Apocalypse Fanfic

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Warlord

As Warlord emerged from the shower, he could hear the insistent pulsating tone from his phone.

"Screw it. Let the machine pick it up, I don't feel like talking to reporters," he mumbled as he started pulling on his uniform. But just before the machine would pick up, the person on the other end would hang up and call back. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and picked up the receiver.

"What"

"Do you always address your superiors like that, Commander?"

"When they bother me at six in the morning, yes, Senator."

"I want you in my office in 30 minutes, Commander."

"That's really sweet of you, Senator, but I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I'm still exploring other possibilities. Not to mention the fact that I'm not attracted to other men."

"Cut the crap, Commander! 30 minutes. Do you understand me?"

"Gotcha. See you when I get there."

Warlord hung up grinning, just as the Senator really started to go off.

"This day just keeps getting better and better."

As he walked through the base, he could feel the depression in the air. The soldiers were feeling down, and it was obvious. Suddenly, and idea struck him. He flipped open his portable communicator and punched up the speed dial for Tankman.

"Tank, Warlord."

"Sir."

"Our friends, the Cult, have set up a propaganda shop. Intel tells us that it looks more like a safe house for raiding teams. Lots of equipment, not a lot of security. Apparently they don't want to be too obvious."

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"I think that those weapons and that equipment would better serve the city of Mega Primus in the hands of X-Com soldiers. Don't you agree?"

"Absolutely, Sir. What's the plan?"

"That's your department. Start plotting the basics, and I'll go over it with you this afternoon after I get back from the senate."

"You got it. Tankman out."

Warlord already felt better. Historically nothing raised a unit's morale than a successful battle. This raid on the Cult should be exactly what the doctor ordered.

"As long as we don't find another breeding ground..."

He entered the vehicle bay just as Tammy and Trigger were coming back in.

"Trigger, how are you?"

"Not much better, sir."

Warlord could hear the depression in his voice. He knew it had to be tough for a sniper to lose his sight.

"Listen, I know you don't want implants, but I think you should give them another look.

"Another look? Real funny sir."

"You know exactly what I mean, and I am still your commanding officer, so watch your tone, soldier. Anyway, I've been looking around, and there may be another option for you, besides implants."

Trigger's head snapped up at this news. He had a hopeful, but guarded look on his face.

"What kind of option?"

"R&D had been working on an improvement for the standard combat helmet. It included a ton of modifications. One of those modifications was a vision enhancer. It was originally intended to allow soldiers to see clearly in any environment, but the engineers had trouble making it work for soldiers with normal vision. It was too difficult to improve on that, so the project was scrapped. However, with your vision being degraded, They might be able to make one for you, custom built."

"So I get to walk around for the rest of my life wearing a helmet?"

"No, the technology was built into the lens of the helmet, so it might be possible to build a pair of, say, sunglasses with the same capability. Talk to the tech geniuses down there when you get a chance. They just might be able to help you out."

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by The Veteran

"Thankyou sir. I just may do that," said Trigger with some enthusiasm. "Sir?" he called as Warlord turned away.

"Yeah?"

"Where's my gun?"

Warlord looked to the ground, and there was silence. "Go to engineering... They should have it there," he replied after some time.

Trigger understood exactly what he meant. He himself had lost his heart and his eyes. The gun would have been like paper. He said nothing and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Tammy.

"Research and development I guess," he replied glumly. She let him go. He was ok on his own now.

Trigger recognised very few faces while he walked but now he could at least see just enough to know he didn't recognise them. As he approached R&D he wondered what he would do if they could do what Warlord had said they could.

Trigger slowed to a stop and began thinking. He turned away from R&D and headed for the workshop a little further down the hall. Here he found his gun.

"We haven't had any time to look at it yet but..."

"Forget about it," said Trigger as he was approached by one of the mechanics. "I'll take it. I'm good with this sort of thing."

"Yes sir," said the mechanic turning back to his work.

Trigger slung Ultio over his shoulder and left for his quarters. He was in no mood for chit-chat and was in even less of a mood for conflicts.

As he reached his quarters he remembered something. He tapped in the access code hopefully but the door stayed locked and Trigger slumped against the wall, exausted and depressed. He slid down the wall and Ultio fell to the floor beside him. In the corridor outside his quarters Trigger slept well for the first time in days.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Warlord

After Trigger had moved away, Tammy turned to Warlord.

"Can they really do what you said they can?"

The concern in her voice was evident.

"Yes. I wouldn't have told Trigger about it otherwise. I'm a cold-hearted bastard, but I'm not going to build up a soldier's hopes when I know there's no chance for him. The techies down in R&D have a direct order from me to do whatever is in their power to help Trigger out."

"Thank you for helping him, sir. A lot of commanders would just cut a soldier like him loose."

"I'm not a lot of commanders, and he's not just some soldier. He's one of my soldiers. And I don't cut anybody loose."

Tammy looked back at Warlord, studying his eyes to see if they told the same story. His eyes blazed with determination, but there was also compassion behind them. Tammy spoke again with a tone of respect in her voice that went beyond simple respect for rank.

"Thank you, sir."

She then turned and walked away. Warlord watched her go. Trigger was very lucky to have a soldier, and a person, of her caliber watching over him. He flipped out his communicator and dialed base security.

"Security, Lieutanant Jackson speaking."

"Lieutenant Jackson, Commander Warlord."

"Sir"

"At ease, I want Trigger fully reinstated to his former security clearances. That includes his access codes for his quarters, the training room, armory, etc. Got it?"

"Yes, sir. I thought he was going to be leaving us."

"Not anytime soon, and if he does, we'll handle it then. For now, reinstate all his access codes."

"Yes, sir. His codes will be reactivated in about 10 minutes."

"Thank you Lieutenant."

"Just doing my job, sir."

"Warlord out."

Warlord hung up and climbed into the closest Phoenix and cranked up the engine. The hovercar roared to life. Warlord checked all systems and gently eased out of the hangar on his way to the Senator's office.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by The Veteran

Almost as soon as Warlord hung up on the lieutenant, the phone in security signalled an incoming call.

"Bring it up," said Lieutenant Jackson to one of the operators.

"Yes sir," they replied bringing up a face on the screen in front of them.

The man on the screen looked elderly but something about him suggested he could not be judged by appearance alone. "I need to speak to Commander Warlord," said the screen.

"I'm sorry I can't allow that. What business do you have with the Commander?" replied Jackson.

The man on the screen was obviously a government official of some sort as he was able to refer to Warlord by name. The names of XCom operatives were known to very few people outside of the organisation.

"I need to discuss an important matter with him concerning the operations of Bravo base."

"What?" said the Lieutenant shocked. Who was this person and how did they know so much about XCom? "What is your position?" he asked the stranger.

"I am Major Haggith of Alpha base. I need to meet with Warlord immediately. Do you have a problem with that soldier?" he replied.

"No sir. Absolutely not," Jackson replied immediately.

"Well then boy, go get him! I can't wait here all day. In case you didn't hear me I said it was important," said the Major sharply.

"I'm sorry sir but Warlord isn't currently at the base," he started and decided to stop. If the Major wanted to know any details he could ask. The Lieutenant wasn't going to volunteer the information willingly.

"Where is he?" said the Major impatiently.

"He has an appointment with Senator Harding sir. He is expected back before evening."

"Tell him I called," said the Major.

The line went dead, the call ended by the Major. The security room was filled with silence and then the next minute it was filled with noise.

The Lieutenant stood in silence staring at the blank screen. Thinking. 'Trigger...' he finally thought.

The Lieutenant sat down at a monitor and accessed the security files.

"I hope he's grateful for this," he said to himself. "I'm missing lunch now..."

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Warlord

Warlord eased the Phoenix into the underground parking area of the Senate Building. As he stepped out, a pair of young security guards approached him.

"Commander Warlord?"

"What."

"Sir, the Senator asked us to escort you to his office."

"I know the way to his office, why don't you two just go on back to your posts."

"Sir, we have orders."

"I could really care less. Leave me alone. I don't need an escort."

"Sir, we have orders to escort you to the Senator's office, and we will follow our orders. We also have orders to secure your sidearm."

With that, the guard reached for Warlord's pistol. In a flash the pistol was out and pressed firmly against the guard's neck.

"I don't think so, boy. Now unless you are in the mood for a shootout, get out of my sight."

"But we have-"

"I already told you, I don't care what orders you have, or who gave them to you. I also have orders, and mine supercede anything you can even imagine."

The two guards backed off, looking worried. Keeping an eye on the two of them, Warlord headed for the grav-lift. On his way up, he slipped the pistol back into his waistband. He straightened his jacket and headed for the senator's office. Before he could even knock, the door opened.

"Come in, Commander. The senator is waiting."

As Warlord stepped into the senator's office he heard the aid close the door behind him.

"I'm pissed, so I'll cut to the chase. What the hell kind of stunt was that last night?"

"What do you mean? I went to get a drink, and some thug jumped me. It was purely self defense."

"Your 'self defense' caused over $750,000 in damage to this city"

"Take it up with Diablo. I'm sure they can afford the bill."

"Watch your tone, Commander. Until further notice, you, and all X-Com personnel under your command, are forbidden to carry any form of weapon with the sole exception of combat missions. Furthermore, no armed craft are to leave the building unless they are engaging a UFO. Is that clear?"

"What about intelligence gathering and raid activity?"

"Any mission that is not a direct action against the alien invaders must be cleared through me personally."

"In that case, I have a raid pending against a Cult of Sirius weapons stockpile. Intel has confirmed that the weapons are enough to send about 50 armed personnel on a mission. This staging area is located less than two blocks from my base."

"Permission denied."

"What?! You can't be serious. The cult is getting ready to attack my base and you won't let me put a stop to it?"

"You don't know for sure that they are going to attack your base."

"No, I suppose they might be throwing a f**king parade!"

"One more outburst like that, and I'll have you relieved of your command and thrown in jail"

"You know as well as I do that the cult is going to hit us in retaliation for our strike on their breeding ground. You also know how many non-combat personnel are at my base. When they attack, casualties are going to be high, and the blood will be on your hands..."

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Ego Terrorist

Ego walked the base corridor he hadn't had much chances to get out on combat missions, reseach plus several injuried rookies and officers had to be dealt with, the alien autospys had gone well and so far everything was okay, Delta team was now under tempory command of somebody else while Ego attended to the wounded.

"Sir." Said a passing Squaddie.

Ego nodded and then entereed Warlord's office, there was nobody in so Ego just put the letter on the CO's desk, he checked the letter to make sure that everything was correct and then turned down the coridoor towards medi bay

Nurse Hammlesmith smiled at Ego when he entered the medical bay. "Doctor Freud has arrived, and is in your office waiting."

"Thanks" Replied Ego.

He opened the door to his office, Freud was sat on Ego's desk.

Freud, was Ego's replacement, a good man, had no interest in combat, but he knew how to perform autopsies, and medical treatment. "Gut day Dr Terrorist, you ist well?"

Ego chuckled, his English wasn't the best but he was a good man. "Fine you?"

"Ya, so you ist off?"

"Yup, I'm off, my Taxi should be here now." Ego picked up a bag and waved bye, and walked down the final route to the main elevator, he got in and was then taken into the garage level of the slum, the Taxi now visible Ego got into it and was then taken off to the Transtellar Space Port.

"Ah, 3 weeks of sun sea and sand! Hawaii, here I come! Let the holiday begin"

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by The Veteran

Trigger slowly began to open his eyes and then woke with a start as he recognised his surroundings. He was in his quarters and Ultio lay on the floor beside him. His vision was blurry from sleep but he could just make out the rest of the contents of his room just the way he left them. Basically, all over the floor.

He pulled himself out of bed and began to wonder about how he had come to be in his quarters. He moved to the door and entered his pass code. The door slid open.

'What is going on here?' he thought to himself. He shut the door and sat at his desk still littered with tools from restoring his gun the first time. He cleared them to the side and placed Ultio on the table for the second time that week. "Jesus Christ," he said aloud. "What a mess"

Trigger sat for a while thinking what to do with the mass of twisted metal in front of him. Once again he was being controlled by his pride. He couldn't get a new gun, it went against everything he had taught himself these last few months.

Gently he removed the rifle's modified scope and set it to one side. Working quickly he stripped the gun down to the barrel, exciter and the actual firing mechanism. It wasn't as bad as it had looked superficially. The scope, handle and parts of the casing of the gun had been virtually undamaged and they would be his first job as they would take little time.

'First though,' he thought standing, 'I need a new exciter chamber. This one is way beyond fried.' Then he had another thought. He left his quarters and headed for research and development in the bases lower levels. He would see again. And now he knew how.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by tftd fan

'Phew, Finally back,' thought Terror after passing the security at Bravo base's main entrance.

He'd taken a few days leave granted by the commander after healing the wounds in his leg.

Terror was feeling strange somehow walking through the corridors, technicians and scientists everywhere, soldiers rushing around and the administration team hard at work.

'Damn, it looks like a completely different place!' Terror began thinking about the past few days. The beautiful girls, the wonderful weather, the beach...

"Hello? Is there anybody in there?" Screamed the day officer.

"What?" said Terror stirred from his daydreams. "Sir! Sorry sir, soldier Terror ready for duty" he rallied as best he could.

"Report to your squad immediately. There's going to be new assignments soon and your squad leader will not want to see you like this," said the officer.

Terror realised he was still wearing flowered shorts and a t-shirt. He also realised that everybody was staring at him trying not to laugh...

'Oh man,' he thought, 'this is going to be a long day...!'

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Doc France

Back at Snafu Lounge, the base rec room, Doc tossed a few darts angrily at a board. Behind him, Tammy and Kitat were enjoying a game of billiards. Behind them, Kilam was holding an ice bag to his temple where Tammy kicked him after offering to teach her "how to hold the cue stick." To his left, Duke had already lost 3 credits to an ancient pinball machine, and next to him Carlos was screaming like a mad man at him: "Hiit the bumper! Get the bonus round! Now FLIP! FLIP, dammit"

"We've been holed up in here forever." With a resonating thwack, Doc missed the board and hit the metal wall. "And I still haven't improved my throw."

"Eight ball, corner pocket..." Tammy sunk her final ball. Kitat winced and forked over another credit. She grinned and flipped the piece over to Duke, who caught it without turning around and immediately stuck it in the pinball machine's slot.

Everyone turned to see the squaddie back from vacation, dressed in Hawaiian gear. They all shared a short chuckle as Kitat went out to ridicule him.

"Hey, Doc, you heard anything about another Sirius raid coming up?"

Doc missed the board once again. He turned around. "Yeah, but it's all just a rumor. Besides, I'm not going anywhere without my Tactics job back."

Kilam shrugged and poured himself another mug. He tried not to let Doc see he got it from the Budmeister tap, the "mass-produced swill."

Carlos grabbed a handul of jalapeno popcorn from the machine. "I guess Commander's having some trouble with the Government. Right now, we're just playing the waiting game." He slumped into an easy chair and starting munching on his snack. "By the way, you might wanna check yourself for a concussion." He gave a quick wink to Tammy.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by The Veteran

"This is the most recent model that was tested successfully. It improves long and short distance viewing and it has night vision and infra red capabilities. Try it on."

Trigger glanced up from the helmet at Nebo, the newest head engineer. "It's ok, thanks I'll check it out later. Do you have another one?" he asked.

"No I'm afraid that was the only one made. The project was scrapped so..." Nebo paused. "Is there anything else we can do..."

"No, thankyou. This should be all I need. Thanks again."

"No problem..." replied Nebo as Trigger turned to leave the development lab.

Trigger turned the helmet over in his hands as he walked. It wasn't too bulky but it's not something he'd want to wear for a twenty-four hour day. "Time for some modifications," he said to himself as he walked to the workshop.

As Terror walked into the rec room everything stopped and the soldiers turned to him.

"Ok already! It's a horrible shirt! Can people please stop looking at me like that?"

There was some laughter about the room and the soldiers turned back to what they were doing. Terror walked over to the billiards table to speak with his squad leader, Kitat.

"Um, sir?" he asked cautiously.

"I don't answer to that when I'm in here soldier," said Kitat turning to face him. "Terror isn't it? You were one of the new rookies right?"

"Yes sir... Kitat," he corrected himself on meeting with Kitats stare.

"You look like good soldier material. You've made a mission and survived. I think that means you'll probably be moved soon. We're restucturing the squads a little."

"That's what I wanted to ask about. I was just told to report to my squad because we were recieving new recruits," said Terror uncertainly.

"No! No, not new recruits. Hell no. The rookies are all going straight to Alpha base from what I hear. We're cutting down on the squads, not stocking up. I can't tell you much because we don't really know much but from what I hear in security we're getting a visit from the Major later today..."

"We... are?" said Terror feeling very bemused. The Major? Who in the he|| was that?

"Mm. I suggest you take a rest for a while and I'll tell you what's happening when I know! Are you a betting man Terror?" asked Kitat.

"Yes sir, on ocassion."

"What about this occasion? You any good at billiards?"

"No, I never took to the game." he replied.

Good thought Kitat to himself. A chance to win back some credits! "You break," he said throwing Terror a cue.

"I need a new exciter chamber for a sniper rifle," Trigger told the engineer who had greeted him.

"A laser sniper rifle?"

"Well I've never seen any other kind of rifle that needs an exciter have you?" replied Trigger impatiently.

"I'll go get one," said the engineer sulkily. The soldiers knew that the engineers pay was by far the lowest in the base but it still exceeded by far any civilian jobs.

As Trigger waited he picked at the black crust on Ultio and peeled off the hardened soot and embers. Just poking through the dirt he could see the red lettering that made the gun so special to him. Warlord had told him to take the gun everywhere and treat it with respect. That was what he was doing. Warlord would happily of given Trigger a new rifle but Trigger knew he hadn't tried because of how stubborn Trigger was.

"There, an exciter sir. Have a nice day," said the engineer sarcastically placing a small package on the worktop and walking off. Trigger put the package inside his new helmet and blew a raspberry at the engineer as he walked off. Then he smiled to himself and walked off, heading for his quarters once again.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Ki-tat Chung

"Yo bro, what you doing?"

Ki-tat turned around just as he was about to exit the quarters with all his gearing.

"I'm taking a long vacation." Ki-tat said with an emphasis on the 'long'. "Why?

"Leave?"

"I've got some.........business to resolve."

"Oh, ok. You've cleared it out with the Commander, right?" CAP asked as he got his PT gear on.

"He'll understand. And besides, he's in a meeting with the Senator ." Ki-tat said as he turned around again, and headed towards the door.

"But what about the Major?"

"I've got some one to cover for me." Ki-tat said as he hoped that Terror can cope with the load.

He turned around, and left the room.

As he walked along, Jason Hoofman smiled. Today, he was going to retire. No more security jobs. No more orders. Just sweet, sweet living in his government luxury home. Just then he heard a scraping, sucking noise behind him. As he turned around and drew his Law Pistol, he saw a Brainsucker in mid-air, aiming straight for his head.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by The Veteran

In the security room above the Engineering bay several guards were patrolling the room out of sheer boredom and most of the higher ranking officers had left completely. The low ranking, operating personnel all remained at their consoles monitoring the city, the senate and the Megapol broadcasting and security systems.

"What is going on out there?" one of the guards asked his superior. "Have these aliens just decided we're not worth it or something?"

"I know it's slow but we really shouldn't be ungrateful. At least while there are no aliens here there's noone getting killed by them," replied the officer in a somber tone.

"Yeah I suppose so. But still it would be nice to be able to earn our pay wouldn't it?" asked the guard.

"Speak for yourself! I'm happy enough as it is."

"Yeah well, you get paid more than I do anyway," began the guard.

Just as his officer was about to reply the alarm above them sounded and the operators at the monitors began working quickly.

"You just had to didn't you?" said the officer standing away from the wall.

"What?" asked the guard knowing exactly what he meant. "What's going on?" he asked one of the operators.

"There's been an alien sighting in the West sector of the city. We think it's the senate but we have to patch it through to tactical command," replied the operator opening a comm channel.

In the room above Bravo base's main hangar, the screen blinked into life and the operator appeared.

"What can I do you for?" asked the Officer in the command center who was, at the moment, as relaxed as the security personnel had been five minutes previously.

"Alert the base personnel and Alpha command, we have an alien spotted in city west. Sector 7G. We need confirmed location but it looks like the senate building."

"Shit" called the operator springing to his feet. "Ok thanks," he said severing the link. "Ok people look lively! We've got a spotting in sector 7G, westside. Mack, get a location on this thing as close as possible. The building is reported as the senate. Check for the level and the zone. Do what you can to narrow it down for the tactical squads. You, over there. I don't know you but send out a base alert. All soldiers, hangar three, live alien spotted, got that?"

The tactical command center was suddenly full of activity and flashing computer screens. Red lights lit the room and the Officer turned back to the screen.

He turned to one of the operators next to him. "Open me a channel to Alpha base tactical command. They're going to want to know about this."

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Warlord

Warlord had just left Senator Harding's office when the alarm sounded. This was followed by a brief announcement over the public address system for everyone to exit the building in an orderly fashion. Warlord grabbed the closest guard.

"What's going on?"

"Sir, if you'll just please exit the building, everything will be explained."

"My name is Warlord. I'm the base commander for X-Com Bravo Base. Now what the hell is going on?"

The guard stiffened a bit.

"Sorry, Sir, I didn't know-"

"Save it. What's going on?"

"Sir, there was an alien spotted at basement level of the building."

"What kind? How many?"

"Only one reported, but they said it was little and tried to jump at people."

"Brainsucker. Get everyone out now. None of this polite crap. Get them out now! Also, where is your arms room?"

"We draw weapons from the police station before we come on duty. There's not an arms room in the building."

"Where's the command center?"

"At the police station. They monitor all the security cameras and stay in contact with the security commander here. That way the monitoring can't be tampered with."

"Damn it. I guess I'll have to make do with my pistol until the cavalry arrives..."

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by The Veteran

"Alpha squad! Delta squad! We need you boarded now! Beta and Gamma return to your... whatever it is you do" finished the head tactician uncertainly. Doc and Ego approached the tactician.

"Are you sure we can handle this with two squads?" asked Doc.

"Yeah we have absolutely no idea what kind of forces are down there." added Ego.

"Well besides the fact that Beta and Gamma squads are both about two men short, Alpha bases Valkyrie is out of action due to that raid they had recently."

"They had a raid?" asked Ego.

"Just small so it was dealt with internally but yes they did have a raid. They headed straight for the hangars and let the vehicles there take every kind of ammo they had. Looks like they were just trying to knock out our transport there. It worked a treat," the tactician paused briefly. "Anyway, yes you do have to go alone so get on that Valkyrie ok? I have no rank therefore I am not below you. Get moving."

"You can't tell us what to do," began Doc, "you have no rank" With this the three men laughed and parted. Doc and Ego ran over to the Valkyrie and jumped onboard.

"Hey! Who's in my seat" shouted Ego as the two squad leaders boarded the aircraft.

"Oh sorry," replied Tammy sarcastically. "We didn't think you were coming"

"Yeah right," said Ego sulkily sitting in the extra passenger module of the Valkyrie with three other soldiers.

"Clear the ramp back there! We're on our way" called mouse over the internal comm system in the Valkyrie.

The ramp lifted behind the troops and the Valkyrie's engines roared into life.

"Let's get this show on the road," Mouse said to himself quietly as the Valkyrie lifted off the ground.

[Apocalypse Fanfiction]

Instalment by Ego Terrorist

The jets shot across the evening sky of Mega Primus, the Senate Building - one of the grandest buildings, and most important to X-Com funding stood out against the red light of sunset.

"Okay people! Listen up" Shouted Doc. Ego Terrorist was sat next to him. "We've got unknown hostiles in the senate building, Warlord has mentioned that Brainsuckers have been seen, currently they've been contained on the lower, service levels, but no telling how long they'll stay there"

Ego Terrorist leaned forward and then spoke through the Comm so that he wouldn't have to shout over the sound of the engines. "Delta Team! Standard Alien containment, secure perimeter! then move to enter and clear, copy, snipers! you'll be covering exits! Questions?"

"Okay Sports fans! We'll landing out side, in 5" Said Mouse as the Jet began to slow down.

The teams made their final equipment checks, plus their neck rings. The jets reared back and came to a hover, before they decended onto the ground.

"Okay lets move! move! move"

The point troops got out first, LZ secure, they were then followed out by the rest of the teams, who then broke off into 2's and started to sercure the perimeter, the snipers set up, using the plans to locate possible exits. Perimeter secure, all exits covered.

Further to south of the building a mass of onlookers watched as X-Com perpared to enter, amongst them were Senators, Civilians and Security and Maintainence crews, Ego noted the News crew setting up, with a perfect of the Senate front door, and he hoped, that the Aliens weren't watching Channel 12!

Alpha and Delta Teams met up out side the main enterance. "Okay, Squads, Breach and Clear, Warlord is still in the building along with possible civilians so watch you're target id."

"Copy"

The teams lined up against the wall and moved towards the door, Doc pushed the door and the teams entered, what would soon become known as the Battle of Senate Building had begun...

[Zager]

Instalment by Zager

At the same time as Warlord was entering the senate building, a Megapol patrol car flew over the slums, Pat Seitz at the controls, Jon Carter, Pat's new partner and a recent graduate from Megapol's police academy; seated next to him. "Anyway," Pat said, as he maneuvered the vehicle towards a small building. "If you're going to be my partner, you've got to get rid of that Lawpsistol."

"Why?" Jon asked. "It's Megapol's standard issue weapon."

"Precisely. It's a mass-produced gun, . The modern equivalent of the Saturday night special. It's effective, but they're better guns, like mine. I'm going to take you to a guy who does sell good guns."

"Who?" Jon inquired, curious despite himself.

"Sato Tagachi, he owns a weapons store. He's a veteran of the second alien war, and he's a damn good gunsmith. He can build and repair anything, slug shooters, lasers, plasmas, you name it, he can make it. And he provides quality too."

"Well, if you insist, I'll look, but I won't promise anything. I can't afford anything expensive on my salary," stated Jon.

The hover car landed, and the two officers got out, Pat activating the automated defense system after exiting. There was a high crime rate in the slums, not even the police could leave a car unattended here without having it stolen. They then walked over to the store, where Pat pushed open the door, and they walked into the shop.

An old, oriental man was standing behind the counter of the store, cleaning a pistol when the two men walked in. He looked up. "Patrick, a pleasure to see you again. I have the item you requested. Oh, I heard about Samantha. My condolences."

Pat sighed; he was still getting over the death of his partner. "Thank you. I'm still having trouble accepting it."

"You're a friend. I took the liberty of making a few inquiries among my contacts," Sato said. "I don't which Diablo did it yet, but I will call you when I find out who."

"Thanks," Pat said simply. He wasn't sure what he'd do when he found out, but it would probably be outside the bounds of the law.

"Now, could you introduce me to your new partner," Sato asked, changing the subject. He turned to face Jon. "Could you take off your sunglasses? I prefer to look people in the face."

Jon reached up and took off the sunglasses, preparing himself for inevitable reaction when people found out he was a hybrid. They usually found out eventually, the sunglasses didn't conceal it completely, but they allowed him to pass a casual inspection without being noticed.

"Oh, you're a hybrid. It's an honor," Sato stated, surprising Jon. This wasn't the reaction he usually got. Only a few people reacted like that. Pat was okay, and so was the Inspector who had sponsored him, but very few other people accepted him as human. "Ah, I see you're surprised," continued Sato. "I'm not like most people. I respect psionics, and I actually a hybrid once saved my life back in the second alien war. I might tell you that story sometime. So, what's your name?"

"Jonathon Carter," Jon stated.

The gun dropped from Sato's hand and hit the floor with a clank. "That, that was Jonathon Carter you said," he asked, in a shaking voice.

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?"

"I've never seen you shocked or surprised before in my life," Pat noted.

"Jonathon Carter. I thought you looked familiar. I know your grandfather, and your father," Sato said, sinking into a chair. "Pull up those chairs, I think I should tell you that story now. I was an Able Seaman in X-COM, back in the second alien war. I was my squad's technician, I maintained the weapons and armor. Now, it was two months before T'Leth, and aliens had attacked a cargo ship. The mission was going well, we had just about cleared the upper decks, and that was when it happened."

********

"Looks clear," Sato shouted, checking out the area. "I can't see anybody," he stepped forward, next to the rail, his magnetic-ion armor clanking against the floor.

"Tango" he shouted, as an alien figure stepped out of a doorway. It raised its sonic cannon as Sato raised his. The alien was faster; two sonic bolts hit Sato in the right leg and the chest. He staggered backwards and fell over the rail and into the raging ocean below.

"Where's Sato?" one of the soldiers shouted, after the lobsterman had been killed.

"He got hit and fell off" another shouted. "We've got to clear the lower decks. Alert the rescue teams. He doesn't have his helmet, he'll drown if they don't hurry."

In the water below, Sato tried to activate the magnetic devices, to allow himself to float, but he lost consciousness.

A few hours later

Sato opened his eyes. Somehow, he hadn't expected the afterlife to look like the interior of a fishing trawler.

"That was a close one," a voice said. "We nearly lost you. Good thing Jones has an eagle eye."

"Where, where am I?" Sato asked.

"On the fishing trawler Exile," the voice replied.

Sato pushed himself up, and found himself staring right into the eyes of a man wearing a black suit, which was just as black as his large eyes. Sato instinctively dropped his hand to his side, trying to grab a sidearm that wasn't there.

"Calm down, we saved your life," the hybrid said.

"For what? You're going to torture me information now," Sato snarled. "I'm supposed to be thankful for that?"

"Easy," the hybrid stated. "We're not working with them. We're making our own destiny. We don't want humanity to go extinct. We're more human than alien, what do you think the aliens are going to do to us if they win? We're all rooting for X-COM."

"What are you babbling about?" Sato said.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Samuel Carter. Anyway, as I was saying, we don't serve the aliens anymore; we serve ourselves, and humanity. There's a boatload of the new hybrids at the bottom of the ocean now, thanks to us. That's why we were out here in the first place."

"What, you expect me to believe you?" Sato asked, angrily, looking for any possible method of escape.

"Why not? If we were working for the aliens, we wouldn't be on a cheap fishing trawler, we'd be in a USO, and we'd have stuck you in a sensory deprivation chamber where you'd be telling us everything you knew after ten hours."

"Point," Sato admitted. Sensory deprivation chambers were notoriously effective. There really was no reason for them to play mind games when they could get everything they wanted to know through other methods that were more effective.

"Anyway, we'll be dropping you off at a small town on an island, there's a good hospital there. While I trust you, I'm not about to let you find out where we're located. No offense, but there are too many humans who would hop at the chance to exterminate us if they found out about us."

"I understand. "

Samuel turned and headed out, just before he left, Sato called after him. "Thank you, for saving my life."

"You're welcome. And, thank you for helping save humanity," Samuel replied, then left.

********

"Anyway," Sato finished. "I was in the hospital on that island for several months, and I couldn't get in contact with X-COM. I was officially listed as missing-in-action. As we all know, the T'Leth incident happened two months later. All of my friends died, if I hadn't been wounded, I would've died too. I kept in touch Samuel after general knowledge of the hybrids was discovered."

"Jesus," Pat muttered, awed. "That's incredible."

Jon looked at Sato in astonishment. "Wow," was all he managed to say.

"Anyway, back to business," Sato said, standing up. "You're looking for a gun to replace the soulless, standard issue weapon that Megapol gave you? Good. We can discuss that in a minute. As for you Pat," he slid a package across the table. "Your power sword is in there. It's been specially balanced for you, and I upped the output of the plasma generator. Now, let's get down to business. Jon, you don't look like you could handle one of my higher caliber slug shooters, so let's try one of my EM propulsion guns."

Fifteen minutes later, and Jon was the proud owner of a Type Seventy-Two Meridian EM pistol with an aquaplastic body and a thirty-five round clip of 2.4 mm alien alloy bullets with a steel coating to allow the electromagnets to do their work. Sato had also put Jon's initials on the handle, and set up a nice payment scheme, where Jon would make a monthly payment for the next year.

"I'm glad you talked me into that," Jon said, as Pat took the car into the air. "I never knew much about my grandfather, he moved off world a few years ago."

"I had always wondered how Sato survived the second alien war, after all, he was in one of the main squads that would've been sent to T'Leth," Pat stated, his new power sword in a sheath. "Anyway, this was definitely a good day, a sword for me, and a gun and a friend for you. Let's see if there's anything going on we can take look at. Computer, bring up daily reports."

A list of crimes reported and in progress rolled up on the police car's computer's monitor. Pat suddenly paused it, and pointed at an entry. Disturbance at the Senate building. Next to it was a priority note that read: 'Do not interfere.'

"To hell with that," Pat said, disdainfully. "Half the time that just means that the officer present doesn't want anybody else getting the credit, and the other half, the corporation involved wants to take care of the problem itself and not let us see what they're up to. And on the occasional time that it is serious, Marsec and military forces will have already barricaded the area. Let's go, solving a problem at the senate looks good on the record."

Pat flipped on the lights and siren, and sent the car flying towards the senate building. A few minutes later, they flew over the building and they landed on the ground a short distance away. "Get your armor on, kid," Pat stated. "Better safe than sorry."

"You're sure this is okay?" Jon asked.

"Positive. If it was a genuine emergency, military troops would've blocked off the area."

After exiting the vehicle, the two officers walked around to the back, opened up the trunk and pulled out their Megapol standard issue armor. The slipped the sections onto their bodies, as Jon slipped his mindbender, a piece of equipment that wasn't 'officially' sanctioned, into the backpack.

Pat and Jon entered the building through a back service entrance, shutting it behind them, about a half a minute before the X-COM forces secured the perimeter.

[The Veteran]

Instalment by The Veteran

"Tactical Command, this is Ego Terrorist. Alpha squad and Delta squad are moving in on the Senate building. Doc has the North face of the building and I'm covering the south with Delta squad. Are we cleared to proceed?" Ego called into his comm link while covering the exit he had assigned to Carlos and himself.

*Negative, both squads are to hold their current positions. Human activity has been reported inside the building and surveillance confirms at least thirteen unarmed civilians still in the complex.* replied Tactical Command quickly.

"Damn it" said Ego switching his comm channel to communicate with Alpha squads Squad Leader. "Doc? Tell your troops to stay put and fire with extreme caution. There are still civilians in the senate."

*What! They were told to evacuate, what are they doing in there?* Doc called into his own comm.

"I know, I'm not happy about it either but we can't barge in there while there are still civilians present."

*I guess,* said Doc uncertainly. *Hey, I'm going to see if I can get in touch with Warlord ok? He might be able to lead us in once we're cleared to move.*

"Copy that, I'm going to get Tactical Command back on the comm, I don't like leaving civvies in there while there are brainsuckers in the building..."

Back at Bravo base Beta and Gamma squads were all settled down in the rec room again and back to their usual routine of doing absolutely nothing.

All but one that was.

This time there not onlywas there a rifle being dismantled in Trigger's quarters but a helmet as well, which seemed to have very quickly decided to become a great number of small parts.

The exciter chamber which had recently been obtained was now residing inside a suprisingly functional gun and sheated in what had once been a component of protective headgear.

The fact that the gun was made out of a helmet didn't make it any less impressive however and it looked almost as good as new. Or in the case of this particular gun, much better than new. On the desk beside the gun was another masterpiece. Taking Warlord's advice, Trigger had spent the last two hours working to make the technology in R&D's new helmet design more mobile. The result was basically the visor of the helmet in the form of some wrap around shades.

'Functional and cool', thought Trigger standing and donning the shades. He took up his rifle and checked the firing mechanism one last time. The gun let off a silent hum, noticable to very few marksmen. A reassuring click and he turned and left the room.

[Zager]

Instalment by Zager

 

"Where is everybody?" Pat wondered aloud, as the two Megapol officers walked through the corridors of the senate.

"It isn't usually like this?" Jon asked. He'd never been in the senate before, fat chance that a hybrid was going to be assigned as a senate guard. Pat had been a senate guard once, before he was reassigned due to his political statements.

"No, there should be a lot more people around. I wonder what's going on? My radio isn't working. Call up the station and find out what's going on."

Jon nodded and turned on his radio. The sound of static filled his ears and he shut it off. "Mine's down too," he reported.

"Damn," Pat cursed. "It's the bloody link system we use. We can call for help easier, but it breaks down all the time."

"Jeez, you'd think they'd switch contractors."

"They manufacture the damn thing, it's not likely they're going to be buying one of Marsec's. Let's go check out the service area. There's enough security upstairs to make mincemeat out of any intruder who goes there."

They headed down the corridor for several more meteres, then turned right into a gravlift and went down to the basement. As they looked around for any evidence as to what the disturbance was, they hear footsteps, then a guard approached from a hallway.

"Boy, are we glad to see you," Pat called, relaxing. "We're from Megapol. What's the disturbance?"

The guard didn't answer, but raised his M4000, and fired a burst. His movements were jerky, almost mechanical, and Pat and Jon leapt aside as the bullets whistled by. They both pulled their guns, and pointed it at the guard.

"Drop the gun" Pat yelled.

"Hands in the air! Down on your knees" Jon shouted as well.

The guard paid no attention to them, and continued firing. Jon cursed, then pulled the trigger on his .44 twice. Two large, alien alloy bullets exited the gun slightly faster than the speed of sound. They tore through the chest plate on the murderous guard's armor, and slammed into his chest. He staggered back, fell to the floor and lay still in an expanding pool of blood.

"Damn, what the hell is going on?" Pat muttered, lowering his gun, as he looked at the body. "You don't get into the senate with as a guard without one hell of background check. It's impossible."

"Well, somebody got by," Jon commented. "And my gut instinct tells me that if one got by, then more did. Why would he try kill us if he didn't have other people working with him?"

"That's right. This is big, we need backup. Let's go find a phone and call it in. If I recall correctly, there's a service phone that way," he pointed down a different corridor. "Let's go."

With their guns up in a ready position, the two headed down the hallway. Had they walked down the one the guard came from, they would have found the remains of a brainsucker. A brainsucker that had died, to be precise, because it completed its sole purpose of existence.

[Ki-tat Chung]

Instalment by Ki-tat Chung

As Squad Leader Chung travelled along the peoples tube in civvies (civilian clothing), he ran through his inventory in his mind.

"Wallet, check. Keycard, check. Radio, check. Kevlar vest, check. Law pistol, check."

Even though he wanted to visit Teresa, he needed to be armed to me prepared. As he activated his radio, he listened in intently.

"Mouse to Tactical Command, Squads have entered building, request to shutdown Valkyrie Intercepter 3." The radio crackled out.

"Oh great, I leave on a short trip and this happens. I sure hope that I don't get fired."

 

**********

As Jason Hoofman stood up, he looked looked backward and forwards between the brainsucker corpse and his pistol. After a while, he heard a sound behind him. He turned his head towards the sound. He continued his walk down the corridor, and slowly, but surely, his blood stream was being filled with Micronoids. As he turned a right at a "T" intersection, he reached a couple of Megapol agents clad in Megapol armor trying to investigate something.

"What are you doing?" Jason said in a monotonous voice.

 

"Wow, look, it is our lucky day. Lets go ask whats happening here." Pat said to Jon via his radio, not letting the gaurd know what he was saying.

Jon just cocked his head slightly, seeming slightly uncomfertable.

 

"Whats wrong officers, cat got your tongue?" Jason spat as the officers just stared at him uncertanly. He was sure that they were talking to each other through their radios. He raised his law pistol and fired.

[The Veteran]

*Alpha squad, Delta squad. You are both cleared to enter the lower floors. Security monitoring is still detecting civilians in the building and several guards have also been located but there are confirmations of gunfire in the building and one guard is confirmed as killed by human weapons. Both squads should proceed immediately.*

"Affirmative Tactical Command," Ego replied into his comm link.

"Brainsuckers?" Doc suggested.

*It has to be,* Ego replied into his comm again. *There's no way the guards are fighting each other willingly.*

"Ok then, lets get going shall we?"

*Damn yes. Did you get Warlord?*

"No, I can't get a comm link through to him. I think Mouse has blocked his comm channel."

*Could be, he usually blocks out the entire building to save time. Did you at least get a location?*he asked Doc.

"Sure did. He's right where Tactical Command said the aliens were... I hope he's ok."

Somewhere across the city in the sprawling wasteland that was home to the slums and the Diablo gangs, a door had just been opened to partially sighted man wielding a jet black rifle and shades to match. He'd been told he could be gone from there in less than an hour...

"Hey! Is anyone out there for me or am I going to be left down here to do this myself?" Warlord called into a channel with XTC.

*Alpha and Delta squads are on their way to you now Commander. They should arrive at your position in approximately ten minutes.*

"Ten minutes? Did you make them walk or something?"

*No sir, they are securing the upper floors on their way down to you. As the only alien sightings reported so far have been brainsuckers we are concerned that some aliens may already have left the building.*

"Ah fine. Just try and get them to hurry up at least a little ok? I'm running out of ammo down here."

As soon as Warlord finished speaking the comm channel cut off again. Quite why his own comm link had been disconnected was a complete mystery to Warlord but luckily not all of Warlord's knowledge came from military training. Piracy was simple really, you just had to be one of the people the government told about it.

'Now let's see if I can't get a link with Mouse and get my own comm sorted,' thought Warlord to himself fiddling with a few wires from his headset.

If he'd have turned around now, he would have seen it...

[Zager]

The lawpistol bullet glanced off of Pat's leg armor, as the two officers ducked down a side corridor. Pat stuck his .44 out and fired off two shots, as Jon pulled his mindbender from his backpack.

"Keep him busy," Jon shouted, as he grasped the mindbender. "Megapol might want a prisoner."

As Pat and Jason exchanged gunfire with each other, Jon left his body behind and sent out his mind. He quickly homed in on Jason, and tried to enter his mind, probing inwards through the defenses enacted in each mind. This time, unlike other times that he had tried it, they were strange. Something was present in the man's mind, something that Jon had never felt before.

However, Jon wasn't familiar with every person's mind, and so he continued to fight against the defenses, rather than pull back. As he brushed past the defenses, he touched something he had never felt before, and this time he knew it was wrong. It was something unknown. Something wrong. Something alien.

"Whatever he is, he isn't human," Jon gasped, cutting the psionic connection, he didn't want to go any deeper. "Take him down, fast."

Pat nodded grimly, ejected the spent clip from his gun, loaded a new one, then rolled out into the hallway, came up in a kneeling position and sent three high caliber bullets into the guard's chest.

[Tammy]

Tammy suddenly found herself alone in the corridor, which appeared to have been cleared of aliens at long last. Suddenly, she was hit with a feeling that she needed to get to the lower floors and fast. Instead of trying to gather the rest of the squad, or what was left of them, she raced down the back stairs alone. As she reached the lower floors, she heard a horrified shout in a voice she recognized: Warlord! She raced toward the sound and saw that Warlord had dropped his weapon and was trying desperately to pry a brainsucker from his face. Shooting brainsuckers was tricky business, the need for haste was obvious, but without careful aim, she'd blow the commander's head off, and he was still some distance away. Thanking her lucky stars that she was a sniper instead of a heavy weapons specialist, she knelt on the floor and took careful aim. She squeezed the trigger steadily and was relieved to see the brainsucker deflate like a popped balloon.

 

Tammy ran over to Warlord with her weapon still at the ready in case she'd been too late. Painful as it would be, she was fully prepared to shoot him if he had been brainsucked, knowing that he would have thanked her for doing it. There was some speculation among scientists that brainsucked soldiers were still themselves on some level. If that were the case, she could imagine how painful it would be to turn on one's fellow soldiers and be unable to control it. Warlord's eyes flickered open and he looked up at Tammy to see a rifle aimed at his head. He didn't make any sudden movement, but instead raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did I forget your birthday?" Tammy sagged with relief and lowered the rifle as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor next to Warlord.

 

"Thanks for the rescue, by the way. I didn't bring enough ammo to hold off the entire alien invasion by myself, you know."

 

"Just make sure you don't forget my next birthday and we'll call it even," Tammy smiled.

 

Tammy handed over a loaded lawpistol she was carrying and a couple of grenades and said, "Let's go find some humans, shall we?" Together they made their way along the corridors checking in doorways and around corners, picking off the occasional brainsucker as they went.

[Carlos the Jackal]

Carlos had left the base just before red alert was engaged. The pager attached to his belt had started vibating like crazy as he hurried down the people tube. He had thought about heading back, but decided whatever it was, it wasnt too bad. If it were, Alpha would have been sent and he'd just sit around the base until it was over. in which case, he'd miss this meeting, again. He had no intention of doing that.

 

Walking off the tube, Carlos heading into the hypermart. Shoppers milled around, but the afternoon heat had slowed the usually frentic activity of impuse buying to a more sedate pace. Carlos went up a gravlift, and strolled along a suspened platform, metaglass sides giving a clear view of the shops 2 storys down. Looking out as he walked along, he spied his destination. Some kind of urban-chic cafe with a few chairs and tables out front, a few trendies sitting both in and outside the store were sipping coffee and trying to look as cool as possible.

 

Carlos walked into the cafe, breezing past a couple of trendies as they came out. He ordered a steak-n-bacon pie and glanced around the store. Everyone seemed to be in a group. She'd said she'd be alone. A few customers glanced up at him. Carlos was wearing black pants, heavy black boots and a muscle top showing off decent biceps and defined pecs, and he found himself on the receiving end of ups and downs from a few of the female patrons, and jealous glances from some of the guys.

 

Carlos smiled to himself. Modern city life for corpies and techies was one of minimal physical work, that combined with doses of cheap anti-obesity pills tended to produce skinny, thin-limbed people. 'Well thats not as bad as all the fatasses back about 80 year ago' Carlos thought to himself. Carlos knew the current craze was to go to the gym, not to shed weight, but to bulk up muscles. 'It certainly gets attention' he mused.

 

Carlos leaned against the counter and bit into his pie. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone sit on one of the outside chairs and tap a button on the selection pad of the table. A woman behind the counter walked past Carlos with a cup of coffe and a salad roll. Carlos walked outside just as the woman set the food down on the table and strolled back in. He went over to the table, getting a good look at the person sitting there. She looked fairly young, late teens. She wore a well cut buisness suit, white cufflinks, trousars and all. Dark glasses covered her eyes and straight, jet-black hair, neatly trimmed just at neck level spilled out from underneath a red beret, slightly tilted off to the left side. She had small, delicate hands and wrists, which were holding her mug of coffee. she had a small mouth, and tiny, cute nose. Carlos noted the high forehead, and compact, delicate features. Oriental, perhaps?

 

"Paul Carlos?" The girl asked, not even looking up.

"Yes"

"Please sit"

Carlos sat, thoughtfully taking another bite of his pie as he examined his assumed relative.

"Megan Goodwin?"

"Yes, thats me"

"My... great niece, I suppose"

"I'm your sisters grandaughter, yes"

"My sister have kids late?"

"No.. my mother did. Met my father in her forties. What can I say... love at first sight"

Megan reached up towards her glasses and removed then. Large, pure black eyes stared at Carlos, awaiting, no doubt to his reaction. Carlos, while taken aback, did his best not to let it show. He extended his arm across the table.

"Its good to finally meet you"

She took his hand and shook.

"A pleasure"

[The Veteran]

"But it's only been half an hour," said Trigger quizically from beneath the dark light of a Diablo slum appartment.

The grey haired man turned and spoke calmly and slowly. "When I tell you it is done then it is done. I believe some amount of work had already taken place before I began?"

"I've been doing my best but the final work had to be done by a professional for... obvious reasons," finished Trigger turning the visor over and over in his hands. Raising from his seat he donned the shades and turned to the man. "How much do you want?" he asked.

The man opened the door and turned his back on Trigger. "When I decide on payment... I'll let you know." He turned his head just enough for Trigger to see a glint in the corner of his eye.

"Fine. If you can contact me then you deserve whatever payment you request," said Trigger confidently. "And thanks again, I can see much better now. You do some impressive work."

With this Trigger left the room and the old man closed the door behind him. He made his way out of the slums and soon came across an old Diablo Turbobike. Everyone knew the slums had the highest crime rate in the city but as Trigger tore the Diablo emblem from the side of the bike, he wondered if anything had ever been stolen from the gangs as opposed to by them before.

Throwing the emblazoned plate to the floor he adjusted his shades, slung his rifle across his back and headed for the Senate building... He figured with all those corridors to cover, one sniper would never be enough.

[Zager]

Gunfire echoed from up ahead, as Pat and Jon reached an intersection.

"Side hallways, now," Pat ordered, and the two officers stepped into two opposite corridors leading away from the intersection.

Pat had his gun out, and was pressed against the wall so that he wouldn't be immediately obvious to whoever had fired the shots. He was familiar with what to do in this situations, thanks to a lifetme of training and on the job experience.

Jon, being a rookie on the force, was more nervous. He had his new gun aimed, and was up against the wall as well. He hadn't expected his first day on patrol to be like this, but neither had he signed up for Megapol to just eat donuts all day and avoid getting into trouble.

He saw Pat give a hand signal, as the footsteps came closer. He then raised three fingers, then two, then one.

"FREEZE" Patrick screamed, as he rolled out into the corridor, aiming his gun at Warlord and Tammy.

"DROP THE GUN! DOWN ON YOUR KNEES" Jon shouted as he dived into the hallway simulatenously, his Meridian EM Pistol aimed at chest level.