Chapter 5: Terror
"Take away the contests of the martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns."
Saint Ambrose
X-Com HQ
Location Classified
Primary Hanger
"Alright Tovarishi! Unload your gear and get it on the elevator. We don't got all day now. This big important Commander is waiting for us!" Captain Yuri Grigori shouted as his platoon of Engineers groaned at the thought.
The indicated industrial elevator was coming up from its hidden positions behind a false wall and floor. As it was coming up an alarm started to blare all across the base, both underground and above.
Those who had active phones alarms from the Russian government also started to blare. Pulling out his phone, Grigori paled. "MAJOR ALIEN ATTACK IN HONG KONG MACAU GUANGZHOU AREA. MARTIAL LAW IS IN EFFECT. ALL MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL REPORT TO NEAREST GOVERNMENT BUILDING OR MILITARY BASE FOR FURTHER ORDERS."
The PA system in the base was also screaming out, "All personnel! All personnel! This is not a drill, major alien incursion in China, all personnel prepare for deployment and jet launch, all pilots report to stations," The message kept repeating, and the sound of jets and movement overtook the previously near deserted military base.
The secret elevator finally came up and the person who met them surrounded by dozens of pilots and ground personnel was Commander Piperson himself.
Looking deathly pale and sick, he walked over in a professional manner hiding just how bad he must be feeling. Without even needing to look around for him, he approached Yuri, and surprised him by speaking perfect Russian, "Comrade Captain Yuri Grigori, Earth needs your services as a combat engineer. Do you accept a brevet rank of X-Com Captain and temporary operational control until reinforcements arrive?"
Yuri drew himself up to his full, height, who was a mountain of a man and essentially dwarfed the Commander, "I'd be honored. What's the situation?"
"English?" When Yuri nodded he knew English, Piperson began, "Major alien attack, biggest I've ever seen, even the Zudjari War didn't have anything this big." Asaru detected that Yuri was unfamiliar with he Zudjari War. No matter. "Hundreds of alien ships are attacking the Hong Kong and Macau Bay area, death toll is already in the thousands. We've been stymying their attempts at abductions at every turn, they're trying a more direct method and instilling fear. Every nation in the world is on high alert but I doubt they have the resources to attack another area as big as this. What I need you and your men to do is to suit up with what we've got and protect or repair infrastructure vital for relief forces. I have reports already that underwater freeway tunnels and bridges have been sabotaged, so I need you to secure and repair them as fast as possible. You'll be given more information as you arrive. Do you accept the brevet rank and mission?"
"Gladly sir." Grigori replied.
-{X[0]X}-
West Harbor Crossing Maintenance Tunnel
Hong Kong
China
Officer Jonathan Wu winced and groaned. Just five more minutes… My shift's not in another few hours. Feeling water lap at his form and the sudden roar of untold gallons of water rushing into the tunnel and around him, his mind caught up to the severity of the situation. Shouting aloud in alarm, he scrambled up to his feet as the water already reached his ankles.
Training and panic took over. Immediately he looked to the heavy set maintenance airlock style door and rushed to it, hitting the close button. When that did nothing he immediately tried to close it manually as he heard the sound of rocks and concrete cracking under the weight of water. "Not like this, not like this, notlikethisnotlikethis!" He shouted to himself as he slowly closed the door against the water. As a thundercrack of another explosive charge went off.
Roaring from deep within himself he closed the last few feet manually, and then turned the locking guards. His muscles protested, his eyes wept as the seawater from before was in them, and he wanted to vomit from the stress, fear, and panic that had built into his system. Looking around he finally did. The burned, dismembered, and destroyed bodies of coworkers and friends were around him, water mixing with gore. Emptying his stomach, he felt himself on an adrenaline high.
Looking away from the bodies he wondered what happened… The car! The car must have been a massive bomb, and the whole thing must be a terrorist attack! Maybe it was some huge conspiracy by the central government to take control over Hong Kong. One more look at the bodies said no. He had been informed of what the aliens had. No the Aliens must be attacking. Remembering his radio, he was about to pull it up when he felt it soaking wet with seawater. His entire body was soaked in seawater, meaning any electronic he had on him were essentially worthless. Looking to the bigger radio set in the maintenance room, he saw it had been hit with a stray plasma blast.
Looking to the control panel it was already screaming at him that the tunnel was flooding uncontrollably and the pumps were overwhelmed. Activating the pumps in the room he was in, he started to think on what to do. Well he needed to report to the nearest lieutenant or captain, about the situation, and protect any civilians he could find.
Checking his pistol, he sighed, and pulled out his S&W .38, he investigated the room and the two corridors before, reluctantly, checking the dead bodies of his comrades and friends for extra ammo. Shaking the ammo of excess water, and doing his best to dry it off with a rag he found above the water, he began to move towards the mainland surface.
-{X[0]X}-
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong
China
"Oh my god!" Someone yelled as dozens of saucer shaped craft flew around the airport, shooting anything that could fly or move. From hidden emplacement round the airport SAMs and shoulder launched missiles were fired as well from the PLA in the airport. They succeeded in taking down one of the Saucers before the craft started to land and disgorge alien troops.
"All passengers and employees! All passengers and Employees, please move to your nearest exit in a calm and orderly fashion-"
The soft sound of the PA began to go off before it was overridden, "This is Colonel Chang of the PLA, I ask all employees and passengers to remain calm and get to the Hurricane shelters, me and my men will hold them off and protect you! If you cannot get to the shelters then be careful and seek out the nearest soldiers for protection."
Another reverberating boom went off nearby as the Tsing Ma Bridge and the Lantau Highway were detonated by bombs cutting them off from the mainland. Picking up his binoculars, Albert Zhang cursed, "The bridge is gone!" He confirmed.
It was then the security agent in the tower took control, "Everyone. I know this is bad but we have to help who we can, the PLAAF will be flying in any minute and they'll need radar support. Now I know you aren't trained for that but they will need every advantage they can get. Mr. Zhen, how many civilian flights are there still?"
"In a hundred mile radius I'd say about a 50, they're all running for their lives but the aliens don't seem interested in any of them that don't get close. All of the ones on the ground right now are confused. What should we do?" Paul Zhen said in a flurry of barely comprehensible cantonese, "Sha, what do you think?"
"I think we need to get them out of here fucking now before they clog the runway. The big ships are focusing on the cities while we got a few of those small saucers." As she said that another saucer which had lifted off to provide fire support was hit essentially point blank by a dozen SAMs, and while it shrugged off most of them one hit at just the right place to cause it to explode into fragments, it never designed to withstand the power of a dozen missiles impacting at such close range.
Albert nodded, knowing what he must do, "Colonel Chang, this is Air Traffic Control, we're going to try to evacuate as many people though the passenger and private planes as possible! Can you keep the aliens away from them?"
"This is Colonel Chang, we'll do our best but I do NOT suggest that course of action! Wait until the PLAAF-" He started to yell behind him away from the radio before turning back, "How many people are in those planes?"
"I'd estimate about 5,000, if we fill up the seats we can get another few hundred out that way!" Albert said as the security agent gave Sha and Paul a crash course in combat applications in radar.
"We don't have enough missiles at this rate to shoot down all the craft, and my men are getting slaughtered by the aliens shock troops. Let me try something to try and take a few more out before you do that! Look to Hangar 9A, you know morse code right?"
Albert nodded to himself, "Yeah I know it."
"Good! You'll understand soon!"
-{X[0]X}-
Lunar Orbit
Zudjari Corvette Ambassador
"How long until Chinese forces can reach the attacked area?" Captain Sullamander asked her number two, Security Chief Hollenbach
"I'd say two hours, the roads and rails have been cut off by sabotaged, and their air force is getting ripped apart by alien strike teams at their air bases. Our own reinforcements are still a week away, and I don't have the manpower to fix all these issues." Hollenbach explained sadly.
"Then we'll need to save what we can. The aggressors are targeting the infrastructure. Correct?" Upon getting an affirmative nod she looked up to the places in most need of assistance. "By the computer's estimates, Hong Kong will be the last to be rid of the aggressors. It is the most isolated, both geographically and politically. And most pressing is it's vitally important to the world economy. If it is ruined then it could have reverberating effects on the entire war effort for the world. That is where we must preserve its infrastructure and people. At any cost." Sullamander said with conviction.
"Initial reports say that the Lantua, Tsing Yi, and the Kong Kong Islands have been entirely cut off from the mainland. However we count three alien battleships over the city itself, in order to get close enough we need to either draw them away or shoot them down." Hollenbach explained. "The last bridge that's still at some from of operational capacity is the Shenzhen bridge, from what little I know, the car bomb meant for it did not detonate for some reason. There's also the Lamma power station, it's under security lockdown by a PLA strike team and Hong Kong Police, but they don't have any defense against the Battleships or any form of anti air. They're being ignored now, but I can't see that lasting long. If we can secure both targets we give the Chinese military and the civilians a better chance at something resembling an actual victory."
-{X[0]X}-
Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
Hong Kong
China
An Li, also known as Fox couldn't beleive what was happening. As the sky rained metal craft that fired green plasma. Her bodyguards, ardent defenders and believers in her revolution and cause, came to her side. The crowd of tens of thousands before her were on the verge of panic. She had to act fast. She had chosen this place for a reason, Councilor Three owned the Gardens, and had prepared for the possibility of a direct attack on herself. Looking to the nearby Cāo Industries Building, men in unfamiliar, but distinctly human uniforms, began to spread out from it. She knew who they were, they were Councilor Three's Personal body guards and mercs.
"Everyone remain calm! Please move towards nearby shelter and join up with law enforcement and military personnel, they will protect you, the Tiger Guard will also ensure your safety to the best of their ability!" She tried to wrangle the group, directing a large portion of them towards Councilor Three's Mercenaries or towards the cordon of law enforcement toward the government building barely a block away.
She was still yelling commands and directions even as her Tiger Guard pulled her away. Above them a large ship at least a kilometer long began to land in the gardens. It was the same size as the ship that attacked Beijing. Already smaller saucers began to leave it and float towards the panicking crowd, firing down discriminately, breaking apart the crowd and herding them to places they could be trapped. They were also firing down green colored containers, that as they landed emitted a green mist and pulled nearby people towards it.
Her bodyguards produced hidden weapons, mainly small shotguns and pistols. But very quickly other Tiger Guard and followers of her revolution exited the backstage armed with assault rifles and in some case laser rifles. Remembering her own laser pistol she pulled it from her holster in the small of her back and she looked to the most experienced of her guard, "What should we do?"
The man, a former member of the PLA Special Forces was about to speak when a bolt of green energy fired from the Cāo Industries Building's direction, swatting a small saucer from the air to crash to the ground hard, landing on a few people as it did. Almost everyone looked to the source and saw on a balcony of the building a strange looking weapon firing again, and soon it was joined by more as elevators around the park and positions in the building unleashed more of the green bolts rapidly striking nearby saucers and the battleship.
"We need to get out of this battlefield. We need to send our main forces to Cannessa hospital and secure it and the Red Cross Aid Station there before the aliens reach it, Miss Fox, we have to escort you to the safe house in the government Building." He explained as they started to usher her to the west towards Glenealy road.
She made to protest, "But what about the Aid Station? They'll need every gun they can get!"
"Sorry ma'am. Protocol is protocol. We'll carry you if we have to. Once we get you to the US consulate you'll be safe."
-{X[0]X}-
X-Com HQ
Location Classified
Primary Hanger
[To Glory, By Two Steps From Hell]
The X-Com Project had ten skyrangers; each alone had cost nearly a billion dollars to produce. While the Project also boasted a full brigade of 2,000 active duty operatives for use world wide. The vast majority provided perpetual security to the various holdings and factories vital to its war making, manned by the ubiquitous but nonetheless well trained and armed Blue Vests.
X-Com's main force of soldiers - the elite Black Vests - still numbered at 500 of the worlds best of the best. Unfortunately they didn't have enough Skyrangers to transport them all. Not after half of them were taken by the Russian engineer platoon. But they had something that could.
Warning Klaxons across the entire base, both above and below were constantly screeching, as the entire runway parted down the middle to reveal a rising elevator the size of an aircraft carrier. What it held upon it produced a mixture of cheers and chants.
It had been repainted red and white, and given a naval transponder, the XWS Avenger.
Floating from its sides were two massive X-Com pennants proudly displaying the X-Com Insignia and on the underbelly were two eyes with purple decals and the words, "Vigilo Confido".
As the elevator locked in place, the chant started to get louder. Piperson had decided that he would need to lead the ship in person, as well as coordinate the counter attack with so many different nations as the flagship.
Anti Gravity fusion powered engines hummed to life as helicopters of various classes landed upon constructed helipads on the Battleship. Hundreds of soldiers and engineers boarded the vessel, and as soon as it lifted off dozens of long range fighter interceptors took to the air as well, the entire X-Com Air Defense Fleet in North America, soon to be joined by dozens of more fighters from Asia, Russia, Europe, South America, and Africa.
Asaru swelled himself with pride. Hearing the chant even through the roar of engines. X-Com. "ETA to rendezvous with Pacific Fleet?" Piperson asked.
"Just an hour sir, Pacific US Fleet is still grouping up with any Council forces they can muster to their side. I hear most of the JMSDF, PLAN, Commonwealth Pacific Fleet, and even a few Nuclear subs from Russia. The fleet is slated to rival the Normandy landings." The communications and sensors officer reported. The command chamber had been refitted with another Hologlobe, and dozens of officers used to the confines of the subterranean mission control were now getting used to flying through the air like a missile.
"I must say any UFO watchers around the base must be shitting their pants in excitement now." Bradford said from mission control.
"I'd hope so." Piperson said with a smile.
-{X[0]X}-
West Harbor Crossing Maintenance Tunnel Exit (Mainland)
Hong Kong
China
Wu was starting to wish to return to unconsciousness; barely ten minutes out of the tunnel and he was already being shot at by aliens. He had been lucky and found that a few officers had moved to investigate the harbor crossing and even a whole van of riot officers armed with those new riot control weapons the city had bought from Cāo Industries. Surprisingly enough even a few assault rifles and actual grenades for their grenade launchers. The best part was they had enough shotguns to go around, and plenty of ammo just in case, but if half the things on the radio were true then rubber pellets and the occasional solid slug would hardly dent them.
The first wave had come; spindly figures dressed in nondescript suits had attacked them with some kind of energy weapons, using their maneuverability and speed to evade most of the counterfire until another squad of police and a roaming pack of alarmingly well armed protesters of all people had arrived to push them back.
But Wu wasn't exactly in the mood to play war. It had been an hour since the attack, and still no discernable PLA air support or soldiers had arrived. The comms were a mess, and he and his friends had their hands full trying to keep the peace as well as they could with over a hundred civilians to protect. The worst part was they had so few people with weapons, they could only maintain their hold on one side of the bay tunnel, and had no idea how the other side of the tunnel was fairing, if there were even defenses at all.
His moment of rest in the back of a squad car was interrupted by the sound of an approaching jet engine. Hopping out clumsily, he nearly bonked his head on the frame as five VTOLs of completely unknown make hovered above him and started to deploy ropes. It took a moment for the various youtube and scant news clippings to kick in, it was those people who were fighting the aliens the world over.
However he did not expect soldiers in Russian uniforms and only metallic looking vests to be the ones to jump out, followed closely by several palettes of equipment and material. Pulling out his phone, which miraculously still worked, he began recording it all even as a man marked with Russian lieutenant bars started to give orders.
"Hey you?! Officer? Do you speak english?" Looking around, Wu could find no one but himself at the target of his index finger.
"Uh, yes sir! Officer Wu of the Hong Kong Police Department. Are you all the reinforcements we're getting? Where's the PLA and air force?" He asked desperately of the man as he lowered his phone.
The Russian man took a moment to think before getting closer so they wouldn't have to shout. The last of the palettes and men were dropping down, and as they did the VTOL craft were about to fly away. "One moment, before I answer those questions, do you have civilians or wounded who need extraction?"
Wu thought for a moment for it to click, "Uh… Yeah, yeah, officer Song and Ji were hit pretty bad but are still alive," He pointed to the two officers, the first who was dressed in what was formerly a police street uniform the blue stained with red and black, writhing in pain holding her wound, the other man wearing riot gear who was coughing up specks of blood and purple spittle. Next to them were at least a dozen bodies covered by tarp or sheets, "and we have at least a hundred civilians who are just clogging up the entryway here. We're lucky we weren't attack again."
The Russian Lieutenant nodded, yelling in Russian to a man with a bag marked with the red cross, then speaking into his ear piece the first VTOL landed, "Alright get the wounded, elderly and children on first. They can hold about 20 people if you squeeze them in." Nodding, Wu and the other officers got to work, happy they were doing something they actually understood and trained for.
The medic looked othe two wounded officers, taking out the unfamiliar spray can marked unhelpfully as "Medikit" in several languages, he read the instructions, which was simply, "Expose wound, spray thoroughly, slap on compress bandage." Doing as instructed, the pink restorative mist began to heal the wound before all their eyes. Song, who thought for sure she was going to die, could only look on in amazement as the paint died away, and the wound began to cover itself in scabs. The compress bandaged after being folded out was quite literally slapped on harshly and it then held firm as Song felt tiny needles attached to her skin before deploying strong painkillers.
Ji, who started into another violent coughing fit, this time with flecks of tissue coming out. The medic's tactical visor immediately identified the problem to the uninformed medic. "The hell is thinman poison?" He asked himself in russian before doing the indicated steps, procuring a syrette and injecting it in the officer's neck. Almost immediately the man's complexion and health improved as the antidote, painkillers, and patented XCOM Restorative Mist ™, took hold. Quite literally the man felt as if he had never inhaled that purple mist from that alien.
Wu didn't see this as he and the other officers were preoccupied stuffing the civilians into the VTOLs, while the russians started to remove equipment from the palettes, scuba gear, construction equipment, and other items. By the time the last VTOL left and boomed away at supersonic speeds, the sounds of war all around them started to pick up. In the deafening whine of being so close to so many of those aircraft, the sounds of the city at war returned with a vengeance. Whooshing from plasma cannons, explosions, screaming, gunfire, it reverberated all round, and Wu finally looked up and saw the sky darkened, the sun obscured by smoke and alien ships. It was starting to hit Wu once again just how bad everything was. The army and Air force weren't here because they must have been stopped at the gates of the city by an army of aliens.
"Alright officer Wu, to answer your questions, we're XCom, but my platoon doesn't specialize in fighting, we specialise in building and destroying things. And right now we need to repair this tunnel and start evacuating the civilians before the reinforcement fleet gets here. And I can guarantee my friend, we're not the only ones coming today. Alright I'll need a debrief on what has happened since the attack, do you know what happened to the tunnel?"
-{X[0]X}-
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong
China
The plan was both desperate and ingenious. "Alright, Bait 1, go, go, go!" As Albert announced into his mic for the small private plan to start leaving the relative safety of its aircraft bunker, Albert had to duck once again, as random plasma fire splashed against the control tower. The firing stopped with the loud punctuation of a sniper rifle from the PLA soldier in the tower.
"Finally got the bastard!" He whooped out.
Everyone had a half hearted cheer, they already lost one coworker to the random fire, but everyone had been busy with learning on the spot how to use their radar system and connect it with any friendly aircraft.
So far there were only two UFOs providing support for the alien forces in the airport. The rest had been shot down by the missiles and rockets the PLA used, or had left after being damaged. But now they were out of rockets and missiles big enough to take on the UFOs, and the aliens had almost complete control of everything outside the building.
Their plan, as thought before, was both desperate, and ingenious, making use of what resources they had. "Okay, I'm ready for take off now!" The pilot yelled, as he turned his plan to the airstrip.
One of the UFOs which had been patrolling low to the ground stopped and moved to get a clear shot on the plane. 'Hold it… Hold… Hooooold…" Albert couldn't help but think, then "Take off!" With the cue, the plane began to roll across the strip, and move behind another aircraft hanger, the UFO, losing sight, moved to get a better shot once more.
The small private plane began to pick up speed, 50, 100, 200 KPH… Lift off. "FIRE!" From the shadow of a storage hanger, a bright flash and a bang that reverberated and shattered the few remaining windows on the small island. The hidden 203 mm howitzer fired, the massive shell hit the small scout UFO before it even made a sound, and the sheer kinetic force penetrated into the UFO, striking the powerplant, and then exploding violently into pieces no larger than Albert's own fist.
Everyone began whooping in victory, as even the aliens looked up to the destroyed vehicle. The private jet was in the air and began to move to supersonic speed as quickly as possible. "Alright do we have lock on?!" Colonel Chang asked, even as the sound of fighting emanated from his microphone.
Albert turned to his coworkers who all smiled wide, "Yes!" They chorused proudly.
The private jet, moving at supersonic speeds, turned around, and initiated autopilot to the tadar lock. The pilot, a nearly 60 year old retired veteran of the Vietnam People's Air Force, made sure he was on target, the right speed, he had already left visual range of the airport, and was a minute out. Once he was sure the target was on he turned the plane around, and making sure to initiate the overrides to the safeties, carefully stepped to the emergency exit, opened it, and lept from the plane. Exactly 60 seconds later, the UFO which was now firing upon the hanger that held the old self propelled howitzer, was impacted by a jet, weighing 20,000 kilograms moving at the nearly 900 KPH. The UFO barely deflected the vehicle, which shattered against the alien alloy, however the force of the impact reverberated across the entire vessel, the pilot, and everyone else on it were rendered dead or soon to be dead as their brains were reduced to jelly. Limply, the UFO fell to the ground, taking part of a storage warehouse with it. Fighting across the entire island stopped. And the cheers, were to Albert at least, deafening.
Laughing hysterically, he spoke to the mic, "Flight 227, go you are free to take off!" Flight 227, its pilots and occupants cheering in both relief and ecstatic happiness, began to take off and succeeded, flying low close to the waters they began to escape towards the open ocean. This was a small victory, but one that didn't go unnoticed.
-{X[0]X}-
Orbit above Hong Kong
Zudjari Corvette Ambassador
It was chaos in the drop bays. Every single able bodied soldier, guard, and veteran had geared up, scientists were working feverishly on equipment, and engineers were preparing something special, something that would turn the tide of the war in humanity's favor.
"Thats a big fleet." The sensor's officer couldn't help but remark, as he looked down and saw what his sensors indicated was at least 2,000 ships of various classifications gathered. Most were transports and supply vessels, undoubtedly carrying tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of soldiers and their accompanying supplies. But that was not what eventually drew his undivided attention. What did was a logo mounted on the top of a massive aerial vehicle.
It was an upside down pentagon with an X through it, three starbursts over a planet, and the words, Vigilo Confido emblazoned squarely upon it. XCOM, the great redeemer. The liberator of the Zudjari and more.
And it was leading the spearhead. They were but an hour away with the fleet in tow to Hong Kong. And the question raged across all decks and ranks. Should they make themselves known to them? To assist openly or subtly?
"Attention. Attention to all decks. This is Captain Sullamander speaking. I know what you are all speaking about, and I know that arguments are shifting along all of us. But know this. People, humans, civilians and soldiers, are fighting and dying down there. They are in need of help, not in an hour, or a few minutes, they need help now. And I intend to give it to them. Our engineers have determined we can open up a venn gate to Eden Prime, to home, in the Vostok Military Encampment. I need not explain what we will do next, but know, this time, we come not as conquerors, but as allies! Godspeed, and good luck."
That settled it, Hollenbach thought as he looked out to that logo and slogan. Closing the picture on his wrist computer he looked to his men, "You heard her men! For Humanity!" The cry was taken up, and as the doors to the dropship closed, and the gunship started to launch alongside Titan Drones, Hollenbach prayed that this decision was right. As his ship was about to launch the entire corvette rumbled and then shook as it fired its main cannon to Earth.
-{X[0]X}-
Hong Kong United States Consulate Bunker
Hong Kong
'I should be out there, leading the fight, helping my people, my family, my friends, not selfishly cowering in this bunker while others fight my fight.' An thought, fumes exiting her ears so to speak, as she paced the floor of the bunker. The US ambassador was too busy in a call to XCom, delivering up to date intel on the situation, but this wasn't enough for An.
However the relative peace of the bunker was ended by a thunder crack, and the shaking of the ground that pierced even the subterranean bunker. Everyone in the bunker paused, and looked up. A video screen that connected to a traffic camera showed what had done it. Replaying the footage, a Battleship over the bay was pierced through the center by a beam of light from the sky. The center exploded outward, the malleable alloy keeping the two halves together and containing the explosion, before the ship sank and then fell to the water below.
And hardly a minute later, cameras around the city above the smoke and fires, saw comets in the air, streaking downwards. Every active radio channel was overcome with a single cheer, one that was family to all, "URRA!" It kept repeating, and repeating, and then culminated in a song, one made by no terrestrial composer, and one that expounded the mercy of humanity, and the debt held by all who would follow the path of the Zud.
Author's notes:
All the way back in chapter three we had the various nations make deals with Councilor Zero for Tech X-Com produced. Here we see the fruits of their labor, Pheonix Anti Air Cannons, Phoenix Cannon tanks, Laser Rifle SCOPE armed soldiers, and Venn Brace protesters, and riot police with ARC pistols and rifles.
Oh and a fuck hueg Xcom Battleship leading the charge of thousands of aircraft and naval craft… WHERES YOUR GOD NOW UBER!?
In all seriousness, I'm sorry for the wait, I spent the first half of the time working on something else for the chapter and then with the suggestion of my beta decided to save it for something else, meaning I had to rewrite everything else.
If you like my work then maybe you should look at the stuff I co-write with others which I'm much more active in.
Stories I co-write
Terran Federation: Contact, Book 1 is almost finished and I'm happy to announce that this is much more common to update. Give it a read, you may learn something.
Space in Conflict: Human Assault, Don't let the initial quality fool, you, this piece has seen great improvement, and I'm excited to write it, this will share many ideas I have with this story.
Stories I beta
Through Their Eyes, Gundam style story.
X-Com Incursion, we all have our flaws, but this story is unique, so it serves a look into at least.