Hello gems and gents, to the world of XCOM
Now normally this is where I would regale you with tales, of how and why this chapter took so long to complete, but I think I can sum things up in one line.
My grandfather passed away a few weeks ago.
For privacy reasons I will not disclose anything else, but know I am doing fine, and that I have been able to get back into the writing groove.
I do hope you enjoy this small chapter, and as always please do leave reviews or messages with what you think of things so far.
Hope your all doing well.
Cheers
Alex Lee
Wednesday, September 9th, 2024
0700 hour 12 Minute 32 Seconds 33 Seconds 34...
"Alright, so how did you know about the secondary objective?"
If asking questions was an Olympic sport, there was no doubt in my mind that Closure, aka Holly, aka, big mouth, would be the current reigning champion.
Not two seconds after Lock and I sat down with our breakfast-laden trays, she was off to the races. Smirks and laughter from the others only seeming to encourage her behavior, while I was mercilessly, and forcefully peppered with her dozens of curiosities.
A quick glance at Lock, and her food filled smile told me I was alone on this mission.
"Honestly," I sighed, placing my spoon down for the time being. "I didn't know. Just suspected."
"Ok, but like, how did you even suspect something was off?" She continued. "Or for that matter, know that something else was on the busses?"
"Call it intuition." I shrugged. "The info just didn't line up. The best squad in the world, relegated to a simple defense mission? Lock told me your missions are usually classified above top secret, and well, that did not sound very top secret to me."
"Huh..." she paused mid bite, leaving her spoon dangling precariously out of her mouth as she no doubt contemplated my words. "Now that you mention it... that does sounds more like a rookie level mission..."
I took the small moment of reprieve to quickly dig into my waiting grub.
The messy slop, while not the most appetizing to look at, did actually taste ok, and was packed with enough nutrients to sustain you for a full twenty four hours. Something I had a feeling would be very much needed today.
"Hold up!" She suddenly jumped. "Was that your first mission!?"
A small groan must have escaped my somewhat full mouth, as Ace finally seemed to take pity on me.
"Oie! Let the poor lad eat for a minute Holly!" He jokingly scolded, leaning over to smack her tray loudly with his spoon. "Besides I'm sure he's still beat from all the excitement yesterday."
A small grumble, and a playful pout was all the response he got before she dug full force back into her slop.
"You are correct Holly." Chips monotone vocals breaking through the momentary table silence. "Yesterday marks Drew's first official mission, not just as a member of XCOM but as a member of the resistance as well. It is quite peculiar that it took so long, as according to his records he has been an enlisted member for almost two years."
"Yah... peculiar is right." Psycho agreed from beside him. "Care to explain why that is mister mysterious?"
Both he and Chip turned to glance my way as they spoke.
The sheer level of synchronization between them was unnerving to say the least. Robotic almost. Though seeing as they were both MECs that did make a remarkable amount of sense.
Gulping down my current mouthful, I slowly nodded a few times to buy time and collect my thoughts.
"Nothing much to it really," I began. "Got caught up in a training accident about a year back. Both my legs got fucked up, meaning I had to recover and restart training from square one. Add in the shit the scientists here did to me, more recovery time and training, and here I am."
Psycho thankfully seemed satisfied with my answer, as he nodded a few times before going back to his food with a grunt. Chip however continued to stare at me like I was some sort of mystery he was attempting to solve.
His gaze while not threatening, was quite disconcerting. The soft glow of mechanical systems flickering in his gaze clueing me in that he was no doubt focusing all his considerable processing power on the current problem at hand. Namely me.
I had learned a lot about everyone at the table from their files, but there were somethings you just could not explain to someone through writing alone.
Things like how the mechanical prosthetics making up a solid chuck of their bodies, also made MECS moments somewhat stiff and distinctly not human. Or how at times Chip seemed to resemble a machine more than a man.
Phyco at least, was emotional and somewhat easy to get a read on, despite being unpredictable at times.
Chip though, he was almost always cold. Calculating. Hell, even ABBY struggled to pull anything from the man.
It was a stark contrast to say the least. A tag team dynamic I did not look forwards to getting more intimately familiar with.
Thankfully however, I was saved from whatever examination was no doubt coming my way, by Locks voice cutting through any and all thoughts.
"Alright ladies, finish up and follow me. Commander wanted us to integrate Drew yesterday, but well, duty called."
A few stark chuckles rang out as everyone quickly scrambled to polish off their plates.
"Today we show him the ropes." She continued, grabbing her empty plate before turning to leave. "Gear up and meet me at the pit in twenty minutes. Are we clear?"
A chorus of salutes and food muffled confirmations was the only responses she got, as the table was filled with a chorus of chewing and scrapping
"By the way. How's the arm Holly?"
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck...
It was roughly seven at night when I finally arrived back at my quarters.
Still decked out in full combat gear, I slowly made my way over to the bed before collapsing unceremoniously onto it.
Lock sure knew how to run a tight ship, of that much I was sure.
Each and every squad member's movement was choreographed and rehearsed to an impossibly polished state. Allowing him or her to achieve maximum effectiveness on the field of battle at any given time.
And let me tell you, the level of precision she demanded from everyone, myself included, was extreme.
Cover fire, cross fire, suppression, breach and clear, you name it she had a meticulously planned play for it.
As she put it, one misstep on the field of battle and you were be dead. So in a way it did make sense to train this hard.
Though, that didn't change the fact that I was the weak link in the squad though.
How did I know this you might ask?
Well Chip, ever lovely Chip, made a point of telling me I had only slowed the team's efficiency by twenty percent at the end of the day. A statement I'm sure he meant as a compliment, yet somehow only managed to make me feel worse about the whole thing.
Though looking back, it was inevitable. Me being the teams newbie and all.
Though I did make a point to promise everyone I would do better tomorrow.
A promise I would uphold, no matter what.
For now though, sleep was ver...
Very much...
Mu...
Zzzzzzzzz
Tuesday, September 15th, 2024
1800 hour 56 Minutes 21 Seconds
Hello again.
I am very sorry about the wait, but if you knew what Lock was putting me through now? Shit man, you would probably feel tired just from hearing about it.
God, where to even begin...
Well, life in XCOM is exciting for lack of a better word.
There is never a dull moment or day. Never a moment I am bored, though that may be more due to the sheer amount of training Lock is getting me to do.
Mornings are usually spent eating/being interrogated/training with the rest of the squad, though lately we have been mostly hashing out orders, integrating me into operational plans, and familiarizing me with the typical dynamics, strategies and movements employed by each member.
Shane for example, is much more static and predictable in his movements than say, Holly.
In one exercise, I observed him hunker down several times behind solid cover, before taking slow methodical shots at any enemy stupid enough to move through his kill box. Providing cover fire to anyone, usually Holly, as they moved up for the finishing blow.
By contrast, Holly is almost always working on the outskirts of the battle. Quickly flanking the enemies Shane has pinned, by moving from cover to cover in an extremely quick and unpredictable manner. Closing the distance as fast as possible before unleashing her shotgun to devastating effect.
And before you ask, yes, that is where she got the call sign Closure from.
Bet you didn't see that coming... ha... ha... ha...
Anyways this is of course is almost all done via simulations in the pit, and not against real enemies, but whatever. The concept will remain the same even on a life field of battle, of that much I am sure.
Oh speaking of which, exciting news! As of today, Chip informed me that I am now only two percent below the team's current operating speeds and efficacy levels. Which while not perfect, is a lot better than the twenty percent I started at.
One day very soon I am going to be just as quick as them. I just have to continue to push as hard as I have been. Nothing but one hundred percent will do here. That much is clear.
Now as for the rest of my day, well that is usually spent with Lock, slowly working towards getting used to my modifications. Which quite frankly, still catch me off guard sometimes.
Take three days ago for example, when I found out my hair is turning a lovely shade of luminescent white.
That's right.
White. Pure white.
Technically radioactive white, since the slightly radioactive meld is responsible for the shift in color...
Something something, irradiated melanocyte stem cells or whatever. Lock explained it to me a little while ago, but quite frankly I don't actually care enough to be bothered by it.
So many things about me have changed that at this point I can't even be mad at XCOM for not warning me. Even though they totally knew it was going to happen, but again, no point in crying over something that can no longer be changed.
No, instead I choose to focus on the cool stuff. Like my new legs, which I found out are so stupidly quick, I have to be careful about sprinting full out.
A cool fact, which totally did not result in another visit to the medical facility in order for me to learn it...
Yes it turns out increased muscle density has other benefits outside of being able to drop almost two stories with zero consequences.
I have actually tested that by the way, and yes it is as scary as you think the first few times.
However it's also fucking cool as hell, so expect me to do more often now.
What else...
Oh right. Mimetic skin. Or as I like to call it, Chameleon skin on steroids.
God's holy trousers, if you thought waking up with white roots in your hair would be terrifying, imagine what it must feel like to be showering, only to look down and not see your own body.
Pretty fucking brutal right? Well it gets worse.
See, for the life of me, I could not figure out how to stop being invisible. Which meant I had to go find Lock while still, well, invisible.
She still has the security video of my seemingly empty BDU wandering around the hallways. A spectacle everyone would have no doubt appreciated first hand, but was sadly only shared through said pictures around our breakfast table.
Even Chip, ever rational and loyal Chip, snorted when Lock passed the video log to him for viewing. An event I never thought I would see in my life.
I have no doubt you guys would have appreciated seeing it yourselves, but alas I don't think there is wi-fi where you guys are.
Now sadly, onto more serious topics.
About a week ago, I went on my first mission, and got my first kill.
That's right. Your boy personally put a round right through some Sectoid's head a few hundred meters out, and scored his first kill as a member of the XCOM, and of the resistance
Something I thought I may never get the chance to do, given my circumstances roughly a year back.
Look, the memories are still a bit hazy, but for the most part I do remember what happened.
I remember how fucked up my legs were. How the doctors said I would probably never be on the front lines. How the chances of me ever entering the fight was slim to none, yet I still powered through training and held onto hope.
Seeing that fuckers scull pop open, as disturbing as it was to see, is still one of the most satisfying moments in my life.
All the uncertainty is finally gone. Washed away with the blood of the enemy.
I failed you both. Of that I am sure.
I won't make the same mistake again. I hereby promise to not fail my new team. No matter the cost.
And in doing so, I'm going to prove to Lock she was correct in trusting me. Prove to everyone that I can live up to their expectations.
As such, I plan to start training early in the morning. Even before breakfast is served.
If Lock is putting in one hundred percent effort, then I am going to have to put in one hundred and twenty to even have a chance of catching her.
Cheers for now.
