X-COM: Eulogy

[Hobbes]

DISCLAIMER: "X-COM" and all aspects of the trademark, together with the computer games "X-COM: UFO Defense" and "X-COM: Terror From The Deep" are copyrighted material of Infogames/Firaxis. This story is fan fiction and can be reproduced as long as the author's rights are respected. Please do not make any unauthorized chances into the text or take the author's name out of it. Any comments or questions are more than welcome through the following email: aadlg@rocketmail.com

 

"X-COM: Eulogy" is a short story that takes place after the author's "X-COM: The Unknown Menace" and is set upon events of the X-COM official timeline.

 

X-COM: Eulogy

 

Late 2009

Mars, Solar System

 

The planet was a dead world, frozen in time after it had lost its atmosphere to space and its temperature dropped to glacial levels a long time ago. Over the surface cratered by meteors and torn by long dead volcanoes few things moved other than the occasional sand whirlwinds that like small tornadoes formed and quickly vanished under the blue and pinkish sky. There was still water and in the mornings the frost that formed on the rocks would quickly sublimate as the Sun rose on the red horizon but any other physical changes on the landscape came after years, as the aeons of time took its toll.

Hang by the delicate threads of gravity mechanics on the Solar System between Earth and the Asteroid Belt, Mars was seen by visionaries and scientists as one of the stepping stones for mankind's expansion to the universe. But since Percival Lowell had looked at the planet through a telescope at the beginning of 20th century and his vision and mind tricked him to see what he thought were artificial channels, other scientists had made claims that the planet had some very interesting characteristics of its own when compared to the rest of the solar system planets.

Underneath the rocks and sheltered from the deadly radiation microscopic life had developed, most scientists now agreed on that, after having examined the few rocks that had been brought back to its surface on the advent of the X-COM mission to Cydonia seven years back. Of course, back then Mars had other life forms walking on its surface they were both intelligent and hostile, although they had not originally evolved on the planet. While the microbes found could be called correctly as 'Martians' these creatures were both aliens to Earth and Mars. They had gone here to the planet to monitor Earth and the development of human society and to use it as a forward base on the later war. The Greeks had been the first associating Mars, or Ares on its Greek name, to the god of War due to its red color. Unknowingly to them, three thousands years later a small force of human soldiers had been sent to the planet to fight the decisive battle for Earth's victory against enslavement by the aliens. For three years the planet had been under attack and manipulation by the Starspawn, an alien empire bent on bringing humankind over its domination, much like the Persians had tried to do with the Greek city-states. But like Alexander had done, after years of fighting X-COM had decided to strike down at the heart of the empire and remove the binding factor of all the races the X-Com was facing. Like the death of the Persian emperor had brought an end to his empire so had the killing of the alien King that controlled UFOs and monsters using mental powers at his underground chamber on the now battle scarred plains of Cydonia Mensae stopped the war. The human soldiers destroyed the vast monuments and buildings that were the ancient base on the planet and the alien's ranks were devastated until there was no more threat left. And the same way as the mausoleums and palaces left behind by the dead conquerors of the ancient world, the Sun rose and went down. But this time its flaming disk traveled under a pink and red horizon of the sunset and dawn of the Martian day several times, the planet appropriated itself of the remains of the great battle. Dust slowly covered the dead bodies and the pyramids that once had been occupied by the aliens until one day they would be nothing but a memory on human minds, like Alexander had also faded into the annals of history.

But not just yet for now it was still a period of passing and like all transitions both old and new live together, none suspecting of its role since guessing would be like reading the stars in seeking advice.

Anyone looking at the small creature could see that something had happened to put it into his state of nervous excitation. It traced the bright dot of light that had appeared unexpected on the Martian night sky with his large black eyes, a new body that seemed to have joined Phobos and Deimos, Mars's natural satellites. His gray skin had taken a dirty yellow tone from the thin layer of dust that refused to be cleaned off, no matter the number of times he had done it in order to be able to feed itself by absorbing nutrients through its epidermal cells. As its thin legs took large hops over the dark landscape it kept racing and following the path of the beacon that he had seen on the sky.

Although it was still too high for him to be able to classify what sort of craft his vision had still been able to identify it as artificial as it crossed the planet's dark side. His eyes had originally evolved to suit an underwater environment with deadly accuracy with the entire optical globe being used to capture a vast visual range that was a nanosecond later reconstructed in fine detail on his brain. As it paddled through the sand covered plain the thick and flat plants of his feet helped him to gain an easy stead on the unstable surface, with only a short amount of dust being dislocated at each step. But as he moved and avoided the occasional rock his rational thoughts were still locked thousands of kilometers away in orbit, mixed with what some wrongly classify as a strange mixture of relief and apprehension.

**********

"Orbital insertion complete. Altitude seventy thousand kilometres, speed six thousand and fifty kilometres per hour. Radar receivers and hyperwave decoder show no electronic noise in the area".

"Hold her steady and keep scanning, major". Looking through the cockpit canopy in front of him and through the electronic signals projected in front from him, Colonel Ronald E. Clark wondered what he was doing back there on Mars together with Seymour and at the controls of the last flying Avenger craft. It had been seven years since he had taken part on the X-COM mission that had struck at the alien base on Cydonia and killed the Brain that was coordinating Earth's invasion. Back then he had flown the leadship of the class, the Avenger, although now he was at the controls of the Valiant, which had also taken part on the Cydonia assault although it hadn't been a part of his group of ships.

"Aye, Spectre". The mention of his former call sign on X-COM almost made Clark wince at the reminder of his old callsign, back from the days where he had been strapped to the chair of an F-22 Lighting II stealth fighter blasting UFOs out of the skies. He had left the force more than four years ago and had rejoined the U.S. Air Force as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California. People now simply called him 'Colonel' and he didn't find it important to correct that since his top dog days where way over. He could easily be leading one of the Air Force's F-22 wings at the moment if he wished since he was in the top ranks of fighter aces after the Alien War but he had decided that he would never shoot at a human again.

And unlike X-COM, which was slowly being dismantled after the alien menace had vanished, he had found a lot of work flying prototypes at Edwards Air Force Base, California, that were based upon alien technology. It also meant him closer to home, where he could raise his two daughters in a nicer place than the deserts of Arizona, where his former base was located. He hadn't been called that in years since the name had been given to him by the crews after the Cydonia operation to reflect his attitude after the war. Probably the only one left in X-COM that still knew it was Seymour, since the had flown hundreds of missions with the other officer, including the Avenger.

Clark nodded to him from his seat as he prepared to go to the cargo area of the craft to notify Commander Boronin and authorize Dr. Johannes to start her preliminary analysis of the surface. Not that it was likely that she would be able to pick any indication of Elerium down on the planet. Seymour already had covered the surface on their orbit to slowdown using Mars' own gravity as a celestial pole to perform a skidding maneuver. Seymour and the threat computer had already checked the scanners to see if there was any active Elerium energy sources on the planet. She now would be combing the data to try to determine any passive ones, which greatly amplified the hardness of the task.

Still what mattered Clark more was that to get his part done and hand the rest to her as quickly as possible before getting back to the cabin for him and Seymour to take the ship on the descent. They were the only crew of Tiger flight that had survived the operation since the Majestic had been blown out in the sky by an alien Battleship as it tried to stop the extraterrestrials from bombarding the ground troops while the Challenger had crashed landed after taking a number of critical hits and its crew had suffocated on the deadly Mars atmosphere when the cockpit was breached. Him and Seymour had been lucky to leave the planet alive since the Avenger had also crash-landed after they had bombed the infamous 'Face' formation that had been built by the aliens. He had spent the weeks of the return trip without saying a word and during all that time he had hardly left his bunk onboard the craft, trying to put away the faces of the people he knew that had been killed on Mars.

Until now.

Almost half a year ago Commander Boronin had paid him a visit after he had presided the decommissioning of Area 51, the major X-COM US base, and had told him that the Council had finally approved one last mission for the Avenger craft and that he needed an experienced crew for it: to go back to Cydonia to look for Elerium, the transuranic element that powered the ship's anti-gravity drive and that wasn't natural to the Solar System. Clark had wanted to refuse the offer since there were still a couple of good Avenger pilots back on X-COM. Not that he didn't knew the necessity of finding Elerium since Earth's stockpile had been nearly depleted by scientific experiments that tried to built a faster than light engine that would allow humans to leave their home and by a number of wars fought meanwhile. He had simply come because he had decided that he wanted to see Cydonia again before he died. Hell, in his opinion this would most likely be the last manned mission for the planet in a long time and it was a chance that he couldn't miss.

Going through the hatch he saw the tall figure of Boronin looking at him with an anxious face. All of the faces staring at him of the small group of men onboard the Valiant's cargo area were relieved when he nodded to them and announced that they had safely entered Mars' orbit. But now the hardest work of their mission was ahead of them, to locate any remaining Elerium deposits left by the aliens on Mars. While it was relatively easy to track any machine that used the exotic fuel due to the tachyon transmissions it was a completely different matter when trying to locate unused catches of E-115. Most of the Elerium isotopes, which differed only on the number of neutrons at the nucleus of the atom, had short half-lives and they would decay into a more stable element by slipping and emitting radiation that could be detected but those were less than 0,1 percent of the fuel used by the aliens due to its purity. The underwater salvage operations run by X-COM usually took months to detect crash sites that still contained active Elerium and those were rare since the material become inert on saltwater.

However the underwater missions had something they didn't have on this mission: time. Due to fuel restrictions the fuel supply onboard the craft would only allow them a week on Mars before they had to lift off back to Earth with a very thin safety margin in case something wrong happened on the flight.

The small group of individuals onboard the craft was composed of Boronin plus a eight-man security squad, with his own wife, Eva leading the other two scientists which would conduct the scans of the Cydonia Mensae area. The soldiers on board were all old time vets from the war and Clark had even flown with some of them on the mission to the planet seven years ago. Any aliens that had survived their attack were supposed to be dead by now since Mars was a dead world and the X-COM soldiers had destroyed all alien facilities on the region. But there was still the possibility that a small outpost lost in the planet could have survived and would track their descent. The worst case scenario involved them being under attack by the aliens and the sixteen persons onboard the Valiant could have a rough time completing its mission or even getting back to Earth. But so far the planet was silent with no traces of any transmission.

"Are we in place?" Boronin's face showed both tiredness and determination.

"Yes, commander. We have a drop window into Cydonia in a couple of hours and we can be on the surface of the planet shortly afterwards".

The commander nodded to him and then turned to Clark's wife. "Dr. Johannes? What do you think?"

Clark already knew what his wife wanted and wondered, no was almost sure of what would happen next. "I would like to go through the data first before we drop down". She had said it again. "You can analyze the data on the ground doctor". Boronin's reply was short and before she had a chance to argue back he turned to Clark. "Drop us in Colonel". He nodded in acknowledgment but when his eyes crossed his wife's Clark detected a flash of anger hidden underneath them. Let's hope she doesn't take it too hard. She had objected to the idea that what could be mankind's possible last mission to Mars to land on Cydonia, since the area had been devastated and instead had argued for a landing on a place with a bigger scientific value. But Commander Boronin had struck down her complaints and Clark understood why: time was short on this mission and there was only one goal: get Elerium. During the briefings it had bothered him that apparently nobody had thought or wanted to discuss what would happen if they didn't find it on the planet. Clark didn't knew what would happen then but he thought that things couldn't get any worse from what mankind was before the aliens arrived.

"Commander...." Opps. "Chances of finding Elerium are better if we remain in orbit while I examine the first scan. Then we will be able to center the sensors on specific areas of the planet that show any promise". Oh boy, I hope she's ready to ride that long horn! For a moment Colonel Boronin simply stared at her while the rest of the crew members had all listened to their words very careful from their rest bunks or seated on the chairs that littered the cargo area of the Valiant. Clark hoped that Boronin wouldn't be too hard on at affirming his authority in front of everybody. Generals don't get contradicted by junior officers and sure as hell not by civilians under their command.

"Doctor..." His tone was uncertain and that made Clark worried. "...we'll drop down to the surface at once. Now if you find anything interesting report me at once". He looked at Clark with little more sternness and the officer knew that he should have been already gone by now. Still, he noticed Eva's concerned look at the officer as he left. Anyone who knew her would attribute it to her attitude towards the military since she considered them to be a necessary evil, even though she had been working for X-COM for years. He had had a fair amount of fights over the issue dating back from the days where they had meet at Area 51, the former X-COM US base. However, Clark knew that it had nothing to do with her reservations. According to her Boronin had become increasingly erratic and angry in the past months preceding the launch of the mission and rumors were going along on Mother One about the X-COM commander's mental stability. Apparently the Council of Funding Nations that supported X-COM thought otherwise since they had assigned him to the mission but Johannes had told him that she was worried of what might happen on Mars and her pleas had made him accept the invitation forwarded by him by Boronin. "Seymour, notify Mother One of our arrival and our intent to descend into the planet". Arrival transmission to base, check. He still had a long checklist to perform.

Half an hour later the Valiant was cruising through Mars's atmosphere at more than twenty thousand kilometers per hour of speed. The planet's very low atmospheric pressure avoided the burn and fierce reentry common on Earth landings but it also had meant that they would have to take a very long descent to Cydonia in order to decelerate the craft. Their approach vector to the region took them over Vallis Marineris, the huge set of canyons that were cut into Mars surface millions of years ago as the result of immense tectonic forces applied on the planet. As the Valiant over flew the system of gorges that was in some places several hundred meters tall most of its passengers that were looking through the view ports built on the craft looked in nostalgia at the natural formation.

But while the scientists looking at the orange and brown landscape were marveled and thrilled by the prospect of stepping into another planet, the soldier's feelings were of a different nature. On the back of the Avenger, sergeants Jeremiah Jones and Juan Rodriguez were also wondering about what they would find in the surface of Mars. As the rest of the eight man squad brought along to provide security they were all clad into thick white suits of metal powered by small Elerium engines that provided energy to the armored turtle shell. The suit's helmets were removed and rested at their feet revealing the black and slim features of Jones' skin and wide open eyes as he gazed through the window. Seated up straight next to the turned figure of Jones, Rodriguez had by now his eyes closed and was stroking the thin mustache he had allowed to grow as he made his mind relax. "Man, how did we get ourselves back to this shit hole?" The comment made Rodriguez turn his head that was sticking out of his power suit towards Jones, who was seated behind him. "You volunteered for it you plasma fried brain". The jab brought smiles to the other members of the squad as Jones shook his head and Rodriguez continued. "Besides, you're the pinche who have been bitching the rest of us all this time complaining about the lack of extraterrestrial butt to kick".

"No... no I mean yeah. Shit, how come we only brought lasers for protection? I'd think that for this one they would have allowed us some heavy plasmas. If a Muton shows up we'll be better off using this lasers to bang them in their heads". He looked at the metal butt of his rifle: most likely it would bend against the armored skin of a Muton.

Rodriguez grimaced. "If we come to use these things I doubt even the plasmas would help us Jonesy".

Jones' face showed concern and after a while he shook his head. "You know, I still have bad dreams about this planet".

"Yeah, I'm not particularly found of going back to that hellish underground chamber myself and seeing the place where Captain Jerrel and all the other guys lost their lives...." He left the sentence unfinished and Rodriguez knew why since he had also been there right at the end. "I know. Why did we made out and they didn't? That's what's on your mind".

"Shit, Rodriguez, didn't knew you had become a mind reader". That brought a scowl from the Hispanic trooper who was about to reply when another soldier snapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey! I think I can see the camp" Corporal Lazarus Sharkey's voice cut through their conversation and as the eight soldiers seated on the starboard side of the Avenger immediately turned to attention the scientists wondered what all the fuss was about but the only thing they could see was the breath taking canyons of Vallis Marineris.

The only person who had not bothered to look at the location of mankind's first settlement on Mars was commander Boronin. Mars City One. I wonder whose idea it was to give that name to our base camp. He didn't bother looking because he knew it was impossible to spot the remains of the first human settlement on Mars at this altitude. Instead he gripped his red laser rifle and mentally went through a sequence. Operating procedure for the type XV laser rifle. Check weapons' power level. Select rate of fire by moving the lever. Remove protective cover from the barrel of the weapon. Release safety. Avoid looking directly at the beam and remember there's no recoil. But as his hands automatically went through the motion his thoughts soon started to drift in other directions. Unlike the others onboard the flying war machine who were either looking in awe at their first time on the planet or remembered the last time they've been there, Boronin was unconsciously searching on the red landscape for the white figure of commander Illyuschenko looking at him.

What has happened, Dmitri Stepanovitch? Did you knew it all along what was going to happen with us when you decided to stay behind on this forsaken planet to die? Was all of this inevitable? Boronin had always wondered why the X-COM commander had decided to stay behind on the planet after the success of the assault on Cydonia. He had taken command of X-COM following the return to Earth and had easily destroyed the remaining alien forces. There was no possibility that Illyuschenko had managed to survive for seven years on the planet and Boronin knew that it wasn't the commander's wish in any case.

Their approach to Cydonia, taking them over the flat plains of the Acidalia Planitia region was much less intense so far than their assault although Boronin still feared that there might be any alien survivors left on the planet. They had killed all aliens near the facility that were a threat after the death of the Brain and razed all facilities that could support the aliens on this cold planet. Like Earth, Mars had been sterilized from the alien menace for good, it seemed as Clark's voice on the suit's intercom told him that they were starting to approach the highlands of Cydonia Mensae and less than eighty miles from their target.

For a while all of the killings he had seen and done seemed justified but then everyone seemed just to forget the entire war. If things keep getting as bad as they have it will be only a number of years before the Council decides to shut the door on X-COM, even if we managed to find more of that damned Elerium here to supply all of those fools who only think of squandering it. To Boronin the hardest part of his job was dealing with the Council of Funding Nations, the UN body composed of representatives from the nations that controlled the force's budget. He wondered if he had conceded too much from them on the planning of this mission. The Moon base should have been completed and fully operational by now. If we had been able to launch from there we could add an additional week or two on the ground because of the fuel savings. We should have assumed that there are still alien survivors and brought plasma weaponry and a larger force. And we are risking the few assets still remaining for nothing and will have to find Elerium or leave before we risk depleting our fuel reserves too much.

Or should we remain here for as long as it lasts since the more time we spend the higher the chances are of finding the damn Elerium? The question had been on his mind the whole time during the flight but now he couldn't ignore it anymore. The verbal orders given to him at the Council had been quite simple: discovery of E-115 had the highest priority even regarding the lives of crew members. Boronin had thought the entire situation pathetic as they reminded him of the severe energy crisis ahead of them or even the argument that Earth's defenses couldn't be left underpowered in case the aliens returned. Yet, no matter how much greed disguised amongst the desperation he had seen with repulsion he also realized the vital need of their mission. We need to find Elerium! What will happen if the aliens return and we have no means to power our weapons and ships? The worldwide E-115 scarce supply still remaining had been restricted to military uses but it still wasn't enough to cover the demand. Most of the research made to develop faster than light spacecraft had stopped due to the lack of it and the scientists had instead turned their few resources into creating artificial Elerium, although it would take years or even decades to achieve any results.

With the cuts on its budget increasing every year Boronin had problems finding its own Elerium supply. The Valiant was the only spacecraft of his fleet that was still operating with all the others having being mothballed and put into storage. Most of the combat teams and scientists were also gone having only received a small pension fund and a handshake after having been on the force since it's beginning because there weren't funding anymore.

As the craft kept on its course and approached their landing area Boronin simply disconnected any conscious thoughts and looked at his troops. The eight X-COM soldiers were all veterans from the first war that somehow had stuck around for all this time after the end of the war. For nearly all of them they had no place else to go, Boronin knew since like them his family was the force. Many of those who had left hadn't either settled down having found work back to the armed forces of their countries or even as mercenaries or even illegal careers. And what about us? The words of the council kept ringing on his ears: all personnel are to be considered expandable while pursing the mission's goal of finding an Elerium source. He had been ordered to take any necessary measures to increase the chances of finding the precious material. What am I doing? He couldn't answer that question and it was starting to trouble him more even more than the prospect of not finding any of the Elerium. Both Illyuschenko and the Council had managed to keep one another in tight leashes, with each side fighting to get his own way but now that he and the aliens were gone Boronin had found that dealing with the representatives was worse than tackling with a Chryssalid: both would try to infect you and turn you into one of them. He had been ordered to take his best remaining troops to a nearly suicidal mission and had only complied at that order by demanding to be allowed on the expedition. The Council had been more than happy to oblige his request: even if he got back to Earth his absence wouldn't be missed by them. Only those two men who had come to talk to him on the eve of the expedition to give him a very special briefing and unauthorized proposal had shown more care than anyone else back on Earth. I have a task at hand. I will make sure that the job is completed. The answer didn't satisfy him but for now it would have to suffice while they were on Mars.

By now having decelerated to a speed less than Mach One, the Valiant glided over the thin Martian atmosphere at a safe altitude from the mesas that littered the area. From his cockpit Clark immediately recognized to the southeast the ruined pentagonal pyramid that once had housed a massive alien base on his inside. And to the north he could see the remains of the City where he had dropped the strike team that had killed the Brain. The mission orders called for a flyby of the entire area before setting down to see if there was any indication of recent artificial activity on the area. On his side Seymour was keeping both a close watch on the known locations that the aliens had formerly occupied plus the visual display unit that showed 360-degree view of the area around the Avenger. If there was any radar, infrared or tachyon transmission for more than one hundred kilometers around them Seymour and Clark would immediately be alerted by the threat detection computer but so far the area looked as dead as the rest of the planet.

Mimicking the gesture of grabbing a thrust lever with his left hand Clark slowed down even further the speed of the Valiant as the craft reached the flat area between the Pyramid and the infamous Face on Mars, which now was nothing more than a pile of broken rocks. A string of alphanumeric text scrolled down on the air in front of his eyes as they approached the navigational waypoint where they would make a long turn to overflow the Face before finally setting down on the planet. Unlike the attack mission the Martian sky was clear of the dust clouds that had bathed the area on a red and dark penumbra where the Avengers were desperately fighting a cloud of UFOs that were bent on bombarding the X-COM troops on the ground.

"Avenger! Where are you? I can't shake them off" Back then the voice had been abruptly cut on the communications channel back then as Clark and Seymour tried to reach the Challenger as it as being hunt down by three alien battleships. But Clark would occasionally recall it, the fear and desperation of Sykes as the pilot realized that he was running out of options to shake off the UFOs that were hunting him like a hungry pack of wolves.

The Challenger's pilot had tried to gain altitude and hide on the maelstrom of the dust currents that were being carried throughout the planet's atmosphere but he had never made it. Still entrapped in a deadly aerial ballet with another battleship, Clark and Seymour had barely time to notice the explosion above as the Avenger's engines had gone hypercritical and the safety restrainers had failed due to the plasma fire of the UFOs, consuming the craft on a Elerium explosion that had lightened the red sky with an orange fireball. The third Avenger, the Majestic, had already crashed into the ground leaving Clark and Seymour as the only friendly craft in the vicinity of the city but they had been unable to provide any cover to the troops below. They had run away from the area, hoping that the UFOs wouldn't give chase, knowing that if the mission failed someone would have to report back to headquarters that Earth was doomed. But at the last minute before they headed towards the planet's atmosphere they had finally been informed that the ground teams had been successful in defeating the aliens. However the casualties had been too high. Clark had later checked on the wreckage of the Challenger and had found that the crew had survived the crash only to choke to death on the Martian atmosphere as the hull was breached and all life-support functions had failed. The pilots had tried to get their individual breathing systems but the door to the main body of the craft was jammed and their injured bodies had been found out close of the hatch with their helmets tossed to the side and their faces covered in blood from the decompression. Even the Avenger was more of a flying wreck than a combat spaceship and the travel back had been plagued with system failures. Due to financial reasons it had never been completely repaired and it had been mothballed with the majority of its systems still damaged.

Clark leisurely brought the Valiant on a slow turn over the Face looking in satisfaction that it was still pretty much the same after he had blasted it with the plasma cannons onboard the Avenger. The massive construction had once represented a humanoid face but now the eye socks had collapsed inwards and the mouth and nose areas showed the effect of a large inner explosion that had sent large boulders of rock and metal to the area surrounding the Face. "That was some fine shooting, Spectre". His lips tightened as he heard the comment but instead of answering started the landing procedures. Yeah. Hurrah, we made it back.

He had never understood what where the aliens trying to do when they had activated whatever was lying underneath the Face. Later some people from Intelligence had asked him a number of questions but when Clark had tried to get some answers out of curiosity he had discovered by their nervous attitude that they didn't had a clue either. The call on the tachyon frequency had baffled him since it had come at a time where everything on the aerial dogfight he was engaged had turned into non-sense. He had already accepted that he was going to die as two Battleships had finally caught up with the Avenger and several others were waiting to get their shot at the human ship. Then the aliens had by magic broke off the pursuit momentarily while the other UFOs had started flying erratically on the Martian sky as if the alien pilots had turned mad in less than a second. First he had thought that the voice was another of the mind tricks that the aliens used to distract the pilots but Seymour's reaction to it. Finally free of the UFOs he had raced across the Cydonia plain and had hit the Face's lit features with the plasma cannons still mounted on the wings of his spaceship until the formation had crumbed and exploded. Only afterwards he had been informed of the bloodbath that had taken place also on the ground.

**********

At the same as Clark was taking the Avenger down to Cydonia, the small figure had almost reached its destination. Swiftly moving across the Martian landscape, the orange covered Sectoid already knew that the newcomers weren't from the Hierarchy as he approached the side of the hill were his hideout was located. He had been a major officer on the aliens' service, being responsible for a full fighting ship and crew, having being cloned and bred specifically for that role. To maintain control the alien had also been given something that most members of its race didn't possess: psionic powers. Originally the Sectoid race's mental capabilities were restricted to their own species since they had all lived as part of large communal societies on their homeworld. Two Sectoids could maintain a mental link several kilometers even separated by several kilometers. But as the Ethereals were created from their own DNA and other races were brought into the Starspawn, the over ruling entity of the alien empire compressed of all aliens, a specific superior caste of Sectoids capable of using psionics on other races had been created since the Ethereal population was too small to handle all command tasks. He could sense that the craft that seemed to be heading towards the now destroyed main base was crewed by one specific race: humans.

His trek had been filled with what would be called by humans as a mixture of thought and emotion, both classifications invented by mankind philosophers that simply didn't apply to his race. He was the last survivor of its race on the planet and had considered committing suicide, something very rare amongst Sectoids since their hive conscience detected immediately any individual errors and the individual member would be punished before he could even consider that course of action. The loss of the Brain had affected all aliens and the remaining Sectoids had managed to retain a partial and diffuse conscience.

That had came up as a survival measure with then going back to their ancestral ways, learned millions of years ago during their evolution and that their scientists had been wise to leave on their DNA code as a safe back measure in case anything went wrong with the Starspawn. But it hadn't been enough.

After the human crafts had left the planet the scattered survivors who had escaped the onslaught of the X-COM soldiers had simply run into another disaster. The few Ethereals still alive had managed to regain control of the Mutons just in time to contain the rummaging hordes of Chryssalids that had been freed of any control. Already they had impregnated hundreds of dazzled aliens when the other races had come up with some impromptu organization to hold back and eradicate what seemed a black locust plague. But soon right afterwards the surviving aliens had simply turned their weapons into one another as disagreements between the Ethereals and the other races immediately boiled in several deadly engagements over the planet's surface. In less than a month the thousands of aliens that had survived X-COM's attack due to their far positions from Cydonia had been vastly reduced due to the fighting. The loss of the support facilities at the base had merely doomed the remaining aliens to a slow death, trapped on Mars. The Sectoid had refused to believe it and that was the reasons why he was still alive, the only one of his species left, although he suspected (and feared) that there where still other aliens around.

The Sectoid had already circled the entrance to see if he had been followed before moving to a location on the middle of the hill that was flat covered with orange dust with a large boulder standing and facing the sky. With a last look in both directions the alien grabbed the rock with both arms and pulled it away, revealing a dark hole on the ground. He quickly jumped inside and his thin hands briskly moved back the brown boulder, leaving only no trace of his presence or his hideout on the barren hills.

*********

[Hobbes]

X-COM: Eulogy

Part II

 

The location of the landing of the second manned mission to Mars had been chosen according because it had been the largest alien facility on the planet and it was possible that something had been missed on the hasty search made by the X-COM soldiers after the battle. Boronin had argued for the landing to happen on the City, the area to the northeast where the alien Brain had been located. But instead the Council had overridden his authority and had ordered that mission touched down at the D&M Pyramid, a massive artificial construction with a height exceeding one mile filled with inner chambers that spread underground.

The Valiant approached the Pyramid from the northeast until it was half a kilometer away from the building then it stopped on the air and slowly dropped down like a dragonfly on the vicinity of a large impact crater. Slowly moving his right hand downwards Clark tried gently to bring the craft down although he was having a problem with the lesser gravity of Mars, which made some sudden drops for the Avenger. But as the landing gear deployed Clark already had the craft with a safe descent rate and a few seconds later the vessel shook as the landing pads hit the soft Martian soil underneath.

The honor of being the first human to set foot on Mars had been already taken by a soldier who had raced down the Avenger's ramp when they had landed first on Vallis Marineris. Private Nikolas Schmidt had stepped into History as the first man to step on Mars, after a computer had chosen randomly through the spaceships' crews and soldiers. Unfortunately he hadn't lived enough to be able to tell about it on Earth since he had died on the 'cauldron of death', the crater close to the Pyramid that housed the main entrance to the alien base that Boronin and the main force had assaulted wrongly, believing it to be the location of the Brain. The cauldron had been the field for the most vicious battle of the Alien War, where more than a hundred X-COM soldiers had thought thousands of aliens in a pitch fight. Less fifty human survivors had walked out of the crater, most of them seriously injured and without any hovertanks left. As they were about to be overwhelmed the other force successfully killed the Brain on the city and threw the alien army into disarray. It still took them nearly the rest of the day to kill the rest of the aliens on the area, with the exhausted soldiers salvaging weapons from the dead fingers of extraterrestrials as their ammunition run out several times.

As Boronin cleared out the entrance hatch built into the side of the Avenger the first thing he noticed was the irregular rim that marked the brown wall of the crater. Standing on the small pad next to the retractable stairs that were deployed he checked the horizon and was satisfied to see no movement on the area. Clark had already made a low pass and there had been no aliens on sight so he let his rifle hung from his shoulder as he moved down to the sandy surface.

No proper footage had been taken of the first landing since the troopers were more concerned in securing the landing zone for the other craft that were coming down from the sky. No matter how historical the occasion was Commander Illyuschenko had been adamant in keeping with tactical procedure since they were dropping into a hostile location. Today a tiny camera deployed next to the door was keeping track of all his movements as he stepped down. There would be no speeches, no planting of flags since the Council had not decided on which banner to place since there were things more important ahead. His first step was a determined one although he was cautious that the dust might be deeper on this area. Cydonia Mensae's ancient plateaus and mesas were constantly under the duress of the Martian winds that would periodically replace the dust cover over the hard dark red rock but the first expedition had discovered after a number of incidents that the planet's surface was very dynamic with quick sands on some areas where the sand run deeper. Completing his descent he looked around again. The damaged ruins of the Pyramid lingered over his head while another X-COM soldier was already coming down. One by one they came down until the nine soldiers were fanning out with their laser weapons on their hands. They would start searching for the Elerium immediately. Wish us luck Dmitri Stepanovitch. We will need it.

**********

In the aerial battle that took place on the skies above Cydonia seven years before one of the several UFOs that were attacking the X-COM ships had been caught by a stray shot fired by a larger alien Battleship and it had been one of the several 'friendly fire' casualties that had occurred during the battle. The powerful blast had cut through the Harvester's hull in a three feet wide hole with the energized particles vaporizing all Sectoids that were manning the chambers on the side that had been pierced by the blast. In less than a second and with a critical failure of the antigravity field that held the UFO on the air it had dropped down to the planet's surface as the crew onboard tried to bring the Elerium engines back online. But falling out of control from the sky it had crashed into one of the several rugged hills that were common on Cydonia and had burrowed itself on the sandy side of the elevation.

The most of the aliens who had survived the crash had been injured and in a complete state of confusion following the death of the Brain on Cydonia. Stumbling out of the wrecked hull of the UFO they had stood for days in a catatonic state, waiting hopelessly for the mental link to be reestablished while the X-COM troops were busy sterilizing Cydonia. Fortunately for them their crash site was too far for the human soldiers to take notice but after they were gone the infighting between the aliens had started with several of them dying on the confrontations.

But it had also prompted the Sectoids to turn the wreck of their crashed ship as a refuge from the harsh Martian environment and now the alien how had observed the human ship was walking on one of the inclined corridors. His body's metabolism and configuration allowed him to endure conditions that would kill a human in minutes, including brief periods on the vacuum of space without the need for an environmental suit. But he still had physical needs that were better fulfilled with some sort of a shelter besides the necessity of a place to hide in case any hostile life forms appeared. With time the sand had covered the Harvester but the Sectoid had managed to keep most of the inner chambers clear and had even made several hidden entrances to the crashed Harvester.

The alien was the last survivor of the crew of the UFO and as a Leader had been the commanding officer of the ship. He had been surprised by the emergency alerts made as they had tracked the human fleet approaching the base and had immediately taken off since his craft was about to get ready for a new mission on Sol Three. The humans were proving to be extremely troublesome to pacify and losses had been high but they didn't matter much for the Sectoid or the Ethereal commanders who knew that they would simply wear out the humans for the final crush. They conquered several other species more quickly but as they had launched from the Pyramid the prevailing sensation throughout the psionic net was that the humans and their arrogance and deviousness would finally be conquered using the old methods: complete eradication of human culture and society and appropriate disposal and use of any remaining specimens. But then everything had turned upside down for the survivors. Some had simply panicked and run away on the Martian desert, never to come back while others had been prey to the remaining hordes of aliens running on a hunting and killing spree. And as for the others...the Sectoid paused as he approached one of the circular glass food-processing units that stood on the main bay of the UFO. Inside frail thin figures like he rested floating on a clear liquid, the dead Sectoid bodies preserved for later consumption. He had taken every measure possible to survive, including getting rid of the rest of his crew in order to save precious resources and hold out until the Starspawn returned, something that he did not question. It was the only measure to take, after there were no more useful bodies of the dead aliens left to feed the nutrient processors.

But it had been a costly one to bear in mental terms since the Sectoid had been left completely alone, something that he had never imagined possible and therefore had never thought of considering the consequences. Coupled to the disorientation felt by the death of the Brain it had thrown him into countless states of panic and desperation, only countered by his own psionic powers. But now he wasn't alone anymore and the Sectoid looked at the dead members of his species floating inside the liquid and trying to make any logic out of his thoughts. Why were the humans coming back?

**********

On the small world of spacecraft the Valiant wouldn't rank any points for the beauty of its design. Unlike the sleek and simple space capsules that had taken the first astronauts to the edge of Earth or the later US Space Shuttle it had no need for an aerodynamic fuselage since its hull didn't made contact with the atmosphere because of the anti-gravity field provided by its twin Elerium engines that repelled everything around it. The field could also be used in case a micrometeor breached the hull to prevent the loss of atmospheric pressure and keeping the air and the troops inside from being sucked to the outside.

The small, compact Elerium engines were amongst the best ever adapted by Earth's engineers from the original ones mounted onboard the UFOs, allowing it to reach speed of several thousand miles while airborne and permitting the ship to reach Mars in weeks rather than several months. They compactness and smallness were also a blessing to the designers of the ship, to whom space had been at a premium in order to prevent the Avengers from becoming monstrous craft due to its original requirements to be able to fight the huge alien Battleships while being able dropping 26 fully armed combat soldiers to any location on Earth and space. They had ended up with a craft that was nearly the length of a 727 but extremely more powerful than Boeing's venerable jetliner. The call for the quick development and production of the craft had made them to take the easiest approach to its design, with short and stubby wings that had the only role of holding the craft's weapons, a cockpit section where the two pilots were jammed into, and a major bay area that composed most of the ship, with all electronic equipment set on the sides of the craft.

Inside the plane's belly the X-COM engineers had made a number of modifications that allowed it to be home to the sixteen humans were its crew. The elongated rear where the exit ramp was located had been filled with supplies for the mission, preventing the exit to be used but they had also added a small decompression chamber on the side to allow humans to operate outside. Next to it a small hygienic facility composed of a zero-gravity toilet and sink had been installed. There were no shower facilities available because of the water and space restrictions placed, which had the side effect of a grievous stench onboard the craft no matter who much the air recyclers worked but by now all crew had become used to it.

They had all individual cots for sleeping, nearly coffin size cabinets located slightly above head level that were cushioned and had curtains, providing the only privacy aboard the ship. Underneath them there were the scientist's workstations weapons racks, together with seats and two small tables that were either used for eating meals taken from the food dispensers. The conditions were more akin to those on submarines on whose boats space was also a very valuable asset that was used on the more efficient way possible. The power suits and other material hung from the ceiling, tightly held by straps, together with other equipment necessary for the mission.

The first two days had gone uneventfully as the soldiers had swept the area around the Avenger and the outside of the D&M Pyramid, only to find it empty of any life forms. Dr. Johannes had been going through the data taken on the orbital pass although no concrete indications had surfaced so far from the numbers and figures on the computer displays that she had examined. But now commander Boronin had finally authorized a close examination of the massive structure and Lieutenant White was looking at the members of the team assigned for the duty. With only eight soldiers on his command and a lot to worry about he was worried that they might be outnumbered but he had no other options. He would go with Hopkins, Rodriguez, Jones, Camay and King while Sharkey and Prune would help the remaining scientist to haul his precious rock and sand samples as he dug the ground around the Valiant.

Major Seymour had already given him today's forecast: temperatures near 0

[Hobbes]

X-COM:Eulogy

Part III

 

If King had made any notice of how he had been before in a similar situation he had already stored it to the back of his mind in a place where it wouldn't disturb him as he readied for action on the dark corridors of the abandoned alien base.

Seven years before he and the soldiers too injured to walk had stayed behind and waited for the aliens at the pyramid where the entrance to the underground section of the City. They were a last effort to stall the aliens that were stepping out of the UFOs that had just arrived to reinforce the ones below in the City that the other X-COM soldiers were fighting in reach the Brain.

They had set off explosives as the aliens advanced on the corridor that led into the elevator section inside the building, effectively trapping themselves but the aliens soon managed to burrow through. The troopers lobbied grenades at them together with rounds of heavy laser and plasma fire but even as a mass of alien bodies collected at the entrance to the elevator chamber one by one the X-COM soldiers were picked and killed by the marauding aliens who were desperate to protect the Brain. Only King and Woodley had survived since he had managed to escape through the elevators as Deschamps urged him to do so right before his death from several plasma injuries, constantly holding the other injured soldier to her feet. The only survivors of Omega squad had wondered hopelessly through the labyrinth of corridors and chambers, some filled with deadly aliens until they had finally made contact with the victorious remaining troops.

And now he recognized the game of hunt all again and something kept telling him that things weren't right, King sensed as he retraced the path they had taken until the giant staircase and back into the immense subterranean city. He wanted to check out the area he had seen from a distance since they had managed to find the staircase without a problem. It could only mean that something was behind that wall that wasn't marked but he didn't blame the soldiers who had drew it afterwards. It was close to impossible to remember everything when plasma shots were being exchanged with hostiles.

Next to him Zee waved her laser rifle from one direction to the other as they walked between rows of yellow and green glass cylinders now empty. Their power suits external lights were off since they would be dead giveaways of their presence to any alien survivors on the area. It could be fatal to assume that none was left because they hadn't stumbled into one on their way and King was almost sure that they had a straggler behind them. A strange blue light was being generated on the room since the metal walls were lit with it but they couldn't tell the source of it.

Like always it had been the small things that ordinarily didn't meant a thing for people and hardly notice them. But the trick was to keep your own paranoid side under control and pick up what really mattered from all the information his brain was receiving from his body's senses. A lithe sound echoing down a corridor that sounded like others they had listened before but attributed to the slow decay of the alien base. It could simply be a piece of broken machinery finally falling on the ground after years of precarious balance hanging from the hole opened by a plasma blast, with the sound being reflected to the nearby area. Or the result of the alloyed metal of the bases' walls and foundations contracting or dilating, from the contact with the cold Martian surface around it.

He hadn't seen anything moving yet but he already considered quite probable that they had someone following them but it seemed that it was keeping a distance. Any of the soldiers above would be smart enough to warn him of his approach but the radio had been silent all this time, telling him also that nothing had happened to the other soldiers... at least yet.

In order not to alert whoever was behind that they had taken notice of him he and Zee had kept their advance with him keeping point while she took the rear. He was looking for a position where they could get a clear look to check if there was really anyone back there with his plasma rifle pointed to the head of whomever was behind them. And if it wasn't human...

A few minutes later they had found a possible location to check whatever it was: a wide corridor that was a major intersection of smaller passageways before it bended straight sideways and further into the depths of the base. Leaning against the wall he brought upward the barrel of his plasma rifle until he lined the weapon towards the entrances of the side corridors. Then, as he wished for some more cover he lowered himself on his knees and brought the right eye visor of his helmet to the electronic sight built on top of the weapon, an addition made to the alien original design by X-COM's engineers. Matched with the visors on his own power suit they allowed him to scan the area in front of him in several wavelengths turning the dark corridor into an ocean of blue patterns. He preferred visible light than using IR since the infrared would take away most of the detail, adding an extra disability to target identification.

"Vislight" The suit's computer software detected his order and ordered the targeting system to switch view into visible light, ordering the micro engines on his right eye socket to deploy special screens designed to capture more photons than it was possible for the human eye. The vislight equipment then would feed the targeting system with a view that cast the corridor in tones of green as the software amplified the small amounts of photons that were not enough to provide for any visible light to human vision but now provided him with a clear view.

Just one more thing to do, King reminded himself. He then activated his radio while keeping an eye on the intersections but discovered to his dislike that something was interfering with the transmission since he received no response. They had faced the same problem on the underground base at Cydonia during the assault with something inside the alien's machinery or construction materials that interfered and blocked radio signals.

It didn't matter for in a matter of minutes they would be remaking contact with the main group and if something happened the sound of plasma was quite unforgettable for those who had heard it.

**********

"What's the problem Gunny?" Although Hopkins had been promoted past Gunnery Sergeant he still had people calling him for years by his former Marine Corps rank. Lieutenant White had picked the taller man's change of posture into an alert stance.

"Sir, I can't seem to see Dr. Johannes".

"What?" White glanced around as well but only saw three other human figures on the chamber besides him and Hopkins. "You don't think she was stupid enough..."

"Dr. Johannes, please reply, over".

A moment went before the lack of response made both men look in apprehension to one another.

"Everybody check" Hopkins' voice gave no room for delays but besides him and the other four men he found out that King and Camay were also silent, although that didn't necessarily meant the worse on their case. "Jones! Rodriguez! When was the last time you saw Dr. Johannes?"

Both soldiers where now ready for action with their arms gripping the laser rifles. "Five minutes ago or something Sarge. She was just by the stairway looking at something on the ground". Jones nodded to Rodriguez reply. "Yeah, last time I saw here too, sergeant".

"Shit! And where is King?"

*********

Something chilly had dropped into the depths of the pyramid King felt it at the same time that forced himself to blink to refresh his eyesight. Most people got dry eyes from staring at one thing for too long with the unusual attention interfering with the natural blinking movement of the eye, where the brain normally unconsciously closed the eyelids several times each minute. He tried to relax his kneeled legs but kept a tight grip on the plasma rifle he was holding.

He had switched his suit's targeting system back to IR since it gave better contrast of any heat emitting form that skulked into the corridor. A few moments ago he had heard another undifferentiated sound coming from one of the corridor and he motioned Camay to be ready for whatever was coming down there.

The IR image showed the passageway clean and there was still a bluish tone being reflected at the distance off the walls probably coming from the chamber that King and Camay had passed on their way to here. He had chosen the spot where he was standing because it was the darkest one of the passageway while the other end still had some illumination coming. As he switched back to natural light he saw the indication that he was waiting and that neither IR or vislight could give him: a shadow quickly flickered on the left wall directly facing one of the corridors.

An almost invisible looming shape covered the floor to join the darkness on the wall and has moments slowly rushed by King tightened his grip on the handle and squeezed the trigger.

Inside the rifle's magazine a small portion of Elerium was suddenly released into the end of a small particle accelerator whose main portion was less than an inch wide but consisted of a tube that was so small that unwrapped had a length of several kilometers. Equally small sized magnets lining it powered subatomic particles across its length until they collided with the Unp-115 at the end and provoked a nuclear fission reaction.

The discharge process of a plasma weapon using Elerium was threefold. First a portion of the Elerium was immediately consumed, releasing anti-matter which annihilated itself in contact with normal matter, releasing energy, which was then used to power a low intensity laser to excite the path of the beam and reduce any atmospheric friction. Second, the energy was also used to control the anti-gravity fields produced by the fission and mold them into a containment path that followed the laser. The anti-gravity field was usually the first physical effect suffered by the target as it gave a slight amount of pressure but most of its effects were centered into something else.

The last step of the process was actually a combination of the first two but it was what it gave the weapons its destructive power. The particle accelerator also propelled the remains of the Elerium charge down the barrel of the weapon. There the anti-gravity field took over and directed the still active Unp-115 through the path of the laser. As it traveled along the path of the laser the field compressed the thin Martian atmosphere to produce a cracking sound during its flight. By the time of impact with the target it was nothing more than a small mass of contained energy and anti-matter particles glowing brightly green and lighting the corridor as the weapon had already completed its reloading cycle and King scanned for his target for a second shot.

**********

"Doctor Johannes" Lieutenant White's angry voice made the scientist stop with one foot already placed upon the next step of the long stairway. She looked upwards and into the bright light beacons coming out of Hopkins' power suit, which was leading the squad downwards from the command chamber.

She raised her hand to block the searchlights pointed at her as Hopkins quickly rushed down the steps to meet her. "What's happening Sergeant?" Then she asked in a worried tone. "Who's been firing?"

Behind them Jones shared a look with Rodriguez as they stood holding their laser rifles. They quickly moved past the pair and rushed downstairs as Hopkins scanned her for any injury. "Are you alright?"

"I think my oxygen unit has malfunctioned".

"Doctor..." By now the White had joined the larger armored figure of Hopkins with Yusuf following close and the officer was not pleased. "Where the hell have you been? Are you nuts? What happened?"

She pointed downwards. "Well, I thought I had seen some carvings downstairs so I thought I might take a couple of photos of them". She waved her portable camera for them to see. "But I think my oxygen level must have dropped because I passed out and I woke up with the sound of a shot being fired".

"Doctor, don't ever go out without an escort if you want to live! That was a very, very stupid thing to do" His rebuttal made her cringe backwards but he ignored her reaction. "Rodriguez, Jones, find King and Camay! I want to know just what happened"

**********

Three hours later King was finishing racking his power suit back up to the ceiling while Camay was to his left and reading her own armor to be placed back on storage. Holding a small yellow control pad that hung from the metal trappings above him King press a button and small engines started pulling the suit upwards by small alien alloy chains. There were eight holding pods for the suits attached to the ceiling of the Avenger's main bay, each one with his own elevation system. Each tortoise shaped exoskeleton weighted more than two hundred pounds back on Earth and although Mars' own gravity reduced the weight to less than the half it was still a big mass in terms of volume to move around.

King watched the suit move upwards with the Elerium powered engine pulling it up slowly in a rattling sound. Camay had already finished locking the suit and fixing the steel chains on lifting points built into the back of the armor. The rest of the squad had already finished their securing their equipment and were inside their cabinets and sleeping, with the exception of the commander and Dr. Boronin, plus Major Seymour who was keeping an eye on the scanners. They had set portable motion scanners covering a perimeter around the spacecraft and anything moving would set out an alarm on the cockpit of the Avenger. The lights on the other section of the large cargo bay were already dimmed but he could see Dr. Johannes busy around one of the workstations while Boronin stood beyond her, both with their backs turned against each other.

Moving closer to one of the view ports he looked at the massive figure of the Pyramid and reflecting on the day's events. "Still wondering?" Camay's low voice came from behind him as she got up and reached for another control pad.

"Yeah". He assented. "There was something up there". Back there on the corridor he had been surprised when he had seen the plasma blast fly by the space where he had calculated his target would occupy based on its apparent movement. His eyes had immediately scanned again but this time they could only see the green that filled the corridor being replaced by blue as the frigid Martian atmosphere brought down the temperature. After some tense moments of waiting he had moved to the front and found no evidence of his target or any trace that it had been an alien. But he still had a certainty that he had shot at something although he might never find out what it was. After they had brought back the scientists to the Valiant the entire squad had made a sweep of the pyramid and had found nothing, which was reassuring but it still didn't explain the presence he had felt down there.

With his suit secure King picked up his plasma rifle and with a flick of a switch built close to the handle unloosed the magazine. Looking at the black clip on his hand King realized that he had just gained a ton of paperwork to fill for discharging his weapon. He would have to give a full account of how and why he had wasted ammunition worth more than a hundred thousand US dollars, according to the latest market prices. That made him curse even more than having missed the shot.

"Commander...." Taken aback from his mental wonderings by Johannes's voice Boronin turned his body on his chair on the other side of the Avenger's bay as the scientist approached him. "Well doctor?" The look of frustration on her head told the X-COM commander that she hadn't made any progress after finishing to review to the orbital scans. She had stayed awake all night finishing the examination.

"All orbital scans show negative to any tracks of active Elerium power sources. As for any deposits the background radiation simply makes the whole thing like finding a needle on a hay stack". He slowly exhaled as he paused to consider the information. Despite King's incident at the D&M Pyramid they had spend their days on Mars without encountering any alien activity and now the scans had confirmed it, something that relieved him although he knew that they couldn't let their guard down. But what it also meant was that they would have to start making scans of probable areas, without any indication of where they should look at. They already had lost a number of days at the Pyramid site and would have to start investigating other areas at once. The question was deciding which ones.

"Start making a list of sites for us to investigate after we check out the City doctor". Johannes paused before acknowledging and then said. "Commander, I believe that it is useless to stay on Cydonia much more. We should start with the areas outlaying it immediately. I have already mapped a number of possible locations...".

Boronin hadn't sleep that night for a number of reasons. He simply scratched his scruffy face and replied. "Suggestion noted but dismissed doctor".

"Dummkopf" The insult was less than a whisper coming from Johannes thin pressed lips but it made Boronin turn his head to her slowly. He didn't speak German except for a few words now that she had just called him stupid but he had quickly picked up the meaning.

Feeling an urge to control the pool of anger that was growing inside, his stomach contracted. After hearing of the incident at the pyramid he had decided that White's verbal reprimand to her had been enough but now the smugness of her reaction was troubling him too much to not dealing with her. But then he saw the figure of Jones stepping into the airlock and his attention was distracted to him.

"Doctor". He slowly mustered his calm. "I'll forget that for the sake of avoiding something that we both might regret. However we won't leave for the City until tomorrow and if you present me with any relevant new information I will consider it. Now, if you please, I have an important task outside". He got up and went past a startled Johannes who was suddenly caught off guard by his departure as he quickly pulled metal chains and brought down from the ceiling his power suit.

She shook her head in frustration and moved back to her terminal as Boronin rested the open suit on the metal ground of the Avenger and then placed himself down on the empty human figure of the back section of the suit. Camay and King had already moved to help lower the front part of the armor into Boronin and seal the suit but it was Hopkins who completed the operation as he stepped out of the airlock at that moment still on his own power suit. Both King and Camay left the task to the sergeant has his suit gave him more strength than two ordinary humans.

On the other section of the Valiant Johannes was left to her own thoughts as she felt tired also from going over countless scans to search for the E-115.

What had happened to Earth concerning Elerium had been a succession of overconfidence and greed and the scientists had also to take some responsibility regarding that matter. On the aftermath of the war the Council had decided that X-COM's recovered Elerium cache should be distributed between the nations that had been a part of the war effort. The scientific community at first had made few objections regarding that matter due to their own expectations of using it for faster than light travel that would overcome the fact that it wasn't natural to the Solar System.

It made the politicians happy and the generals even happier as the weapons research made by X-COM was turned to the military, along with a substantial part of the mineral. Not surprisingly civilian research was given a low priority while military applications had received large budgets for investigation. At first it hadn't been much of a problem since FTL travel had also a substantial funding but after years of lack of any significant progress all plans to develop interstellar craft had been abandoned, along with all the advanced weapons meanwhile developed to use Elerium as a fuel. The price of the material had skyrocketed before the government had placed strict bans but the damage had been already done, as military use of the material had been widespread.

But it had been also the scientists' fault and to the general expectations concerning the progress of the research. During the three years of the Alien War X-COM had been successful in breaking through the aliens' technical secrets, in a research effort that had been already labeled as exceeding the Manhattan Project. They had discovered the basic properties of E-115 and refined them into practical applications, ranging from propulsion to weapons design, plus discovered new alloys and other pieces of technology. It had been hard but Oppenheimer and his colleagues did not had technical advantages such as computers capable of performing billions of operations every second. Plus the X-COM scientists had an additional psychological advantage that the Soviets had possessed when building their own atomic bomb after witnessing the nuclear blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki: they knew that it was possible since they aliens were doing it with their UFOs.

It had made a great difference on the progress of their discoveries but after the war they had suddenly hit a blank wall concerning faster than light travel.

No one had any idea of how the aliens had reached the Solar System and the interrogation of the few prisoners still alive hadn't turn with any results. It had been assumed that such systems were present on the Mothership since no recovered UFO had possessed them but the gigantic ship had been completely obliterated after its crash into the Moon, leaving few remains.

That left a big question mark and the scientific and intelligence communities were starting to consider other options regarding the Starspawn. Some proposed that the Mothership had carried their species along the stars but at a sub light speed for millions of years since the Sectoids had left their home system. Others that the aliens had managed to create wormholes that connected regions of space or even dimensional gates. The contact with the aliens had left more questions than it had answered and Johannes and others were trying to grasp something into a dark and large room.

Either way, the lack of any results and the disappearance of any alien threat had nearly scrapped the entire project until the Council had grudgingly but also desperately approved of the mission to Mars. Turning back to the small workstation Johannes tried to exhale in relief but none came so she decided to let the data sheets in front of her distract her attention.

**********

"Hurry up Rodriguez! The scientists must be getting out of the plane any minute now". The low Sun couldn't bring any additional warmth to the Rodriguez hands as he paused the work he was doing under the cover of a large rock. "Just watch the freaking' door Jones" Before he turned back to the metal plates that stood on the ground he finished off in irritation. "And next time be on time" He had been expecting Jones for several minutes now to relieve his watch and bring the package he had been expecting.

"I know! But the commander must have stayed up all night or something. We had to improvise and leave them at the toilet compartment instead..." The figure of a power suit at the hatch on the side of the Avenger made him stop as he saw the armored door opening itself. Jones first thought that the figure would be corporal Dare since they had been scheduled to remain on the ship they would deploy on today's survey mission. But as it moved away from the stairs he noticed in surprise that it didn't stop by the tracked vehicle they had brought along attached to the Avenger's hull for the long prospecting missions. "What's happening Jones? You're too quiet and that's making me nervous".

"Nothing it's..." The subdued gray skull insignia painted on the chest of the armored figure approaching both men made him cringe inside his helmet.

"Shit! It's the commander" As Rodriguez stopped the movement of his arms and looked he saw an armored figure standing approaching them. He immediately started to get up from his knees as the radio channel begun to crackle. "Sergeants Jones and Rodriguez...what is going on?" There was a hint of a threat on his tone and it made both snap into attention as Rodriguez searched Jones eyes' underneath his mask. Boronin simply pointed to the ground with his laser rifle. "What are those objects and how did they get here?"

Rodriguez simply quitted making up any excuse. He placed down the pliers he was holding on the sand and then both his hands went to collect a large piece of polished metal that stood in the middle of smaller and identical plates.

A single look told Boronin that it should be very heavy as he gauged the thickness of the metal plate on the sergeant's hands and he immediately wondered how they had been able to smuggle it onboard since every kilo of weight overboard had been calculated and checked several times before the take-off. Taking it from Rodriguez hands he further noticed that the larger portion had been bolted together from several of the smaller ones that were resting on the ground half-covered by dust. It was rectangular in shape and made of alien alloys, which considerably lessen its weight than using steel plus being more durable and on the dark gray metal white lettering had been carved with great care and precision by an engineer back at Mother One that was coaxed by the soldiers.

Boronin could read some of the words but he realized by looking at the empty slots built into the right side that it was some panel not yet fully assembled. He already knew what it was before asking the soldiers. "Well? Who is going to explain this to me before I decided to court-martial you right here and leave you on the planet?". The threat was not really meant but Boronin knew that he couldn't simply let this off without some sort of a reprimand. The dimension of the punishment would depend on their replies.

"Commander..." Jones started but it was Rodriguez who gave the final clue to the puzzle. "Sir, none of us brought along any unauthorized weight. Each one of the soldiers hid a plate along their personal belongings allowed for the mission". That gave Boronin the answer to how they had been able to smuggle the plates that looked they had seemed to have been made of the old blue personal armor, most likely from the chest pieces since they retained their original curved shape. Each soldier was allowed five kilograms of personal belongings, which included clothing, specific hygiene products and leisure articles such as visiscreen cartridges or even a pack of cards. All was stored on onboard the Valiant.

Looking back to the soldiers, Boronin demanded. "What is this thing?"

"A memorial plaque sir". Jones' answer surprised the X-COM commander as he tried to remember what the word meant in English. "A what?"

"The things they put in monuments and buildings sir". Now Boronin remembered where he had heard the word before. "Wait a minute! The Council voted this down"

Both soldiers looked at each other before Rodriguez replied. "We know sir. There wasn't enough space available for it. But we polled the entire squad and everyone agreed to take a piece of it and make it a personal homage to those who never made it back, if there couldn't be an official one. We tried to keep this quiet so that word of it wouldn't get back to the Council and get you in trouble sir".

Boronin was about to drop the unfinished plaque to the floor and order both soldiers back to their roles as he considered how to deal with this insubordination. He now understood why some of them had been acting weirdly on the past days and they moved to collected the pieces and assemble them together on the outside, away from any prying eyes.

Instead he passed it back to Rodriguez who accepted it back carefully. "Where were you thinking of placing it?"

Still disturbed by being caught by the commander and puzzled by Boronin's candid question Rodriguez replied. "Well we're thinking over there about the entrance to the Pyramid but we weren't sure if we could finish it on time. Sergeant Jones told me that you are planning to leave this area shortly".

For a moment Boronin didn't reply and simply looked at the landed Avenger in consideration. Rodriguez saw Jones looking at him with the 'we're screwed' attitude but his next words puzzled him even more. "Carry on with this. Get somebody to help but don't take anyone from their assigned duties. Keep it off the scientists' eyes though. And don't worry, Sergeant. I think I know just the right place to put it". Then Jones looked befuddled at Rodriguez, who nearly dropped the plaque as Boronin dropped it into his hands.

**********

[Hobbes]

X-COM: Eulogy

Part IV

 

The other Cydonia veterans back at the Avenger had refaced their own memories back at the cauldron and in space. But the nine soldiers now standing on the inner chamber that once had housed the master alien they had tasted Death here and on the corridors leading to the room. Only Yusuf didn't show the mixture of awe and grimness on their faces as the group of men moved over the blue chairs that littered the place in silent rows facing the podium where the throne of the devil was located. King and other soldiers had found it amazing to see how the place hadn't changed since the last time he had stepped in here.

He had been there on the chamber to help carrying out the bodies of those fallen there. They left the bodies of the Ethereals at the locations where they had fallen together with the burnt remains of the master alien at the end of the room. Moving to the podium King climbed to its top and looked downwards. The Martian atmosphere had desecrated the biological remains that now where nothing more than veins of a brown and dry material that crumbed under his armored boots. "Die like the rest, sucker". Speaking from behind him Jones moved his hand over the surface and tried to pick a piece of the brown material but it crumpled on his fingers and the specks of dust felt back into the podium.

"Some bad karma there, Jones". Rodriguez had also come by and was looking at the remains of the huge alien. He wasn't the only one as several of the soldiers had also come close and were looking at the elevated podium with a mixture of curiosity and revulsion through the visual lenses built into the power suits. Between them a figure was also looking but unlike them his face was visible, although it was locked in thought. Yusuf had spend the best part of his adult life gathering the few data related to the Brain to try to answer the question of what that thing was and how it ever ended up here on Mars. Unfortunately the aliens captured had not revealed anything substantial and the aliens kept no records on the matter, which made the effort an impossible task at beginning. There were two opposing theories, one defending that most likely it had been the product of the aliens master genetic engineering skills upon a species that they must have encountered and put on their service. But there was also another intriguing possibility, first put forward by him: that the Brain species had taken over the Starspawn with its immense mental powers and had molded it to its proposes. That had caught the attention of the parties he was working with, which had collaborated with the aliens on the Alien War so that they could infiltrate the Starspawn and ensure human survival and dominance on the future. Knowing just how that take-over had occurred would greatly ensure the keepers's work and humankind as a whole.

Moving past Rodriguez, Yusuf brought out his camera and started working. The sergeant ignored him. The sooner the scientist was done the better since he and Jones would then stay behind since still have a last job to do using the power tools they had brought along on their backpacks.

**********

"Commander, I have the latest figures on the fuel situation. Clark noticed Boronin's red eyes and remembering his own haggard face wondered how the commander was pulling it after restless weeks combing through the area around Cydonia their search. His jumpsuit was open and the white undershirt was crumpled and dirty but he didn't mind because everyone else onboard the Valiant had the same laundry problems. Although the air was being continuously recycled the strict restrictions regarding the water supplies imposed on the last days had removed any possibility of water showers until they went back to Earth. They still had the chemical shower sponges but those were even worse since a continuous use would irritate the skin and bring rash. All of the soldiers on board had restrained from using them remembering their experiences at the return from Mars seven years ago but his wife and the two other scientists had taken into using them.

Boronin's dark hair was starting to have white flakes on it, Clark noticed as the older officer turned from his visiscreen to face him. "Is there anything new since the last report?" The commander knew the answer and dismissed Clark as he started speaking. "Sir, as captain of this vessel I feel I must report again that we are risking never going back to Earth. We'll be dead in space by the time we get there".

"Thank you Colonel. Acknowledged and dismissed". Usually that had been enough for Clark to turn around and go back to his business but he had already decided that this would be the time to press the subject. "Sir, I'm sorry but as an officer I must ask the commander to consider your decision. We've already reached the safety margin, sir. Now we are risking never getting back to Earth if something delays us on the trip back. And if we don't find Elerium we'll be left stranded here on the planet".

Taking a paternal role Boronin curled his lips to tell Clark that he had already considered that. "Thank you for the reminder Colonel. Just keep doing your duty like you have until here and we'll be fine". For the first time Clark started doubting the older man's wisdom and that frightened him.

**********

When Eva and the soldiers had come back from another mission she found Clark waiting for her by the airlock as always. A hiss told her that air was being pumped into the small chamber and a few seconds later Clark opened the door and she stepped inside the bay.

"Hey, how's it going? Any luck this time?" Clark unfastened the clamps on her helmet and helped Johannes remove it. She looked at the sensor she was holding and nearly threw it down on the floor. "Nothing. Again".

"I'm sure you're doing your best, Eve". He pronounced the last vowel of her name into an elongated eh sound. "It is not enough Ron. The background radiation simply throws in too much interference to get proper readings". Unlike Earth, Mars didn't have its own magnetic field to protect the planet from the ion and plasma cloud that spread through the system fueled by the nuclear processes ongoing at the Sun. Earth's magnetosphere was the result of the liquid iron and nickel core of the planet that essentially acted as a huge magnet and gave Earth its magnetic poles. Mars had indications that once it had a magnetic field but now it was almost gone. Unzipping the legs and arms she when to remove them as Clark move to get her backpack. Her next words stopped him cold. "We need to get airborne. We need to get altitude scans. It was pointless on the first to be looking for Elerium here. The soldiers have already brought back whatever was left on this ruins and the only reason we are still digging around is because of Yusuf's survey of the ruins and Dr. Weiss's excitement with the Martian moss he has just discovered".

Slowly moving back towards her he simply spoke. "We might not be able to even get back to Earth at this rate". Shock was patent on her face but he quickly reassured her. "For now we are OK, don't worry. But this extended stay is really worrying me. I trust that the commander knows what he is doing because we never made any calculations before. We never thought we'd need them". She quickly picked that he had done them by now and asked. "How much more?"

His eyes flashed from one side to another. "Three days maximum. I would say four but Seymour says we can't risk that much and in this case I prefer to be safe".

"So, what happens if we extend that deadline?"

"We're trapped here until we find Elerium. If we use all of the fuel for the trip back instead for life-support and shut down most unessential systems on the ship we can hang here for an additional month".

"One extra month". The hidden implication kept nagging at her. "And if we don't succeed?"

"If anyone ever gets back here from Earth they get to bury our bones". He shook his head in frustration. "I don't know what to do, Eve, neither does Greg. He doesn't want to be left to die on this planet after surviving it on the first time. And I agree with him. I want to get back and leave this business and place once and for all: the aliens are dead for good".

For the first time in weeks Johannes smiled, not the thin peek she would give but a full grin and both rested their foreheads on one another. "I'm with you". Johannes voice was calm. "Even a month wouldn't help much. And even if we found it I wonder if it would be of any good". Looking around to make sure that they weren't being overheard by any of the other humans on board she added. "The scientific branch is getting booted also".

Clark's voice showed shock and anger. "What? I don't believe it"

"Commander Boronin told me that they are going to deactivate Mother One and replace the command facilities by a smaller one at the Pentagon in Washington. He expects that soon all advanced aircraft will be mothballed for lack of Elerium and unless the aliens reappear we'll be disbanded in a few years. He's fighting it of course but more and more of our assets are leaving. People like you....and me".

"You've decided on the offer he made you for Ocean Base One?" Ocean Base One was the center of all underwater recovery operations of crashed UFOs. Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean it was a basically a big floating modular facility that had been originally put together as temporary measure until more proper installations could be designed and built. The facility was unique on the condition that it was the only force outside the navies of US, UK, China, France and the factions that had emerged of the former Russian Federation that operated nuclear submarines to conduct some of its operations.

"Yes... I'm going to refuse it. I've heard of the working conditions there and after the flight here I've decided I just don't want to be on that situation. Besides there's little I could to there. They already know enough about Elerium to detect it and their research efforts are turned into more practical things concerning the sea. And as you know, although there isn't much money around for scientific research nowadays, there isn't any university that would refuse to have me on their staff".

"You sure about this hon? You've been working here for a lot of time. I know it bothers you that we have to live apart most of the time but we could find a way..." She caressed his cheek feeling the unshaven skin. "I know. But the times are different now. Less and less people care learning about the aliens and their technology and there are still a lot of good researchers back at X-COM. I will be missed but they will get along without me fine. Plus, I've really decided that I want to do something different. You know?" She looked around and embraced him. "Forget about this. We've done our share already. I want to live a real life now, away from this coldness. I've endured it because I felt I had to but not anymore".

He smiled at her and they kissed briefly. Then she turned and lean on his chest while Clark held her in his arms. "So what are we going to do then?"

"You could leave the military you know? I seem to recall some aerospace companies have approached you".

"You have stopped trying to convert me into a pacifist haven't you?" His mocking tones made her slip from his embrace and pinch him on the stomach. "Stop. You know it doesn't really matter to me anymore. It's just... I want to settle down and I want you to be around, not locked into some Pentagon office all the time as a general".

"They haven't made me a general yet".

"You know it is just a matter of time. But I think a colonel will be as capable as general to be a father". He turned serious until he found the confirmation of her words in Johannes' blue eyes. "Damn, you are serious, aren't you?"

*********

As his power suit chirped a warning at him Boronin checked the level of his own remaining fuel. They had been for hours scouting the Utopia Planitia region and checking locations that orbital photographs had shown to be of probable artificial construction after being checked for geometric, non-fractal patterns. They only thing they had found so far on the dust blown plain were rocks and mesas that had been carved by the wind.

The noise told him that his E-115 level had dropped to fifty percent but that what worried him was the condition of his carbon dioxide filters. The X-COM engineers that had designed them had followed the initial requirements that they should be able to perform for weeks before needing to replace the spent fuel Elerium but the filters that removed the carbon dioxide required more frequent replacements.

They would have to head back to the Valiant since their fuel reserves were nearly approaching a dangerous level. Their scavenging of the small portions of Elerium from ammo clips and other small power sources had allowed them to extend their stay for a couple more days but now they needed to departure in the following day unless they wanted to risk continuing the search until finding more of the fuel. They had already been on the planet for more than two weeks combing the Cydonia and starting to work on the areas nearby but so far they had negligible results to show. And yesterday ago the order of Council had arrived, a fateful message that stayed: "We are displeased with your lack of results. Take all necessary measures to achieve your objectives". He had complied with the order but had not yet relayed it to the troops. Clark and Seymour had already been giving him warnings on the dangerously low Elerium levels of the Avenger. The security margin needed to get back to Earth had started to decrease and Boronin knew that they were starting to be nervous about the situation although they had wisely refrained from any comments on the matter to him. He checked the data himself daily and they would have reached the same conclusions as him by now. The soldiers and the scientists were going through extremes on the search, taking only four- hour rest periods on the 26-hour Martian day but it was necessary even if he had to drive them to pure exhaustion. We can't fail on this.

**********

When Boronin's squad went back to the Valiant and unsuited their armor he found Johannes waiting for his return but he dismissed her as he moved to remove his power suit. It was only after he was back into his dark gray fatigues that he finally acknowledged her in a tired voice. "What do you want doctor?"

"Commander Boronin, as leading science officer of this mission I am counseling you to initiate the launch preparations". She raised her voice to make sure that all personnel inside the cargo bay would hear her. "By tomorrow we won't be able to get back to Earth".

All conversations suddenly stopped as Boronin replied. "We're not leaving this planet until I say so! The Council has given us orders! If we don't find any Elerium than it is pointless to go back".

"Commander, I have no wish to die on this planet! What you are ordering is insane! There's nothing left for us on Mars. We're only here because of the Council's greed"

"Your personal opinions regarding the Council, and the military in general, are well known by all of us doctor. However they are completely out of line with the question here. X-COM depends on this".

"I will not follow mad orders..."

Boronin nearly leapt forward and Clark wondered if he would have to step between his commander and his wife to defuse the situation as he noticed that she was getting as wired as a cat. "That is enough doctor! Sergeant Hopkins"

The Afro-American jumped into attention. "Yes Commander"

"Put Dr. Johannes under arrest for mutiny". A silence descended on the dozen or so individuals that were standing on the deck of the cargo bay surrounding Boronin and the scientist. Unsure of what he had heard Hopkins brow' tightened as he looked at both of them wondering what had just happened. "How sir?

"Find a way sergeant. I'll make sure that she has a fair trial when we get back on Earth and that we follow our orders". He screened both Clark and Yusuf. "Now any more objections?"

Johannes broke the stance. "You can't have me imprisoned..." Boronin's steely eyes made her stop. "I already have doctor. You are under military command and have just disregarded my orders. I'll report this back to the Council at once and I'm sure that they will support my actions".

Looking at both Clark still couldn't believe what had just taken place. He wanted to reverse the situation but knew that Boronin could also order him to be placed under arrest. "Commander..."

Boronin seemed to be already waiting since he had turned towards Clark as he was speaking. The wrinkles around his eyes told of his physical exhaustion as his eyes tried to focus on Clark. "Yes, Colonel?" The low acknowledgement rumbled across the bay.

"Sir, I don't want to undermine your authority...."

"You better not Colonel Clark or Major Seymour will have to drive this craft without you".

"No sir. But it is my duty as officer in charge of this craft to remind you of our fuel status. Discovery of additional Elerium supplies will soon become essential to ensure our survival". None of the soldiers moved at that mention but Johannes stirred while Yusuf tried to dismiss the allegation. "Colonel, your own calculations show that our supplies ought to last two more weeks. That should be enough time to discover this elusive Elerium supply".

Clark gave a brief look at Johannes before turning back to Yusuf. "Probably, if my wife was willing to continue the research and I believe she would be responsible enough to put her feelings aside and help us. But, sir". Boronin was blinking his eyes while Clark moved back to him. "What about the men?"

Captain White instantly replied. "We are completely at the Commander's orders, Colonel. Don't worry us". Clark shook his head. "That's not what I meant, sir. Look at White and the others: do they deserve to die here?

For a moment Boronin froze. "They all know the risks..."

"And we all fought a war that no one expected to live through! Sir, you are right to believe that X-COM will disappear if we don't find Elerium but I ask you to think what will happen even if we find the damn thing! And I'm sure Dr. Yusuf knows it also! The aliens are gone and we are simply curiosities of a lost era. No one ever cares about the military in peace. You know that"

By saying that Clark knew that he had stepped way over the line and most likely he would join his wife, either in imprisonment back to Earth or dying on Mars, but he trusted he knew enough of Boronin to judge to himself that he had done the right thing. The Commander's next words weren't what he feared but they weren't also what he expected. "Colonel, what do you propose to do? Just fly back and head into retirement, leaving Earth without a force capable of fighting the aliens again?"

"No sir. To give us all a choice. All of us already took tremendous risks when we joined X-COM. Some died by chance, others by choice like Commander Illyuschenko or my flight mate but we all died with a propose. To die here now is pointless. If the aliens ever get back the only chance we have is if we go back and keep living our lives and sharing what we know with others. We don't know if the aliens will ever come back and we probably will be dead by then. But we must ensure that we simply won't be buried on the dust of this planet with no reason"

Everyone on the cargo bay seemed to consider those words but Boronin only flinched for a second before Yusuf immediately started replying. "Commander, despite the Colonel's eloquent rhetoric we must get this over and go back to our mission. After all Commander, both the dead and the living of this unit respond to the Council don't they?"

To the dead and the living.

All of the sudden Boronin felt into attention as the words touched old and painful memories. He couldn't tell if Yusuf knew the meaning of those words although Hopkins shifted his head uncomfortably and a few other soldiers also recognized old post-battle salute that the X-COM Russian team made at the conclusion of every mission. But to Boronin the recognition went further than that, to the weeks before they had launched from Earth, to an unexpected meeting that had taken place in Geneva when he had flown there to discuss the final aspects of the mission with the Council of Funding Nations. He had come down to the lobby of the hotel after he had received a polite request from the front desk to come down and had met a former X-COM officer there who had then asked him to join his association on something that they would like to propose him. After finally consenting after five minutes of determined invitations and assurances of his safety he had stepped out of the hotel and boarded a parked limousine and had found another familiar figure already inside. After a quick explanation of their proposal he had considered the whole idea insane and pointless, even though he had agreed with their arguments of the hopelessness of the Council. But, as he was brought back, the man named Williams had simply said. "Commander, we must preserve the memory of dead and the living. I trust you'll do the right decision".

Thinking back, Boronin wondered how possibly the man could know so much of what had happened on Mars before their return to the planet. Like he had claimed there was no organized alien presence left on the Mars and so far they had failed to encounter a single alien besides the incident at the Pyramid. So much was lost Dmitri Stepanovitch. But Earth has survived like you told me before you stayed behind. And we will live even without Elerium: we have made it before.

"Commander?" White was looking worried at him but he turned to Clark instead. "Colonel, I've just reconsidered Dr. Johannes' arguments again and changed my mind. There's no point in remaining here on the planet and risking our survival. Please start the preparations to get back to Earth and if it's safe include a last scan of the planet before we leave Mars' orbit just in case we missed anything. Dr. Johannes, you may reassume your functions. Everybody back to your stations".

Jones and Rodriguez sincerely considered the possibility that the commander had just gone bananas but as the small crowd dispersed silently around the bay they kept their mouth quiet.

**********

King's dark hair was cold and he rubbed it to get rid of the numbness he was feeling on his scalp as he sat down on the main cargo area of the Avenger. The soldiers were already starting to take off their bulky power suits and later they would be hung from the ceiling of the craft to save space. Rodriguez was also securing another plasma rifle, removing the Elerium clip before starting to disassemble the weapon for storage during the flight and later. Looking at the black cartridge that held the precious Elerium he asked King. "Hey Virgilio, how much do you think this is be worth in two years?"

"Enough to buy a tropical island? I don't know. Most likely that gun of yours is nothing more than a very sophisticated but useless toy right now". Rodriguez held it tight on his fist. "You're right. Too bad they have every scrap of this thing accounted for".

"What? You're planning on going civilian and starting your own smuggling business". Camay's green eyes sparkled at him in amusement. "You already look like a South American drug lord with that mustache you've grown".

Slapping her in the shoulder in mock indignation, Rodriguez replied. "Hermancita, it's a man's thing. I've come to the conclusion that my father was right when I asked him why he had one. It represents my virility".

"Yeah, dream on". Jones started laughing and the rest of the squad followed suit as the tension from the past weeks had considerably lessened after the commander's announcement. The only one who didn't laughed was King, who finished placing his weapon on a rack before securing it. Moving next to him Camay casually asked. "You look absent. Thinking back home?"

"Actually no". Looking at the chronograph on his wrist King counted one hour before take-off. "I'd prefer to know if we really got all the aliens down there".

She nodded to him. "Still thinking that you saw an alien?"

"I saw something moving. Maybe it was simply a light trick, maybe there's native critters down there and Dr. Weiss failed to detect them on his search for Martian life, I don't know".

She completed his logic. "Or maybe some aliens managed to survive until now. Just because we didn't see them doesn't mean they weren't there".

"Well, they can all freeze to death. I'm not going back to check if the thing I saw was an alien. If it was then let the last of them to freeze down there on that battlefield". He sneered back to Zeera and shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares anyway?"

**********

Looking down from the mesa where he was located the Sectoid's blank eyes could see the shape of the Avenger as it blasted off the ground silently and headed to the dark night above. The humans seemed finally to be leaving and although they would not disturb him anymore he was again in near isolation. Without further company most likely he would turn insane but probably before that the dwindling food supply that still remained on the crashed UFO only predicted dire tidings for the future.

But he would have much to think about on the times ahead.

Moving back towards its hideout he wondered the strange intentions of the creatures in coming back to the planet. He had listened to their thoughts concerning the lack of the precious fuel that was only born from the spawn of massive supernovas and could only be recovered from locations filled with radiation and other dangers. They had seemed interested in discovering the strategic stockpile the Ethereal leadership had accumulated for support of the invasion but during their time on the planet their thoughts had been on other subjects most of the time. Procreation, sorrow, despair, material concerns, all those things were not compatible in seeking their logical goals. The Sectoid's notion of individuality was quite limited: he could understand the concept and the biological reasons that dictated it but like the rest of the Starspawn he had always considered it to be self-defeating.

Of all humans that had landed on the planet he had found the female to be the more intriguing to probe. The alien had first taken mind control of the creature on the depths of the pyramid without her ever noticing the intrusion on her brain. From her he had learned about their goal of discovering Elerium and therefore he had been extremely careful to avoid crossing their paths although he had almost been hit by fire on a corridor of the alien base. The infantile human apparently didn't know the fact that his psionic skills were like a beacon of light when used to enhance the body senses. The plasma bolt had barely missed his bulbous head but he had quickly disappeared back into the darkness of the base before the humans could pursue.

But after leaving the female unconscious she had set a spark of curiosity in him. Standing hidden from view on the debris that littered the outskirts of the ruined pyramid his mental powers had allowed him to monitor her thoughts and at one time the conversation she was having with another human, that had ended with an embrace. Worse, they were having what he considered degenerate and bizarre emotions.

He had carefully probed her he had discovered to his surprise that the human female wanted to procreate but the male had been reluctant until that point. Coming from a clone, asexual society the alien had always looked at the sexes based human species with more depreciation than interest. Human society was mildly chaotic on his experience, although he had never had any direct contact with the abductees that had been brought onboard his ship. Their coupling method produced a wide variety of genetic information, something the Sectoids were always interested to replace their own, but they had never thought of applying basic social and biological measures to control their population both in terms of numbers and quality of the available live material.

But more abhorrent was the notion of physical contact; something that the Sectoid concluded with disgust that it was what the pair of humans was experiencing now. Besides humans there were few intelligent species encountered by the Starspawn that used the unpredictable and largely unreliable method of sexual reproduction and indulged in physical contact. Snakemen hatchlings enjoyed it while they were being raised on their breeding pens and later they would not completely relish it although it was unnecessary since each Snakeman carried its own fertilized eggs, requiring no external help. Only the Muton species had females but they were too vicious and lethal to be put of service to the Starspawn as fighters. Even their use on fertility programs was of limited use due to their aggressiveness when bearing offspring. Mutons lived on semi-intelligent matriarchal packs, ruled by the females and where the males would be kept off the herd as they matured sexually. The Muton females would raise together the youngsters and would only make contact with the males for coupling, something that also had its risks as the violence of the act could result on the death of the smaller male. The Ethereals captured the lone males as the basis of their shock troops but even with Mutons physical capabilities enhanced by artificial means a single female was more than a match for a squad. Worse, undetermined reasons the females were naturally resistant to psionic attacks and even an Ethereal would act with caution close to one. Human females were somewhat more docile but they would still protect their young quite fiercely, especially when having the hatchlings removed from their protection.

But even more puzzling had been the artifact the humans had left behind at the Brain's Chamber.

It had taken the Sectoid days to reach the City complex plus long hours to deal with the City underground maze before finally reaching the long corridor that led to the lifts to the Brain's chamber. He had been before on the facility and remembered his way around but piles of debris had cut off several areas and he had to make several detours before reaching the corridor whose doors were slightly closed but with plenty of space for him to pass through. At the end of chamber he had another smaller problem since the lifts had long ceased to work and it had a height of five meters, the humans had left the ropes they had used behind.

When his thin hands finally moved to grab the metal floor of the Brain's room and pull him upwards he suddenly felt a great coldness overfilling him as memories of a gone by time came through of legions of alien officers filling the room and seated on chairs, all enjoying a unique emotional link. The psi areas of his brain went active and looking for other any other presence, companionship but found none.

He had come here as the Avenger had finally taken off and flew into the direction of space to find out why the humans had been so interested on this location. He had been carefully to plant wrong suggestions on the human female's brain about possible locations of Elerium sites and from his monitoring he had been pleased that he had led them into a useless search. However he hadn't inserted any reference to the city so he assumed that they had another motive to come to Sol Four.

It had been easy to know the reason of their interest in Elerium: it could only be harvested on far away stars and although the human species was so inferior they had taken great strides based on technology stolen from the aliens. But they still lacked the ability to travel between the stars and now it seemed that they would never possess it after their remaining Elerium stores run out. The humans would still be dangerous but they were confined now to this star system and they would never be a threat to the Starspawn. They hadn't been the first species to be underestimated and that had fought off temporarily integration. The Snakemen had been pretty resilient on their resistance even though they had barely evolved past tool using. After initial victories the invasion forces on the planet had to call huge reinforcements since they had dismissed the self-reproduction capabilities of the Snakemen. Every single individual could in a few months hatch fifty more and their numbers kept growing geometrically despite of the massive casualties. The mistake made by the Sectoid Hierarchy had only served to increase the Ethereals position as they finally landed on the planet with ranks of Sectopods, killing most of the Snakemen while enslaving the rest. And there had also been reports of contact with a species that had just mastered the dynamics of interstellar travel and where starting to become a threat. But neither them nor the humans where a threat as long as Nemesis, the alien home world, remained undiscovered. And it would be impossible to discover its location since not even the Ethereal leadership was privy to it.

Still the humans would be integrated into the Starspawn one day, although it would take thousands of years before a new expedition was sent unless they somehow expanded their presence into other star systems. It didn't worry the Leader because he knew that it was the way of things: the more a race resisted integration the more valuable it would become later for the Starspawn and the Sectoids had tended Sol Three for a long time.

Then as he turned his head away and started moving back down he stopped looking at the strange metal artifact that was now implanted on the black wall, between the holes of the ruined elevators. Again, it didn't felt outrage at what most humans would classify as an offence, placing such an object on such an important location for the aliens, even if the Brain was nothing more than charred atoms now. Instead he again felt confusion and curiosity at trying to understand the motives that drove such strange creatures. His knowledge of Sol Three enabled him to read the carvings and what they meant but during the time on the planet until his demise by starvation he kept remembering the words although despite his efforts the idea expressed by them was simply....too 'alien' for him to understand.

 

"TO HONOR THE X-COM SOLDIERS WHO

DIED ON MARS ON MARCH 9th, 2002

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE"

 

The End