Alien Abduction: England

Taipei, Taiwan

The Commander had to admit the Taipei Botanical Garden was quite beautiful, and certainly made a nice change of meeting place from the regular secret rooms and offices. Just walking through the gardens, he could almost ignore the guards posted throughout, not to mention the four Taiwanese special forces agents who were keeping a reasonable distance away.

He suspected that his personal tails were more for intimidation rather than actually intending to kill him. He had no doubt that if they believed he was a threat, several snipers as well as every nearby soldier would be gunning for him. Those four were just a diversion. He did have to admit that their uniforms were striking; the Taiwanese didn't mess around when it came to their special forces.

It was standard black Kevlar vests, pants and boots, like most special forces, but what made them stand out were the full facemasks that covered their faces completely except for the eyes. It was an impressive mix of intimidation and practicality, though the Commander didn't really believe it would shake the composure of any professional.

He kept walking for a few minutes, hoping that he hadn't made a wrong turn…no, he was headed the right way. She'd said she'd be at this location, so that meant he was close. A couple minutes further and he saw her standing in front of an arrangement, hands clasped behind her back.

To her credit, President Rena Shu-chan of Taiwan, or the officially-called "Republic of China", was without a personal guard of some kind. She likely didn't see the need as their every move was watched by her special forces. She was dressed formally, in a black suit, pants and the like. Typical business attire.

He walked up beside her and looked at the arrangement of flowers which were designed in circles, each inner ring being a different color and flower. Not exactly original, but it was still a work that had likely taken many days, and even more to maintain. "I hope you don't mind the different location," Rena said, not looking at him. "I spend most of my days inside meeting rooms and windowless bunkers. You likely do the same; I thought you might appreciate a change of scenery."

Her English was excellent, though he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. She likely dealt with many foreign dignitaries, but still, it was arguably more understandable than native speakers, even with a slight accent. "I don't mind at all, Excellency," he answered, using the traditional honorific when addressing her. "It's a refreshing change in multiple ways."

Her lips curled up into a smile. "Yes, I believed so. Though I am curious, do you know much about flowers?"

An odd question, and one he didn't exactly see the relevance for. He supposed it was her way of testing him for something. "I do not, Excellency. That was never an interest of mine, though I can appreciate them and the work put into gardens like this."

She chuckled. "Good answer. Safe. You may not like the title of diplomat, but you play it well, which was more than I expected."

He turned his head to look down at her. He was at least a head taller than her, though she was clearly not bothered by the size difference at all. "And just what did you expect?"

She turned her calculating eyes towards him, the brown irises seemingly trying to capture every detail. Rena was younger than usual for her position, nearly fifty, with a kind, motherly face and black hair cut off just below the shoulder that had yet to gray. She was reportedly more intelligent than charismatic, but the Commander didn't exactly buy that.

"Someone who doesn't have time to deal with trivial questions," she answered wryly. "Depending on the person, the Commander of XCOM is the embodiment of authority and respect, or a ruthless military dictator. You are a polarizing person, Commander, and I wondered which of your purported personalities would come through. I have my answer now."

Assurance. That was what she had. Not exactly charisma, but the knowledge that she was in control and nothing could shake her. It was essential in cultivating loyalty, and it made him wonder if she was former military as well. Civilians generally lacked the intensity she displayed. "I don't suppose you have any more trivial questions to ask me?"

"Not at this moment," she answered, shaking her head and turned. "Walk with me. I think it's time we get down to business."

The Commander fell into step beside her as they walked peacefully through the gardens. "I'll be honest, Commander," she said while they walked. "I did not expect to be contacted by XCOM. Let alone personally meet with you."

"Because of China, no doubt?" The Commander asked. "Though I do wonder how much you know about us to begin with."

"Less than ideal," Rena answered slowly. "The United Nations has only seen fit to give the basics, namely that XCOM is for dealing with the alien threat, and how to contact them if needing assistance. And while China was a large reason, the other one is that Taiwan would only be able to offer limited aid."

"I suppose they would keep it quiet," the Commander muttered. "But limited aid is not a concern for me."

"Then tell me what this is about," Rena stated firmly, looking at him intently for an answer. "Tell me why you would take such a risk even speaking to me in the first place? I know practical men when I see them, and you wouldn't do this unless you have something to gain. So be honest, Commander: Do you wish a potential alliance only to strike back at the Chinese?"

Ah, she was good. "I won't deny the satisfaction I'd get from that, yes," he began honestly. "But it's more than just your country, Excellency. It's about what an alliance would represent to the world. Like it or not, Taiwan is the most obvious face of Chinese authoritarianism, but you are not the only one. Should XCOM acknowledge Taiwan as an independent country, it would show the world the Chinese are losing their power."

"And as a way for you to weaken a country that has spited you in some way," she added neutrally. "I don't know what China did to you, Commander, and I don't need to. But what happens if you simply provoke them into taking my country by force?"

The Commander smiled. "An alliance with XCOM would ensure your protection, Excellency. China may not be friendly, but they will not risk a war with XCOM, because they would lose."

She snorted. "You are not a large organization, Commander. You could not win a war with China."

"Not conventionally," the Commander acknowledged. "But do you believe the world will simply sit by as China attempts to fight the only force working to stop the invasion? Aside from that, XCOM has allies, ones who would help if asked. Politics is the only reason superpowers like America refuse to acknowledge your independence; everyone knows it's a power play by the Chinese. But no one actually has the courage to stand by their convictions."

"And I suppose you do." She mused.

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"True," she acknowledged with a nod. "Though I do wonder if you'd stick with them if the worst were to happen. You are a good speaker, I can see that. But words have no meaning without action. I know nothing about you, nothing that would back up what you promise. You make a good speech, one I agree with personally. But I'm not sure I should risk my country on your word alone."

Interesting. She was taking a defensive approach, and one he couldn't really argue with. He personally wouldn't be swayed over if the leader of a secretive organization suddenly came to him promising what he'd always wanted. He'd be suspicious and rightfully so. Granted, the situation was a bit different here, but not so much he couldn't understand her hesitation.

Both of them needed to have something to lose. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be aware of who he really was, and now he might actually be able to turn that into an advantage. It was a risk, but it was worth it if he could begin disrupting Chinese influence across the world. Taiwan was the first step, and after that, ASEAN, Mongolia and if that didn't curtail China, perhaps Zhang could work in Tibet, though that was a very long shot.

"You're right," he said to her. "You have no proof of my intentions. Well, even if you don't know it, I suspect that you do know who I am, if only by reputation."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Perhaps, but clearly no one worth remembering."

He had to chuckle at that. "Can you keep a secret, Excellency?"

"Only if it does not threaten my country," she promised.

"Good enough," he nodded. "Do you recall the War on Terror?"

"I do," she said, frowning. "It was something to witness. Why do you ask?"

"Because I am the Commander."

She froze and looked at him, surprise contorting her face as she analyzed him again, as if for the first time. "I would normally say you were lying," she said slowly after a few minutes of tense silence. "But you would not jest about this, nor would you think about claiming the identity of a man people consider a war criminal."

"A label I don't deny," the Commander nodded. "But as I have stated to others before, I make no apologies for my actions. I only tell you this because you wanted assurance that I follow through on my convictions. China does not intimidate me, nor the United Nations. Should the worst happen, XCOM would stand with Taiwan politically and militarily."

"And your true identity is being suppressed," she noted. "I imagine the number of those who know is very small."

"It is," he said. "So I suppose I should know if this will be a problem now."

She pursed her lips in disapproval. "You are not the person I would want to associate myself with, Commander. But I won't deny that men like you are needed; in times like these more than ever. If this was anything less than an alien invasion, I would order your arrest," she raised a hand to cut off a preemptive response. "But none of us have that luxury. You may be a terrible person, Commander, but you are one who gets results and can be relied upon, as long as we're useful, at least."

"My policy is very simply," the Commander stated, crossing his arms. "Don't intentionally make me your enemy and I'll work with you. Neither you nor Taiwan has nothing to fear from me unless you start working with the aliens or try to kill me. Simple as that."

"You certainly make it sound that way," Rena noted. "But correct me if I am wrong; you would kill me if you felt I posed a threat to your plans?"

"Since my plans involve protecting humanity from enslavement or annihilation, absolutely," the Commander answered instantly, meeting her piercing gaze; his enhanced eyes seeing every detail of her worn face. "That does not apply solely to you, either."

Rena gave a toothless smile. "You are bold, especially to declare that with such conviction. Most would consider it a threat."

The Commander smiled back at her. "Do you?"

There was a short silence. "Since I do not plan to work against XCOM, no," she answered finally. "Not yet, at least. But I assume you do realize what sharing this means for you?"

"I know how this works," he answered calmly. "We both need something to lose here. Should XCOM fail in it's duty to protect Taiwan from threats, you have what you need to barter with the Chinese. Or simply have it as an insurance policy. Consider it however you like, but to me it's a promise. One that I've bet everything I've done on."

"Very well," she nodded. "In that case, I do think we can come to an arrangement of some kind." She extended a hand to him which he took without hesitation, one firm shake and it was unofficially sealed between them.

"Let us continue walking," Rena gestured forward. "I'm sure there are final details to be worked out."

"That there are," the Commander agreed, hiding the satisfaction he was feeling. He sincerely wished that he could see the faces of their leaders when China learned what he'd done and how little they could do to stop him. Alas, he'd just have to imagine it and continue on. For the sake of humanity, he prayed they wouldn't do anything rash because he knew, like it or not, that China was going to be important in the coming invasion.

Hopefully by then they'd come together to defend humanity and drop their pointless feuds. But until then, he'd limit the damage they could do.

California, United States of America

"Is he up?" Jochern asked as he walked over to the table she was sitting at.

"I am here," Zhang stated in response from the secured laptop. "Report."

Right. Time to condense what they had into a manageable amount of time in a way that made sense. "Yes, Director. There are two suspects, one an investigative journalist and the other the chief editor. Nathan Rutherfield and Amy Cario, sending profiles now."

Zhang looked off to the side and gave a nod. "Received. State your cases for each."

"Nothing is proven," Jochern preemptively said. "But there is a lot of circumstantial evidence for each."

"We'll start with Nathan," Abby began, pulling over the paper she'd written her notes on. "He's definitely being paid by the United America Super-Pac, a new one that's only come up within the past six months."

"Which is around the time Kamili really began her bid for president," Jochern added, satisfaction in his voice. He really seemed to enjoy nailing frauds and criminals, something she could relate to now. There really wasn't a feeling like vindication for your suspicions.

"I have a complete file of his unedited papers," Abby continued, typing on her keyboard. "All of them have a consistent theme, mainly smearing anyone else who's not Kamili. He never flat-out endorses her, but she's the only one free of his campaign. If EXALT is backing her, this would probably be how they do it."

"Kamili doesn't seem the type EXALT would support," Zhang noted, frowning.

"I agree," Abby nodded. "But that may be intentional, and if so, it's working. Everyone is speculating that in a few days she'll be ahead in the polls. She has a real shot a winning the Republican nomination now."

"Even if he's not EXALT, he's definitely corrupt," Jochern added. "We definitely have enough to get him fired."

"I see," Zhang said neutrally. "Good work. What about the chief editor?"

"No concrete evidence one way or another," Abby admitted. "It's not so much what we have but what she's done. Anything even remotely related to XCOM is always slanted against us; my own work where I deliberately tried to be as neutral as possible wasn't enough. She's essentially had me insinuate that XCOM performed a criminal attack in China and that they will respond."

"That is suspicious," Zhang muttered. "And a problem regardless of her being EXALT or not."

"I've done what I could," Abby said with a shrug. "But I couldn't do much without raising suspicion. Since we have enough evidence on Nathan, we'll begin moving to-"

"Unnecessary, Agent Gertrude," Zhang interrupted, raising a hand. "I presume you have developed contingencies in the event they needed to be removed?"

Abby and Jochern exchanged a look. Jochern shrugged and Abby looked back at the screen. "We have, yes, but they haven't been refined."

"Do so," Zhang ordered. "Then capture both suspects and interrogate them."

Abby blinked in shock. "We're not sure either of them are EXALT, Director. One of them very likely might be-"

"Innocent, at least in regards to EXALT," Zhang finished, emotionless as usual. "Regardless, you've named them your suspects and I trust your instincts and evidence you've gathered. The Commander has ordered EXALT's media network be crippled immediately, there is no longer time to determine exact proof of guilt or innocence."

"So you want us to interrogate them afterwards?" Jochern asked incredulously. "Neither of us have the experience-"

"Then consider this a learning experience," Zhang stated bluntly. "These are plants, not hardened soldiers. I presume you know how to run an interrogation, Abby, you know what to do."

Abby pursed her lips. "Yes, Director. I can do it."

Jochern looked at her in surprise. "You can?"

"Extract what information you can," Zhang instructed. "Then kill them. EXALT will not be fooled, but the rest of the world must be convinced it was an accident."

Abby could see that being viable if they didn't comply, but then what if they did. "What if they speak voluntarily?"

"Then kill them," Zhang repeated. "They are useless to us alive, and would cause more problems than would be worth it."

"Right," Jochern muttered, looking more disconcerted than anything. "So how are we going to coerce them without the promise of freedom or the comfort of a nice jail cell?"

"Lie," Zhang stated, frost entering his tone as he was clearly becoming annoyed at the obvious questions. "They are not owed the truth, if you must give them a promise, allow them a quick death."

"Understood, Director," Abby muttered. "It will be done."

"Very good," Zhang nodded firmly. "I will speak to you in three days. By then I want your mission completed and your return to the Citadel."

"Understood," Abby repeated dully. Zhang reached over and the screen went to static.

Both of them were silent for a few minutes as they pondered what they'd been ordered.

"You gonna do it?" Jochern asked finally, looking at her.

She blinked. "Do what? We have our orders-"

"Yeah, orders to kill two potentially innocent people," he pointed out. "Look, Nathan's a corrupt jerk and Amy's a biased idiot. But if we're wrong, I don't think they deserve to die for that. Courts exist for a reason."

"I know, I know," Abby said, knowing exactly what Ruth would say. She'd have no qualms about killing them, arguing in the case of Nathan that they were removing a corrupt writer from the scene and with Amy making it safer for XCOM. The thing was, not everything they were doing was illegal, just suspicious.

"And torture them," Jochern continued, growing more agitated as he began pacing. "I'm fine with scaring them; maybe hit them in the knees a few times, but I draw the line at cutting off fingers and stuff. And what was that about you knowing how to do it?"

Abby rested her head in her hand. "I was party to one of the Commander's interrogations once; and I…helped interrogate an EXALT agent that had been captured."

"Weren't you a doctor?" Jochern asked incredulously. "Isn't that breaking one of your codes or something-"

"What are you getting at?!" She demanded, slamming a balled fist onto the table. "You think I wanted do that? That I enjoyed it?"

His mouth opened and closed a few seconds as he visible made an effort to control himself. "No, no, I'm sorry Abby. I just…I really don't want to do this. If we're wrong…"

"I know," she admitted sadly. "We've just condemned two innocent people to die."

"Maybe they're both EXALT," Jochern said wearily. "It wouldn't be great, but at least I could sleep easier."

Abby sincerely hoped that was true, but also knew the chances of that weren't likely. In fact, it was more likely neither of them were EXALT. "Jochern…don't get your hopes up."

His face fell and he sank into the chair next to her. "Unrealistic, I know," he muttered. "But if they're not EXALT…do we really have to kill them?"

"We have orders," Abby reminded him. "I'd say that answers your question."

"But it isn't right," Jochern insisted. "Look, at least with Nathan we have enough to turn him over to the police. Win-win for everyone, right? We could just say our cover was blown and we had to either turn him in or let him go."

Abby eyed him. "Do you really think Zhang would buy that story?"

He pursed his lips. "No."

"And we'd look like idiots, as well as likely get punished for lying," Abby added, shaking her head. "I don't like it any more than you do, but unless you get Zhang to say otherwise…we have to follow our orders."

"Even if they're wrong?" Jochern questioned.

"Even if they're wrong," Abby repeated quietly. "Zhang knows the big picture, we don't. He has a plan we don't know and if we screw that up somehow, who knows how many agents will die because of us."

"It seems like you're using someone else's justification," Jochern noted dryly.

Abby shrugged. "I am. But it doesn't matter if it's justified or not. The woman who told me that also stated one overriding fact."

"Which is?"

"Zhang is the Director," Abby grabbed a piece of paper and began writing. "We are not. Doesn't matter how we feel or what we want. We have our orders and are expected to fulfill them." She handed the piece of paper of Jochern who eyed it with confusion. "Get everything on that list," Abby instructed, rising from her chair. "If we're going to interrogate them…this will hopefully force them to give up quickly."

Jochern looked at her, a guarded expression on his face, the first time he'd looked like that around her. "Yes, sir,"

"Don't give me that," she snapped. "If you won't do it, I will."

"No need," he muttered. "I'll manage."

He practically stormed out the door, leaving her alone for the moment. She took a breath. This wasn't what she'd expected, nor what she wanted to do, but she had not choice now. How would Ruth handle this?

Actually, that didn't matter. Ruth wasn't here. This was her operation and she'd do it her way.

Although it seemed like her way was going to be very similar to how Ruth would handle it, given the restrictions Zhang had placed on her. With some reluctance, she sat down again and began writing ideas about the best way to kill two people and make it look like an accident.

But to her surprise, it ended up being easier than she'd suspected. It was an oddly simple trick.

All she really had to do was not consider them people anymore.

Only as the enemy.

Only as EXALT.

Only as traitors.

The Citadel, Office of the Commander

"I trust your meeting went well?" Shen asked while they waited for Vahlen.

"We both got what we wanted," the Commander answered, leaving out the reason he'd been able to convince her. "Within a few days Taiwan will be sending several soldiers and funding. It will be…interesting to see China's reaction."

"That it will be," Shen agreed, looking down at the holomap. "I'll admit, I didn't expect to see the day when Taiwan's independence would be recognized."

The Commander looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're familiar with them?"

"For a while," Shen answered wistfully. "I was born and raised there, though immigrated to America when I was in my early twenties. Still, I'm more familiar with their situation than most."

Huh. He wondered why Shen's dossier didn't mention that. Even if he'd left relatively soon, there should have been at least a note. He supposed it didn't matter now. "I didn't know," he admitted. "This would be more important than I thought then for you."

"It is," Shen agreed. "And I do want to thank you for it, Commander. Regardless of your questionable methods, you do stand by your principles. That I can at least respect."

The Commander inclined his head in thanks. "I appreciate that. Hopefully we can turn this crisis into a better world afterwards."

"That would be ideal," Shen concurred, before both of them turned as the door hissed open and Vahlen walked in.

"Commander," she greeted, giving his salute which he returned.

"Right," the Commander rested his hands on the holotable as he looked at both of them across from him. "The teams are clearing the last parts of the alien base, so I don't see a point in delaying what your teams have found. Shen, what can we use?"

"We now have a sizable stockpile of alloys, weapon fragments and MELD," Shen answered, lifting his tablet as he scrolled through. "The aliens also left behind quite a bit of usable equipment we might be able to use as well. I believe we'll be able to reverse-engineer the alien computers now that we have a large number in stock."

"We also have all the data from the experiments the sectoids were running," Vahlen added, stepping forward. "Zhang's team is going through the data gathered to translate it, but may need your assistance."

"He'll have it," the Commander assured her. "What equipment have you been able to find that could be useful?"

"While the sectoids methods are even harsher than ours, their technology is extremely developed," Vahlen continued, looking highly pleased. "I believe I can adapt their autopsy pods for our purposes, as well as the data they've collected on other species."

"It might as well go to some use," the Commander agreed. "And the test subjects?"

"Executed and prepared for autopsy, as per your orders."

"What of the cloning equipment?" The Commander asked, looking intently at her.

"Secured and after the more…pressing experiments are finished, I'll be taking a much closer look," Vahlen answered. "The sectoid virus is almost ready to deploy, though since there seem to be different variants, the structure might have to be tweaked to be lethal for all the genetically different ones."

"How long will that take?" The Commander demanded.

"I have access to the genetic structure of every sectoid template," Vahlen revealed happily. "Days at most. Should we need to confirm, we have the cloning equipment to grow our own sectoids."

"That does not seem a wise idea," Shen cautioned with a skeptical look.

"We have a lot more to do than grow pet sectoids," the Commander agreed. "Right now I'm more interested in if you've found a way to determine psionic soldiers."

"It appears sectoid technology does do that automatically," Vahlen answered. "However, I'm developing a way to…accelerate the process, so to speak. It was several weeks before Patricia demonstrated any tangible powers, and I think we can both agree it would be beneficial if that time wasn't needed. Thanks to the abundance of tech, I should have a prototype done within a week."

The Commander smiled. "Excellent, both of you. Now, there are two more things that need to be discussed. Shen, this one mostly pertains to your team, but Vahlen, yours might be needed as well."

"I'm listening, Commander," Shen said.

The Commander tapped his finger on the holotable. "Nartha has stated an invasion is coming and I believe him. On the ground, I think we're making enough stride where we could wage a reasonable war. But the problem is that we are mostly a reactionary force; as of right now, there is no efficient way to stop air attacks. We lack a powerful fleet."

"You want to upgrade the Ravens?" Shen guessed.

"That won't be enough," the Commander shook his head. "We need a new aircraft, one built from alien tech and metal. Spaceworthy if possible."

"I'll have my team get started immediately," Shen promised. "Though we have quite a few projects going on already, you'll have to prioritize."

"Focus on the aircraft for now," the Commander ordered. "I'll have Bradford call in additional help from our allies. Also, you said that the Ballista-class MEC was ready for production?"

"It is," Shen handed him a tablet. "The Goliath-class is also nearly complete, though the size is making simulations difficult. An additional design is also in the preliminary stages, but I've already ordered a Ballista-class to be constructed."

"Speaking of which, three new MEC pilots will be arriving to the Citadel shortly," the Commander added as he looked over the schematics. "They've all been cleared and appraised of the procedure."

Shen gave a firm nod. "I wish there was a better way, but we've sadly made no progress on that front."

"Unfortunate," the Commander agreed. "But they know what they're signing up for." He pressed several buttons on the holotable and the schematics of the alien base came up. "Now, my last point. I want to begin preparations for the Hephaestus Contingency."

"You've wanted to do that several times, if I recall," Vahlen noted wryly.

"I did," the Commander answered, the corners of his lips curled up. "But there was never a suitable location," he motioned at the hologram. "That has now changed."

Shen blinked. "Are you sure that's a good idea. The aliens-"

"That's what I want your team to determine," the Commander clarified. "The sectoids might have places bugs or distress signals around the base. Sweep it and see if it can be made safe."

"Even if we do," Shen added. "The aliens will still know where it is."

"True," the Commander nodded. "But it's pretty defensible, and is a backup in the first place. But aside from them, no one else knows it exists. It would be a mistake to let it go to waste."

"I'll have my team get started on that right away," Shen promised.

"There is also that communications device we recovered," Vahlen reminded him. "If we could tap into it…"

"We might be able to pinpoint another base," The Commander finished thoughtfully.

"I suppose the question is who the Hive Commander was in communication with," Shen wondered. "Another Hive Commander? Or an Ethereal?"

"As much as I dislike the thought, an Ethereal is more likely," the Commander said grimly, scratching his chin. "Nartha did say an Ethereal was in command, and I don't think the Ethereals would be able to put multiple Hive Commanders on Earth, at least without someone noticing."

"Which means a retaliation is coming," Vahlen guessed, pursing her lips. "Whatever their plans, I doubt losing that base was among them."

"I suppose the question is if we've done enough to provoke the Ethereal," the Commander said. "Apparently the previous one was…lax, but Nartha did say she'd been replaced. If losing an entire base doesn't warrant a response, I'm not sure what will."

"All we can do is prepare," Shen said wearily. "But I suspect when the aliens strike back, we'll know about it."

And that was what the Commander was afraid of. Because the aliens needed to send a message to them; and worried about the size of that message.

People were going to die; it was only a question of whether the casualties would be in the hundreds or thousands.

The Citadel, XCOM Intelligence Control

"I've sent out orders for all suspected EXALT plants to be captured, interrogated and executed," Zhang updated, handing the Commander a tablet displaying the current ongoing operations. "EXALT's propaganda network will be crippled within the week."

"Hopefully they'll back off after this," the Commander muttered. "I think we now need to turn to ensuring that countries haven't been infiltrated by Vitakara agents."

"I agree that needs to be done," Zhang nodded, resting himself on the small holotable. "But I would prefer we ensure that we can hit EXALT hard again if they don't back off."

"Solaris Industries?" The Commander prompted.

"Exactly," Zhang confirmed firmly, the light illuminating the scar on his cheek. "It will be a small operation, but it shouldn't be too hard. All we need is evidence."

"Which agents have you assigned?" The Commander asked, knowing Zhang had likely planned all of this in advance.

"Ruth and Kalonymous," Zhang answered. "Their assignments are completed and they're ready to go. All this needs is your authorization."

"Granted," the Commander nodded. "And I'm curious; how is Abby doing?"

"Well; if her report is anything to go by," Zhang answered, sounding pleased. "She didn't exactly seem comfortable with my orders, but I'm certain she'll follow them. Pairing her with Ruth initially was the right move."

The Commander was pleased to hear that. It seemed Abby was embracing what she could do as an agent. "Glad to hear it."

"There is another matter we should discuss," Zhang added, straightening up. "China."

"You think they'll take our alliance with Taiwan that badly?" The Commander asked skeptically. "Sure, they'll make a large international fuss, but they have nothing tangible to threaten us but words."

"And armies," Zhang corrected. "And I agree; China will likely not become a problem, but if it does we need to be ready."

"Preparations for the Hades Contingency in China?" The Commander asked. "I would think that would be a little more involved than Germany."

"Without a doubt," Zhang agreed grimly. "And unlike Germany, we don't have public unrest to hide behind. Authoritarian regimes are harder to break than democracies."

"And yet I suspect you have an idea," the Commander guessed with a small smile.

"I do," Zhang agreed. "But you won't like it."

"I don't like the fact that this is an option to begin with. Tell me."

"We could use the Triad," Zhang offered. "Or what's left of it."

The Commander pursed his lips, silence stretching between them for a minute. "I don't want to enable criminals," he finally said. "Localized terrorism is useful, but the problem is that we do not control the Triad. They would escalate it beyond what we want."

"Which is why we'd ensure they get put down afterwards," Zhang added, setting his tablet down. "We have the majority of the Triad's military attack their military complexes for alien tech, and afterwards leak the remaining locations of the Triad to the Chinese who'll wipe them out for good. Combined with the majority of their government being assassinated, that should significantly weaken China for a short while."

"And just how would you convince them to follow a suicide mission?" The Commander asked wearily. "The Triad usually aren't stupid."

"No," Zhang agreed with a smile. "But they are desperate now. Desperate enough to attempt a blatant attack on the Chinese government. And if that isn't enough…we have a psionic who can control minds, yes?"

The Commander smiled at that. "That we do," he agreed quietly. "In fact…I do think it might be a good idea to test some of your agents for psionic sensitivity. It would be far easier to carry this out through proxies."

"True," Zhang nodded. "However…we should be careful to not become reliant on them. I am not comfortable with someone having that much power with no safeguards. We have no defense in case one goes rogue."

"Which is why for now I would suggest you only test agents you trust completely," the Commander suggested. "That being said, I know. Has Vahlen briefed you on the Manchurian Program?"

"Yes," Zhang answered. "But as far as I know, no further progress has been made."

"Because it hasn't," the Commander sighed. "The Engineering and Research teams have too many projects and too few staff. At the moment preparing for the invasion takes priority over potentially rogue agents."

"We should begin a recruitment drive from our allies," Zhang stated. "They can spare some scientists. Should we ally with North Korea, I'd imagine they would send over their best."

"No, I want North Korea focused on the Directive," the Commander disagreed. "They have the facilities to do it on a large scale and we don't. Their time is best spent on that."

"Speaking of that, when are you going to put it in motion?" Zhang asked slowly, crossing his arms. "We are running out of time."

"Once the Korean situation is resolved, Taiwan is officially allied and we get ASEAN's attention," the Commander answered. "Then I will approach the countries. But before that I'll bring everyone up to speed on it."

"Let me know," Zhang commented, a rare smile on his face. "I want to see Van Doorn's face when you tell him your plan."

"I think it's more than a plan now," the Commander sighed wearily as he recalled what he'd written. "At this point, it is probably our only hope."

The Citadel, Medical Ward

"Still no response?" Patricia asked without much hope.

"None," Blake answered as he looked at several monitors. "Still comatose, though thankfully isn't getting worse. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong with him. Physically he's fine."

Patricia pursed her lips. "It's not physical, doctor." To anyone else, Anius Creed probably looked like he was sleeping, but underneath Patricia could still sense the faint consistency of panic, fear and rage. Whatever the Hive Commander had done to him, it was probably not going to go away on his own.

Which meant she'd have to try and help.

She didn't know how yet, nor was she going to do it right this minute. But it would have to be soon because she didn't want to risk him being trapped in his mind for days and then go insane. Then again, she could very well cause the same thing since she had no fucking clue how to fix him. For all she knew, she'd doomed him when she'd forced him to sleep.

If he never woke up, it would be her fault, justified or not.

She gently placed one of her hands over his limp one. "I'll help you," she whispered to him. "Just hold on for a little longer."

No response, physically or otherwise.

Blake cleared his throat, breaking the silence after a few seconds. "I'll do what I can for him…but if you're worried about him, you should try to help him sooner than later. This is outside my expertise, Patricia, you know better than me what his chances are."

She probably did, and that was terrifying to her. Giving her thanks to the doctor, she rose and left the room, barely paying attention to her surroundings.

The blind leading the blind; that was how she felt right now. She was only fumbling her way through this; experimenting with no actual expectations or results. She could be doing everything wrong and not knowing it. And yet she was the only one who had something of a clue how psionics actually worked.

Oh, Vahlen certain had theories and was no doubt trying to figure the concrete science of it out, but strapping sensors to her head and asking endless questions would never convey even for a second what it was like to control someone's mind, see their thoughts, or force your will upon them. Science could adequately explain that, and even in her limited experience she knew she was only scratching the surface of the possibilities.

And now she'd have to help four more get through what she did.

She almost wished she'd kept the Hive Commander alive, if only to extract what it knew about the proper training of psionics. Although she was certain the Hive Commander would have driven itself insane long before she'd been able to find that. But killing the Hive Commander in such a…vindicating…fashion had been…liberating.

Some part of her had always held back, some part of morality had always stopped her from being as lethal as possible when she used her powers. But she'd never known just what she could do until she'd driven the Hive Commander insane. Sure, she could have tried getting some information out of it, that's what she'd implied to the Commander at least, but in reality…

All she'd really wanted to do was vent.

Seeing Maria kill Sarah, Eden and Afif killing themselves and Creed attacking her had removed any ounce of mercy she'd had towards the alien. And so she'd trapped the creature in it's mind, killing it again and again, slowly destroying it's mind piece by piece as it's psyche fractured as she made it believe it was drowning in acid or burning alive.

The mind was perhaps to vivid for it's own good.

She'd been too far in the trance, but from what Carmelita had described, it had been unnerving even to her. That wasn't to say she didn't learn anything practical from the Hive Commander. She now knew how a sectoid mind worked, and most importantly, possible methods for blocking psionic attacks.

It was funny, she'd hadn't even been trying to get that. But the Hive Commander had tried it in the beginning, knowing how it worked. But it was too weak and she was in control of it's mind. So any initial attempts soon failed and the torture began.

It was odd. She hadn't really known what to feel after. Some of the soldiers had looked at her funny after she'd finished, their emotions conflicted. Even Carmelita wasn't completely comfortable, though Patricia suspected it was more because psionics unnerved her than any misguided sympathy for the alien itself.

But she didn't feel bad at all. On some level she knew that it was wrong, unethical, whatever. But she didn't feel that at all, if anything she felt justified. And why should she be? There were few fitting punishments for what the alien had done.

Back during the days of the War on Terror, she'd wondered and theorized exactly how the Commander justified his actions. Everyone had been condemning him, the media, her friends, the government, especially during the later days. Yet she'd never been convinced they were completely right.

Everything he'd done was morally reprehensible, but what stood out to her now was that no one looked at the victims, at least not under a microscope. No one could commit atrocities like that and still keep doing them without something more. She'd wondered what had driven him. Rage, grief, hate, all those had seemed likely possibilities, but those emotions were fleeting and burned out quicker.

But now she thought she might have the answer. Justice. How else could a man kill so many people and not be able to justify it in some way? What could cause such a lack of empathy that the principle method of execution was crucifixion. Because the Commander had believed it was justified. It wasn't sadism, racism, mental illness or whatever reason people had tried to explain his actions.

No, she suspected that the Commander had had a similar epiphany to her.

Some beings didn't deserve mercy.

Some didn't deserve to live.

Simple as that.

Why should she care about the feelings of an alien any more than she did a wasp or rattlesnake? Why should the Commander have cared about the pain of a terrorist that had likely killed, and would kill more?

Because it was wrong?

Maybe. But then the question had to be raised. Why?

And that was what she'd been trying to figure out. If what she'd done was wrong, why was it wrong? Or was she just wondering that because society had conditioned her to think that? Because just based on how she felt…she was completely fine. Vindicated. Justified.

She wished Creed was awake to she could talk to him about this. He might be the only one who understood where she was coming from, or that she felt comfortable with talking with in the first place. Paige would have been the only one, and even if she hadn't been dead, Patricia wasn't sure she'd really understand. Paige had been a good woman, in every sense of the word.

Patricia had always considered herself to be…decent. Not the best person in the world, but not the worst either.

Now though, she wasn't sure she'd even reach that bar.

No, scratch that. She wouldn't lie to herself. She wasn't a good person, not anymore.

But then that raised a new question.

Did it matter?

Was anything going to change just because she wasn't what was considered a good person? Would the aliens care? Would her soldiers? Would the Commander? Probably not. The longer this went on, it seemed like people were realizing that they needed to do whatever it took for them to survive.

And if a few rules were broken along the way, so be it.

She realized she had walked right up to the Mess Hall. Well, at least she'd come to the right place. All of them were already inside; it was interesting, psionic humans were extremely distinct from regular ones. It was faint, but there all the same. She opened the door and walked inside.

Iosif, Galia and Alexei were all sitting at a nearby table and hushed up as she walked up. "On time, good," she said as she took a seat to face all of them.

"So…" Alexei said after a few seconds. "How does all this work?"

Patricia rested her hands on the table and took a moment to feel the general state of them. Galia was optimistic, Iosif and Alexei were more skeptical and nervous about the whole ordeal. All were fine, these were professionals, they could handle this with the right instructions. Of course, those instructions had to be from her.

No pressure, right?

"I'll have a better idea in a moment," she answered. "First I need to know if you've felt different recently."

"Right…" Alexei started off. "Is it normal that I'm…well, hearing things? Voices to be specific?"

"And sometimes images, feelings that aren't yours?" she finished. "Yes, I heard the same things. You're not going crazy if you're worried about that. You're just glimpsing other minds."

His eyes widened slightly. "People?"

"People," she repeated. "It'll become stronger the more you concentrate on it. If you experience it similar to me, there will be times when it's going to be overwhelming. There are some ways to block it I'll show you later."

"Well, that's good I guess," Alexei said, his relief very apparent. "It's really strange that the stuff I'm receiving is coming from someone."

"I'm somewhat similar," Galia interjected. "Though it's more strong emotions than voices per-se. I mean, I'm hearing a couple to, but I don't think to the extend Alexei is."

"Have you tried doing anything with them?" Patricia asked. "Or tried to reach the source?"

"I…" Galia paused, her lips pursing. "No. I could do that?"

"There's a lot you could do," Patricia said. "But as a general rule, I don't deliberate seek people out like that unless I have their consent. You all should adopt that as well."

"So are we just going to practice on each other?" Iosif asked.

"Or if you find someone willing," Patricia amended. "It's not impossible."

"So that's why you and Creed were spending so much time together," Galia commented, smiling. "Your guinea pig?"

Patricia eyed the woman cautiously, not liking where this was headed. "Yes, of sorts. What did you think was going on?"

"Oh, nothing much," she said lightly. "But that was sweet of him to volunteer."

"Oh, don't lie," Patricia muttered, resting her forehead on her hand in disbelief trying to quell the red rising in her face. "I can sense exactly what you meant by that."

"And you know what," Galia smirked. "I'm pretty sure I just felt you as well."

"Well, this is just a fascinating topic," Alexei interrupted sarcastically. "Yeah, your point is made, Patricia. Anyway, Iosif has us all beat."

"Don't set high expectations," Iosif warned with a sigh. "Seriously. All I can do is make some purple lights."

Well, that was new. "Go on," Patricia encouraged.

He nodded and took a breath. His face set and body tense, nothing happened for a couple minutes. Then small wisps of purple energy wrapped around his raised arm, becoming more frequent and visible. Iosif flipped his hand palm up and some of the energy conjoined to form a small shimmering square.

"And watch this," Alexei muttered to her as he picked up a fork. Taking a reverse grip, he lightly stabbed down on the glowing square and was soundly denied. Iosif grunted and the square vanished along with the energy on his arm. Taking a few breaths, he righted himself and quickly drunk from a nearby glass.

"I can't hold it very long," Iosif explained. "And if it's disturbed at all…I just lose focus. I'm not really hearing voices or emotions like the others, at least not nearly as frequent. But there's something else in me now, a well of power for lack of a better term. One I can summon if I try."

"Can you do that?" Galia asked.

Patricia hesitated. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "Maybe if I tried? Or maybe there are different abilities some are better at than others. Honestly, no one really knows the intricacies of psionics, I'm figuring out a lot of it as I go along."

"So I guess just practice?" Iosif asked.

"Yes," Patricia encouraged. "That's impressive, especially only after a few days. But yes, practice and you'll get better and stronger. What also helps are strong emotions, those sometimes give me the extra boost I need."

"Is that dangerous?" Alexei asked with a frown.

"Only if you allow them to consume you," Patricia answered. "Keep control and you have nothing to worry about."

"Ok," Galia began. "What-"

They were cut off as a light buzzing reached their ears. Galia looked down to see her wristband vibrating. "Seems the aliens have struck again," she sighed and stood. "Duty calls."

That was a pretty quick response, but Patricia supposed the aliens were continuing on with their business as usual. "Good luck, we'll work on this later."

"See you soon," she said with a wave before whistling for Aluma to come to her. The dog trotted up to her, happy as could be as Galia scratched his chin. Patricia turned back to Alexei and Iosif after she left.

"Alright," she said, clasping her hands together. "I have some ideas of what you can do to improve, but remember that what works for me might not for you. It seems like abilities vary from person to person."

"You've had this longer than anyone," Iosif said, inclining his head. "I'll trust you."

"Same here," Alexei agreed. "You know what you're doing."

She sincerely hoped so. "In that case, let's get started."

The Citadel, Hallways

Optimistic.

Galia wasn't sure that was quite what she should be feeling right now; or even as a proper reaction to what was happening to her. Although she couldn't really place why she felt like that. How were you supposed to react to learning that you'd be able to read minds?

Well, if movies and shows, especially American one, were anything to go by, she should probably try and hide it, or be ashamed of it for some reason. Or she could skip the self-pity part of the plot and get to accepting what she could do and using it to change the world.

Well…maybe not quite that drastic. But she could certainly try.

Aluma whined at her as she put her armor on and she smiled as she rubbed her head happily and gave her one of the rolls from the mess hall. The little mutt knew when she was in a good mood, and anyone who believed dogs couldn't detect emotions was either lying or hadn't owned one of their own. It was just one reason she trusted Aluma with her life, and in some cases found her to be more reliable than some people.

"[Things are going to change, girl,]" she said affectionately to the dog as she pulled on her gauntlets. "[And you are going to help me with it.]"

Aluma may not have understood fluent Hebrew, but she could pick up on the meaning easily enough. Maybe dogs were inherently psionic; she honestly wouldn't be surprised. "[Alright,]" Galia told her as she reached for the other set of armor. "{Your turn. Hold still.]"

Now experienced with putting on Aluma's armor, it only took a few minutes before it was securely on the German Shepherd. Galia really felt like she owed Lily some kind of payment for what she'd created. Galia sincerely doubted that the IDF would have even considered such a tool, let alone actually made a working prototype.

Now all armored up, Galia stood and motioned for Aluma to fall into step beside her. "[Come on,]"

Tail wagging, Aluma happily walked beside her as they walked to the hangar. Galia wondered if the aliens were striking now in retaliation, or if this was planned all along. Neither would surprise her, truth be told, but whatever the case, she was looking forward to sending them to whatever their equivalent of hell was.

As of this moment, she had a somewhat humorous theory that whatever hell the aliens believed in, XCOM was going to be there.

Preferably all the soldiers they'd killed.

When Galia had first been transferred to XCOM, she'd not really expected to become as…invested as she was. But here, she actually felt like she was making a real difference. Doing something that mattered. Not that her old position hadn't per-se…but it wasn't the large impact that she'd dreamed of. Dreams she'd lowered when faced with reality, and had resigned herself that though she might make an impact, it would be very small and the number of people who really noticed or cared would be even fewer.

Because no one cared about a prevented crime; no, what got attention were the ones that succeeded. Or if a soldier was killed during an operation. Aside from that, people like her might as well not exist. To some extent, she was fine with that, she'd never wanted a spotlight thrust on her, but she did enjoy the feeling of progress, which had been scarce. There would always be more criminals, murderers and rapists in the world. All she was doing was removing a couple at a time.

But here, even though it should have been the opposite, she actually felt like they were making progress. Each successful mission was a strike against an enemy who would be forced to replenish again and again. XCOM kept advancing, growing more powerful the more victories they earned. Even if she hadn't been here during the first months, the fact that XCOM had saved Germany, destroyed a Dreadnought and now taken an alien base couldn't be ignored.

Sure, the aliens would want to strike back. But now she felt they stood a decent chance, especially when backed with Myra, Patricia, Carmelita and the Commander himself. And if her psionic abilities could ensure their victory, she'd work day and night to be the best XCOM had to offer. It was time Patricia had some competition anyway.

They reached the hangar and the door slid open to reveal most of the assembled squad waiting already. Galia felt a brief flash of emotions, calm, elated, nervous, and they vanished just as quickly. She supposed they came in spurts at first, and would grow consistent with time. She'd have to experiment later, find someone willing to allow her to literally pick their mind.

She recognized some of them, there was a pretty good mix of newer soldiers and veterans, she falling somewhere in the middle. Josue and Malcom had been with XCOM since the beginning, and were by all accounts excellent soldiers, even if they hadn't really made a name for themselves like Carmelita or Creed.

Augustine noticed her walking up. "Does that tire her out?" He asked, clearly referring to Aluma's armor.

"A bit," Galia answered, noting he'd strapped a good number of symbiote grenades to his waist. "But unless she wears it for more than a few hours, she'll be fine."

"Legitimate dog armor," a new woman noted, walking up and looking at the dog curiously. "XCOM is just full of surprises."

"Thank Shen's daughter," Galia chuckled. "She was the one who made it. She really doesn't want anything to happen to Aluma."

"Really, who would?" She agreed, scratching Aluma under her unprotected chin.

"Galia, this is Charlotte," Augustine introduced. "I don't think you've met before."

"Pleasure to meet you," Galia said, extending a hand. "Former Oketz operative, IDF."

"Ah, I wasn't aware Israeli special forces had a canine unit," she answered, taking the hand. "Charlotte Ronja, Switzerland ARD 10 Medic."

"Isn't Switzerland neutral in everything?" Josue asked, walking up, his gauss rifle slung over the back of his green-cameoed armor. "I didn't even know you had a special forces unit."

"Just because we don't take sides doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves," Charlotte refuted lightly. "But I think with humanity at stake, Switzerland can do so this one time."

"Saving it for when it counts," Augustine added. "I like it."

"Take note, countries of the currently free world," Josue continued humorously. "If Switzerland is taking sides, it might be a good idea to follow suit."

The hangar doors slid open behind them and Galia saw James, Pavel, Anneli and one of the pilots walk in. Since none of the gathered soldiers had given any indication, she assumed that James was the Squad Overseer. A JF2 operative would be the best choice, even if pretty much everyone else had seniority over him here at least in time spent.

"We have an alien abduction in England," James announced as he walked up. "Might be them trying to recoup their losses from the base, might be planned all along. Regardless, we're going to put a stop to it."

He motioned toward the skyranger. "Load up!"

"Yes, Overseer!" They shouted enthusiastically and wasted no time in boarding the aircraft.

Skyranger, En route to Abduction Zone

Aluma laid at her feet, resting her eyes before the upcoming battle. The rest of them were silent and waiting for more information. If it was in England, it wouldn't be a very long ride since she'd learned that the skyranger could fly at unreasonably fast speeds. But she wasn't worried, from the brief flashes and words that had appeared in her mind, everyone possessed a confidence that she didn't think had existed a few days ago.

"So, how does it feel being…psionic?" Augustine asked a few minutes into the flight, clearly unsure his words were the best he could have chosen.

"Not bad," Galia shrugged. "It's honestly not much now, but that will probably change soon."

"That's good, I guess," Pavel commented. "You seem more comfortable with it than Iosif and Alexei. Neither of them really want to talk about it."

"They're a bit more skeptical," Galia answered. "But they're fine."

"Not that they probably have much choice," Anneli pointed out.

"True," Galia admitted. "Though I don't see much point in worrying. Patricia knows what she's doing."

"Yeah," Pavel answered slowly, looking up. "She certainly does."

Galia frowned at his tone, but restrained herself from commenting. Now was not the time to discuss Patricia, especially in such a public setting. It suddenly occurred to her that her new abilities might be an issue for some people. She supposed when looking at it from their perspective, a woman with the ability to read minds might actually be worth getting concerned about. Which was ridiculous, since she'd never do anything against them without reason, as Patricia had not so subtlety ordered.

But this thing was that they didn't know that, or worse, had no way to actually prove that regardless of what assurances she gave. She'd never really had an issue with Patricia since she trusted her. But now she guessed she would have to follow Patricia's example; actions outweighed words.

"This is the Commander to Sun Team," the familiar voice coming through her helmet speakers. "You're being deployed to England. The city of Plymouth has just gone silent, and we suspect the aliens are responsible."

"Anything on what to expect?" James asked as he toyed with his alloy cannon.

"Some citizens might be fighting back," the Commander answered. "It appears whatever the aliens regularly used to subdue the citizens either wasn't deployed or didn't work because there was a massive influx of 999 calls just before it went silent."

"So there might still be people alive," Galia said hopefully.

"Possibly," the Commander didn't exactly sound hopeful. "Civilians stand no chance against the aliens, but you do. If they're being forced to fight through the city, it might delay them enough to prevent all of them from dying."

"What of the emergency calls themselves?" James asked. "Did they describe anything that could be helpful?"

"No," the Commander answered, keeping his tone seemingly neutral. Like he was puzzled and trying to hide it. "All the calls we've listen to have been completely unrelated issues. Cuts, headaches, mysterious pain. Some were gunshots, but nothing was ever connected to the aliens."

Galia frowned. That was odd. Though the sheer volume of 999 calls might have simply meant that the Commander and his team just hadn't found the right calls. Not that it mattered; she knew the aliens were behind this and they were going to stop them, whatever it took.

"Find out why Plymouth has gone dark," the Commander repeated. "Shoot all aliens on sight and secure the city. Good luck. Citadel Command, out."

The line clicked off.

"So what are the best aliens for a frontal attack?" Augustine asked. "Mutons and floaters seem a good bet."

"I'd add cyberdisks, possibly chryssalids," Galia added, shivering at the thought of the alien bugs.

"Let's hope there aren't chryssalids," James said grimly. "Otherwise we'll have to wipe the town out."

"What about Mechtoids?" Anneli added. "Those would be useful."

"Right, let's just prepare for those," James nodded. "A sizable number would probably be twenty or a few more to effectively clear the city out."

"I guess it depends if they're capturing or killing," Charlotte pointed out.

"True," James nodded. "Just killing would be quicker and require less units."

"Well, you're about to find out," the voice of Fallen Sky interrupted. "I'm dropping you off just outside the city center. No signs of a fight from what I can see. Prepare to deploy in one."

"Copy," James confirmed as he stood. "Everyone up and prepare to deploy!"

Galia tapped Aluma and the dog was instantly on her feet and followed her to the end of the squad. Since deploying would require a bit more time than the others, she needed to go last so both of them would have a safe landing. The skyranger dipped until it was hovering over an unknown area. With a hiss the ramp opened displaying the short buildings of the town.

"Deploy!" James ordered and immediately grabbed one of the ropes that fell from the skyranger. Within seconds most of the squad was heading down. Galia grunted as she picked up a very heavy Aluma and positioned her as she'd been trained. With her free hand she hooked herself to the rope and jumped off the ramp.

Time to see what the aliens were doing here.

Plymouth, England

Galia hit the ground and deposited Aluma onto it in one practiced motion. Once she raised her weapon, she quickly got a look of her surroundings. It became immediately apparent to her that this was different. The previous abductions had always been ghost towns, areas still intact but devoid of all life within them.

Not here.

It looked like an epidemic had struck. Cars were strewn across the streets, crashed into buildings, other vehicles and…people. Some of the cars were on fire and spreading to the other buildings or bodies. But that damage paled in comparison to what else littered the streets.

Bodies. Tens of bodies, people just lying on the sidewalk. Others just curled up on the street. Galia could barely look at the group of school children on the ground across the street. She didn't hold out hope that they were somehow alive. None of the bodies moved, even the ones without wounds on them.

"Commander, are you getting this?" James asked numbly as he swept the area with his raised alloy cannon.

"I am."

"This isn't normal," Malcom muttered as he slowly took a few steps up, weapon raised. "They usually don't just…kill everything."

"I suspect this is probably retaliation for our attack," the Commander noted grimly. "There is nothing that can be done for them now. All we can do is avenge them."

"Copy that," James said softly. "We're moving in now."

Together they moved down the street, stepping over the motionless corpses and trying not to disturb their silent rest. Disconcertion, anger and fear all flashed into her, and she couldn't quite shake any other those emotions even if they weren't hers. Even Aluma seemed unsettled by the carnage around her, keeping closer to her legs than normal.

"This doesn't make sense," Charlotte muttered, as she looked at one of the corpses. A man who was likely in his thirties, with dull blonde hair and face contorted in what must have been agony in his last moments. What was odd was that there were no markings or wounds or…anything that could have caused his death.

"Do you know what killed him?" Galia asked.

She could hear the hesitation in her voice. "He died in pain, and likely very quickly. There's only a few plausible reasons I can think of or have seen. Heart attack or stroke are obvious ones, but…what are the chances it could happen now?" Charlotte stood and gestured around the streets of corpses. "Take a look around. He's not the only one who's like that."

"All of these people died in pain," Pavel noted, kneeling beside the bodies of a woman and presumably her daughter. "Look at their faces. There isn't a peaceful or even neutral expression on them."

"Let's keep moving," James said quietly as he motioned them to move further into the town. "Whatever caused this is probably still here."

"Are you sure?" Galia wondered, jogging up beside him. "Because from the looks of things, the aliens killed these people without firing a shot. Could this be some kind of virus?"

James paused, then turned to Charlotte. "I know this isn't your field, per-se," he began. "But would that be possible? A weaponized agent causing what we've seen?"

"Theoretically, yes," she answered slowly. "There are dozens of agents that could cause this. But I'm not sure what the point would be, we already know these kill humans. Unless of course this was just to send a message?"

"Very likely," Anneli growled, storming up to them. "And one directed at us. If they'd wanted it public they would have bombarded this from orbit."

"A virus or biological agent might explain why none of the 999 calls mentioned the aliens," the Commander noted, subdued. "Keep going, but be wary. I doubt the aliens just killed these people and left."

"Let's go," James ordered and they moved further into the city.

Galia was grateful that her helmet filters removed the worst of the smells. Little disturbed her, but that didn't exactly mean she wanted to smell charred flesh and decaying bodies. But still…this was horrific, even to her. It wasn't quite on the level of the alien base, but seeing a street filled with ordinary dead people was something any normal person would find hard to stomach.

They kept walking for a few minutes, passing concrete buildings and shops with dead people in the offices, breezeways and diners. Galia pursed her lips as she saw a fire brewing in a restaurant with dozens of dead customers in the seats. "Look at this," Augustine called, as he knelt beside yet another corpse.

Unlike most of the others, this woman's throat was slit. Blood covered her neck and had soaked into her shirt. A bloody knife was also in her hand. "She killed herself?" Galia wondered. It made sense and was almost certainly the cause…but she could help but feel like there was something missing.

"Looks that way," Augustine agreed, standing back up. "Why though? And how? Aren't strokes and heart attacks usually incapacitating?"

"Assuming that whatever did this triggered those," Galia pointed out with a frown. "Maybe it just caused too much pain."

With that somber thought, they kept going and that was when there was a noticeable change in the bodies. No longer were the majority unmarked and unscathed. Some had cuts, gunshot wounds or body parts removed.

"What changed?" Josue asked in awe as he looked down at a man who had apparently clawed his eyes out if his bloodied fingers were anything to go by. "Did they use a different drug here?"

Galia looked over at a twin pair of police officers. One who had jammed her head into a nearby spike and another who'd slit his wrists. This was looking less and less of a drug of some kind to her. What drug was so agonizing the majority of people were able to kill themselves after suffering it? But the one consistent part of all the bodies were that the faces were still the same; all in pain.

"I'm not sure what they did," Charlotte answered slowly. "I don't know what else could cause a mass suicide on this scale other than a hallucinogenic, and even then the chances of it affecting them all the same way are minuscule at best."

"It seems to be worse the further we go in," Malcom noted. "Let's get this over with."

They kept on walking, their attitudes far different now than the confident skyranger ride over. Galia found herself actually wondering what they could do it if the aliens tried a similar tactic on them. Without knowing what it was…could they really prepare?

"Ugh," she stumbled as she felt something tear into her leg. It felt like a bullet, but she'd heard no shot and as she looked down, her armor was unbroken. But she felt the pain her leg was sending her; she felt the blood trickling down her calve.

There were similar sounds coming from the rest of them. "This can't be right," Augustine asked, shaking his head as he straightened up. "I'm fine."

"Speak for yourself," Pavel growled. "I'm pretty sure I was just shot!"

"Me too," Galia added with a wince. The pain was dying, but it was still threatening to compromise her calm. "My leg. But it can't be happening."

"Keep going," James muttered, attempting to keep a firm stance. "I have a feeling we're close now."

They pushed through their phantom pain and kept walking forward. Galia almost fell to the ground several times as spikes of pain stabbed into her legs. All of their breathing became more labored the closer they got, their pace slowing through the constant barrage of agony. After what seemed like ages they finally came to what had to be the city center.

It was a large circular area, paved with brick and a large fountain in the middle. Cars and bodies littered the area and the buildings surround the center were broken, ruined or were on fire. Directly in front of them at the end of the street was…something.

Galia squinted at the figure, trying to get a better look. It was tall, that much was clear, and even from here she could tell it towered over her. Some kind of reddish robe covered it's entire body, minus the helmet it wore. The entire wardrobe had seen better days, since the robe itself was ripped, scored and frayed. The helmet wasn't much better, the once regal design now marred by rust, gashes and scratches.

"Contact up ahead," James growled. "Into cover and open fire!"

Galia gasped as a new wave of pain hit her chest, making it feel as if it was on fire. Not real. Not real. She dashed to a store corner and lined up her shot on the alien. Gauss bullets sped towards the immobile being, but if it was worried it didn't show it. Pavel, Augustine and Charlotte were also firing at it and it just stood there.

It's robe twitched and jumped as the projectiles clearly hit it…but it didn't seem to be affected. Galia paused, then zoomed in on it's face and felt a wave of terror sweep over her. Several projectiles would have hit the head of the alien. The only problem was that at least five were simply suspended before the helm, preventing further movement.

"It's psionic!" Galia screamed as things started clicking rapidly for her. The reasons for the mass suicide, the dozens of bodies, everything off about this could be explained by the application of psionics.

How could they have forgotten that?

"Correct."

That one word almost made her scream as the sound grated against her very brain. It was the embodiment of a tortured soul, one that embodied the voice of the damned. A wailing, pitiful voice containing equal parts terror and pain. It was worse because she heard it through her ears and in her mind!

The others weren't so quiet. Josue and Anneli audibly screamed and redoubled their fire. Aluma howled and fell to the ground. The sight of her longest companion in such pain was enough for her to dispel the stunning quality of that voice and release a sustained barrage on the alien.

"You have no need of those," the alien stated, extending a spindly arm towards them. The faint whitish skin splotched with blue was oddly hypnotizing and distracted her until her weapon was yanked from her hands. Anneli's, Josue's and Charlotte's were also pulled and rested just in front of the raised five-fingered hand.

They fell to the ground a second later and the alien began walking towards them. Galia pulled out her pistol and began firing. A new wave of agony in her neck caused her to scream, but she kept at it. "I'm going in!" James yelled, clasping his alloy cannon.

Galia knew it might be a suicide mission, but if he could get an alloy cannon blast at the alien, it might be enough to kill it. He leapt out of his cover and charged towards the towering creature. About halfway, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, writing on the ground as the alien simply looked at him.

"Evac!" Malcom stuttered as he fell to one knee, suffering his own pain. "We need emergency evac now dammit! Now!"

"No one is coming," the alien stated in his awful wail. "And you will not leave alive."

He thrust the drawn arm towards the right side and James was thrown and pinned against a nearby wall, screaming in pain. The alien's hand contorted into a claw as purple energy writhed around it. Purple energy also began encircling James and she watched in horror as the energy ravaged his body in armor, cutting it into rough chunks which fell to the ground.

The pain she was feeling intensified as the alien got closer and closer. It was all she could do not to turn the pistol on herself just to end it. Only Pavel, Augustine and her were still trying to kill the thing. The rest were either writing on the ground, or backing up in terror.

"You wield toys," the alien said as he motioned towards a fleeing Josue who screamed as he was pulled into the alien's grasp by the throat. "As can be expected when pitting children against each other."

The arm holding Josue off the ground flared and he was consumed by purple shears that ripped him apart. The alien dropped the shredded body and withdrew the hand back into it's robe. It looked at her and she felt an odd calm fall around her; the pain was still there, but it…wasn't important.

She didn't really need to shoot at it, did she?

"You have impressed me, Commander," the voice of Fallen Sky came over her helmet. But it wasn't him, it couldn't be. "XCOM has accomplished what hundreds have failed before."

This isn't right. She raged on the inside, fighting to displace the irrational calm that had descended upon her. Pavel and Augustine had also stopped firing, their weapons held limply at their sides. Fight it!

"But your insurrection is at an end," Pavel said in a dull voice. "We will not tolerate more rebellion."

"You are a strong species," Augustine said in the same voice. "But none are immune to pain, and the weak ones will be the first to die." Galia watched with horror as he lowered his weapon towards a writhing Anneli. Several shots towards her head and she stopped moving.

"Everyone has a point where they can tolerate death no longer," Pavel said, turning his weapon down on Malcom who was futilely trying to raise a pistol. "How many of your species will you sacrifice in a vain attempt to delay the inevitable?" Two shots blasted Malcom's head and he fell to the ground, blood and brains leaking onto the pavement.

Walk forward.

She tried fighting it, but the will of the alien overpowered her and she shuffled towards Charlotte who was trying to prop herself up on a car as whatever pain she was suffering from debilitated her from moving. "Galia!" She gasped. "Fight it!"

"They cannot fight it, human," Galia said, the words appearing in her mind. "They lack the will. They lack the ability. They cannot defy us any more than you can deny the sun rising." Charlotte would have probably said something else, but two gauss bullets through her head were enough to silence her.

"You are deluded to think you can overcome us," Fallen Sky said. "Your species has barely six thousand years of recorded history. We have existed for millennia. We have seen and done things you would not comprehend. Fighting us is not only foolish, it is suicide."

Galia heard the roar of a skyranger overhead and watched in surprising detachment and it plunged into a nearby building with a massive explosion. As burning metal and gas rained down around them, Galia turned back around. Head back.

With dawning horror she realized what she was going to be doing. No! She screamed internally, her body ignoring her and taking one shuffling step at a time.

Quiet. It will be over soon.

No!

You have no choice. Your will is pointless.

Galia screamed as a new wave of pain disrupted her mental fight and her hand lowered her pistol towards Aluma who was still writhing on the ground. Tears streaming down her face, she aimed the weapon on her head. Aluma must have sensed she was close, and raised her head, eyes full of pain as she watched her master and companion who she'd protected and fought with for years, pointing the gun in her face.

But Aluma didn't even try to run. She trusted her. Galia had never hurt her, and never would.

Bang!

Had she been even remotely in control, Galia would have broke down sobbing right then. But she was no longer in control and didn't fight the alien any longer. Please, she begged as she stumbled towards the towering alien. Just kill me.

Your wish will be granted.

She smiled at that. A delirious smile, but one she couldn't remove, so far gone was her mind already from pain and grief.

Thank you.

She took off her helmet and let it drop to the charred concrete and raised the pistol to her head, the metal feeling oddly cool against her skin. Augustine and Pavel had done the same, looking serene as the barrels were pressed to their heads. "Understand that you will dictate how many lives are lost from this point on, Commander," Augustine said. "Your opportunity to wage rebellion without consequence has passed."

"The games are over," Pavel continued. "You wanted a war. It starts today."

With that, Pavel and Augustine fired their pistols and their bodies fell to the ground with a loud thud. She longed to join them, all she needed was a command.

Do it.

She smiled, and pulled the trigger.

After-Action Report

Operation: Enduring Tomb

Personnel:

Sun 1 (Squad Overseer): Specialist James Nolan

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 2: Specialist Galia Loeb

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 2.5: "Aluma"

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 3: Specialist Anneli Reinhard

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 4: Specialist Augustine Ingen

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 5: Specialist Josue Rico

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 6: Specialist Malcom Munn

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 7: Specialist Pavel Maxim

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Sun 8: Specialist Charlotte Ronja

Status: Deceased

Kills: 0

Mission Director: The Commander

Pilot: Tristen Ward – Call sign: "Fallen Sky" (KIA)

Artifacts Recovered:

None: Mission Failed