AN: FINALLY, THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION! Welcome back everybody to the next installment of the Xenonauts saga as a break was taken by yours truly to focus on some rather important real-life issues. I'm back now and will be getting more chapters for the story in the near future. Enough about my life, let's get back to the real reason we're here our Xenonauts! Last chapter saw one of the bloodiest and hardest hitting battles as two of the original members of the team were gunned down in a UFO assault along with one of the newer corporals. More blows are to follow though, as another UFO needs to be dealt with immediately! How bad will the toll be this time? Continue on to find out if you dare! Without further ado, let's jump into this shit!

Chapter 9: We Don't Go on Night Missions!


== Back at Base (10/7/79) ==

The flight back to the compound was somber and all-around depressing as the team lamented on the loss of personnel. Vidrai and Santos had both been with the team since the very first mission and their deaths left a gaping hole that would be nearly impossible to fill. The remaining healthy elements of the team, Kurniawan, Smith and Zielinski were immediately corralled at the hangar and remained on standby as they were folded into a new strike team for the next mission that was set to be handled immediately.

One of the UFOs left in the sky disappeared over Greenland as it slipped out of radar range forcing the chase to end prematurely, while the other was caught on the East Coast of Africa over Oman. The battle ended in another UFO shot down as the Condor returned to the confines of the base to celebrate another air victory.

The new strike team was assembled in the hangar awaiting the order to go as the Commander was debating on whether or not to send the team to the new crash site. Some of the soldiers had gotten bored with the waiting and decided to pick up some small-talk to pass the time. Loharani had noticed a new addition to the team that would be consisting of only nine members due to the mounting casualties from the last few missions.

"Who's the new guy?" she asked Smith who was the closest to her. Zielinski and Kurniawan also perked up at the question as they were within earshot and heard the question. Said person was a 6' 2'' Caucasian male with slicked back light brown hair, a thick moustache and a poorly maintained beard that nearly reached his chest who appeared to be in his late twenties.

"Oh that's Travis Thomas, he's the recent rookie brought into the project." Smith replied with a disapproving tone that didn't slip by unnoticed.

"Not a fan of his I take it?" said Kurniawan asked for more details.

"Yeah, he's pretty full of himself, everyone else in the Eagles (101st Airborne) detested him. Doesn't know when to shut his trap while he's ahead." Smith answered earnestly as the others understood immediately, that was an answer only someone who knows the person could give.

Ahem!

The Commander had cleared his throat to get the soldiers' attention as the talking ceased immediately.

"After careful consideration, we've decided to not send you guys out until the following day as a night time battle would be disastrous for us..." started the Commander before trailing off as a southern accent cut him off.

"Aww, come on we can take em Commander." Thomas answered with a cocky smirk on his face. Smith glanced over at Loharani, Kurniawan and Zielinski as she gave them the look that said 'What I tell you?' as the Commander processed that information.

'Guess he'll have to learn the hard way, we don't go on night missions.' He thought to himself as he again addressed the group.

"Very well then Thomas, you've got your wish. You'll leave immediately, target is a small village on the East Coast of Oman. Big Sky will land in the Northwest corner of the village, progress through the village neutralizing targets as you go and secure the downed craft. Good luck out there, you're going to need it!" he ordered and emphasized his last statement as he left the room effectively dismissing the squad.

The soldiers gathered into Big Sky glancing at Thomas with disapproving looks as they prepared for their first night mission.


== On the Ground Seven Hours Later (10/7/79) ==

Team 1 – Lt. Jens Meier, Sgt. Mohandas Bhandari, Pvt. Travis Thomas, Sgt. Natalia Zielinski, Sgt. Claire Lefebvre (Sniper)

Team 2 – Sgt. Bayomi Danjuma, Sgt. Zee Loharani, Cpl. Natalie Smith, Sgt. Andy Kurniawan (Sniper)

The two teams exited Big Sky with tactical lights activated to help try and combat the new enemy they'd be facing, darkness. Even with the lights, the soldier's vision was cut down to about 2/3 of what they could see in the daylight. Everyone was also equipped with flares on the back of their belts which could be activated to help illuminate further away areas.

Team 1 started their trek off the left side of the ramp as they looked to flank around the aliens' left while Team 2 set about clearing buildings directly in front of them on the right flank of the crashed UFO in the town center.


== With Team 2 ==

Almost immediately the door of the house in front of the squad opened to reveal a blue-shirted Caesan. In the distance the squad heard the sounds of two people dying from gunshots as they sprang into action. Loharani started the firefight with two quick shots towards the alien.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! SCREECH!

Both struck the intended target as the alien recoiled from the two shots to the torso as it let out two wounded cries for help. It then raised its weapon and fired in Loharani's direction.

BZZT!

The shot sailed harmlessly overhead as Smith countered with a shot of her own from her M16.

BANG! SCREAM!

The shot struck the alien in the chest as it fell over with a deathly scream signifying the end of its life. Kurniawan tosses a flare to illuminate the alley to the squad's left and seeing no alien activity, he and Danjuma advanced that direction as Loharani and Smith advance to the house's wall.

As soon as Kurniawan stepped out of cover a shot rang out from a blue-shirted Caesan hiding at the rear of the alley just out of the flare's coverage.

BZZT!

The shot impacted the wall behind Kurniawan as he immediately hit the dirt when he heard the shot. Reacting quickly had saved his life, Danjuma recovered from the shock of the event and fired two rounds towards the foe.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! SCREAM!

The rounds struck the torso and forehead of the creature as it fell to the ground lifelessly. Dusting himself off, Kurniawan and Danjuma turned their attention to the ajar door of the house as a blue-shirted Caesan charged out and opened fire on Loharani.

BANG! OW!

Loharani took the shot to her left side as she collapsed into the wall, Smith and Kurniawan fired back in retaliation.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! WHIZ!

Smith's shot impacted the alien in the torso as it screamed, while Kurniawan's shot whizzed by the left side of its head causing it to freeze in place.

"AH! Get out of my head!" exclaimed Loharani in fear as she dropped her gun and crouched down into a fetal position. Still reeling from the pain of being shot, she was ill prepared for the psychic attack that her full force causing her to panic.

BANG! SCREAM!

Her distress distracted the alien long enough as Kurniawan finished the wounded creature off with a shot to the right temple. This allowed Smith to heal and calm Loharani down enough for her to continue the fight while Danjuma and Kurniawan regrouped with them.


== With Team 1 ==

Team 1's journey had been much less exciting and borderline uneventful as they maneuvered to the rear of the UFO via the left flank. Outside of finding a cowering civilian, the team had no contact to speak of as they avoided the wall of flames that had initially blocked their path. Now behind the flames and within sight of the door, they could hear the surviving aliens inside of the UFO moving around as if planning their attack once the door was opened.

Meier and Lefebvre took cover behind a small rock pile in front of the UFO door, as the other three (Thomas, Zielinski and Bhandari) stacked up on the left side of the UFO door waiting for Team 2 to arrive in support.


== UFO Assault (15 Minutes Later) (All Soldiers Present) ==

Team 2 finished securing the right flank of the craft as they moved to assist in the assault. Loharani and Smith stacked up on the right side of the door, as Danjuma and Kurniawan linked up with Meier and Lefebvre behind the rock wall. With everyone in position, Loharani opened the UFO door to start the assault proper.

Inside of the UFO's bridge, a blue-shirted Caesan was in the back left corner using one of the ship's engine as cover. A red-shirted Caesan was in the back of the bridge near the rear door leading to the ship's power room, and a purple-shirted Caesan was in the back right corner of the bridge behind the other ship's engine.

Taking aim at the purple-shirted foe, Lefebvre and Meier opened up the fight first.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! SCREECH!

Both shots connected with the target as the alien let out a scream after the two shots struck its left arm and torso. Raising its weapon in retaliation it opened fire on the closest target in its line of sight, Thomas.

BZZT! THUNK!

The shot struck the hull in front of Thomas' head as he managed to duck behind it in the nick of time. Taking offense to that, Thomas returned fire along with Zielinski and Meier.

BANG! CLANG! BANG! CLANG! BANG! CLANG!

All three shots from the soldiers impacted the engine the alien was hiding behind as it was firmly suppressed by the return fire. Before anyone else could fire, Loharani slammed the door closed as movement was heard inside the UFO.

Not a moment later, the door was raised by a blue-shirted Caesan that was right on the other side of the hull from Loharani as the blue-shirted Caesan from behind the engine let go a burst of three rounds at her position.

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

All three shots missed their intended target, but both Loharani and the blue-shirt were now suppressed. In reaction, Smith returned a burst of three rounds at the offending blue-shirts position.

BANG! BANG! BANG! SCREECH!

The final shot of the burst found its mark as the injured creature let out a screech of pain as the door closed once again.

Bhandari swung around Zielinski and Thomas as he opened the door to the UFO and ducked as a plasma round whizzed over his head.

BZZT!

Said shot came from the red-shirted Caesan's pistol as it had moved behind the pilot's seat for better cover. Realizing the poor position he was in, Bhandari turned to try and move back to the rear of the stack on the left side of the UFO.

BZZT!

After turning around, he was struck with a round from the redshirt's pistol in the center of his back as he collapsed forward onto his knees with his mouth agape but no sound coming out. The world deafened around him, and then went dark as another round impacted the back of his head tearing though his helmet.

BZZT! *DEATH RATTLE MOAN*

Bhandari collapsed face first into the dirt unmoving as the squad watched the life leave what was left of his eyes as the blood pooled around his body. The purple-shirted Caesan had seen its opportunity and finished Bhandari off before the others could get him to safety.

With sadness in their hearts, and anger in their minds the squad kicked into action to avenge their fallen comrade. Loharani and Smith finished off the suppressed blue-shirt directly in front of them.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! SCREAM!

Meier then took aim at the redshirt whose head was still poking out from behind the pilot's chair.

BANG! SCREAM!

The headshot destroyed the creature's brain ending their life in an instant, and without a moment to react another shot was heard.

BANG! SCREAM!

Lefebvre fired her sniper rifle and struck the purple-shirted Caesan in the face as it fell to the ground after a short scream. This action lasted all of about ten seconds, but at the end of it three aliens were dead leaving only the wounded blue-shirt in the rear left corner of the bridge alive.

Charging into the UFO, Zielinski and Thomas got line of sight and opened fire on the creature.

BANG! CLANG! BANG! SCREECH!

Zielinski's shot missed, but Thomas' struck the creature in the torso wounding it further. This didn't stop it from returning fire however as it fired twice.

BZZT! OW! BZZT! *DEATH RATTLE MOAN*

The two shots struck Zielinski in the chest and heart as she was sent careening backwards into the ship's hull behind her as she fell to the ground in a heap.

BANG! SCREAM!

Thomas finished the creature off with a shot to its head as he then checked on his breaching partner. Feeling no pulse from her neck, Thomas closed her eyes as he heard a door open behind him. Turning he saw another blue-shirted Caesan and a red-shirted Caesan in the hallway leading back to the power supply room. He quickly ducked behind the metal barrier in front of him as he awaited shots that never came.

The door closed without a shot being fired allowing the others to breach the craft and link up with him as they motioned towards Zielinski's corpse. Shaking his head in the negative, the squad members returned their attention to the task at hand. Meier, Lefebvre and Kurniawan remained outside to guard the UFO from any other forces that may try to flank them from the rear, as Thomas, Smith, Loharani, and Danjuma prepared for the next part of the breach.

Smith advanced to the rear door of the bridge leading to the hallway as the others took up firing positions on the hallway. The blue-shirt opens the door as the redshirt was seen fleeing to the power supply room. It took one step into the room before losing the back of its head as it fell to the ground lifelessly.

BANG! SCREAM!

Danjuma's smoking barrel indicated which soldier was quick enough to nab the easy kill, as Thomas opened fired on the blue-shirted foe.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! BANG!

"Watch your fire Travis!" exclaimed Smith as she ducked down suppressed by the volley. The first shot struck the creature in the left arm, but the other two impacted the wall between Smith and the creature.

"Ah lighten up, I didn't hit you did I!" he exclaimed indignantly as he stood up from behind his metal barrier cover.

BANG! *DEATH RATTLE MOAN*

As soon as he did that, the blue-shirted alien promptly shot him in the face as he forgot the most important rule in combat; never assume your enemy is dead. His body fell on top of Zielinski's making a neat pile as Loharani rushed forward and dealt the final blow to the surviving alien with a burst of rounds to the neck and head.

BANG! SCREECH! BANG! SCREECH! BANG! SCREAM!

With the creature felled, the team secured the rest of the ship ensuring nothing was waiting to surprise them. Confirming the area was secure, they radioed Big Sky and base the results. A voice cut in over their mics after the report was delivered.

"And this is why we don't go on night missions! Sandtrap out!" exclaimed the Commander as the others understood his concern and hesitation to send them out earlier. Unfortunately for them Thomas was too cocky to realize this and in the end he paid the ultimate price for his decision along with the lives of two more of their comrades. The squad quietly went about their tasks as they secured the site and evacuated back to base wondering what would happen now as the order was placed by the Commander for three more replacements.


== Mission Nine Summary ==

Alien Combatants Killed/Captured: 9/9

Civilians Saved: 2/4 (0/1 Armed, 2/3 Unarmed)

Xenonauts KIA: 3/9 (Sgt. Mohandas Bhandari, Sgt. Natalia Zielinski and Pvt. Travis Thomas)

Xenonauts WIA: 1/9 (Sgt. Zee Loharani)

Kill Tally (Active Soldiers Only): Sgt. Fujita (5), Sgt. Vetec (4), Lt. Meier (4), Sgt. Rodrigues (3), Cpl. Smith (3), Sgt. Kurniawan (3*), Sgt. Loharani (3), Sgt. Danjuma (3), Sgt. Lefebvre (2), and Cpl. Silva (1)

*2 of this don't count in the game, as they were killed by the UFO explosion not him physically. I'll still tally it anyway.

Promotions:

None

Medals:

Crimson Heart awarded to Sgt. Loharani for being seriously wounded fighting the alien threat.

Active Roster:

Lt. Jens Meier

Sgt. Claire Lefebvre

Sgt. Bayomi Danjuma

Sgt. Andy Kurniawan

Cpl. Natalie Smith

Out of Action Roster:

Sgt. Zee Loharani (8 Days)

Sgt. William Silva (7 Days)

Sgt. Masao Fujita (6 Days)

Sgt. Alan Vetec (5 Days)

Sgt. Joaquim Rodrigues (4 Days)

Six Unknown Soldiers (Yet to arrive on base)

Memorial Wall:

Cpl. Benjamin Muller (KIA on Mission One)

Cpl. Delfina Calvo (KIA on Mission Two)

Cpl. Konsta Mattila (KIA on Mission Two)

Cpl. Rameen Bhabra (KIA on Mission Two)

Cpl. Moheem Kurd (KIA on Mission Two)

Cpl. Nour Abdel (KIA on Mission Seven)

Cpt. Alten Vidrai (KIA on Mission Eight)

Lt. Fernando Santos (KIA on Mission Eight)

Cpl. Augusto Prieto (KIA on Mission Eight)

Sgt. Mohandas Bhandari (KIA on Mission Nine)

Sgt. Natalia Zielinski (KIA on Mission Nine)

Pvt. Travis Thomas (KIA on Mission Nine)

AN: And that's a wrap on this chapter as the team undergoes their first night mission thanks to a rookie's overconfidence resulting in his death as well as the deaths of two veteran soldiers. How will the squad fare now down to only five active soldiers? When and will the aliens attack next? Tune in to find out as we tackle that in the next chapter! Sorry for the long wait in between chapters, but work has been fairly busy and I had a long block for writing more content. Hopefully this chapter made up for the wait, can't wait to get into the next one! Until then this is "The Nasty One" signing off!

PRAK aka "The Nasty One"