Chapter 2
First Contact
22:09 Hours, January 12, 1999 (Military Calendar)/X-COM Skyranger-1, Location Spain, 40 Miles south west of Madrid, Mission #001.
Evelyn sat in one of the two rows of chairs that run along the length of either side of the Skyranger. She sat two chairs in and was the third closest to the door. She looked at the rest of her squad as the Skyranger shook violently as it descended towards the alien space craft. Long range scanners picked up an alien space craft that landed in Spain. They were dispatched immediately. They were all nervous because if it was not shot down that only meant one thing for them, more aliens. Spencer sat on her right, next to the door that would soon be dropping like a Higgins boat on D-Day. It was nerve racking as the wait continued. She looked over to the back of the aircraft to see Sarah who had the Rocket Launcher or RL. Meranda sat across from her holding the Heavy Cannon or HC. The weapon made the Russian woman look even more imposing then normal. Everyone else opted for the Rifle and a couple fragmentation grenades with a single extra ammo clip for everyone. She looked at all their battle dress uniforms or BDUs. They all wore gray fatigues with combat boot. But they had no helmets, gloves, or body armor. This is crazy! For a supposedly well funded organization, X-Com has done a very poor job of equipping us. Frustrations aside she was still nervous as ever. What did the aliens use as weapons? How many were their? Could they be walking into a trap? All these questions would soon be answered. The pilot got on the radio.
"Skyranger-1 will be hitting the LZ in one minute Squad Leader." Says the pilot as the Skyranger started to rock. Sarah stood up with her RL cradled in her arms with three rockets stuffed into her rucksack.
"Okay team this is it! Get hot." Shouts Sarah with gusto. Evelyn looked at her with respect. The second day at Fort Halo, Colonel James selected her as Squad Leader because of her officer status pre-X-Com. Even though she was still a Rookie like the rest of them, she was their commander and her orders were the Colonel's orders. They all stood up and faced the door as the Skyranger's landing gear touched the ground. The ramp slowly opened into the cold chilly night air of a small Spanish farm. The mission has begun.
00:00:15 (Spencer McNeil Mission Clock)/Spanish Farm
Spencer slowly moves out of the Skyranger as point man, the most unwanted job in any military. He reaches the bottom of the ramp and slowly scans the darkness. In front of them was a dirt field with lines from plowing. He knelt down on one knee and lifted his hand up. He slowly gave the all clear signal. Louis follows next as his dark figure jumps off the side of the ramp and goes right. He spots an enemy hostile, from the files that the Colonel has shown them, he knew it was Sectoid. It's big round head, bug like eyes, and frail body made it one ugly mother fucker. The Sectoid was taking cover behind a wall of foliage that surrounded a very impressive garden. He fires a quick three shot burst at the alien with no luck. Two of his shots go into the wall of flowers while the third missed its head by mere inches. Tom rushes out and goes right, jumping off the ramp he lands next to Louis and fires a three shot burst as well. The rounds slam into the flower wall but one round hits the Sectoid in the chest. The alien screams in anger as it reacts and fires three green blobs of superheated plasma at the three soldiers. One flies past Louis's ear missing only by inches. His ear burned from the heat. The second round flew right between him and Tom, scorching both their arms. The last shot slams into Tom's chest with explosive results. The plasma burned through Tom's heart and dripped blood as carbonized bone became exposed. Tom slumped over in a smoldering heap. Louis watches as everything appeared to go in slow motion. The Sectoid lifted his rifle for another volley but from behind him came Evelyn who opened fire with a burst. They all miss say for the last one that hit the Sectoid between the eyes. The alien's head explodes with a purple mist. It falls over backwards tumbling down a hill.
"Tom is down." Says Evelyn trying to keep back the hint of horror. His chest was completely exposed as the round went right through him. His bones were charred and carbonized and his facial expression is one of sheer horror. Sumie leads the rest of the squad out of the Skyranger and moves into a semi circle formation around the ramp. The silence is broken by Plasma fire crackling on wood. Sarah goes northwest towards the sound and sees another Sectoid on the second floor of a barn. A large hole burned in the wall of the barn has exposed the alien's location.
"Another contact!" She shouts as Sumie comes up behind her and fires a burst at the second story hole. Her rounds fly into the top floor missing the target but one round smacks into the wall causing it to crumble. Meranda comes up behind her with her HC in hand and aims at the hole which is now much larger thanks to Sumie.
"I got it!" Shouts Meranda in a thick Russian accent as she fires two snap shots from the waist at the hole. The first round misses blowing a hole in the roof while the second one slams into the Sectoid's chest blowing its head and arm off at the same time. "Tango down Squad Leader."
"Understood." Replies Sarah as she holds her hand up. Everyone crouches down as she turns back to look at them. "Okay, Spencer, Sumie, and I will head northwest and check out the barn and the stables. Evelyn and Louis will head south and check out the fields. Meranda and Sylvie will watch our ride. Understood?" Her words felt heavier since Tom's gruesome death. They all nod in compliance and break up. Meranda and Sylvie take up positions on either side of the ramp while Evelyn and Louis head south slowly as each watches the others back. They come to a wheat field that was squared off by a rock wall. They slowly moved into the tall grass keeping their eyes peeled.
Sumie walks up and takes cover along the side of the barn. She is followed by Sarah and Spencer. She looks out from behind the corner and sees the doors to the barn. She looked down at the ground and followed the path with her eyes that went across the doors path. Along the path was a rock wall that was about waist high that ran the length of the front part of the barn. She comes out from behind the corner and moves up to the doors with Sarah and Spencer close behind. She peeks in as Sarah and Spencer continue down the path clearing the other side of the barn.
"Barn is clear." She says over the team COM.
"Understood. Get out here, we are about to check the stables. Everyone keep sharp and alert. This darkness is making it hard to see anything." Replies Sarah.
Evelyn and Louis come up to a cabbage patch after clearing the wheat field. They move forward through the cabbage patch until they come up to a wooden fence that makes an L with the bottom facing right and the top facing forward. Where the two parts of the fence meet was gate which they enter slowly. Suddenly two balls of plasma land a few feet from their position melting the dirt. Louis moves forward and finds the aliens ship. It was a medium sized ship and was easily larger then a scout ship. He crouched next to it and looked into the darkness around the corner of the ship's hull. Evelyn ran up next to him and blind fired a burst into the darkness. The two crouched down as a Sectoid jumped out from behind the corner and fired a quick burst at them. Two shots flew between them slamming into the earth leaving a glassy gloss. The third round flew over their heads making the air crackle and blew a tree in half. Evelyn quickly reacts and fires a snap shot from the waist but missed the alien. The Sectoid retreats back around the corner of the hull.
"I got him!" Shouts Louis as he moves following the alien around the corner.
"Louis wait!" Shouts Evelyn. Louis runs around the corner to find two Sectoids, the one that fired at him to his 12'o clock leaning against the craft's hull and the new one that was to his 3'o clock a little farther off on a hill. He brings his rifle to bear and fires a burst at point blank on the first Sectoid. He peppers its body with bullets and it falls over in a heap. The second Sectoid reacts to its buddy's death and fires a round from the crest of the hill. The shot slams into Louis's side and he slams against the hull of the ship with a loud metallic ping. Evelyn comes around the corner and fires a snap shot from the waist. The Sectoid fires a quick burst as it begins to panic. The rounds land all around the two soldiers but none come close to harming them.
"You son of a bitch!" Shouts Louis as she pushes himself off the wall and charges forward, he brings his rifle up and fires a snap shot that slams into the aliens chest. It roars in pain. Evelyn runs next to Louis and opens fire again this time scoring a hit. The alien now has two bleeding wounds. It fires back one more time but misses, it is answered by Louis who fires and hits the alien between the eyes. It falls over dead.
"I am wounded." Says Louis as he lifts his hand off of his side revealing charred skin and carbonized bone.
"You have a fatal wound." Says Evelyn as she investigates the wound. "We need to get you out of here before this gets worse." She says as she tries to help him. He pushes her away.
"I will be fine until we complete the mission. Let's go." He replies as they move around to the entrance of the ship.
00:16:46 (Sarah Croft Mission Clock)/Spanish Farm
Sarah moves along the wooden fence with her RL at the ready with Sumie and Spencer close behind her. Suddenly a Sectoid jumps out from behind one of the stables and opens fire. Three shots zoom past her head with a loud crackle. Sarah quickly ducks after they pass over. The Sectoid runs behind the stable for cover. She lifts her Rocket Launcher and aims it at a spot just behind the wall. She opens fire and the rocket shoots out with incredible speed. It smacks into the ground and explodes with destructive force killing the lonely Sectoid. She drops the RL and quickly slides another rocket into the Launcher as Evelyn comes on the COM.
"Squad Leader this is Evelyn, we found the alien craft and Louis has been hit." Her words send daggers through Sarah's heart.
"What is Louis's condition?" Replies Sarah hesitantly.
"He is wounded but still functional. Were about to-" She is cut off as static takes over.
"Evelyn? Evelyn! Louis! Damn it! We need to finish clearing these stables. God Evelyn I hope your okay."
00:19:12 (Evelyn Bradley Mission Clock)/Spanish Farm
Evelyn crouches down as another Sectoid comes out of the ship and fires two shots at them. Both missing with the second one coming a little too close. Luis fires back with two shots from his rifle but the Sectoid runs back inside as the bullets ping off the hull. Louis chases after the Sectoid. He opens the ship's door and comes face to face with the Sectoid. He fires at point blank and shoots it in the gut with explosive results. The alien slumps backwards into a heap. He then moves inside slowly with his gun at the ready. The pain in his side was becoming unbearable but his SEAL training taught him to ignore such pain. The inside of the ship was shaped like a diamond. The main hall which he entered split off into two hallways that went north and south. He moves up a few more steps just as Evelyn enters the ship. Louis looks up the north hallway and sees another Sectoid aiming its plasma rifle at him. He quickly fires a burst and peppers the alien from head to toe with his bullets. It falls over dead. Evelyn snapped her fingers while still aiming down the hall. Louis looked at her as she made a few hand gestures. He nods and moves up the north hall while she takes the south hall. She reaches the door and opens it to find nothing. Louis moves down the hall slowly with his gun ready when suddenly the door to his hall opens and a black bomb flies out. The whole hall explodes as the alien fired a stun bomb from some sort of launcher. Louis looks around dizzy than falls to the floor unconscious.
"Louis!" Shouts Evelyn as she runs down her hall and up the north hall. She finds Louis is still alive. She quickly goes to the door and opens it with her gun at the ready. She meets a Sectoid face to face which she then peppers with her rifle. The alien falls over dead. She slowly moves into what looks like the command bridge of the alien craft. It was empty. She sees a door near the back of the bridge and moves up to open it. The doors slides up to reveal a pillar of pulsating light that made the room feel somewhat lighter. She quickly scanned the inside and found it empty. She heads back onto the bridge and in the corner of her eye she sees an alien cowering in the shadows. She aims her rifle and fires a three shot burst. The first one hits home while the other two bounced off the walls. The alien collapsed but it was not dead, just unconscious. She quickly surveys the area and determined it secure.
"Squad Leader this is Evelyn. Ship secure all hostiles have been eliminated." She says fast when she realizes that she was holding her breath. She gasps as she slowly starts to breath again.
"Understood. Good job. The farm is secure as well." Replies Sarah.
"Squad Leader I have one survivor. It's wounded. What our orders?" Evelyn waits for a response as she slings her rifle and pulls out her pistol.
"We are not taking prisoners today." Replies Sarah with a cold tone.
"Understood." Evelyn aimed her pistol and fired three shots into the aliens head covering her in the purple blood. She than ran out the door and into the hall to find Louis still on the ground. She rolled him over and surveyed his wounds. It was bad. His wound was bleeding and he hit his head when he was knocked out.
"Good job Louis." She says as she begins treatment.
Author's notes: I have taken certain creative freedoms with this story. One of those is the obvious fact that women serving in combat roles are not as taboo as it would be here. Another would be the use of certain units mentioned. Also all the battlescape missions are all pulled from actual game play with no saves. This serves as a great way for me to see drama and write my story around it. Lastly I must apologize for the long absence. I have been at Marine Corps Boot Camp for the last three months and have been unable to upload any of the other 7 chapters I have written. Thank you.