The initial assault on Cephei 37 was, I'll admit, not as good as it could've been, but since I'd been forced to use a mostly organic army I'd slapped together a few days before the invasion as my main assault force, that was understandable. Still, the battle itself was the first real gauge I got of my organic units, and they proved themselves to be very effective war beasts.
Of course, it was also my first time using the Avatar, and that was a different beast altogether, any possible puns not intended.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
How XCOM managed to gain access to Ethereal Avatars in this timeline wasn't something I'd know until after the battle, but it still confused me to some degree. How did they manage to create something whose entire purpose for existing was not present in this universe? I mean, all of the none ascended elders were dead, so there was no reason to create avatars. Furthermore, the creation of said avatars required very specific strands of human DNA, if XCOM 2 was any indication, with the elders only figuring out which strands worked via melting down tons of people into organic sludge. If XCOM had gone the same route to create these beings, I wondered if I'd really been doing the right thing when I chose to help them. Then there was the fact that avatars needed ethereal DNA to be created, something that should no longer be accessible in this universe, as all of the non-ascended elders were dead. At least, I assumed they were.
All of these questions could be pondered at a later time ,tough. Right now, I had an enemy army to deal with.
A squad of marauders charged at me, and was swiftly cut down by control bursts of lasers. My laser rifle proved to be an effective weapon, even if XCOM had switched to plasma guns by this point. I guess these guys were a little slow on advancing their armor technology. Then again, XCOM only used red beams, while my rifle shot blue-white ones, which were several orders of magnitude more powerful then their red brethren. Either way, I couldn't help but admire the effectiveness of my gun. Soon, all of the marauders would know my power.
A loud groaning noise to my left caught my attention, with a turn of my head revealing a tank the marauders were using. It appeared to be a prophet hover tank, the tier three version of the combat rover in Civ:BE, assuming you were playing Supremacy. The tank turn its weapon on me, only to be smashed aside as a huge creature slammed into it and pummeled the machine with its giant fists. Codenamed the brawler, it served as a close range anti infantry and armor specialist. Joining it were a couple of organic artillery creatures I'd created, code named lobbers, and yes, I am well aware they sound like the baseline PA stationary artillery, it's just that lobber sounded natural for an organic artillery unit. These creatures fire sacs containing a variety of explosive yet non-toxic chemicals, as I'd prefer not to poison anyone who survived my artillery barrages. That would be reserved for more dangerous foes.
These lobbers made short work of an advancing group of prophets, before quickly laying waste to several towers which, according to my scanners, were broadcasting the signal that screwed with my units. As the towers went up in flames, more of my forces began to land, now including several of my mechanical forces. These units would help defend my beachhead, ensuring that my forces did not lose their foothold before we dealt the deathblow to the marauders. Justice will be done!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
While the majority of my forces focused on destroying the towers, I turned my attention toward rescuing hostages. The marauders had placed their kidnapping targets inside a set of specialized prison structures, which could easily survive artillery bombardment, so using my units to blow open an entry point into the prions wasn't an option (not that it ever was). Instead, I led a small group of warriors into the buildings via their basements. See, each of the facilities had an underground tram system meant to bring in resources as needed, making starving the opponent out difficult at best. It also meant that extra reinforcements could be brought in to strengthen the defenders, making a siege difficult at best. However, this hidden strength was also a titanic weakness, as once my forces had access to the tunnel network (easily accomplished by simply moving in a drilling machine to into a junction of the tunnels that wasn't under the dead zone the signal was creating), I could circumvent all of the external defenses for the building and rescue the hostages with ease. I quickly loaded them onto transports and sent them back to their home systems, which were easily determined by matching their faces to those of people reported missing on the planets the marauders had raided. With their fleet in ruins, the marauders were in no position to stop these people from heading home, something that made me smile with glee.
While this was happening, the rest of my forces laid waste to the nearby towers, taking out five more in rapid succession, and clearing an opening to what I'd determined to be the planet's capital, as well as the source of the prime source of signal. At least, I assumed it was the prime source of the signal - at any rate, the rest of the towers broadcasting the signal seemed to be receiving transmissions from the tower in this city. Take it down, and the rest would fall.
Hopefully, it would also give me the last artifact I needed in this universe, and then I could be on my way.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cassidy watched through the viewing screen as Commander Flame and his army advanced on the city. To her right, Melissa was watching the teen intently, eagerly taking in his actions with an inquisitive expression, which soon gave way to a predatory smile. Inwardly, Cassidy groaned at her mother's grin - why did mom have to look so menacing when she smiled like that? If she ever ended up having any friends besides her mother's creation, they'd probably run for the hills when the saw that smile.
Still, she could understand why her mother was smiling like that. This was, after all, exactly what her mother had wanted to see when she had put the Commander on his journey - epic battles that, even if they were curb stomps, showed off the might of all sides involved. The organic beings that Mr. Flame had created, which her mother had called a first among commanders, cut through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter, but the marauders gave as good as they got and still managed to fell many of the beasts before they were overwhelmed. Still, it was clear that the defending humans could only keep fighting on for so long, and that soon, they would be defeated.
Cassidy wondered where the Commander would go next after this universe. Hopefully, it would be one with more action than this one - mother had been right that this was a boring universe, but mother couldn't decide where the Commander went next; her boss had made that clear.
Then the view in the screen changed - where once had been the sight of epic battle, now there was the sight of humans messing around with a funny looking machine, which, if the cables were any indication, was what was creating the signal that forced the commander to use organic units. Apparently, they were trying to get it to do other things, likely in an effort to stop the advance of the commander. Aside from getting the artifact, as the Commander seemed to refer to it, from randomly switching the location of two objects in the room, though, they weren't having much luck.
Cass sighed when one of the people got zapped and fell unconscious - these guys were screwed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I took cover behind the blasted husk of a car was magnetic bullets streaked past me, before returning fire and putting a hole through the chest of the woman who'd fired at me. The battle for the city was brutal, with intense street-to-street fighting happening everywhere, but slowly, yet surely, my forces were advancing onwards, inch by inch, toward their target. I'd already given half my forces the order to capture the Marauder's leaders, who I planned to see tried for their actions. Killing them would only encourage their successors to be more subtle, but leaving them alive would send a greater message about how their actions would not be tolerated.
Advancing to the next intersection, I was forced to duck into a jewelry shop as a group of marauders fired at me from my right. Sensing an opportunity to get advance, they lined up and charged at me, which turned them into a very big target. Smiling beneath the avatar's face mask, I focused my psionic power into the psi amp, then unleashed a null lance on the unsuspecting soldiers, leaving them piled in a heap in front of fountain. Somehow, they were all still alive, which was surprising, but not really my problem. Right now, I had a city to take.
Gradually, my advance picked up speed until, at last, I was at the base of the tower that was broadcasting the signal, which, I noted idly, was built into the side of a plateau. In hindsight, I could have just taken the plateau and then entered the tower from there, but my chosen path ensured that I would be able to capture the Marauder leaders before they could escape into the tunnels where they could hide for longer than I was willing to devote to finding them.
Alright, let's end this.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As the alien beasts crashed through her door, Marlene sighed. It seemed that this was checkmate.
The beasts at her with eyes full of..hate? Hunger? Fear? She couldn't really tell, and frankly, she didn't care. What mattered was that she had lost, as had the rest of her people. No point in denying it, and trying to fight against it would only lead to an ignominious death. That was why she was allowed the beasts to first check her for weapons, then escort her to one of the planet's prison facilities. Soon, she was joined by her fellow marauder leaders, who were placed in the nearby cells.
While she was angry that her people had lost, Marlene was not unwilling to admit that she was impressed that her people had been bested. Strength of arms and mind were something her people had learned to value, and whoever had bested them clearly had both. What they would do with those strengths, though, eluded Marlene.
Of course, given that she was now a prisoner, she had plenty of time to ponder that.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The last marauder tumbled to the ground, knocked out from being hit by the hilt of my fusion sword. With the last of my opposition defeated, I advanced into the giant room, and found what I was looking for.
A quick examination of the mind of one of the facility's engineers informed me that what I was looking for was at the top of the tower, in a room built into the edge of the plateau. Upon entering it, I noticed the body of one of the engineers resting on the floor, with only the steady rise and fall of his chest confirming he was still alive. Nearby him, inside a translucent container hooked up to various cables, was an octahedron covered in intricate symbols, which I assumed was my artifact.
Also, I could sense a thinking mind in this room via my avatar's psychic powers and it was giving off a sense of...pain? Fear? Sadness? Anger? All of them, actually. The mind I was feeling was giving off all of those emotions. But where was it coming from? My powers told me it was nearby the Artifact, but I couldn't see anyone-oh. Maybe it was coming from the Artifact.
Cautiously, I focused my mind on the machine, trying to get a response. To my surprise, the emotions I had felt projected grew sharper, before relaxing a moment later. It seems the mind I was examining was calming.
Well, now I knew where the odd thoughts were coming from.
Approaching the artifact's container, I carefully began disconnecting the cables, then pried open the container and put my hands on the Artifact, all while projecting a sense of calm on the Artifact. For a moment, I sensed fear in its mind. Then, slowly, it relaxed. Looks like my mission was over.
Then the knocked out engineer groaned.
In an instant, a sense of fear flooded through the artifact and into me.
Then I felt a tingling feeling, followed by indescribable pain. My weapons clattered to the floor as I stumbled around for a moment, then collapsed. Ten seconds later, I stood up, feeling a little woozy and, oddly, lighter than I was before.
Why was I lighter? Confused, I searched the room until I found a reflective piece of glass and stared at it. My reflection stared back.
And by my reflection, I meant the one of the body I kept in my starship, and not that of my avatar.
But...how...
Movement out of the corner of my eye turned my attention to a nearby monitor. On it, I saw several marauders moving through he tunnels beneath the tower. I noted that, of the tunnels I'd cleared out, the ones under this building weren't among them. Furthermore, thanks to the much lower amount of psychic power my normal body possessed, as well as the fact the Artifact was STILL screwing over my Commander network, I was, for all intents and purposes, alone against these guys.
... OH FU-
XXXXXXXXXX
Cassidy stared on in silence. She couldn't believed what had happened. Yes, she'd seen the artifact switch around the places of things in its room when it was messed with too much, but this...
Next to her, her mother had gone rigid, all the color draining from her face. No emotions could be discerned from Melissa face, and Cassidy dared not ask her mother how she was feeling - now was not the time.
A moment passed in silence, before Melissa stood up, still expressionless, and walked away, exiting the room in silence. In the viewing screen, the Commander has grabbed the artifact and begun ascending the tower, trying to reach the top of the building, where it would be easier to defend.
Cassidy hoped he would be ok.
XXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!