Author Note: I need to make a bunch of apologies up front. First, I apologize for going to so many months without an update. My real life profession has all but taken over my life. All my hobbies, even the ones I use to relax have taken a back seat. I hate that I have had to leave you all hanging. Second, I need to apologize for making this story a cliff hanger. I had intended on one long story...and I still have plenty of story to tell. What I do not have right now is the time to tell the rest of the story. I hate leaving things so open ended, so I am trying to provide a little bit of closure and will be marking this story as complete. I will write a sequel that will continue the adventure right up through the final mission on Cydonia. But for now, I want to close out this story and I want to do so on a hopeful note. I really appreciate the support, the advice and the patience of you all. Special thank you to Praknasty for your constant encouragement, support and for agreeing to be a beta reader. I'm sorry to have to end things now, but rest assured, I will pick up the story again. Commander Jimenez will make it back into the field again and all our heroes will make it to Cydonia...all though some may not come back...
Thank you all for following me on my first real fanfiction-net story. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I promise you there will be a sequel coming. If you have any ideas, thoughts, suggestions or criticisms, please do not hesitate to send me a message.
~Kappapi99
Date: 1 May, 1999
Location: XCOM-CENTRAL, Commander's Office
The Commander was reviewing the funding figures he received from the council. Germany was a bit more generous than he assumed they would be. America increased their funding by a substantial amount, likely due to the base, although they had become XCOM's biggest supporter. The funding had increased overall, but not enough to cover the loss of Great Britain. That's when the good doctor came.
Dr. Albright knocked on his door right on schedule. She was always punctual, and the Commander appreciated that about her. He motioned for her to come in and moved from his desk to the conference table. Colonel Lance followed the Dr in and the Commander wasted no time in getting started.
"Alright, Dr. Show us what you have."
"Thank you, sir." Dr. Albright opened a file and showed some sketches statistics to the Commander and the Colonel.
"We call it the Lightning," she began, "It is a Fighter/Transporter. It can down enemy UFOs and then land right at the site, so the crew can begin the mission immediately."
"But if it's shot down, we'd lose an entire team," Michelle pointed out.
"That's ok, if it's a decent transport, we can still use the Firestorms. Please, go on, Doctor." The Commander replied.
Dr. Albright nodded and continued. "It uses all alien components, UFO Power source, Navigation, Alien Alloys, and it is powered by Elerium. It can carry up to twelve soldiers, given our current teams of ten. That should be more than sufficient. It has one hard point for a weapon to be mounted on the top of the craft."
"What about Armor?" The Commander asked.
"The UFO power source means that weight is not as much as an issue. It has a thick Alien Alloy shell, more robust than our power suits and far more robust than our Skyranger. It can even take more hits than the Firestorm," Dr. Albright answered proudly.
"How many hovertanks can it hold?" The Commander asked.
"None, we were unable to find an arrangement that was balanced enough for flight, while enabling transportation of an HWP or Hovertank."
"So…less soldiers than our current transport, no HWP capability, but it's more robust and we can mount a weapon on it if we want to. What kind of range are we looking at?" the Commander asked.
The doctor winced at the question. "Due to its size, robust shell and weapons capability, I'm afraid the range is more limited than either of our conventional aircraft," she admitted.
The Commander was disappointed, but tried not to show it. "So, overall, it has less capability then our current transport, but it is more robust. It's not a bad design, doctor, but if we're going the fighter transport route, I'd like the entire design to have more. I'd like to see twice the range, twice the weapon capacity, twice the carrying space and the ability to carry an HWP or hovertank."
The doctor sighed, "I supposed you'd like it to travel in outer space too," she lamented.
"Why not?" Colonel Lancer asked.
The Commander intervened before the doctor could respond with a witty retort. "Listen, you and your team did an admirable job. I'm going to have our engineers manufacture a prototype, but I'd like you to think about another project with the requirements I just laid out, ok?"
"Yes, sir. Do you want us to get started right away?"
"No, first, I want you to look at that launcher that caused massive explosions. The aliens have those at their bases and I want to know how we can use those against them. After that, see if there is a way we can upgrade the armor to protect against the Chryssalids."
"We could adapt the technology from the hovertank and the power suits, into a sort of flying suit of armor. That could keep our soldiers out of their range." The Doctor thought out loud.
"Good. Launcher first and then the 'flying suit' next. Keep me posted, doctor," the Commander replied.
"I always do, sir." Dr. Albright acknowledged and then rose to leave.
Date: 2 May, 1999
Location: XCOM-CENTRAL, Commander's Office
The clock had just passed midnight. The Commander was meeting with the senior officers on the base: Colonel Lancer, Major Waser, Captain Tellichi and Captain Borisovish. They had been meeting all evening to discuss their assault on the Alien Base in Great Britain.
They had been going back and forth on the same topics, repeating the same arguments for hours.
The Commander was leaning on his desk, when he commented, "I need a bigger conference table."
The comment was seemingly out of the blue, but it was a welcome distraction. The Commander pushed himself off his desk and started pacing. Limping as he went, he got back to the business at hand. "There are two things we know. First, there are Sectoids in that base and they can control our soldiers. Second, the longer that base sits there, the more unhappy the council become."
Captain Borisovish had a flash of inspiration. "Sir! What if we send out team out in squads of three, with each squad having one small launcher. If any of our own soldiers gets mind controlled, we stun them."
Colonel Lancer nodded. "I like that. It's a good safeguard, of course that soldier could stun the entire squad."
"Still better than killing them," Captain Tellichi said.
The Commander was about to cut in when the alarm Klaxon went off. All five officers went to the Radar Center where they were briefed by the Watch Officer.
"Supply Ship inbound to Alien Base-3, sir. I was just about to launch the Alert-5."
"Belay that," The Commander said. Then he turned to Captain Borisovich. "I want you to take your team and assault that supply ship.
"Sir?"
"We know it's going to land. We have a general idea of where. If we launch an assault on the UFO while it's landed we'll know where the base is." The Commander explained.
The Captain nodded and left to gather her team.
"Sir, nothing against Vera, but her team is fairly inexperienced. Is it wise to send them? My team and I know the layout of the Supply Ship." Captain Tellichi observed.
"You make some valid points, but they need to gain experience, and if my hunch I correct, both of your teams will get plenty of action this month." The Commander replied.
Lisa nodded.
"What are you thinking, Jefe?" Michelle asked.
"Now that we have the Hyperwave Decoder, we're basically detecting all their ships. If they need to supply their base regularly, then we have plenty of chances to capture a live alien. Not to mention being able to increase our stocks of Elerium and Alien Alloys." The Commander explained.
"Hopefully this mission goes by the book," Michelle replied.
The Skyranger was out of the hanger within 15 minutes. Even the 'rookies' knew the drill and were ready and boarded quickly. It flew low over the English Channel and made landfall on the Island without incident. It was headed for the general location of the Base.
The supply ship landed when the Skyranger was about 15 minutes out. The Skyranger adjusted course slightly and headed for the landed ship. It found the Alien Base and the Supply Ship, landing nearby.
"Control, this is Beta-1, ready to disembark." Captain Borisovich said over the comms.
The tech pushed a few buttons and moved a joystick, bringing the hovertank to life. He moved the hovertank down the ramp and scanned side to to side.
"Beta-1, Control, ramp area is clear."
"This is Beta-1, roger, break. Gamma team, secure the ramp, Zeta Team head for the UFO. Doc, Vornin, you're both with me."
The Commander watched the screen as the team members went to their respective positions. The squads were nearing their positions when someone at the ramp called out, "Contact!"
The hovertank also came under fire. The tech worked the controls and found the Sectoid. He fired a shot, which went wide. The tech fired a second shot which dropped the Sectoid.
While the tech was putting the hovertank through its first "combat test," Gamma Squad managed to kill the two Sectoids that had opened fire on them.
"Three down," The Commander observed. "How many bodies did you get from the last one?"
"Nine total, sir." Captain Tellichi answered.
"Let's hope that holds true now," Major Waser commented.
Date: 2 May, 1999
Location: XCOM-CENTRAL, Alien Containment
The morning's mission to the supply ship had resulted in a few injuries, but fortunately, no fatalities. It was well worth the effort, they managed to capture two live aliens from the craft's bridge area. Both of those aliens were contained. They were operating under the assumption that one of them was a Sectoid Leader, so Captain Tellichi and Captain Borisovich were suited up, armed with Heavy Plasmas and standing by for the interrogation.
"So who's who?" One of the scientists said, as he got up from the table. He walked first to one containment cell, and then the other. Both aliens looked alike, and neither of them showed any trace of emotion. Suddenly, Captain Tellichi's gaze went blank, her eyes glassing over. She raised her Heavy Plasma towards the scientist.
Captain Borisovich raised her Heavy Plasma and pointed it towards Tellichi. "Lisa…" she warned. "Don't make me…"
Suddenly, Lisa's eyes came back into focus. She lowered her Heavy Plasma. Both Sectoids let out a piercing shriek and collapsed.
Captain Tellichi had a look of surprise mixed with shock in her face. "We need to go see the Commander…right now!"
Commander's Office, 5 minutes later
The Commander was eating dinner with Colonel Lancer when Dr. Albright, the lead interrogating scientist and both Captains came into his office.
"Sir, this is urgent…the threat is bigger than we even imagined," Captain Tellichi blurted out.
"Whoa! Slow down, Lisa, what are you talking about?" Jimenez asked.
"They're going to enslave us! All of us! They have a huge empire!" Lisa carried on.
"Ok, Lisa, take a deep breath and start from the beginning," The Commander ordered.
Captain Tellichi did just that. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then began explaining.
"Sir, we were standing guard in the Alien Containment Facility, when suddenly, without my even realizing it, the scene shifted. You were standing in the containment cell, only it wasn't a containment cell, it was one of those canisters on the supply ship. The good doctor here wasn't one of our scientists, but a Sectiod. You, well, 'you' ordered me to kill the Sectiod and set you free, and I was about to, but something just didn't seem right."
"What do you mean?" Colonel Lancer asked.
"I'm not sure, it's hard to explain, but the whole thing felt kind of…surreal…in a way. Hard to describe exactly, but it just wasn't right, if that makes sense. I turned torwads…well, 'the commander' and looked at him, it, whatever, very intently. The form shifted to that of the Sectoid. I assume it was the Leader, but that's just a guess."
"Probably a good guess," the scientist cut in.
Lisa nodded and then continued. "I looked at it very intently, and its eyes seem to get bigger and bigger and bigger. I felt like I was being drawn into, like I fell into a pool of blackness. "Then the entire scenery changed. I was standing inside the control room of a Sectoid base. There was a Sectoid Commander there giving instructions. Then there was a swirl of all different colors around me and I saw outter space. A small red point of light was in the distance and seem to be getting closer and growing in size. It looked like a planet. It got bigger and closer. It was definitely a rusty red type of color. There was another base there, but I can't tell you exactly where it was. I just….felt….it felt like a home away from home, like a staging area, like there were a large number of forces being prepped. Then before I could take any of it in, I was standing back in the Alien Containment room and the two aliens were dead."
"The planet you saw must be Mars!" Dr Albright exclaimed. "That must be their base of operations! What else can you tell us?"
"Not much, I'm afraid. There seemed to a controlling intelligence, but as soon as I felt a presence, everything was, well, back to normal." Lisa replied.
"Wait, you actually saw into the Aliens mind?" Colonel Lancer asked.
Captain Tellichi shrugged, "I guess, I'm not really sure."
"It's not impossible," Dr. Albright observed. "A door once opened, can be entered from any direction, no? We have observed psychic abilities in some of the Sectoids. If the Leader tried to enter her mind, it's entirely possible she could enter its mind through the link that the alien established. It's not my area of expertise, but it sounds plausible."
"I think it is very plausible," the other scientist cut in. "The aliens operate in hierarchy, some of which have psychic abilities. They must operate in a hive structure as well. There is probably one head intelligence at the top of the hierarchy. Commander, we should try to capture the commander of that base in England and interrogate it. Then we can find the location of the Alien base in Mars!"
"And then we can finally take the fight to them!" The Commander agreed. "Doctor, I realize you were a little exasperated when you asked if I wanted the troop transport to operate in outer space, but now, yes, I want a troop transport that can operate in outer space. We need to send a large contingent to Mars and take out their main base of operations."
"Sir, I will personally ensure you get the ultimate craft," Dr. Albright said.
"Good. Thank you, Dr. Albright. Ladies and gentlemen, this was quite an accomplishment. This is going to change the nature of this war. This gives us a real chance to defeat the alien menace. We are going to be shifting our focus around here. We will still shoot down their UFOs. We will still stop them from terrorizing our citizens. We will still destroy any and every base they attempt to establish. However, every battle, every bit of research, every item we manufacture now has one overarching goal: Taking the fight to the aliens. We will research the ultimate craft. We will ensure we have the best armor. We will use the aliens' best weapons against them. We will take the fight to them. The end of this war is coming, ladies and gentlemen. It's a war we are going to win and here's why: we now have something we've been missing. We have hope."
END
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