Prologue: Raids and Rides
Proper Author's Note on the bottom. Here you'll just see the disclaimer:
I'm going to say this only once: I don't own either the XCOM franchise nor RWBY. If I did then things would've been different.
Now that this is over, enjoy this child of a talk with my sis, sudden inspiration and the resulting insomnia.
The Sectoid scurried into the downed ship, away from the enemy that was shooting at its brethren. He was one of the few remaining crew members… The rest either died in the crash, were killed by the apes outside or had retreated to guard the Ethereal.
The alien could feel his leader's Psychic presence against his mind, urging him to fight the hairless apes… But the Sectoid was more afraid of them.
This… This wasn't supposed to happen… The Sectoid didn't know the leaders' plans, but it was clear that they failed… Not only had the natives progressed from the primitive ballistic weapons and useless armor to plasma rifles and Elerium-infused powered exoskeletons in two rotations of this planet around its sun, but they had also accessed the Gift…
Now only a handful of ships remained over the primitive planet, and none of them were the Temple Ship, their most powerful fortress and the seat of power of their highest leader… No, that ship was destroyed just a quarter of this planet's rotation around the sun ago…
The aliens were now in disarray… The remaining Ethereals were giving contradicting orders… Some wanted to return back to space, to continue their search of beings possessing the Gift… Some of them even did that, disappearing in the cosmos. Others wanted to destroy the hairless apes… They attacked their habitational centres, only for the ships to be brought down before teams of enemies boarded the craft and killed any enemy they found…
The Ethereal who commanded this Sectoid was of the latter group… And now the crew was paying the price…
The Sectoid paused. The sounds of combat outside had halted… A small part of him hoped that his kind had prevailed over the enemy… But he knew that it was just wishful thinking.
The alien hesitated. It could feel his Ethereal's displeasure… If it arrived to the Bridge like that then it might get shot just as an example… But… If it stayed here then he would definitely be found by the humans. It could always run… But how long would it survive out there?
The choice for the Sectoid was made before it could reach a decision on its own. The air in front of it shimmered… The alien lifted its arm-mounted Plasma Pistol, ready to fire on what he knew to be a cloaked enemy… Even though it was certain that it would not do any damage.
The distinct sound of a Plasma Rifle discharge could be heard before the alien could squeeze out a shot. Three globs of green plasma impacted the alien, the first two turning the top half of its torso into a charred mess. The third one hit the Sectoid right between the two big, bulbous eyes, searing skin, melting tissue and boiling away the water in its head…
"X-ray neutralized."
Damn but Chris loved saying that… The only thing better was the sight of a dead alien, especially if it was one that he killed… Like the one he just fragged that brought his kill-count to fifteen Sectoids.
"Good job, Kiddo." Came the Commander's voice through the comm. Christopher Redmond didn't know whether to grimace or smirk at the nickname he was given… Though he kind of deserved it, being only sixteen and thus XCOM's youngest soldier. "Continue deeper in the craft. Eliminate any foe you meet."
"Roger that." Chris replied as he activated the armor's stealth feature, shimmering out of view before he continued walking through the halls of the Abductor. The large craft had been downed somewhere in Siberia, and XCOM had dispatched their teams to capture it… Nothing unusual, even if this was the fourth craft they downed in the last month… Third, if you discounted the Temple ship…
The thought made Chris pause. The Temple Ship assault… A mission he couldn't participate in, as much as he wanted to… But he was still recovering from a nasty Plasma burn that a lucky Heavy Floater gave him.
But perhaps it was for the better… He did lose several of his closest friends… No, he shook his head. She sacrificed herself to save Earth. And he was going to make sure that the aliens paid tenfold for her death, as well as the death of every other human they killed.
"Next one's for you, Annette. And then one for Shaojie." Chris muttered as he advanced through the Abductor's Operations area. It was empty of all life… Even the Stasis Tanks were empty, something that the young boy was glad for.
Still, the lack of enemies here meant only one thing… The surviving crew was on the Command Deck, probably preparing for a last stand of sorts.
"Kiddo to Momma Bear, I'm approaching the Command Deck. No resistance encountered." This was Chris' job in the squad... Scout ahead, take out enemies if you can, leave them to the rest of the squad if you can't. That, and counter any Psionic enemies...
"I suspect the rest are holed up and waiting for us." He transmitted as he took a position opposite from the force field that acted as a door, Plasma Rifle at the ready.
"Roger that, Kiddo." Came the reply from the strike team's leader. "Stay on Overwatch and report any activity. Do not engage before we arrive."
"Acknowledged." Chris replied as he shifted to a more comfortable position.
The two minutes of waiting were uncomfortable... He couldn't see anything through the force field door, but he could clearly hear noises from behind it. If he was to guess then the aliens were preparing for an ambush... And then there was the prickling and unease in the back of his mind that he and the other human Psionics felt when an Ethereal was nearby...
The arrival of the rest of Strike Three had him glance back, enoug to acknowledge them. Momma Bear, the team's leader and Heavy Trooper, nodded at him.
"Sitrep?" She asked as the squad took positions for breaching.
"Lots of activity behind the door. Sounded like they were moving something heavy." He replied. "Also, I'm sensing an Ethereal."
The squad tensed at that... Fighting Sectoid Commanders was tough enough, with the risk of a team member having his mind and body controlled by the alien... But the Ethereals were a lot worse... It took the strongest of wills to resist their control, and even then they had more tricks in their arsenal...
"I guess it was too much to hope that the bastard had died in the crash..." Momma sighed before replacing the battery of her Heavy Plasma. "Think you can handle him, Kiddo?"
"I'll certainly try. Shielding you now." Chris warned the squad before concentrating. His eyes glowed purple, illuminating the inside of his helmet. He could feel the minds of the squad around him... From the calm presence of Rusty, their MEC trooper, to the bundle of nerves that was Needle, their Support. He then pushed, enveloping their minds like a protective blanket. A gentle nudge on Needle's psyche calmed her down somewhat, the Ghost Armor-clad girl nodding to him in thanks.
"Prepare for breach." Momma commanded and the squad readied themselves to storm the Command deck.
"Breach!" The former Russian SpezNaz barked. A push at the force field disrupted it and three grenades were immediately tossed in.
The defenders had started firing the moment the field was down, but quickly ducked under cover. This slightly negated the effect of the two Flashbangs and the Needle grenade. Still, a couple of Sectoids were unfortunate enough to be blinded for the rest of their short lives as their big eyes caught the full blast of the Flashbangs... Right before thousands of needles shredded their bodies.
The slight lull was all that Strike Three needed to storm onto the deck, raining Plasma bolts and Alloy spikes on the defenders.
Chris managed to get a good look at the aliens before he had to take cover behind a console. There were over a dozen of them left alive... Five Elite Mutons were at the back, standing behind heavy-looking crates, their armor protecting them as they poured green blobs of death from their Heavy Plasmas... The single Berserker was charging at the biggest targer, Rusty, who intercepted it with a well-aimed blast from his Particle Cannon, leaving only a gaping hole where the upper torso was.
Nine Sectoids were huddled behind whatever cover was possible, popping out to shoot from time to time. Their Plasma Pistols weren't that effective, especially since their aim was atrocious in their panic. Their numbers were quickly thinned as the XCOM soldiers turned their weapons on them and their cover.
And then there was the Ethereal... The robes-clad alien was hovering at the very back, his four hands hovering over...
Over an orb...
An orb that looked just like the one housed in the Golop chamber...
Chris immediately snapped a shot at the Ethereal. The bolt of plasma never reached it though... A couple of meters away from its target it swirled in the air.
"Shit!" Chris cursed as he jumped to the side just as the bolt of plasma shot back at him, partially melting his left shoulder pauldron.
The Ethereal didn't even acknowledge Chris' attempt at killing him as he continued doing... Well, whatever it was doing with the orb.
A roar signalled the death of one of the Mutons as it was blasted apart with concentrated plasma fire. The Sectoids were already barely recognizable bodies, with one literally splattered on the ceiling, victum of an unfortunate meeting with Rusty's KSM.
"Don't shoot the Ethereal!" Chris warned Strike Three. It wasn't going to do anything... The Telekinetic field wasn't going to fall easily, not without concentrated fire. And right now the Elites were a more pressing target...
Chris ignored the Ethereal for now and joined in shooting the Elite Mutons. A 'Whoomp!' signalled the death of the second one, courtecy of a headshot from Cyclops, the team's Sniper. One of the remaining three was missing chunks of its armor, as well as most of its left hand... Correction, most of its body, as a lucky shot hit a grenade clipped to its armor and cooked off the explosive.
That left two wounded Elites and the Ethereal against the six XCOM soldiers, who were more or less intact, if you excluded the damage to their armor.
Chris glanced towards the alien leader. Whatever it was doing was concerning... Nobody knew the true extend of the alien device's capabilities, and thus nobody knew what the Ethereal was doing...
"Kiddo!" Momma Bear's shout made Chris return his attention back to the fight. "Ghost and flank the suckers, we'll cover you!"
"Roger!" Chris replied and tapped the interface on the back of his wrist. The Ghost module in his armor activated and he shimmered out of view. A quick dash along the wall of the command deck brought him to a console, which allowed him a clean line of fire to the two Elites' sides.
"I'm in position." He reported, even though it was unnecessary. His team's HUD was probably highlighting him... Still, he was taught to report such things.
"Light 'em up then!" Momma Bear barked out. Chris was more than happy to comply...
Bringing his rifle up he took aim and switched to full auto before pulling the trigger. Glob after glob of plasma shot out of his rifle, disrupting his stealth field.
The green death hit one of the Elites in the side, blasting charred holes in the torso armor. It roared in pain, but that was all it managed to do before the squad redirected their fire to it. What fell on the ground could barely be called a corpse...
The final Elite Muton roared and charged from its cover, seemingly intent on taking one of the humans with it. Its target was the squad's second Assault, who rose to the challenge.
"Eat lead, fucker!" Hammer roared as he pumped spike after spike from his Alloy Cannon into the Muton. Three of them hit, piercing through the armor before the human had to jump to the side to avoid collision.
The alien smashed through a console before falling down... And staying on the floor. Not ones to take any chances, the humans made sure that it was dead.
After Rusty stomped on the Elite's head the team turned their attention to the last alien in the room. The Ethereal gave no sign of noticing them... It was absorbed in its work with the sphere.
The team opened fire on the alien, firing a salvo before moving away as their fire was returned by the swirling maelstrom of Psionic energy.
"Goddamn it... Kiddo, try and melt his brain!" Momma barked out.
"On it!" Chris replied and concentrated. His eyes glowed purple, the telltale aura of a Psionic enveloping his head as he pushed his mind at the alien.
That got the Ethereal's attention... The alien turned around, his helmeted head looking at Chris. The teenager could feel the alien's mind resisting the Mindfray as they locked eyes in a silent battle of wills that illuminated the area around them with Psionic purple...
Now, if this was a fair fight, one on one, then Chris would have no chance at winning. He had neither the power nor the experience of the Ethereal when it came to using Psionics.
Luckilly, XCOM rarely fought fair... As soon as the alien focused on Chris the rest of the squad opened fire. The Telekinetic field protected it, but it also added pressure on the Ethereal's mind.
The alien hissed, a sound that sounded disturbing through the helmet before it pointed its upper-right arm at the shooters. A lance of Psionic energy scattered the squad. But it wasn't finished...
Needle's body suddenly jerked and she pointed her Plasma Rifle at Chris' head. Thankfully Hammer managed to tackle the Support, cursing up a storm as he tried to wrestle the rifle out of her hands. The Mind Control had successfully taken two combatants out...
Chris let out a growl as he realized that he had forgotten to maintain the Psi Inspiration... This Ethereal was smarter than the others... It could multitask, it had made sure that it couldn't be flanked thanks to its position, and the field in front of him returned their fire... If this continued then Strike Three was going to lose members...
And so Chris did something stupid.
Enveloping himself in his Psionics the teenager charged through the Telekinetic field and tackled the Ethereal. The reckless move surprised the alien and it released the Mind Control as it tried to repel the enraged human who rained blows at its frail body.
The Ethereal garbled something in whatever passed for a language among its kind and reached out towards the orb. A ribbon of purple energy shot out, connecting it with the device. The Psionic energy created visible waves in the air...
"Oh no you don't!" Chris shouted grabbed the alien's hand, his Psionic energies mixing with the Ethereal's. The alien screamed, an incoherent, distorted sound that probably cursed the human...
"Fuck you too!" Chris screamed, rearing his head back before headbutting the alien.
The sphere exploded... The world seemed to do the same for Strike Three as a wave of Psionic energies smashed into them...
Once the noise, light and sensations receded the humans stood up, dizzy as if suffering from the effects of a flashbang.
"Ugh... Status?" Momma Bear asked as she shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
"Alive... And in my own mind..." Needle groaned as she stood up, using the wall for support.
"All systems operational..." Rusty said, the MEC trooper being least affected of the squad.
"Feels like the aftermath of my bachelor party..." Hammer groaned, not even bothering to try and move.
"It feels worse than that..." Cyclops replied, shaking his head.
There were a few moments of silence as they all expected Chris to speak up. When no reply came everybody dragged themselves to an upward position and moved to check on their Psionic...
Only to find him gone, along with the Ethereal and the alien device...
"Shit..." Hammer summed up Strike Three's thoughts with one single word...
Chris let out a groan... His head hurt, his body hurt... Even places he didn't knew existed hurt.
With another groan the teenager opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his armor's HUD, a sight that made him sigh with relief. Then he looked around...
First thing he noticed was that he wasn't in the ship anymore. Second thing he noticed was the lack of any aliens... The third was that he was in a forest.
A green, lush forest. Nothing out of the ordinary... Only, the UFO he had fought on had crashed in Siberia, in the middle of winter...
And this place seemed to be in the middle of summer, if the lush vegetation was any indication. Not to mention that the trees weren't anything like those he had seen before boarding the UFO...
"Fuck..." Chris summed the situation as he sat up, ignoring the sense of vertigo. Did the sphere transfer him here? That seemed possible... But where was "here"? He had no way of guessing... Trees had been the last thing he wanted to learn about when Vahlen pressured him into studying...
Oh well, he was going to have the answer to that question soon. Reaching up he placed his fingers on the side of the helmet, activating his comm.
"This is Christopher Redmond to XCOM Command. Do you copy, over?" Static was the only answer he received... Another tap switched the channel to the emergency one. "Command, do you copy? Strike Three, are you there? Momma Bear?"
Static... Static... Static...
"Crap!" He cursed, bringing his fist down in frustration. Something crunched under his hand... Looking down Chris frowned at a piece of the alien orb.
"You again?" He growled as he picked it up. The strange thing felt smooth and polished, like a piece of glass... And as active as one, aS a burst of Psionic energy confirmed.
Chris let out a sigh. So much for going back that way... At least he could take it with him. Vahlen would be happy to examine it... She was kind of peeved that they only had one of these devices and they needed it intact.
And now it was time to assess the situation... He was MIA, stranded God-knows-where, with limited resources... After checking the armor's HUD for the outside conditions (22 degrees Celsius/72 degrees Fahrenheit) he undid the helmet's airtight seal and pulled it off. He enjoyed the taste of clean, unrecycled air for a few moments, brushing the sweat-matted brown hair from his forehead before continuing with the inventory.
Tapping the various compartments of his armor open he made a list of what he had.
Plasma Pistol. Full charge.
Plasma Rifle. Battery at around thirty percent. He quickly replaced it with one of the six spares he carried and marked it to know that it wasn't full.
One standard-issue XCOM combat knife, made of Alien alloys.
One emergency Medikit, full.
One packet of XCOM MRE, which was as nutricious as it was disgusting.
One litre of water in his armor's reservoir.
His phone, modified by "Gramps" Shen, making it as poweful as a top-of-the-line laptop. It contained a multitude of different handy programs, as well as the entirety of Chris' music collection.
One piece of the Alien device.
And finally his Ghost armor, only slightly damaged thanks to others drawing the aliens' fire.
All in all he was well-off. Weapons, armor, some medicine, an MRE that should last him for a few days and some music to listen to when he got bored.
And when you added his abilities... Well, he could take on anything on Earth, short of an alien strike force.
With that thought in mind Chris activated his emergency XCOM beacon and set on in search of civilization or signal... Whichever came first.
Author's Note:
Hello dear readers and welcome to my second XCOM crossover. This time the action is in the RWBY universe. And once again we have my OC, Christopher Redmond, tossed in a situation that he doesn't want to be...
I know that many of you were hoping for another chapter of Enemy Monstrous. Don't worry, the next chapter is partially restored after the loss/theft of my old phone and the chapter I had written on it.
Now, a bit of story about this story... This little piece of fiction was born after a long RWBY-related discussion with my sis and a couple of friends. I just couldn't help but wonder how would XCOM Plasma weapons, Gene Mods and Psionics compare to Dust weapons, Aura and Semblance. The writing of this chapter continued well into the night, right until I realized I was going to be late for work... Not that it stopped me from writing on the bus or during breaks.
Well, I guess I bored you enough. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where Chris will have his first meeting with the natives of Remnant.