Chapter 04: Preparations
"Alright everyone, get some rest. Meeting adjourned." Looking at the soldiers leaving the room after the debriefing Nikolai silently rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. They had won, but the aliens had managed to hit back even after being shot down from the sky. That meant that their ships were built strong enough to keep the crew alive through a crash, which in turn meant interceptions should not take place over urban areas and that any downed UFOs would be a serious hazard to their surroundings.
At least the research department was excited about the chance to study the alien metals and weaponry. The crashed ship had mostly broken equipment, they were not certain if it was due to the crash or if the aliens had purposefully destroyed anything that had been still intact in order to try and deny them a chance to recover it intact. The alien weapons were one thing though, and the materials used in the UFO's construction might prove useful. The medikits would have to be completed first though, he wanted his soldiers to have a chance to come back alive. Too many lives had been lost in the past to wounds that could be treated, just because there wasn't enough time to get them to a proper hospital. The medikits should help people stay together long enough to get the long-term treatments.
Commander Volkov considered the situation seriously just as the wall-mounted screen flashed a short string of text. Incoming Council Message. It wasn't a real-time broadcast so he didn't really have any rush, but seeing as he wasn't too busy right then Nikolai keyed in the command to display the message. His eyes widened slightly while reading the offer proposed there.
Four of Russia's finest engineers in exchange for some of the alien metal. That would mean giving one nation an advantage against the others, and it is my home country no less. Yet this came through the council channel, so the other council members should be aware of it. Sighing heavily after thinking it over, Nikolai keyed in a few commands. The amount of metal he would have to hand over would be a third of what they had recovered from the crashed UFO. That still left them plenty to research and possibly put to use later.
We will need the engineers to build what the scientists come up with anyway. I suppose I shall have to take them up on this. I know the Americans will get riled up, but they can make their own offer for something else we will recover next time around if they so choose. Humming briefly he keyed in the reply, before marking down the location to do the exchange. One truck would carry the materials there, and bring back the engineers to the base on its return trip.
With that done, there was the matter of casualties. Keying in an additional command he looked as the screen lit up with the images of the two that were harmed during this mission. A young woman that was a volunteer had died, and another one lost her leg in an explosion that meant she was out of service though she survived. He silently swore under his breath, wondering if they would develop the ability to deal with such injuries in the future. If so, she would definitely be treated that way once it was possible, risking their lives in the field meant they deserved proper care on their return. X-Com would not forget those who risked their lives to see humanity survive.
Placing his hand on the controls, he keyed in a short sequence, a voice-call reaching Reiner a moment later. "Commander?" His tone inquired seriously and ready for work. "We have a request from the Council. They want some of the metals recovered from the alien wreckage, and are offering to send some of their best engineers in turn. We'll need them in the coming days, so I have decided to accept this request. I need you to oversee the shipment's preparations. I shall send you the details shortly." That said, he forwarded both the initial message and his reply to Reiner, waiting for his second in command to confirm the orders. "I'll get it done, Commander." Reiner's voice was calm and serious, as Volkov nod his head briefly. "Vigilo Confido."
= = = Alien Base Zanas = = =
This wasn't a good day. Zanas wasn't pleased to hear the human air-superiority fighters were starting to catch up with his forces in the performance in the sky. That would make scouting missions risky, but they had to be carried out to adapt their technology for this world. They would have to make due with what they had until the preparations were finished. Eventually the humans would pay, though.
"Serpentis and Chrysalis cloning is proceeding on schedule. Scout Zero Three will be ready ahead of schedule, but that will exhaust some of the resources for the time being. Any news on the supply ship?" Zanas watched the operators at their consoles converse, though most of it happened through small-area telepathy rather than actual speech.
"Several day-night cycles away still. For optimal base production I would recommend initiating a harvest." The operator's comment made Zanas frown slightly. That would mean they would stay in one area for a while longer, and without a dedicated Harvester ship the rewards would be limited, but at the same time he saw the logic in securing the resources to continue with the cloning operations and feed the staff. "Very well, set up Scout Zero Two for a Harvest Mission. Target is this isle." Zanas gestured on United Kingdom on the holographic map, earning a brief nod from the staff.
With any luck, that would also serve to scare the hell out of those damn humans that were getting in their way. They would aim to take cattle on some rural area, but if the humans got in their way then they too could make their way onto the list. If it wasn't smart enough to achieve interstellar flight, it was dumb enough to eat. Though the bigger, less intelligent species would cause less reaction most likely. "On that note, raise the crew to eight, and arm them with both plasma pistols for the crew, and rifles for the soldiers. How far are we in the studies for heavy plasmas?"
There was a short pause as one of the operators turned to look back at Zanas then hurriedly replying. "The adaption research is still far from completing that project, it will be plasma pistols and rifles for now, and we need a new shipment of Elerium 115 soon too. Current stores are sufficient for current operations but quite insufficient for heavy-plasma use."
The thought caused Zanas to grimace and sigh. Heavy plasmas were hand-held anti-tank weaponry for lack of a better term, but they burned Elerium through quickly, their clips were bulky and hard to carry, and the weapon itself was a nightmare to bring to a battlefield. Zanas had no doubt that they would have their use soon though. These humans had their own armored vehicles to deploy, after all.
"Cyberdiscs?" He inquired, a short moment passing before an operator replied in a serious tone. "Incomplete research, their anti-grav is not yet adjusted to this world's conditions. Deploying one outside of a base would result in likely crash and self-destruction." So no help there. Serpentis and Chrysalis would have to do. At least those beasts were already altered so that they would not become a threat to his forces. Last thing Zanas wanted to do was to unleash a reticulan bio-weapon and have it turned around to destroy him and his people.
"We'll have to fight with what we have then. Initiate harvest as soon as possible, I will go message High Command to send us the next supply somewhat earlier and I will see if I can get them to deliver a single terror ship to us early." The use of a terror ship before adaption would likely burn through its Elerium storage as soon as it entered atmosphere, but it should be possible to land and deploy forces to one of the humans main cities, unleash hell-like fury, and leave a lasting impression.
Anyone that stood with R'lyeh would have to perish, the reticulan people could not allow the dark age to return, and if the sleeper would awaken there might not be a single reticulan left this time around. Already the whispers of ominous, ruinous powers could be felt in this world, unsettling the crew of the base, relying on Zanas' leadership to continue with their mission.
"Sir, we have located the area our earlier scouts were destroyed at. The primitive networks of this world seem to call this place Roswell, part of a collective nation called United States." The information made Zanas grimace. So these United States people were responsible for the first attack. That meant they were the most likely ones hiding R'lyeh as well. "I will inform the terror-ship to destroy one of their great cities. That should let them know our wrath and let them know what the price of serving the Old One will be."
O O O X-COM HQ, German
Aki silently continued reassembling his rifle by himself, each part carefully cleaned, oiled, and now being put together. He trusted his rifle to keep him alive, but he in turn felt the best way to be able to rely on it was to make sure it was in a fine condition beforehand. He knew by now that Pia shared his way of thinking when it came to keeping a rifle in excellent condition. For a sniper, their weapon should not have even the slightest problem firing because a chance might pass by far too easily otherwise.
"Come on, just a taste!" Leon loudly commented in the next room, trying to get Zoe to taste some of his cooking. The man didn't know when to quit. While Aki could understand the man's pride in his food and possible interest in the Greek woman, it was rather obvious to him that Zoe didn't want anything to do with his food or his company, at least outside of the battlefield.
"Done." Pia suddenly announced, causing Aki to blink and look at her. Small, smug smirk showed on her lips. He might be more accurate than her at least right now, but she had a knack of putting the gun together swiftly. Some healthy competition was good for the team-spirit too. "Damn, beat me by seconds." Aki smiled in turn, finishing his own rifle, and setting it to the table. Just in time to hear the slap.
"Oi..." Pia shook her head as she heard the steps walking away beyond the door. Leon must have pushed Zoe too far again. It was almost daily occurrence anyhow, and neither of them saw it doing much harm. Zoe and Leon weren't close, but they carried out their duties well. They might get along well enough if Leon just got it that Zoe wasn't interested. Unfortunately in that aspect the man was rather persistent.
"Ah well. As long as neither of them does something that stupid on the battlefield." Aki moved to set the rifle to its shelf, moving over towards his bed as Pia shrugged and moved to set her own to the shelf before leaving the barracks. A moment later Leon walked in, muttering a bit annoyed but casting a look around. Two of the beds were already bare, their locker doors showing the keys hanging on them, the contents no doubt boxed off by now.
Most of the group had headed off to have a drink after the mission, or relax in the recreation area, playing some games. It was just the group of four of them that had chosen to stay behind for the time being, and now Pia and Zoe were gone too. Leaving Leon to turn to Aki with a sigh. "I swear, that woman has some Spartan blood in her, one slap sent my eyes spinning." He proceeded to grin at his own joke, looking at Aki a bit more relaxed once more.
"I think she is getting a lot of practice. Why don't you just accept it for now though? We're all fighting together, we don't need to antagonize one another." Aki's words were met with a short, amused laugh as Leon shook his head. "I'm not antagonizing, I'm trying to get her to open up a bit. She's so grim you'd think the Alien did something to her or her family personally. Seriously, I get the feeling she's on a warpath for vengeance. I want her to get out of that shell you know?"
While Aki did have to agree that Zoe seemed a bit reserved and grim, he also believed in letting people come out at their own terms rather than pushing them. Something their 'gentle giant' seemed to be failing to understand. Shrugging as it was simpler than an argument that wouldn't bring any resolution anyway, Aki pulled a tablet computer from his locker, starting to flick through his favorite websites out of curiosity now that they had some free time to leave Leon the privacy to change.
"Pia's looking at you that way, you know?" Leon's comment was full of mirth and tease as he grinned at Aki. The sniper leveled a serious look at his large friend while shrugging and speaking calmly. "We enjoy some similar things, and compete against one another as snipers. Its good that we get along and learn from one another, improving ourselves."
The comment earned a dry snort from Leon who shook his head. "No, I mean that you should take her AWOL, go dancing in town or something, you know, get romantic." He flashed a grin at Aki only to have the Finn glaring at the Spaniard with a coldness in those eyes that showed the man was from the arctic circle alright.
"I am just going to take that as a joke. This place is supposed to be a secret to start with, and we are on duty even if we are not on active alert right now. Second, I would rather get to know someone than charge ahead like a bull in a porcelain store." Aki's comment was serious and reprimanding, reminding the Spaniard why this man was now put in charge of their squad. Pissing him off was definitely not a good idea.
Well shit, there goes my plans for the weekend. Leon sighed and nod his head briefly. "Yeah, look, sorry I just want to relax a bit and thought you two would make a nice couple. We are fighting out there, we should have fun when we get back and no worry too much about things while here." He looked at Aki, both trying to apologize while already realizing his own apology came off more as excuses and trying to push his side again. Perhaps he has a point. I could try being a bit less... pushy?
As Aki didn't reply to him right away, Leon finished changing before heading out as well, leaving the Finnish man alone in the roof. It took a little while before Aki got up and moved to close and lock the barracks door, pulling a knife from the shelf in his locker. Silently, he began the practice, his hand moving swiftly and precisely in the air.
While they had a chance to train with guns at the range at any time they chose, Aki didn't neglect the fact that some alien might come close and personal in the future, and while he did have a pistol to fall back to he also preferred to keep himself ready to fight with a knife. So these evening practice sessions were good chance to get his body limber before a shower and rest anyhow. Around when everyone else was elsewhere in the base.
Unlike a pistol, a knife didn't jam. Unlike a pistol, a foe couldn't just grasp onto the blade and pull it away from his hand. Unlike a pistol he could throw it accurately a fair distance and land several inches of sharpened metal into a foe's weak, soft point if things came to that.
He was here to fight, and he was here to win the war. He walked with confidence that no matter what the foe would throw his way, he would be ready. Aki might be somewhat harsh on his team at times but he wanted them to improve, and ideas like what Leon seemed to have planned were not going to happen. Revealing the base location to the public at large could lead to leaks that would expose them to a counter-attack. Despite its resources, X-COM would have a hard time fighting the enemy if they were struck where they were vulnerable.
Unknown Location
The dark room was illuminated by a holographic image of the planet floating in the air silently, resting in the middle of the round table, the eight seats arranged around it each occupied by one of the key members of their organization.
"The recent months have shown that the threat is very real."
The first among them spoke, the seat's edges illuminated by a crimson led glow, the figure itself resting comfortably in the dark, all that showed were the brief flickers of light off the small, round glasses the figure wore.
"The Council of Nations has reactivated the X-COM project. The old papers are still classified, but some of the information from the Roswell era has been leaked anyhow."
The second voice was clearly synthetic, altered for the sake of anonymity. It hardly mattered. Only those in the know would get into the chamber anyhow.
"The location of their bases is most important factor in the coming days."
The first figure spoke, before the floating globe showed flashes of light over area where alien incursions had occurred, before seeming to close in on an area in northern Europe, over Scandinavia. The image of a lone alien craft floated in the hologram, engaged by two fighter jets that managed to cause the alien craft to crash even as one of the fighter jets was damaged and dropped out of the sky by the alien craft in return.
"Unfortunately we were unable to track them. Military satellites place them somewhere in Europe, but the information we require is protected by the Council."
There was a short silence before the third among them spoke, a more feminine voice interrupting others thoughts. There was a pale hand tapping on the table's surface with manicured fingernails thoughtfully. Thinking of something for a few seconds the voice spoke again seriously.
"I suggest watching the other organizations carefully for how they react, and figure out who is involved and in the know, who contacts X-COM when another organization is made aware of a threat. Once the proper channels are figured out, we can insert false information if we so choose, perhaps even slip in a rat of our own."
There was a few thoughtful hums again, before the first spoke. His voice still chilled everyone in the room, the crimson light flickering from his glasses giving a few a reminder of just why the first sat in the position of power among them.
"I doubt we will have to wait long. They have stirred up the hornet's nest by causing one of the alien crafts to fall. If they are anything like we believe, they will retaliate. Humans may believe in vengeance, but these things have traveled through the stars to get even. There will be bloodshed, and X-COM will be forced to act. With all of that going on, they will undoubtedly suffer casualties. Which is fine for us, as we will need to simply provide them with the recruits of our choosing."
There was a flicker as the globe's image died, and each one stood up to head behind them to one of the many doors to the room, their numbers how highlighted above the doors. Leaving quietly, all eight of them would wait till they were safely away from the meeting area before they would remove their masks. All but the chairman. The terrifying thing about him was that though he wore no mask, none of them knew anything about the man, and yet he seemed to know all about them.
As the room emptied, the man smiled coldly in the now empty room, whispering quietly.
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtan."
In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu lies dreaming.
OOOOOO
Alright, to answer a bit of thoughts mentioned before: Original X-COM: UFO Defense / UFO: Enemy Unknown (named differently in U.S and in Europe)was followed by X-COM 2: Terror from the Deep which dealt with a horrifying return of the nightmarish monsters, but these ones were already on the planet, and had been a long time. The series continued with games like 'Apocalypse' (following after the fact that even if player could win in the 2nd game, the world was pretty much screwed over) and later releases. The new X-COM: Enemy Unknown in turn returns to the original game's idea of attacks from above, but throwing away a lot of the old plots in favor of new ones, surprising the players with some things but still.
Now, I'm obviously taking some of my own interpretations to use here, but also I would think that X-COM 2 was rather clear nod towards Lovecraftian horror, though skirting around the copyright issues (yet making it rather... obvious... in some cases) and I decided to run with it and a few other ideas you will come to see. Hopefully it'll interest folks to watch and listen.
R'lyeh is from Cthulhu Mythos, which is gestured more openly here. The original 2nd game involved a space-ship called T'leth that was like a huge city at the bottom of the ocean (hence the name, Terror from the Deep) just as R'lyeh is supposedly a giant city at the bottom of the ocean where the great malevolent beasts slumber. Again, I'm borrowing materials from various X-Com sources, touching the 'surface' of Cthulhu Mythos, and mixing in my own thoughts.
As for the aliens and their actions, I like the way you think Beyogi and I will refrain from answering too much. Things should clear up with time, as I keep writing. Assuming folks are interested to read this.