Brittany, France – One day after Final Reunion
Alarms woke him. PERIMETER BREACHED echoed through the room as the Commander snapped up in bed, gasping. He rolled to the floor and PERIMETER BREACHED rang out again while he grabbed a plasma pistol and a chitin plating from a compartment in the bedframe. Strapping on the armor plating, he pulled up the security monitors as PERIMETER BRE- was cut off mid tone with a button press. At the same time, he pulled the comm bead interface and set it to broadcast a simple message: "Advent are aliens. Group at the MEC farm." repeated over and over. The Commander then turned from his attention to the monitor, where a Sectoid Commander was directing two soldiers to blow open the gate of his fence.
XCOM Base
"Go go go! You have fast rope clearance! Engage engage engage!"
The howl of the chopper couldn't mask the whizz of the zip line as Captain James Marcus jumped out of the helicopter and landed on the massive hatch. His boots clanked on the surface as his squad joined them.
Over the rotors thwacking to keep the helicopter stable, he shouted into his throat microphone, "Use the codes! But stop it part way!"
Almost immediately there was a wide band burst of static, blasting the open signal to the doors. They began to retract horizontally, then stopped after exposing a crack ten feet across. The team attached backup rappels and descended into the cavern.
The operation was, according to his higher ups in the Advent Administration, a counterterror operation against a group that had claimed the name of XCOM, even though the defense agency had been dissolved after the first alien invasion had been repelled. The base had reportedly been taken over by these insurgents who would do everything in their power to attack the Advent. The briefing said that satellite imagery had notice a congregation of people who had dispersed around the world the previous day, but some had stayed behind to coordinate the terrorist group.
The corridors base had an eerie glow of half powered lights. There were recent signs of habitation, like the new trash and lack of dust. Still, James kept his guard up as door after door was opened and then closed after no one appeared.
An hour later, he radioed back to the chopper, "Negative contact in the base, Command. We have no activity down here."
The flat voice of Central Command responded, "Very well. Return to base for additional deployment orders."
As Marcus' helicopter turned for the base, he watched out the window as fat bellied transport helicopters descended, disgorging investigators to decipher the secrets of the terrorist hideout.
Melbourne, Australia
The sun was starting to descend towards the sea as Shen sat down in balcony chair and downloaded a copy of the latest Nature Nanotechnology and began to read about developments in nanotechnology made possible by Meld. He chuckled at the problems that teams of scientists were still facing in using the substance for more advanced applications. After the war, he and the other engineers had sworn never to tell anyone about their experiences working with the Meld in order to both protect themselves and extent of XCOM's use of the Meld in creating super soldiers.
His tablet buzzed with a door notification. Activating the intercom, he looked at the hallway security camera. A policeman with the standard Advent uniform stood squarely, holding his badge towards the lens.
"What can I do for you officer?"
"Sir, I have a warrant for your arrest. Please open the door."
The buzzing of the comm bead caught Shen before he could respond. Reading the message, his heart sank. He had no weapons, and no way out. He moved slowly towards the door, gauging the possibility that he could dash past the officer to the stairs. But the weight in the pit of his stomach jumped as he heard loud pops from the hallway. On the monitor, two figures in XCOM fatigues moved in from the elevator bays, weapons raised. The officer had collapsed to the ground, shot through the head twice. A new voice came on over the intercom.
"Sir, we received a coded instruction that we were to extract you to the MEC farm regardless of Advent interference. My name is Kevin Ricter. This is my partner, Lily Desance. We're part of the new rookie class that was scheduled to ship out soon."
"How do you have transmitters?" Shen asked. "Weren't those reserved for previous personnel?"
Lily responded, "They were, Doctor. But the Farm is in contact with the new rookie class. Everyone has been recalled."
"And the Commander?"
"He sent that message. And then transmission capability devolved to the senior personnel at the Farm. We have to presume he's either dead or captured."
Shen stood in the hallway, numb. The Commander dead? Who would provide the vision, the leadership for XCOM in this new fight? Could anyone?
Noticing the old man's shock, Lily gently grabbed his arm. "Come on doctor, we have to go. Our boat will not wait."