Pirates!
This is insane. Buc was extremely unhappy with this whole plan.
So everyone has said. Repeatedly.
Chris was getting used to the armor. He had to. He was walking across the sea floor towards where his map stated that an XCOM airlock door was located. There was absolutely nothing to show that anything was out of the ordinary. The sea floor looked like a sea floor at extreme depths. Mud, rock and the occasional hardy deep sea plant were the main attractions. Every so often a deep sea fish would swim by, but they took one look at his armored form and fled for the most part. The one time an anglerfish had tried to bite him, it broke all of its teeth on the incredibly hard plastic that covered his shin and everyone yelled at him for not killing it before it bit him. He had put the poor thing out of its misery with a quick yank, but yeah… No one had been happy with him.
The plan was simple. He was the only human in the group and any of the others entering an XCOM base that was even remotely operational would set off all kinds of alarms, activate every operational security system and basically make a godawful mess. He would remain in contact with the team and do a quick recon, then leave. If the base was destroyed, then the airlock would not function at all and he would simply return to the ship. If it was not? He would enter, determine the immediate situation and then leave quickly. Any loss of communication would have the rest of the team charging in on his heels. Boomer and Star had just wanted to blow the place up, but XCOM had always built tough structures, whether above the surface of the ocean or below and none of them knew how deep this one had been dug. Poallo and Buc had wanted to be with him as backup all the way to the airlock, but no one knew what sensors were operational if any.
Approaching map position now. Chris fought for calm as his Head's Up Display marked a spot on the sea floor just ahead of him and part of it erupted in a geyser of mud and small rocks. Airlock is operational.
Crap. Buc muttered but no one commented on the lack of professionalism. She was very worried about him in this situation. The Matron hadn't been happy about this idea either and he had been forced to talk very fast to keep her from sending troops to grab him and remove from the situation by force. It hadn't helped that Poallo had agreed with her! The Aquatoid almost ordered Star to shove him into the pod to be picked up by the Matron's forces. Chris, I gave you all the information I had on troops that the Old Masters used during that war. If you hear anything off, don't look, just run!
Yes, Mother.
That was not funny. Came from Buc whose fear for him came through loud and clear.
Sorry, Buc. Chris was instantly apologetic.
If you are not completely terrified right now, Chris, I am aborting this mission. Poallo said with a growl. The Old Masters' forces were no joke. They always deployed monsters for such assaults and some of them might have lasted all this time.
Don't worry. I am terrified. Chris took another two steps and waited as the airlock door opened fully. Just the thought of Tentaculats is going to give me nightmares for the rest of my life.
Welcome to our world. Boomer was no joking at all. The Tasoth was totally serious.
Okay, I need to focus on something other than fear for the moment. Chris took a deep breath that as utterly wasted since his lungs were filled with liquid that kept him oxygenated and stabilized the pressure at such extreme depths. It wasn't any kind of human technology, but it worked. It was fairly unpleasant it have it seep into his lungs, but Buc hadn't even tried to soften the experience for him when he had finally argued his way into being the lead for this. She was not happy with him. He paused and then chuckled in his mind as he stepped into the airlock. I just realized. By human laws, I am committing piracy here.
What? Came from everyone.
No one has explicitly given me permission to do this and they cannot until I access any com systems inside. I am entering by stealth a facility that I do not own. One that I have no authorization to enter by any human laws. Its location is, by human definition, in the ocean outside of any governing body's influence, so I am entering this facility with the intent to commit crimes as defined by humans in unregulated waters. That is called 'piracy'. I wonder. Can we steal a base?
For a long moment, there was utter silence on the mind link and then a snort came from Ghit.
Let's get the mission done first. Was Poallo chuckling? No. It couldn't be. Then we can think about strategically transferring equipment to alternate locations. Oh, he was laughing! But then he sobered. Chris, status?
I am calmer. Chris reported. Door is open. Entering now.
Remember… Buc all but begged. No heroics. Just do the job.
I will. Chris promised. He moved to the control panel in the center of the large airlock and hit the 'cycle' command. The door closed with an ominous clunk and the floor underneath him started to sink. They really took security seriously back then.
They had to. Ghit was somber now. What little we know of the war was awful. No quarter asked or given on either side. The Old Masters were evil and XCOM won, but just barely from what we understand.
And they do secrecy like no one else in my experience. Chris agreed. It is quite possible that no one today remembers and- He broke off as a totally unexpected sound came to his ears through his suit microphones. Not a monster. A drunken human voice singing!
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me
We pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot
drink up, me hearties yo ho!"
You have got to be kidding me. Chris stepped forward and the singing got louder.
What? Came from Buc, tense.
Someone is singing down here. About pirates. Chris fought hard not to whine. Did someone already pirate this place? If they stole it first, can we steal it back? I really wanted to steal something!
Chris. Poallo was not amused.
Right. Chris moved slowly and carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible. It was hard. The place was a wreck. Old scars from weapons both alien and human marred the walls along with old blood stains. Every so often, a skeleton lay as it had fallen. Some were in the rags of XCOM uniforms, others were not human at all. This place saw some serious fighting. But who the hell is here now?
Just get the sensors offline and we can come in and figure it out. Poallo pushed. Any sign of life other than the singing?
No. Chris replied. And yes, that worries me too. Just one voice singing.
That doesn't mean there are not more listening to the singing. Buc warned and Chris made a face in his helmet, but refrained from comment. Any idea where you are?
An engineering space of some kind. Chris muttered. Maybe a lab. Ah, bingo! A map! A quick glance at the map showed he was less than fifty meters from a marked control area. I am not far from the command center and I- AH! He screamed as he turned and something stood not three meters from him!
CHRIS! All of the others chorused ion his mind but he was quick to recover.
It is not one of the monsters you told me about. Chris said in the mind link quickly as the human form in extremely shiny, angular armor looked at him. Well, it was probably looking at him. The red light that went from side to side across the front of the helmet was a bit off putting, to be honest. It was carrying an odd looking rifle, but it was holding said rifle all wrong to fire it. Whatever the hell it is, it is weird.
"Who are YOU?" The voice from the shiny armor was the one that had been singing. And yes, from the sound? The guy was very drunk. Chris tapped the side of his helmet and the guy made a noise of disbelief. "What? You didn't take it off?" Chris made a motion of breaking something and the guy groaned. "You can't take it off. You broke it. Ah hell, not again! Damn rookies! The mechanic is not here. He is off with the crew!" Chris made a 'What do I do now?' gesture and the guy made a disgusted noise. "I don't care what you do! I am going back to my drinks! At least you racked your weapon, you dumb novice." With that, he walked away, starting to sing again!
'Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me'
What just happened? Buc asked for everyone.
I have absolutely no idea. Chris said with a groan. But apparently um… This guy is um… quite drunk and not very worried about an unarmed guy wandering around the base.
'Drunk'? Again, Buc was asking for everyone. What do you mean by that?
I mean this human has clearly imbibed enough alcohol to severely inhibit his brain functions. Chris said with a groan as he started for the command center marked on the map. And yes, I know alcohol is a poison to humans and no, I do not do that kind of thing. My mothers would greatly disapprove and their disapproval would hurt me. A lot.
No… comment… Buc said over the link and there was utter silence.
Thank god.
Not very long at all later
"This human is disgusting!" Star complained as he finished pulling the armor off the prisoner who was now snoring at his feet. He hadn't even seemed to notice when he had been disarmed and bound! The only reaction he had shown when the rest of the team had appeared was to vomit repeatedly and then collapse unconscious when they secured him.
Chris hadn't just managed to turn off the sensors, he had actually opened one of the hangar bays and let the escort ship land before closing it back up and draining the water. The team were not as comfortable as they would be in the water, but they had access to the whole base now.
"I am not even going to try touching that mind." Poallo said as he and Boomer returned from checking the rest of the base. Aside from one door that was sealed and marked with many hazard signs, they had swept the rest of the base and found nothing but the one human. Lots of wreckage, lots of mess. A few rooms partly rebuilt to house humans who were not picky about where they slept or ate, but nothing more. "Not until or unless we can neutralize whatever what horrid toxins he drank."
"What is with this armor?" Ghit asked as he poked at the shiny pieces. "It isn't very protective or stealthy. It is a functional suit, but… Why so shiny? It would draw predators in the deep like setting out flares. It is not very tactical unless you want to draw fire."
"I am not sure, but I think it is based off a costume from a human TV show that was old long before the Elders came to Earth. Maybe even before the war that totaled this base. I think. I never actually saw that show, but I heard about it." Chris said from where he sat. He didn't dare do anything else while Buc checked him over except take off his helmet. After he had voided all of the liquid by puking it up, she had started scanning and flatly refused to let him move until she was absolutely sure he was okay. That fact that she refused to give him any pain or anti-nausea meds until all the scans were done was purely scientific. Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that she was upset with him. "It is functional, though, right? As armor?"
"Not very." Ghit replied, picking up a piece and bending it. "I mean, it has some force fields built in, so it might turn a few rounds, but you are not going to hide anywhere wearing this. It seems to seal okay, but I find no pressure equalization. Whoever wears this is not walking or swimming outside at this depth." Chris made a face. Squish.
"Well, I better report in before the Matron comes looking for me." Chris looked at Buc who looked stern but then nodded. "I wasn't hurt, Buc, just scared."
"No." Buc admitted, then she pushed something up against Chris' neck that hissed and he felt better. She smiled at him and then turned to Poallo who was looking at her. "I will go back to the ship. I think one of us should stay aboard, just in case?"
"Go." Poallo agreed. Buc left without another word. "You are confusing her."
"She is confusing me." Chris stood up slowly and nodded to the other three. He strode to the communication array while old, was fairly standard looking. "I have never had any kind of- Whoa!" Chris jerked back as he hit a button and every light on the console came alive! Everyone else had weapons in hand as an old style video screen flickered to life and a face that Chris knew very well glowered at him from it. "Uh… Director Kelly." Chris managed as Jane Kelly, the current commander of XCOM and Director of Reclamation eyed him from the screen. "I um… I don't know what you have been told, Ma'am, but it isn't my fault!" Was that a snicker from Ghit?
"Considering I just got off the com with Alley who is incredibly upset, and that you are standing in an XCOM base that was listed as lost many years ago with no authorization to be there as well as standing in the presence of unauthorized non-human personnel…" She trailed off, her gaze pure threat. "I would like an explanation. A quick one."
"It followed me home, Mom. Can we keep it?" Chris managed to say that with a straight face, but just barely. The dumbfounded silence around him was deafening. Considering that Alley had adopted him along with all of his kin and the Matron was bonded to Jane, calling Jane 'Mom' was technically true. However...
"Chris." His name was said in a calm, clear tone, but Jane Kelly's eyes were flashing dangerously and he knew better than to push it too far. He had seen firsthand what happened when she lost her temper.
"Alice is alive, but in stasis. She was hurt very badly saving the ship we were both on from an attack by ships I did not recognize." Chris said with a nod as he slipped into professional mode. "The ships were short ranged and from all evidence? Launched from this base."
"We didn't do that." Jane Kelly said slowly.
"No, Ma'am. XCOM is not involved in this and I would like to keep it that way." Chris reassured her.
"You are involved, Chris. That means we are involved whether we like it or not." Jane frowned. "XCOM has no deep sea capable assets in that area. Reclamation likewise. I have no idea where the Hammerhead is and I am not going to ask. Only crazy people would attack Alley, after all." That was sour.
"Crazy or desperate, Director." Chris used her Reclamation rank and her eyes narrowed. "They are the latter."
"Okay. What are you going to do?" Jane asked.
"I want to help them, Director." Chris said after a moment. "They realize they made a mistake and they want to make amends, but Alice is hurt far too badly to leave the stasis field. We may or may not have some odd options to help her, but there is far more going on here than meets the eye. What we have found here in this base defines the word 'weird' even for us."
"What have you found?" The Director asked and Chris bent down to pick up the discarded shiny helmet. He held it up to show her and she stared at it as the red light played back and forth across the visor. Jane shook her head and blew out a breath. "Okay. Yeah. That is weird." She paused and frowned. "Also oddly familiar, but I have no idea from where."
"Me too." Chris admitted. "I think it is from a human entertainment media prior to the Elders, but I cannot remember which one. I also have no idea why someone would be wearing it here and singing ancient pirate songs." Jane stared at him and he shook his head. "I couldn't make this up, Ma'am. No one would believe it."
"Truth is always stranger than fiction, indeed. I will get analysts looking into that." Jane Kelly took a deep breath and then nodded to Chris. "Who is in command there?"
"Captain Poallo is in command of this team." Chris indicated the Aquatoid who nodded to the screen. "Alice took responsibility for what she did. As I said, she is hurt and in stasis."
"So Alley told me." Jane heaved a sigh. "And you want to save her if you can."
"She is my sister, Director." Chris put just a hint of rebuke in his tone and Jane glared at him. "Mom, this is weird. They attacked us, yes. But they were pushed into it."
"Seeking this T'leth place." Jane pressed and Chris nodded. "Every record we have says it was an old, dead battle site, but all coordinates have been deleted. They did not do such for meaningless reasons, Chris. There is probably something there, but is it something we want found?"
"They are still being attacked, Director." Chris said with a frown. "The ships that attacked us almost certainly came from this base and there is a door here we have not been able to access."
"If it is an old door, then nothing I can give over a com will open it." Jane mused. "What markings?"
"Hazards, but it seems more like a hangar door than a container." Chris replied even as Jane pursed her lips. "We detect no radiation or volatile substances."
"Good, if you detect any, run like hell. You might get clear in time." Jane snapped. "Some of those old vehicles used fission power." At that, everyone tensed and she nodded. Nuclear fission power systems produced very nasty side effects. Some of the ones that had been destroyed in the Elder's invasion had caused catastrophic damage to entire areas across the planet that would take centuries to fade. "But… if you cannot get in…"
"We have a prisoner, Director, but he is very drunk." Chris admitted. "All he does is sing pirate shanties and vomit."
"Don't get any ideas, young man." Jane warned but then she smiled. It was not a nice smile and Chris stiffened. "We do actually have one asset in that area and I can have him delivered in about an hour. He can take possession of the base from your… um… unauthorized selves and investigate the door. I will also consider it a proper revenge if you do not let your prisoner sober up before he gets there."
"Please don't send him, ma'am! Gertrude… is… Um…" Chris winced as Jane's smile turned vicious.
"You know what she will do if you call her 'pushy' again." Jane warned and Chris slumped. All of the others stared at Chris as he nodded, silent. "They will be there in an hour and you get to explain to Syndrome why his honeymoon was interrupted."
"She will mother me." Chris all but begged as Jane's smile almost cracked the screen and then the screen shut off. He slumped and then jerked, staring at the sea mud and sand that still covered his armored hands. "Oh, crap! All the showers in here are trashed! I am doomed!"
"Why?" Poallo asked, concern rising.
"All you have to worry about, Captain, is maybe starting a war." Chris was actually shaking, trying to wipe his face, but only spreading the grime on it around. "Syndrome's wife is going to take one look at how dirty I am and go completely ballistic."
"Oh?" Poallo wasn't sure about this at all.
"You will see..."