Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
A version of the original X-Com game that will run on current computers is available for download from Steam.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
X-COM (updated M-W-F)
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Lazybones
Adventurer
Yup, can't beat five bucks. Or you can get the entire X-COM series for $15, but I only ever played the first three titles, and heard that the last two kinda sucked. The second X-COM game, Terror from the Deep, was an almost exact clone of the first game, only with the difficulty level ratcheted up to 11. I tried to keep the same tone when I built the sequel in NWN for this campaign group. 
* * * * *
Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 38
The members of Alpha Team sat in various chairs scattered around the lounge, sipping coffee or accessing information on their xPhones. There wasn’t much conversation, although there were the occasional glances—either at the briefing room door, or at the small bulb node in the ceiling corner, where they knew a security camera was watching. James was the only one absent; he was in New York, delivering a briefing on the recent alien autopsies to a group of United Nations scientists.
After a time, the door to the briefing room opened. Several members of the team had risen even before chief Hallorand appeared. “They’re ready for you,” he said.
The department heads, Director Garret, and Agent Drake were already there, engaged in intent conversation. “So in short, I think that this should be an American…” Drake was saying, but as the Alphas entered, she said, “Oh, look who’s here.”
“An American what?” Catalina asked, but Garret gestured for them to take their seats on the far side of the table. “Thank you for coming, Alpha. We were just discussing options.” Drake merely pursed her lips, and said nothing more.
Once Hallorand had closed the door behind them, Doctor Wagner said, “I’m sure you’ve all seen Buzz’s report on the device and its contents.”
“We need to understand the motivations of the spy, to have a chance of catching him,” Joan Beauvais said, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.
“It’s a valid approach to learn what makes them tick,” Catalina noted.
“Him?” Agent Drake asked. “Do you know something we don’t, counselor?”
Garret raised a hand. “The fact is, we know next to nothing, so let’s not assume anything.”
“At least we found out the delivery mechanism, before any more data was lost,” Grace said.
“And who is to say that they don’t have a backup plan?” Drake interjected.
Garret turned to the members of Alpha Team. “Alpha, I heard that you were talking about some options that might help cut this Gordian knot.”
Vasily nodded. “We do know some things.” Once he had gotten everyone’s attention, he continued, “First one. Spy is not saboteur. We figure out who that was.”
“And quite the triumph of security that little adventure was,” Drake said.
Ignoring her, Vasily went on, “Second. Stuff on thing. There was laser rifle on there, motion sensor. That kind of odd. Because that not alien. It just advanced.”
“It has to be someone, or an agent for someone, who has something to gain from the data.”
“You don’t think the aliens want out technology?” Drake asked.
“The alien technology is superior to ours,” Wagner pointed out.
“In some ways,” Drake granted.
“Well, they have us beat in ships, weapons, space travel, power, biology, genetics, and medicine,” Grace said.
“And there were files on the aliens stolen as well,” Wagner noted.
“What I try to say,” Vasily went on, “Spy not solely interested in aliens.”
“I agree, Vasily,” Garret said. “But what does that knowledge gain us?”
The Russian leaned back in his chair. “Kind of hoping someone make something of it.”
“Foreign powers are also interested in advanced technology as well as aliens,” Jane pointed out, “Just as much as major corporations.”
“So you are thinking a foreign power is behind the spying,” Garret said.
“It would make sense,” Drake said. “You have more foreigners here than Americans, outnumber us about three to one, in fact.”
“So open of you, Agent. It could be a corporation,” Catalina said.
“You think that a business would put profit over the fate of the human race?” Joan asked.
Catalina sent the counselor a withering look. “Yes,” she said, echoed by Jane almost in the same instant.
“In any case,” Garret continued, “We have to decide how to proceed. We have the flash drive, but no clues from it. Despite Buzz’s best efforts.” He shifted his gaze to the hacker. “Buzz, you were saying something earlier about reformatting the device.”
“Yeah,” Buzz said, but before he could continue, Drake interrupted. “Any solution that involves the data leaving this facility is out, I’ll say that right now.”
“Take the good data off, put something on it that might even… well, a virus,” he said with a smirk.
“Ah, yes,” Drake returned. “The classic ‘assume the enemy is a complete idiot’ plan. Because they managed to penetrate the most heavily fortified secure base in the world, they’ll never suspect a virus.”
“Not one I make,” Buzz said.
Drake opened her mouth for another counter, but Garret cut her off. “That’s enough, Agent. We’re just talking out options here.”
“We might be able to scrape together a locator bug,” Grace said, “But it would have to be of limited functionality to fit into that chassis.”
“Where our trash go, anyway?” Vasily asked.
“Incinerator, after being screened for toxins,” Drake said.
“So, between here and the incinerator, we have to assume it would be retrieved?” Catalina asked.
“Be kind of dumb otherwise, yah,” Vasily said.
“Do we have a contractor who picks up our trash?” Jane asked.
“All links in the process are under secure protocols,” Drake said.
“The incinerator is off base or on?” Catalina asked.
Drake seemed to be a bit off guard, in a neutral voice, she said, “I am not at liberty to discuss the details of United States government operations.” Vasily smacked his forehead with his palm.
“It’s off base, I know that,” Stan said. “We don’t have the facilities to process the stuff.”
“I can assure you,” Drake said, “That we are already investigating the matter, and will locate the breach, if in fact one exists in the trash disposal process.”
“I suggest you be a little more open, Agent, or this discussion is pointless,” Catalina said.
“At least consider the possibility that the contact is among the incinerator operations people,” Jane added.
“Of course, we would have never thought of that. Thank you, Miss Swift.”
“How many people we talking about here?” Vasily asked. “Just give us round number.”
Drake rubbed her forehead briefly, before recognizing the gesture and abruptly lowering her hands back to her lap. “Did you think that it just took a few dozen people to support this facility? In all, there are maybe five thousand people that keep you fed, powered, supplied with those cheap DVDs you seem to like so much. You can rest assured that almost none of those know the true purpose of this base, and all those have been screened at the highest security clearance.”
“Agent, you should at least keep us appraised of your findings,” Garret said, in a voice that indicated that the debate was concluded.
“Of course, Liaison Garret.”
“Okay. Other possibility that worry me,” Vasily said.
“What, we don’t have enough worries already?” Stan asked.
Catalina chuckled, but Vasily’s smile was brief and grim. “Data stick encryption was easy, right?”
“I believe Buzz said that it was more or less off the shelf software, right, Buzz?” Garret asked.
Buzz nodded. “Yup.”
Vasily lifted a hand and gestured with it as he went on. “But to pull this stuff off, whoever doing this probably better than that, right? How easy was data chip to find, on trashcan?”
“You’re thinking it’s a blind?” Catalina asked.
“Well, we probably never would have found it, if we hadn’t been looking,” Hallorand said. “You can be sure that we’ve searched every inch of everything that leaves this base, since then.”
“Okay,” Vasily grunted.
“Tracking is still a good idea, electronically and physically,” Catalina said.
“Agreed,” Garret said. “Buzz, work with Grace on this. We arranged for a ‘malfunction’ to one of the trash lifts to explain the delay in getting the regular delivery out, but any longer and our foe may get suspicious. I’d like to get the thing back in place where we found it by day’s end.”
“Assuming they haven’t missed it already,” Drake said, but her heart was no longer in it.
“Should be done fast, I’ll get right on it,” Buzz replied. He was already punching something into his xPhone.
“I’ll have my team get a tracker put together,” Grace said.
“Agent, we’ll expect Homeland Security to be ready to jump if something turns up,” Garret said.
“Oh, we’ll be ready,” Drake said.
“In the meantime, we’ll keep working the investigation from our end,” Garret said. “Any more questions? All right, dismissed.”
* * * * *
Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 38
The members of Alpha Team sat in various chairs scattered around the lounge, sipping coffee or accessing information on their xPhones. There wasn’t much conversation, although there were the occasional glances—either at the briefing room door, or at the small bulb node in the ceiling corner, where they knew a security camera was watching. James was the only one absent; he was in New York, delivering a briefing on the recent alien autopsies to a group of United Nations scientists.
After a time, the door to the briefing room opened. Several members of the team had risen even before chief Hallorand appeared. “They’re ready for you,” he said.
The department heads, Director Garret, and Agent Drake were already there, engaged in intent conversation. “So in short, I think that this should be an American…” Drake was saying, but as the Alphas entered, she said, “Oh, look who’s here.”
“An American what?” Catalina asked, but Garret gestured for them to take their seats on the far side of the table. “Thank you for coming, Alpha. We were just discussing options.” Drake merely pursed her lips, and said nothing more.
Once Hallorand had closed the door behind them, Doctor Wagner said, “I’m sure you’ve all seen Buzz’s report on the device and its contents.”
“We need to understand the motivations of the spy, to have a chance of catching him,” Joan Beauvais said, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.
“It’s a valid approach to learn what makes them tick,” Catalina noted.
“Him?” Agent Drake asked. “Do you know something we don’t, counselor?”
Garret raised a hand. “The fact is, we know next to nothing, so let’s not assume anything.”
“At least we found out the delivery mechanism, before any more data was lost,” Grace said.
“And who is to say that they don’t have a backup plan?” Drake interjected.
Garret turned to the members of Alpha Team. “Alpha, I heard that you were talking about some options that might help cut this Gordian knot.”
Vasily nodded. “We do know some things.” Once he had gotten everyone’s attention, he continued, “First one. Spy is not saboteur. We figure out who that was.”
“And quite the triumph of security that little adventure was,” Drake said.
Ignoring her, Vasily went on, “Second. Stuff on thing. There was laser rifle on there, motion sensor. That kind of odd. Because that not alien. It just advanced.”
“It has to be someone, or an agent for someone, who has something to gain from the data.”
“You don’t think the aliens want out technology?” Drake asked.
“The alien technology is superior to ours,” Wagner pointed out.
“In some ways,” Drake granted.
“Well, they have us beat in ships, weapons, space travel, power, biology, genetics, and medicine,” Grace said.
“And there were files on the aliens stolen as well,” Wagner noted.
“What I try to say,” Vasily went on, “Spy not solely interested in aliens.”
“I agree, Vasily,” Garret said. “But what does that knowledge gain us?”
The Russian leaned back in his chair. “Kind of hoping someone make something of it.”
“Foreign powers are also interested in advanced technology as well as aliens,” Jane pointed out, “Just as much as major corporations.”
“So you are thinking a foreign power is behind the spying,” Garret said.
“It would make sense,” Drake said. “You have more foreigners here than Americans, outnumber us about three to one, in fact.”
“So open of you, Agent. It could be a corporation,” Catalina said.
“You think that a business would put profit over the fate of the human race?” Joan asked.
Catalina sent the counselor a withering look. “Yes,” she said, echoed by Jane almost in the same instant.
“In any case,” Garret continued, “We have to decide how to proceed. We have the flash drive, but no clues from it. Despite Buzz’s best efforts.” He shifted his gaze to the hacker. “Buzz, you were saying something earlier about reformatting the device.”
“Yeah,” Buzz said, but before he could continue, Drake interrupted. “Any solution that involves the data leaving this facility is out, I’ll say that right now.”
“Take the good data off, put something on it that might even… well, a virus,” he said with a smirk.
“Ah, yes,” Drake returned. “The classic ‘assume the enemy is a complete idiot’ plan. Because they managed to penetrate the most heavily fortified secure base in the world, they’ll never suspect a virus.”
“Not one I make,” Buzz said.
Drake opened her mouth for another counter, but Garret cut her off. “That’s enough, Agent. We’re just talking out options here.”
“We might be able to scrape together a locator bug,” Grace said, “But it would have to be of limited functionality to fit into that chassis.”
“Where our trash go, anyway?” Vasily asked.
“Incinerator, after being screened for toxins,” Drake said.
“So, between here and the incinerator, we have to assume it would be retrieved?” Catalina asked.
“Be kind of dumb otherwise, yah,” Vasily said.
“Do we have a contractor who picks up our trash?” Jane asked.
“All links in the process are under secure protocols,” Drake said.
“The incinerator is off base or on?” Catalina asked.
Drake seemed to be a bit off guard, in a neutral voice, she said, “I am not at liberty to discuss the details of United States government operations.” Vasily smacked his forehead with his palm.
“It’s off base, I know that,” Stan said. “We don’t have the facilities to process the stuff.”
“I can assure you,” Drake said, “That we are already investigating the matter, and will locate the breach, if in fact one exists in the trash disposal process.”
“I suggest you be a little more open, Agent, or this discussion is pointless,” Catalina said.
“At least consider the possibility that the contact is among the incinerator operations people,” Jane added.
“Of course, we would have never thought of that. Thank you, Miss Swift.”
“How many people we talking about here?” Vasily asked. “Just give us round number.”
Drake rubbed her forehead briefly, before recognizing the gesture and abruptly lowering her hands back to her lap. “Did you think that it just took a few dozen people to support this facility? In all, there are maybe five thousand people that keep you fed, powered, supplied with those cheap DVDs you seem to like so much. You can rest assured that almost none of those know the true purpose of this base, and all those have been screened at the highest security clearance.”
“Agent, you should at least keep us appraised of your findings,” Garret said, in a voice that indicated that the debate was concluded.
“Of course, Liaison Garret.”
“Okay. Other possibility that worry me,” Vasily said.
“What, we don’t have enough worries already?” Stan asked.
Catalina chuckled, but Vasily’s smile was brief and grim. “Data stick encryption was easy, right?”
“I believe Buzz said that it was more or less off the shelf software, right, Buzz?” Garret asked.
Buzz nodded. “Yup.”
Vasily lifted a hand and gestured with it as he went on. “But to pull this stuff off, whoever doing this probably better than that, right? How easy was data chip to find, on trashcan?”
“You’re thinking it’s a blind?” Catalina asked.
“Well, we probably never would have found it, if we hadn’t been looking,” Hallorand said. “You can be sure that we’ve searched every inch of everything that leaves this base, since then.”
“Okay,” Vasily grunted.
“Tracking is still a good idea, electronically and physically,” Catalina said.
“Agreed,” Garret said. “Buzz, work with Grace on this. We arranged for a ‘malfunction’ to one of the trash lifts to explain the delay in getting the regular delivery out, but any longer and our foe may get suspicious. I’d like to get the thing back in place where we found it by day’s end.”
“Assuming they haven’t missed it already,” Drake said, but her heart was no longer in it.
“Should be done fast, I’ll get right on it,” Buzz replied. He was already punching something into his xPhone.
“I’ll have my team get a tracker put together,” Grace said.
“Agent, we’ll expect Homeland Security to be ready to jump if something turns up,” Garret said.
“Oh, we’ll be ready,” Drake said.
“In the meantime, we’ll keep working the investigation from our end,” Garret said. “Any more questions? All right, dismissed.”
Lazybones
Adventurer
Merry Christmas to all of my regular readers. I'm staying close to home this holiday, so I'll have the regular cliffhanger post up sometime on Friday.
* * * *
Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 39
Doctor Okwelume was a tall, dark African, clad in a spotless white coat that came down to his knees. As Vasily entered the laboratory, he looked up from behind a table that was strewn with tools and equipment, including a pair of X-COM field helmets.
“Ah, yes, mister Russian,” he said. “Good that you are here.” He picked up one of the helmets, and thrust it at Vasily, who accepted it with polite interest. It was smaller than his usual one, probably sized for Jane or Catalina. The liner had been removed, allowing him to see a gleaming layer of metal affixed to the interior.
“This provide protection against alien mind attack?”
“It should. No guarantees, of course,” Okwelume said. “The difficulty was getting the beryllium to cling to the alien alloy. We still need to work on the one that you have. You can leave it now, or later, as you prefer.”
“I guess I manage,” Vasily said. “I make tinfoil hat.” He hefted the new helmet. “Not very heavy.”
“The layer inside is very, very thin, no more than a few micrometres.”
One of the surgical nurses stepped out from behind the fabric divider that partitioned off the medical bay. Seeing Vasily there, he asked, “When are they going to ease off on the lockdown? My family will get worried, if they don’t hear from me.”
“Wish I know. Aliens with mind power, you know? No chances taken.”
“Indeed,” Okwelume said. “After seeing what happened to Doctor Sandesh…”
A voice sounded over the intercom. “Alpha Team, report to the briefing room immediately. We have a bogey.”
Taking the new helmet, Vasily headed back toward the main wing of the base.
Vasily was the last member of the team to arrive; he handed over the helmet to Jane as he took his seat. The department heads were in their usual places on the opposite side of the table, with Garret behind his computer at its head. “We’ve got a long trip for you lot,” he said, once they were all there.
Catalina lounged against the wall. “Tahiti?”
“We’ve got a contact over northern Europe,” Doctor Wagner said. “We’ve scrambled both interceptors from Europe 1 to meet it.”
“Where exactly?” Catalina asked.
Doctor Wagner brought up a track on the screen behind her, which showed a bright red line trailing down from the Arctic, slicing over the top of Scandinavia before stabbing down into the North Sea, twisting in an unruly course that brought it back over land. “We established contact over northern Norway,” she continued. “Since then, the alien has headed out over the North Sea, before turning south again, and crossing back over land.”
“Denmark,” Vasily said.
“We can’t wait for the intercept,” Garret said. “We need you in the air, in case we do manage to put it down.”
“We all going on winter holiday,” Vasily said.
“To see Santa,” Catalina added dryly.
“Dress warmly,” Garret told them. “You’re going to do a high orbital insertion. You’ll be in zero G for up to thirty minutes. The Skyranger is rated for suborbital flight, but… well, this will be the inaugural voyage at that altitude.”
The members of Alpha shared a look that reflected the same lack of enthusiasm for the plan, but none of them offered complaint.
“Aye, sir,” Jane said.
“You’re shorthanded, with Allen still out, so be careful,” Garret said. “Beta is off investigating that landing report in the Yukon, but we just got a new recruit from India, he’s rated as a medic, so he gets the draw.”
“Rough mission for a rookie,” Catalina said.
“Was same for us,” Vasily observed.
“Get your gear. You leave in five minutes.”
* * *
A medical satchel floated down the aisle between the seats in the Skyranger’s cramped cargo compartment, tumbling slightly end-over-end as it made its way back toward the rear hatch. Arvin Bandopadhyay snared it out of the air, and tucked it under his arm. The newest member of the team looked a little green; with James Allen still off-base, he was filling in as the group’s medic for this mission. He was one of four recruits from South Asia who’d recently been assigned to X-COM, and was rated both in field medicine and mechanical engineering.
“Oooh, that’s neat,” Catalina said. She reached for her harness, started to leave it, then with a wide grin pulled free and sprang up toward the ceiling.
Ken Yushi’s voice came over the compartment speaker. “Welcome to outer space, ladies and gents,” he said. “Please avoid any projectile vomiting. You mess, you clean it up when we get back.”
“Buuuh,” Vasily said. “Why he have to mention vomit?”
“Oh my, we have to do this again!” Catalina said, flipping end-over-end in the air before drifting back toward her chair.
The end of Vasily’s autocannon had begun to rise up out of its niche; the Russian grabbed it and fastened it more securely.
“Welcome to the international space station,” Jane said. Buzz held onto the arms of his seat, his eyes closed, and Arvin looked hardly better, his jaw clenched as though will alone could keep his unruly stomach under control.
After a few minutes of weightlessness, Ken’s voice came over the com again. “We’re starting our descent. Strap in, everyone.”
“Awww,” Catalina said, securing herself back into her seat. A moment later, they were pressed into their harnesses as the ship’s braking thrusters fired, and it began a rapid descent. “Getting course feeds,” Ken told them. “The alien has changed course, and is heading west over the North Sea. It looks like it’s going to cut across Scotland, maybe.”
The ship banked slightly. “Our interceptors aren’t going to catch that thing,” Ken reported. “Damn, it’s going fast. The Brits launched a squadron, but they might as well be throwing rocks.”
“Looks like this might have been a wasted trip,” Jane said.
“Wait a minute,” Ken said, “the alien’s changed course again, heading south by southwest.”
“Ireland?” Catalina asked.
“Getting a report from our interceptors… they’ve launched Avalanches at extreme range. The alien ship is firing! Our ships are breaking off... The alien has changed course again… heading west… wait, I’m reading an energy surge! The alien ship is losing altitude. Either we got a lucky hit, or it’s planning on landing. Changing course to intercept.”
“Don’t tell me Stonehenge really was an alien landing site,” Catalina said.
“Bet it suddenly has landing lights,” Jane added.
“The alien is definitely slowing,” Ken said, “but it’s making a controlled landing. Getting coordinates.”
“Last time I went there it did,” Catalina replied to Jane, “but that might have been the mushrooms.”
After a few seconds, Ken reported, “Looks like a pretty quiet area… no, wait, there’s an abbey nearby, yes, it’s putting down near there.”
“What country?” Catalina asked. “Are we talking England?”
Buzz had his xPhone out, and was following their progress on it. “Ireland,” he said.
The sound of the engines reached a high roar, and its descent eased rapidly. They couldn’t hear the cabin speaker, but Ken’s voice still came to them over their earpieces. “I’m getting a signal from the hyperwave,” he said. “It’s snakes.”
* * * *
Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 39
Doctor Okwelume was a tall, dark African, clad in a spotless white coat that came down to his knees. As Vasily entered the laboratory, he looked up from behind a table that was strewn with tools and equipment, including a pair of X-COM field helmets.
“Ah, yes, mister Russian,” he said. “Good that you are here.” He picked up one of the helmets, and thrust it at Vasily, who accepted it with polite interest. It was smaller than his usual one, probably sized for Jane or Catalina. The liner had been removed, allowing him to see a gleaming layer of metal affixed to the interior.
“This provide protection against alien mind attack?”
“It should. No guarantees, of course,” Okwelume said. “The difficulty was getting the beryllium to cling to the alien alloy. We still need to work on the one that you have. You can leave it now, or later, as you prefer.”
“I guess I manage,” Vasily said. “I make tinfoil hat.” He hefted the new helmet. “Not very heavy.”
“The layer inside is very, very thin, no more than a few micrometres.”
One of the surgical nurses stepped out from behind the fabric divider that partitioned off the medical bay. Seeing Vasily there, he asked, “When are they going to ease off on the lockdown? My family will get worried, if they don’t hear from me.”
“Wish I know. Aliens with mind power, you know? No chances taken.”
“Indeed,” Okwelume said. “After seeing what happened to Doctor Sandesh…”
A voice sounded over the intercom. “Alpha Team, report to the briefing room immediately. We have a bogey.”
Taking the new helmet, Vasily headed back toward the main wing of the base.
Vasily was the last member of the team to arrive; he handed over the helmet to Jane as he took his seat. The department heads were in their usual places on the opposite side of the table, with Garret behind his computer at its head. “We’ve got a long trip for you lot,” he said, once they were all there.
Catalina lounged against the wall. “Tahiti?”
“We’ve got a contact over northern Europe,” Doctor Wagner said. “We’ve scrambled both interceptors from Europe 1 to meet it.”
“Where exactly?” Catalina asked.
Doctor Wagner brought up a track on the screen behind her, which showed a bright red line trailing down from the Arctic, slicing over the top of Scandinavia before stabbing down into the North Sea, twisting in an unruly course that brought it back over land. “We established contact over northern Norway,” she continued. “Since then, the alien has headed out over the North Sea, before turning south again, and crossing back over land.”
“Denmark,” Vasily said.
“We can’t wait for the intercept,” Garret said. “We need you in the air, in case we do manage to put it down.”
“We all going on winter holiday,” Vasily said.
“To see Santa,” Catalina added dryly.
“Dress warmly,” Garret told them. “You’re going to do a high orbital insertion. You’ll be in zero G for up to thirty minutes. The Skyranger is rated for suborbital flight, but… well, this will be the inaugural voyage at that altitude.”
The members of Alpha shared a look that reflected the same lack of enthusiasm for the plan, but none of them offered complaint.
“Aye, sir,” Jane said.
“You’re shorthanded, with Allen still out, so be careful,” Garret said. “Beta is off investigating that landing report in the Yukon, but we just got a new recruit from India, he’s rated as a medic, so he gets the draw.”
“Rough mission for a rookie,” Catalina said.
“Was same for us,” Vasily observed.
“Get your gear. You leave in five minutes.”
* * *
A medical satchel floated down the aisle between the seats in the Skyranger’s cramped cargo compartment, tumbling slightly end-over-end as it made its way back toward the rear hatch. Arvin Bandopadhyay snared it out of the air, and tucked it under his arm. The newest member of the team looked a little green; with James Allen still off-base, he was filling in as the group’s medic for this mission. He was one of four recruits from South Asia who’d recently been assigned to X-COM, and was rated both in field medicine and mechanical engineering.
“Oooh, that’s neat,” Catalina said. She reached for her harness, started to leave it, then with a wide grin pulled free and sprang up toward the ceiling.
Ken Yushi’s voice came over the compartment speaker. “Welcome to outer space, ladies and gents,” he said. “Please avoid any projectile vomiting. You mess, you clean it up when we get back.”
“Buuuh,” Vasily said. “Why he have to mention vomit?”
“Oh my, we have to do this again!” Catalina said, flipping end-over-end in the air before drifting back toward her chair.
The end of Vasily’s autocannon had begun to rise up out of its niche; the Russian grabbed it and fastened it more securely.
“Welcome to the international space station,” Jane said. Buzz held onto the arms of his seat, his eyes closed, and Arvin looked hardly better, his jaw clenched as though will alone could keep his unruly stomach under control.
After a few minutes of weightlessness, Ken’s voice came over the com again. “We’re starting our descent. Strap in, everyone.”
“Awww,” Catalina said, securing herself back into her seat. A moment later, they were pressed into their harnesses as the ship’s braking thrusters fired, and it began a rapid descent. “Getting course feeds,” Ken told them. “The alien has changed course, and is heading west over the North Sea. It looks like it’s going to cut across Scotland, maybe.”
The ship banked slightly. “Our interceptors aren’t going to catch that thing,” Ken reported. “Damn, it’s going fast. The Brits launched a squadron, but they might as well be throwing rocks.”
“Looks like this might have been a wasted trip,” Jane said.
“Wait a minute,” Ken said, “the alien’s changed course again, heading south by southwest.”
“Ireland?” Catalina asked.
“Getting a report from our interceptors… they’ve launched Avalanches at extreme range. The alien ship is firing! Our ships are breaking off... The alien has changed course again… heading west… wait, I’m reading an energy surge! The alien ship is losing altitude. Either we got a lucky hit, or it’s planning on landing. Changing course to intercept.”
“Don’t tell me Stonehenge really was an alien landing site,” Catalina said.
“Bet it suddenly has landing lights,” Jane added.
“The alien is definitely slowing,” Ken said, “but it’s making a controlled landing. Getting coordinates.”
“Last time I went there it did,” Catalina replied to Jane, “but that might have been the mushrooms.”
After a few seconds, Ken reported, “Looks like a pretty quiet area… no, wait, there’s an abbey nearby, yes, it’s putting down near there.”
“What country?” Catalina asked. “Are we talking England?”
Buzz had his xPhone out, and was following their progress on it. “Ireland,” he said.
The sound of the engines reached a high roar, and its descent eased rapidly. They couldn’t hear the cabin speaker, but Ken’s voice still came to them over their earpieces. “I’m getting a signal from the hyperwave,” he said. “It’s snakes.”
And that will be a most excellent X-Mas (X.. get it? I crack me up!) present to all of us!
Richard Rawen
First Post
Thanks in advance for the present LB!
And a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you all!
And a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you all!
Lazybones
Adventurer
Red is a Christmas color, right? 
* * * * *
Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 40
The landscape was lush, the greenery broken only by the squat forms of several stone buildings ahead of them, and the winding black line of an asphalt road that ran between them and the main highway a few miles to the south. They could see a few cars, parked in the grass just off the road, and a battered old truck that burned merrily, smoke rising from it in a black plume.
There was no time to enjoy the scene, however, as they were greeted by the sound of gunfire coming from the area of the buildings ahead.
“Fight already started,” Vasily said, lumbering forward, the weight of the autocannon giving him an uneven, shambling gait. The others rushed after him as they disembarked, spreading out to give their enemies less of a target.
The familiar sound of plasma bolts was punctuated by the crack of a rifle. “Get back, you demons!” someone yelled, between the shots.
“Three targets!” Jane yelled, running along the left side of the road toward the voice. They could all see them, now, the deadly, alien outlines of snakemen, clad in harnesses, firing at the largest of the stone buildings, a church that might have dated from the middle ages from the look of it. As they watched, they saw several bolts slam into the threshold around the main entry, and a man emerge from the swirl of pulverized dust, a bolt-action rifle in his hands. He was clad in the black robe of a Catholic priest, and blood trailed down the side of his head from a gash in his forehead.
“The lord is my shepherd!” he yelled, snapping off a shot at one of the snakemen. The bullet struck its target, but had no apparent impact on the creature, who fired again, almost taking the man’s head off before he could duck back into cover.
“Get back inside!” Vasily yelled, opening fire with his cannon. The minigun unleashed a spray of armor-piercing shells, knocking the first alien roughly back from the sheer force of the impacts. The other two returned fire, but Vasily was able to duck behind a boulder, the plasma bolts streaking past him.
The priest emerged from cover to shoot again, hitting his target again, and drawing a shot that disintegrated one of the stained glass windows set deep in casements around the perimeter of the church. Jane ran up to join him in the deep threshold of the entry, which was pocked now with gaping holes where the alien plasma bolts had hit. “Stay in cover, you idiot,” she said to him, as he reloaded his weapon.
“My dear, I was a veteran. I do not need to be—” But he was cut off as another bolt hit above them on the far side of the doorway, showering them with shards of stone.
“Stay behind me!” Jane commanded, firing off several shots from her laser. She hit the alien as well, the snakeman soldier now covered with various wounds. As if that wasn’t enough, the one that Vasily had shot was getting back up, hissing as it reached for its dropped weapon.
“Quite persistent, are they not?” the priest asked, leaning over Jane to fire his gun.
Catalina and Buzz had taken up positions behind a low stone wall that ran around the perimeter of the property, firing their lasers at the aliens. The snakemen responded with a barrage of plasma bolts that tore a wide gap in the barrier, sending the two humans diving for better cover. Arvin had tried to follow Jane to the front of the church, but one of the aliens had shot at him, forcing him to scramble for cover in the shallow ditch that ran alongside the road.
Vasily leaned out from his cover, sending another barrage of lead toward the aliens. One alien spun around and fell, but before he could shift his aim, a plasma bolt hit him in the shoulder, knocking him back. He had barely dragged himself back behind the boulder before another shot slammed into the rock, vaporizing a significant percentage of its mass. Vasily, grimacing, tried to lift his weapon, blood trailing down his arm from the nasty wound.
Jane and the priest had kept up their fire, and drew the attention of the snake that was keeping Catalina and Buzz pinned down. The line of black char that Jane drew across its torso with her laser didn’t seem to faze it much, but it got its attention. Its shot clipped Jane’s leg just above the knee, and cried out in pain, falling forward as the limb collapsed from under her. The priest grabbed her and pulled her back into the doorway, moments before the alien’s second shot sliced through the air where she’d been crouched.
Arvin rose up out of the ditch, his uniform streaked with mud. “No, stay there!” Jane yelled, but the medic either didn’t hear or heard too late. The plasma bolt caught him solidly on the side of his neck, just under his helmet, and then there was only a bright red spray, which vanished as what was left of the young Indian fell back into the ditch.
* * * * *
Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 40
The landscape was lush, the greenery broken only by the squat forms of several stone buildings ahead of them, and the winding black line of an asphalt road that ran between them and the main highway a few miles to the south. They could see a few cars, parked in the grass just off the road, and a battered old truck that burned merrily, smoke rising from it in a black plume.
There was no time to enjoy the scene, however, as they were greeted by the sound of gunfire coming from the area of the buildings ahead.
“Fight already started,” Vasily said, lumbering forward, the weight of the autocannon giving him an uneven, shambling gait. The others rushed after him as they disembarked, spreading out to give their enemies less of a target.
The familiar sound of plasma bolts was punctuated by the crack of a rifle. “Get back, you demons!” someone yelled, between the shots.
“Three targets!” Jane yelled, running along the left side of the road toward the voice. They could all see them, now, the deadly, alien outlines of snakemen, clad in harnesses, firing at the largest of the stone buildings, a church that might have dated from the middle ages from the look of it. As they watched, they saw several bolts slam into the threshold around the main entry, and a man emerge from the swirl of pulverized dust, a bolt-action rifle in his hands. He was clad in the black robe of a Catholic priest, and blood trailed down the side of his head from a gash in his forehead.
“The lord is my shepherd!” he yelled, snapping off a shot at one of the snakemen. The bullet struck its target, but had no apparent impact on the creature, who fired again, almost taking the man’s head off before he could duck back into cover.
“Get back inside!” Vasily yelled, opening fire with his cannon. The minigun unleashed a spray of armor-piercing shells, knocking the first alien roughly back from the sheer force of the impacts. The other two returned fire, but Vasily was able to duck behind a boulder, the plasma bolts streaking past him.
The priest emerged from cover to shoot again, hitting his target again, and drawing a shot that disintegrated one of the stained glass windows set deep in casements around the perimeter of the church. Jane ran up to join him in the deep threshold of the entry, which was pocked now with gaping holes where the alien plasma bolts had hit. “Stay in cover, you idiot,” she said to him, as he reloaded his weapon.
“My dear, I was a veteran. I do not need to be—” But he was cut off as another bolt hit above them on the far side of the doorway, showering them with shards of stone.
“Stay behind me!” Jane commanded, firing off several shots from her laser. She hit the alien as well, the snakeman soldier now covered with various wounds. As if that wasn’t enough, the one that Vasily had shot was getting back up, hissing as it reached for its dropped weapon.
“Quite persistent, are they not?” the priest asked, leaning over Jane to fire his gun.
Catalina and Buzz had taken up positions behind a low stone wall that ran around the perimeter of the property, firing their lasers at the aliens. The snakemen responded with a barrage of plasma bolts that tore a wide gap in the barrier, sending the two humans diving for better cover. Arvin had tried to follow Jane to the front of the church, but one of the aliens had shot at him, forcing him to scramble for cover in the shallow ditch that ran alongside the road.
Vasily leaned out from his cover, sending another barrage of lead toward the aliens. One alien spun around and fell, but before he could shift his aim, a plasma bolt hit him in the shoulder, knocking him back. He had barely dragged himself back behind the boulder before another shot slammed into the rock, vaporizing a significant percentage of its mass. Vasily, grimacing, tried to lift his weapon, blood trailing down his arm from the nasty wound.
Jane and the priest had kept up their fire, and drew the attention of the snake that was keeping Catalina and Buzz pinned down. The line of black char that Jane drew across its torso with her laser didn’t seem to faze it much, but it got its attention. Its shot clipped Jane’s leg just above the knee, and cried out in pain, falling forward as the limb collapsed from under her. The priest grabbed her and pulled her back into the doorway, moments before the alien’s second shot sliced through the air where she’d been crouched.
Arvin rose up out of the ditch, his uniform streaked with mud. “No, stay there!” Jane yelled, but the medic either didn’t hear or heard too late. The plasma bolt caught him solidly on the side of his neck, just under his helmet, and then there was only a bright red spray, which vanished as what was left of the young Indian fell back into the ditch.
Last edited:
Innocent Bystander
First Post
And another one bitest the dust...that's just nasty. Hopefully Buzz and Cat put the last two down quickly. On the plus side it sounds like they may have a fully functional craft to examine, if they survive.
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