracted for a moment… dunno why.] He said, before 'actually' activating the hack tool.
He activated it and was granted access instantly, alongside the other two Gremlins. As one he had each begin to upload the reprogram protocol, making the Sectopods target the nearest AA-Sectopod.
As the hack went through he watched as Hawkeye, Sharptooth, and Falcon finished switching over to the backup power for each of the Sectopods. Meanwhile he watched two streets through Mercy and T-Rex to make sure none of the Advent forces spotted them.
[What I would give to have SHIV here…] He said as the hack finished. [Alright… get ready… take up positions… and… activate Sectopods!]
As one all of the Sectopods began to turn on, they powered up, stood up, backed up and proceeded to obey the program uploaded into them. They moved into the streets where they were instantly spotted by Aero Drones.
[What is going on here, 'three' Sectopods appearing simultaneously!?] E.C. 1 said. [And they're all heading for our AA Positions. This is too much to be a coincidence… C.X. 2, XCOM is up to something!]
[Analysis complete… Multiple Advent Sectopods discovered… All abandoned… Unresponsive… Displaying symptoms of Virus LK-7, no Anti-Virus available to shield them…]
[In that case we can't link up with them!] E.C 1 replied. [If we attempt to gain control the Virus will affect 'our' forces as well. In that case we must reach them with our forces before XCOM does.]
[Wait for them to recall their forces before moving out… get ready!] He said, as everyone got into position to make for the buildings.
[Recommended Tactic: abandon currently assaulted positions… re-deploy remaining AA-Sectopods to create new field of fire… deploy personal forces to securing Sectopod Locations.]
[As much as I hate the idea, so be it… AA Sectopods 1-8, 11-13, 15-18 and 20, relocate to secondary grid locations, assume formation Zeta. Escort forces proceed into defensive positions into formation Alpha tango. Primary intercept forces assume patrol formation pattern Gamma six.]
[Supplementary units assume formation Beta six three nine!] C.X. 2 declared. [Secondary Supplemental Forces, resume standard search parameters!]
[Now's our chance, go!] He ordered, just as the Sectopods began to hit their targets, and the forces protecting them retaliated.
They broke cover and ran into the street, but instead of avoiding being spotted however, he watched through each of his soldier's visors as they were 'instantly' spotted by Aero Drones.
He however, had a different spotlight, shining down on him from none other than a massive Sectopod that had trained several targeting lasers, four anti personal plasma cannons, and a powerful Advent Sectopod laser.
E.C. 1 had spotted him and his group, while Aero Drones had spotted Sharptooth's and Puppy's groups.
[Well, well, if it isn't the Commander of XCOM… I seem to have found you!] He said giddily. [Well, game's up… your clearly who we wanted, and now that we know for certain… we don't need the 'rest' of these 'expendable' materials.]
Thinking fast he checked the visors of every member of his squad and saw the only path for escape. He gave everyone orders as quickly as he could, ordering Sharptooth to fire on the Aero Drone above her and Eagleeye, T-Rex to fire on the Aero Drone above him, Puppy and Falcon, and finally Mercy to fire a special dart at the optical lens of E.C. 1.
[You know… you guys seemed to have forgotten a lesson of your own!] He countered.
[And that would be?] E.C. 1 said while priming his Plasma rounds.
[FIRE!] He ordered.
Simultaneously the shots of a Plasma Sniper, a Beam Cannon, and an Acid Dart sounded. Two Aero Drones were shot down, and E.C. 1's optical lens was covered in alloy melting Acid.
[GAAAAAAARH!] E.C. 1 yelled, staggering backward.
[If you're going to do something, 'do it', don't stand there talking about it!]
He ordered them all to flee right then.
[C.X. 2, fire on my position, maximum power!] E.C. 1 ordered, unable to locate them even with his targeting lasers searching like spotlights.
[Coordinates locked… Firing…]
They ran as fast as they could, just as an explosion rocketed the street behind them. Turning he saw that E.C. 1 had activated his shield and protected himself, while everything else was a smoldering crater.
But his optical visuals were still melted from Mercy's acid dart, so E.C. 1 could still not see them, and the targeting lasers were now searching frantically for them.
[You will not escape me! Nothing escapes me!] He shouted as four lasers took aim at random objects, and the four Anti-Personnel plasma cannons began firing rapidly.
He however did not wait around, he had his sharks continue to run, dodging plasma fire as the blind Sectopod AI tried desperately to hit them.
They ran down the street, avoiding the steady streams of fire and running past burned and overturned cars, before ducking into another apartment complex and taking cover behind some destroyed walls and piles of rubble.
Sharptooth's and Puppy's groups had done the same thing, but instead of dodging plasma fire they had to dodge the sight lines of various MEC units and Aero Drones. But still they all managed to take cover without being spotted.
Meanwhile over the coms, the AI Generals were talking.
[Negative contact, I've lost visual on the targets, including my own optics.] E.C. 1 said. [C.X 2, deploy a Recon Drone to my coordinates, deploy additional recon drones to replace those lost! Resume standard search parameters, I'll take care of the Rogue Pods!]
[Affirmative, Recon Drones LT-7K and PK-1A launching… Recon Drone BL-7S deploying to your position.]
[Recon Drones in sectors Delta 7, 9, 15, and 32, take formation J-7-52!] E.C. 1 ordered.
They heard the ground shake slightly as the Sectopod marched, stomping away from them in the direction of what he assumed was the nearest Rogue Sectopod.
[Central… tell me there is a gap…] He asked as he called the Avenger. [I'm not sure how many close calls we have left before they finally corner us. I'm running out of ideas.]
[Commander, their AA positions have shifted, before they were in a circular pattern with two rows of AA positions to prevent you from creating a gap and covering any avenue of escape. Now they've shifted position and are now in a star formation. Looks like they're just ganna keep shifting around and maintain the net until you take out too many for them cover the entire city with.]
[Wonderful… just wonderful…] He groaned. [We eliminated three at the same time, and their response was to simply let the lost positions go while maintaining their search patrols and reform their net to keep us here. Not to mention that they'll be securing the other Sectopods now.]
[Well I have some intel that might help you Commander.] Shen said. [I did a bit of scanning of those Sectopods that won't shut up, and I've learned a few things about em. The one called E.C. 1 is using a series of laser guided Plasma batteries to target you guys, so long as you can avoid being targeted by one, he shouldn't hit you. As for the one called C.X. 2, it appears his Sectopod uses an Artillery cannon like the ones the Widow used that you destroyed, only much smaller. Assuming it operates the same way, he takes a certain amount of time to fire it, and must control the force of the blast based on how much plasma he channels.]
[Well, at least that's something.] He said, taking check of where each of his Sharks were hiding.
Puppy's group were hiding in an old Electronics store behind a couple of shelves. Sharptooth and Eagleeye were taking advantage of some overturned fitness equipment to avoid being seen by patrols. Meanwhile he, Mercy and Hawkeeye were hiding behind rubble piles and a desk in another apartment complex.
[Commander, Amalie provided us the signal the other abandoned Sectopods use to be tracked, and we've located an additional 32 hidden in the remains of the city. I'm marking their positions for you now. You and our teams are close to another 2 that we can use to assault the AA Sectopods, if you can destroy those Sectopods, we might be able to open a window large enough for us to send the Skyranger to pick you up, before they rearrange their net.]
[That's assuming they don't repeat their performance Central and simply let the Sectopods fall, while rearranging the rest to maintain the net.] He responded. [Well… if this was going to be easy, then our lives wouldn't be in danger… might as well get to it then.]
He ordered his squads to move from their positions, with Puppy's and Sharptooth's squads taking alley routes to avoid patrolling Air Drones. From what he saw, it seemed that several of the Air Drones had abandoned the alleyway positions, leaving only the ones patrolling the streets.
"Looks like they're moving to cover the abandoned Sectopods Commander." Hawkeye said as they took to an alleyway as well, avoiding the main street as a Tank Drone hovered past with two MEC units.
"I have never seen Advent forces this coordinated before." Mercy hissed as Sharptooth showed them her view, watching two patrols of units meet, turn around, and resume their patrol with perfect precision.
"You're telling me… they seem to be running like clockwork." Puppy muttered.
"Like ants… in someone's pants…" T-Rex said.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Sharptooth asked.
They continued to move through their alleyways, avoiding being spotted by the Advent MEC units and Air Drones. Until they reached the ends of their alleys and returned to the main streets.
[Well… this complicates things…] He said.
Sharptooth had an eye on a Sectopod, as did he, Mercy and Hawkeye.
Unfortunately, Advent had beat them to the positions, as both Sectopods who were wedged between two floors of buildings, each buried under a heap of rubble, had a spotlight on them from two Air Drones.
[We must secure those Sectopods Sharks.] He said. [Sharptooth, Hawkeye, target those Air Drones!]
His Rangers took aim, and at his command both open fired on the flying Drones.
Plasma fire hit both Drones and because neither could see the attack, nor anticipated it, both fragile drones were shot down and destroyed.
There was silence as everyone waited.
More silence followed.
And yet more silence…
[What… nothing?] He commented.
He waited for something, anything, some kind of 'comment' or call out from E.C. 1 or C.X 2, but nothing.
[This has got to be a trap…] He whispered.
"So… do we just 'leave' them?" Puppy asked nervously.
"If we are to take them, now is our chance, otherwise we are simply wasting valuable time." Falcon whispered.
[If we are, then we need to approach this… carefully.] He said. [Puppy's Group, you stay in your position and watch for danger. Sharptooth, you and Eagleeye move to the Sectopod. Hawkeye, you me and Mercy will move to 'this' Sectopod. Let's work fast…]
As one they moved, but just as Sharptooth's group and his group approached, they were suddenly bathed in spotlights.
[Target Locked!] C.X. 2 declared.
[We've got you now!] E.C. 1 also said.
He turned to see the street lined with eight Tank Drones, four on each side. Behind him the alley was occupied by E.C. 1 as it marched forward, with an Air Drone spotting for the massive Sectopod.
Sharptooth and Eagleeye were in similar positions, surrounded by MEC units and Air Drones. As for Puppy, Falcon and T-Rex were suddenly also surrounded, as four Tank Drones forced them into the street, right into the spotlight of an Air Drone.
"Well… this looks familiar…" Sharptooth muttered.
[Indeed…] E.C. 1 declared as it stopped moving to take aim. [Surrounded on all sides and no way out… this time. Any last words for your precious squad… 'Commander'?]
Thinking quickly, he looked around with his Gremlin's speed, but there was indeed no way out from what he saw. His Sharks were surrounded, left right, back forth, up…
Down?
He glanced down and saw an old Sewer Entrance in front of E.C. 1, in front of Puppy and in front of Sharptooth's positions.
[I've got some words for you…] He told them all, sending simultaneous orders. [Grenade positions L-15, Z-42, and U-61!]
Eagleeye, T-Rex, and Hawkeye each pulled out their grenades, primed them, and tossed them at the old Sewer Caps, blowing up the metal caps and creating holes in the ground.
[GET DOWN, NOW!] He ordered.
As one they all ran toward the sewer entrances, just as the Advent Forces open fired.
"This is ganna huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrr…" Puppy yelled as she and the others jumped one at a time down the holes.
He meanwhile dove straight into the hole, just as E.C. 1 tried to fire and stop him, even going so far as to slam a metal foot onto the hole.
He flew down into darkness… unsure of what path he had taken, but he was hoping that at least 'this' way he could survive long enough with his Sharks to find a way to escape this trap.
(E.C 1's PoV)
He slammed his foot down on the ground, unable to prevent the Commander from escaping.
Realizing that they had escaped, he ordered his forces to stand down.
Behind him C.X. 2 marched up, registering the stand down order.
[Status confirm… Enemy Forces have evaded capture?]
[Confirm, XCOM has eluded capture, and escaped into the sewer system…] He replied. [Can we send any forces into the sewers to pursue them?]
[Negative… all current access ways into the sewers have been severed… unable to comply…]
[What about the sewer systems themselves, is there any way they can escape the sewer systems other than the blocked off accessways?]
[Negative… no other means of escape discovered…]
[So, what your saying is that the XCOM forces are now out of 'our' reach… and are now trapped within the sewer systems below us?]
[Confirmed…]
He glanced back at C.X. 2, before he looked down at the blown-out entrance way.
[According to plan!] They both declared in unison.
[Begin… Phase Two… take your forces to the Western American Region, surround the Resistance nest… begin your assault in twenty-four hours as planned.]
[Order received…]
(Commander's PoV)
Minutes after they fell down into the sewer systems, he and the Sharks were now trying to recover from the fall.
[Alright Sharks… sound off… who's not dead?]
"Ugh… my leg feels like they just jumped from a skyscraper." Sharptooth growled.
"I think I broke a knee…" Puppy muttered.
"At least you 'have' knees…" T-Rex said.
"Better for worse…" Falcon replied.
"I am getting too damn old for this…" Eagleeye said.
"My back hurts…" Hawkeye called.
"Why do you always land on top of me?" Mercy hissed.
He activated his lights, as did Eagleeye's and Puppy's Gremlins to give them light.
They were all getting back onto their feet, but they were all alive. He had saved his Sharks, for now.
He began to call the Avenger, to figure out what to do and how to get out while his Sharks recovered from the fall.
[Central… the situation has changed… tell me we can use these sewers to get out?]
[I wish I could say you could, but it looks like there are no exits out of those sewers without climbing up the way you came.] He said. [I also have other bad news… it seems a small fleet of Advent Transports have just taken off from the city, leaving the AA Sectopods behind.]
[They know we're trapped… and they want us to stay here… but where are they going?]
[Judging by the scans your people are taking… they are heading for what looks like a region in Western America…] Amalie hissed. [This is not good… if you don't get out of there soon, we are going to have another 'South America' massacre…]
[Well… then let's find a way out… first thing though… regrouping the Sharks!] He muttered as his Sharks got up. [We're blind down here, so I'm going to be relying on you all to give me the information we need to maneuver.]
"Not much to see… just stinks…" Sharptooth muttered.
"I forgot why I hated the sewers… to think my cousin worked down here before the war." Eagleeye said.
He didn't like it either, slogging through the sewer systems, but it was either that or die upstairs.
The sewers offered him no benefit to fighting, the narrow tunnels were barely high enough to let his forces stand up straight. However nearly twenty-five years of disuse had drained the sewers enough to let them stand comfortably enough. The tunnels were also barely wide enough for them to stand two by two.
However, they also had one factor that he actually was glad to be stuck in a Gremlin for.
"Ugh… this stiiiiinks…" Puppy moaned as her foot stepped in some sludge.
"Tell me bout it sista… place reeks more than my grandmama's home filled with cats!" T-Rex said.
Twenty-five years of disuse means that whatever sludge, waste, and bad air was within the sewers had stayed in the sewers, rotting and decaying. The air was foul and it was clear that fresh air would be impossible to come by while down there.
He just hoped that bad smelling air was 'all' he had to deal with.
"This place is like a maze…" Falcon whispered.
"Yea, like a rat maze… so many twists and turns." Eagleeye said.
They continued to move through the sewers, him using the information his forces had to try and maneuver through the maze and regroup.
Then, ten minutes of walking later, and he saw something that made him regret his earlier hope.
Each of his squads spotted what looked like an Advent Tank Drone.
Each of the Tank Drones hovered in front of them, shining spotlights.
"Oh thank goodness… its only three mindless Tank Drones…" Puppy muttered sarcastically, raising her Laser Rifle to fire. "This shouldn't be a problem…"
The Tank Drones waited for a few seconds before something sounded… echoing off the walls.
[Only 'three' things wrong with 'that' phrase little girl…] The first Tank in front of Puppy's group called out, in a very familiar voice. [One, we're not drones…]
[Two, we're not mindless…] The Tank in front of Sharptooth's group shouted.
[And Three… Problem's our 'Specialty'!] The one in front of 'his' group declared, before all three readied their weapons, and fired magnetic blasts at them.
