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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 5037455" data-attributes="member: 143">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 39Doctor 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.”</blockquote>

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