Chapter 02: Interception
"Commander, I got something!" One of the operators raised his voice at the command center, keying in a few commands before the main screen changed from a rotating image of the globe to a map of Europe, and then closing in, upon Scandinavia. There was information nearby on commercial flights, dimmed down but present, but among those flights they knew should be there on the skies another one that was not scheduled and definitely not broadcasting the right signals was also there.
"Can you get a better view?" One of the other operators shouted up, the screen shifting somewhat as the image of an overhead satellite began to lower down, till it revealed a disc-shaped craft speeding over water, heading east. It was going to cross over Sweden and Norway next, or possibly land on one or another.
"Confirmed as a unknown flying object, permission to sound the alarm?" The operator's excitement showed, but nobody could blame him. This was a moment they had been waiting for, and their first chance to show what they could do. Others had failed before them, but X-COM would have its chance now.
"Granted, I want both interceptors into the sky and the strike-team in full readiness as fast as humanly possible." Gazing upon the display of the small craft on the screen the commander's expression stayed the same. He considered briefly on reminding the operators to remain professional about what they did, but this was a special occasion so he was going to let it slip this one time. Everyone gets excited sometimes.
The dim lights shifted to a red spectrum as the alarm began to sound through the base, and the additional screens flickered to life. All eyes were now on the enemy, and the staff was pushing themselves to complete their assignments in record time. It was a matter of pride, and everyone knew the stakes.
O O O Hangars O O O
"Alert! Alert! UFO-Detected!" The announcement set a flurry of action in motion. The two interceptors were always kept in top shape, and all that really needed to be done was the last minute check-up to make sure everything was in order. Once the safeties were removed both craft began their ascent, the hangar doors sliding to the side to allow the VTOL jets to rise, and then charge forth to the blue skies.
Even as the hangar doors to their bays were still closing the strike team of ten brave men and women charged forth to run up the ramp into the waiting strike-craft codenamed Skyranger. Even as the squad hurried to sit down and strap themselves in the sound of the engines roaring to go could be heard, the tremble to lift and head forth felt. In order to make certain that any downed UFO would be seized by the XCOM forces before any extraterrestrials would have a chance to flee the strike-craft would have to follow the interceptors even if it was possible they might simply miss their opportunity to shoot this enemy down.
"Everyone ready?"
The squad-leader asked loudly, with each soldier responding swiftly in turn. Four men and six women made up the strike-team one, headed by Aki Kettunen for now at least, and he had the responsibility to bring everyone back alive. That was the goal at least, but the fact remained the soldiers were volunteers that knew that any of their missions could turn out badly. Still, he hoped he could prevent at least any needless losses and gazed upon the group seriously.
Just then, the flat screen against the back wall changed to display a satellite image of the alien craft, and designation UFO-01. The squad members exchanged brief glances between one another, some of them trembling slightly, others doing another check-up on their rifle nervously as they waited.
"Listen up." The commander's voice spoke up seriously, as the satellite image changed to a map-view of Europe, showing a red light at the northern Baltic sea, moving west at a high speed. Two more images appeared, blue fighter-shaped figures heading north towards the enemy already.
"The interceptors are moving to engage this small UFO, and equipped with the latest technology available we are confident that this enemy will be struck down from the sky. Once this objective has been achieved, I trust in your ability to secure and contain the crash-site. I know this is a lot to ask, but you are the pride of your nations, and your courage to volunteer against this unknown foe is worthy of respect. Remember to come back alive."
The voice cut out, but the image shifted back to a view of the alien craft from satellite image, then returning back to an image of tracking, their Skyranger now visible on the map too as it rose higher to the sky from its hangar, launching after those interceptors.
"..."
There was a heavy atmosphere for the moment, every member of the group making sure to check their gear or seeming to be lost in thought for the moment, a few watching the screen still. Aki's head turned to look at the three figures closest to him at the time. These were his group.
Leon Tapia was a strong, tall man from Spain, with broad shoulders, a calm smile on his face, and a military buzz-cut for hair. Perhaps he was a little too proud of his homeland, boasting about its fine dishes now and then, he was still a figure that made others laugh and relax. Right now though he was calmly doing one more check-up. Which might have been as close as people would get to seeing him being nervous, seeing as he had already made sure that his gear was in fine working order a few times before.
Pia Scavo was an Italian woman with frighteningly quick reflexes and a good aim. She was slender and held onto the second sniper-rifle in the team, while Aki held the first. Her golden hair and bright blue eyes would have made many call her beautiful, if she wasn't the kind of person to kick someone's face in for trying to flatter her. Holding her rifle steadily she was done with her check-up, and trying to relax.
Zoe Argyris was their grim Greek, a woman that held an assault rifle to her chest with one hand while another rummaged through the conventional, old-fashioned first-aid kit that she had brought along. Awkward, clumsy, and more than likely to run out of something important quickly if they really needed it, the bag might still be worth it if it saved someone's life. She would be able to do much more for them when the research team would be finished preparing their new medi-kits for use.
Returning his gaze ahead and thinking of what lay ahead of them, Aki quietly frowned at the thought of the already prepared memorial wall. The intent was that it would never be needed, but XCOM tended to think ahead, and the battles were very likely to claim more than a few lives. He wasn't afraid to die, but he was damned sure he would do his best to keep his own team from walking into hell with him.
= = = Within UFO-01 = = =
The small scout was moving along steadily, seeking to avoid detection unaware of the fact they were already spotted. The hull of the small craft was prepared so that it didn't echo the signals thrown at it by who knows what the humans were pulsing through the airwaves. Part of it might be a detection system of some sorts, so the material kept absorbing the signals to muffle them rather than allowing them to be reflected back to their origin.
Silently keying in command sequences at the console, the pilot cast a nervous glance at the scientist seated on the second chair in the control chamber. Of all the people to end up with, why did it have to be Rhy? Cursing his luck quietly, the pilot checked the readings again after something odd caught his attention. Heat-sources approaching from the side, at an alarming rate.
Keying in a short few command he had the main screen turn into a view of the direction the heat sources were emerging from, only to curse loud enough to draw the scientist's attention as well. "Two of their air-superiority fighters. They still haven't learned they can't compare to us."
The enemy would have to come closer to use their missiles though, as the scout's hull gave a narrow target and seeing as it absorbed signals it was hard to get a good lock upon it, anything fired from too far off would have a poor chance of catching them. Confident in this, the pilot adjusted the course to engage these fighter crafts. Keying in a command to prepare the plasma lance, he grinned in a sadistic manner. One good thing about these sorts of primitives was that it was more satisfying shooting down their feeble efforts to stop them than it was dealing with the primitives that laid down their weapons and bowed down before getting pumped full of plasma.
"They fired from distance." The comment from the scientist made the pilot merely chuckle. So they were wasting their missiles. He swiftly keyed in a command to have the ship swing to the side and out of the way. The missiles followed, correcting their path. Frowning slightly he turned to suddenly drop the craft down a fair distance, playing with the anti-grav setting. The missiles adjusted course again, and swifter than the previous ones they'd dodged above Russia.
"Oh F-" The explosion shook the craft and riddled the hole with hundreds of small shrapnel pieces that would have torn apart a human aircraft. The alien small scout was built from tougher materials but the readings on the screen did show that the damage done was far more than they had expected from these primitive apes.
"Damn you! Take THIS!" Cursing loudly both into the minds and into the air the pilot keyed in a command, the plasma lance firing and ripping across the wing of the closer fighter-jet. The human craft began to fall immediately, but the second one unleashed another missile. Rhy screamed as the pilot struggled to try and dodge the missile but it was too late.
O O O XCOM Command O O O
"HQ, this is Predator-2, enemy down, I repeat, enemy down!" The cheers rose into the air but the commander's face remained serious. He didn't need a confirmation from the pilot to know that Predator-1 had been shot down from the sky, but there was something else he wanted to know.
"Good work, Predator-2. Did Predator-1's pilot manage to eject?" There was a short pause before the response came in a hurry. "I see him, HQ, Predator-1 has ejected, pilot has deployed a parachute and is descending near crash site." There was both relief and some worry on people's faces at the news.
"Understood. I'll inform the strike-team to bring our girl home after securing the UFO wreckage." Nodding his head approvingly at the time, Nikolai rested back onto his chair. Rothschild was already working hard, relaying information to the individual officers, the footage of the attack transferred to the research team.
"The UFO went down in a rugged area that has no settlements of note nearby. There's a very good chance to recover it without drawing too much attention there. Strike team is closing in to engage." The calm presence that Rothschild showed right now only earned a brief, serious nod from Nikolai. It was always best to not assume too much, he reminded himself grimly. I best speak to Reiner about that privately later. No need to taunt Murphy.
"Alright, the interceptors have done their job, now its up to you. Strike at the enemy and secure the site. Once the site is secure our extraction team will handle the rest of that. Your task is to secure the site and keep it till the extraction team arrives. After that, pick up the downed pilot from nearby, and return to base. Keep smart out there and come back alive." After finishing that small speech, Nikolai turned his attention to Rothschild and the rest of the command crew.
They had accomplished what the others could not do already, dropping the UFO from the sky, but securing the crash site would allow them to get their hands on the alien technology and really start figuring out their enemy. Until they had a good idea of what their enemy was after, and what they were capable of doing to achieve that objective, they were at a disadvantage. Unfortunately they would need to study a dead foe to be able to figure out what they would need in order to construct something that might be able to house and contain a few live aliens for studies later on.
= = = Alien Base Zanas = = =
"Oh damn, I needed that." Shivering at the time Yul's fingers left his grey head, Commander Zanas let out a long breath while focusing his mind once again. The way Yul could create psychic visions that relaxing and purging was astounding, they let him recover as if he had rested for several planetary rotations.
"Always a pleasure, but you really should come more often." Yul's teasing had Zanas feel a bit of amusement. It was no secret he was fond of her, but he was unproven, and Yul was there because the high command wanted him to prove himself. Yul was the one that could help him get there, and Zanas would have to remember to be professional about things. Not to mention the fact that she was related to the High Command. He had his reasons to believe she just might be evaluating him during this mission too.
"I need to be focused. Whenever I come here I am out of touch with the operations, though the clarity I get lasts for a good while." He appreciated her touch, it gave him new ideas, new plans got started after her aid, yet at the same time he felt he should not rely on it too much. He had to prove himself, and this mission was far too important to be left as a mere test for his abilities. At the same time, he felt rather certain that a good performance would allow him to ascend among the high command's ranks, and that would set him for life.
"Very well, but come back soon Z." Such familiarity had his heartbeat hasten briefly, and he felt the amusement from her as he walked away feeling and no doubt broadcasting his embarrassment to others too as he walked. Swiftly calming himself and returning his mind to its focused state, thanks to Yul's aid, he made his way back to his command chair, only to see the panicked officers rushing about. Linking his mind with theirs, he grimaced at the news.
"Small Scout 02 was shot down by fighter-jets belonging to humans, and the Small Scout 01 was still out on its own job. It would take too long for Small Scout 01 to reach the site to evacuate the crew safely. So they were carrying on with their own mission instead. Crew of Small Scout 02 was out of contact as well, and could not be instructed." The short summary he went through got a confirming nod from each of the officers as Zanas grit his teeth together quietly and considered things. The standard operating protocol was to destroy the craft and make their way to an evacuation spot, but without communications they would be isolated until they could deploy a signal amplifier, and that would take time.
What that meant was that the enemy, these humans, might very well actually capture one of their brothers and sisters alive. Zanas felt a headache coming up. He had just visited Yul and his mind was able to play out a multitude of possibilities, but there was very little they could do with their present resources.
Silently he wished he could have just fought an enemy in space. So much easier, far less complications like adapting their weaponry for planetary use and preparing the necessary chemicals to keep everything moving. He wished they could have just deployed weapons from orbit to wipe out the foes here, but that run a risk they did not wish to take, their mission here required them to take a more personal approach.
Being assigned to the job was an honor, but the complications list was getting longer by the tic. All the more reason to field the stronger craft soon. Making up his mind, Zanas gazed from one officer to the next. "Until we receive word from the crew of Small Scout 02, we will continue with the operation in Alaska as planned. If and when we receive word from the crew, we will send aid aboard Small Scout 01, and pick up the crew at the agreed upon landing spot. If they don't make it, we'll continue as we are. In the meanwhile, inform the engineers that we need to start building a new Small Scout, and begin training a new crew in the meanwhile." Best to prepare for the worst, Zanas thought grimly. It might be that none of their former crew would make it back alive. That pilot has the worst luck possible!
Then it dawned to him who was also aboard Scout Ship 02. Rhy. As far as scientists went, Rhy was both a very talented one and at the same time a very difficult one to deal with. Rhy's theories and tests brought a great deal of results, so the scientist was permitted some liberties in that work, but right now it was making things difficult. If the enemy captured Rhy, they would have a very smart and easily bored reticulan at their side, and given how Rhy was, the fellow just might trade some information for new information. Especially as humans were never their primary target anyway.
OOOOOO
Alright, took me a fair while, chapter 02 is up and ready, I'm going to be working on writing for the Zerg story next, its been far too long already. Blaming a bit of a writer's block, I've been having a -ton- of different ideas, in different topics. You could say I've had more new ideas than good continuation ideas, but that's still no excuse.