Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ithradine
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The XCOM Project has been Authorized




With the alien invaders' attack in Berlin, The Council has ordered the full activation of the XCOM project and all of its assets. Each of the seven XCOM bases are currently retrieving all personnel who up until now have gone about their normal lives, the hangers receiving a sky-ranger full of staff and soldiers every hour. It is the most alive they have been since their creation as XCOM staff coordinate and organize all of the arrivals by occupation. The official report from the battle at Berlin had come in from the European base describing the combat abilities of the species known as sectoids, noting that the aliens seemed to possess some kind of unknown psychic ability and the retrieval of a strange substance of unknown purpose currently under-study. There doesn't seem to be any additional activity across the board giving XCOM time to properly setup. New squads are formed based on the specialties of the incoming recruits headed by veteran XCOM operatives, with every squad having their own room in the barracks. Everyone who were drafted or recruited into XCOM were fully aware that they would not being seeing their family or friends until the war was won. The bases themselves were massive underground complexes with accommodations designed to serve as formidable fortresses and home for XCOM personnel, as such it has recreational facilities as well a large interior room the size of a warehouse for live-fire exercises. Nothing however changes the fact that they are facing a technologically superior enemy with unknown power and resources. It is without a doubt the calm before the storm.


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Anderson had not slept for two days before the attack happened, with the amount of activity in the past couple of days he knew what was coming however he didn't expect to lose almost three whole squads in Berlin. Causalities were an inevitable factor of this war however he wanted to make sure that they were as minimal as he could make them. He left central command only to eat and go to the bathroom, currently he was looking up at the geo-scape slowly turn.
"All bases are being brought up to speed and on schedule, commander. Dr. Vahlen seems excited about her new specimens" The voice came from Bradford, his second in command. A rare smile crossed his lips as he continued staring at the glowing holographic for a few more moments before turning towards him"I sometimes think her obsession with the aliens is a little scary at times." he paused briefly "I want them fully operational by the end of the week with three to four teams waiting on standby at all times. Also, Inform Dr. Vahlen her project request is granted and for Dr. Shen to begin construction of the proper containment facilities." They were going to need to capture of theses invaders alive and learn what it knows, the hard way if he knew Dr. Vahlen. Bradford let out a constrained laugh and nodded "Right away, commander. I believe she will be quite happy to hear it." Anderson's gaze returned to the projection of Earth in front of him. How far will he be willing to go to win?

Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Whoami
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Sara was doing sit-ups when Colonel Grenbridge came around. She was wearing a simple black t-shirt and black cargo pants. Sweat dripped from her chin. The colonel tapped on the glass, "Good news, Lancaster. You've been cleared from quarantine. You'll be out in about two hours."

Sara continued her set while she spoke, "Good. I can finally take a shower in private."

Grenbridge looked up at the simple showerhead that stuck out from the corner of the quarantine cell. "If it helps, Sara, everybody in here is a professional."

Sara kept doing her sit-ups, "That doesn't help."

The colonel nodded and looked away for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, the colonel spoke up again. "How have you been sleeping, Sara? Scans have shown abnormal patterns in your brain activity during your REM cycles. Nightmares?" he asked.

Sara stopped at the peak of her sit-up and hugged her knees as she thought on that. She looked forward, her breathing heavy from a long work out. "I'd question anybody who'd come out of what I went through without them..." she said.

In truth, Sara's dreams had been extremely vivid and on repeat. It'd start at Shangri La, the entire mission a play by play of what actually happened. But around every corner, she'd see the tall, regal figure standing in place and staring at her. It'd also be unmoving, disregarding the gunfire and plasma bolts all around it. Then, when the UFO was pulling her in, the creature's long arm would reach from the light and pull her in. She'd wake up drenched in sweat every time. She had tried to sleep six times in her two and a half day quarantine, each time yielded the same result.

Grenbridge tapped on the glass, "You know, Sara. If you just answered the psychologist's question, it might help you sleep. What are you dreaming about?"

Sara stood up and took a towel from her cot. She run it over her head, "I told you already. My abduction on repeat, over and over and over again. I'll get over it, alright? It's still just fresh, after all."

Grenbridge sighed and nodded, "Alright, forget I asked. Look, I'll see if I can get you out of that cell sooner. I'm sure you'd like to meet your team. I didn't tell 'em your name, figured you'd want to introduce yourself personally."

Sara nodded to him and went back to cleaning herself up after the workout session. She gave certain onlookers a steely glare, a reminder that she'd be out very soon and she'd like some privacy. It would appear she got the message across.
__________
1 hour later...

Sara stepped into the base's bar and looked around. She was already settled into her personal quarters, and she was told her new squad often enjoyed their spare time over a few rounds of billiards. Sure enough, there was a gaggle of men and a single woman standing around the pool table. They were laughing, having drinks, and generally just letting loose. One man was leaning forward, lining up his shot on the pool table. He stroked the cue and missed his shot. With a collection of laughs and taunts, the blonde man straightened out and chuckled, "I'm horrible at this game, man! I don't even know why I keep saying yes to these get togethers."

The woman, Japanese by the looks of it, laughed and leaned on the blonde's shoulder. "Face it. You come so you get to see me bending over a table." she said before sticking her tongue out at him. That elicited a few cat calls and laughs from the others.

The blonde man chuckled a bit before retorting, "Yeah but I'm attracted to a good personality. And unfortunately for you, Katsumi, your attitude is as ugly as your shooting."

The Japanese woman gave him the middle finger while the rest of the squad hollered and hooted at that burn. Despite that, there wasn't any sense of tension between them. The team was clearly cohesive and bonded. Sara made her way to the counter first, she didn't want to interrupt their game and display of camaraderie just yet. She ordered a drink from the bartender and waited there as she watched the game of billiards continue. Another man took the cue and leaned down for his shot. "Let me show you how we play pool in Russia!" his accent was thick.

He stroked, miss. The big man pulled a confused look while the rest of the team laughed. He ran a hand over her mohawk, "You don't understand! This table must be tilted." The Russian nodded, clearly convinced with his own excuse.

The blonde man spoke up again, "You know, Valentin, that crash and burn attitude might impress our new recruit whenever she comes out of quarantine."

Sara froze upon hearing that comment. Crash and burn? She eyed her drink long and hard before taking the rest back. The bartender rose a brow at that. He quickly refilled it. The Russian responded to the blonde man, "Shut your trap, Hengeveld."

The blonde grinned, "Are you ordering your team leader?"

Valentin threw some cue chalk at him, everybody laughed. One of the other men spoke up, he had a British accent. "I heard some stuff from the science guys over in quarantine about our FNG. Apparently she's got a rockin' body. I can't help but think we're being awarded a warrior angel who fell from the sky. Y'know, to make this ass end of nowhere base a bit easier on the eyes."

Sara stared at the back of the man's head. That's when the Japanese woman looked past him and straight at Sara. The rest of the team, save the British man followed Katsumi's gaze. The British man leaned over the table and shot, he also missed. Hengeveld planted his face firmly in his palm, "Shit, Lewis..." he sighed.

The British man pointed to Valentin, "Y'know I think he's onto something. This table might actually be tilted."

Katsumi cuffed him upside the back of his head. "Baka! Not the table..." she snapped at him before pointing to Sara, she was still looking at Lewis.

Lewis cleared his throat and placed his hands on the edge of the table, "She's behind me, isn't she?"

Sara took a breath, then the new glass of liquor. The whole squad, except for Lewis, watched in silence as she drank half. Sara made sure to set her drink down with an audible noise, glass meeting polished wood. She could see Lewis wince from that sound. Sara quietly cleared her throat before standing from the stool and making her way to the pool table quietly. Lewis continued to look forward. She studied the pool balls on the table and then glanced to the others, "Who's shot is it?" Sara asked, finally breaking the spell of silence that overtook the bar.

Lewis let out a long breath of relief. Hengeveld took the cue stick from him and handed it to Sara. "Nothing has gone down yet, so fly at it."

She took the cue stick and rounded the table, taking up a position next to Lewis. Leaning over the table, she gave a glance back at Lewis, "You're not out of the fire yet," she said before taking her shot. She sunk the ball.

With that first shot, the rest of the team began to talk like normal again. Most of them were directing their questions to Sara. Katsumi's came first, "Where'd you serve?"

Then Hengeveld, "How long in the military?"

Valentin, "Regiment and rank?"

Lewis came after the Russian, "You single?"

Then the Greek man Sara would later learn to be Kostas, "You still gonna hurt Lewis?"

Sara rounded the table again and answered the questions in the order they were asked. "Vancouver, Canada." Sara shot, sunk.

"No time spent in the military." She sunk another ball.

"Canadian Emergency Response Team, Corporal." Another shot, sunk.

"Widowed," she answered Lewis and put down the next ball.

"Eventually," was her final answer to Kostas as yet another ball rolled into a pocket.

The team pieced it all together. Katsumi spoke first, "Great, our FNG is a cop. Should we give her the arc thrower so she can arrest resisting aliens?"

Sara sunk another ball and looked to Katsumi as she rounded the table again. She looked to Hengeveld for a moment before leaning down again and saying, "Well the aliens definitely aren't getting stunned by your looks."

Hengeveld burst out in laughter, followed by Lewis, then the rest of the team. Valentin patted his hand on her back and spoke in his thick accent, "I like this woman! She's quick learner!"

Lewis raised his bottle of beer, "Well I for one welcome Crash to our band of warriors!"

Sara raised a brow and took another shot. Success. "Crash?" she asked.

Lewis nodded, "Well you did come down from the sky in a flaming UFO. It's a fitting nickname. Besides, we still don't even know your actual name."

Sara lined up her last shot and sunk it like the rest. "Sara Lancaster."

It took the rest of the team a moment to respond. Lewis cleared his throat and walked over to Sara, putting his arm around her shoulders, "Welcome to the Arctic Wolves, Sara."

The rest of the wolves raised their beer bottles and cheered for her. Sara nodded to them all, "Thanks. I'm gonna go get some rest in a real bed. See you around." She handed Lewis the pool cue and made her way out of bar.

When the door closed behind her, the squad stood in silence. Kostas stepped next to Hengeveld, "Should we tell her?"

Hengeveld turned his gaze to the memorial wall and shook his head, "Give it some time. She's been through enough these past couple days."

"Holy shit." Lewis suddenly said. Hengeveld looked to the British man as he went on, "The bloody table is cleared! Do we really suck that much at pool, or is she just that fuckin' good?"
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Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ithradine
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Alexander was in his usual spot in the firing range, dressed in white t-shirt with the XCOM insigna on the chest and a pair of dark brown combat pants with shooting glasses and ear protection on. The sound of his Black Widow sniper rifle was enough to make one go deaf "Allen, begin training exercise 4, top-speed" The attendant at the range seemed unsure but went ahead anyway.

The pseudo-buildings and cover set-up in the view of his scope, his finger gently on the trigger waiting for the first target. A few tense seconds passed before his mark darted into view, and was immediately downed "One."

He had little time to adjust as one target appeared stationary on the top window of a structure and another moved along an upper walkway. The first shot ripped a hole through the head of the window target and quickly turned his rifle on the walkway"Two.", a fraction of a moment passed before the target was missing a solid portion of its upper torso "Three." It had just been a warm-up.

A deep breath was sneaked in as the final round began, often regarded as the hardest shoot for XCOM snipers. Two targets in the windows of the structure, two moving along cover, and one moving towards him. He felt the same calm sensation he felt that night in Vancouver as his first shot burst through the charging's targets head and continued past hitting one of the moving targets behind it."Four.
Five."
The second one he merely clipped in his second shot due to his rush, yet he kept a level head and hit on his second attempt "Six.". He did not make the same mistake with the two in the structure "That makes eight." he pulled back the slide on the rifle and released the clip before handing it over to the range attendant.

"That is some of the best shooting I've seen. I have yet to see one of our snipers complete it so quickly." Allen spoke taking his rifle underneath the bullet-proof glass. Meanwhile, Alex was feeling frustrated he had not had a perfect run "I have to be better if I want to defeat the aliens." He spoke coldly. Allen sighed, the man had witnessed Alex come in everyday for hours on end practicing over and over.

Allen returned the rifle onto the rack with the other stock weaons, Alex's designated rifle was locked in the armory of course"You spend a lot of time in here, Alex. I hardly ever see you in the rec center except for when you are lifting weights". Alex had just begun to walk away "Being friendly won't save a life or guarantee success. My rifle can." He left the range immediately after that.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Two hours later

Alex slid on a pair of padded gloves facing a rubber human dummy, an ever-present look of seriousness in his face. His lifted his hands up in balled fists just underneath his eye level and thrusted forward a sharp right hook, the weight of the dummy colliding with the force of his punch. There were some in XCOM who were already saying that he: Didn't know how to cut loose and Never learned what 'fun' is. Alex wasn't bothered in the slightest and it had nothing to do with extra force he threw in his next punch. They weren't here to have a good time, they were here to save the world from the alien invaders. He could have saved Jensen if he had been just a bit stronger...

He was so focused on practicing on the dummy that he hadn't heard his squad-mate enter the room and slip into sparring gear. A fist from behind nearly struck the back of his head, the rubber material pulling his skin as it streaked across before reeling quickly back to its owner "If you stress yourself out, you end up clouding your judgement." He turned around to find his assailant was Kiana, a native Hawaiian, former navy seal, and the best hand-to-hand combat expert in their squad.

A few beads of sweat came from his hair-line "Do I look stressed?" he thought he looked calm yet she nodded firmly "Yes,
you can see it in your eyes. Now.."
she walked into the sparing ring at the center of the room "I think practice against a live target is better than smacking a dummy around." The smirk on her face was something he would happily knock off, the stories couldn't be all true "I can't argue with that." Alex stepped on the ring starting with the stance he learned in his SAS training with one fist forward and the other close to the chest.

Kiana had both of her hands in open palms just under eye-level out in front of her, staring right at him clearly waiting for him to make the first move "Before we start, let's have a little bet. If I win, you'll come to bar with me and have a few drinks." she spoke with a smile. This seemed oddly suspicious to Alex but he was determined to win "What do I get if I win?" he asked "whatever you want, sweetheart." It would have been suggestive if it hadn't been for the menacing gaze she sent his way.

Alex didn't know what he wanted but he wasn't going to lose "That works for me." he spoke confidently, the smile grew on Kiana's lips "Excellent. Your move, hotshot." the challenge was clear. His eyes quickly scanned her for any openings and he believed he had found one.

Alex took a few steps forward before launched a fist towards lower stomach which she managed to catch effortlessly, but he had been expecting it. His other fist went hurtling towards her center chest but it never got to hit its mark. Kiana had read his tactic and sent her palm firmly into his chest knocking the wind out of him. After that her grip on his arm tightened like a crocodile and knocked his legs out from underneath him before he could react, twisting his arm and placing a knee firmly into his back. There was nothing he could do.

Kiana kept twisting and putting pressure on his back that he had to tap the ring, how did she take him down so quickly? "Be at the bar in half an hour!" she happily exclaimed like she had won some big prize and practically skipped off the ring towards the shower. Alex gritted his teeth at this humiliating loss "I suppose I could use a drink." he tried justifying though he really did not want to.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
thirty minutes later

A miserable look filled up his features as he headed unwillingly to the base's bar, only going there when it was least crowded on his own. He was still a rookie compared to some of the more older soldiers of XCOM and naturally at a disadvantage. When he finally reached the bar, Kiana was already waiting for him but so were the rest of the Steel Tigers who turned their gaze towards him as he entered "Over here, Alex!" she shouted waving excitedly although he could already see her. A soft sigh escaped from him as he walked over and sat at the bar with them.

Kiana placed her hands with a proud smile on her face "I told you I would get him to come!" The bald Jamaican man, Jarmerro, with a medium-length goatee slipped a red-headed comparatively short girl, Haylee Greer, a ten-dollar bill with a soft groan.

Alex scoffed at Kiana's pride "After she tricked me into a sparring match." A sad look filled Haylee's face as the ten-dollar bill slid down the bar-top again to the squad leader, Xu Feng. He put his hand onto the paper money and slid over in front of him as he finished a drink.

Alex was a little irritated, did they seriously take bets as to whether or not he'd come? Is that why you dragged me here?
For a bet?"
he didn't like the idea of being used for such a petty game.

Kiana's happiness was cut down by his statement "That's not it all. We-" Feng's hand tapped her shoulder "There is nothing wrong with placing a little bet now and again. We just want to spend some time as a team, that is all." he calmly spoke

They were all startled by Haylee when she suddenly spoke loudly "I got it! We'll call you Ghost 'cause you're always around but we never see you!" Alex couldn't tell if he should be happy with the nickname or insulted.

Something didn't add up though, why wait until now "So what's the occasion?" Alex asked trying to make the most of it. That's when he noticed Jensen's name on the wall, looking up at the list of solider who have lost their lives for the fight.

"Honoring a fallen comrade." Marcus spoke, a danish man with a long scar a inch from his left eye. Everyone except for Alex held up their glasses "Cheers." No one seemed to be showing the weight of his loss.

Jamerro stood up with a smile on his face "That is why we are going to party in his honor." He pressed a button on a remote he got from the bartender and music began to fill the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
one hour later

"...and she had been vegan ever since." Jamerro had just finished telling his story in his strong accent, the rest of the squad laughing perhaps a bit too much as they sat in the lounge area of the bar. Alex hadn't realized how much Jensen's Death had actually hit him.

Haylee squirmed in her seat "That has to be one of the grossest things I've heard. I won't be able to eat beef for months." It was clear that the Steel Tigers were a bit tipsy at the moment all except for Xu Feng.

Kiana leaned her head on Alex's shoulder "You should carry me back to the barracks, my legs won't work." she tried to ask sweetly and Alex rolled his eyes "Your a navy seal, walk yourself."

This was apparently really funny to Kiana as she burst out laughing "Seals don't walk, they swim silly." That caused a chain reaction of laughter and it seemed some might be more tipsy than others.

Feng looked at the watch on his hand before speaking, standing up from his chair "I believe it's time to wrap things up. A final toast to Major Jensen, a great leader and a greater friend." Feng raised his glass and even Alex raised his to meet him "Here! Here!"

Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Whoami
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Sara stood in the halls of the Shangri La in full tactical gear. When did I get here? Sara looked down each hallway. On one side, she could see her brother-in-law, and her team. The XCOM operatives were there as well. To the other side, Sara could see a dozen of the small gray aliens that she had come to know as sectoids. All was still, even the projectiles flying down the hallway. Sara breathed slowly, her body felt like it was weighted down with sandbags. She began to remove her gear, starting with her gas mask and helmet, then her vest, then her armored padding. It didn't help, she was still slow and heavy.

Sara moved as quickly as she could toward the ERT. Her movements were slow and disrupted nothing, not even the water spewed out by a triggered overhead fire suppression sprinkler. When she was only a few steps away from her team, a door slammed shut. Sara slammed into the wooden door. She looked over her shoulder and saw that there was no more hallway, she was in the room with the aliens. She opened her mouth to scream for help, no noise came. The bright lights from the UFO flashed and blinded her sight momentarily. When her eyes adjusted, there was a tall figure standing in front of her. It was regal, it's crimson robes flowing to the floor and beneath its feet. Sara realized the four armed alien was floating. A long, spindly hand stretched out from the red robe and reached for Sara's face.

Sara swung around, trying to smack the hand away from her. Her own hand passed right through the alien's. She tried to move out of the way, but they were too sluggish, the tall alien simply adjusted. Sara backed against the wall, her breathing heavy, eyes wide. Then the hand took hold of her face.
__________

SMASH!

Sara gasped as she woke up and shot into an upright position. She looked to the noise that had woken her, a glass mug filled with coffee had shattered in the middle of the room. She breathed heavily, sweat drenching her hair and tank top. Her eyes darted from the shattered mug to the table she remembered she had set it down on. There was a five foot gap between the table and the mug. How did it get there?

With a deep breath, Sara slowly began to come down from her panic. She rested her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes. "Just a nightmare..." Sara mumbled to herself.

Sara pulled herself from her bed and stepped barefoot over to the bathroom. She turned toward the sink and noticed that her mirror had been cracked, like somebody had punched it hard. Sara studied the mirror, it wasn't that way when she first arrived in her quarters. Nevertheless, the mirror was broken now, nothing Sara could do would fix that without getting some other staff in for repairs. She turns the sink on and filled her cupped hands with cold water. Sara splashed the water on her face and ran her hands down her cheeks, her eyes staring into the cracked mirror. Each segment of the mirror reflected back a whole copy of Sara's face at different angles.

Sara reached for a towel and ran it through her shoulder length hair. She sighed, "Jesus, Sara... You see dozens of bloody massacres as a cop and you don't get fazed. One encounter with aliens and you lose your mind... Shame on you..." she says in a scolding tone to herself, "Get a grip, girl."

There was a knock on her door. Sara leaned back a bit and looked at the metal, featureless door before calling out, "It's open."

The door slid open with a hydraulic hiss and Hengeveld stepped into the room. He looked around, spotted the shattered much and coffee stain on the floor. "Sara?" he said.

Sara waved her hand from the bathroom door, "In here."

Hengeveld raised a brow and turned his back to the door, "Sorry, I can come back if this isn't a good time."

Sara shrugged and stepped out from the bathroom, the towel resting over her shoulders. "I spent two and a half days in a quarantine cell having to shower in front of at least thirty people. Not much can really bother me right now."

Hengeveld chuckled at that but kept his back turned to her, "Well at least you're optimistic about your situation."

Sara didn't respond to that. She made her way toward her dresser and pulled some cargo pants out. She let out a long sigh as she slipped them on. "Thank you," she finally said.

"For what?" Hengeveld responded.

"For having the decency to not look," Sara responded.

The dutchman shrugged, "I figured it'd be a bad first impression if I looked."

It was Sara's turn to chuckle now, "Right you are, Hengeveld. You're in the clear now."

Hengeveld smirked and turned around to face Sara. She was grabbing something to sweep up the broken glass. Hengeveld watched her in silence for a few seconds before she spoke again, "So what brings you here, Hengeveld?"

The squad leader blinked when he heard her, then finally answered, "Hm? Ah... Yes." He cleared his throat first, "The squad, we usually put money on our pool games. And since you thoroughly kicked our asses, it's only fair that you get the pot."

Sara glanced at him and shrugged, "I didn't buy in. And I was just shooting because nobody else was."

"Regardless, you're an Arctic Wolf now. No members are exempt from pool money." Hengeveld said as he simply set the money down on the table.

Sara glanced at the money for a moment but decided not to try and dispute the squad's rules. She began to sweep the glass onto a tray. Hengeveld watched her do it. "So. What's with the mug?"

Sara shrugged, "Wish I knew. The sound of it smashing on the floor woke me up. Big mystery. My bathroom mirror is messed up pretty bad too."

Hengeveld raised a brow at that and went to go check. "So somebody was in your room then? While you were sleeping? Talk about grade A creepy. You gonna bring it up to the commander?"

Sara finished sweeping the glass up and set the tray aside. "If it happens again. Then yes."

Hengeveld nodded slowly. "Hey... You said you were widowed, right? Who was he?"

"Master Corporal Adam Lancaster. Served a tour of duty in Bosnia as a peacekeeper before transferring to the Patricia's Light Infantry Regiment. He did two tours in Afghanistan from there." Sara said as she leaned back against her kitchenette's counter, her arms crossed.

Hengeveld took that information in, "How did he... Y'know... If you don't mind me asking?"

Sara shrugged, "Officially, it was a roadside bomb. But I'm a cop, and I can tell when there's a fabricated story."

Hengeveld raised a brow at that, "You think there's more to it?"

"Yeah. But I'm afraid to look further into it. It's easier to think he just died in Afghanistan, far simpler that way." Sara looked away from Hengeveld as she said that.

"Yeah, I hear you on that. But nothing is ever that simple, sadly." Hengeveld said, running his hand through his blonde hair.

"Not if you make it complicated." Sara said.

Hengeveld smirked at that, "Good point."

There was a sudden beeping coming from a device on Hengeveld's belt. Then a similar device on Sara's dresser started beeping as well. Hengeveld took the device from his belt and looked at it, the device had one word on its screen.

Sortie.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ithradine
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Though they drank, none of the Steel Tigers had over-did it knowing that, unless stated otherwise, they were supposed to be combat ready 24/7 though through proper rotation no one squad was over-worked. The worst offender in their little party had to be Kiana, who had insisted that Alex piggyback her to their barracks. The other members of the Steel Tigers had dispersed elsewhere leaving the two alone to walk back.

Alex sighed as his hunched form lugged his squad-mate along "I can't believe I'm doing this..." he lamented. The look in his eyes clearly told he was less than enjoying this.

Kiana giggled with her arms loosely around his neck "You shouldn't complain getting to carry such a woman like myself. Make sure you watch those hands." A short laugh came after her slightly slurred words.

He just kept looking forward, rolling his eyes at such a prideful comment "A woman who needs to be carried after a few drinks? You're right, I should be honored." The sarcasm couldn't be any clearer.

Smith could feel the pressure around his neck get a little tighter "Now you're getting it. I am so thoughtful, aren't I?"she shamelessly exclaimed.

It was a good thing there were no other people nearby or he would have dropped her like a rock right there "So full of shit more like. Do you talk to yourself in the morning like that?" He asked getting a little frustrated.

"Are you saying you don't? What better way to start you day than some self-motivation?" Her voice was a little too excitable that time.

A few moments of silence passed "You're messing with me."

"Oh totally." A quick response came.

Alex grunted stopping in his tracks "Alright off." he bluntly stated dropping his hands from holding her up.

Kiana hung on his neck for an extra second before she dropped to the ground with a over-acted pout, walking up to his side "Aww but we're almost there..."

Alex did not seem amused in the least "I think you're fine to walk the rest of the way." He started walking towards the barracks once more.

Kiana rushed to keep up with him "Alex, you've been part of this team for a month now and I have never once seen you let loose." It finally came out then.

He didn't stop walking "I'll let loose when Earth is safe." was his answer. How could he waste time on frivolous things when such a dangerous threat is facing them capable of wiping humanity out?

She was not about to let this side "We are a team Alex. You alone can't win this war. Keeping yourself so stressed isn't going to help anyone." Kiana was much more firm in her approach.

Those words were not what he wanted to hear "Messing around won't either. Look, what would make you drop this?"

A far too devilish grin filled her cheeks "You know, start hanging out with us off-mission. Nobody says you gotta be friends with everyone just get to know them."
Finally they reached their barrack's door "Why would I want to do that?" He asked coldly opening the door.

Kiana replied as she rushed past him "Cause you're the rookie of the group and I will keep my mouth shut about how badly I kicked your ass." The disturbingly nice smile almost concealed the threat.

Alex gritted his teeth as he walked over towards his bed "Blackmail huh?" He sighed "You are one sneaky bitch." He flat out said to her.

The cheek grin as he turned around to look at her told him she seemed quite proud of it "You would've known that if you spent time out of the range. That's why you don't cross me. I knew we'd understand each other." The energy in her voice really hid her deceitfulness.

There was a digital board within every barracks that displayed the current deployment status for all squads in North America. Due to the low alien activity, All of the NA's bases currently displayed 'on standby', displayed in green, which was the default setting. However a small electronic noise emitted from the machine, a notification that it was updating, when the status by the special unit 'Artic Wolves' switched to an orange 'Mission Prep'. Alex knew they're getting called because everyone in the squad receives a notice before the board updates.

Kiana stepped over to the board, seemingly curious about something. A finger tapped the Artic Wolves tab on the board, and a list of current members displayed "I see they finally cleared her. No rest for the wicked as they say."

There was no point in asking who she was referring to, Alex already knew. He heard a few soldiers within XCOM talk about the woman, not in the flattering way either. She might not be military, but she survived first contact, abduction, and a crash. That was enough for him to consider her XCOM already "Mission Vector?" he asked ignoring for the moment his grief with her.

A few more taps on the screen "Are you concerned?" she teased him, the serious of his eyes stopped her from contiuning further "A ice sheet in north-east Canada."
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ithradine
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A shaky, poor-quality video displayed across a large screen in the command center of XCOM's European Base. The base commander, Bradley Delmote, watched as black smoke rose from what appeared to be the surface of a cruise ship. One of the alien devices known to incapacitate civilians was in the center focus spewing green bands of energy targeting the passengers while screaming filled the audio. It cut abruptly when a sectoid came into the frame "This video was uploaded shortly after a distress signal from the ship was sent out ten minutes ago. Playing it now." A technician on one of the consoles voiced.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is the S.S. Paradise! We have just been struck by several unknown objects...*static*...What's it...?" The audio reduced to complete static and was cut "I was able to trace the signal off the coast of Sicily. Displaying coordinates" A male, robotic voice came over the command center's comms. It was the XCOM A.I. nicknamed 'Arthur'.

Bradley glanced at the numbers on his personal screen in front of the geo-scape. If they acted quickly they might be able to rescue some civilians and intercept a UFO in the process "Arthur, pull up satellite imaging." he firmly ordered. The paused video was switched for an aerial view of the coordinates recovered revealing a heavily damaged cruise liner obscured by large amount of smoke. The S.S. Paradise was without a doubt dead in the water "I want the Sea Dogs prepped ASAP and two squads ready for back-up. Send Crusader 4-1 to secure the air. Send word out to any police or military personnel in the vicinity of our operation, keep them in the dark."
______________________________________________________________

Novak Vilmos was the only member of the Sea Dogs catching up with some shut-eye within the barracks, Lucia was too busy trying to win at least one game of poker against Felix after a series of extraordinary bad-luck at the barracks' table.

Felix peered down confidently at the four of kind currently in his hand, playing against Lucia was like stealing candy from a child. The frustration in her face was painfully clear "What could possibly be taking you so long?"

Lucia was debating on changing out some of her cards, she thought Felix had to have a great hand with how confident he was ""Don't rush me. You've had your way for too long!" She was about to trade in the cards she selected when they got the message to ready up. Quickly she peeked at the cards she got dealt and smiled cheerfully before tossing a pillow from one of the beds at Novak "Hey Princess stop kissing your pillow, we got a mission."

Novak heard the familiar noise their belts made when given a mission and was already opening his eyes as he caught a face-full of white fabric. He tore the pillow from his face and jumped off the bed "Who needs alarms when we got that loud mouth of yours." he responded as he began changing into his combat gear.

The rest began to do the same, Isak came running in afterwards "Looks like a cruise ship in the Med. An interceptor just got cleared for take-off." he frantically spoke getting to his gear.

The squad leader Annika had been in the middle of drink with Helene Mauss of the Grim Crows, which is why she immediately knew that XCOM's ace team was their back-up. She stepped soon after Isak with clear authority, a woman who took no nonsense when a situation got serious but otherwise was laid-back "I'm glad to see none of you are wasting time. Command wants us mobile immediately." she spoke moving quickly towards her locker.
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The area of operation was not much a surprise to Alex, their squad name was 'Arctic Wolves' after all, however he did wonder why the aliens were interested in such a remote location. Currently, there had been no records of the Aliens' constructing special facilities on the planet yet but the details suggested just that. Kiana was still at the display screen when a loud notification caused her to jolt, he had to restrain from smiling at the startled look in her face which turned to curiosity.

That was when Alex noticed it as well, it seemed their squad had been assigned to assist "Well it looks like we'll be able to meet the new girl first-hand. she left the monitor and walked over to her locker, while the Artic Wolves were the primary force in cold regions the Steel Tigers had their own share of frozen missions "I wish the aliens would invade some place tropcial next time..." She lamented.

Alex began retrieving his gear as well, the weapons would be waiting for them on their way to the sky-ranger "I am starting to think you are not right in the head. If the aliens did attack a tropical area, they would probably destroy it...not that you would get to enjoy anything there." his word spoke sharply as he changed into winter gear.

The rest of the Steel Tigers came through door shortly after, the squad leader with that stern look in his eyes that never seemed to go away "What the story here sir?" Jamerro asked walked to his bunk

Feng spoke as he tugged on his chest-piece "We have confirmed alien activity in the ice sheets of northern Canada, a number of natives have gone missing as well as a nuclear submarine. It is believed there is an alien facility below the ice." he spoke quickly

It wasn't long before the Steel Tigers were geared up with everything inside their locker, the rest would have to be grabbed at the hanger. One of the small perks of being an XCOM soldier was being able to customize your gear, apart from vital equipment. Typically the only ones with unmodified weapons or armor were the rookies, there was a bit of a custom that had grown where you had to survive a mission before you were able to put your personal touch on anything.

Kiana was the first one out of the door, the Artic clothing and gear was already beginning to make Alex sweat a little but there was no doubt he would be thankful for it later "So we get to play with the Ice puppies today?" she sarcastically said looking far too eager. It was not unusual for squads to bust on each other like that, each base was like a big family to some. There was something about saving the world from an extraterrestrial threat that seemed to bond people together.

Marcus laughed shaking his head "We'll be joining up with them any moment Kiana, for once could you do us all a favor and shut it?"

Kiana pretended to be offended but the small smirk on her face gave her away "But you would miss the lovely sound of my voice.." she turned her head back to them

Feng's voice rose above them "Both of you will shut it. You had time to loosen up earlier, we have a mission to accomplish." He spoke like a scolding father

Alex had to say he really liked his squad leader, the man had no reservations about putting the foot down when needed "What are the objectives for the mission, sir?" he asked walking to Feng's side

Feng kept looking ahead "Scout the area around the site, locate the entrance, infiltrate the facility, kill all hostiles.
We also have a request from central to capture an alien alive, they seemed pretty interest in the outsider however. It seems they managed to modify the glorified stun gun to capture them, supposedly."
Alex wondered who the poor sucker that would get that job would be.
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Sara and Hengeveld entered the squad locker room together. Hengeveld immediately broke off from Sara's side and went to his locker. Sara remained at the door and looked around, seeing the whole squad was already well on their way to being kitted out. Hengeveld looked back to Sara and gestured to a locker across from him, "That one's yours, rook."

Sara nodded once and stepped toward her locker, it was labelled 'Crash'. She guessed Lewis really wanted that nickname to stick. With a shrug, Sara opened her locker. The gear inside was a combination of familiar and not so familiar. The ballistic vest and padding in particular looked completely new age, far outside the ERT's paramilitary budget. She pulled the vest out and studied it, "It's a bit bulky isn't it?"

Hengeveld chuckled and nodded, "A bit. But it's flexible, and the only armor that'll take a plasma round. You saw what plasma can do to conventional armors. I read the report on the Shangri La incident."

Katsumi called out from her locker, she was in her underwear pulling on her winter fatigues. "We all read it. Sorry it had to your team going in there, Lancaster. XCOM needed a team to slow them down."

Sara looked over to the Japanese woman, "We were bait?"

Katsumi glanced over to Hengeveld as he shook his head with a sigh, "Not the first word I'd use, but... I guess it's all the same, yeah."

Sara rolled her eyes and took her clothes off so she could get into her fatigues. "There's plenty I'd love to say right now," Sara mumbled.

"But?" Hengeveld asked.

"But. The more time I spend arguing, the more time I waste to get ready. Let's just get this over with." Sara let out a deep breath and went back to gearing up. She took hold of the white and gray ballistic vest again and slid it onto. Securing it to herself was easy enough. Her time as a police officer had made putting ballistic vests on a part of her daily routine, it didn't matter how different the vest was. She then went on to getting the rest of her pads on.

When the team was finished gearing up, they all filed into the command room. Sara gasped when she saw the large holographic projection of the Earth and all of XCOM's operations on it. Hengeveld placed his hand on Sara's armored shoulder, "That's the Geoscape. The green dot there is where we are. HQ. That red dot North of it is our target."

Sara nodded and took the information in. Hengeveld then let out a sigh of relief, "Ah~ Seems we'll be getting backup for this mission. More bodies are always nice." He left Sara's side to go meed with the other squad's team leader. Already, the soldiers of the Arctic Wolves were mingling with the Steel Tigers. Sara saw as they all were pretty tightly knit. Sara leaned against an unmanned console and just stared up at the Geoscape to wait for the briefing. She eyed the collection of dots around Vancouver City, seemed XCOM was operating in force there. Defensive positioning was most likely.

Sara felt nervous, her first encounter with the aliens ended with her team being nearly wiped out, herself getting abducted, and her brain being probed and left images of indecipherable things. There she was, waiting to go out into the field alongside people she didn't know. Against enemies she didn't understand. Sera looked around some more then, realizing that she was likely the only person on base that didn't have a military background. She felt woefully unprepared for what was coming.
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XCOM Operators manned the consoles that surrounded the geoscape, deciphering information and monitoring various channels for anything suspect. The commander of the NA base emerged from the other side of the geoscape, dressed in a mostly black version of the uniform the operators wore, the striking aspect of his appearance was the clear scar of a plasma-burn across the left side of his face, feebly hidden by a metallic eye-patch. Dark brown hair was streaked with strands of gray, the wear on his body the evidence of years of service "Two days ago the U.S.S Sea-fang, a nuclear submarine, was on patrol around the arctic circle. All contact was lost with the ship and its crew. A week ago natives living in upper Canada also started to go mysteriously going missing after dark. Of course they blamed a sort of boogeyman but we know better." he paused for a breath before looking up at a monitor behind the geoscape "Liberty, please pull up footage retrieving from our satellite and display it on screen."

A female robotic voice filled up the space of the command room "At once, commander. I am bringing it on-screen now." A structure clearly of design similar to the UFOs came into view, surrounded by ice.

The NA commander, Liam Marsh, faced the two squads once more "Further examination leads us to believe the structure consists of five stories. We also highly suspect there will be a commander or something close near the bottom of the facility. Besides that information, we are currently unaware of what lies in store. This is the first alien outpost we have seen so far. That is why both squads with be equipped with a arc thrower. Let me be clear, I do not expect anyone to risk their life to capture a new alien." he seemed very firm on the last point "Your mission is to capture the facility and recover anything of value. If possible, you are to capture the alien in charge of the facility. This is new territory for us so I expect everyone to be careful. Further briefing will be given on the skyranger once you approach the facility. Dismissed." He gave a quick salute, indicating it was time to leave for the aircraft

Alex had to admit even he was tad uncertain about this mission, but they were XCOM and this was what it was all about. No one else was going to take the invaders out besides them. He didn't mingle with the Arctic Wolves like the rest of his team as they all headed for the hanger, he was barely getting along with his own team. Feng seemed to be particularly friendly with Hengeveld which was not a surprise since their two squads were always paired when it was needed. Kiana seemed to be enjoying toying with the one known as Lewis. All faces he has seen before except one.

He made his way to her calmly, she must be the one that survived the Vancouver mission. The first mission fright seemed to be getting to her, he had been the same way "I heard you survived the UFO crash in Canada and took out a couple aliens yourself. This will be your first mission for XCOM, right?" He asked but the answer was obvious, listing plain fact so far.
He wished they had arrived sooner."You have already survived your first encounter with them. You might not know the enemy well but we do. Trust your instincts and follow our lead and you will be alright." He was trying his best to help, this wasn't normally something he did. It might be something her squad-leader should tell her but he was there and he felt partially responsible.
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