Innocent Bystander
First Post
Whether that was cloaking technology or some kind of transportation technology, neither were part of the orginal game. A new twist to throw off the X-Com veterans LB?
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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! 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
Nothing real mysterious, it's just that Neverwinter Nights has a click on/click off stealth mechanic (i.e. you hit the button and disappear), so I was trying to come up with something in the modern context that made sense given that.
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Session 20 (September 8, 2008)
Chapter 78
Plasma bolts slammed into the reaper, followed by a patter of explosive-tipped rounds from Vasily’s autocannon. The combined barrage staggered the alien, but it recovered quickly, and sprang at Catalina, who happened to draw its attention. The agent tried to dive out of its path, but a long claw swiped her hard across the hip, and she was flung roughly aside, spinning twice in midair before slamming into a rack of empty shelving. The collision brought the entire assembly down onto her, and she lay there in the wreckage, groaning.
Hadrian yelled and fired, trying to draw it, but it focused on Vasily, whose cannon continued to spew out a stream of fire as it poured projectiles into the alien’s body. The reaper came on through that storm of metal, ignoring the blasts that dug tiny pits into its dense body. But it had a harder time ignoring the direct hit that Jane scored on its left knee with her plasma rifle. Even as it lunged at the Russian the joint gave way, and it toppled forward, off balance. Vasily sprang back, narrowly avoiding the sweeping claws. The alien roared, thrashing on the concrete floor as it tried to get up, but the Alphas surrounded it, blasting the creature until it collapsed in a bloody heap.
The barrels of Vasily’s autocannon spun slowly to a stop, their ammunition feed depleted. Jane moved quickly to help Catalina, while Hadrian moved cautiously to the door to verify that no further threats lurked outside.
“Time to move,” Vasily said. “We need to find other power signature, probably where this lead,” he said, indicating the cables running into the floor. “You all right?” he asked Catalina, who was limping but seemed otherwise intact. “Just need to catch my breath,” she said.
“You think you able to stop generator?” he asked.
“I can try,” she said, moving over to it.
“Is that ‘yes’? If not definite ‘yes’, I worry.”
“Let me have a look!”
“You already have look!”
Catalina bent over the generator’s control panel. “Look, there’s no simple ‘off’ switch here, it’s a complicated access system. It might take a while.”
“How we all doing on ammo?” Vasily asked, shrugging out of the harness that supported his autocannon and its ammunition supply, letting the heavy assembly drop to the floor of the warehouse. He drew his plasma pistol and powered it up.
“Doing okay,” Hadrian said from the door. Indeed, with his plasma rifle, slung M4, and the automatic pistol tucked into the small of his back, he looked like a small armory in and of himself.
“Three full cells left,” Jane added, swapping out a fresh one as they waited for Catalina.
The agent held her tongue between her teeth as she poked at the generator’s systems for a minute, then two. Finally she toko a step back, and drew out her laser pistol, firing a long burst into the access panel. The reactor shuddered, then gruond to a halt.
“There we go,” she said.
Vasily, who’d braced himself for the inevitable explosion, looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Okay… we best move fast then. They know we coming now for sure.”
They made their way back outside, blinking against the bright sunlight before their helmet visors darkened in response. They found the HWP there, clearly done for the day, its turret crumpled into a barely recognizable lump, with bits and pieces of ripped metal scattered around it. They headed north, toward the location of the second power signature. The signal had dimmed once Catalina had cut the power, but their VDUs preserved the coordinates, flashing on a digital overlay superimposed on their field of view.
They didn’t have to search for the right warehouse, assuming that it was the one with a half-dozen floaters lingering around the entrance. The Alphas lingered at the corner of the next building over, working on their plan of attack. “I could move back to that warehouse there,” Hadrian said. “Take some long range shots, draw them into an ambush from you folks here.”
Vasily nodded. “Is fine, just not get shot doing it.”
The Marine smiled, only slightly, and headed back at a trot. He crossed the deserted street and vanished around the corner of the building he’d marked. Vasily took out a gas grenade, and nodded to Catalina, who’d crept up to the very edge of the corner that faced onto the floater warehouse, holding her motion detector out in that direction.
They only had to wait about a minute before the familiar bark of Hadrian’s rifle sounded from behind the far building. The response came quickly; plasma bolts streaked past their hiding place, blasting itno the warehouse. They couldn’t see if any of the shots hit Hadrian, but after a moment they heard more gunshots, which died out as the alien barrage intensified.
“They’re coming,” Catalina whispered. “Thirty meters and closing.”
Vasily tapped her shoulder and gestured for them to fall back from the corner. The warehouse itself was sealed up tight, but it had a slightly recessed driveway to allow trucks to make and pickup deliveries directly into the warehouse. They used that edge to take cover, and wait.
More plasma bolts streaked past, although no more return fire came from Hadrian. Catalina hissed at Vasily and Jane and lifted her plasma pistol just as the first floater came into view, drifting two feet above the faded concrete. Vasily gestured for them to hold their fire as two more floaters appeared, then another pair. As soon as those last two were visible Vasily popped up and tossed his grenade, which burst into a cloud of gas that enveloped all of the floaters in its radius.
The Alphas fired even as the cloud started to dissipate, and at the relatively close range they could hardly miss. Two floaters went down at once, and the other three milled about, stunned by the gas, firing a bolt or two that came nowhere near their attackers. One crumpled as Jane pumped a plasma bolt into its head, and another spun around as Vasily and Catalina tore burning holes into it with their plasma pistols.
Focused on their ambush, none of them noticed the last alien that came around the other side of the building, behind them. It lifted its plasma rifle and fired, the shot hitting Jane in the back from behind. She screamed and fell, burning white fire burning into her armor.
“Behind!” Catalina yelled needlessly, as the alien continued firing, while the last one in the ambushed group recovered enough to grab a grenade and toss it at them. The oblong orb bounced and landed two feet ahead of Vasily, who stared at it with wide eyes.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Session 20 (September 8, 2008)
Chapter 79
“DOWN!” Vasily yelled, instinct overruling through as he lunged out and slapped the alien grenade, sending it skittering across the blacktop. He dropped below the lip of the driveway at the same instant that it exploded, the concussive force knocking both him and Catalina prone despite the protection of the concrete barrier. He quickly blinked and started to rise, only to flinch as a plasma bolt exploded against the concrete a scant foot in front of his face.
He looked up and saw the floater that had shot Jane, closer now, barely twenty meters away. The barrel of its plasma rifle looked as big as a gaping chasm as it pointed it as Vasily, a bright glow forming as another plasma bolt was created, the alien weapon’s Elerium crystal amplifying its power to a deadly level. Vasily felt as though his arm was frozen in thick syrup as he lifted weapon to fire, knowing it was too late.
But even as the glow of the alien’s rifle flared bright, it jerked roughly to the side. The plasma bolt streaked uselessly into the air. Vasily glanced over to see Hadrian approaching across the open street, his rifle at his shoulder, firing perfectly aimed shots into the floater’s body. The alien tried to turn to face him, but a bullet shattered its arm, and the plasma rifle fell to the ground. The floater tried to escape, but a few more cracks of the rifle and it settled to the ground, blood oozing out of rents in its body.
Vasily pulled himself to his feet and scanned the battlefield. The last alien from the group they’d ambushed was gone, but the other four were all dead. Catalina was helping Jane to her feet, having already used her medikit to stabilize the wounded agent. Vasily’s ears rung a bit, but he wasn’t seriously hurt; the powered armor worked as advertised.
“You okay?” he asked Jane.
“A bit hurt, but I can go on,” she replied.
“More weapons here, if you need them,” Catalina said, pointing to the plasma rifles left by the aliens. She recovered the one that the alien Hadrian had killed had dropped, checking it to make sure that the containment cell was intact.
“Do we have any more medikits?” Jane asked.
Hadrian shook his head, but Vasily said, “Have one. Do you need it?”
Jane shook her head. “I just hope we’re not walking into a trap.”
“Longer we dawdle, longer they have to sort trap out,” Vasily said.
After scanning the area to verify that the aliens weren’t waiting for them outside the warehouse, they approached their target. The building was much like the others, if slightly larger. It too showed the subtle signs of recent repair, although a casual look showed the same rust-stained sheet metal, the same streaks of water damage under the eaves high above. When they got closer, however, they saw that the doors were crafted of heavy plate steel. Catalina went to work on it, taking out her burglar’s tools while the others covered.
“Security system” she reported. “Pretty good, but I’m better. Just a moment…”
“Okay,” Vasily told the others. “ID targets before you shoot. We want prisoners. We want know what is going on here. Medics, leaders, anything new. Do not shoot them.”
“I’ve no stunner,” Hadrian said.
“We get you one. For now, cover me and Jane.”
“Ready,” Catalina said. “Say when.”
“When!” Vasily yelled. Catalina kicked the door open, and the Russian darted through, into the cavernous interior of the warehouse.
The booby trap was located in the floor, just a few steps inside the door. It unleashed a tremendous jolt of electrical energy from a series of capacitors, a flare that enveloped Vasily in tendrils of blazing power. The backblast flashed into the walls and door, slicing the other Alphas as it discharged.
Vasily screamed and stiffened as the power coursed through him, overloading the circuits in his armor, which twitched and jerked of their own accord. His problems became more serious a moment later as the trap was followed by a thunderous barrage of fire, from deeper within the warehouse, which enveloped him in a blazing wreath of plasma explosions that surrounded his entire body inside a halo of deadly white flame.
Chapter 79
“DOWN!” Vasily yelled, instinct overruling through as he lunged out and slapped the alien grenade, sending it skittering across the blacktop. He dropped below the lip of the driveway at the same instant that it exploded, the concussive force knocking both him and Catalina prone despite the protection of the concrete barrier. He quickly blinked and started to rise, only to flinch as a plasma bolt exploded against the concrete a scant foot in front of his face.
He looked up and saw the floater that had shot Jane, closer now, barely twenty meters away. The barrel of its plasma rifle looked as big as a gaping chasm as it pointed it as Vasily, a bright glow forming as another plasma bolt was created, the alien weapon’s Elerium crystal amplifying its power to a deadly level. Vasily felt as though his arm was frozen in thick syrup as he lifted weapon to fire, knowing it was too late.
But even as the glow of the alien’s rifle flared bright, it jerked roughly to the side. The plasma bolt streaked uselessly into the air. Vasily glanced over to see Hadrian approaching across the open street, his rifle at his shoulder, firing perfectly aimed shots into the floater’s body. The alien tried to turn to face him, but a bullet shattered its arm, and the plasma rifle fell to the ground. The floater tried to escape, but a few more cracks of the rifle and it settled to the ground, blood oozing out of rents in its body.
Vasily pulled himself to his feet and scanned the battlefield. The last alien from the group they’d ambushed was gone, but the other four were all dead. Catalina was helping Jane to her feet, having already used her medikit to stabilize the wounded agent. Vasily’s ears rung a bit, but he wasn’t seriously hurt; the powered armor worked as advertised.
“You okay?” he asked Jane.
“A bit hurt, but I can go on,” she replied.
“More weapons here, if you need them,” Catalina said, pointing to the plasma rifles left by the aliens. She recovered the one that the alien Hadrian had killed had dropped, checking it to make sure that the containment cell was intact.
“Do we have any more medikits?” Jane asked.
Hadrian shook his head, but Vasily said, “Have one. Do you need it?”
Jane shook her head. “I just hope we’re not walking into a trap.”
“Longer we dawdle, longer they have to sort trap out,” Vasily said.
After scanning the area to verify that the aliens weren’t waiting for them outside the warehouse, they approached their target. The building was much like the others, if slightly larger. It too showed the subtle signs of recent repair, although a casual look showed the same rust-stained sheet metal, the same streaks of water damage under the eaves high above. When they got closer, however, they saw that the doors were crafted of heavy plate steel. Catalina went to work on it, taking out her burglar’s tools while the others covered.
“Security system” she reported. “Pretty good, but I’m better. Just a moment…”
“Okay,” Vasily told the others. “ID targets before you shoot. We want prisoners. We want know what is going on here. Medics, leaders, anything new. Do not shoot them.”
“I’ve no stunner,” Hadrian said.
“We get you one. For now, cover me and Jane.”
“Ready,” Catalina said. “Say when.”
“When!” Vasily yelled. Catalina kicked the door open, and the Russian darted through, into the cavernous interior of the warehouse.
The booby trap was located in the floor, just a few steps inside the door. It unleashed a tremendous jolt of electrical energy from a series of capacitors, a flare that enveloped Vasily in tendrils of blazing power. The backblast flashed into the walls and door, slicing the other Alphas as it discharged.
Vasily screamed and stiffened as the power coursed through him, overloading the circuits in his armor, which twitched and jerked of their own accord. His problems became more serious a moment later as the trap was followed by a thunderous barrage of fire, from deeper within the warehouse, which enveloped him in a blazing wreath of plasma explosions that surrounded his entire body inside a halo of deadly white flame.
Innocent Bystander
First Post
The rest of the alpha's will forever have the shadowy figure of Vas outlined by bright white light forever burned into their retnas 
Lazybones
Adventurer
Session 20 (September 8, 2008)
Chapter 80
Grace Thelon Beluca had taken the lessons learned from Cecilia Sharp’s death to heart, and she hadn’t rested until her team had figured out how to fix the vulnerability in their Powered Armor to electrical overloads.
That attention to detail saved Vasily’s life. His armor had absorbed most of the electrical burst, but even so it hadn’t been pleasant. As he staggered back, dazed, blinded by the plasma bursts that hammered into him, the systems in the armor automatically cycled, the backups taking over for the burned-out primaries. And within its protective sheath in the small of his back, the Elerium-115 power core rested securely, pouring out the incredible quantities of energy needed by the armor on demand.
With Vasily overwhelmed, his companions quickly responded to the alien ambush. Hadrian threw a grenade at a row of crates from which a volley of alien fire was coming; the bomb bounced off the far wall before landing directly behind the crates, followed a moment later by an explosion that shredded the two floaters there. To the right, Jane darted forward into the interior, firing at another two floaters, clipping one on the shoulder and spinning it around. The other took aim at her but was blasted in the chest by Catalina, who remained in the cover of the doorway, selecting her targets with care.
The interior of the warehouse was dominated by a massive structure that extended from one side of the building to the other, but they paid it little heed at the moment, focused on dealing with the alien defenders. One of the floaters blasted by Hadrian’s grenade was still up and able to fire, its shot narrowly missing Vasily and Hadrian both before punching into the warehouse’s wall. The Marine fell into a crouch and snapped off a few rounds, one of which pinged off the side of the alien’s head, dropping it. On the far side Jane ducked behind the cover of a metal pylon just as the aliens facing her laid down a series of blasts that flared as they struck the bare steel. Jane ducked back as far as she could as tendrils of plasma seared her armor and faceplate. Catalina kept shooting, and as soon as the aliens shifted to deal with her Jane ducked out long enough to finish the one she’d wounded with a second shot that punched a fist-sized hole through its torso.
Vasily let out a deep-throated growl as he staggered forward, the armor responding again as he regained control of his limbs and senses. A bolt of plasma exploded right in front of him, and he looked up to see a floater perched atop the long cylindrical structure that dominated the warehouse, crammed in almost under the warehouse roof some twenty meters above. The alien fired again, but Vasily was already moving, the bolt streaking down to impact the ground where he’d just been standing. His growl became a roar as he unleashed a barrage of shots that streaked at the alien, punching holes in the warehouse roof that bracketed the floater soldier. The two foes exchanged several misses like that until Vasily finally stopped, aimed, and pulsed out a shot that caught the alien right between the eyes. It fell back and toppled off of the cylinder, landing somewhere on the far side of the warehouse beyond his view.
The battle was over, save for the harsh cough of Hadrian’s rifle as the Marine made sure of one of his fallen foes. Vasily’s armor looked as though it had been through a cataclysm; black burn marks streaked the gray plating, and several of the joints ground where they’d been damaged by the punishment the suit had absorbed. But inside the Russian was intact, if somewhat the worse for wear, and there was no doubt that any of the others would by sprawled dead on the floor of the warehouse if any of them had withstood that level of attack.
“Everyone okay?” he asked. The others all chimed that they were, but any other discussion tapered off as their eyes were drawn to the massive thing that filled the interior of the warehouse.
It was a big cylinder, tapering at the ends, extending to the very edge of the warehouse to each side and rising to just a few meters short of the ceiling. It had to have been almost a hundred meters long, and by the look of the heavy machinery that was jumbled into the corners and along the edges of the cavernous space, it had been assembled here. Even now it had an unfinished look to it; the exterior dull and undecorated with paint or insignia of any sort. A ladder rose up the side of it off to the right, near one end, to what looked like an entry of some sort.
“What the hell is that?” Vasily asked, trying to make sense of the whole.
“It’s a ship,” Jane said, an odd tilt to her voice. “A space ship.”
The others looked at her dubiously, but none of them could offer a challenge to her identification. “Guess we know what they were up to,” Catalina said.
Chapter 80
Grace Thelon Beluca had taken the lessons learned from Cecilia Sharp’s death to heart, and she hadn’t rested until her team had figured out how to fix the vulnerability in their Powered Armor to electrical overloads.
That attention to detail saved Vasily’s life. His armor had absorbed most of the electrical burst, but even so it hadn’t been pleasant. As he staggered back, dazed, blinded by the plasma bursts that hammered into him, the systems in the armor automatically cycled, the backups taking over for the burned-out primaries. And within its protective sheath in the small of his back, the Elerium-115 power core rested securely, pouring out the incredible quantities of energy needed by the armor on demand.
With Vasily overwhelmed, his companions quickly responded to the alien ambush. Hadrian threw a grenade at a row of crates from which a volley of alien fire was coming; the bomb bounced off the far wall before landing directly behind the crates, followed a moment later by an explosion that shredded the two floaters there. To the right, Jane darted forward into the interior, firing at another two floaters, clipping one on the shoulder and spinning it around. The other took aim at her but was blasted in the chest by Catalina, who remained in the cover of the doorway, selecting her targets with care.
The interior of the warehouse was dominated by a massive structure that extended from one side of the building to the other, but they paid it little heed at the moment, focused on dealing with the alien defenders. One of the floaters blasted by Hadrian’s grenade was still up and able to fire, its shot narrowly missing Vasily and Hadrian both before punching into the warehouse’s wall. The Marine fell into a crouch and snapped off a few rounds, one of which pinged off the side of the alien’s head, dropping it. On the far side Jane ducked behind the cover of a metal pylon just as the aliens facing her laid down a series of blasts that flared as they struck the bare steel. Jane ducked back as far as she could as tendrils of plasma seared her armor and faceplate. Catalina kept shooting, and as soon as the aliens shifted to deal with her Jane ducked out long enough to finish the one she’d wounded with a second shot that punched a fist-sized hole through its torso.
Vasily let out a deep-throated growl as he staggered forward, the armor responding again as he regained control of his limbs and senses. A bolt of plasma exploded right in front of him, and he looked up to see a floater perched atop the long cylindrical structure that dominated the warehouse, crammed in almost under the warehouse roof some twenty meters above. The alien fired again, but Vasily was already moving, the bolt streaking down to impact the ground where he’d just been standing. His growl became a roar as he unleashed a barrage of shots that streaked at the alien, punching holes in the warehouse roof that bracketed the floater soldier. The two foes exchanged several misses like that until Vasily finally stopped, aimed, and pulsed out a shot that caught the alien right between the eyes. It fell back and toppled off of the cylinder, landing somewhere on the far side of the warehouse beyond his view.
The battle was over, save for the harsh cough of Hadrian’s rifle as the Marine made sure of one of his fallen foes. Vasily’s armor looked as though it had been through a cataclysm; black burn marks streaked the gray plating, and several of the joints ground where they’d been damaged by the punishment the suit had absorbed. But inside the Russian was intact, if somewhat the worse for wear, and there was no doubt that any of the others would by sprawled dead on the floor of the warehouse if any of them had withstood that level of attack.
“Everyone okay?” he asked. The others all chimed that they were, but any other discussion tapered off as their eyes were drawn to the massive thing that filled the interior of the warehouse.
It was a big cylinder, tapering at the ends, extending to the very edge of the warehouse to each side and rising to just a few meters short of the ceiling. It had to have been almost a hundred meters long, and by the look of the heavy machinery that was jumbled into the corners and along the edges of the cavernous space, it had been assembled here. Even now it had an unfinished look to it; the exterior dull and undecorated with paint or insignia of any sort. A ladder rose up the side of it off to the right, near one end, to what looked like an entry of some sort.
“What the hell is that?” Vasily asked, trying to make sense of the whole.
“It’s a ship,” Jane said, an odd tilt to her voice. “A space ship.”
The others looked at her dubiously, but none of them could offer a challenge to her identification. “Guess we know what they were up to,” Catalina said.
Smart Alec
First Post
The rest of the alpha's will forever have the shadowy figure of Vas outlined by bright white light forever burned into their retnas
The funny thing about reading this is grasping just how much punishment the team, and Vasily in particular, recieved in the course of a mission - and seeing how the narrative justifies their survival. Vasily was a high-level Tough/Dareevil/Soldier by this point, and reguarly endured superhuman levels of hurt and still came back swinging, often harder than before. Electrocution and several plasma bolts'll just make him mad, usually.
What would it take to put him down for good? We might find out, later on.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Session 20 (September 8, 2008)
Chapter 81
“Should be an interesting briefing,” Catalina said, shooting a wry smile at Vasily, who merely grunted as he held open the door for her and Jane.
They felt human again, or at least close to it, washed and fed if not rested. They’d gotten back late from Dallas, well after midnight, and it was still early in the morning in Nevada, although it was hard to keep track of time this far underground and the chaotic schedules that HQX kept.
The briefing was just the department heads and Alphas. Drake was there, and she met them with a hard look as they took their seats.
“So, we met somebody,” Catalina said. “Someone we had met before, only now she has a name.”
“Yes?” Garret asked.
“Enough playing games,” Drake hissed. “If you have something to share, just say it.”
Catalina’s look said that she was enjoying the chance to torment Drake. “A ‘friend’ of Agent Drake, referred to her by first name. We found her in Dallas locked in a room.”
“Vala,” Jane said. “Said her name was Vala.”
“Vala was there?” Garret asked, looking at Drake.
“She claimed to be involved with other… agency investigating aliens,” Vasily said.
Drake let out a heavy sigh. “So. You’ve met my sister.”
“Not first time we…” Vasily was saying, but he trailed off at Drake’s words.
“The plot thickens,” Catalina said, her lips twisting.
“Yes. Her name is Vala Night,” Drake said. “She’s a sellout. Country and service weren’t good enough for her, no, she took her talents to the private sector.”
Catalina leaned forward in her seat and put her elbows on the table. “See, we were wondering how your department was going to feel about the fact that we found a potentially interstellar spaceship based on American design.”
Drake’s eyes narrowed, but Catalina kept pressing. “Did you know you were in a glass house when you started throwing bricks the other day, Agent Drake?”
“I am not responsible for the actions of my… sister,” the other woman returned.
“I think an apology might be nice, considering remarks made in recent conversations.”
“I have nothing to apologize for. You Alphas have been reckless, and even dangerous, in your behavior.”
Catalina opened her mouth to respond, but Vasily rose from his chair, and cut her off. “Enough, both! Can we not talk about important things now?”
The two women subsided, although the look between them could have ignited a match. Doctor Wagner brought up an image of the ship in the warehouse on the big screen. “We’ve been looking at the blueprints you brought back,” she said. “Apparently they’ve been working on a ship design that had been abandoned a few years back, during the post-9/11 budget cuts.”
“Who is ‘they’?” Vasily asked. “Cannot believe aliens just decide to do this.”
“We hope to have more information about what the aliens were trying to accomplish once we’ve had a chance to study the data you brought back,” Garret said, “We’re also working on the collaboration angle and will have more to report soon, hopefully.” He looked at Wagner, who nodded.
“We’ll find the traitors and deal with them,” Drake said.
Grace, leaning back against the table, looking at the display, nodded to herself. “Actually, it makes sense, in a way. All of the alien ships we’ve encountered thus far, they are system vessels, nothing more. No way they could make a distance beyond our solar system.”
“The report from the captured alien navigator indicates the same,” Wagner said. “Our latest assumption is that the aliens are operating from a base somewhere inside our solar system.”
“Could it be a larger ship?” Catalina asked.
“We don’t know,” Wagner returned. “We have very little capability to scan the system right now. We lost Hubble, along with every other Earth-orbit satellite, during week one of the invasion.”
“We need to decide what we’re going to do with this information,” Garret said.
“There’s something else,” Wagner said. “From the files on the navigator interrogation.” Once all eyes had shifted to her, she brought up an image of the planet, with glowing traces indicating the tracks of alien ships that had been detected by X-COM or other global agencies. “Between what the creature told us, and what we’ve been studying in the tracking data, we think we’re getting closer to locating a terrestrial alien base.” She pressed some keys and highlighted several of the traces. “There’s been an active pattern of alien activity over the southern hemisphere.”
“Now we talking,” Vasily said.
“Any chance the new data from the captured ship will help us get there?” Catalina asked.
“We won’t know for sure until we analyze all the data, agent De Farrago,” Garret said. “Thus far, we’ve assumed that they have bases on Earth, but without satellite cover, and limited ability to challenge the aliens in the air, we haven’t been able to pinpoint one.”
“Try China, or France,” Drake said.
“Uh, not in southern hemisphere, I pretty sure, Agent,” Vasily said.
“Anything in their biology indicate favored environs or climates?” Hadrian asked.
“Some of them seem to like warmer ones,” Jane noted.
“Might help narrow down areas for native environ bases here on Earth,” the Marine concluded.
“A good idea,” Garret said.
“But thus far,” Wagner said, “the alien species we’ve found seem to come in a broad range. They seem to be highly adaptable.”
“Mmm, they may not go outside,” Catalina said.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned about this threat, is that we can’t expect them to be predictable,” Garret said. “Thus far, the aliens have shown us plenty of surprises.”
The others shared a long look around the table, but no one disagreed.
Chapter 81
“Should be an interesting briefing,” Catalina said, shooting a wry smile at Vasily, who merely grunted as he held open the door for her and Jane.
They felt human again, or at least close to it, washed and fed if not rested. They’d gotten back late from Dallas, well after midnight, and it was still early in the morning in Nevada, although it was hard to keep track of time this far underground and the chaotic schedules that HQX kept.
The briefing was just the department heads and Alphas. Drake was there, and she met them with a hard look as they took their seats.
“So, we met somebody,” Catalina said. “Someone we had met before, only now she has a name.”
“Yes?” Garret asked.
“Enough playing games,” Drake hissed. “If you have something to share, just say it.”
Catalina’s look said that she was enjoying the chance to torment Drake. “A ‘friend’ of Agent Drake, referred to her by first name. We found her in Dallas locked in a room.”
“Vala,” Jane said. “Said her name was Vala.”
“Vala was there?” Garret asked, looking at Drake.
“She claimed to be involved with other… agency investigating aliens,” Vasily said.
Drake let out a heavy sigh. “So. You’ve met my sister.”
“Not first time we…” Vasily was saying, but he trailed off at Drake’s words.
“The plot thickens,” Catalina said, her lips twisting.
“Yes. Her name is Vala Night,” Drake said. “She’s a sellout. Country and service weren’t good enough for her, no, she took her talents to the private sector.”
Catalina leaned forward in her seat and put her elbows on the table. “See, we were wondering how your department was going to feel about the fact that we found a potentially interstellar spaceship based on American design.”
Drake’s eyes narrowed, but Catalina kept pressing. “Did you know you were in a glass house when you started throwing bricks the other day, Agent Drake?”
“I am not responsible for the actions of my… sister,” the other woman returned.
“I think an apology might be nice, considering remarks made in recent conversations.”
“I have nothing to apologize for. You Alphas have been reckless, and even dangerous, in your behavior.”
Catalina opened her mouth to respond, but Vasily rose from his chair, and cut her off. “Enough, both! Can we not talk about important things now?”
The two women subsided, although the look between them could have ignited a match. Doctor Wagner brought up an image of the ship in the warehouse on the big screen. “We’ve been looking at the blueprints you brought back,” she said. “Apparently they’ve been working on a ship design that had been abandoned a few years back, during the post-9/11 budget cuts.”
“Who is ‘they’?” Vasily asked. “Cannot believe aliens just decide to do this.”
“We hope to have more information about what the aliens were trying to accomplish once we’ve had a chance to study the data you brought back,” Garret said, “We’re also working on the collaboration angle and will have more to report soon, hopefully.” He looked at Wagner, who nodded.
“We’ll find the traitors and deal with them,” Drake said.
Grace, leaning back against the table, looking at the display, nodded to herself. “Actually, it makes sense, in a way. All of the alien ships we’ve encountered thus far, they are system vessels, nothing more. No way they could make a distance beyond our solar system.”
“The report from the captured alien navigator indicates the same,” Wagner said. “Our latest assumption is that the aliens are operating from a base somewhere inside our solar system.”
“Could it be a larger ship?” Catalina asked.
“We don’t know,” Wagner returned. “We have very little capability to scan the system right now. We lost Hubble, along with every other Earth-orbit satellite, during week one of the invasion.”
“We need to decide what we’re going to do with this information,” Garret said.
“There’s something else,” Wagner said. “From the files on the navigator interrogation.” Once all eyes had shifted to her, she brought up an image of the planet, with glowing traces indicating the tracks of alien ships that had been detected by X-COM or other global agencies. “Between what the creature told us, and what we’ve been studying in the tracking data, we think we’re getting closer to locating a terrestrial alien base.” She pressed some keys and highlighted several of the traces. “There’s been an active pattern of alien activity over the southern hemisphere.”
“Now we talking,” Vasily said.
“Any chance the new data from the captured ship will help us get there?” Catalina asked.
“We won’t know for sure until we analyze all the data, agent De Farrago,” Garret said. “Thus far, we’ve assumed that they have bases on Earth, but without satellite cover, and limited ability to challenge the aliens in the air, we haven’t been able to pinpoint one.”
“Try China, or France,” Drake said.
“Uh, not in southern hemisphere, I pretty sure, Agent,” Vasily said.
“Anything in their biology indicate favored environs or climates?” Hadrian asked.
“Some of them seem to like warmer ones,” Jane noted.
“Might help narrow down areas for native environ bases here on Earth,” the Marine concluded.
“A good idea,” Garret said.
“But thus far,” Wagner said, “the alien species we’ve found seem to come in a broad range. They seem to be highly adaptable.”
“Mmm, they may not go outside,” Catalina said.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned about this threat, is that we can’t expect them to be predictable,” Garret said. “Thus far, the aliens have shown us plenty of surprises.”
The others shared a long look around the table, but no one disagreed.
Innocent Bystander
First Post
Awesome intelligence briefing LB. You're really starting to make me want to pick up the xcom games again. The wife won't be happy about that
I used to really look forward to the briefings. Mostly because they were a chance for Catalina to claw at Drake. Stalking around, hissing and spitting and just waiting for a chance to scratch. So cool sparking off against one another. Bugger the intelligence, just give me a chance to let the bitch off her leash.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Ha, that makes the way that the Drake storyline ended so much more ... interesting.I used to really look forward to the briefings. Mostly because they were a chance for Catalina to claw at Drake. Stalking around, hissing and spitting and just waiting for a chance to scratch. So cool sparking off against one another. Bugger the intelligence, just give me a chance to let the bitch off her leash.
* * * * *
Interlude: Aftermath (September 9, 2008)
* * *
The briefing room was crowded. Not only were Drake, Garret, Grace, and Docs Wagner and White present, but several of the X-COM pilots were standing along the back wall, along with most of the Betas and a few engineers that were veteran members of the ship salvage unit, or the "clean up crew," as they were commonly known to the field operatives.
There was a small din of conversation that Garret quieted with a raised hand.
"All right. You know this has been coming. The info we've extracted from the Floater navigator that Alpha captured has given us a lead on one of the alien supply routes, including times and trajectories. We're going to stage a little intercept. We know that the aliens are pretty protective of their supply ships, so this is going to be a snatch-and-grab."
At a nod from Garret, Doctor Wagner brought up a map of South America. A bright hashed trail came down from the Pacific Ocean and clipped the southern tip of the continent before moving further south. As Wagner hit keys on the console three more tracks popped up, rising from HQX on an intercept course.
"We're going to catch the supply ship here," she said, indicating a spot on the map. "Karver in Firestorm 1 is going to take out the ship's main engines, force it to land. Then Alpha Team in Skyranger 1 will hit the ground running, neutralize any surviving aliens, secure the Elerium and the ship's data core. Beta Team along with our recovery crew will be on their heels, and will transfer the Elerium supplies to our storage units in Skyranger 2 before the aliens can mount a defense. Firestorm 1 will fly CAP during the extraction, but we'll have to be fast, as we can expect a response quickly."
"Why not just follow the ship to the base, and take it out at the same time?" Perez asked.
"Good question," Garret acknowledged. "And the simple answer is, that we're not ready yet to take on an alien base. There's too much we don't know, but thanks to Alpha's work in bringing us high-ranking aliens to interrogate, we hope to have a plan of attack soon. And we have a few other surprises we're working on as well."
"Any other questions?”
"After alien ship secure, what Alpha do then?" Vasily asked. "We put perimeter around crashed ship? We just bug out?"
"Once the ship is secure and all aliens are neutralized, return to the Skyranger and prepare to dust off,” Garret replied. “Skyranger 1 does not have any provision for storage of Elerium in any case, so leave that to the recovery team. Beta will provide security for them."
Jane raised her hand. “How much warning will we get from the Hyperwave sensors of what type of aliens will we be facing before we land and are in the thick of it?"
Garret looked at Doctor Wagner. “About five minutes,” she replied.
“All right,” Garret said. “The mission will commence in approximately four hours, and I need each and every one of you to be ready. Alpha, be ready at 1320 hours; Skyranger 1 will lift off at 1340.”
He scanned the room, meeting the eyes of everyone present. “We need that Elerium, people. The outcome of this war might depend upon it. Dismissed.”
