"Covert Operations"
By Kpmh2001
Operation Bastion
Somalia, 2009
Through the early morning haze of the Somalian sun, a single American-made helicopter flew towards a seemingly unremarkable village. Unbeknownst to the wider world, it was currently host to a small research team of a mysterious extraterrestrial force, who had all but the best intentions in mind for Mankind.
Within the helicopter were twelve of the finest fighters in the history of Humanity, a multinational team of Marines, Airborne, Army Troopers, and other, far more secretive backgrounds. Drawn from both NATO and Warsaw Pact countries, they were the very best of the best, united despite their differences by a common goal, stopping the alien threat.
The pilot of the modified CH-47 Chinook helicopter was one Captain Paul Hansen, Callsign "Purple Rider." Formerly a pilot in the United States Army, he was a fairly new inclusion to the secretive "Xenonauts" organization. He and his new crew had all been separately recruited by a seemingly unassuming woman, Oriana Lynch, who had later revealed herself to be the Director of Xenonauts Operations, second in command only to the Commander of Xenonauts.
Their current mission, Operation Bastion, was to be Xenonauts first contact with the aliens themselves. They had previously had several encounters with the mysterious and seemingly-human "Cleaners," but the aliens themselves had seemingly come to handle some of their own dirty work personally. Director Lynch believed that the aliens were conducting research of some kind, and whatever it was that they were doing, Xenonauts had been charged with putting a stop to it.
Aside from the nine Xenonauts soldiers comprising their ground team, Hansen had two other members of his crew to count on, one short of what he was used to. The first was his Crew Chief, Warrant Officer Valerie "Val" Jones, formerly of the Royal Air Force. He'd already grown quite fond of her, she was incredibly talented, Hansen unashamedly admitted that his good opinion of Val may be influenced by how gorgeous she was. She'd done everything that was needed of her professionally and expediently, she was a fine Crew Chief and he was very grateful to have her aboard.
The second was his Co-pilot, Master Sergeant Charlie Bilks, formerly of the United States Air Force. He had a bit more of a sour attitude than Val, but still did as he was told, and had stayed sharp and aware even over the boring hours-long flight from Switzerland. It was also reassuring to have a fellow American by his side.
Their tiresome flight had culminated in them now orbiting nearby to where the Chief Scientist of Xenonauts had detected distinct energy signatures, which he and the Senior Officers of Xenonauts believed to be of extraterrestrial origin. Director Lynch had suspected that there wouldn't be any anti-aircraft to worry about, but Hansen had taken extra care to ensure that his bird was fully-loaded with countermeasures regardless… even if he didn't know how well they would stack up against alien weaponry.
After hours of impatiently waiting for the sun to rise over the sandy terrain, the transmission that Hansen had been waiting for from the secret Xenonauts Headquarters finally came through.
"Purple Rider, this is Battlemage." The Xenonauts Commander dryly spoke to him. "Land and deploy Strike-One at LZ Delta. Expect a hot landing, out."
There would be no need to relay the message to Strike one, who were all listening in over the helicopter's intercom. From the rear, Hansen heard the leader of Strike One, Captain Kelly Shaddock, speak loudly and confidently to her team in a distinct Scottish accent. "Lock and load team, let's go give our visitors a very passionate welcome to Earth!"
A series of confirmations answered her declaration, but Hansen focused his attention on flying.
"Charlie, cross-reference the map, which one is that?" Hansen said over the intercom as he executed a turn towards the village. Over the course of the night they had heard the odd gunshot ring out, along with other, stranger sounds, but had been on strict orders to wait until sunrise to move in.
Charlie filled with the paper map in his hands, it was an older one from back when Somalia was a european colony, but it had still been hastily marked with no less than seven possible landing sites. "Delta's the closest to the village, just East of the market. Christ, that's gonna be hot all-right, what the hell is the Commander thinking?"
Hansen rolled his eyes. Typical Air Force Jockey, afraid of a little hostile ground fire…
"We'll be fine." He said, knowing damn well that it wouldn't do much to calm Charlie's nerves. "Run a quick diagnostic and be ready to take over should things go south. Val, hop on the scope and keep your eyes peeled. If you see anything down there, let us know."
Charlie did not answer him, but followed his orders. Val, on the other hand, met his instructions with a bit more enthusiasm. "Wilco Captain!"
One of their Chinook's more helpful modifications was a state-of-the-art thermal optics package, "borrowed" by Director Oriana from DARPA's laboratories. Ideally, it would permit them to get some advance warning as to what the ground team was in for. That was sadly about all that they could do for Strike-One, since the Chinook, much to his chagrin, was not equipped with any weaponry. He and his crew all had West German-made MP5 Submachine guns for their own protection, but Hansen was a lover, not a fighter, and was hoping to keep it that way.
Their approach was eerily quiet, with only the sound of the rotors and quiet talking from their passengers to break the silence. Finally, as they closed to within a kilometer of their destination and Hansen began their descent, Val spoke up. "I see something! Two heat signatures in the middle of a market, both standing up. They're short, look humanoid."
"Could be the locals… if any of them survived the night." Charlie postulated. "Strike-One, be advised, we might have civilians on the deck."
"Affirmative." Kelly confirmed the warning, disseminating it to the rest of her team.
Hansen, meanwhile, was left speculating as the helicopter crept ever closer to the ground. He couldn't see whoever it was that Val had spotted with his own eyes. Were they simply too small to see from such a distance, or did they have some kind of alien invisibility technology, like some kind of science-fiction movie? A faint bit of worry ran through Hansen's mind as he realized just how little they truly knew about their enemy.
"Thirty seconds!" He called out, getting acknowledgements from his crew and passengers, the latter of whom seemed to be quite a lot more excited.
"I don't see them anymore, they bolted into one of the houses." Val said. "Could've just been interference but… it kinda looked like they were walking on four limbs."
He and Charlie exchanged nervous glances, before Charlie wordlessly pulled his MP5 from its holster and cleared it for action. Were he not flying, Hansen would've done the same.
No fire from the ground met them as the helicopter's wheels touched the sandy surface, in stark defiance of the hot landing they had expected.
"Pile out, go go go!" Kelly ordered as her team filed out. Most left through the enlarged cargo bay door on the rear of the helicopter, but also through the two smaller doors on the sides of the helicopter just behind the cockpit, located where there would normally be door guns.
With their wheels on the ground, Hansen grabbed the radio set and issued a quick transmission back to Xenonauts HQ. "Purple Rider to Battlemage, Strike One is deployed at LZ Delta."
"Affirmative Purple Rider, power down the engines but be ready to switch them back on, Battlemage out." The Commander relayed back.
That was, naturally, not something that Hansen was particularly eager to do, as it would make any escape far more difficult, although he understood why it was necessary. Even with their modified helicopter's extended fuel tanks, it was a very precious thing to gauge, and Strike One's mission could take hours. Leaving the engine running might not leave them with enough fuel to get home.
Regardless of his personal feelings, Hansen complied with his orders, before drawing his own weapon and clearing it for action, unsure of what to expect. Val echoed his and Charlie's motions and drew her own weapon, sheltering in cover near the cockpit before turning to him. "What now?"
"We wait for-" Hansen began to reply, but was interrupted as somewhere else in the village, an absolute cacophony of gunfire erupted, along with a pair of explosions, probably grenades. "-Strike One to finish their mission!"
Val nodded and took a better position by the side door to cover their right flank from any approaching hostiles, while Charlie nodded back towards the cargo bay. "Want me to join her?"
Privately, Hansen speculated that Charlie just didn't want to be caught in his seat if they got attacked, but he recognized the wisdom in having the other flank covered. "Go, don't get killed."
"Wasn't planning on it." Charlie muttered in reply as he unfastened his seatbelt.
Tense seconds passed, then minutes. The gunfire from Strike One didn't cease, and Hansen could swear that he heard the distinct report of AK-pattern rifles join the fray. Locals must've gotten involved, armed civilians or militia. Were they on the same side, helping to fight the aliens? Or did they now have two opposing factions to contend with?
Having worked largely with typical American Army Troopers, Hansen had expected perhaps a bit more chaos from the radio with Strike-One, especially with their multilingual nature, but there was no such disorganization. The Commander and Kelly kept them up to date with orders, and for the most part it seemed like they were on top of things. He did hear reports of at least one man wounded, but they were apparently okay, in spite of having been shot with some kind of alien weapon.
Hansen himself kept a watchful eye out for any aliens through the windows on the front of his helicopter, one hand on the grip of his SMG, and the other ready to flick the engines back to life at a moment's notice. Val and Charlie periodically confirmed that they didn't see anything either, until…
Without the sound of a gunshot, Hansen's window shattered, and a small hole was torn through the bullet-resistant glass, then his chair just beside his head, and presumably the rest of his helicopter. Trying not to panic over his narrow dodge with death, he scrambled out of his seat, swearing frantically as he took cover beside Val and Charlie.
"Where is it, where is it?!" Charlie exclaimed, with a similar question being repeatedly asked by Val as they both swept the flanks for any aliens.
"I don't know, didn't see it!" Hansen reported, before grabbing the handheld radio from his chest rig. "Strike One, this is Purple Rider, we had contacts by the bird, need assistance!"
A second mysterious projectile, nearly invisible and flying at speeds well in excess of a typical bullet, flew through the front of the helicopter over Hansen's head as Kelly responded. "Purple Rider, busy at the moment, we'll be with you in a couple mikes!"
"Fucking hell, we'll be corpses by then!" Charlie asked. "What do we do?!"
"Calm down!" Val shot back even before Hansen could. "Keep your eyes peeled, there might be-"
As if on cue, Hansen spotted… something, through Val's door. It was short, perhaps five-foot tall, and humanoid in shape, but had sickly gray skin and a red uniform. There was a small weapon in its hand… aimed straight at Val.
With no time to warn her, he raised his MP5 in one hand and aimed it over her head, spraying a flurry of rounds at the alien. Given how rushed he was to take the shot, it was no surprise that he missed his target, but the alien had been spooked, running backwards into one of the houses behind by crawling on all four climbs through an open window.
"Fucking hell, warn me next time!" Val exclaimed, before repositioning for better cover, a move that Charlie and Hansen mimicked. "How close was it?"
"About a split second away from shooting you." He answered, there was no sense in hiding the truth, even if it made the color drain from Val's face. "It's about twenty meters out that way, back towards that… bakery? Whatever it is, there!"
Hansen pointed the building out, and as he did, another projectile shot through the hull of the helicopter at incredible speeds, punching right past Charlie's head as it exited the other side of the bird, barely slowed. Charlie accordingly threw himself to the floor and covered his head, swearing and muttering something about regretting his decision to join Xenonauts.
Hansen didn't dare poke his head out of their mediocre cover again, especially not to confirm something that he already knew. The alien was in much better cover than they were, and their submachine guns were not going to penetrate the walls of the village home, even if they knew where to shoot.
Thankfully, he did have at least one idea.
"Val, there's a panel on the floor under the bench beside you, move it." Hansen ordered.
Looking a little confused, Val complied, and to her surprise pushed aside the panel with ease, revealing a hidden compartment with a handgun inside, but more importantly, a carton of grenades.
Val reached to grab them, but flinched as the alien shot several more rounds through their helicopter. Their luck finally ran out as one of them struck Hansen in the foot, punching straight through it without issue. He fell out of his cover swearing and yelling in pain, but Charlie managed to drag him out of sight before the alien could finish him off.
"Stay down, stay still!" Charlie yelled, fishing a tourniquet out of one of the pouches on his vest and hastily cutting off circulation to Hansen's foot. The pain was agonizing, but it wasn't the first he'd gotten wounded, and he could still fight.
Val took the opportunity to retaliate by suppressing the alien with her MP5, which seemed to momentarily discourage it from shooting the helicopter any more. "Didn't get him, and we're leaking fuel, got to kill this thing fast or we're not getting out of here."
Fighting through the pain, Hansen managed to get the order out as he fished for his radio. "The grenades, grab 'em!"
"Why the hell do you have these?!" Val shouted over the gunfire as she fished the grenade carton out of the hidden compartment, before handing it to him. He opened it and withdrew a pair of smoke grenades and a pair of frag grenades, one for Val and one for Charlie.
"Old friend hid weapons on my bird, I picked up the habit!" Hansen answered, before keying his radio. "Strike-One, this is Purple Rider. Our ride home's taking hits, what's your ETA?"
After a couple of seconds and a noticeably larger-than-normal explosion in the distance, Kelly answered. "About four mikes!"
Hansen looked at Val, who shook her head, that just wasn't going to be fast enough if they wanted to save the fuel tank. Biting back more foul language, he steadied his breathing. "You both know how to use these?"
Val swiftly nodded, but Charlie shrugged and looked a little nervous. "How hard can it be?"
Wordlessly, Hansen snatched the grenade back out of his hand and passed it to Val, along with one of the smoke grenades. "Val, take this, cover the right flank."
Wordlessly she complied, primed the grenade and threw it. He did the same with his own smoke grenade to the left, and within a few seconds they would have their window to act. Several more alien projectiles shot through the helicopter, but none managed to hit anybody, or worse still, set fire to the leaking aviation fuel.
"Val, once the smoke is dispersed, take the frags and rush the house, throw 'em both, then hit the deck. Charlie and I will cover you," Hansen explained his plan. "Was going to do it myself, but then this fucker shot my foot."
"Interesting plan." Val commented with a bit of reluctance, but nodded regardless.
As the smoke steadily fanned out, Charlie nervously spoke up. "What if they see in infrared, like a snake?"
"Charlie, please, stop talking." Val sternly replied.
Painfully and awkwardly, Hansen crawled to where he could hastily fling himself into a firing position, while Charlie did the same towards the rear end of the helicopter. They wouldn't need to kill the alien, just pin it down for long enough so that Val could blow it up. "I'll empty my mag first Charlie, then you …Don't shoot Val."
"Right!" Charlie answered back.
They waited a few seconds more, by now the smoke had expanded to cover practically the entire building. The alien had seemingly given up on blindly shooting them, presumably waiting behind the smoke for it to clear. Finally, their window to act came, and Hansen gave the signal. "Now!"
Val dashed out of the helicopter while Hansen dove to the side with his one good foot, falling into a position where he was lying on his side to face out of the side door of the helicopter. His weapon now properly shouldered, he fired off his entire mag in the direction where he'd last seen the alien. Gratifyingly, there was a pained squawk, sounding almost like a bird, that emerged from the building, apparently he'd managed to at least wound the thing by some stroke of luck.
As soon as his weapon ran dry, he moved to reload while Charlie opened fire. Val disappeared into the smoke, before she hastily dove back out of it again, covering her head and noticeably lacking the two grenades she had been holding. Seconds later, the grenades detonated with far more force than Hansen had anticipated. A massive shockwave rang out and momentarily made his ears ring even through his hearing protection, and the fireball from the blast made the smokescreen momentarily glow.
Clearly, there had been something in the building that had set it off, and there was no doubt in Hansen's mind that the alien was dead, likely reduced to nothing more than pulp. His radio was practically screaming at him with questions and calls from the Commander and Kelly which he couldn't quite make out over the ringing, but all of that was far from his biggest priority. "Val! You okay?! Val!"
Foot injury be damned, he gestured for Charlie to stay put while he crawled on his hands and one foot out of the helicopter, momentarily face-planting in the sand before crawling with extreme urgency towards where he'd last seen Val. After maybe half a minute of crawling, he found her rolled over on her side, coughing roughly, but seemingly not injured beyond a few scrapes.
"Val, you okay?!" He shouted. He still couldn't hear anything, but she did say something in reply, before gesturing towards the helicopter.
Demonstrating just how alright she was, she stood up and dragged him by his vest back to the helicopter, which was more than a little painful. She gestured for him to climb aboard as she dashed in herself, grabbed a toolkit, and dove back outside.
He and Charlie covered her as best as they could while she enacted repairs, until finally the rest of Strike-One returned to the helicopter. They were accompanied by a small group of civilians, some of which were remarkably-well armed. The wounded and unarmed hastily set about sheltering in the helicopter while most of Strike-One pulled security around the helicopter.
Kelly climbed aboard, clearly looking for him, before shouting something at him that he still couldn't quite make out over the ringing. Charlie stepped in and must've explained what had happened, apparently he could still hear, somehow. Whatever they said, both of them left him alone as he leaned back against the side of the cargo bay, trying to ignore the pain in his foot.
That was, until Val returned to the helicopter. She was glistening, rather literally, not just because she was beautiful, but because she'd apparently gotten a bit of aviation fuel on her. Regardless, she gave him a thumbs-up to show that the repairs were successful, and that they'd been made in time, before she broke out a medkit and set about putting his foot back together.
It took another hour for Strike-One to eliminate the last of the aliens with the help of the armed locals who, rather unbelievably, willingly ventured back out into the rest of the village to finish off the aliens alongside the Xenonauts. By the time that Kelly reported that the aliens had been defeated, the ringing in Hansen's ears had died down.
"I think I can hear now." He said. "Val, how about you?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She answered, looking noticeably out of breath. "Hey, please don't ask me to do that again."
He nodded, it wasn't exactly something that he had been happy about. "Wouldn't have if there were another option, and-"
She raised a hand to shush him. "Easy Cap,' just joking around. Charlie, how are you?"
"Scared, tired, regretting my choice in career." He half-heartedly answered. "Don't worry Captain, I'll fly us home. The bird's a little cooked, but it'll work since Val's a fucking tech wizard, apparently. Why aren't you in engineering again?"
Val pushed some of her hair back into her helmet in a manner that Hansen found rather distracting as she smiled and answered. "It's not fair if you have all of the fun."
Hansen laughed, Charlie didn't.
It was a long and painful wait for local Xenonaut agents to come and take over, whereupon they would collect whatever alien artifacts could be found for Humanity's war efforts. When they finally did arrive, Charlie did as he said and took over as the pilot, flying them home while Hansen and Val caught their breath in the cargo bay alongside Strike-One, who had somehow gone through the entire mission without losing a single operative. Most of them had wisely chosen to simply pass out in their chairs, knowing that sleep was a rare commodity in Xenonauts.
Val sat beside him, occasionally monitoring his foot with a surprising smile on her face. "You know, you didn't have to crawl out to check if I was okay."
Hansen rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It was my fault you were out there."
"Really? I don't recall seeing you out there, shooting at our helicopter." She teasingly replied. He then felt his face flush a little as she took his hand in her own. "It was awfully brave of you, thank you, it's good to know you care."
Admittedly feeling a bit stunned by her boldness, he blushed furiously, trying to ignore a few of the more perceptive members of Strike-One who were openly chuckling at them. "Anytime Val."
Author's Notes: This was written rather sporadically and on a whim, so I'm not sure how it turned out. Also Xenonauts 2 is pretty good so far, hope it stays that way.