Hello, and welcome back to the world of XCOM.

And as an apology for the less than great quality of the last chapter, I come bearing a nice big four thousand word chapter for you guys and gals to sink your teeth into. It took a lot longer than anticipated, due to some unforeseen issues with the plot I had planned out. Nothing massive, but still things that needed to addressed right away.

As always feel free to leave reviews. Always love to see what you guys think of the story. And it never hurts to provide feed back.

Hope you are all doing well! Enjoy!

Cheers

Alex Lee


Wednesday, September 16th, 2024

Time Unknown

Login ID: COMMANDER

Password: ****** *******

"Good morning Commander. You have five new messages available for viewing. Three are flagged as priority."

"Bring them up on screen one."

"Command acknowledged. Messages displayed on screen one. Additionally timeline for Operation Fi…"

"Operation Fine Luda is over. Mark file as complete and catalog it."

"Command acknowledged. Closing and archiving Operation Fine Luda."

"Send a message to Lockdown. She is to come to my office immediately."

"Command acknowledged. Message sent."

"Voice recognition off."

"Command acknowledged. Powering down main processors."


It was standard practice for everyone in XCOM to avoid the Commander on days when he was angry.

His indomitable will to win was well documented and revered by many. However, it also gave wind to a temper that many would described as extreme, in even the slightest of cases.

Such was the main reason why he had been left alone for most of the day. Save for meals, meetings, and messages, no one had knocked on his door all day. Something that he was both thankful for, but also slightly annoyed by.

On one hand, no one knocking meant that nothing bad had yet occurred that day. A small saving grace for everyone, given the catastrophic failure that was Lock's previous mission.

On the other, it also meant nothing new had happened whatsoever.

The scientists were still examining the Outsider crystal, with no results to show. Medical bay was still watching over the stable members of Lockdown. No new missions were being launched. Hell, even the engineering bay would still be hard at work fixing Big Sky'sRanger, and Chip's crippled MEC suit.

Another day survived. Another day wasted.

Rubbing his eyes as he returned to the messages on screen, one could almost make out the faint traces of fatigue growing on him, not that many people had the mental strength to look him in the eyes these days. Something he was grateful of, lest they begin to wonder about the massive bags that were no doubt forming. Just one of the many signs that his nights had been less than peaceful the past few days.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." had always been his motto, but this was beginning to take things a little too literally, even for him.

Between Lock's failure, the fall of a rather important XCOM outpost, and the subsequent cleanup that he had personally ordered on that infested town, there had been no end to the paperwork, and worse, people who wanted to know what in god's name had happened.

The Council wanted to know why a former XCOM post was suddenly turned into nothing more than a pile of ashes. What few remaining nations left wanted good news, if only to prevent panic in the streets. Canada in particular wanted details on what the aliens had done to their little village.

Everyone wanted something. Be it propaganda, money, or manpower.

Frankly, he was rather sick of the whole ordeal at this point.

Not that he could blame any of them for their demands. What with more and more outposts falling each week, retaining every single one had become a top priority for the whole resistance.

The loss of one in Canada, had a somewhat jarring impact on the moral of the resistance as a whole. A loss that needed to be rectified soon, least any more nations fall to the aliens terror tactics.

It was a good thing he had ordered the use of plasma laced napalm in the airstrike. Else the loss of that base would have all been for naught.

A massive airstrike by the aliens, against the forces in Canada, was exactly the sort of thing needed to rally the troops once more.

More concerning for him however, was the spike in aggressive tactics like the one seen by Lock. A move which marked in his mind, the aliens beginning to crack back down on XCOM activities specifically.

Granted, it wasn't like they had been all that lenient in the past. They were still on the losing side after all.

Hell in the few short months since Private Drew had first joined, the aliens forces had finished taking control of around fifty percent of the planet. A fact he took no small amount of joy from hearing again and again.

The loss of South America had been an inevitability, however the loss of Africa shortly after had come as a rather large surprise to everyone.

It was still unknown why the aliens suddenly massed and took over Africa, but one thing was for certain: they held back nothing in doing so.

Aerial bombardments, followed by numerous armored units, stormed each and every single city, camp and base. Cyberdisks and psionics in tow to provide further aerial support and shielding, made sure that what losses they suffered was minimal at best.

Provided satellite scans of the various destroyed sites also showed that no resources could possibly be scavenged, and no military personnel had survived the attacks. Civilians had seemingly been spared where possible, but that was about the only good news to come from the entire attack.

Frankly from the reports he had read on the matter, it wasn't even really a fight. More like spring cleaning.

Worse still, with eight of the original sixteen Council Nations gone, several enemy F.O.B. set up, operational, and the alien influence rapidly spreading. It was now a race against an ever shrinking clock to find the next miracle that would hold the aliens back.

A miracle he could only hope would come from the living Outsider they had now secured; and preferably in the form of a much needed step forwards in the ongoing battle to mimic, match, or even surpass the technology they were currently facing.

The last step forwards they took had resulted in the capture of some MELD, and the creation of so many new toys that it was staggering to even comprehend.

He could only hope this one yielded just as many results, if not more.

Just what new technology would the Outsider give way to? How much further forwards would it push mankind? What kinds of secrets did it hold for them to discover?

So lost in his own mind, he barely noticed the time beginning to fly by.

The sudden knocking at his door being the only thing to bring him back to the present.

"Enter." He stated, closing the message windows on his screen in preparation for what would no doubt be another long discussion.

Abby Lockdown Johnson, walked gracefully in not a moment later. Her steps were barely a whisper as she immediately strolled forwards, and took a seat in front of him. She crossed her arms with a deep scowl on her face as she seemed to prepare herself for the coming fire.

Not one to muck about, the discussion was quick to begin, with the Commander leaning forwards in his chair, immediately going on the offensive.

"You know why you're here," he stated firmly, sliding a folder towards her. "I saw the feeds. Your orders almost got three members of your squad killed. Hell, the only reason you're all still alive is because your new member stepped up and saved your sorry ass."

Lock, of course, remained silent as usual. Her posture and mannerisms betrayed nothing as the Commander slid yet another folder over to her.

"Now then, explain to me why, after this abysmal failure, I should keep you as leader of your squad and not lock you up in a cryo pod until this damn war is over."

Silence permeated the room as the two powerhouses locked eyes; neither one betraying anything as they played a game of mental chess with one another.

One wrong word; one wrong slip up, and the game was lost. Though the consequences of said loss differed greatly.

Finally, after several slow minutes, Lock broke the silence. "If it is your wish, I will step down. Ace is, as you know, more than capable of leading the squad in my stead."

"That is not my wish!" He growled, slamming his fist down onto polished wood bellow. "But the Council wants answers. They want to know why you and your squad failed to live up to your reputations! Why you were unable to re-secure the XCOM base! And most importantly, why "the aliens", firebombed a small village off the face of the earth!"

"We completed the main object. We recovered the Outsider along with a large number of other resources. Was that not the main purpose of the mission?" Lock replied evenly, seemingly unfazed by anything he had sent her way.

A bark-like laugh echoed through the room at her answer. "You know damn well what the purpose of that mission was," he scoffed. "We don't send squad Lockdown to run away from the enemy. We send you to eradicate them. To remind the bastards that we have an answer to their disgusting tactics."

"Central clearly stated that was an opti..."

"Oh, for fucks sake!" He bellowed, cutting Lock off completely. "Several months back you took on ambushes that were twice as large, and a hell of a lot more orchestrated than this! You're better than this, Abby, and you damn well know it!"

Silence enveloped the room once more as he stood and slide a single sheet of paper towards her.

"Effective immediately, you are demoted to the rank of Sergeant. Since you're still the highest ranked member in your squad however, you will remain in charge of them for the time being."

She nodded as the paper laid in front of her."I am warning you though," he ground out. "One more mistake like this one, and I will not be able to protect you."

If the news had any impact on Lock she didn't show it. Instead she chose to simply glance over the sheet a single time, before folding it and placing it in her pants pocket.

"You know the world needs you to be the best you can be..."

"I know." She simply nodded. Clearly unwilling to comment on anything he had to say.

A deep sigh emerged as he walked back to his seat. "As you also saw, Drew was promoted due to his performance on his last mission. Make sure he knows when he finally wakes up."

"I will."

"Good. You're dismissed."

Nodding once, Lock stood and took her leave. Not a trace of emotion to be seen, she turned and left as quietly as she had arrived.

Discussion now over he took up his chair once more. Returning to the messages on screen in a vain attempt to distract himself from the unpleasant conversation he would now doubt be having with the Council later that day.


Failure.

It was not a word Lock knew very well.

Being the best of the best, she was seldom used to being one-upped by anyone, least of all her opponent.

So what was this gnawing pain that she felt deep in her gut, as the words her fa... the Commander spoke to her wrapped themselves around her mind again and again.

Was she feeling guilty for the pain she had accidently put her squad through? Or did his words still have this much of an effect on her?

Perplexed and unsure of what to do, she found herself aimlessly wandering the halls of the base, much like she did on nights when sleep eluded her. Her feet taking her wherever they pleased, allowing her mind wander and process everything that had occurred the past three days.

Was she getting sloppy? Did she blow the mission?

Initial analysis lead her to say no. But the more she thought about it, the more skeptical she became with her answer.

Why did she order a full retreat? Why did she not order the extra cargo be dumped? Why, why why?

The questions. They never stopped. Worse still, the more she thought things over, the worse she felt.

Soon enough she found herself back in the medical bay; the stench of disinfectant finally bringing her mind back out from the depths of her own internal turmoil.

Her three squad mates were exactly where she had left them. All three of them dead to the world, though that was probably due to the fact it was currently twenty minutes before twelve…

The bandages that wrapped around Ace's midsection the only real indication of why they truly lay there.

Pulling up a chair she made herself busy with checking their vitals and watching the digital displays for anomalies.

Looking at them now she couldn't help but smile at how peaceful they all looked. A far cry from the vicious men they were out in the field.

Maybe this was why she did what she did.

Sure, they could have dropped the resources and fought off the aliens, but there was no doubt in her mid that more of them would have been hurt. Ace would have been potentially killed too, if what the doctors told her after they stiched him back up was anything to go by.

The Commander was right. She had faced down larger ambushes than this. But he was also forgetting one small detail.

Despite the enormous amount of MELD that was flowing through her, the numerous other implants, and various experimental devices attached to her, she was still only human.

A human who cared deeply about the men and women, who she had been fighting beside for god knows how long.

Men and woman she wanted to fight alongside for a while longer yet.

No. She had made the right choice.

Council be damned.


Thursday, September 17th, 2024

700 Hours 00 Minutes 01 Seconds

Drew was the first one to wake.

Curiously, he awoke exactly when his alarm would normally have gone off. Probably was just another by product of the modifications, but still. Curious.

He also awoke with an almost pained groan. Not that this was uncommon for him. He wasn't exactly who one would call a morning person.

The rhythmic beeping around the room, and the distinct smell of hand sanitizer no doubt informed him of the fact that he was in a medical bay before his eyes even opened.

That or ABBY would inform him of the current situation. The little cheater she was.

A small smile formed as the memory of the first time he had awoken in a medical bay sparked through my mind. Hopefully he wouldn't go full panic mode this time. Lord knew he had his fair share of rough mornings.

"You know it's rude to stare."

A small chuckle almost escaped her as she rolled her eyes at his antics. Standing up from the seat she had occupied most of the night, and making her way over to the beds, kinks and stiff movements be damned. Though she made sure to stretch each and every muscle lightly with every step taken, least an emergency emerge.

Despite his closed eyes, it was clear by this point that any number of things that could have given her away. Breathing, step interval, heart rate. Lord knows they had spent enough time around each other for him to pick up on something that ABBY could use to ID her without visual aid.

"Har har," she chuckled, crossing her arms. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a train obliterated my right side."

A deep sigh echoed through the room, followed by the sound of a medical chart being plucked from the front of the bed. All very clear and clear indications of what Lock had decided to look through.

"Makes sense," she mused loudly. "Says here you took a pretty bad hit to the side that ruptured your spleen, left you with deep tissue bruising, a couple cracked ribs, and a nearly punctured lung."

A bark-like laugh erupting from the bedridden patient at her words. "Oh, is that all?"

"No. You are also suffering from what the doctors are calling 'Extreme Adrenaline Overload'. Hence why you have been out for four days."

His mouth opened up in a big O, but real no sound came out. A telltale sign to Lock that he knew something about the so-called unexplainable condition.

"Care to elaborate?" She asked, eyes narrowing dangerously at him. A silent threat to not hold out any details on this matter.

" . Tell them it was due to something called Adrenal Neurosympathy."

Despite the calm exterior Lock always presented, one could almost see her smacking herself mentally for not considering the option before. Instead she choose to simply nod along while awaiting the question the curious fellow would no doubt follow up with.

"Speaking of which, care to explain that one to me? It felt like someone injected me with twenty epipens at the same time."

"Nailed it in one, Mister Crawford. Barely awake, probably feeling like shit, yet you still manage to keep your head on."

Chuckling despite the clear agitation he displayed at her answer, she grabbed the previous discarded chair and made herself comfortable near his bedside before continuing.

"I would ask if you wanted the full version or the TLDR, but we both already know the answer to that."

"Oh? Noticing my habits already?" He teased, a small smile forming at his every word.

She gasped, raising her hand dramatically. "Who me? Never."

"Right... So about this adrenalin thing?"

"Yah, yah." She sighed, leaning back in the chair with her hands intertwined behind her head. "It really isn't as complicated as the name makes it seem."

A small nod from Drew was all the prompt needed to continue.

"There were some small physiological changes made to you, based on the anatomy of the alien Mutons."

"...Is there anything in me they didn't fuck with?"

Shaking her head, resolving to finishing the explanation before making any comment, she continued.

"Your adrenal glands now have a much higher production capability than the average person, allowing your body to be flooded with an extreme amount of adrenalin and other hormones when your body hits a certain stress level."

"I'll take that as a no..."

"The excess hormones that don't get burned up or used are then combined and expelled from your body via your respiratory tract. This creates a sort of airborne pheromone that kick starts the adrenal production of every human around you. Hence the yellow mist that you were exhaling before you passed out."

"Quick frankly I didn't even notice the mist," he muttered quietly. "Was a little busy at the time from what I remember."

"Well your little trick damn well saved the entire squad," she shrugged rather nonchalantly. "So maybe don't be to hard on yourself for missing a small detail like that."

His head snapped instantly towards her, bringing with it the full measure of his heated glare down upon the only awake person in the room. "It also turned me into a remorseless killer. So maybe don't thank me just yet."

A frown creased her face, forcefully easing her out of the previously relaxed position.

"What do you mean?"

"I. Had. No. Control." He spat each word with disgust. "One moment ABBY's is telling me I've been mentally compromised, and the next I was popping innocent civ... zombies left and right!"

One could almost hear the gears grinding as thoughts began to swirl through her mind. Mentally compromised? What did that even mean?

"Drew..." she began tentatively, unsure of where to even start with the walking time bomb he had presented her with. "Those zombies were not living civilians."

"I know!" He snapped, breaking eye contact and hanging his head. "I know..."

A few moments of silence passed.

"It was just to much at the time. I couldn't handle everything... So ABBY took over."

After she waited patiently a few moments, he continued.

"She flooded my body with a fuck ton of hormones. Clouded my fucking thoughts. Put your orders at the forefront of my mind. Basically turned me into a walking turret."

Silence permeated the room as she sat, listened and digested each word he spoke. Dread grew inside her with each passing moment.

"I killed god knows how many of those things, and yet I barely remember any of it. You say I saved the squad but the truth is, if it wasn't for ABBY... I was mere seconds away from being torn to shreds by the enemy... we all were..."

Looking back up at her, she damn well nearly broke at the sight of her partner. Never before had he looked so lost and broken. A hollow fragment of the person she had had been slowly helping to build back up since the nightmare of genetic modifications.

"How do you do it Abby? How do you stay so calm in the face of death?!"

The sheer anguish in his voice, and the desperation in his eyes caught her completely off guard. A shot of guilt straight to the chest so brutal executed, it damn well nearly knocked the breath out of her

"Please tell me... we nearly died because of my fuck up... Please... I'm begging you!"

Guilt. Pure undiluted guilt penetrated her heart, instantly making her lungs and heart ache as the burden that Drew thought he carried was finally revealed.

"No." She adamantly stated, trying her damndest to remain level headed and calm despite the sheer level of emotion that permeated the room. "The blame for this missions result lands squarely on me."

"Bu..."

Silencing him with a wave of her hand, she made sure to stop his excuse before it even began.

"No buts. I was the one who fucked up. Not you."

Breathing out deeply, she slowly pulled out, and handed him the sheet of paper she had been carrying since her meeting with the Commander naught ten hours prior.

"I was demoted due to my failure to properly complete the operation. You were promoted, because ABBY or not, you saved our asses."

Silence enveloped the room as he quickly read through the contents of the letter.

"We never should have been in that kind of situation to start with," she trudged forward allowing the shame of her failure to show through the normally neutral mask she wore. "You stayed strong despite the ambushes. You kept a level head right until the end and you followed my orders to a T. You damn well earned the rank of Specialist.

It took a little while, but when he finally did looked back up at her, confusion was thankfully the only thing she still saw written across his face.

"But I didn't do anything. ABBY saved you..."

"Yes, you did." She stated firmly, leaving no room for negotiation with her words. "We both know you have the strength to fight whatever ABBY did to you. However, had you fought against it, I think we both know things would have gotten a lot more messy."

She watched him carefully digest the statement for a few seconds before pressing on.

"In a small way, you sacrificed part of yourself to keep everyone safe. Something no one here takes lightly."

Standing up, she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

He was stiff as a board. Whether from being too caught up in his own thoughts to know what was going on, or simply being unused to any sort of physical contact like this, was an unknown.

Releasing him, she glancing down at his incredibly confused expression with a small smile.

"So thank you. Thank you for helping me to protect my family."

"Awwwwwh."

Both members nearly jumped from the gruff voice that suddenly boomed out behind them.

"She does have a heart!"