Controlled Crash

The Bastion

Time to start getting things under control.

As Saudia waited for the heads of the families to finally arrive, she once more ran through how she was going to present this. Tricking the aliens while simultaneously ensuring that humanity wasn't substantially weakened was a tricky proposition. Possible, but tricky, with the potential for it to go horribly wrong.

Unfortunately, they didn't have much of a choice. While they didn't have to worry about XCOM anymore, she was certain that she would be executed if the Elders suspected she was once again just using them. An acceptable risk, for just a little longer. Darian and Yakov were pushing the research teams as much as possible, and they said that they were only a few weeks from figuring out most of the alien tech they had.

It would have to be enough. She had the distinct feeling that time was running out until the aliens invaded fully. She didn't know what the catalyst would be, but she suspected that XCOM would be involved in some way. Should they be eliminated before the invasion, their chances of it being a quick and bloodless fight increased substantially.

The countries that could put up a fight would likely be picked off quickly, especially if the aliens isolated them from allies, which was a likely possibility. If the aliens were smart, they would invade the lesser countries first, the ones who didn't have armies in the hundreds of thousands. So instead of directly attacking China, targeting Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan would happen first to prevent them from being annexed and used by China.

Actually…as much as she disliked the possibility, there was an excellent chance that Australia would be taken first, as that would make an excellent staging area from which they could launch attacks across the entire world, but especially Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Antarctica too.

The only area relatively safe from such a beachhead would be Europe, which did include Russia. The good news was that the major powers within the continents had a thin barrier of protection, which would buy them some time should the aliens begin a simultaneous attack. There was no way around it. The lesser countries would have to be annexed and brought into superpowers that had an actual chance of success.

The question was, of course, how to make that happen.

The door slid open behind her and she turned around to see Zara and Matthew walk inside. Zara was dressed in her typical armor, which was slightly shiner now since it was a result of integrating the alien metals. Her plasma weapon was also slung around her back and bandanna resting on her neck. Matthew was surprisingly similarly dressed, although it was a bit more tasteful and covered than Zara, with much of the armor covered up or painted black. Nevertheless, the laser pistol at his side showed that he was prepared.

She was as well, admittedly. Her own armor was a little lighter than theirs, and completely covered up under her usual dress uniform. But if there was another surprise alien visit, she was ready to defend herself. Although there would likely be little she could do if that Elder showed up again.

"Good to see you, Director," Matthew greeted, his tone deliberately neutral. "I assume you have a plan."

"Yes, I'm really curious about that," Zara added, her tone holding nothing but anger. "I want to know the justification for not dissolving the farce 'alliance' with these aliens after what they did to our soldiers and more importantly, you."

"You know very well that would only start a war we aren't ready for," Saudia responded. "Trust me, I want nothing more. But we can't do anything now until the time is right."

"And when will that be?" She hissed.

Saudia stared unflinchingly into her stormy eyes. "That's why you're here. I've had time to think, and what I have might be the only way that EXALT, as well as humanity survives."

"Let's hope so," Matthew said, taking a seat. "Because this cannot be allowed to let slide."

"It won't," Saudia promised. "There will be retribution…but not immediately."

They seemed to accept that for the moment and all of them sat down as they waited for the rest to arrive. "You brought quite a few soldiers with you," Matthew noted, resting his arm on the table. "An almost excessive amount, I would say."

"Considering what happened, I don't consider it unwarranted," she answered firmly. "This is what we're trained for."

"Against aliens," Matthew noted calmly. "Not whatever these Elders are."

"He's right," Saudia nodded grimly. "As much as I hate to admit it…none of the soldiers were able to stop him. The Elders are powerful, which means that we can't rely on soldiers to defeat them."

"I read your own report," Zara said, leaning back into her chair. "There are ways this can be countered. We just need to figure them out. Enough delaying, Saudia. We need to restart the psionic testing immediately."

"Starting even from the serum will take time we don't have," Saudia refuted. "Yes, it should be started, but we won't gain anything fast enough. We need actual psions to test with."

"We lost Subject Four," Zara reminded her, as if she needed it. "She's likely with XCOM now, thanks to…well, whatever happened on that bridge."

That had been an extremely odd occurrence. Initial reports had led her to believe that XCOM had attacked them, but once alien DNA and blood had been found along with EXALT corpses, the picture had started to become much more muddled. Either the aliens and XCOM had been fighting and EXALT had somehow been caught in the middle, or the aliens and EXALT had been fighting and XCOM had responded to the attacks.

Either way, Subject Four had clearly escaped and killed quite a few soldiers from the bodies recovered. That would have normally been disastrous, if not for XCOM now not posing an immediate threat. Despite what Ethan promised, she wasn't convinced that the Commander was just going to forget about them. The most likely scenario was that he would ignore them, and in the event that humanity managed to win, refocus on them once it was over.

After everything was over, she couldn't see a scenario where XCOM didn't emerge as the leading power in the world. They would have the most influence, power and independence of any surviving countries, especially since they would likely be regarded as heroes for the part they played. Since they knew EXALT existed, that neutered them significantly in terms of actually influencing regions of influence.

The emergence of psionics, genetic modification and the Commander himself changed how operations could or couldn't be conducted now. She was unsure what the Commander would do with XCOM, but she didn't think that it was going to benefit EXALT. At best they would be reduced in power, and at worst, hunted to extinction.

"Subject Four is out of our hands," Saudia said, returning to the conversation. "The Furies should be the priority, of any at all."

Zara snorted. "Assuming they're on Earth at all."

Saudia was about to reply when the entrance opened up and Darian, Yakov, Elizabeth and Hasina walked in. With the exception of Elizabeth, all of them, even Hasina, were similarly armored and armed with their respective colors and styles. All of them took their seats as they waited for her to begin.

She stood. "All of you know what has happened over the past few days. The aliens have decided to take a more aggressive approach to our 'alliance.' They will be dealt with, but we must go about it in a way which buys us time and ultimately weakens the aliens."

"I'm curious how that could possibly work," Matthew said. "Those seem like mutually exclusive goals. If we wish to buy time for ourselves, we will need to follow what the aliens order. Or we weaken the aliens, but then bring them down on us."

"And we can't fight them," Hasina nodded. "Not fight and win, at least."

Zara fumed, but didn't interrupt. "That would depend on if the Elders intervene or not," Yakov noted. "As it stands, our soldiers have equivalent training to XCOM, if not more so. Once we finish our weapons research, I believe we could hold against traditional alien forces."

"What is the point of that if they can be killed by some mind-controlling freak?" Elizabeth demanded. "Killing their soldiers accomplishes little when they can simply be replaced. And they can afford to replace them. The likely control planets. We don't have nearly enough to even make a dent in their forces."

"Which is why we use them wisely," Zara argued. "I'm not talking about throwing them into a fucking warzone. We use squads. Guerilla strikes similar to how XCOM operates. EXALT has brought nations to defeat without an army in the thousands, we can do so again."

"None of which is remotely comparable to an interstellar army capable of space travel," Elizabeth shot back. "We are outmanned and overpowered already. We need to accept that and figure out how to deal with it."

"She has a point," Matthew nodded. "Our advantage has never been numbers, but how we use those numbers. Our tools have always been intelligence and manipulation, and we should use them."

"Agreed," Saudia nodded. "We need to use our strengths. Our vast influence before it's gone. XCOM has presumably damaged our media network in America, though I believe that was before our truce, so that will pose issues there. But outside? We still have influence, and we need to use it."

"Do go on, Director," Hasina said.

"The so-called 'Ravaged One' seemed pretty clear on what he wanted EXALT to do," Saudia explained, lacing her fingers together. "They want the world thrown into chaos, so to speak. World War III essentially."

"I hope you're not seriously thinking of going through with that," Darian said. "That would be the worst thing that could happen, especially if it were uncontrolled."

"Except that the world is primed for something to happen," Elizabeth disputed flatly. "It's been happening ever since China left the Council. XCOM has been deliberately antagonizing China by allying with Taiwan and North Korea. I know that both Mongolia and nations of ASEAN are already in talks as well. If provoked, China will go to war with XCOM and their allies."

"Even if no one is talking about it, Brazil is on the brink of that as well," Darian added. "The Marshal in charge will annex the nearby countries if they feel threatened. Colombia and Venezuela are allied with XCOM, but Bolivia and Paraguay are both at high risk."

Zara snorted. "There is no way Brazil would pull of something that brazen even if the aliens were knocking on their door. They can't do that without provocation, and I can guarantee that none of those countries are thinking of starting a war."

"The Koreas are also in a more delicate position than is stated," Yakov added. "There are a large amount of South Korean politicians decrying the truce. The President doesn't have as much approval as she hoped, and if something goes wrong not only is the truce going to collapse, likely an XCOM alliance as well."

"I find that unlikely," Elizabeth disagreed, shaking her head. "North Korea is technologically superior to South Korea right now and they know it. They wouldn't jeopardize an XCOM alliance, since right now, North Korea has more to offer than them. And right now, XCOM is their only source of alien materials."

"Good point," Yakov conceded. "But it's not as stable as they make it out to be."

"The Koreas aren't where we should be concerned anymore," Elizabeth continued, lacing her fingers together as she continued. "Israel is planning something, and Russia is probably involved. I've had confirmed reports of Nowinski and Savvin having detailed conversations about something."

Darian frowned. "What could that possibly be? It's an odd collaboration to begin with, and I'm not sure what could be gained."

"The Middle East," Saudia interjected, causing them to look at her. "Israel has had their eyes on it for a while. It's weakened and vulnerable, though it's fairly safe from an Israeli invasion, since even they wouldn't be able to defend an unprovoked attack on the Middle East. However, if Russia is talking with them, that might mean they're preparing to go through with it."

"I'd call it mad if they went on it alone," Matthew said slowly. "But if they're backed by Russia…"

"That suddenly makes it possible," Elizabeth finished grimly. "The only nation that could really hope to stop that would be China or America, neither of which I see involving themselves. As Israel is allied with XCOM, they would suddenly be at war with them."

"But Israel faces the same problem if they suddenly start a war with the Middle East," Hasina warned. "I don't see XCOM standing by an unprovoked war, especially now. They would have to actually be attacked, and then the rest would have to be implicated somehow."

"Which is why these scenarios are likely to not happen," Saudia agreed, nodding at her sister. "No country wants to be responsible for starting a war, especially now. But if an opportunity arose, they would take it."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Director?" Matthew asked carefully, slowly.

She rested her hands on the table. "The smaller nations are not powerful enough to survive alien attacks. The superpowers are, at least for a short time. To increase humanity's chances of survival, they must be absorbed into more powerful nations. Ones that can actually protect them."

Elizabeth sat back as she instantly got the implications. "You want to start these wars."

"In ways that ultimately benefit humanity, and that keeps XCOM out of these conflicts," Saudia confirmed with a nod. "Which means the wars would be directed in ways that are not detrimental to their allies."

Hasina pursed her lips. "And what if the aliens decide to invade during this? I hardly see how this helps our chances."

"This is what they want," Saudia reminded her. "They want the world at war. They don't care who."

"So what are you proposing we do?" Zara asked, crossing her arms. "Have our people in the Middle East stage an attack on Israel?"

"For starters, yes," Saudia nodded. "Something credible which can't be dismissed. It will allow Israel to bring the Middle East under control without costing too much international strife where it matters."

"About time that wasteland was brought under control," Zara nodded approvingly. "At the very least, Israel will be better than the despots already in power. If Russia gets involved, it might be done rather quickly."

"And optimistically it ends with a much more powerful Israel, and in turn more powerful XCOM ally," Saudia finished. "Not an ideal situation, but that will bring one region under control."

"I would recommend leaving China alone," Yakov cautioned. "We can't really have them be attacked by anyone nearby, else they'll go to war with XCOM. The Commander has effectively boxed them in with surprisingly little effort."

"Which does limit our options, but there are plenty of others available," Saudia continued. "Repeating something similar with Brazil would ensure a stronger South American defense. Darian, would this Marshal respond in such a way?"

"Without question," Darian confirmed with a grimace. "Though we run the risk of her expanding beyond that if she continuously feels threatened. But, yes, she can be manipulated."

"Good," Saudia confirmed. "There might be benefit in exploiting the Russian and Korean tensions."

"Russia would annex several nearby countries if provoked," Yakov confirmed, frowning. "That being said, it would have to be handled delicately as several are XCOM allies."

"They might not need even that if Russia joins Israel," Elizabeth added, frowning. "Some of the nearby countries may join with Russia voluntarily, especially ones like Bulgaria. For safety if nothing else."

"Good to keep in mind," Saudia nodded. "Now the last worthwhile investment may be the Koreas."

"They've been at war for years," Yakov reminded her. "At best things will go back to the way they were."

"Although if the attack was large enough, that might provoke one side or another into a full war," Matthew added thoughtfully. "Though we would have to decide which country would be the most beneficial in power."

"South Korea is easiest to manipulate," Saudia said. "For better or worse, the Supreme Leader is very intelligent and methodical. There are no rogue operatives or officials in his government. There aren't leaks. I don't see a scenario where North Korea attacks without justification. It would raise suspicion, especially from XCOM."

"The South, on the other hand, is much more malleable," Elizabeth finished. "There are enough people who don't want peace for them to attack. Now that a truce has been established, any moral high ground they had will be gone."

"As an aside, North Korea is more advanced than the South, and more powerful," Darian added. "If we're looking in terms of pure practicality, North Korea is the clear choice, especially if we want stability."

"The important thing is that XCOM would have to stay allied with them," Saudia said. "The Commander will not stand for either country breaking the truce, so if we want him to support one, the other must be the aggressor."

"This is of course assuming that everything goes exactly according to plan," Hasina commented skeptically. "And that the aliens don't attack when this is going on. I don't approve of worsening the Korea situation. It weakens everything as a whole and will likely take months to be resolved. Time we don't have. Provoking Israel is going to be questionable enough, Brazil as well."

"Then we don't do these simultaneously," Darian suggested. "The aliens will likely believe this will take time, and a few major conflicts will likely appease the Elders, at least at the beginning. We do Israel and Brazil, should we not be ready and they demand more, we move to Russia and so on."

"We do have one additional trump card," Saudia said, resting her hands on the table. "I will be receiving an update from my contact in the Council today. I suspect he'll have a good deal of information to share on XCOM, including the location of their main base."

"And we turn this piece of intel over to the aliens," Elizabeth assumed. "Allow them to attack."

"Exactly," Saudia nodded. "That will buy us enough time to enact contingency plans to move towards a campaign against the aliens."

"That is risky," Yakov stated flatly. "XCOM is essential for the war against the aliens. Allowing them the opportunity to wipe out XCOM completely could effectively doom us."

"If the Commander is anything like Ethan describes, he is expecting an eventual attack," Saudia told them. "If we give the aliens an opportunity now, it might provoke them into attacking earlier than they otherwise would have. It's not an ideal situation, but if anyone could hold out against an alien attack, it will be XCOM."

"Then I suppose that is an option," Yakov conceded. "Although it would likely be best if XCOM never learned of this."

Zara snorted. "What a brilliant deduction."

"Then we have an outline of what to do," Saudia confirmed. "With that said, we must also prepare for their inevitable invasion. They will likely establish a beachhead on a large mass of land they can easily defend and attack from, which is why I believe that the Venator Family must begin relocating out of Australia."

Zara's eyebrows shot up. "Completely?"

"No, we will need some operational teams," Saudia amended. "But the leadership, command and operations control should be relocated so that there is still a leadership structure if Australia is attacked."

Zara didn't look happy, but as she had likely come to a similar conclusion, didn't protest overmuch. "While there are some officers who won't like it, the scenario is unfortunately likely. Although Australia is fairly large and empty, we will reduce combative operations and relocate the leadership to either America or Asia."

"Of those two, America is likely the safer one," Saudia suggested.

"The East Coast," Matthew added. "The aliens would likely start a dedicated assault on the West Coast and move inland."

"Although Russia would arguably be just as good," Yakov added. "Both are viable."

"I'll take that into consideration," Zara promised. "But we need to decide on what our first strike on the aliens will be. I need a tangible target to begin planning, and the aliens don't exactly have as extensive presence on Earth."

Saudia smiled. "Fortunately, since their technology is so sophisticated, there are certain signatures we can track. Thanks to Matthew and Darian, we have pinpointed general areas of unusual readings. Once those are narrowed down, we'll have a target to you."

Zara smiled. "Excellent."

"Then that is our plan for now," Saudia finished. "Let's get to work."

Ireland, Undisclosed Location

Well, here he was again.

Herman wondered how long it would take for someone to notice he'd even arrived. The few aides that he'd seen rushing around had ignored him, too preoccupied with whatever task they'd been given. Luckily the building wasn't large and he actually remembered fairly well where he was going.

He finally reached the commons area he'd first started in and just leaned against the wall, looking to see if there was an obvious person in charge.

"Ah, there you are." He turned to the familiar voice and saw Tamara walking up, surprisingly not wearing attire typically worn by diplomats and councilors. Instead she wore the black uniform of the Russian CT agents, minus the accessories and weapons. Well, that was interesting. Either it was on loan from Russia or she had actually been one.

Which would make sense, admittedly. Though he wasn't surprised that Russia would decide that their best diplomat was from an elite intelligence unit. Clearly President Savvin trusted his military more than the Duma to represent his interests.

Although that also made sense, since he knew that the Council wasn't technically that well known outside certain circles. He wouldn't have been surprised if very few of the Duma even knew the Council existed, and the same probably went for the rest of the countries. Still, time to address the matters at hand. "Councilor," he greeted, inclining his head. "Good to see you again."

Her lips twitched at that, her expression unreadable. "I wouldn't say that yet, I'll accept that after this meeting."

Well, that was encouraging. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Noted," his eyes ran over her attire. "Are you expecting an attack?"

"I haven't ruled out the possibility," she answered evenly. "But I find it helps get my points across better. Few of the councilors have military experience, and I'm tired of this diplomatic charade."

She almost spat those last words out, making him feel more alarmed internally. That…didn't exactly bode well. With China gone he'd have thought that things might have calmed down some. Then again, Councilor Warnup was still here and no doubt waging his crusade against the Commander just as furiously as before.

"Is the situation that bad?" He asked carefully, her features noticeably tightening.

"Depends on happens next," she answered curtly. "The Commander hasn't exactly helped his case by cutting us out of the loop multiple times, and while I understand that, that is a legitimate point against him that Warnup is using to sway the neutral players."

"Are you talking about Korea or China?" Herman asked, just to clarify. "Because it was likely-"

"Don't tell me," she interrupted. Nodding towards a door on the other end of the room. "Tell them. Come on, it's time to get this over with."

Herman nodded and followed her through the door into the meeting chambers. It was a beautiful room, even at first glance. The ceiling was domed, lending the impression of the chambers being much larger than they actually were. The floor was carpeted and cleaned meticulously, and in the center of the circular room was a small elevated stand where he assumed he was going to be going.

Surrounding the room were elevated desks, conjoined in one smooth ring. The councilors sitting inside them were spaced out a little more than he would have assumed, though that was probably to cover the fact that there were three withdrawn countries. The desks were a polished dark wood, the glossy finish reflecting the soft white light that bathed the room. Nameplates rested in front of each respective councilor, as they looked down on him dispassionately.

Tamara left his side and went to take her seat to the right side. Herman took the stand, directly facing the Speaker of the Council, and to his sides were Isabella Narmon and Tiran Amell, councilors of both the United Kingdom and United States of America, respectively.

None of the councilors wore a standard uniform, it was a mix of cultural, professional and military attire. The Speaker himself only wore a simple suit, which slid noiselessly over the desk as he reached for a gavel and hit it once, the crack resounding through the silent room.

"Let that note the start," the Speaker declared, setting the gavel down and fixing his gaze on Herman. "Representative, our…apologies…for calling you here on such short notice. But in light of…recent events…we believe it is time to settle some issues and questions surrounding the XCOM project and the Commander himself."

"I'll answer as best I can, Speaker," Herman confirmed.

"First question," Councilor Isabella asked, leaning forward. "Were you aware that XCOM or the Commander was conducting negotiations with either North or South Korea?"

"No," Herman stated. "I had no knowledge of any negotiations taking place."

"Is that not the agreement the Commander made when he accepted our representative?" Councilor Warnup asked from the left. "That he would inform us if such events took place?"

"That was the agreement you interpreted it as," Councilor Amell commented, a wry grin on his lips. "I believe the actual arrangement simply stated that our representative would ensure that the Commander was complying with United Nations guidelines."

"Though I also believe that involved keeping us updated," Councilor Mateo of Argentina said from his left. "Either way not informing us, even covertly, that such negotiations were taking place was a mistake."

"Or it was smart," Tamara interjected. "I don't think you appreciate the delicacy involved with even speaking to North Korea, let alone negotiating with them."

"According to Van Doorn, North Korea came to XCOM," Herman corrected. "The Commander did not initiate any negotiations. From what I've gathered, South Korea only became involved because the Commander made it a condition for a North Korea-XCOM alliance."

"The fact that Supreme Leader Gwan felt comfortable enough to approach the Commander is not exactly a point in his favor," Warnup stated to the room. "He is a dictator, and can only reason with those who think similarly to him. XCOM enabling North Korea to continue holding the country with an iron fist should have not been tolerated."

"And I suppose you know more about the Supreme Leader?" Councilor Kyo Sora of Japan asked with a raised eyebrow. "North Korea is an authoritarian state, yes, but we I do not believe we know enough about either the country, nor Supreme Leader, to automatically assume such things."

"I believe the point Councilor Warnup is trying to make is that XCOM should not be affiliated with tyrannical states," Councilor Rick Meredith of Canada interrupted sharply. "It reflects poorly on us and XCOM to be enabling these violators of basic human rights."

"Regardless of the dispute over if the Commander should, or should not have, told us, I think we're ignoring a much bigger point," Councilor Antonio Silvian said wearily, looking around the room. "Personal issues with the man aside, the Commander did help foster a truce between the North and South, something that no one else has been able to accomplish."

"Exactly," Tamara nodded. "Even if he has an apparent distaste for it, the Commander does have some political acumen and knows how to use it effectively."

"That isn't the problem," Councilor Meredith insisted, glaring at Tamara. "Issues with the Supreme Leader aside, the fact was that the Commander decided to do this without telling us."

Herman heard a snort from his left, and looked over to see Councilor Adaora Osinachi of Nigeria shake her head. "Come now, councilor. Did you really think the Commander was going to tell us if he was conducting such negotiations?"

"These were the conditions he agreed to when he was installed as Commander," Warnup interjected hotly. "But I don't know what it will take for you to see that he has no intention of keeping us in the loop."

"Again, Councilor, he never agreed to that, nor were those conditions officially declared to him," Councilor Amell interrupted, still sounding oddly amused. "You seem to believe that by repeating what you want, it will come into being. We installed the Commander to defend humanity, and subsequently made those requests you're so keen on reminding us. If I recall, the Commander did explicitly state that he would be running XCOM his way."

"And we all went along with it like idiots," Warnup scowled. "Is that really the person we want defending Earth? Just blatantly doing whatever he wants?"

"The problem with your argument is that it's working," Tamara responded, glaring at Warnup. "Humanity is still standing and XCOM has the capability to win battles against the aliens. He's doing his job. I don't know what it will take for you to see that!"

The gavel came down with a loud crack. "Order."

The councilors fell silent as the Speaker addressed Herman. "Representative, how would you explain the reasoning behind the Commander not informing us of these talks with the Koreas?"

"The most likely answer is the simplest," Herman answered slowly. "He didn't want to jeopardize anything. He likely considered involving the Council and unnecessary risk, reasonable one or no." Herman looked around the room. "I believe it should come as no surprise that the Supreme Leader does not respect the United Nations, and would not wish to negotiate with us in the slightest. Perhaps he told the Commander himself, but it's extremely likely that if the Supreme Leader even heard that the Commander was in contact with an affiliate of the Council, that it might lead him to believe that this is done through a UN puppet. Whatever the case, I don't believe this was intentionally done to spite the Council."

"An acceptable answer," the Speaker answered. "Although the methods by which this was accomplished were…questionable…the outcome cannot be completely discounted."

"Then perhaps we can move onto the Commander's consolidation of power," Warnup said, looking down at Herman. "Representative, you have been following the Commander's apparent goal of allying XCOM with every country other than the Council?"

"Gathering allies isn't exactly a crime," Herman noted.

"These are not ordinary circumstances," Councilor Lacy Rayce of France pointed out with a frown. "Neither is the Commander an ordinary man. Were this anyone else, that would be the accepted answer. But you know that the Commander does not respect the United Nations, and is perfectly capable of conceiving of this as an attempt to break off from the Council."

"That's not how he works," Herman sighed, wanting to get this point across. "Several of you seem to believe that the Commander is going to suddenly turn on the Council with no explanation. That isn't going to happen."

"And you're certain of that?" Councilor Kanti Jyoti of India asked skeptically.

"As certain as I can be, barring one exception," Herman answered neutrally. "You make him your enemy. If you continue treating him as the embodiment of all evil, he is eventually going to see you as a threat and then going to move against you. If you don't deliberately antagonize him, you have nothing to worry about."

"So basically what you're saying is let him do whatever he wants and we'll be fine?" Warnup stated coldly.

"Essentially, yes," Herman agreed. "Given his history, I'm uncertain why you'd feel the need to provoke him so much. Believe it or not, I don't believe he wants you as his enemy. He just wants to focus on the aliens."

"And you base this on what?" Councilor Meredith demanded.

"Speaking and interacting with him, as well as observing his actions," Herman answered coolly. "He isn't a madman, nor quite the devil his file implies. Though I disagree with him on many subjects, he is not an unreasonable person."

"So would you still consider yourself an impartial observer?" Warnup pushed.

"As impartial as I can be, Councilor," Herman answered, frowning. This was not a promising direction.

"Councilor, calling Representative Deidrick's impartiality into question is unbecoming," Councilor Amell stated, humor gone from his voice. "He was specifically chosen because of his neutrality. You cannot call that into question simply because he's saying things that aren't what you want to hear."

Herman was liking this American Councilor more and more.

Warnup smiled. "Fine then. Answer this question, Representative. What has been your primary focus for the past couple of months?"

Herman pursed his lips. He knew very well what Warnup was doing, but wouldn't lie. "Performing my duties and assisting XCOM against the alien threat."

"Assisting how?"

"Working with Shen's daughter to provide additional gear for use in the field."

"So you're primary focus wasn't on ensuring that the Commander was following guidelines," Warnup clarified.

"I didn't say that," Herman answered. "Assisting XCOM was in addition to that. My duties were not mutually exclusive, nor were they defined as such."

"Councilor Warnup does raise a good point," Councilor Mateo admitted. "Intentional or not, Representative, your views have been affected by this affiliation, correct?"

"If you mean after interacting within XCOM and with the Commander himself?" Herman asked. "Of course, which would have happened to anyone who went in my place. This is a weak argument, Councilor, and you know it."

The gavel rang down again. "This line of questioning is out of order, as are you, Councilor Warnup," the Speaker stated, looking around the room. "Representative Deidrick's impartiality or competence is not in question, nor is it the focus of this meeting. Please keep the focus on the Commander and XCOM."

"I think we should just settle this once and for all," Tamara stated. "Representative, do you believe that the Commander poses a threat to the Council?"

Herman shook his head. "No, I do not. Unless, as I've said, you make yourselves a threat to him."

"There," Tamara leaned back. "It's like I've said this whole time. Let the Commander do his job and he'll do it. Interfere and make yourself a liability. We need to accept the reality of this situation, which is that the Commander knows what he is doing, like it or not. The sooner we accept that the sooner we can focus on the actual threat, which is the aliens invading Earth!"

"The Commander has built up XCOM well," Councilor Meredith agreed. "That isn't the problem, but XCOM is a world power now, and I suspect that is not an accident. Let's say you're right, Councilor, and we let the Commander do his own thing. How long until he decides that some country is not focused on the aliens enough or is apparently opposed to him and decides to use XCOM as a weapon? He's clearly willing to go to war with China, and if he is, than do you think he'll simply threaten a country that he can take?"

"We're moving into hypotheticals," Tamara disputed. "Nothing tangible can be drawn from them aside from fear-mongering. Do you really think the Commander would start a war now?"

"If he could find some way to justify it, absolutely," Meredith responded.

"So tell me, what do you want him to do?" Tamara demanded. "Step down?"

"It would be ideal," he shot back. "And perhaps we should force that issue and have Van Doorn take his place. He's qualified and would be a hell of a lot more trustworthy than the Commander."

"If you really believe that is possible, you're deluding yourself," Herman interrupted, every eye in the room focused on him. This was getting ridiculous and he was honestly sick of it. These idiots were well on their way to getting themselves killed because of their self-righteousness. "Do you want to make XCOM your enemy? Start by removing the person responsible for their victories and who's actually been with them fighting the aliens,"

Herman paused, organizing his thoughts. "The Commander is not going to step down. Ever. He would consider you attempting to remove him a betrayal and act accordingly. And you know what? He'd be right. Removing the Commander now is the last thing you should do, especially when we have been winning. But do you want to know why something like that would bring down XCOM soldiers on you?"

Herman looked directly as the worst offenders. Warnup, Meredith. "Because he has their loyalty. He's fought with them, lead them to victory and through defeat. The soldiers don't care about politics, the past or your arguments. These are men and women who've lost friends to the aliens. They've seen cities be destroyed. They've witnessed the experiments these aliens are doing to us. And you think they wouldn't care that you'd be outing the person who's doing everything he can to stop it?"

Dead silence filled the room.

"You could tell them who the Commander was and most of them wouldn't care," Herman continued slowly, some of his frustration leaking into his voice. "Not now. Not anymore. Why should they care when aliens are slaughtering their friends and families? You lost, Councilors. You lost the moment you elected to put him in charge and somehow thought you could control him. You were either afraid or ignorant. You knew who he was, what the risks he posed were. And yet you did it anyway."

He swung his gaze to each one of them. "And now you act surprised when he doesn't play along. That he acts exactly as you feared he'd act. But you went along with it, because you felt it was your only choice. Now you think that you actually still have some influence over the Commander, you think because you're part of the Council that you somehow have authority over him. I'll tell you something I've learned about him. Respect from him is earned, not given. Since the beginning you have done your best to try and reign him in, or interfere, anything but actually help him defend Earth."

He clasped his hands behind his back as he finished. "Councilors, this situation is the fault of no one but yourselves. You were the ones to put him in charge, and now you will pay the consequences. The War on Terror is over. The past isn't important anymore. We must look towards the future, to our survival. If the priorities of the Council are anything less than that, then I want no part in it any longer. The United Nations should be above this, it should be focused on issues that affect our species. And yet instead it is nothing but petty politics. At one point I might have accepted that, but no longer. I will not contribute to this body any longer and will focus my efforts on something more important. Speaker, consider this my resignation."

The majority of the councilors looked stunned, Warnup and Meredith among them. Tamara herself was blinking rapidly, clearly not anticipating this either. Councilor Amell simply smiled at him, almost in approval. The Speaker betrayed no emotion and said nothing as Herman turned on his heel and headed towards the exit, leaving the stunned men and women behind him.

He took a breath once he closed the door behind him. Well, that couldn't have really gone much better. He hadn't actually intended for that to be quite a dramatic exit as it turned out, but didn't overly care about that now. He hadn't been sure it would have come to that when he'd arrived, but now it seemed like the right thing to do. Maybe this way it would refocus them into something useful.

Well, time to see if Big Sky would let him hitch a ride back to the Citadel. He wondered what the Commander would think of this development. Guess he'd find out soon enough.

Seattle, United States of America

"What do you mean 'They have a psion?'" Cerian hissed into the phone as he paced back and forth, while his team sat around the table, talking amongst themselves as they waited for him to finish the quickly-worsening call with Patrick. "You knew this could happen?"

"I knew psionic powers were possible, yes," Patrick defended. "But as far as I knew, only XCOM had humans who could utilize them."

"Oh yes, and there was no possibility that EXALT might, just might have some of their own?" Cerian shot back, trying to keep his tone measured. "Or that the Commander might have decided not to share that little bit of intel?"

"Not with this," Patrick insisted. "Trust me, if he thought EXALT had psions, he'd have been calling for investigations into the Council for potential psionic tampering. He's somewhat paranoid when it comes to that. XCOM actually just recovered a psionic test subject from EXALT, which begs the question of why they need to be experimenting with this if they've already got one."

Cerian took a breath. "Maybe to improve? But that doesn't change anything, EXALT has a dangerous psion who knows who we are and presumably everything about this operation."

Patrick was clearly puzzled. "So why hasn't he said anything."

"Presumably because he doesn't want to kill us," Cerian muttered. "Something about how 'EXALT is not the enemy.' Considering what he has the potential to do, I almost believe him. But no, it doesn't make sense."

"Well, this changes things," Patrick muttered. "That EXALT apparently has trained psions means that they may be using them elsewhere."

"Is the Council compromised?" Cerian asked.

There was a pause. "I am going to say no," Patrick finally answered, albeit slowly. "Yes, they could be psionically influenced and we'd never know…but then again, if there was someone being influenced, they've done an exceptionally poor job stopping XCOM. It's a possibility, but I honestly don't see how they could see XCOM win victory after victory and not at least try to damage them."

"China left the Council," Cerian reminded him. "And several councilors have been trying to remove the Commander for some time."

"Except all the councilors, at least at the beginning, had been part of the Council for years," Patrick pointed out. "Not to mention that people have reasons to dislike the Commander. Which also brings up the question of if EXALT was influencing someone, why let the Commander be allowed to lead XCOM at all?"

Cerian pursed his lips. Patrick did raise a good point. The simplest answer was that EXALT lacked the influence to do so, but considering their resources, and the gravity of the situation, he found it unlikely that they would decide against devoting everything they had to trying to control XCOM. "I don't know. But we now have a loose psion, and even if I don't like the Commander having access to such people, he'll likely keep them under control. I don't feel the same for one under EXALT."

"I agree," Patrick said. "Which is why your new priority is the neutralization or capture of this psion."

"Understood," Cerian confirmed, slightly grateful that Patrick was smart enough to see that their mission was practically impossible now with the psion in the mix. "We'll begin work immediately."

"Good," Patrick answered with a sigh. "Don't expect to hear from me for a while. The situation here is…not good."

Cerian raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Our representative to XCOM just resigned," Patrick answered wearily. "In rather dramatic fashion to. It was described as…scathing, and made several notable councilors angry, while everyone else wanted to give a standing ovation. He essentially saw the politics, got sick of it, pointed it out and left. While unsubtly implying that he considered some of them idiots."

"Oh dear," Cerian sighed. "And what can be expected to happen?"

"Well, the former representative has pretty much ensured a continuous deadlock," Patrick answered. "For better or worse, I don't think much is going to get done by them. Just as well. We have more pressing matters like rogue psions and aliens."

"We'll do our best," Cerian promised. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll need it."

He hung up and Cerian walked over to his team who all looked up expectantly. "New orders," he stated unceremoniously. "We neutralize this psion."

"Glad your liaison saw sense," Olivia nodded. "Although I don't know how we should go about that."

"So Solaris Industries is on hold then?" Mary asked, just to confirm.

"Correct," Cerian confirmed, sitting down. "And you're right, Olivia. We're at a distinct disadvantage here. This 'Chronicler' is expecting us to be gone. He said he'd kill us next time and I believe him."

"Easy solution," Mary chimed in. "I get access to the cameras. We locate him and follow his movements. Tracking people isn't difficult."

"With the little disclaimer that this guy can read minds," Darril reminded her. "But yeah, no problem."

"The problem is that we don't understand how these powers work," Baston noted slowly, crossing his arms. "Do they have a range? Are they extensive? Can it happen simultaneously?"

"I'd think the more people around, the better," Cerian theorized. "No matter how powerful he is, he can't read everyone at once. Which means that if we could take advantage of some crowds, and he was in it…"

"He'd open himself up for a shot, and boom," Olivia finished. "Although that's going to draw a lot of attention. Especially since EXALT likely values their psions."

"Which is why we're getting out as soon as we perform the hit," Cerian finished. "We're likely not only going to attract EXALT, but the local police and government. A public assassination is going to get national attention and we unfortunately can't do it subtlety."

"Or take him captive," Darril added.

"That either," Cerian nodded. "As surprising as it is to say, XCOM would be useful here. Patrick tells me they have experience dealing with psions."

Mary coughed. "Uh…speaking of that…"

"I think XCOM had the same idea about Solaris Industries as we did," Baston finished slowly, nodding to Mary who began typing. "We saw a familiar agent of theirs while you were meeting this Chronicler."

"Ruth Shira is in play again," Mary said, turning her laptop to him, showing the nondescript woman chatting with some nearby people near Solaris Industries. "If she's here, there are probably others."

Cerian raised an eyebrow. Well, wasn't this an interesting turn of events. "They probably don't know that EXALT has a psion," he muttered. "They'll get captured or worse."

"They don't know what they're walking into," Olivia agreed. "So…what should we do here."

Cerian studied the picture of the Kidon-turned-XCOM agent. Upon starting this whole experienced, he'd have never expected for it to take the turns it had. But by now he was learning to roll with the punches and prioritize what mattered. XCOM was an unofficial ally here against EXALT, and just watching them walk into a trap would serve no one.

Which meant that they might have to take a few risks. "Can you find her again?" He asked Mary, glancing at her intently.

"Probably," she nodded. "What's your plan, boss?"

"Provided the Chronicler doesn't make an unexpected appearance, I think we should take advantage," he answered slowly. "Perhaps it's time to have a chat with agent Shira."

The Bastion, Communications Center

"Let's hope your source actually has something we can use," Elizabeth muttered as Saudia set up the equipment. "If he doesn't…well, I'm going to hunt him down and demote him to analyst for his incompetence."

Saudia rolled her eyes and finished setting up the screen. Her source unfortunately didn't have access to their holotech technology, and thus they'd have to rely on traditional communication. Luckily the broadcast would be live; good thing to since he'd had an entire year to prepare for this, which gave him no excuse for not setting this up well ahead of time.

"He's not let me down before," Saudia reassured the high-strung spymaster. "He knows what is at stake."

"I know," Elizabeth sighed and leaned against the wall. "I'm not at my best. If the aliens suspect we're doing this…well, you know what'll happen."

"I'm well aware," Saudia answered firmly. "But if anyone could pull this off, it's you."

"Yes," Elizabeth answered, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. "Starting wars is my specialty. Do it all the time."

"You collapsed Brazil," Saudia reminded her. "XCOM interventions aside, you did what you said you would. Besides, it's easy to make countries go to war if they want to in the first place."

"Mhmm, true," she agreed, pushing herself up and walking over beside her. "Well, it's time."

Saudia looked towards the computer hooked up to the monitor, which was blinking a steady green light. "Right on time," she said approvingly. "Let's say hello."

The screen flashed on and eventually focused in, showing a darkened room where she could make nothing out. Her contact was cloaked in shadow, silhouetted in a dark blue light that permeated the entire screen. It appeared his flair for the dramatic was still in full effect, or maybe he was just used to this. "Greetings, Director," his deep synthesized voice stated, as he inclined his head. "It has been…too long."

Yep, he'd definitely settled into his role well, overly dramatic pauses and everything. It was almost endearing if she didn't find it irritating at times. "You as well, Speaker. I trust all is well?"

"Let us say that recent events have left the Council currently…divided," the Speaker answered slowly. "As you may or may not be aware, there is a major split between the councilors, focused on the Commander of XCOM."

"We know who he is," Elizabeth interjected, stepping forward. "You can skip that part."

"Spymaster Falka, a pleasure to see you again," the Speaker said, before directing his attention back to Saudia. "Then as you can imagine, there was specific councilors who have dedicated a…questionable…amount of energy on removing the Commander. Needless to say, their efforts have had…little…effect. I have done my best to encourage this divide as it neuters the Council from interfering effectively, as well weakening once-stable alliances."

"You have names of the anti-Commander councilors?" Saudia asked.

"Of course," the Speaker answered with a nod. "Everything I have compiled over the past year is now being sent to your currently. Suffice to say that the opposition is spearheaded by Australia and Canada. This is in turn being deflected by Russia. The number is effectively split, with the few neutrals ultimately having the final say."

"I'm surprised the United States hasn't become involved in one way or another," Elizabeth commented.

"They support the Commander," the Speaker revealed. "But they will retain neutrality, as the Commander was one of their own and they would be accused of national levity. But should it come to a vote, the United States will not abstain, and the moderates will fall into line whichever way they vote."

"What else do you have?" Saudia asked.

"While XCOM has kept many of their secrets to themselves, there are some things that cannot be covered up," the Speaker continued. "I have estimated funding from both Council and non-Council nations, personnel and troop numbers, potential XCOM soldier and personnel recruits, alien artifact stockpiles from their after-action reports and footage of all past missions, redacted in places, or course."

"Well done," Saudia nodded. "And do you have the location of their base?"

"Certainly," the Speaker confirmed. "Exact coordinates are incoming, but the "Citadel" as the Commander calls it, is located within the United States."

Saudia and Elizabeth exchanged a satisfied look. Perfect, and she wasn't all that surprised of the location either. But it was good to have confirmation. "Thank you, Speaker. This will be put to good use."

"As the Speaker of the Council, I also have access to many documents and plans from the member nations," the Speaker continued. "All of which I've forwarded to you. There are weaknesses we can exploit and take advantage of if you wish."

"Anything of interest?" Elizabeth asked.

"One thing I have found is that Russia has somehow been receiving regular shipments of alien artifacts," the Speaker said. "Considering that the Commander has…refused…to allow any to Council nations, that either implies he doesn't know or is…complicit…in such subterfuge. Perhaps it warrants more…investigation."

Highly unlikely. The last thing they wanted right now was to make things harder for XCOM. There was a lot of stuff to go through already, and he'd done his job exceptionally. "There is more," he interjected. "I have been seeing something new over the past few days."

"What?"

"A single word: ADVENT," he answered. "The source of this I am still…unable…to determine. But it has appeared several times from different countries. I am still unsure what this means, but I believe it should be…investigated."

Saudia frowned. That was an odd word, which she'd typically associate with an operation. Were several of the countries planning something? A war of their own? She suspected that advent was not a random choice. It was new, a rebirth, indicated change. Yes, it did warrant some kind of looking into. Although their time would be limited.

"Have you learned anything on the aliens themselves?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Yes," the Speaker said with a nod. "XCOM managed to capture one of the alien infiltrators, the so-called 'thin men' and subjected it to interrogation, so the Commander says. These infiltrators are called Vitakara, and possess a genetic mutability that makes them ideal for such operations. I propose you test the blood of EXALT personnel to determine that we are not compromised."

That was a very good idea. "We'll begin that soon," Saudia nodded.

"In addition, it also revealed more about the leaders of the aliens themselves," the Speaker continued. "You have probably seen one if you've followed anything from the recent New York attack."

More than seen. Saudia thought as she tried not to reach to her scarred throat as the Speaker continued. "They are called Ethereals. They are supposedly very reclusive and rare, but extremely dangerous. Rumor has it that only one is needed to conquer a planet, and that the rest of the aliens respect, fear them, or most likely both."

Saudia pursed her lips. That was interesting, and she could see how one Ethereal might be able to conquer a species. Maybe. Ethereals. Fitting as names went, although Elders wasn't a misnomer either. These aliens were clearly ancient, as well as mysterious. "Excellent work again, Speaker," she said inclining her head. "The endgame is near, one way or another."

"I await my final orders eagerly," the Speaker said. "Until then, I will be watching and waiting for our victory."

"As will we," Saudia said, inclining her head. "For EXALT."

"For EXALT."

The screen went black and she walked over to the computer which confirmed the reception of a massive file the Speaker had compiled over the past year. She looked up at Elizabeth. "Satisfied?"

"Reasonably," she answered, amused. "Lots of interesting stuff to go through, I imagine."

"For sure," Saudia agreed. "I do believe now that we have the location of the XCOM base, we should give our alien overlords a call."

Elizabeth's lips curled up. "I agree. Let's hope XCOM is ready for their attack."

"If Ethan's right about the Commander, he will be," Saudia said, turning back to the computer. "But then again, it's not like we have much of a choice. XCOM has survived this long, all they need to do is hold out a little longer."

"Although if we've misjudged, we've lost," Elizabeth mused.

Saudia looked up at her grimly. "Then I guess we should hope that they don't lose."

Elizabeth didn't answer that, instead walking over, and together than began going through the massive amount of compiled data on XCOM, the Council, and the world.