X-COM (updated M-W-F)

[Lazybones]

Session 12 (June 30, 2008)
Chapter 41


Humans and aliens exchanged fire at almost point-blank range, the snakemen absorbing wounds that would have killed several men as they continued to slide forward.

Jane shrugged off the support of the priest and pulled herself back up to the edge of the doorway, firing her laser pistol at the snakeman that had killed Arvin. The beam was starkly visible in the haze of dust and smoke that hung in the air, intersecting with the alien’s ovoid skull. She wasn’t the only one to hit it; a second bright beam sliced across its neck from the other direction, where Catalina had recovered and drawn a bead on it. The alien fell, but the last alien kept on coming, driving Jane back into cover with a spray of bright bolts from its weapon.

Vasily growled as he rose up, leveraging the barrel of the autocannon up onto what was left of the boulder. Barely able to stand, he used the stone as a prop as he activated the weapon, leaning into the recoil to keep it focused on its target. The snakeman turned toward him, but before it could fire its chest exploded into a gory green mess, and it fell over backwards, still jerking as Vasily’s gun continued to unload into it. When he stopped, the weapon’s ammunition depleted, it slid over onto the ground, the big Russian nearly following it.

Jane emerged from the wreckage of the doorway, limping heavily. The priest tried to help her, but she shrugged off his supporting arm, and made her way without help to the ditch where Arvin lay in a bloody mess. One look was enough to indicate that he was beyond any help. She muttered something under her breath, but turned around again at Buzz’s yell.

“There’s the ship!” he cried, pointing. They could just see it, the fading sunlight gleaming off the curving surface just visible between two hills that rose east of the abbey compound. A faint line of gray smoke rose up from behind it.

“Yes, we heard it land, made quite the announcement,” the priest said.

“Where are the other people?” Buzz asked.

“The rest of the abbey staff are in the cellar of the main building,” he replied.

Jane made her way into the ditch, almost falling as her injured leg slid on the muddy slope. But she got to Arvin’s corpse, and recovered the satchel holding his medikits. She used the first one right there, grimacing as she pulled off the charred plate covering her leg and injected the substance directly into the battered flesh.

Catalina was doing the same for Vasily. As the alien medicines started to take effect, the Russian went over to the ditch. Jane unlatched Arvin’s web belt, and handed it and the Indian’s rifle to Vasily as she made her way back up to the road.

“Stay here,” she said to the priest, falling into step behind Vasily as they made their way toward the alien ship.

The four of them made their way carefully beyond the cluster of buildings that made up the abbey complex. There was a gate through the wall surrounding the buildings, and then a faint path that wound off into the hills in the general direction of the alien craft. There were also familiar tracks, paths cut in the grass by the snakemen as they had made their way toward the abbey.

The ship was of a familiar sort, a large scout similar to the one they’d encountered in Shasta County. It lay in the dell between two hills like an egg, surrounded by a berm of loose earth stirred up by its rough impact. The hatch was in the same place, lying open and slightly askance, as the entire ship was tilted several degrees on its side. Nothing stirred as they approached.

“Remember, we need to capture fuel source,” Vasily reminded them.

“I say lure them out of the control room this time,” Buzz said quietly.

Catalina approached the hatch from the side, and carefully glanced inside. She pointed and raised a finger, wiggling her hand like a snake.

“It might be a pilot or some other specialist,” Jane said. “Might be worth it to take it alive, if we can.”

Vasily nodded, and unlimbered his stun rod. “Cover me,” he said.

The interior of the ship was rather cluttered, with loose cables dangling from the ceiling and broken pieces of machinery jutting from once-smooth consoles. The alien ships had a much more organic form to them than anything made by humans, but it somehow made them seem more familiar to see gaping tears, hisses caused by escaping gasses, and sparks as power seeped out of damaged conduits.

The ship wasn’t big enough to hide the alien pilot, and as Vasily pushed forward to the main compartment, it turned and fired its plasma pistol at him. The shot flashed past him and caught Catalina in the chest, knocking her down. Vasily lunged ahead before it could recover, swiping the pistol out of its hand with the end of the stun rod.

The alien didn’t wait for him to finish it off; lunging forward, it slashed at the Russian with its claws, and tried to grab his arm in its jaws. Vasily shifted, and it got only a bite of the stun rod, hissing as it snapped down on the shaft of the weapon. Vasily slammed his shoulder into its torso and ripped the weapon free. It sizzled as he jabbed the head at the snakeman’s body, but the thing only smashed a claw across his face, knocking him sprawling into an adjacent console.

Buzz had gotten hold of Catalina’s shoulders, and he dragged the injured woman clear of the ship. Jane, standing in the entry, lifted her laser pistol and lined up a shot, but she had to draw back as Vasily surged forward again, cracking the stun rod again into the snakeman’s body.

“This thing not working!” he yelled, barely dodging another swipe.

“Get clear, I’ve got the shot!” Jane yelled. But the Russian kept at it, coming in again, swinging the stun rod like an axe. The snakeman deflected his thrust with a flung arm and then slammed him hard up against the console behind him, hard enough to crack the material with the front of his helmet.

Jane took aim with her pistol again, but before she could fire, the alien ducked behind a protruding mechanism, reaching for its dropped weapon. But even as it probed for the plasma pistol, Vasily leapt onto its back, yanking the stun rod around its throat, drawing it up. The snakeman hissed and bucked, reaching back with its long arms to claw at the Russian’s body. But Vasily would not be dislodged, and as the snakeman struggled he dragged it roughly around, using his leverage to smash its head down onto the edge of the console, once, twice, three times.

“Ah… I think it’s out,” Jane said, as Vasily lifted the thing to bash it again.

The Russian released his captive and staggered back. The snakeman collapsed in a limp heap, trailing lines of green fluid from its cracked jaws.

Panting heavily, the Russian looked at Jane. “We… we need sweep rest of ship, else we not know if this secure or not.”

Jane nodded; she’d already unlimbered her motion sensor, and started scanning the interior of the ship with it. “We may have the fuel supply, I don’t think they dumped it,” she said.

Vasily staggered back out of the ship. The priest was there, helping Buzz treat Catalina. Buzz was fumbling with one of the X-COM medikits, but the priest was doing well enough with a more mundane first aid kit.

“How she do?” Vasily asked.

“She’s stable,” the priest said. He raised an eyebrow as Buzz injected the contents of the medikit into her, but didn’t do anything to interfere. Almost at once Catalina’s breathing eased, although she remained unconscious. “You a doc, Father?” Buzz asked.

“I served as a medic, back in the war. Afghanistan.”

Jane’s voice came to them over the com, thick with static interference. “We have an intact alien power source,” she reported.

Vasily activated his communicator. “Is good, Jane.” He wiped his brow, looking around the scene, back at the abbey, where clouds of smoke continued to roil in the afternoon sky. “Is good.”

 

[Innocent Bystander]

Did you allow Vasily's arm to be 'grown' back, reattached, or is there something much wilder in store for us?

 

[Lazybones]

Did you allow Vasily's arm to be 'grown' back, reattached, or is there something much wilder in store for us?

Ah, a bit of confusion, the alien's second shot hit the boulder, not Vasily's arm. Although with the Russian, losing an arm might not slow him down too much.

I've rewritten the post on the previous page to clarify.

 

[Innocent Bystander]

Sure, go and blow my image of Vasily walking around with a grafted arm from a snakeman

 

[Lazybones]

Oh, don't worry. Stuff is coming that will make this stage of the campaign look like a picnic.

* * * * *

Interlude: Aftermath (July 1, 2008)


The long trip back to Nevada was a fairly sedate one. Flying on vapors, Ken took the Skyranger to Casement Aerodrome, at Baldonnel. The base had a military hospital attached where they could get their wounds treated. They met up with an X-COM tanker from Europe-1, and the next morning they were in the air. The British doctors were amazed at the quick recovery of the wounded team members; by the time that the ship started its descent over the Nevada desert, Catalina woke up and was even able to crack a few jokes. Stan White still insisted on bringing her out in a stretcher. “Special delivery, one cat,” she mumbled, as the orderlies took her to the infirmary.

The alien power supply followed the next day, brought over by the recovery team along with several components taken intact from the alien ship. The power supply, which the scientists were calling Elerium-115, was kept in a special containment unit that had been prepared on a deeper level far under the populated areas of the base. Access to it was strictly limited.

The day following the mission was quiet, as X-COM’s researchers and engineers worked on assimilating the new data that Alpha Team had recovered. But on the next day, the members of Alpha Team were summoned to the briefing room for an update on the flash drive. All of them but Catalina, who was still convalescing, reported to the summons. James had returned from his mission to New York, but he was quiet, distracted. Agent Drake had a sour look on her face as the field operatives filed into the briefing room, but she remained silent as Director Garret explained the results of the American operation with the flash drive.

"Due to the tracking device,” he explained, “we were able to determine when the drive was recovered from the trash canister. An inspector took it and handed it off to a supply clerk, who in turn took it from the incineration facility. Both men have been taken into custody. We followed the device to a location in Reno, a warehouse facility. The signal was lost there; this prompted Homeland Security to immediately raid the site."

"It turns out that the site was operated by a significant criminal enterprise; in addition to the flash drive, which had been placed in an armored vault hidden on-site, we found sixteen kilograms of methamphetamine, eleven illegal guns, and about six hundred thousand dollars worth of stolen consumer electronics items. Two men fought back and were killed; another six were taken prisoner. The American Department of Homeland Security has already conducted preliminary questioning, and it appears that the six were low- to mid-level operatives for the cartel. Only one had any knowledge of the flash drive, and it seems that their role was limited to forwarding it to a third party, which another member of the group was going to meet in San Francisco in a few days. The criminal had no specific knowledge of when or where this meeting was going to take place. The Americans will conduct a more thorough interrogation later, but at the moment we doubt that we will gain further information from these individuals."

"The Defense Department inspector and the clerk admitted that this was the third flash drive that they'd shipped through this illicit system. They did not know any details about the organization for whom they provided the service, but admitted that they each received one hundred thousand dollars for each delivery that they processed. Most of that money has since been recovered by Homeland Security investigators."

* * * * *

The weekly e-mail update from Doctor Wagner followed on the heels of the briefing.

FROM: DR. KIMBERLY WAGNER, X-COM RESEARCH LEAD
TO: MEMBERS, ALPHA TEAM
CC: MICHAEL GARRET, GRACE THELON BELUCA
RE: New Research/Manufacturing Priorities

We have several completed projects to report. Workshop 3 is fully staffed and is now online. Work has begun on the Medical Lab in the new West Wing. A second suit of Personal Armor has been finished, with the new beryllium lining. Theoretically, this should offer at least some protection against the alien mental powers.

Research Lab 1 reports that it has begun work on the Laser Cannon. Our pilots are happy to hear this; in recent engagements they have been seriously outgunned by the larger alien ships. Research Lab 2 has almost completed its work on the Floater Autopsy and should have its report in a few days. Doctor Sandesh has resumed work on the Heavy Weapons Platform and insists that he will have a working prototype soon, despite the setback of the sabotage incident.

Now that you have recovered an intact supply of the alien fuel, work on alien power systems can proceed quickly. Dr. Okwelume has reported that the device you found in the Everglades is a power coupling that should greatly accelerate research into the alien engine technology.

 

[Richard Rawen]

Happy New Years all!
And thanks LB for a great year of keeping me from catatonia at work
( well, you help alot )

 

[Lazybones]

Holiday bonus post! Have a happy and safe new year, readers.

* * * * *

Interlude: Healing (July 1-5, 2008)

(Note: the following section came entirely from player forum posts, which I put together into a narrative format.)

He was slow in healing. Or, rather, he was not healing fast enough. The alien medicines worked wonders, but he still ached, and weapon recoil sent painful shudders through his chest. The doctors had said it was incredible he had still been on his feet, let alone conscious. He had to 'take it easy', now, with nothing on his mandate but to recover, and compare scars with Beta Team once they got back from the Yukon.

But he was restless; he'd always be restless. They'd found an intact power source, at last, and it was only a matter of time before the aliens realized it. When they did, destruction of X-COM US would be high on their list, he was sure. The aliens had been prepared to sacrifice their lives to keep their technology out of the hands of humans; no doubt they wouldn't think twice about killing humans to do the same. That left him with the choices of either sitting still and worrying, or helping out around the base, and in light of their condition, the new medbay seemed like an even better investment than ever before. The drilling was slow, but there were ways to speed that up. Brutally direct ways, but no less effective for that.

Brutally direct, and explosive.

"You are a thug, Major. Not an ounce of subtlety. Kalinovskaya is news. You hear that? Supposed to be covert, and I am hearing it on the radio, reading it in the newspapers!"

It had been a long time since he'd blown anything up. For good reason.

"I - we achieve objective, sir."

"Your whole team dead, a civilian building leveled? You call that achievement? Get out. High-up wants your head and I'm half inclined to give it to them. Consider yourself reassigned."

Extreme situations always called for extreme measures, but even so, the teams he worked with seemed unlucky of late. The capture of insurgents in Kalinovskaya that had gone horribly wrong, leaving him no choice but to drop a building on friend and enemy alike; and now this, with Team Alpha engaging in a point-blank slugging match with alien forces to save a church, and wading through pain and horror to secure an alien ship. They'd come out alive... or most of them, and those only barely, and in one case, with one foot in the grave. That had been sheer luck, as frightening a thought as that was.

The last time he'd ordered men in a combat situation they'd all died... but here, was it the absence of a command voice that was killing them? And if one of the civilian members of the squad should die, was it as much his fault for being silent?

That was a thought he couldn't deal with, not yet. Limping, he went in search of Chief Beluca to talk about blasting charges.

* * * *

Cat was starting to feel a bit jumpy.

Sweet smiles for everyone that fussed over making her comfortable, particularly that cute nurse, with the eyes you could just drown in, and ohhhh my what an arse. There he was now! Catalina craned her head to watch him walk by, then lay back down after the brief entertainment with a sigh. Being confined to bed wasn't the most entertaining of options when there was no one else in there with you. God I'm bored.

Various medical charts were origami figures sitting around her bed, and she was playing with a cat's cradle that had once been the cord that supported them, when the Jane, Vasily, and James arrived. The beam of pleasure at the company was obvious, fading only briefly to a grimace of discomfort as she hitched herself up on the bed.

After a little small talk, the conversation turned to more practical concerns.

"Difficult one," Vasily was saying, leaning against a wall, black coffee in hand and covered with rock-dust. "We get alien power supply, but we not understand it yet. Emails seem to say, 'weapon research not going to get too far without it'."

"But we got projects still in middle of development," he grudgingly muttered. "How about this? We drop laser cannon research. Have team reassigned to alien power. Keep working on robot tank and autopsy, they nearly done. Robot tank come in handy, maybe in all kind of situations. Attack, fieldwork, all kind."

"Maybe if autopsy and robot tank projects finish up quick we get them to start work on alien handgun... or maybe laser cannon again, would be good if we not leave that too long. Laser defense net good idea, laser added to robot tank good idea... maybe we even get new alien-technology planes like they say, but we still not got any new weapons for them to shoot."

Taking out his xPhone, and juggling it with the coffee, he brought up the list of manufacturing projects. “Medlab, armor, laser rifle,” he said. “Not like we got anything else to build, and hey, we can always give lasers to Beta team if we get anything new."

Jane nodded. "The pilots have been abuzz with chatter when they heard plans for the laser cannons were in progress. They'll be even more excited to hear that they might be getting advanced new ships too. I'm starting to wonder if we need a third research lab for all the advanced research projects down the pipe. We'll deal with that later. Meanwhile, your ideas are sound, Vasily."

"I have to say I think the alien power source must take priority,” Catalina noted, “from Kim's emails it looks like a several projects depend on it." She turned her head to where she had last seen Doctor Sandesh, then added quietly. "I'm not convinced about the platform, the thing could end up getting under our feet."

Reaching up, Catalina snagged the coffee from the big Russian's fingers. "I'd say keep half a team on laser cannons and drop the platform until the fuel is done. After all, it won't be much use until it has a laser cannon to fit to it." She took a sip of the coffee and grinned.

James nodded. "I can go along with most of the recommendations - except that I really want to get my hands on one of those laser pistols. We all outta have one. I've still been working on the medkits and we've got those down now - ya'll each outta have one for emergencies, but remember, if I'm up, let me do it - applying it is still a bit of an art, and non-docs won't usually get as much out of it as a trained professional like me." Jim grinned to let the group know he was kidding with the pompousness - a little, at least.

Vasily rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking a little miffed at the coffee-napping but apparently unwilling to snatch it back from a hospitalized woman. "If you cannot see value of extra team member who can take a few shots, I not sure what to say. But you can break news to Dr. Sandesh that we shelving his project again."

After a few moments looking a little irritated, he finally stormed off to the cafeteria, after Catalina took another triumphant sip. "I suppose you want milk, now, huh?" he called back from the doorway.

“No, milk takes the edge off the taste. Wouldn't mind some biscuits though!" Catalina called back, grinning mischievously. "As for the platform, if you insist you want it then fine. Something to hide behind wouldn't have gone amiss last mission, I just don't want it under my feet or turning on me when my back is turned." She paused a moment, took another sip, and the grin broadened. "Make the biscuits chocolate ones."

"How are they treating you, Catalina?" Jane asked.

"Wonderfully, especially that nurse there," Catalina grinned and indicated the male nurse, who didn’t look up from his paperwork. "Of course it could be better, he could bend over a lot more often, but I have to recognise that he has a lot of duties for which he must remain upright and not be too demanding."

“I’ll see if I can get you set up with a laptop,” Jane said.

“Thanks. I may as well get on with reviewing those tapes and work logs. I can't see the detail on the phone. Hardly thrilling but it will help pass the time."

Vasily returned, bearing a few eatables from the cafeteria. He left the tray in the group's care, scowling for show.

"Here. Need you fit. Need you all fit," he adds ominously. "Word is, maybe we getting another field agent in Team Alpha. I think it time we shake up the way we do things. I talk to you all when you up and about, ok?"

Picking through the items on the bed, Catalina grabbed a pack of chocolate chip cookies with a triumphant grin, and blew a kiss up towards Vasily. "I should be up tomorrow, maybe the day after," she said, tearing the packet open. "But just come back and chat anytime." A biscuit was dipped in the coffee and then popped into her mouth. "Seriously, they're lovely but too busy here, I'm bored out of my mind." She licked a few stray crumbs delicately off her lips.

Jane grabbed an apple, and offered one to James. He shook his head. "I'm really more of a milk and cookies guy, when I'm in the mood for indulging - so fork over one of those cookies.”

Catalina handed over the treat with a small pout. "Saw the B team come in after a run," she said. Dipping another biscuit, she glanced up at Vasily with a mischievous look. "You might be right about passing on the lasers, it seems they couldn't even handle a bear they met." Catalina winked at Jane. "You were right. The starlet's experience in looking good on whatever that television programme was didn't work for her in a combat situation."

"So! Any news on our infiltrator? That data stick didn't get itself onto the trash dumpster on its own, as the last I checked they couldn't walk." She glanced at Jane. "If you can push them on letting me have a laptop I hope to get some clues there. Plus what's this about a new team member?"

 

[Lazybones]

Interlude: Results (July 5, 2008)

Game note: this scene was played out on the forums, with me rolling the skill checks to resolve actions.


It was a busy week at X-COM HQX.

With Alpha Team drawing so many deadly missions, Beta Team got assigned to most of the "milk runs", such as investigations and site cleanup. But one of those milk runs turned deadly when a sectoid infiltration team turned up on one of their missions. In addition to some alien bodies and weapons wrapped in plastic that Beta recovered, they brought back one member of their team on a stretcher, a young Thai named Sonthi. Even through the translucent wrapping of the body bag it was easy to see the fist-sized hole that had been blasted through his chest. The rest of the team underwent a lengthy debriefing and later one-on-one meetings with Counselor Beauvois.

Vasily applied his skill to the work of expanding the West Wing of X-COM. His creative and expert use of demolitions shaved precious days off the time it took to get the new part of the base open and ready for the installation crews.

(Vasily Kasprjak Demolitions roll: 12+9 = 21, Moderate Success, +2 to base construction)

Jane helped the engineers adding the fixtures and other infrastructure to what would become the new Medical Lab. Motivated perhaps by the wounds that Alpha and Beta Teams had brought back from their missions, along with the stories Jane tells of their combat missions, the engineering team pulled double shifts and the new lab was ready ahead of schedule. It would take some time to transfer over all of the material and equipment from the current medical bay in Research Lab 1, but the engineering team was not needed to carry out that work.

(Jane Swift Craft Mechanical roll: 9 + 11 = 20, Moderate Success, +2 to engineering work this week).

Research Lab 1 completed its report on the autopsy of the new alien race, the Floater. The Floater was a created species, genetically engineered to a degree far beyond human science, and then further altered by the integration of machinery into its body. The largest such device replaced the creature's legs, and granted it the levitation ability that gave it its name.

Doctor White submitted a report the next day, adding information on the Floater blood work. "Our study of the alien biochemistry continues," he said in the report. "We are working on a biological or chemical agent that will target the alien physiology. The work on the Floater indicates some potential methods that we can pursue. Already we've discovered a substance that acts as an irritant on alien respiratory and sensory systems. I've added this substance to the tear gas grenades stocked by Musa. The grenades should stun Snakemen and Floaters, but note that Sectoids wear breathing masks, and will not be affected.”

Doctor Sandesh sent a message to the Alpha Team members, asking them to meet him in Research Lab 2. After what happened on their last visit, most of the Alphas brought their guns with them. But the lab was quiet save for the Egyptian scientist and two technicians, who were closing the last access panel of the Heavy Weapons Platform as the last members of Alpha entered.

The HWP looked similar to the one that had been destroyed before. A dark opening a few inches across in the front of the device stared menacingly.

"The prototype is ready for field testing," Sandesh explained. "The device has a fully independent AI program, and will respond to voice commands. It has been pre-programmed with all of your voice patterns; just approach it and give it orders to follow you, and it will remain linked to you until ordered to stop."

Sandesh hesitated for a moment before walking over to the machine, shooing away one of the techs. "I read all of your action reports, and I believe that the default gun that we were using for testing would have been... of limited utility against these new aliens. Therefore I have installed a rocket launcher in this model. The platform carries twelve sixty millimeter rockets with high explosive heads. They have considerable range and should prove quite effective against most alien species that you have faced thus far. However, be cautious, as the HWP's AI may target aliens without concern for allies that may be within the blast radius. Remember that the HWP may be manually ordered to remain back should this become an issue. The HWP is not equipped for close combat, so I do not recommend allowing it to engage in melee actions with aliens, especially if it has rockets remaining in the launcher."

Sandesh finished by describing a few of the more mundane systems of the HWP. He said that he was already working on plans for an improved model, capable of carrying a portable laser cannon along with heavier armor.

With a few raised eyebrows, Alpha Team took possession of its new "recruit".

The production of the HWP was not the last event of importance that week. While the others worked on base improvements, practiced tactics, or caught up on their reading, Catalina was deeply immersed in a complicated research project. She took the data that Buzz and Commander Hallorand had collected about the stolen files, and began painstakingly comparing them to various base personnel and computer access logs. The information was not as complete as it might have been, and the British agent spent many hours in frustration trying to tie the scattered and vague links together.

Finally, as midnight approached one night, she sat up suddenly, staring at the data on her screen. The current file was a log of computer access in the workshops and research labs, juxtaposed against a list of project assignments.

(Catalina De Farrago Search roll: 18 + 11 = 29, Complete Success)

"I have to be sure," she said to herself. She went to her bunk, and recovers a tube of UV-sensitive dust from her personal effects.

HQX never really slept, but the dead-of-night shift was noticeably quieter than the others. In the morning, the base woke with the sounds of the night shift meeting the first day shift in the mess hall in the South Wing. Catalina walked through the labs and the workshops, armed with a portable UV generator, and her Glock riding on her hip.

She finally caught up to her quarry in a dead-end service corridor. She drew her gun, wary of a trap, but her target was alone. The UV light flooded the tunnel, and showed up blue on his fingertips. He looked up, and she saw a look of resignation on his face. "I wondered how long it would take you to find me," he said. "There is no need for that," he says, indicating the gun. "I will go with you, quietly."

 

[Lazybones]

Interlude: Results, Part 2 (July 5, 2008)


Catalina nodded in acknowledgement of her quarry’s words. “Doctor Okwelume,” she said.

The resignation on the scientist’s face, and what appeared to be relief in his expression, was not lost on Catalina. Will he talk now, in a moment of weakness, before realization of his situation and self preservation make him more wary? It was not the best of locations. Her eyes didn't leave Okwelume, but her ears and every other nerve ending tuned to her surroundings, and she made sure her own back was towards the nearest wall.

Carpe Diem. "So Steven, may I call you Steven?" Catalina motioned with the barrel of the gun purely to emphasize its existence, and the fact that it was pointing right at him. "Care to tell me exactly what this is all about? Who are you working on behalf of and why you feel the need to do so? I think you'll find I'm a very good listener."

Doctor Okwelume sighed, and leaned against the wall at his back. As he shifted, Catalina caught sight of something concealed in his lap, a small object that might have been a small laptop computer.

"Have you ever read the novels of Chinua Achebe?" He did not wait for a response, and as he continued, he barely seemed to notice that Catalina was there. "His stories describe a people that were complex, noble... well, noble insofar as any human society can be considered such. We had a culture, my Igbo, a language, a belief system, and all of the loves and hates and goods and bads that come with them."

"We were not unique to the process of colonialism. I won't presume to lecture you about the evils of British imperialism; I'm sure you got plenty of that in your primary school. In any case, I am one of those who believes that the history of colonization ended up consuming the colonizers as much as the colonized. Like us, the British were products of their own culture and beliefs. There were good men, bad men, and a vast mass that fell somewhere in between."

"Africa is one of the richest continents in terms of mineral wealth—did you know that? They say that there is enough uranium and oil under it to keep the Industrial Age going for another four, five decades. Though perhaps it is better for the West that it learn now to stop its dependence on..."

He looked up, and suddenly smiled. "I am sorry, I am babbling. Ada always said I tended to run my mouth off. Everything that you need is here," he says, glancing down to the laptop. "All my contacts, and the different nations to whom I sold the information. The Chinese, the Indians, the Israelis. My price was steep; nothing less than the introduction of the twenty-first century to the Niger River delta. Sixteen hospitals, two modern oil refineries, a solar power plant, two water treatment facilities, two hundred schools..."

"I used to rationalize that I was doing what I did for the good of all humanity. Knowledge should not be concealed, especially in the face of this threat. Are we not all united against this new threat? Could not an alien invasion do what all of the empires and religions failed to do, bring humanity together? I am not so naive, now. I have learned a great deal."

He meet Catalina's eyes squarely. "Do not trust the Chinese. Not the people; their leaders. They have been treating secretly with the aliens."

"Please extend my apologies to your superiors. I must say, my time at X-COM has been among the most rewarding in my life. The sheer... wonder of the science that is done here. That is my one regret, that I will not see the transformation of human knowledge come to its fruition."

He sighed, and took out a pistol from under the laptop. He lifted it and placed the mouth of the gun under his chin.

Catalina had watched Okwelume impassively throughout the conversation, whatever thoughts were going on behind her eyes hidden. Except perhaps a subtle widening of the eyes when he spoke of China. Though she'd seen the laptop, she was startled when the gun appeared.

Catalina lunged forward, trying to cover the gap between them in a leap. Her free hand reached out ahead of her, swinging to knock the gun away if not grab it.

"Noooo!"

There was a ear-shattering roar as the handgun discharged in the close space of the service passage. A hiss of hot metal zinged past Catalina's ear as the bullet ricocheted off the wall, then the ceiling, before missing her by a scant few inches.

Okwelume's gun went flying down the corridor. The doctor himself sagged to the floor, sobbing. Catalina quickly verified that he wasn't carrying another weapon.

Once sure that he was clean, Catalina reached for and took the computer. "I think we need to make sure you are looked after, Steven, that is no way out."

Pistol still trained on him, she signaled him to his feet. "I think we are likely to have company shortly, let's go."

 

[Lazybones]

Session 13 (July 7, 2008)
Chapter 42


“Doctor Okwelume, I not get it,” Vasily said.

Catalina sat across from the Russian on the big round table in the lounge, swinging her legs under it. “It seems he was a patriot.”

The door to the barracks corridor opened, and James stepped in. Jane turned in her chair and waved to him. “Hey doc, Catalina was just telling us the story.”

Vasily nodded at James. “’Bout time you get here. Ha.”

“Yeah, that’s one I’d like to hear,” James said, heading over to the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee from the ever-full canister. “Buzz back yet?” he asked.

“No,” Vasily said. “And bosses not saying when he be back, either.”

“Every transaction he made was in developments for his country,” Catalina went on. “There was no personal gain involved.”

“Those are the most dangerous ones,” James observed.

“Still, he was a traitor,” Jane said. “Nice job catching him.”

“I both rock and roll,” Catalina said with a grin.

Vasily frowned, apparently unsettled. After a moment, Catalina’s own smile faded. “It was the matter of China that concerned me,” she said.

“My country have many treaties with China,” Vasily said. “Co-operation. Finance, industry, technology… military.”

“We are aware,” Catalina began, but she went silent as the outer door opened. Doctor Wagner and Counselor Beauvais came into the room. “Bonjour,” Joan said.

Vasily nodded to the two of them. “Hi,” James said.

There was an awkward pause that lasted a few beats, then Joan said, “This is terrible, about Doctor Okwelume.”

“He was… is… a brilliant man,” Doctor Wagner added. “He left detailed notes, but his loss is a serious one to our research progress.”

“How is he?” Catalina asked.

“He’s sleeping,” Joan reported. “Doctor White sedated him. He’s being kept under watch in a locked room in the East wing.”

Two more people came into the room from the outer corridor, Chief Hallorand and another man who looked diminutive next to the tall American. He couldn’t have been more than a few inches over five feet tall, though he looked to be in good physical shape despite the steeply receding line of his hair. He blinked as he took in the scene, his eyes widening slightly as he saw the piano.

“Ah, our new arrival,” Joan said.

“Gamma team?” James asked.

“No, he’s one of yours,” Hallorand said. “This is Doctor Moshe Yahav. Field science and engineering.”

“Hello,” he managed. “The more the merrier, I guess,” James said, putting down his cup and coming over to shake the newcomer’s hand. “I’m Jim, Doctor Jim Allen.”

The others all introduced themselves. Once they’d gotten names straightened out, Hallorand said, “Right. Would you mind giving him a tour? I need to see to the base.”

“I’ll take him,” Jane offered. “I needed to talk to Musa and swing by the labs anyway.”

“I’ll go with you, Chief,” Joan said. “I have some questions about the new security protocols. She left with him and Doctor Wagner.

“Well, that was easy,” James said, once the new recruit had followed Jane back through the outer door, the two chatting amiably. “You want to go shoot some guns, Vas?” he asked. The Russian grunted, tossing his own empty coffee cup into the trashcan at the end of the counter.

“Oooh, how masculine,” Catalina said. “Can I watch?”

The firing range was occupied, as they could hear the noise of weapons fire even before they pulled back the sound-muffling curtain at the end of the corridor in the east wing that led to the area reserved for weapons practice. They turned the corner to find Eleazar Perez and Jürgen Ritter standing behind the lower barrier that marked off the range. The two Betas looked up as the three of them came into the room. “I still don’t know why they give women guns,” Eleazar said.

“Oh, I know why they do,” Catalina said, with a wicked grin.

“To protect them from you,” Vasily said.

Eleazar laughed. “A woman needs no protection from me.” He loaded a fresh clip into his handgun. “Hey, Russian, want to make a bet?”

“What bet?”

“Three shots at the far manny there. Best score wins.”

“See, now that’s why he doesn’t give guns to a girl,” Catalina said. “They’d beat him.”

Vasily paused at the rack where the various guns were laid out.

“I win, you set me up with the Brit over there,” Eleazar said. “You win, I’ll set you up with Alyssa, from my team.”

Vasily raised an eyebrow, and gave Cat a sidelong look. “Not an equal bet,” she said. “He’d need three dates with her.”

Eleazar laughed. “Well now, that would all depend on how well the first one went, eh?”

“Oh, if ours went well, the stakes would treble,” Catalina returned.

“I guess we may as well see how well targets work, huh,” Vasily said, taking down a Glock from the rack. He checked the action efficiently, loading a clip of rounds.

“That’s the spirit, señor,” Eleazar said. Vasily came up to the barrier, but gestured for Eleazar to shoot first.

The target dummies were set up to provide automated reports on impacts. They had been fashioned into more or less humanoid shapes, although they lacked legs, and their faces were only vague oblongs within a metallic shell. Eleazar fired, scoring three solid hits. The results were indicated on a small LED screen above the weapons rack.

“All yours,” Eleazar said, stepping back.

Vasily took careful aim, and fired.

The first shot scored a glancing hit. Catalina sighed, but his second and third shots were dead on, and the number indicated on the scoreboard was one point higher than Eleazar’s tally.

“Heh, you beat me fair and square, chief,” Eleazar said. “I’ll go tell Ally the good news. Later, chief.” Still chuckling, he turned and left.

“Pff, you could have shot to lose,” Catalina said, once he was gone. “You owe me one date.”