"Commander, we have almost arrived at Earth," reported the ensign.

"Good. As soon as we are in range, begin searching for XCOM ships. It is time that we repay mankind for their kindness."

"Yes sir."

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Slowly, the Command Ship advanced toward Earth. The ship was impressive, but it had seen better days: tiny impact spots were visible all over the hull, scars acquired from brushes with space debris. Still, the ship had been travelling for centuries since it had last visited Earth, and aside from these dings, it hadn't changed that much at all. At least, externally: internally, its systems had undergone numerous retrofits, based on advances the Zudjari scientists had made.

As the Blue Planet came into view, the Commander smiled. He had heard of the stories of Earth, how its people had fought his people, how they had killed the tyrant Origin who had enslaved the Zudjari through Moz Zaaick, and how, in an unprecedented act of kindness, the humans had allowed them to leave in peace, after first having the Outsiders, as the Terrans called them, repair the damage they had caused under Origin. From there, the Zudjari had wandered the cosmos, looking for a new world to call home. Joining them had been Origin's other slaves, the Sectoids, and the many mutons he had hired as mercenaries. With their employer dead, they had chosen to stay and help Outsiders find a new home, in exchange for being allowed to share that home.

Now, though, they had returned to Earth, ready to help mankind. A journey that had come full circle, mused the alien Commander. Perhaps now they could at last repay the debt they owed mankind.

As he looked closer, though, the Commander, known to his fellow Zudjari as Zylos, noticed that something was wrong with this world. For the most part, it matched up with maps he had seen of this world, but some parts were different. Namely, the coastline: it appeared to have advanced further inland than it appeared on the maps, while the ice caps appeared to have shrunken. Evidence of global warming, Zylos noted.

Additionally, ther were far more satellites in orbit of Earth than the records indicated had been present when his kind had first come, yet most were now inactive. Those that were still online had not noticed the ship's arrival, thankfully. Best not cause any panic just yet.

Once the mothership, as the crew had taken to calling it, was close enough, scanners began searching for XCOM signals. They had been provided with a set of private channels to use to contact the clandestine organization, so as to avoid any misunderstandings with the people of Earth. Once one of the signals was tuned into, a greeting was sent out. When no return signal came, a second was transmitted. When that received no reply, Zylos became suspicious - XCOM had a veritable army of people manning its communications network, and it was unlikely that they would ignore this signal, especially given the previous war humans had fought with the outsiders.

Activating their hacking systems, the staff aboard the mothership began hacking into Earth's insecure communication networks and began searching around for pressing events - disasters, wars, the like - that might have distracted XCOM.

Eventually, the found what they were looking for. It came in the form of news footage from a city called Mega Primus, located in the four corners, as some humans had called it. Due to changes in sea level, the city has easy access to the coastline, while several space ports allowed for starships to land. Yet none of that was important to the aliens.

What was important was the yellow mushroom shaped ship attacking the city.

Going from confused to alarmed in a matter of moments, the Zudjari accelerated their ship toward the Blue Planet, through a path that just barely avoided smashing any of Earth's satellites. The zudjariw oils not allow mankind to be destroyed or enslaved by these new comers; they would repay mankind for their kindness. Dropships began to load troops, while weapons began charging up. When the mothership finally reached the thermosphere, the dropships began to launch, while the Mothership began to lock onto the strange UFO laying waste to the city. Half a minute later, it fire, blowing a hole through the offending vessel, crippling it. Shortly afterwards, some kind of aircraft flew in and destroyed the ship from within.

With their unknown enemy defeated, the dropships pulled back, in part because another unknown party was detected. This one had commanded the aircraft that had destroyed the mushroom ship, as well as an army of Machines on the ground. Analysis of recording revealed that this party had been helping the people of Earth repel this new invasion.

Caution prevailing over fear, the zudjari opened up a line of communication with the new arrivals. If these beings were willing to help mankind, then they were allies of the zudjari.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, you are the new leader of the Zudjari, Zylos."

"Correct...Commander Flame, is it?"

"It is."

I was surprised to see the Zudjari ship arrive, and further stunned when they attempted contact with me. Their assistance was a curveball I hadn't expected, though it was appreciated all the same.

Our conversation soon turned to more idle topics, namely what the Outsiders has been doing since they had left Earth. Apparently, in the features that had followed, they still hadn't found a good planet to call home. They'd been heading toward the next one in their list when they'd learned XCOM needed help, so they'd come to Earth to repay mankind for saving them from Origin.

I guess Weir had been Asaru's host, then.

Eventually, though, our conversation veered back toward the Micronoids and their armies.

"So these new invaders seek to claim this world as their own since their home is dying?"

"Yes, they do. Do you find it familiar?"

"I do. You intend to stand with mankind against these aliens, so you not?"

"I do."

"Then we will stand with you. It is time we repay our debt to mankind."

Well, that made things easier.

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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!