Chapter 03: First UFO Recovery
Skyranger's vertical descent brought it down gently a little distance away from the pillar of smoke that showed exactly where the alien craft had crashed. The rocky ground provided a fair share of cover, but the pilot had still decided to land the strike team a little away from the wreckage to not end up taking losses from any surviving enemy trying to just lob a grenade inside their craft as soon as they lowered the ramp.
Still, as the Skyranger touched ground the ramp had already dropped and the first soldiers already stormed out. Taking cover behind the rocks and surveying the area through their scopes Aki and Pia were keeping watch for any sudden movements while Leon moved ahead, holding his assault rifle steadily. Zoe followed him, following the simple lesson that people would keep in pairs. Behind them, two shotgun-carrying soldiers moved ahead in a silent step, watching their surroundings.
Aki hadn't yet learned their names well enough to recall them immediately, but both had proven themselves quick on their feet and on the uptake, showing themselves capable candidates for assaults. The mixture of assault rifles and shotguns might be a bit unorthodox but at the same time it would hopefully also keep their enemy on their toes about the human forces. Still, despite being ready for combat Aki wished that it would not be necessary. The UFO had been relatively small, but that didn't mean that it couldn't have had a whole lot of soldiers within it waiting for an engagement.
Best to hope for the best and plan for the worst. That old adage still proved true when a sudden flash of sickening green light was followed by shriek of pain from one of the advancing shotgun-holders, who's weapon fell to the ground with the stock partially melted along with the soldier's good right hand grasping for her left, the left arm in turn seeming to have a baseball sized burn through it, revealing bone. The wound was bleeding profusely and Aki knew by now that they could have a casualty on their first job.
"Contact!" Zoe's voice shouted and her assault rifle fired, the sound of a bullet hitting the rocks sounding in the distance where the green flash had originated from. Pia and Aki began to aim into the same direction to catch the alien bastard who did this and drop it the second it would show its ugly face next. Meanwhile Leon had grasped the wounded soldier that still stood in the open to pull her into cover, while the other shotgun-wielder, Julia Katz, suddenly turned to face another rock and fired towards it earning a high pitched scream that didn't sound human.
"Get the wounded to the Skyranger and have her treated, Leon you're strong enough for this!" The large Spaniard didn't argue with Aki's orders, grasping the wounded woman carrying her towards the Skyranger in a hurry, the woman's expression still showing the shock of having a hole blown into her arm, even though her arm was now trying to hold the wound to slow the blood-loss. A hastily tied string around her upper arm was at least helping some, must have been Zoe's quick thinking there. She was a support-soldier after all.
Pia's rifle fired and Aki saw the second alien had popped its head a bit over the stone, firing his own rifle as well. The sound of a bullet striking stone rang out but the satisfying burst of blood and grey matter told him at least one of them had hit the alien in the head, and based on the short scream and figure falling out of sight they might have gotten it.
Generally speaking, a shot to the head should finish any kind of a creature but this was an alien not something that he knew, it might have entirely different physiology after all. Still, he had seen a head and he had shot at it, and if the effects were anything to judge by the creatures were human-like enough that it should have dropped that foe at least. Though most humans couldn't scream when their brains were splattered outside their skull.
Nonetheless, no further shots rang out as Leon approached the Skyranger, the stand-by support there getting to work with the wounded woman. Aki and Pia left their cover to advance slightly further ahead, with Zoe keeping watch on the surroundings besides Julia. Leon was going to return soon, but they had to carry on while waiting. Two soldiers would stay with the Skyranger, the backup support and one of the riflemen. The Skyranger had better tools and an actual bed, albeit a poor and simple one, for the wounded to lay upon while being treated.
The two other soldiers had left Skyranger to walk in the opposite direction for a little bit to make sure the enemy hadn't gotten past them and surprise them from an unexpected angle. Now that the first contact had ended, they were returning already as well. It was time to advance towards the wreckage.
Zoe waited till Aki and Pia had reached a good spot to snipe from again, before she gestured for Julia to advance on the foe she had shot at while Zoe took the other direction that Aki and Pia had seen a foe drop in. The two snipers covered their advancement with a constant vigil, hearing the familiar footsteps of Leon returning behind them.
"Scratch one bogie, this 'gray' has its head cracked open here!" Zoe shouted from her location, while Julia cursed loudly. "Fucking hell, there's blood here but the sonofabitch must have dashed off. Seeing some splatter towards the smoke-pillar, must have retreated after seeing its buddy get whacked."
So, one dead and one wounded enemy, and they had managed to wound one of the strike team members so far. Aki was hopeful that the foe would be properly discouraged by this, but they had no choice but to push on. Waiting till the two last member of his team reached them, he looked at the man and the woman both holding assault rifles, gesturing ahead towards Zoe and Julia. Nodding their heads they advanced to join them, while Leon kept closer to Aki and Pia for the time being.
Keeping a little spread out they moved ahead watchful of enemy movement. Without warning, a blast shattered rock and sent the woman that had run to join Julia into the air, a leg flying further than the rest of the body, blown free from her form by whatever mine or grenade there had been. Julia had been thrown on her back but the simple kevlar plates in their outfits had shielded her from the shrapnel at that distance.
Aki didn't need to ask, Julia's quick movement to kneel down besides the woman and shaking her head after touching her neck's side confirmed what he had feared. Fuck, now he had taken a casualty as well. The alien bastards had the time to lay down an ambush but failed it miserably, but the retreating enemy had been smart enough to set up a trap where it dragged its blood over luring them right into it.
"Watch your step people, the enemy's playing guerrilla here. Leon, join Julia." The large man nod his head and moved to join the shotgun-holder who seemed to be saying a final prayer to the dead woman before closing her eyes and getting up to continue.
Approaching the alien craft they could see the craft's outer hull looked mostly intact, but a man-sized hole had been blown through the roof, apparently from the inside. The smoke was rising from there at a steady rate, the craft itself having dragged some soil and seeming to have broken some stones in its path as it dragged against the large stones which had stopped it.
There was an open hatch at the side, with the bloody track leading towards it. The squad moved carefully ahead, with Aki and Pia pausing to take aim towards the entryway just in case, their eyes also watching the ship's surroundings for any indication of a new ambush, ready to react to danger on a moment's notice.
Leon and Zoe advanced to the door from different sides, with Julia following after Leon and the third man of his team following Zoe. The fourth one was still at the Skyranger, watching after their wounded and the support. The lad's nerves showed as they were on their way, and Aki had thought it more merciful to allow him to stay back to guard the Skyranger than to drag him along by force. Though if the man didn't manage to shake his anxiety he was not fit for service.
Nearing the doorway, the group seemed to make a decision, and a short moment later Julia pulled out a flashbang throwing it inside, and after the bang she and Leon charged in first. A couple of gunshots were heard, and then silence. Moment later, Leon appeared in the doorway to shout. "Clear! Scratch the second bogey, and don't see anyone else in this wreck!"
Aki felt relieved, but spoke up seriously. "Don't let your guard down, check the surroundings and keep in pairs. We'll start preparing to leave though. I'm going to call HQ and let them know mission was successful." Aki cast a look around still while Leon advanced towards them, speaking in a bit lowered voice. "Thought I should mention this. There's two seats in the forward area of the craft, and some door to what must have been an engine room as far as I can tell, the place is a mess, but there's a broken chair of some sort before panels there. Another door leads to the back that seems mostly empty, cargo area of some sort maybe. Still. Two dead aliens, three seats."
Aki nod his head, and keeping watch. They might have one more alien lingering somewhere nearby, but for the moment it seemed they had cleared the threat, and perhaps the aliens hadn't brought full forces to this mission either. He made the call to radio it in, though letting the HQ know this detail might be worth a notice.
"HQ, this is Skyranger one, mission successful. We'll watch over the area for possible stragglers but we have confirmed two kills and reason to believe a third gray may be present. Bringing home one wounded, and one casualty." His voice was grave serious reporting the last part, already thinking about the two situations and if he could have prevented them. He could not change the past but he could learn from them and deny the enemy an opportunity to do this again.
= = = Rhy = = =
Panting a bit unsteadily as he tried to run away from the crash-site, Rhy carried the ship's nexus crystal with him, trying to get as far away as he could. The pilot and the engineer had volunteered to stay behind to delay the enemy if they arrived, as well as see if they rig the ship to explode to prevent it from falling into the enemy hands. With the engine gone, and the last charge from the capacitors spent trying to make their crash-landing a non-fatal one, Rhy knew there was no way to fix the craft anyway.
The nexus crystal held all the information from their mission though, and it held the recordings of how their ship had been downed, all the way to the moment that Rhy had pried the crystal loose from its matrix. His hands were still numb, even with the capacitors drained the charge had hurt his hands. Nobody removed a nexus crystal from a ship without letting it completely power down, but they didn't have the time and he had known it as well.
Honoring his comrades sacrifice he was making his way out of the area as fast as he could, carrying the emergency pack with him. When he had reached a safe distance he would wait for the command to come investigate their missing craft, and he would contact them for a safe pick-up. At least unless the enemy had managed to blow the second craft out of the sky too. Then Rhy was pretty much screwed, he would not be able to hide forever and though he had undergone the adaption treatment he wasn't sure he would last in the unfamiliar setting. He was a scientist not a scout.
O O O X-COM HQ, Germany O O O
"I understand your eagerness to study the alien artifacts, Fraulein, but you have another project to complete first. This fight will carry many risks to our soldiers and getting a working medikit for our troops should be a high priority." Commander Volkov's voice kept level and even as he gazed at the angry woman in a lab-coat. He understood her curiosity on technology captured from the enemy, but at the same time he had to keep things in order.
"A preliminary examination would not take more than a day and would allow us to consider new ways to approach them later once the medikit project was over, and the medikits are two days from completion. Surely adding a third wold not be so bad?" The glare she received from the commander made Hope take a step back though, the chill of Siberia seeming to spread through her.
"Two more days until the medikits are finished means two more days the engineering is left waiting for orders. You will complete the assignment I signed my approval on and then, only then, will you get to examine the equipment recovered from the crash-site. I will permit you, not your team but you, up to two hours away from the medikit project to study the artifacts, after which you will continue working on the medikits. You will not speak of the artifacts you have witnessed before the medikit project is complete, so as to not distract the science team. Understood?"
She wasn't happy with the terms but she nod her head in acceptance. He had understood that she was not going to be satisfied if she didn't at least get a look, but he had also made it clear she understood he cared more about his soldiers lives than allowing her to indulge in her curiosity even if it would serve the X-COM well in the future.
"Just one question, then. When?" Hope looked at Commander Volkov a bit impatiently, earning a sigh from the man who looked at her directly in the eyes. "The artifacts will be delivered in approximately ninety minutes. When they arrive, they will be moved to storage containers, which will take at most thirty minutes. At that point, you will have a chance to examine them for exactly two hours, not a minute more."
Turning to walk away, Volkov spoke without looking at her. "I'll inform the guards and the Rothschild. If you are caught trying to extend your stay or sneak a peek during the transfer you will be assigned solely on projects that don't involve the artifacts. Do not test my patience." This was her first and last warning, he would not permit insubordination.
= = = Alien Base Zanas = = =
"Scout zero two has returned, mission successful. Designated area investigated, located several good target areas for research and harvest missions. Interference negligible, two human civilians got in the way and were exterminated after first one opened fire." The report was brief but acceptable. The humans had proven troubling, they had ruled the skies sending human attempts to stop them to fall to the ground before but now their enemy was engaging them in the air, and it seemed even their non-combatants were eager to engage their forces.
These 'police' as their vehicle had been marked had perhaps belonged to some kind of local guard but they did not carry heavier weapons, they didn't seem truly prepared for a battle. Still, they had some means to defend themselves, and he could respect that. These people had built a lot on this world, made it their own. Perhaps if this mission didn't require Zanas to be here he might have been curious to observe them from the distance and see how they'd evolve. Someday they might have had something to offer to the galaxy.
Yet his mission came first. This was the last known location of the R'lyeh after all. He grit his teeth together and looked away. The information was old, and the probes sent to discover its location had only a faint trail to follow by the time their civilization had recovered from the ravaging effects the fall had brought them.
This world seemed the most likely destination. Humans had conquered most of their world but someone might be pulling the strings like an experienced puppeteer, and Zanas didn't need to consult the archives to tell that the R'lyeh might well be already here and hidden when he began to pick some notice before.
Several years ago the earliest scouts, full of angry avengers had come to look around near here, and the last transmissions suggested that humans had shot them down in this world, catching them by surprise. If so, the humans knew they might be coming, and the number of nuclear armaments they had suggested they were quite prepared to bombard mother-ships from orbit if necessary. Which was why Zanas' people had chosen to land an elite team on the ground to adapt to the surface conditions and strike at the enemy while not allowing them to see where the strikes came.
Smoke and mirrors, he thought grimly. He would have preferred to just drop a couple of asteroids onto the planet, or bombard it from the orbit, but they needed to find R'lyeh, and without a mother-ship they would not have the necessary firepower to pull that off. Worse, a mother-ship was too large to cloak.
"Send Scout Zero Two's crew to rest and recover. Prepare combat team to take Scout Zero Two to skies after the unloading is finished and the elerium cells have been checked. Full squad, plasma rifles in every hand, even the pilot. No pistols this time, this is a combat flight as well as a recovery mission. Search the area the signal was lost, and bring back any survivors. If hostiles are still present, exterminate them. Although if you can spot their commanding officer, capture them alive."
Zanas let out a heavy sigh while waiting, and turning to look at a small monitor on the side showing the cargo bay. The crew of three was leaving the small scout craft in a slow manner, the female scientist helping the male engineer who was limping. Probably the one that had been fired upon by the humans. The two blue-uniformed humans were brought out on slabs next, both having suffered fatal plasma burns in the chest area. Which would cook their organs and probably make them less useful for studying, but it would have to do for now.
"The enemy has gone and performed their warsong, now its our time to show them ours. We will continue research as ordered, but I want you to bring up the files on Chrysalis and Serpentis. I didn't want to do this but obviously we are going to have to make it clear to them that trying to get between us and R'lyeh is going to cost them greatly."
He grit his teeth together, and waited as he watched the events unfold. Twelve fine reticulan soldiers in bio-suits marched aboard the scout-vessel, each holding their plasma rifle at ready. If the foes came for them again they would face a really nasty surprise.
"Let the Crafters know, I want the cloning chamber on-line as soon as possible as well. If this enemy intends to stand in our way I will make sure we can replenish our losses. We will also have to begin considering expanding our presence with additional bases on this world. With active resistance we must step up our efforts. I will let the high command know."
His orders given Zanas turned to walk back to his quarters to send his report. They would not like it, but they would send him more forces, more resources, and once he could prove he had found the resting place of R'lyeh they would send the war-fleet. Finally the nightmare would be over. When this world burned they would see their ancient oppressors perish, and finally sleep without a shadow looming over them all.
OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO
Well this tale is well underway. In case there's some confusion going on at the time, I am basing this X-Com tale both partially on the old X-Com series and partially on the new XCOM game. The original UFO: Enemy Unknown (or X-COM: Ufo Defense, which I hear was another name for it) and its follow up X-COM 2: Terror from the Deep were both good inspirational material, though I'm also throwing in some ideas of my own.
On that note, now that the first strike-team has faced battle, the second strike-team will probably be shown in action sooner or later. I am quite willing to let any reviewers give me an idea of any particular team member I might include on the second strike-team, the first one is mine, the second one I can make up with ideas from the followers (if any want to share such thoughts).
Keeping in mind this is X-Com story so casualties will likely occur along time. The first team is mainly Europeans, but I am fine with having any nationalities present in the second strike-team. Further in the story there will likely be additional X-Com bases with their own strike teams, most likely with the same theme of one strike team of local folks within it and a second one with more international group to fight the good fight.
Thanks for your reviews Beyogi, glad to hear someone's enjoying this.