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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 5159885" data-attributes="member: 143">Session 20 (September 8, 2008)Chapter 77“It’s okay,” Jane said.  “We’re humans.”Back in the outer room, the other Alphas looked up as Jane’s words were carried over the open comlink.  “Jones!” Vasily hissed, hurrying over toward the little room where Jane had disappeared. “Tell your friends to stay where they are,” the woman said.  “I’m all right, just hold it a sec,” Jane said, raising her voice to carry; no sense in letting the woman know they were linked.  The others stopped outside the door, weapons ready.“Take off the helmet,” the woman commanded.  The barrel of her handgun hadn’t wavered a millimeter.  “Let me see.  No sudden moves.”Jane put her gun down on the desk, and reached up, taking off her helmet, which hissed slightly as the pressurized seal was broken.  “Well, that just proves you’re not one of them, not that you’re not with them,” the woman said.  “What are you doing here?”“We could ask you the same thing,” Catalina said.  She’d crept up to the doorway, and now held her plasma pistol trained on the woman.  “Bastards trapped me in here,” the woman said.  “I was just poking around a bit.”“Looking around, eh?” Catalina asked.The woman’s eyes ran up and down Catalina’s frame, and lingered on the insignia stenciled onto her chestplate.  “Ah.  X-COM, I presume?”Jane said, “My name’s Jane.”“Vala,” the woman said.  “How are you, Vala?” Jane asked. “Well, Jane, I’ve spent the last five hours trapped in an alien infested warehouse, how are you?”“We’re investigating,” Jane said.  “And have you found anything?”“Enough,” Catalina said.  “You find out what the aliens are using all that power for?”“Not yet, but our question still stands. What are you doing here?”The woman lowered her gun, and tucked in into a holster on her hip.  “Let’s just say that X-COM isn’t the only organization concerned about the alien threat.”“Phoenix,” Vasily said, snapping his fingers. “Ah,” Vala said.  “I thought I recognized you.  The Japanese restaurant.  We’ve come a long way since then, no?”Catalina folded her arms.  “Oh.  Her.”“Who do you represent?” Jane asked.  She moved back a step, careful not to make any abrupt moves toward her weapon.  “My employers aren’t looking for attention,” Vala said.  “A pity they now have it,” Catalina returned.  “They are very concerned that what happened to France doesn’t happen here.  And you should be as well.  There’s something going on in this complex, something that certain people don’t want you to know about.  And if they learn that you’re here, they might just decide to blow it all to hell to keep you from finding it.”Vasily grunted.   “We working on it.”“We won’t find out while we are standing here,” Catalina said. “What can we refer to your group as then?” Jane asked.  “Allies, perhaps?”Vala’s lips twisted into a smirk.  “Allies.  Well, we’ll see.”  She headed for the door.  “If you’ll excuse me for a moment.  My bladder, eh?  You ladies understand.  Five freaking hours.”As she headed out into the larger room, Catalina stepped close to Jane.  “Sheesh, Jane, a little caution, eh?”“I’d like to see if she’s willing to work with us, or if we are on opposite sides.”“Oh, and you can tell by what she answers that she’s a noble, upstanding individual.”“I think we can use all the help we can get.”“And an enemy of an enemy is our friend?  Let’s wait until we know more before being too friendly.”Jane put her helmet back on, and took up her plasma rifle while Catalina turned back toward the door.Vala arched her back as she walked toward Vasily.  “Nice armor,” she said. “It work.”“By now, they know you’re here.  I wouldn’t dawdle.”  She reached down toward her belt.  “Oh, and say hello to Inise for me.”  She touched something on her belt, and suddenly disappeared.“Hold i—” Vasily began, lifting his gun, but he blinked and looked where she had been standing, which was now empty air.“Silent mode now,” Catalina said from the doorway, “that’s clever kit, and we don’t know where she is.”“Nice girl,” Hadrian said.  “You know her, Vasily?”“I not ‘know.’ She was… ‘investigating’ in one of our previous operational areas.  Before you join team.”“What are we going to do about that?” Catalina asked, nodding in the direction of the generator. Vasily started to turn toward it, but before he could speak, they all heard sounds coming from the slightly open door leading outside.  Guttural noises, snorts, the lumbering step of something big, followed quickly by the noise of the HWP firing, then a massive slam, then silence. “Sounds like we have more reapers,” Hadrian said, lifting his plasma rifle as he retreated from the doorway.  A shadow fell over the doorway.  “At the door, get ready,” the Marine said.“Spread out!” Vasily warned, spinning up the barrels of his autocannon, the high-pitched whine sounding overly loud in the cavernous confines of the warehouse.  The shadow withdrew from the door, and they shared a quick look, all they had time to do before the metal rollup door shuddered from a heavy impact.  The metal dented heavily inward, and again, before it began to tear.  Rents of sunlight filtered in, forming long trails along the floor.  The Alphas held their fire until the entire door broke free and caved into the room, a reaper following in its wake, stumbling over the wreckage of tortured metal.  Moving incredibly fast, the creature surged forward to attack.</blockquote>

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