ADVENT: History

The Annexation of Australia

"I thought I was one of the lucky ones. The ones not to get taken by the aliens. I've hidden away now, moving, trying to get out of this damn continent. But I think it's too late for me.

The aliens are hunting us now, and they don't care about capturing us. They want to kill us."

-Anonymous Sydney Resident

Intelligence Report 10A3

Subject: Australia Attack and Aftermath

Operative Hari May, XCOM Intelligence

Australia is lost. At the moment any sort of offensive against the continent would be suicide. There are too many aliens here, and ones powerful enough for me to consider me abandoning this task and returning to Asia. However, I was able to learn quite a bit of what happened, and was witness to it from afar.

Contrary to earlier reports, the aliens did not hit Sydney first. Rather it was in concert with attacks on Perth and Brisbane as well. I have sufficient evidence to suggest that the attack on Sydney was the priority target, but before I describe why, it should be told in the correct order.

The first signs that something was off were the sudden reports of citizens attacking each other for almost no reason at all, shouting unhinged justifications that they'd been 'betrayed' or that everyone was 'fake'. The police arrested several of these people, but almost immediately after this string of attacks, the UFOs began arriving and began firing upon large swaths of the city.

The explanation for this is quite clearly psionic influence, more pervasive than anything we've ever seen before. It was to the degree that thousands were affected, and to make matters worse, that psionic influence held on and I personally observed dozens of humans walking in lines to the alien transport UFOs, shambling forward as if sleepwalking.

We can only assume the worst for those people, but the aliens on the ground seemed to know the difference between those that were under psionic influence and those that were not. No efforts were noted by me to capture civilians during the initial assault, though the aliens admittedly only killed those who fought them. Strangely enough, it seemed like no soldiers suffered these psionic breakdowns. I don't have enough information to know if this was a coincidence, or a deliberate action on the Ethereal responsible for this mass panic.

Strangely enough, the aliens seemed to limit their aerial arsenal after the initial volley, which I suspect just fired to get attention. But it was mostly used to maintain control of the skies, and then bomb specific targets such as the Opera House and known cultural icons. While that clearly isn't enough to say that the aliens have an interest in not damaging our infrastructure, it is one piece of good news to come out of this. We might be able to expect the aliens to similarly hold back in other fronts as well, though that clearly should not be relied upon.

The Australian defense went about as well as we could have expected. The Australian Defense Force (ADF) initially attempted to fight off the aliens in Sydney, but were easily overrun by the more advanced alien force. It wasn't long before a retreat was ordered and the remnants of the ADF were concentrated near Canberra and Geelong. Though from talking with ADF officers, those are just fronts while the military plans to transition to guerilla resistance located deep in the wilderness.

The alien forces that I personally witnessed were composed of Mutons, of the regular and Elite variety. Those comprised the majority of their forces, which were supplemented by what appeared to be Borelian, Vitakarian and Cobrarian operatives. I also spotted a squad of those suited aliens, though they were different from the green-helmeted ones that attacked the Citadel. Several had different tints to their helmets, and were sometimes slimmer and occasionally accompanied by some kind of floating drone. Unfortunately, I was unable to see these units in combat.

Returning to the point I made earlier about Sydney being the more important of the attacks, I believe it was because I personally saw the Ethereals leading the attack, and have yet to talk to the survivors of the other cities who has reported a similar alien. Based on descriptions from the alien Nartha, I can conclude that it was the Ethereal identified as the "Battlemaster" who led the physical attack on the city.

There is very little chance this is an error, as the Ethereal in question was covered in dull plate armor, a red cape and held a greatsword in his hands. Unfortunately, I must also corroborate that contrary to what we'd hoped, the Battlemaster is indeed as dangerous as Nartha insisted. I personally witnessed him slaughter dozens of soldiers single-handedly and undoubtedly killed many I did not see. I am aware that ADVENT and XCOM soldiers are better equipped, armed and trained, but I am skeptical about how much difference that will make.

More importantly, I got a glimpse of what I suspect to be an unidentified Ethereal. This one was much smaller and didn't physically participate in the attack, but hung around near one of the transports. All that it seemed to wear was an orange cloak with a hood covering its head. While I was unable to get close enough to confirm the species, we do know that unlike the rest of the aliens, Ethereals have very distinct styles that stand out from the uniformity of their forces, and based on the size, attire and apparent command of the Muton Elites around it, I think it is reasonable that it was an Ethereal, perhaps the one responsible for the psionic attacks from earlier.

In any event the city was taken quickly, and it appears to be the same for the other attacked cities as well. The aliens appear to be establishing a form of martial law in the city for the surviving citizens, and enforcing it by having chryssalids and sectoid handlers roam the streets outside of the curfew. It is currently too dangerous to fully enter and investigate, but I will continue to make inquiries.

At this moment the bulk of the alien forces are devoted to pacifying the neighboring cities, specifically Canberra and Newcastle, from Sydney and I presume similar actions are taking place near the other cities that were attacked. I cannot say if the Ethereals are still personally leading this attack, but the possibility is distinct.

I do believe that this attack has given us some valuable insight into how the aliens will conduct this campaign against us. Should their pattern hold, they are still committed to capturing, not killing the majority of us. That limits their options and we should expect a long ground campaign from multiple fronts. I assume you've come to the conclusion that the aliens will use Australia as a staging ground from which to launch attacks almost anywhere in the world.

Europe is really the only safe continent from alien attack, but China, Japan, the United States and Argentina are extremely vulnerable and the aliens are fully capable of launching simultaneous attacks on all sides. With the Ethereals now involved, I believe we can say that they have a personal interest in this war, and will likely not be the last to come.

I will continue to work with the ADF and act as a liaison between them and XCOM until ADVENT figures out what to do. But if they want to extradite what remains of the ADF, they need to do it now. The wilderness works to our advantage now, but you can't hide an army forever.

-Sent to XCOM Intelligence Director Zhang

Transcript between ADF Field Marshal Lincoln Harper and XCOM Intelligence Operative Hari May:

Hari May: "You can't stay here anymore. I know you don't-"

Lincoln Harper: "I know. But we're not going to leave yet. We can still help the people here. It's going to take the aliens a while to take over everything."

HM: "I get it; noble to the end. But we need the bulk of the ADF away from here. You can't hide the army forever."

LH: "You clearly haven't been here long."

HM: "And you clearly don't know what you're dealing with."

LH: "So what do you want? Us to just quit?"

LH: "Leave all the civilians to die or god knows what?"

HM: "You need to decide if your soldiers are more important than civilians. All you're doing with these evacuations is painting a bigger target on your back. Lines of refugees aren't exactly subtle."

LH: "Our job is to protect them."

HM: "And ours is to protect humanity. Sorry, but enough of your military is left for it to be put to better use than trying to evacuate civilians."

LH: "We're going in circles."

HM: "Like I said, it's noble, but impractical. As of now your military is one of the only ones to actually have faced alien forces in combat. We need them for where they attack next."

LH: "Who is 'we'?"

HM: "ADVENT."

LH: "Who?"

HM: "You haven't heard? The United Nations collapsed. ADVENT is for all intents and purposes, the replacement."

LH: "I…wha…I'd say that's impossible, but that word doesn't mean much now. They're leading the defense then?"

HM: "Correct. With XCOM assisting of course."

LH: "And what do they want to do with us?"

HM: "They've literally only been established within the last few days, sir. I've had limited contact as well, though I know they must be planning something. They might not know that a lot of your soldiers are still alive."

LH: "When you contact XCOM again, tell them to have ADVENT send some kind of representative. If there's a global resistance, we'll be a part of it. You're right. Our standing army is more of a liability here. But we need to maintain a presence and strike at the alien-controlled cities."

HM: "You need more special forces."

LH: "That would be ideal, but we're making do with what we have."

LH: "In any event, I'm going to be moving the bulk of my forces close to the Kakadu Park."

HM: "The navy is already gone, right?"

LH: "Yes, though I don't know how many made it. Our air force is pretty much non-existent after the attacks, and we can't exactly relocate our air bases."

HM: "You need to get in contact with ADVENT. They can have the US send carriers to transport your planes."

LH: "Agreed. Set me up as soon as possible."

HM: "Will do, tend to your people until then."

The following has been translated from Ethereal Script, found posted in Ethereal Collective War Camp Sydney-1

Attention all Vitakara and Sectoid Forces.

As we continue to lock down the human population and move forward to other defended human cities, you should be aware of the various hazards present in this land that the humans have named "Australia." This land is home to a higher population of venomous and dangerous wildlife than other parts of this world, and as there have already been several cases of extreme reactions to various insect and animal life, remember to be vigilant when operating beyond controlled cities.

Interrogations of various captive humans and the utilization of their public databases have identified specific lifeforms and areas to avoid until proper terraforming of the area can begin. (Note: Despite the fact that any human can access it, soldiers are not permitted to access the "internet" without prior authorization).

Insectoid Life: While most insect life is at most a nuisance, there are several particular insects that warrant warnings. To date there have been forty-five extreme reactions, and ten Sectoid deaths to the insect of the spider species, specifically identified as the "Sydney funnel-web" which is currently identified as the most dangerous insect on the continent. As it can be difficult to identify specific breeds of spider (As there are many variants) the optimal solution is to simply kill them as quickly as possible whenever you see one. Research teams will collect specimens after the continent is secured, and there is no fear of killing them off as they reproduce quickly. Images are attached below.

The more dangerous insect that has been encountered is the "honeybee", which despite its apparent benevolent appearance, has a one-hundred percent fatality rate for Sectoids stung by the insect, whereas other species have yet to suffer significant effects. All Sectoid units are advised to watch for nests holding these insects and not disturb them, as they are not inherently aggressive unless provoked. Do not try and harvest the substance they produce without prior authorization. Images attached below.

Finally, all Collective personnel are advised to be careful where they step, as we have suffered six fatalities from personnel accidentally stepping onto apparently harmless piles of dirt which then housed small six-legged insects called ants which swarmed the unfortunate individuals and stung them to death. While relatively harmless on their own, they are clearly dangerous in large numbers and discretion is advised when on wilderness patrol or recon.

Reptilian Life: Australia is also home to a species of reptile known as the snake and has several extremely venomous variants of it. The venom within these snakes has been discovered to be strong enough to kill several Muton soldiers. These reptiles are rather quick and difficult to kill, but are fortunately non-aggressive for the most part unless startled. Images of the most common kinds are attached below.

Note: Comparisons between these reptiles and our Cobrarian soldiers, even in jest, is strictly prohibited and subject to disciplinary action.

Aquatic Life: All Collective personnel are strictly prohibited from entering any bodies of water without permission due to the dangerous aquatic life identified within. For units deployed into aquatic zones, be advised of the aggressive mammalian shark which populate the waters. The larger danger to be aware of is the jellyfish, a deceptively simple and slow-moving organism that nonetheless is potentially one of most venomous organisms on the planet. Termination of the units is advisable until an antidote is created.

Future Plans: Once the continent has been completely secured, Research teams will arrive and begin isolating the troublesome species and then introducing modified species or evolutionary strands to cull or remove the species in question. Due to the wide variety of organisms on the continent, complete wildlife culling will take at least twenty cycles.

In the short term, Andromedon Contamination Operatives will be sent to the more dangerous parts of the continent, and dangerous wildlife regions will be first discovered by Andromedon squads before Muton and Vitakara squads are permitted to establish positions.

Sectoid Leaders, please disseminate this information to your underlings immediately.

Sargon Sydney-01, disseminate this information with the local Muton legion immediately.

Continue with operations as normal.

Runi'areon'mattis, Elevated Commander, Division of the Battlemaster