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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 5042972" data-attributes="member: 143">Holiday bonus post!  Have a happy and safe new year, readers. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />* * * * * 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?"</blockquote>

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