Hello and welcome back to Xcom Human Incursion! Last Time, Xcom had just arrived at Eden Prime and had begun to devastate the Turian forces! On the surface of the planet Eden Prime, the last defensive line was at its breaking point.
"War is the continuation of politics by other means."
- Karl von Clausewitz
2109 July 11th 11:40 AM Earth Time
12:21 PM Eden Prime Time
Species Alliance Colony: Eden Prime, The Garden of Eden downtown suburbs
Johnas Shepherd jogged down the streets of the southern residential sector, limping along from a pellet that had clipped his thigh. Although the suit had sterilized and healed the wound, it still hurt like hell. When the line had been pushed back, all hell had broken loose with those light tanks roaming around. The entire southern defensive line had nearly collapsed from the shock of it, only held together by the hope of reinforcements, and the iron hard discipline and professionalism of the soldiers. Civilian casualties were as of yet unknown but early estimates expected it to be numbering in the hundreds if not thousands, depending on how bad the damage to infrastructure had been, if the Civvies followed protocol and went to the underground bunkers then all should have been well.
Johnas kept his focus on the road ahead, as he listened to the sounds of war in the distance. The call to fall back had come through, and the last defensive line was at HQ downtown. The bunker was one of the first made in the city, and was where the surviving leadership was making their stand. Deep underground beneath an office building, the bunker was serving as their last line of defense.
That bunker was the last hold out for the militia, if HQ fell, everyone could kiss organized resistance good bye. Thankfully everyone knew that already, and the defences before the invasion had been as hard as alloy. It was well fortified with plasma and laser turrets, machinegun bunkers, and even medium artillery and AT guns.
Comms were flooded with reports, updates, and the sounds of gunfire, making Johnas cringe. When the line pulled back, several squads had found themselves behind enemy lines, desperately outnumbered by the retreating aliens. Even with the crummy technology the aliens had, they made up for it in numbers and the pure will to fight. They had to sometimes literally hack their way through the enemy just to escape the aliens counter attacks.
Gradually, the sounds of fighting began to fade off into individual explosions as the alien's light armor reserves were gradually destroyed, stabilizing the line. Both sides had pulled back, counting their dead and recovering their wounded. Johnas knew one thing and that was they had given 10 times then what they got, and the alien's couldn't have that many reserves left. Still HQ wasn't one for taking chances; a full retreat of all personnel to the HQ Defensive Line had gone through the comms a few minutes ago.
2109 July 11th 11:45 AM Earth Time
12:26 PM Eden Prime Time
Xcom X Dreadnought, SAV Confido
Engaging hostile fleet in orbit of Eden Prime, Species Alliance Space
Winchell smiled darkly. His forces were doing well against the enemy, only a third of what was originally there when the fleet arrived was left in one, or several, pieces. The enemy fought hard however, and losses, inexcusable losses, had occurred. Apparently the alien scum were having some very well placed luck, or some outside help. That last bit was questionable, but always on the table. So far, these 'Turians', as the aliens called themselves, had displayed no psionic powers, meaning that they either had no knowledge of it, or were holding back.
"All enemy fighter screens destroyed." One of his officers reported. Winchell nodded thoughtfully.
"Good, instruct the remaining fighters to harass and distract the larger enemy ships. Tell them not to get too close, their defensive lasers are the only halfway decent defense they have. Set minimum range to 3 kilometers." The officer nodded, knowing all this already but it was good to repeat.
"Aye-aye Admiral." The officer affirmed, and then marched away to his station. Overall, the battle was rapidly turning into an overwhelming Alliance victory.
The Confido shook as it was hit, which made Winchell look up to the bulkhead. Idly fiddling with the seat belt that held him in place to his chair
"Hull status?" Winchell asked aloud to his officers.
"About 89% sir... strange..." Winchell nodded, not showing his slight disappointment to the crew. The armor shouldn't have been down to 89%, this was the best the Alliance had to offer; mixing Zudjari, Ethereal, and Volm tech with Human engineering. Exclusive to the Xcom forces, the best of the elite. And if that wasn't good enough, God knows what was.
"Sir, we're detecting an anomaly in what appears to be the lead X-Ray shi- my god…" Winchell looked at his navigation officer.
"An anomaly lieutenant?" Winchell said in a demanding tone. The navigator nodded, slightly nervous by the looks of it.
"Yes sir, a psionic anomaly." Winchell raised an eyebrow to that but otherwise kept on his poker face.
"Psionic lieutenant?"
"Confirmed sir, the readings are off the charts! Whatever is in that ship, it's sending off more raw psionic energy than we can process!" To this, Winchell grew even more intrigued. The last time psionic activity went off the charts was when the Uber Ethereal faced off against the Volunteer back in 2016 on Earth.
"Understood. Contact the Xcom detachment, tell them to scrap their plans for planetside duty. I want that ship boarded immediately. Send in the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla to separate the flagship from its support craft!" Winchell said, snapping out of his thoughts. "And prepare the main cannon, if we can't capture whatever is on that ship, I want it reduced to its component atoms! Send out all of our Xcom Strike Teams. Primary objective is to capture or destroy the psionic object. Secondary objectives are to disable the ship and steal any and all intelligence they can get their hands on."
2109 July 11th 11:55 AM Earth Time
12:36 PM Eden Prime Time
Spirits' Dance
Engaging with hostiles in orbit of Species Alliance world Eden Prime, Species Alliance Space
The battle wasn't going very well, that much Ganus could figure out. Ganus had underestimated these Humans, despite previous experiences. They had after all shown themselves ever resilient during the invasion of both the Zudjari and Ethereal. The Zudjari… They were an unexpected failure, one that still intrigued the being's long and withered history.
The Zudjari were similar to the humans, technologically adept, aggressive, intelligent, fanatically loyal, creative even. But even with all the cards in their hand, with all the advantages, with all the power of their weapons, a pre spaceflight species, humans, defeated them near totally.
These humans were becoming a very annoying nuisance.
The being decided to let go of these thoughts for the time being as more important things were going on all around him.
"Sir, we've just lost deck five! Doors are autolocking to seal us off from the vacuum but we've been separated from almost all decks save for one. And the ship is beginning to overheat! Orders?" His engineering officer asked calmly.
"Have engineering try to cool the ship, and reduce speed by half." Ganus said calmly.
"Yes sir. But I must inform you we can't keep this up, I would-"
"Understood Engineer Commander." Ganus interrupted his subordinate who went to attention, saluted then left. Ganus' voice brooked no arguments, and the Commander knew he had much more pressing matters than suggesting retreat. Suddenly, the entire ship rocked as if an earthquake was taking place. "What was that?" Ganus snapped at one of his officers.
"We're being boarded sir! It appears the intruders entered through the holes on the newly opened decks." The officer replied, straining to maintain his neutral frame. Another crash shook the ship, forcing Ganus to hold onto his command chair, even though he was strapped in with a few seatbelts. The screams of boarding alarms were soon heard across the ship. Security cameras caught multiple figures entering the dreadnought.
The figures were clad in death black armor if they were visible at all, and appeared to vary in species from a giant brute covered in what appeared to be extremely heavy armor, to a slender being with light armor protecting it alongside its vacuum suit.
This was not good. Not good at all. If the host died without the being's mind out of the body, it could have dangerous consequences. Deadly consequences. But the collective needed the being. If the being died now… the collective would be thrown into chaos and anarchy. But on the other side of things, if the chosen one wasn't found, that could also have long term deadly consequences.
It was imperative that the being found the chosen one soon. But it seemed not to be as the figures made it through the ship, seemingly deciding to take out the rest of the ship before heading for the bridge. Most likely to make sure that no one came up from behind them as they made their assault on the bridge. On the other hand though, the separation of the bridge from the rest of the decks could prove too difficult. But that was doubtful at best, much of the ship's crew were busy with repairing battle damage or manning their stations, their chances against an elite strike team of this size wasn't just pitiful, it was suicidal, and while these beings were loyal, they weren't suicidal.
"That's not good. Security teams report they can't respond to the threat." His Comms Officer reported.
"Lock down every single bulkhead on this side of the ship." Ganus ordered.
As it was done the Aliens on the screen looked physically frustrated, but within seconds the first door had been melted and pulled open the door and began the process for the next before the first door was even fully open. The being had bought a few minutes at best, looking at its options, it knew that it was impossible to accomplish its mission presently...
2109 July 11th 12:00 PM Earth Time
12:41 PM Eden Prime Time
Councilor Sparatus quarters, The Citadel
Sparatus' mandibles flexed in horror as he looked on at the reports from the fleet attacking the alien world via his Omni-tool. Now that the enemy had reinforcements, the battle was all but lost for the Hierarchy. The ground troops the fleet had sent down were no longer combat effective, forced into a defensive state until reinforcements could be sent to them. To add to the disaster, the alien's had sent a fleet of ships that were in the process of wiping out the patrol fleet.
Suddenly the feed was interrupted by a beeping noise, with his tool's visual interface flashing in a subdued blue, Valern was calling, "Sparatus!" Valern's voice was cold and sharp, catching Sparatus off guard. The way the Salarian tongue accentuated each syllable was similar to when Valern ordered the execution of a rival.
"Valern. What do I owe the pleasure? I was in the middle of reviewing a report from the patrol fleets-" Sparatus tried to sound cool, but it wouldn't have fooled a gullible child.
Valern's voice seemed to get colder, "I'm sure you were Sparatus. This 'Pirate Base' Patrol Fleet 314 speaks about wouldn't happen to be another race would it?" A chill ran down Sparatus' back, and it became a struggle to retain a neutral tone.
"I've only reach report 219-" Sparatus tried to obfuscate, a technical truth, but he knew he was lying and it showed. Valern scoffed and grew visibly more angry.
"Don't play dumb with me Sparatus. I know what happened at Relay 314. The Special Tasks Group made sure of that. I also know that one of admiral Septus' officers suggested that this might be a new race, and that there were civilian ships, who were hailing the Turian patrol fleet!" Sparatus silently cursed the Salarians and their STG.
"...And Septus was removed from his position and duty within twenty four hours-"
"Shut. Up." The force of the words made the Turian stiffen in fear, "To top off the whole thing, you sent forces into the relay, planning on seizing one of their worlds." Valern growled lowly.
"We believed they were a one planet species who just entered space flight-" Sparatus tried to reason. Valern's eyes lowered to slits, the universal sign of almost homicidal intent. The move was directly calculated by Valern, being a master of politics he knew how to use and not use micro expressions.
"Even without mentioning that these aliens had laser weapons, the point is that you used force. When we invited your species to join the Council, we expected your people to be a galactic peacekeeper, not… this! You stooped too low on this one Sparatus. And you better pray to the spirits that me and Tevo's don't arrange for an unfortunate accident, alongside a public hearing on the hierarchy's future status as a Council member. I have counted you lying to my face twice in this call alone. You know Turians who lie have no honor." Valern scorned.
"We had to make sure that this whole situation didn't get out of hand and become another Rachni war. So, we decided to invade what we thought would be their only system." Sparatus tried to say in the beginning of panic.
"You still don't get it, do you Sparatus? I expected better of you. This has gone against everything the Council is supposed to stand for. What your own species is supposed to stand for. And if the public were to get ahold of this? Think of how they would react to something like this." Sparatus sighed.
"What is done is done Valern, I can't change that. Nobody can. We just have to forge on with this-" Sparatus began, cut off by Valern once more.
"Sparatus, recall your troops, now! With any luck, this species may be able to forgive your mistakes. From my reports, it's not like you have that many troops left engaging the Aliens anyway." Valern spat, pure rage barely contained. His eyes narrow slits the entire time.
Sparatus' iron will was the only thing keeping him from shaking in place, "But what if this species doesn't see reason? Doesn't agree to our demands-"
Valern looked at Sparatus with his eyes squinted even more, "You have failed us in every capacity on this occasion Sparatus, hope that Tevo's expouses mercy for you. You have very nearly started the next possible Rachni War with your recent actions. You're lucky it will be faster to clean this mess without you being a mess on a wall! Clean yourself up; we have a public press conference tomorrow over the 'Relay 314 Incident'." Valern ended the call before Sparatus could even make a retort.
2109 July 11th 12:03 PM Earth Time
12:44 PM Eden Prime Time
Spirits' Dance being boarded by Species Alliance Forces, in orbit of Species Alliance World, Eden Prime, Species Alliance Space
"Upper deck, clear of hostiles. Over." A Volm officer said matter of factly, into his built in helmet radio.
"Roger that Delta-1, still cleaning up lower decks of hostiles. Stand your ground until further orders are received from command. Over and out."
"Roger that Bravo-1, over and out." The Volm said, tuning to Delta channel.
"Delta-2 and 3."
"Yes sir?" Two Mutons answered in their naturally thick husky accents.
"Secure the eastern doorway, shoot anything that doesn't look Alliance." The officer ordered curtly.
"Yes sir!" They both replied simultaneously, the sound of clanking footsteps on the engine room floor confirmed they were heading towards the eastern doorway.
"Delta-4 and 5, secure the western doorway."
"Yes sir, moving to western doorway now." The Zudjari and Human reported, the Zudjari's warbling accent dominating their response.
"Delta-6, we're to secure the northern doorway."
"Yes sir." The Ethereal replied wispily, floating after the Volm to the northern doorway.
Within a minute, they reached the northern doorway. Delta-1 took cover behind a nearby crate facing the doorway, while Delta-6 took cover behind another crate and engaged his psionic distortion unit, making him indistinguishable to the background. Several boring minutes passed before Delta-1's radio crackled to life.
"Delta team, do you read? What is your status? Over." A voice asked from the other end.
"Reading you loud and clear Bravo-1. Everything is fine on this end, no hostile contact. Over." Delta-1 affirmed.
"Roger that, Delta-1. We've just received orders from command. You are to rendezvous with us outside Objective Alpha's location, deck one. Be aware; we've received reports that all the other hallways have been destroyed or locked down. Over and out." Bravo-1 explained.
"Acknowledged Bravo-1, moving to target location now. Over and out." Delta-1 switched back to Delta team's channel.
"Delta team, regroup and head to the northern doorway. We are to rendezvous with Bravo Team outside Objective Alpha on deck one."
Within seconds, the rest of Delta team gave their acknowledgements. Delta-1 listened to his team's metallic footsteps on the floor as they joined him and Delta-6. Delta-2 and 3 were the last ones to get to the northern doorway.
"Alright team. Move out." Delta-1 said, motioning with his four fingered hand. Again, Delta team gave their acknowledgements as they moved down the northern corridor, guns raised. Melting the occasional door open. Eventually they reached deck one, where Bravo team was just entering through the eastern doorway.
Bravo-1 was a Thin man in light black armor, with the traditional X-Com logo on the right shoulder. Bravo-1 nodded to Delta-1 as they entered the room.
"Glad to see you in one piece, Delta-1." Bravo-1 nodded to Delta Leader.
"I can say the same for you, Bravo-1." Delta-1 made a gesture similar to shrugging.
"We had a little trouble on deck 6 with security, but it proved to be only a minor nuisance." Bravo reported as if it were small talk. Delta-1 nodded, taking in the firepower Bravo-1 amounted to: A thin man, sectoid, Human psionic, Zudjari, a laser SHIV, and a Cyberdisc. While their firepower wasn't worth a second glance, the amount of hacking they would be able to do would be tremendous.
"Well then, let's go and do what we came here to do, shall we?" Delta said, bored. Bravo nodded as if he had just imparted the receipt for a fast food order.
The camera in the corridor already destroyed, everyone assumed firing positions,"Yes, after you." Bravo-1 said. Delta-1 nodded, motioning for the rest of Delta team to prepare.
Delta-1 motioned for Delta-2 to bring down the door. Delta-2 nodded and backed up about five feet, then pulled out a thin cord of explosives.
Approaching the door, the Muton put the det cord along the seam of the door's bulkhead with almost comical care and concern, like he was putting his child in a bed, everyone waited patiently, solemnly. When finished the muton stepped back, then detonated the cord of directed plasma wire. Immediately a heat flash of raw power melted the door's primary actuator joints so that only a paper thin covering of metal kept it closed. In a sudden flurry of motion, the Muton let out a deafening war cry, surprising the Turians on the other end, and threw himself against the door, smashing the bulkhead off its paper thin mounting, crushing the duty station and the Turian cowering behind it.
As the Muton came in view, hundreds of mass effect pellets slammed into the thick armor of the Muton pointman. Uselessly plinking off him like BBs. Immediately in unison the two X-Com teams fired their plasma weapons, killing half the occupants of the room painfully as they screamed and thrashed as the plasma either sent them into thermal shock to slowly die from neglect, or instantly vaporise large chunks of their bodies. The smell of cooked meat and metal filled the air.
"Cease fire!" Delta-1 yelled through the sounds of gunfire. Delta team immediately ceased firing and backed away from the doorway. Switching to his crude translator the scientists had managed to construct of the alien's language. Delta-1 yelled into the room of aliens, "Surrender and we will not harm you! Refusal to comply will result in us killing you all!"
Delta-1 waited for a minute to pass before he motioned for his team to enter. Guns raised, Delta Team entered the room and looked around the bridge to see if any aliens dared defy an elite Xcom squad. The aliens had put their guns down and their hands up. The squad moved further into the room, surveying the room, pulling down and cuffing the Turians as they passed. Delta-1 hadn't really known what to expect when command said 'anomaly', but nothing in the room so much suggested 'psionic', with their resident psionic shaking her head in a no.
"All clear Bravo-1."
"Roger that Delta-1, coming in now." Within a few seconds, Bravo Team entered the room, startling or confusing the aliens. Especially when the SHIV and cyberdisc entered the bridge. However to the untrained eye, they looked little more than military drones, something the Turians used in droves.
"Synthetics!" Hissed what appeared to be the lead alien, with the most fancy uniform. Delta-1 rounded on the alien who was sitting calmly in his captain's chair.
Delta-1 didn't pay that any mind as he pulled the alien off the chair, tearing off the traps holding him in place in the process, and cuffed him tightly. "Command we've found no trace of the package, extracting command bridge prisoners now and accomplishing secondary objective."
"Understood Delta-1, we are sending forward extraction boats. Move to the nearest usable airlock and mark it.
A/N: Cliffhanger! What will happen with the being, Eden Prime and the Psionic anomaly? Only time will tell next time on Xcom: Human Incursion. Big thanks once again to my Beta Reader, Timedraven117. I also still need some cover art for the story, if anyone wants to provide me that. If not, that's fine too. Sidenote, sorry it took so long to upload this chapter, issues on here and in real life were going on. Now, onto reviews!
Scottusa1- Thanks!
F13D-
The fleet did not use the Mass Relays, they used their Hyperdrives. Using the Mass Relay would have been impractical.
The reason that the rest of the planet wasn't mentioned is because Eden's Garden, the colony's capital, was the only largely populated city on the planet since it was newly colonized. The rest of the land is mostly rural and used for farmland, not holding as much strategic value as say a largely populated city would. (BloodRaven: Much of the planet would be unpopulated, and I'd say around 99% of the landmass actually occupied by settlers would be rural, with Eden's Garden being the only town sized city. In mass effect only 3 things are worth garrisoning , the spaceport, industrial facilities, and major population centers.)
5 Coloured walker- As always, thank you for catching those mistakes for me and my beta :p Also, thank you for your continued support. That goes for everyone.
Goddragonking- Thank you!