[right][sub]Hartford Military Base
New Star, Mars Colony
1100 hrs Local Time[/sub][/right]

Hartford was always busy before, since it was the primary defense point on Mars against another Extraterrestrial incursion of Earth. There were always technicians moving between workstations, fighters patrolling the airspace above the cannon and between the two colonies and soldiers on patrol or out for their daily PT routines and training. There were constant expeditions out into the martian wilderness in search of Chrysalid nests on top of that. It had taken about five years after New Star was established to realize that the Ethereals had allowed the Chrysalids to build nests on the red planet, right after a massive swarm nearly overran the then newly built Harford Base while the defense cannon was under construction. But today, as the newest arrivals from Earth arrived in an APC from the starport on the other side of New Star, there was an air of urgency.

Word had come from high command back on Earth that preparations were being made to launch an attack on an Alien stronghold in the next solar system on a planet that the xenobiologists were calling Arthan-3. The ADVENT Initiative had been identified as the primary guard force there, but shortly before the order to prep for invasion came through, a high value transport was identified arriving at the location and Commander Jervald, the legendary mind that had orchestrated XCOM’s masterful defeat of the Aliens in many early engagements, saw a valuable opportunity to remove an Ethereal from play and establish a foothold in other parts of the Galaxy.

Amongst the new arrivals were three XCOM recruits that showed promise during training, Drachen Steinboden, a Duelist who forewent the typical grace of the fighters for a more brute force approach, but none-the-less had scored high enough in his class to catch the group’s eye. Marcia Devries, a rifleman who did exceptionally well in her medical training, XCOM’s recruiter hoped to make her a combat medic when the time comes. And lastly, though certainly not least, the granddaughter of the legendary psi-op Stefan Weisser, Helene Weisser, who was a powerful Psi-Op herself. The three were quickly separated from the rest of the new arrivals by a large MEC trooper and directed to a separate hangar, where a young man with dual plasmic revolvers sat on a crate chewing on a piece of jerky while an older man with a plasma rifle across his back and a Gremlin floating around him as he reviewed a holographic table with the fortress layout. 

However, as the three walked in, the Gremlin beeped and the older man turned to face them, a scar crossing his right eye and a robotic eye glowed green. “Ah, the new blood finally arrived. Take a seat over by your squad mate, who [i]will[/i] introduce himself or spend the next week on KP before the operation, and then I’ll get on with the mission briefing.” The young man sighed mid-chew and then finished, swallowing before he gave a lazy wave, the light glinting briefly off his storm-grey eyes.

“Corporal Damian Renser, gunslinger. I round out our squad of five.” The older man nodded as the others took their positions and then spoke again.

“And I’m Captain Trent Gardner, advanced infantry specialist. And I welcome you all to Ox Squad, the newest squad to be formed under XCOM’s direct command alongside the UEG regulars. Now that that’s done, here’s the mission. As you’ve likely heard by now, long range recon has found a stronghold on Arthan-3 in the Utila System that was recently visited by a potential HVT. Normally the Commander would pass it up and look for a better launch point for the invasion, but he recognized the shuttle as one belonging to an Ethereal, which we don’t often see this close to the Sol system after their failed invasion ended thirty years ago. So you’re aware, they want you new bloods to see what the Aliens are actually capable of in person, so while normally you’d be a more reserve role, we’ll be in the Vanguard of the attack and responsible for finding the HVT and eliminating or containing them. As such, we’ll be in this Starskimmer [i]Holy Mackeral[/i], waiting for us in bay 8. Questions, concerns, complaints?”

Damian didn’t speak and instead continued chewing on his jerky while he waited for his new squadmates to speak up.