X-COM: Abyssal

[Hobbes]

DISCLAIMER: "X-COM" and all aspects of the trademark, together with the computers 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 and inquiries are more than welcome through the following email: aadlg@rocketmail.com

 

"X-COM

[Hobbes]

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter One - Awakenings

 

February 4th, 2044

South of the Azores Islands, Atlantic Ocean

 

The weather over the Atlantic was starting to get worse as a cold front moved above the sea heading towards the British Isles. The sky was already overcast in dark clouds and the winds' velocity was starting to increase, with large waves already starting to be felt on the surface. In short, the appearance of seascape was normal for the area and time of the year, except for the black column of smoke that rose from a small location on the ocean. Thin at the point were it started it quickly enlarged as the hot air ascended making it visible for any ship that might be passing by dozens of nautical miles away. For the pilot at the commands of the sleek shaped dark plane it was a blessing since it gave him a visual reference to direct the craft towards its destiny.

Flying at five hundred knots, the plane swiftly covered the distance between it and the column of smoke. As he got nearer, the pilot started to spot the floating structure that was burning. Although it weighted more than ten thousand tons and a length of 120 meters, making it the size of a major warship, it was a floating base. At it had been drifting northeast at the whim of the Gulf Stream, the surface current that traveled from the Caribbean Sea to the Europe.

The pilot could see that the base was sinking as it finally reached the gray and blue structure. It had a listing of five degrees with the modules on one side partly underwater. On the opposite side the bottom of the structure was hanging above the not so quiet sea, revealing the sea life that had attached itself to it. The column of smoke came from that area, rising from large holes on the flat rectangular surface of the base. Looking at it the pilot wondered what had happened as he announced to his passengers that he was about to land the plane. "We have arrived at SORESO. I'm going to land close on the water".

On the cargo area, Lieutenant Commander Paul Delacroix started to zip his dry suit to prevent himself from getting wet. As soon as news from the alien strike at the old SORESO had reached Norfolk he had been worried. Now, as he looked at the civilian in front of him, he couldn't help wonder how bad things were, since the US councilman to X-Com had decided to personally go an examine the location. Unlike the dull blue of his drysuit, the blonde man was wearing a livid green more akin to the ones used for underwater recreational diving. He was also grabbing a set of diving glasses and a snorkel on his hands and had a set of duck feet standing next to him. And he was in a reflective mood, something that Delacroix had noticed that was getting more common on the last months. They both buckled up their safety belts without saying a word as the plane made its landing run.

Delacroix had been at Norfolk Naval Base when the distress call had arrived from the floating base, reporting that a very large USO had just been detected on the vicinity of SORESO. The Triton transport craft on alert had been immediately scrambled by Commodore Paris, the commander of the X-Com detachment at Norfolk, carrying a full combat squad. He had served there at the beginning of the conflict before being promoted and reassigned to Norfolk. But its origins extended a long way back: it was the only thing that had remained of old X-Com and it had been the initial focus for the operations against the new aliens nearly two years ago. The base had nearly three hundred people inside, composed of combat teams, scientists and support personnel. Now they were all gone.

The destruction of old SORESO wasn't just something to be taken lightly. And both he and the man seated in front of him knew it. He was more than twenty years older than Delacroix but nearly shown no signs of his age except for the fact that his hair seemed to be getting lighter with the years and a few wrinkles were forming close to his eyes. While the tabloid press had labeled Frederick D. Williams as one billionaire more obsessed with trying to hide his old age and enjoying life, Delacroix knew otherwise about him. He had met Williams for more than a decade and knew that the man's well kept physique was more the result of his will to be prepared for everything and not wanting to show any signs that might be interpreted as a weakness. However, he also knew that vanity had its part.

Williams was the US representative to the Council of Funding Nations, the body that oversaw X-Com's activities and determined the force's budget. At the first reports of the attack he had immediately flown to Norfolk using its private jet and had demanded to personally see the results of the attack. And now it seemed that both of them were about to know if the truth was as painful had it had sounded when the first Triton had transmitted their first report.

As the plane touched the surface of the water it skidded on the water like a flat rock before the pilot reversed the engines and made it stop after some hundred meters. It then started to move slowly over the surface towards the sinking base until it stopped close to an equal plane that was already standing by one side of the structure. Another floating plane could be seen behind it.

Two seamen opened a large hatch on the starboard side of the plane as the motion ended. The salty air rushed inside, making the hairs on Delacroix's neck stand up. The enlisted men then pulled the rigid rubber boat that was standing close to the hatch into the water that was only a few centimeters below the bottom of the craft. One of them moved inside and got the engine ready as Delacroix and the councilman boarded it. After a couple of seconds they were up on their way to the raised portion of the base.

There were signs of heavy fighting all over the hull, with darkened or broken spots showing the results of weapons fire. The boat moved closer to a section where a open hatch could be seen five meters above the water with a chain ladder hanging from it.

Grabbing one step, Delacroix pulled it to be sure of its strength. He then started to climb, followed by the councilmen as he got close to the hatch. As he placed one hand on the bottom of a hatch a pair of troopers clad in dark blue moved to help him onboard.

When he and the councilman finally got inside the small chamber the troopers saluted them. Both of them were wearing a dark blue diving suit with armor plating covering their arms, legs and torso. They also had long yellow weapons hanging from their shoulders. Delacroix returned the salute and immediately asked. "Ensign, where did the second Triton come from?"

"Sir, the Inspector General is here, together with the Admiral. They flew straight from Rotterdam". That made Delacroix to look at the other man, who displayed a touch of annoyance at the words. "Where are they now?"

"At Sub Pen Three. They ordered you to join them as soon as they arrived".

"Not yet. What's the status of the base?"

"There's no hull integrity on sub pens One and Two. There's no main power and the emergency batteries will go dead in a couple of hours. When they're gone it will sink since damage to the majority of the modules has compromised their water tightness".

"What about survivors Petty Officer?" The non-commissioned officer turned towards the councilman and shook his head. "Half the crew is dead, the other half missing. We have spotted remains of a Triton floating on the water on our way here. The other one and the two Barracudas are completely destroyed on the sub pens".

"The aliens must have taken the rest alive. Poor bastards". Delacroix shook his head in repulsion afterwards and the petty also scowled at the comment. A moment later the older blonde asked the NCO. "What about Captain Hunt?" For the past thirty years the once SEAL and X-Com officer had been the commanding officer of SORESO and had managed to maintain the position at the start of the war although his age was already past retirement. "We found him dead at the bridge, sir. He went down fighting, with a dart pistol still on his hand".

Williams grimaced and Delacroix swore. After his voice came almost in a whisper. "Petty, who did this? Was it also the aliens like in the Pacific base?" The non-commissioned officer nodded. "But there's something you and the councilman should see sir".

"More bad news?" The ensign started leading them over another hatch and through a corridor. "It's just better if you see it for yourself sir". As they moved over one of the base's cargo section they noticed dead human bodies, some still holding weapons. Until the ensign stopped by a figure that had been covered by a tarp. Grabbing it with his hand, he removed it, revealing the alien body underneath.

Delacroix's eyes went wide at the sight and the other man also moved closer to examine the figure. It had a humanoid configuration but by its appearance it was clearly a reptile, with a tail and a long jaw filled with sharp teeth. Yellow scales covered its skin and it also had a orange crest running from the head to the tail. "What is this???" Using the tip of his diving boot he poked the dead creature. Its skin was hard.

The councilman was looking at it with very carefully. "Whatever it is it didn't come from the first war. We need to get this back to the labs as soon as possible to see where it did came from...."

"You mean you want to use to press your absurd theories, Councilman Williams". The voice made the three men to turn towards a hatch where one figure had just stepped inside.

He had a diving suit like Delacroix with the X-Com insignia on the top of the left arm but no indication of rank. As both he and the ensign recognized him, they stood in attention and saluted while Williams simply looked in frustration.

"Inspector General Alkeviades, this is a new alien race that has never been reported before. We need to retrieve the body of the creature".

The man's blue eyes narrowed and his cheeks rose. Examining the dead alien for one second, she quickly turned her attention back to Williams. "I disagree, councilman. We already know everything we need about the aliens. This thing is just a freak. Probably another one of their pets from the invasion and quite an ugly one". She shook her head. "There's no scientific value in researching it. And right now we can't afford the money to built the installations we just lost here".

The tone of Williams' voice told Delacroix that the older man was getting irritated. "Inspector-General...". He cut him short.

"Councilman! As far as I'm concerned you have no official business or". He put an emphasis on the word. "Any power here. Since this base was once your property I can understand that you have chosen to see it for your own eyes but anything other than that and I will have to make an report of your actions to the Council".

He still had one last card and he played it, although he knew that it would be useless. "The Admiral can order the body to be brought back".

"The Admiral has just ordered all rescue operations to be terminated upon my advice. There's no survivors and we are tying up here important resources on a base that will sink to the bottom in a matter of hours".

"What about the alien artifacts?" He looked at the creature's weapon that was standing on the metal ground close to a wall. "We don't need more of their weapons". Delacroix replied. "There's enough already piled up". He added with his disgust.

Williams was about said another argument but he decided against it. Nodding to him in acceptance of defeat he turned away. "As for you Lieutenant, the Admiral has also decided you are no longer needed here. You and your craft are to get back to Norfolk at once". Delacroix quickly understood that it was the Inspector that didn't want to see him anymore at the wreck of the base. Giving an almost casual salute to him, he headed towards the entrance hatch with Williams following him.

When both men were away from the cargo area and in one of the corridors, Williams stopped and turned to Delacroix asking. "How badly does this mean for us?"

"Well, " Delacroix snapped it out in brief sentences, trying to not to release any emotion. "We just lost a big portion of early detection for the whole of the Atlantic. Not to mention the fact that even if the listening post that they are building on the Mediterranean doesn't suffer anymore delays, it will still be two months before we can have any detection capability there. Or that an entire strike force has been lost here and that both Norfolk and the Arctic floating base will start to have more work now".

"Pretty much my own conclusions. I just wish that the Council hadn't turned down Hunt's request to equip this base with Gauss defenses". Although the schematics for the base installation that would attack any craft threatening a X-Com installation on one had been deployed yet. Williams hadn't directly looked at them, needing only to know if they would work and the scientists here at SORESO had reassured him. Now they were dead but at least their work had been uploaded to the UFOPedia, X-Com's database network that contained all information that had ever been compiled by the organization's during its existence, dating from the first Alien War. The highly classified files inside the network were stored in different locations around the globe preventing the scientific information from ever being lost.

"I wonder even if they had them if they would have a chance. After the destruction of the Pacific base most officers at SORESO told me that they were just sitting ducks on the water and the Admiral was simply ignoring the requests for better defenses".

Williams nodded. "If Admiral Kole was one of my employees I'd have her fired today and put a major lawsuit on her because of losses".

"Sir, the 'Old Hag' has to go. Commodore Paris has also shared with me his opinion of her in private and quite a few officers believe it also".

"It's not that easy Delacroix. You know how the Council works. She still has a lot of friends there".

The officer shook his head. "See, we've discussed this before. Nobody is paying any real attention to the aliens. They are organized and have far more resources than we thought at the beginning".

Giving a quick look at one of the bulkheads above, Williams nodded in agreement. "We should have expected this. I only hope it isn't too late to start changing things. What do you think we should do first? That is, besides sacking the Admiral".

"The list is longer that a kid's wishes for Santa Claus, councilman. We need more gauss weapons available instead of being sold. The ban on Zrbite and sonic weapons must be lifted. We need to research more into the real purpose of the devices that they are trying to activate. We could use better armor. You want me to continue?"

Williams gave him a mock smile. "I wish things would be that simple so that I could to that at the stroke of a hand but there are too many interests involved. The Oil Cartel will oppose any move regarding Zrbite fuel because of their fears that it might replace their main source of income. The same motive applies to gauss weapons: everyone is making a bundle of money from their sale".

"Just convince them to give us the sonic weapons that are stockpiled then. They're no good to anyone being left on the old warehouses at Japan". Complex YY-18 was the only complex remaining from the First Alien War. The Japanese government had retaken control of the facility after the disbandment of X-Com and afterwards had leased the base when the force had been reborn. Although the workshops and craft assembly lines that once occupied a major portion of the underground caves were now silent of activity and machinery the empty space had been used to storage the increasing amount of alien artifacts recovered.

"I'll do my best but everyone is worried also that they might mean a break on the current ceasefires. A lot of weapons will disappear the minute we start issuing them".

"You're starting to sound like the Inspector General, councilman". He spoke the name as it if was a curse in front of Williams since they both shared the same thoughts about the tall man that they had encountered before. The figure of the Inspector General had been one of the first decisions taken by the Council after they had decided to reactivate X-Com to investigate and fight the alien activity after the initial reports in 2039. While at first its role was to simply serve as a liaison between the Council and the force, its powers had been widely expanded to include control over scientific and operational matters.

"Just being realistic. We need more proof that the aliens are up to something big before I can force the Council of Funding Nations to give what we need. Unfortunately," He looked at one of the human bodies on the floor. "The aliens just took out our main research facility. It was stupid to concentrate all of our resources here. This will considerably slow down things and we will need to rebuild our research from scratch. I've just decided to activate Operation Rebirth".

A flare went up in Delacroix' eyes. "You mean the frozen Captain?" Now it was time for Williams to be surprised. "Yes, Markovitch. She will be brought up to Norfolk in a few weeks from her present location. When she awakes I want you and Braddock there". Still unpleased, Delacroix nodded to him.

 

July 31st, 2044

X-Com Incorporated Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland

 

"Councilwoman Puuri". Williams nodded to the woman who was dressed in an exquisite and well-cut sari that approached him as they were waiting for the start of the Council's meeting in an antechamber. Like him all of the men in the red-carpeted hall were wearing high-expansive clothing while the few women all had the female equivalent of business dressing.

With a dark-tanned face that marked her as an Indian and smooth features she looked harmless...until the time the real discussions started. And she represented the only member of the council whose percentage of shares of X-Com's stock could rival with the US's leading partner in the enterprise. She was the representative for the Asian Coalition, a loose confederation of what had been previously been India, the countries of Indochina and the People's Republic of China. Although the political weight of the coalition was low it had nearly a half of the world's population inside its borders the economic power of the developing nations still had a tremendous potential. However, the region had its own series of regional problems and conflicts, with clashes between the Coalition and other surrounding countries, including Unified Korea, Neo Japan and Free China, the former the new name of Taiwan after it had decided to proclaim itself as the sovereign Chinese state when mainland China had joined the Coalition. Those three countries were also members of the council and their combined power actually superseded the US but for the most part they were happy to support Williams initiatives. Leaving few grounds for what seemed to be important matters that they wanted to reach a settlement as Williams waited for her to open her hand. As they engaged through a number of harmless talk regarding the month's events, her voice dropped a tone as she almost naively said. "We are starting to look at this Killer's activities with great concern. We know other incidents like this one have occurred amongst the American command of the force".

Williams knew quite well it also since it wasn't quite a secret anymore. Two months ago a soldier based at Norfolk had failed to report back to the base and had been declared absent without a leave. Its body had been found two weeks ago after the neighbors of the room he had been renting outside the barracks started to complain about the smell coming from his apartment. The police had found the body inside and apparently an unknown assassin with unknown intentions had shot him at his home. But the autopsy's results had been kept a secret so far and few other than Williams knew about it. The cause of death had been determined by a high-energy beam that had cauterized the entry wound and the inside tissues after having cut through the man's heart.

Or in other words as the doctor responsible had told him, these type of burns hadn't been seen for a long time now and only appeared on the textbooks. For they showed the classical reports of the high-powered lasers that once used the now inexistent Elerium fuel to power the beam. But this showed that someone in the world still had access to that technology. And for a number of times the individual or entity involved had been targeting X-Com personnel all over the globe.

"We will support the discussion of any measures proposed to be taken towards this problem". He had already his own ideas quite clear but there was no need for her to know that yet. Still smiling to him, she pulled off his mask of deception. "And I'm sure you already have a number of ideas that will be discussed. I'm confident we can arrange an beneficial agreement for all?" The Council's decisions were valid if backed by a two-thirds majority of the shareholders. The US and the Asian Coalition combined had a bit more than a quarter of the necessary votes. But now the chances for it being approved had just improved considerably taking into account the leading role that both countries had in their own regional alliances.

He nodded to her in unspoken agreement. Smiling, the Indian woman moved away from him and entered the conference room. Setting down his glass, Williams noticed that the Alaskan representative was also lagging behind like him and remaining close to the table. Wearing a high-collar dark green suit, the dark haired man with a frail appearance seemed to be waiting. Although the political differences carved an abyss between the representatives of the US and the PRA, both men had managed to deal in a civilized manner between them. Even if Williams wasn't supposed to be talking to him since the US didn't recognize their independence yet.

"Mr. Williams". The man didn't offer a hand as he approached him. "The meeting is about to start in a few minutes. Shall we start heading for the chamber?" Nodding to him, they both took short steps. They were the last ones and their conversation wasn't going to be heard.

"Something on your mind, Mr. Roberts? Have Mrs. Puuri also talked to you about this 'Killer' business?" Most definitely he would have, Williams already knew. The PRA was part of was known as the "Oil Cartel", an alliance made by the oil exporting countries inside the X-Com council. Together with the Arabian Bloc, Egyptian Cartel, Brazilian Union and Asian Coalition, the PRA had been responsible for the Zrbite ban.

Instead of the Elerium used by the aliens to power their weapons in the First War, the underwater aliens used a material for fuel so strange that no one at SORESO had managed to duplicate until their demise. The research had shown it to be a mixture of gold and some unidentifiable alien material that had no connection to the ones used by the original aliens. But although they couldn't identify most of its components, the scientists had discovered it was the energy source that allowed the aliens to power their weapons and craft. At first they had been baffled since they had tried to bombard it with high-energy particles to release energy like the original Elerium worked. They had utterly failed until a scientist had remembered to use another type of radiation rather than nuclear particles. But after the whole of the electromagnetic spectrum had been tried the results were still negative. They had only discovered what activated the Zrbite's hidden power after expanding their tests to include sound waves.

When the material was struck by a high pitch sonic wave it amplified the sound, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. It had been found that the Zrbite could provide as power as ten times the same amount of conventional plutonium fuel. Although it wasn't as powerful as Elerium it was a clean energy source and that could be used underwater. However, so far X-Com's soldiers had never fired a weapon powered by it on combat. A ban had been put into place three years ago on all Zrbite research and weapons after the schematics for the newly Gauss technology had been stolen by PRA's agents and used against American forces patrolling the cease-fire line. Back then no one wanted to allow another technology to upset the current world balance and the Oil Cartel wasn't also interested in a fuel that could turn the value of their petroleum reserves into zero. In the past years Williams had managed to convince the other countries that they should authorize weapons based on Zrbite but the Oil Cartel still had enough shares to block any initiative. And the Inspector General had made sure that no further research had been undertaken on the issue.

"Mrs. Puuri has also discussed with the PRA the concerns of her nation, Mr. Williams. We are sympathetic to her arguments".

"Then, what you do want to discuss with me?"

"Nothing particular at the moment councilman. However, the situation might change in the future. But it seems that the meeting is about to start. Shall we get inside?" Williams nodded and both men entered the room.

The time before lunch was completely taken discussing the force's financial status. After the nearly dead UN had regained control of what remained of the original X-Com by invoking a secret clause on the contract that Williams had signed, a new Council of Funding Nations had been established to control the force. But unlike the previous war, this time the countries and corporations that were shareholders had decided to take a more strict control of what was happening inside. No one wanted a repetition of what had happened in the previous war, where X-Com's independence had brought severe headaches to a number of countries.

The sixteen members decided the force's monthly budget each month. Each country or corporation would decide the funds that it would allocate based on their evaluation of the force's effectiveness. But those discussions were now more considered a pro-forma that had to be done just because the charter stipulated it so. The most important issue that everyone really cared at the meetings was the dividends coming by the sale of the materials recovered from shot down UFOs and from the production of Gauss weaponry.

Since no there was Elerium left to power the plasma weapons from the previous war and the lasers wouldn't work underwater, one of the first things that the now dead scientists had turned their attention to was to develop a new weapons technology called Gauss. Williams knew its principles quite well: he had been the one to foster research into it while SORESO was still under his command. Taking the concept of a high-energy ionized beam the engineers had been able to find a way to circumvent the lack of the Elerium that powered it. The ammunition was simply a pellet of fissionable material that was used by the particle accelerators to both power the reaction by the use of a matter-antimatter reaction and serve as a warhead consisting of anti-protons that would annihilate the normal protons of the matter that composed the target. However, to increase the lethality of the beam the scientists had used a Gauss curve. On a x-y graph where x was the time and y the potency, the beam had a inverted bell curve. At first it would be harmless but as the power grew it made the weapon powerful enough to be used either above and underwater. The first combat tests had quickly shown the potential of the weapon to X-Com and to the Council also.

At first it had been tried to restrain the new technology to X-Com but some countries had immediately started to try to get access to Gauss schematics. Then, the sinking of an US aircraft carrier on what seemed to be a minor skirmish with PRA forces on the northern Pacific had shown to everyone that the Alaskans had been successful and there was no point in keeping the technology a secret, especially since all militaries wanted it for their own use. And the sale of the Gauss weapons being built at X-Com's Indian base had now turned into the most waited item on every month's meeting agenda. With the current worldwide economic crisis everyone was in dire needs for additional revenues and Gauss technology was just a golden egg chicken that suit everyone's needs. But for this meeting there was other things more pressing and Williams patiently waited through the after lunch discussions until they reached the final point of the agenda.

The meeting room had a circle of desks aligned in a circle, each one occupied by a representative and with one additional used by Admiral Kole and Inspector Alkeviades. The tables were equipped with vision sets, which projected computer generated images on the air, allowing the council members to access information and distribute it through the rest of the Council.

When Williams' turn finally arrived he knew exactly how to lead the discussion, although he wasn't completely sure of its results. Still, raising himself from the chair he composed his jacket before speaking.

"My fellow colleagues, while we have already taken measures to lessen the impact of the destruction of SORESO, I still believe that there's more that we must do to achieve our end of stopping this war". Most of the individuals present didn't make any reaction to his opening statement although a few immediately showed their boredom with the subject.

"And the US believes that we need new strategic approach since the containment policy that we have been wrongly following is proven to be wrong. This is not a localized matter like the majority thought at the beginning but, as the activation of the alien sites and the destruction of two bases have shown, a question far more important than political or economic issues here". Williams already knew that it would be impossible to lift on this session the Zrbite ban so he had settled to try to open their eyes to the reality.

"And we have also scientific proof on that matter. The DNA analysis performed by SORESO's teams show that the Aquatoid's genetic structure is more stable than the one on the Sectoids of the first invasion. Also the Gillmen' genetic print shows them more likely to be Earth based than a race coming from a distant star system. We have considered the aliens to be survivors of the first war, barely able to mount any threat but the attacks on civilian vessels and installations have shown it to be otherwise and not to mention the attacks on our own forces. This isn't just a case of some alien survivors that are left out from the war and are trying to survive on Earth. The Aquatoids and the Gillmen show that there's a coordinated effort behind their actions with objectives that might include taking over the control of the planet".

"What's your point Councilman?" The Indian representative cut him off. "The aliens have adapted to our oceans. Most likely they have bred the Gillmen from some genetic experiment in one of their undiscovered colonies. Haven't they done the same with humans to develop the obscenity of the Deep One creatures? Considering we are discovering a new colony one each two months it hardly isn't surprising that they have managed to do so".

"But that's also the thing! From where are all of the resources coming for their expansion? We have dealt with these things like they were more of a nuisance but at this rate in a matter of years they are going to start to take over entire oceans. Not to mention the strange devices they are building".

"Yes, the so called transmission device theory advanced by SORESO's scientists before their destruction. That the aliens are trying to built a device to communicate with other star systems". Puuri shrugged it off. "While that is disturbing news if confirmed they still have to complete it and there will be a time before additional alien forces arrive. That is, if they are still out there in the universe".

"Still there in the universe? You think the few million we killed on the First War were the only ones alive in the entire galaxy or universe?"

"Despite the fact that either the search crew sent to Mars on 2009 failed to find any further alien installations on the planet, it is quite possible that the whole alien invasion originated from the planet. We shall consider all possibilities at this point, councilman". Puuri's tone of a lecture annoyed Williams. "Probably there's a good reason for that 'transmission device' is nothing more that just a piece of useless alien technology like those cryogenic chambers you researched upon. There hardly is any commercial value to them and still you endorsed further research on it". Williams knew that Puuri had a point there and he had to concede. There was absolutely no research over the alien's intentions that could be trusted. Even the captured aliens hadn't been able to add much to what was their intention. And he couldn't tell the council of the real reasons why he had that technology researched by the late teams of SORESO, although Captain Markovitch's awakening had made him relax a bit.

"Very well". But he still had one last card to play. "I that case I move for we to issue immediate orders for all bases to take out those sites the minute they are activated".

This time the Admiral rose from her chair. She was a small woman on her fifties with brown hairs and a pair of glasses that stood at the tip of her nose. "Are you mad? We can't afford the resources"

"This will be a preventive measure then. There is documented proof that those sites allow the aliens to deploy their strange energy capable of impossible physical disturbances. This way we can prevent against both possibilities". He looked at the admiral and the inspector-general, who although they couldn't vote they were able to watch independently who things went. The inspector, who acted as the secretary for the meeting, reluctantly acknowledged his unspoken request for a vote and waited for the arguments to calm down before announcing it.

Williams was already sure that he had a fairly chance of the measure being approved. Most of the countries weren't pleased by the activation of the sites. When the poll showed that he had the two-thirds necessary the Admiral grimaced. She had good reason for doing so, Williams noted. She would definitely had preferred for the teams to stay out of it since so far only two teams out of five had even come back alive. This would make her lose men and ships and cut through her own funding.

Later, when the meeting was over and Williams was on his way to the hotel before boarding a plane back to the US, he found the Alaskan representative on the foyer of the installations that housed the headquarters of X-Com. He'd half-expected that the man would be pleased with the results of the meeting but instead the thin man looked at him in curiosity. He had his blue cap with a white star on the front and looked as if he was also about to leave.

Holding his hands together he turned to the millionaire and spoke. "Mr. Williams, I take that the meeting went as you intended?"

His reply was tainted with innocence. "Mr. Roberts, I'm just doing my share on this war. Shouldn't we all do the same?"

"Indeed. One thing surprised me though. This time you failed to make any mention to the Zrbite ban. Have the US chosen to completely drop the matter?"

The honesty of his own answer even surprised Williams. "It didn't seemed important since the results of such a discussion would be already known to us all. There were other matters more pressing".

"Is that so?" A drop of sarcasm dropped into his face but before Williams could react, the man continued. "Your arguments regarding the aliens' motives can be nothing more than wild guesses but there's some merit on them".

"If so, why did the PRA voted against the matter, Mr. Roberts? In fact, your country's vote always sided with the same group of countries". In most occasions the Oil Cartel always voted as a bloc. Their strength inside the Council came from their unity while for most of the rest of the countries it was hard to find common ground.

Roberts smiled at the implicit mention. "The People's Republic will always defend their own interests in the Council, Mr. Williams as you know. But we are also most willing to cooperate in important matters, such as the 'Killer' issue".

"Very well". Both men nodded to one another and Williams moved to the garage to board his armored limousine.

[Hobbes]

September 6th, 2044

Virginia, US

 

As the sun's light reflected on the window Markovitch remembered the Nevada desert and the hot landscape. It was a bright summer day with few clouds on the horizon and it would have been a lovely morning if not for the temperature and humidity on the air.

She hadn't been in Washington for a long time even before she had been frozen but she remembered that the weather was milder back then. That is compared to what it was right now. According to Braddock the average temperature in the area had risen a couple degrees in the last twenty years due to a shift in the Gulf Stream. Most of the US' eastern seaboard was now considerably warmer than in the past. Swamps and bogs, something she could see in the landscape around the railway, were slowly replacing the green forests.

Why I'm still alive? She had asked that question in the hospital endless times. When she had gotten enough strength she had asked the question to Braddock, the weasel that always kept a watch on her. His explanation had been as brief as possible: apparently not all of the aliens on Earth had been defeated after Cydonia. They had gone into hiding into the oceans and had re-emerged three years ago. X-Com was fighting them again and they had woken her. But that was all he would tell her. She still couldn't believe that she was alive. Or that Johnson and everyone she knew were dead.

Apparently the medical personnel at the base had been ordered not to talk to her about the war. But Braddock had allowed her access to a 'vision' set, or how the called television nowadays. As she got better she started to watch the regular programming of the networks it had been both a relief and disappointment to see that television hadn't almost changed in forty years. Besides the fact that it now was projected directly into the air not in a screen, the programs were pretty much the same.

Soap operas, comedy shows, contests, all of the usual crap was still present. But the most important for her had been the news. She couldn't believe how some things on Earth had turned to in the last forty years and, in the most part, for the worst. There was a general lack of resources to support the planet's current human population. Worldwide pollution problems and climate disorders that had changed ocean currents and temperatures, changing the weather in entire areas.

She wished to be back to the hospital now. So far it was probably the only place where she had felt a resemblance of being at a home. When Braddock had stepped into her locked room the day before and informed her that she would travel with a senior X-Com officer she had felt fear but at the same time desire to understand what was going on.

On the next day the officer had stopped to pick her up. He presented himself as Lieutenant Commander Delacroix of X-Com's US Command but instead of a uniform he was wearing civilian clothing. She had immediately catalogued him as a 'spook', someone serving at intelligence. He had briefly shaken her hand but had released it right away. She couldn't tell if it was his personality or if it was something else.

They were now seated facing one another without saying a word. He wouldn't even look at her as if she wasn't present. They were on her way to a meeting at the Pentagon to discuss her situation.

"So, are you going to tell me what is going on and why I'm still alive?" In front of Markovitch, Delacroix shifted uneasy on his chair. Like her, he was dressed in civilian clothing, wearing a light gray suit whose jacket was all buttoned till the top, supposedly the latest 2040 fashion.

"It's not wise to talk about such things now, Miss Markovitch". His eyes scanned the other passengers aboard the wagon of the high-speed train they were taking from Norfolk to Atlanta.

"OK, so let's talk about the war. What's going on? Why couldn't you just let me die in peace? Why did X-Com had to awake me?" The man's brown eyes stared at her. Dropping his voice, he spoke. "It's better if we don't reveal that we are military, specially if we belong to X-Com".

That struck Markovitch as strange. From what she had seen the war was not a secret and occasionally there were military press releases of confrontations.

"Does it have to do anything with those religious assholes that I saw in a talk show?" Delacroix' eyes tightened and she could tell that it was a touchy matter to him. "You meant the Cult. No, it's not because of them". He didn't explain more, which only increased her restlessness.

The violet skirt and jacket that had been supplied by Braddock the day before didn't help either. The artificial fabric gave her itches on her hands whenever she touched it and the color seemed to her just absurd, despite the fact that she had seen other women wearing also dresses of the same color. And the cut on both skirt and jacket were too tight for her disliking. When she was trying it she had first wondered if it the designer had wanted to reveal the chest and behind of the women who wore it. After she had seen herself on the mirror she had found that it was otherwise.

The small round hat that she was wearing also pissed her off. While she was on the hospital her brown hair had grown long again but she had it cut the minute she had arrived at the training facility.

Now it made her sweat and her scalp was also itching. She wanted nothing else to take it off but Braddock had told her to keep it on, especially with her hair cut so short. Nothing made sense to her. She wanted to be back in 2002 instead of being in a world were everything felt strange to her. Even X-Com seemed to be different and she wondered why they had bothered to bring her back from the dead.

An hour later the high-speed train had arrived at the town's central station. As they stepped down and headed towards the cab parking area they passed by rows of policemen in riot control gear, with helmets and holding personal shields and batons.

Delacroix shook his head in disbelief. "I told the councilman it wouldn't be wise to bring you at this moment here".

"What's all of this circus for?" She asked as he pushed her to make her speed her way over the crowd. "It's in case any of the pacifist protesters decide to get violent. And they usually do so get moving". She kept silent until they finally got out of the train station and caught a cab. After the vehicle was on their way she turned to him. "Anti-war protests? Are these people crazy? Do they just want to shake hands with the aliens and became best buddies?"

Composing himself, Delacroix relaxed. The car had no driver and the computer system was taking it to a expressway. "Actually only a few portion of them sympathize with the aliens. But the whole point of this week's rallies isn't that. The majority is simply protesting about the announcement made by the President to employ naval forces to patrol the Alaska cease-fire line". The whole thing just seemed too absurd to Markovitch and she decided that she had enough already. For the rest of the journey she just kept silent and Delacroix did the same thing.

The taxi left them at the driveway of a corporate building right located on the suburbs of the city. As both Markovitch and Delacroix stepped out the car, the sight of the facility in front of her made her stop. Unlike the rest of the surrounding buildings, which had domes and towers all painted in dull pinks and yellows, this complex had a square architecture, with the main building painted in dark blue. The front had large mirrored windows that occupied the center, with a logo painted in tall letters: "Cyberweb Systems Inc." It wasn't really painted since the whole thing was being projected on the air by large visiprojectors. Underneath it and over the glass doors a phrase was also displayed: "Marking you ready for the future".

"What's this place?" Delacroix rolled his eyes upwards before answering. "A computer company". She wondered what she was doing there but he waited impatiently for her so she hurried up. After they presented themselves at the reception an escort led them to an elevator. They moved through corridors and offices until they reached a foyer where an young blonde secretary that looked young and beautiful enough to be a model welcomed them. "Commander, the councilman is waiting for you inside". Delacroix moved towards a carved wood door. On it there was a silver plaque at the level of the eyes with dark letters engraved on it. "OFFICE OF THE COUNCILMAN". Delacroix opened it and moved aside to let her enter.

For a moment Markovitch had the brief impression that she was still in 2002 as her eyes scanned through the decoration of the office. Most of the room's furniture was made of real wood or at least something artificial that imitated it pretty well. A brightly colored carpet covered the floor with geometrical designs on it at it looked as if it had been handmade.

Four leather sofas had been arranged into a circle and two people were standing up next to them. The wrinkles on their surfaces told that they had just gotten up to meet both officers. The tallest one was a man with a physical complexion that shown in to be his fifties although his blonde hair had almost turned completely into white and there were some wrinkles on his face. And, unlike Delacroix, he was wearing a suit more akin to the ones she used to, including a tie that extended all the way to his waist unlike the officer's, which stopped right below the chest.

While he was grinning at her the other person's reaction to her was more of shock. She clearly seemed to be about sixty, with long strands of white mixed along her once brown hair. "Captain" As she spoke she raised her arm towards Markovitch. Her comment made Markovitch froze as she realized that she recognized the face but couldn't place it.

"Do you remember me? I served under you on X-Com". The memory of a young reddish face with short hair came to her. "Camay!?" The younger woman smiled at her question but before they could say anything else they were interrupted.

"Excellent" The taller man's words were of enthusiasm making Markovitch look at him. As Delacroix stepped from behind her after closing the door, he saluted the man. "Lt. Commander Delacroix and Lieutenant Markovitch reporting as ordered, sir".

The man waved him off. "Let's drop the military formalities Commander since this is an unofficial meeting. The Captain must be feeling extremely confused and we should make everything for her to be as comfortable as possible". The officer nodded but didn't add a word.

Markovitch looked at him with suspicion. "Just who are you and why I'm here?" Camay tried to suppress a smile as both men seemed surprised by her attitude. The man looked at Camay and nodded. "A bit reckless and eager to get things done like you told me. Very well".

He presented his hand to her. "My name is Frederick Denman Williams, Captain Markovitch. I am the representative of the United States on X-Com's Council of Funding Nations. And I was the one who made that you would be put into cryogenic sleep for forty years". Markovitch wanted to strangle the man in that same minute. Apparently Delacroix had detected her aggressiveness since he placed himself closer to Williams and kept a careful watch at her. Unknowingly, Camay defused the situation by approaching her and placing her hand on her arm. "Captain, that's a long story. It's better if we talk about it while seated down".

After she nodded her assent all of them sat on the leather sofas. "Captain, I'm here because Mr. Williams has asked me to be present so that you could hear what happened from someone you knew". Taking a deep breath, Markovitch told her to continue.

Camay looked at the ceiling for one second as she recollected her memories. "I'll never forget that day on Mars. More than half of us never come back alive. The Colonel, lieutenant Digriz, Yu, Bartfast...when I examined you after you suddenly dropped into the floor I mistook you to be dead. We all did," She paused, "including Colonel Johnson". Markovitch felt tears coming to her eyes. She had silently cried a number of times on her hospital bed.

Camay's hand came on top of hers and she grabbed it. "The Colonel did an immense sacrifice. When I tried to save him the only thing he asked was about you. I told him that you were dead but after he passed away I went back to you and discovered that there was still brain activity inside you. I managed to keep you alive until we manage to bring you to one of the Avengers. Inside you were placed into one of the life-support systems during the entire travel back to Earth. However, when the doctors at Mother One examined you they discovered that your brain had suffered massive trauma due to..."

Delacroix got up from his seat and moved to the window all of a sudden, obviously not desiring to listen to this part of the conversation. Camay looked at him and continued a moment later. "Some sort of massive psionic overload. You had stepped into a coma where you'd never return for sure". The Brain's mental attack. Markovitch remembered in pain.

Turning to Williams, she asked him. "What's the commander's problem?"

"Well...probably it's better to leave it for now. Let us continue to hear the doctor". That didn't satisfied Markovitch but she was also more curious to know what happened this way.

"The partial records we have of Young's work at Area 51 during the First War failed to bring any light into this matter. Their research didn't advance much besides collecting data and making educated guesses for predictions but they were never close to develop a theory.

And the psi-ban froze any additional research, with the knowledge either being destroyed or locked away".

"The psi ban?"

"The Anti-Psionics Convention of 2009 signed by all countries. Psionics was classified as a 'immoral' weapon because of a number of serious incidents. Public outrage rampaged after cases of manipulation were known. While it can't stop psi able persons to be born, it classifies any intentional use of the capability as a serious felony in most countries". Markovitch realized that Delacroix's attitude was probably as result of it. She still felt a slight buzz on her body occasionally that told her that she could still "feel" something but on a lesser scale. "But my brain has recovered hasn't it?"

Williams' eyes tightened as Camay looked at him and Markovitch realized that something must be wrong. "Yes but how we don't know. Captain, after I left X-Com I went back to college and took Medical Studies, specializing into neurology. When Mr. Williams invited me for a very special internship after my graduation I was shocked to see that you had been frozen to converse you. For years I've worked to conserve your body while repairing your brain. The first one was done after hard work but the second proved impossible no matter how anyone on the team tried. Until something happened".

"The alien devices". Markovitch looked at Williams as he completed Camay's unfinished idea. "The what?"

Williams put his hands together. "The aliens are activating massive underwater devices whose purpose is still unclear. However there have been reports of freak nature incidents on the area. They are one of the reasons why the war is getting bad for our side. Please continue Doctor".

"The first device was activated on 2042. The fifth one occurred about one month before we brought you out of the induced coma. In every one your brain activity increased although the coma kept it at a low. Somehow they also seemed to affect you but they actually healed the trauma. But we have no idea of how this happened".

She started to feel restless. "Wait a minute. What does that mean?"

"We don't have a clue. Apparently it has also affected other people with high psi levels but that's not something that will be discussed in the open". The same issue again, Markovitch realized.

"However, when coupled with the reports from the fighting at Cydonia give us a very disturbing picture, Captain. There were some strange claims about you. Camay and some of the surviving soldiers reported that you were the one who lead the force into the alien Brain. There was some sort of connection between you and it". She felt uneasy about his motives for asking. "So?"

"Captain we need to know if they were true. They could as well mean the survival of this planet".

"They were true, I guess. I don't know. Satisfied?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really care. Why have you awaken me anyways? What's going on with the war?" Williams slowly nodded, realizing that she wasn't going to discuss it anymore than the necessary. Motioning Delacroix to come, the man moved away from the window towards them. Markovitch realized that the man must have been listening to the entire conversation even if he had made a point of not getting next to her and pretending that he wasn't interested.

"Captain, I bought X-Com when it was privatized using the money I made through Cyberweb. I have kept it until the aliens resurfaced and the government decided to retake control of the force. At that point I left Cyberweb's management to be appointed to the Council afterwards but now I have the company of fifteen other directors and a majority takes all decisions now. But while our presence financial status is stable at the moment, I think the company has taken wrong strategic approaches to the alien problem".

Markovitch stared at him and laughed. "You're supposed to be my boss? With that kind of corporate talk?" She expected him to be mad at her but to her surprise he smiled and she felt it was genuine. "You're quite correct. I'll leave to the Commander to explain our current situation". He turned to Delacroix who sat down.

"Lieutenant..." Markovitch wondered to whom he was talking to. Could it be to Camay, she wondered. "Captain I mean. It's better if I call you that since we have made some decisions about you meanwhile".

Who the hell did he think he has! "Commander..." She interrupted him. "Who told you that I still like being here or even to lose my ability to decide about what I can do? And what is this lieutenant/captain thing? As far as I know I was still a captain when I dropped dead to the floor on Cydonia".

His face went white as Williams quickly reached forward. "Quite right Captain. You are free to leave any time you want but please hear us first".

To where, Markovitch suddenly realized. Probably all of the people she knew where dead or were old people now. It seemed to her that Williams was also perfectly aware of the fact. Although it bothered her that he could only be using it to his advantage she kept seated down. "Sorry for interrupting you Commander. Please continue".

The naval officers forehead eased but his voice still showed his anger and confusion. "Well, first the whole captain/lieutenant has to do with your present status on X-Com. Officially you're still dead but if you are reintegrated into the force you will hold the naval equivalent of your former rank, namely a lieutenant. But for that to happen, we want to check your combat abilities first, in case you choose to remain in X-Com. Most of the fighting so far has been done underwater and while it can be mastered, there are also a number of things that need to be relearned completely. For a number of other reasons it will be better if you take it from the scratch and be assigned as a new recruit".

"But why am I so important? To see if I can also fight underwater? What's the point?"

Williams interrupted. "Captain, we are in desperate need of good combat officers". Just that, she wondered as she recall the discussion that concerned her psi abilities but Markovitch chose not to mention it. She had realized that the only thing that she could do at the moment was fighting the aliens. There was nothing else to go back to.

"Until now this war has been run by a bunch of bureaucrats who fill progress reports and decide on military matters. And while first it seemed that the alien activity was sporadic there are disturbing signs that it is escalating. We need to start changing some things". Williams' tirade seemed full of empty enthusiasm to her as if he really didn't believe it. "And believe me please. You may not like what you see out there on the forward base and amongst the soldiers. That's what we will be trying to change Captain".

"OK, I got your point councilman. But tell me something first. I heard somewhere on the news that the aliens were the remnants of the ones who survived the first war that hid themselves on the oceans. What's the big problem about them?"

"That is the assumption on which we had been operating for too long with mediocre results".

"The Earth must be rid of all the aliens. Things only got worse when after they arrived". Delacroix's voice was unexpected. Now to Markovitch the officer sounded more convict of his ideas. Why was that? Did it matter?

"I can agree with that". She conceded and he looked at her in suspicion. "But I take it that there are more problems than just the lack of good officers".

"You bet. The war has been raging for nearly three years and there seems to be no end on sight to it. Until now we have lost hundreds of aquanauts, dozens of craft and two of our floating bases while we tried to 'contain' them, as the Council defines our mission".

"Contain? Are they fighting guerrilla style?"

"Close but there's more to it. The number of their incursions and bases keeps increasing. We don't know how they are supporting that effort or where they get their subs or soldiers. And there are the Synomium devices".

"You've mentioned it before. What are they?"

"Underwater facilities that once activated they unleash tremendous power of unknown origin provoking severe changes into the surroundings. We have detected six so far. Every time we have sent there a craft to investigate the team never gets back".

"Wait a minute. Could it be possible that there's a second Brain here on Earth?" Memories of the chamber at Cydonia came to her mind when she had tried to control the first one. She had seen others of its kind and they had reacted to her presence. But all of them were far away on distant stars because she only felt the presence of the one in front of her in the entire Solar System.

"Now that is an interesting point Captain". Williams nodded. "So far we have scanned all of the oceans looking for one but we haven't found anything. Either it's buried somewhere where we can't detect it or there's none. Of course, until now maybe we haven't probed with the right tools".

The quizzical tone hit Markovitch like a guided missile. Of course! They woke me up to see if I could sense it somehow! But I haven't felt anything like I did back then. I haven't felt anything at all for that matter. Memories of Johnson come back.

Noting her reaction Williams nodded but didn't tell much more. From her hopeful face Camay seemed also to believe that she could sense it while Delacroix had gone skulking again.

With a bit of frustration Williams closed the subject. "Until further evidence that's only an hypothesis. However, the alternative to explain their actions is more sinister".

"Meaning?" A sense of dread came to her.

"The aliens might be trying to built a communications device to establish contact with the rest of their race. In that case, if they are successful we can only expect that an alien fleet to arrive when they complete it". The memory of the other brains in space hit her like a heavy laser shot. "There are other brains out there. I can tell you that for sure". The implication made all of them quiet. Williams nodded to her and she sensed that she had just confirmed something to him.

After a brief seconds on which no one spoke, as the faces of everyone besides Markovitch turned grim, Williams caught up himself and said. "I would say you have already been worth our investment. Before you go there's one last matter that you should be advised. Besides the aliens we are facing a problem that is starting to be worrying inside X-Com".

"Oh?" Somehow it didn't surprised Markovitch that the organization would also be plagued with problems forty years later. So far from what she had learned from X-Com's history the Council had simply told all remaining soldiers and personnel that they were out of a job now that there were no aliens. Looking at Camay that angered her. How could they have been so stupid? What have they done now?

Williams caught her reaction and added. "There are a lot of things that need to be changed inside the force Captain and you will discover it. However, this is something external that might put your life at risk. And the danger is not from the aliens".

"The Killer". Camay's voice showed fear and anger at the same time.

"The Killer?" Williams nodded to her. "Yes. Someone, either a single individual or an organization is targeting X-Com personnel and craft. And Mr. Smith, who was a member of the board I chose to take care of Cyberweb while I represent the US at X-Com has been murdered".

"From what I've heard so far it's not that surprising that you have some good enemies out there. Who is it? The Cult? Why don't you go and crack their heads open?"

Williams smiled at the suggestion while Delacroix looked at her closely. "We actually can't be sure that the Cult is responsible and we'd need extreme proof before we struck on them. It could start a civil war inside mankind".

The argument seemed almost impossible so she asked, already afraid of the answer. "What do you mean? I thought they were just a few numbers scattered around".

"That's the general idea that is constantly being bombarded by the media. But the truth is far more ugly than that. We estimate that twenty-five percent of the world's population is alien sympathizers, although only a small percentage are actually Cult members. In numbers, that's about two billion people who believe the aliens are their gods or peaceful galactic neighbors".

The number didn't came easy from her throat "Two billion people!? Where have those people been on the last war?"

"Most of them weren't born yet. And growing up in a planet where one quarter of the population is as richer as the whole rest combined sure leaves resentments. Most of these people grew up in polluted and overcrowded cities with no future at all.

Still, the problem is bigger in some countries than others. In the US, the official census taken in 2040 lists them as six percent of the population. We consider that number to have an error margin of fifty percent. Now days I wouldn't be surprised if they already were more than ten percent of the US' population. But it still isn't a big problem here, although Eurasia and a number of other countries are starting to have real issues".

Markovitch was glad that she had been seated on the leather sofa otherwise her knees would have folded in already since she still felt weak. "But in the place were you are going you won't nothing to worry about besides the aliens, Captain. Still try to be careful until we resolve this Killer problem".

Later when the meeting was over and they were getting ready to leave, Delacroix approached her and said. "Lieutenant Braddock will be assigned to your base to watch for you". To make sure that I fall in line and do as you expect me. She added, already feeling that she would dislike the experience. "If you need to talk to the Councilman or me use him".

"I'm sure I'll see you in person again, Commander". The man froze in front of her. But then he nodded to her and said something that completely surprised her.

"Also if you experience any problems coming from your 'special abilities', report them to us immediately". He nearly spat out the words. "And don't worry Captain. While it's quite obvious I have strong negative feelings towards them, I'll try for them not to interfere on my judgment". She tossed him a salute and he replied a second later.

The last person that she said goodbye was Camay. As they approached one another the elder woman shifted her feet uncomfortably and Markovitch sensed uncertainty on her. "Captain, there's one last issue that I have to tell you about".

"Oh? What is it about?" Williams had stepped away from them after had enthusiastically shaken her hand and wishing her good luck. He and Delacroix were now talking but it seemed more as if they had chosen to stay out deliberately of this conversation.

"You have....." Her voice came as a whisper. "You and the Colonel have a daughter". She thought that Camay had gone insane and nearly started laughing at the impossible claim. "That's impossible Camay, I have never conceived". For a moment she thought that all of this couldn't be more than a dream.

Still unsure of how to put it, the elder doctor continued. "I know you haven't. But your sister did as a surrogate mother, using the ova and sperm you and the Colonel left behind at Area 51". That slapped her hard across the face. When Johnson had told her about the upcoming mission to Mars just days before the take-off they had realized that most likely one of them wouldn't be coming back, if not both. In all of the three years that they had spent together in the base they had put aside any dreams of marriage or having children but at that moment those thoughts had seemed extremely important to them. He had been the one to make the proposal, after having already discussed the possibility with the base's doctors. But now that moment seemed too far away and too close at the same time.

"My sister...she had our kid?" Camay nodded. "Your family was informed that there were few chances for you to ever get out of the coma. When I asked them and Colonel Johnson's family about the genetic legacy your sister asked to be impregnated with a fertilized egg so that all of them would have something to remember you and the Colonel. Nine months after your daughter was born".

"Does...does she know that I'm alive?"

"From what I'm aware, no. Like your sister and parents, she knew about your condition but we haven't told her about your recovery. I guess that to her you have died a long time ago and we didn't want to bring any unnecessary stress until your full recover". So, we're complete strangers to each one. "What's her name?"

"Linda. She currently lives in Baltimore with your grandson. If you wish I can give you the address". Markovitch didn't know what to do, so she took the directions although she couldn't make a decision. The realization of Camay's words lasted through the whole train trip back to Norfolk and in the days after.

After she and Delacroix had left, Camay and Williams remained on his office. Going for a polished wood cabinet on one of the corners of the room he poured two glasses of mineral water and came back to the sofas, giving one to Camay, who politely accepted it. After they both took a sip, he asked her. "Your analysis of her doctor?"

"She's a little thin but I don't think there will be any problems, although the mention of her daughter must have really shaken her. And so far the device seems to be working perfectly". After a moment she added. "Are you sure that it was a good idea to present her to Delacroix? You've seen his reaction to her. I doubt that he'll ever trust her. And what about Madhouse? Everyone knows that base is in some really troubled seas".

Putting down his glass Williams replied. "I saved him when the Cult attacked the Inquisitors' office here in Washington. He might not like the prospect of working with a psi but I'll leave that problem for both of them to resolve. I already have my share of problems with the Council. And as for Madhouse, the Commander's reasons were solid: we have to keep her hidden from attention".

."Still, I believe you're risking a full head collision between both of them. And if the Council hears from this you have just served them your head on a platter".

"Life is a gamble doctor. You only need to quit before the stake gets too high". The phrase was following by a wide grin on his mouth. She shook her head in defeat. "I've long quit arguing with you in some matters, Fred. But this reminds of what we were discussing before they entered here. Are you sure that you want me now on the team of the scientific facility that they are building at Norfolk? From what I've heard of the Inspector General I would prefer not to have to deal with her personally".

"And you're right. I'd prefer to have you to remain doing your work but now I also need more to have scientists I can trust inside X-Com. The destruction of SORESO left me with few other choices and I could choose the best".

She grinned at the comment but sent him away. "Fred, you know I'm immune to your flattery. Leave to the secretary you have outside. I've been making a survey of all of the information on the UFOPedia compiled so far by SORESO and the smaller teams at Australia and Japan".

"Like I asked you to do. What have you discovered?"

"That even with a special authorization from the Council the Inspector General will still certify herself that you're not trying to duplicate any of the data. I'd only wish that woman was present at SORESO when the aliens took it out. If only she hasn't been so lucky to outside the base at the moment"

Williams smiled at the thought but motioned her to carry on. "Well, we have all the data for the Gauss technology plus schematics for a new type of hand weapon. On the sonic department things don't look as bright. The basic physics have been understood regarding the sonic beams and Zrbite but aside a brief study of the weapons the aliens deploy that's it. The topics regarding advanced armor or craft are just empty directories. We have made studies into the building materials the aliens use and some regarding the morphological differences between the known species, but nothing too detailed. Besides Gauss, the only topic who research is close to be completed is something called 'Thermal Shock Cannon'. Apparently it's considered a non-lethal weapon so it passed the Inspector's scrutiny. However the ban on Zrbite prevents its operational deployment. But besides it and the aqua-plastic armor they haven't really tried to get better weapons or protection".

"Which now is a piece of equipment that the entire armed forces are going after. You wouldn't know for how much X-Com sells them".

"I prefer not to know. Especially when most of that money could go into research. In three years we have made negligible advances into alien research and that was what allowed us to go to Mars on the first war. The ban on Zrbite killed most of the projects going and the destruction of SORESO left us stranded at the beach. The only thing were we have been able to make progresses so far is my... special research".

"Carry on with it as much as you can. I have a feeling we are going to need it in the future". That made Camay to feel a bit uneasy. "Can I stop first at Norfolk before I head back to Iceland to get my notes and personal belongings? I also think the Captain is going to need someone to talk to in the next days". Williams' reply was sympathetic. "Of course".

[Hobbes]

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Two

[Hobbes]

September 14th, 2044

Western Pacific

 

The dark blue plane flew high above the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean heading west. Most of the inside of the Triton transport was crammed with empty gray crates bearing the insignia of X-Com but there were also human two figures clad in navy blue one-piece jumpsuits. Markovitch was one of the pair, although the nametag on her chest read: "Watkins". Braddock and Delacroix had decided that it would be better if she had a forged identity, so now she went by the name of Anne Watkins, that had less seven years than her and had been born in New York City. She couldn't understand the need for the change since it was unlikely that anyone would ever care about who she was but they had been adamant. She had also been ordered not to discuss with anyone what had been done to her or the meeting that they just had.

But the most absurd aspect was that Braddock had also been transferred to the base where she was heading on the transport days before and she was supposed to ignore him. They had to pretend that they had nothing to do with one another and keep clear from one another. Not that it did really bother her since in fact she had exactly the opposite feeling.

However the secrecy put upon her whole existence made her wonder about the need those men felt for it. But the more she was finding out about the world it became apparent that many things had changed and that she would have to learn a lot before. She knew she didn't have any choice at the moment about the direction that she was following. It was the only one she could take, no matter who it put her in the hands of those men. Johnson was dead; she still couldn't forget him how hard she tried. And it was up to her to see that he had dying for something. And as long as those men's agenda included to final defeat the aliens she would be a part of it.

Remembering her daughter and her grandson she wondered how things would have gone if Johnson and her had ever got back and had a normal life after the war. As she scratched the sleeve of her jumpsuit to check on a grease spot she realized that the aliens had taken out something from her. But at least Linda had been born and had been loved by her sister as if she were her own daughter. She had left her house without saying more to either her or Alex.

The soldier in front of her stirred on the metal bench where he was seated. The Triton was one of the lousiest transports that she had ever flown. The ride was soft when compared to the Skyranger but the inside had been built so that soldiers on underwater gear could flood it to deploy more quickly. As a result the inside showed the effects of corrosion by salt water. And the metal on the seats had dents and sharp edges all over its surface as the result of being hit by weapons and personal armor several times. They would stab and find it hard for someone in a jumpsuit to seat down comfortably.

The gray inside simply looked and felt too worn the craft had obviously had seen a lot of service. Still, "Miss Lynn", as the pilot had called the plane before they boarded seemed to be performing nicely the thousands of miles trip from San Diego Naval Base in south California to Sixth Fleet HQ, a floating base five hundred miles off the Alaskan coastline. The pilot and "Miss Lynn" were also assigned to "Madhouse Rock", as he had called the base as she and the other soldier had presented to him his transportation papers. The nickname had gotten her worry about what she would found up there.

Her fears had started when she had first seen the pilot, who was wearing a jumpsuit like them but it was unzipped at its front, revealing a dirty white tank top and a bulge on his belly underneath. His dark hair looked as if he hadn't combed it or even washed it for days and his long sideburns only contributed more to the messy figure. And Ensign Books had barely noticed looked at them, only to show that he couldn't care less about who was getting inside. He seemed to have done a lot of those shuttle personnel flights and he considered them to be a boring routine.

That didn't felt good at all for Markovitch.

The other man inside the Triton was also a recruit who was much younger than her. He had the physical built of a Marine but his face was very smooth and the guys' cropped yellow hair was thick. His name was Carl Simmons and they hadn't spoken a word between them from since the Triton had took-off from San Diego. He looked anxious, more like a kid that was going for a ride and was scared.

As first she had thought about how such a kid would be fighting the aliens when in her time all of the soldiers had been veterans from top-notch units on the US military. But as she rumbled on her head she soon stopped as she realized that Simmons was deliberately acting as if she didn't exist. That made her even more confused and she wondered if somehow he had detected a trace of her psionic skills.

After two hours she had decided otherwise. There was something else that made Simmons avoid her. He obviously had something against her although she had no idea of what that might be. Therefore, she decided to find out what it was.

"Feeling anxious?" Her tone was nice as if she had been simply shy the whole time.

Her words sent a jolt across the recruit who looked at her with a bit of fury but at the same time curiosity. He thought for a second before answering. "What do you want Yankee?"

The tone of his voice made it sound as if it was an insult. That made her confused but she stopped before giving a reply and instead asked. "Yankee?"

The soldier looked puzzled at her answer. "Who are you trying to trick? You sure don't sound like Canadian to me".

"I'm not. What's the problem?"

He looked even more surprised. "What's the problem??? Where have you been for the past years? In a remote island or something?"

That actually struck Markovitch as true but she shrugged her shoulders. "Haven't paid too much attention to the news I guess".

"Didn't know that the US was sending people so dumb up here to fight. At least in Alaska my boot camp IQ seemed higher". That made Markovitch stiffen her spine and she only replied in a warning tone. "Let's just say that I prefer to keep myself of such matters OK?" The mention to the former State had confused her again until she made sense of the soldier's hostility. One of the things that she had discovered after being revived was that Alaska had succeeded from the United States in 2026. Apparently the Alaskans had gotten tired of the over exploration of the land and seas and the huge migration towards its territory. On that year the Alaskan Congress had issued a declaration of independence and had established a People's Republic based on a mix of communism and environmentalist ideas.

The move had caught the US government on its pants on the floor and completely unprepared to respond to it. The division on public opinion over the subject also prevented that any military action was taken to bring the state back into the Union. However, a lot of US companies had suffered badly after the new Alaskan government had nationalized all fishing and oil production interests in their territory. Tensions had also risen as both nations started to issue their claims into the Pacific Ocean. A number of armed engagements had taken place over the years with losses for both sides. While she didn't had time to think much on the subject, she also wasn't in the mood to take any crap from anyone other than the necessary in the military.

"Yeah, I guess if you people even noticed what your multinationals are doing to you also besides wanting to bleed Alaska to death things would change". That made the exchange to start to go to the level of a heated discussion.

"Most likely I would change..." She started as the soldier heard in amazement. "... If you explained to me what's the problem".

For a moment the private in front of her didn't knew how or what to reply. "Well...." Caught by her, he decided to give in. "They warned us about you in boot camp see? All the Yankees that never really accepted our independence because their corporations lost big and want pay back? That if there's a line of armistice right now is because you won't recognize our right to freedom and want to take over natural resources that are rightfully ours".

Apparently the Alaskan military liked to indoctrinate its soldiers well, Markovitch realized as the soldier kept glaring at her. She decided to drop the subject since it was coming again closer to a heated argument. "You might be right, I simply don't know. I'm here to fight aliens and that's it". She offered him her hand, hoping that he would break it off also. "I'm Anne Watkins".

He looked at her open hand but didn't make any reply. After some time she withdrew it and for the rest of the journey they stood silent towards one another.

After more hours had passed, the pilot warned them to put on the safety belts since they were going to emerge at the base. That had made Markovitch curious because the plane was flying over water.

A couple of minutes later her answer arrived. As the Triton slowed down his airspeed it also headed into the waters. Its immersion angle was a bit rough made the craft bounce off the surface of the sea once before they finally dove. The view ports of the Triton now showed them to be underwater and Markovitch realized that the plane wasn't an aircraft that could dive but a submarine that could fly. As the Triton swam in the Pacific waters the flight became very smooth. Then finally Books brought the ship back to the surface and she found herself to be in the middle of a sub pen.

Technically Sixth Fleet HQ was a Class II maritime base, consisting of several floating modules that were attached together and placed into position in the middle of the largest oceans. It was anchored to the bottom of the ocean so that its position would remained fairly stable and had a crew complement that could go to two hundred personnel, divided between seabed combat teams, pilots and flight personnel and scientific and engineer specialists.

Sixth Fleet HQ wasn't one of the biggest ones like Seventh's Fleet Indian base or even the hone in the Norwegian Sea. It had only a combat platoon assigned, meaning some forty soldiers together with two Tritons and two Barracuda interceptor subs. Even the support personnel were kept to a minimum and the majority was assigned to maintaining the flying subs. Together with the necessary officers for running the base kept its population at less than a hundred.

They also differed from the other types of facilities for a singular factor. They were completely controlled by X-Com, unlike the seaside detachments positioned at seaside bases, which were under the orders of the national commander of the facility. And being placed on the middle of highly disputed areas of the oceans made them necessary to maintain a low profile. Things in that area usually already were a number of problems before the aliens appeared. And while off the western seaboard of the US it covered an area from the Aleutians in Alaska to the Panama Channel, including the armistice line between the People's Republic and the US, close to the border between the former state and British Columbia.

When the large hatch at the side of the Triton opened she found to be in a middle of the sub pen with a metal grated platform surrounding it on every direction. A seaman in a white jumpsuit threw a couple of ropes to them, which they grabbed and tied inside the sub to bring the plane close and stabilize it.

Grabbing her bag and placing it over her shoulder she crossed the space between the sub and the platform with a jump. The clank of her boot hitting the metal grating sounded over the sub pen. Looking around as she landed, she saw a platform surrounding it and missile racks standing against the walls. There were also a lot of crates standing next to one of the airlocks that linked it to the rest of the base. Soldiers in sea blue jumpsuits were buzzing over them with pairs of troopers busy picking the two-meter long crates.

The voice of the non-commissioned officer leading the squad was barking orders. At his command they started to move the crates towards the Triton. Both she and Simmons back stepped aside to let the troopers past as they started to load the sub with the full crates. At the same time they also removed the empty ones and lifted them away from the pen. Ensign Books had also left the sub and was coming by them. "What are they doing?"

Her question made the pilot look at her with a satisfied smile. "Loading all the alien goodies. The stuff we get every time you capture one of their subs. That's how we make a living around here. The majority of this stuff is useless but there are some items that are worth a bundle of money out there".

"Does that include the weapons retrieved from the aliens?" He shook his head. "No. And nobody would want them anyway since all of the retrieved Zrbite is sent to a vault in Switzerland".

"All? How do you use the aliens weapons then?" He laughed at her enquiry. "Use the alien weapons? Sweetie, what are you talking about? Don't expect a sonic rifle on your hands when you get to combat".

The comment wasn't of her liking at all but a peculiar black package that a pair of soldiers was carrying made her look in attention. Both her and Simmons stood watching as a pair of full plastic body bags was carried by them to the inside where they were placed on the benches. "Meet the guys you're supposed to replace. I hope you're luckier than them". Checking Markovitch's body without even bothering to hide his interest he added. "And if you want came and see me at mess hall. I know a couple of ways we could have fun together".

Markovitch scowl told him to piss off and he wisely got back to the cabin of the Triton. She started to walk towards the Sergeant, no Petty Officer, she corrected remembering the different rank designations. He had a blue cap and stripes on his pristine wetsuit's shoulders. The NCOs face was sweaty, with a drop starting to form on the tip of his large nose and into the thin black mustache he had. He gave them a quick look before continuing with his ramp: "Morales and Teller, get yours asses moving! We aren't paid by the hour here people! Who the fuck are you?" His question surprised them both as they were about to salute him.

"Seaman Apprentice Watk...". As he turned towards her with his eyes glazing and a hint of a smile on his lips, she realized that she had just given him what he wanted.

"Don't give me that apprentice shit rookie! Get one thing straight from this moment on! You're nothing more that a rookie until you either survived after your fifth mission or if you managed to do something incredibly stupid twice and survived! Is that understood?"

The vehemence of his words made her stand on attention. "Sir, yes sir! I was only trying to present my....".

"Shut up rookie! You and that other piece of shit standing there can present yourselves to the barracks and report your lousy presence to Petty Officer Wieslow, the desk officer. Now stop distracting me! Dismissed" Simmons nearly jumped on his feet but they both saluted and hurried past him. As they left the pen a couple of enquiries to a seaman that was passing by allowed them to find their way to the barracks.

The entrance to the Marine personnel area was nothing more than a small chamber with hatches on opposite sides. As Markovitch stepped inside another man in a khaki jumpsuit looked to her from the table where he was looking at a holovision screen that hung projected over the plastic table. She saluted him and presented his orders after saying her name. Simmons did the same afterwards.

Taking both of them, he studied them for a minute before setting them down on the table. "Well rookies Watkins and Simmons welcome to X-Com. I'm Petty Officer Wieslow, second squad leader. That's the squad you are going to be assigned to Simmons". The recruit stiffened as O'Connor's eastern accent revealed that the NCO was from the US also. And as for you, Watkins, you will fill a hole on third squad. You probably have seen there already since they had cargo detail for the Triton".

That made Markovitch swear in her mind since it meant that the other asshole Petty was her squad leader. But Wieslow's following briefing soon made her temporarily forget it. Each of the three squads was composed of thirteen soldiers, with a Petty in command plus three Able Seamen, the equivalent of corporals, to lead each four-man fire team. One squad would be on permanent alert the whole time, ready to deploy, another would be doing K-P stuff or providing base security while the third one was on rest and recovery on the base's few recreational areas. And even if they had only received basic underwater training they were considered full members of a combat team now. The implication of that quickly reached Markovitch: you either learned to survive or die even before you realized what happened.

After he finished his presentation Watkins gave them authorization cards to present for supplies at the base's quartermaster office. He dismissed them afterwards and went back to his visiset.

When she finally reached the general bunk area where all of the soldiers below Sergeant slept she found a large chamber with metal walls with lights hanging overhead. There were two floors connected through a stairwell at one end of the room. The ground floor had nothing more than a collection of tables and chairs and all sorts of equipment. There were also more bunks with metal cabinets next to them and some were occupied. The area was empty so she moved upstairs.

On the upper floor there were dark plastic walls separating three divisions which where connected by a corridor, allowing each squad to have its area adjusted for light. At the end of the corridor Moving past first squad's area to her left she saw through the heavy plastic wall that it was covered in darkness. Only second and third squad's areas were lightened.

As she finally stepped through the hole cut in the plastic wall she saw three bunks on each side of the area. A female soldier with black short hair was inside scrubbing a boot with a piece of cloth while seated on her bed. She wore an insignia on the shoulder of her jumpsuit with a white anchor that had a single small diagonal stripe on its side. She didn't look at her as she got inside but as Markovitch passed she raised her arm. "What are you doing?"

There were three beds empty in the bunks with no indication that anyone was using them. She was heading towards the one at the end of the row and pointed at it. "Hi. Isn't that bunk empty? It sure looks like it so".

The girl's body was lean but it showed also that it was muscled. "But that's a soldier's bunk, honey. The rookies section is over there" She closed her hand into a fist and pointed with her thumb downstairs.

"What? Hey I've just been assigned to this squad. You give this reception to every new arrival?" In dread she already had figured how that the answer was positive. "Complain to the Petty Mellow next time you see him, he gave the order. But that wouldn't be much wise, let me tell ya. Try to relax and don't worry, if you're lucky you will actually end up here".

If you manage to survive. The consequences of not being lucky were to leave in a body bag and in that case it didn't mattered where you slept anymore, Markovitch realized. Things are going just swell.

**********

On another side of the base, Lieutenant Braddock had just checked that Seaman Apprentice Watkins had arrived at the base and had presented herself to her squad. He had been assigned to the naval staff of Sixth Fleet HQ not only because of her but he also wanted to ditch further dangerous combat assignments. Of course being the only Alaskan officer in the staff had its share of problems. Because the combat squads performed operations on the cease-fire Line no one wanted either a US or Alaskan officer filling high command positions on the area. Not only the area had its share of minor confrontations between forces of both countries but also both militaries seemed to look at the X-Com base with extreme suspicion. From its position on the middle of the Pacific the sonars of the base could detect any surface and underwater military deployments. And X-Com already had a bad reputation of interference in local affairs after the Brazilian Union had used their particular teams not just to fight the aliens but also to strike at Argentinean facilities and ships. Of course he now was in a position where he wouldn't have access to any operational matters, unless the Alaskan Politburo decided otherwise.

"Your replacements have arrived like you requested, Commander Gustafson". Braddock showed some pretense of proper officer etiquette by not saying his complete rank, of a lieutenant commander. The other officer was wearing a blue jumpsuit like him the only difference was the pins on their lapels that showed their different ranks. Braddock had a silver anchor with a chain superimposed diagonally on it while Gustafson bore a gold anchor with a chain on its right side. The Lieutenant Commander responsible for combat operations simply nodded. "Let's hope they change your recent losses, hum?"

The Icelandic officer shifted uncomfortably but refrained from answering and got up from his desk and headed towards the corridor. Inside, Braddock smiled as he remembered the mounting debts that Combat Operations had been experiencing on the past months. Technically Gustafson was superior in rank but in really he couldn't give a single order to Braddock. The Lt. Commander had been barely able to keep the unit out of the red ink, according to the files that Braddock had seen when he had arrived to the base. The former officer in charge of General Procurement had set a scheme to milk the combat crews as much as he could, by deliberately delaying supplies and replacement parts. It had worked fairly well until he had gotten too greedy and had started to try to smuggle Zrbite into the black market. At that point the officer had caught the attention of the Inspector-General's office and had warranted him a complete demotion until Seaman rank and his assignment to a combat team. Braddock thought it was a terrible thing to happen but it had cleared the way for Braddock to get to the position where he was now.

Lt. Commander Delacroix had ordered him to keep an eye on her but otherwise keep out of her way and don't make any waves to call up unwanted attention upon himself.

It would be easy.

As Gustafson left the room he activated the visiscreen on his desk and called up his message box. He had already a number of enquiries being sent by the clients of the previous officer that had previously occupied his position. Although the manager of the whole scheme was now alien bait the entire operation had been left intact and it only needed someone who wasn't too greedy.

And he couldn't care less about whom seaman Watkins really was.

 

September 20th, 2044

COMSTKXCOM Office, Norfolk, Virginia, US

 

Every time Admiral Jeanna Kole saw the COMSTKXCOM acronym stamped on the door that led into her personal office she wished that she could have the lettering erased and replaced by something simpler. It stated her official title inside the US Navy, meaning Commander, Strike, X-Com, the officer in charge of all X-Com operations and teams involving US personnel. She was the designated leader of all US X-Com forces although she took her orders from either the Chief of Naval Operations, the Admiral responsible for the Navy or from his superior up in the command ladder, such as the President or the Secretary of Defense.

On every country and economic venture present in the Council she had a similar title, ranging from admiral to marshal or even 'executive officer for anti-alien operations' as the Africa Corporation had named her position. She had never taken any order from their military or political leaders. The only ones who had anything to say about her actions was the Council and even they would be more than satisfied with her as long as she kept the neodollars flowing from the weapons sale. And for four years they had been more than pleased with her style of running one of the most profitable enterprises in the entire world. Most of the stock exchanges were slumbering into depression with the shares listed slowly losing their values over the years. However, the small amount of shares that had been sold, as a way to rise badly needed funds before the boon of Gauss technology had more than tripled their original value. As long as X-Com kept fighting the aliens there would be more than enough money to satisfy everyone on the business.

But to her it didn't matter to whom she was supposed to report and she wasn't even American in the first place. She had no care for dealing with overzealous admirals and bickering politicians which were more interested in going for their own interests or worse, to patriotically defend their nations' interests. Usually such affairs were better left to the X-Com officers in charge of land facilities since they were of the same nationality of the countries were the facilities were based. In the Norfolk case it meant Commodore Gregory Paris, a career Navy officer that had been assigned to X-Com two years ago although he had never served aboard a ship. She was expecting him for a meeting that was scheduled to start in ten minutes and meanwhile she was getting through the paperwork so that she could have a clear idea of what the man had been up to at the base.

Pressing a button on her desk, she called her personal secretary. "Tolk, bring me a cup of tea, please". She didn't like the Norfolk offices either, too cold and impersonal for her own taste. She preferred her own space at the Rotterdam installation back on the Netherlands or even the X-Com Headquarters in Geneva. But the construction of new research facilities to replace the ones lost at SORESO made it necessary for her to personally inspect the few bases that had been selected. She considered further research to be a pure waste of resources since they already knew everything they needed to contain the alien problem. The holovision device on her desk was glimmering with an artificial reality window containing a series of data work files that she would have to review and decide their relative importance. Her near vision was getting bad so she had a set of old fashioned glasses on her nose to help reduce the strain on her eyes. As her vision danced from one file to another, the optic sensors detected her pupil movement and magnified the contents of the files that she was selecting, most of them requests for additional research material and scientists.

The task took her complete attention so she didn't paid attention as the door opened to allow her secretary inside. Stamping another "REFUSED" virtual signature over the document she was reading she passed to the next one. It concerned a request made by a certain Dr. Camay for additional material to research the physical disturbances of the sites the aliens were building all over the world. For a moment Koles simply sent it the same way as the other requests down the trash bin but she thought it better if Inspector Alkeviades also confirmed her opinion. As she was typing a memo to him she noticed that Tolk had already moved by her side and was waiting.

It took a moment for Koles to realize that the person standing next to her wasn't his personal secretary and that unlike Tolk it was wearing a dark blue combat jumpsuit instead of the white dress uniform the Ensign wore. As she started to turn towards him, Koles noticed that it was holding a tea saucer with a steaming cup on his right hand. As her chair continued with the swivel her legs had imparted on it, the tip of her nose nearly hit the muzzle of the gray Gauss pistol the figure was holding on his other hand. The inside of the stubby barrel of the weapon was black. Her nose rose until the glasses at the tip were at the level of the pistol. As she was about to demand an explanation to what was happening her eyes froze as they locked into the dark expression of the man facing her.

"Who are...". Her voice was cut by the cracking sound of the Gauss pistol being discharged. The accelerated particle beam burned through her face and the bone underneath until they finally reached the brain tissue. The blue and white china saucer crashed into the floor and broke into a million pieces, splattering the tea all over the plastic surface. The now faceless body of Admiral Koles followed it a moment later.

[Hobbes]

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Three

[Hobbes]

**********

As she stepped out of the shower Markovitch wondered how much more she would have to spit before getting rid of the toothpaste taste on her mouth and throat. When she exhaled it seemed that she felt the same freshly sensation that moved up her nose and even bothered her nostrils. Her legs felt better from the additional effort that had been required to walk on the sandy bottom but the hot water had helped to relax them a bit.

Redwood had been the one lost on the other team. She had barely known him or Morales, the other soldier who had died while clearing the USO of aliens. But the operation had been a success with a complete craft recovered a small stash of alien equipment and bodies. One thing that made her wonder though was the face of the commander Gustafson when he had been at the deck when the Triton anchored back at Madhouse. His cold face had a small grin on it as he inspected the first contents of the bounty.

The teams on her squad that had participated on the mission were now in rest and recovery status while the remaining members being assigned to help out on the recovery operations. After she was done she would get a large meal at the mess hall and head back for the barracks for a good hours of sleep until next day. When she finished tucking her towel she moved out of the showers area and into the dressing room. She found Marsden there with a bag standing by one of the lockers as the other soldier was removing her boots seated on one of the large benches. She looked at Markovitch and said nothing, continuing to wrest with the ties.

Ignoring her also, Markovitch moved to her locker and started to dress, grabbing underwear and a pair of dark blue shorts.

A voice made both of them to look towards the door. "Hey Marsden, are you there?" The other soldier didn

[Hobbes]

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Four

[Hobbes]

October 3rd, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

 

The mess hall of the main military US headquarters was several blocks away from the X-Com section of the base but for Dr. Camay the quality of the food and the general mood made worth the travel. In the weeks after her arrival at Norfolk she had barely gotten to know anybody on the base besides the scientific personnel with whom she had been working in alien physiology, one of the few subjects where she could contribute to X-Com's research. But in her case it also allowed her to continue her own secret analysis of the alien's molecular control capability, a mixture of mental powers and some unknown physics that allowed them to influence and control things as great as the climate and as little as the mind of a human.

The most logical explanation was that it was somehow related to the psi powers used by the aliens on the first Alien War. However, they were somewhat different to the point that even humans with high skill psi scores were prone to manipulation from the aliens. There was still no explanation for why it happened and most of the few theoretical concepts learned from the research made during the last conflict didn't seem to apply. Also there wasn't anything that could power a working psi device to test any of these. At least not yet, she corrected, hoping that the team responsible for Zrbite research would come up with results soon. Most of the effort at Norfolk was being put into other areas and deciphering the alien mineral's secrets was not considered a high-importance project by whoever was in charge. Officially, the Council had dismissed the project as either 'impossible' or 'inconsequential'. However the budget line that referred to this controversial research had never been erased or even discussed by at the meetings. Camay knew that it was because even the Oil Cartel knew eventually their influence over the world's energy production ability will only vane in the future. While forbidding any use of sonic weapons or anything powered by Zrbite and locking it down they also made sure that if any single country made a breakthrough they wouldn't be caught completely unaware. But at least it kept the Inspector General occupied and away from her own activities.

It was dinnertime and most of the hall was occupied with a mass of servicemen in white, blue and green uniforms, ranging from sailors to marines and other ground personnel. A few dispersed civilians could also be seen, with their colorful and bright clothing standing out in the lines of tables and chairs. She was one of them, with her already advanced age contrasting brightly against the general youth ness of other mess attendants. So far none of the servicemen had even approached her table although it was more for respect than anything against civilians.

She had no problem in eating her lunch by her own but this time a figure also in white lab coveralls approached her, holding a plastic tray with a juice bottle and a boxed sandwiched inside. By the look of the newcomer she realized that the man was barely past his thirties with its forehead and eyes still clear of any wrinkles although his brown hair was starting to turn white. "I'm sorry to disturb, but are you Dr. Camay?"

"Why yes. And who might you be?" From the insignia she already knew that he belonged to the X-Com contingent at the base.

Holding the tray with just one hand the man extended his other hand. "Robert Elliquist, doctor. I'm a scientist myself back at the X-Com research facility but in a different department".

"What department doctor?"

"Xenopological studies, doctor, I'm investigating their culture". The reference made Camay to take a look again at the scientist wondering if he was one of the type that would get himself lost for years in a isolated tribal environment to study them. He looked too much clean and civilized for that but it only made Camay to realize that most likely he lived on that same sort of environment inside X-Com. "That's very interesting doctor to say the least".

"Oh yes and I would like you to ask you a number of questions over lunch if you don't mind doctor".

The request made Camay curious and worried: the alien psi powers were a major part of their culture. Was he going to ask her about them inside a military mess hall where they could be overheard by soldiers?

As he sat down in front of her he noticed her apprehension and replied. "Don't worry doctor. I have done a research on you and I'm are that some of the topics you have covered on your, if I might say, brilliant career are currently not as well seen by the general public. What I would like to know is a bit more of your own personal contact experiences with live aliens. You are one of the few scientists beside me to have been able to have direct communication with aliens since the military take all the captured ones for interrogation and never release them alive. And time is always short nowadays since the extravagance of my project will sure be ended if the Council decides to cut more funding".

"I'd say so far you have been lucky in keeping your research alive? How do you manage that doctor?"

He made a sly smile. "By convincing the Inspector General of the worthlessness of this project to any of the war effort doctor. Studying the alien culture is something that will need to be done but it won't change the war balance and it doesn't bring any controversy at the Council meetings".

"But I'm afraid you are mistaken doctor". The half lie came next. "I'm afraid my contact with aliens basically resumes to when I was fighting them in the first war and dissecting their bodies down at the lab". She didn't add the fact that she had studied all alien life forms encountered so far, from the Aquatoids and Gillmen and the species they used in their terror attacks for the molecular control research.

"Exactly doctor. What I'm trying to find is if there's something on the anatomies of the bodies you have investigated that is common to all of them".

The devices. The name stuck in her tongue as she thought of an appropriate response to the query. It had been found out that all aliens possessed a device located in their body that somehow connected them to a global conscience network. Every time that one of the sites had been activated the small-boxed devices had gone active in response. Nobody knew why the reason at X-Com and the alien technology was simply removed and destroyed for safety reasons. But she had removed the device in surgical operations performed on live aliens and had discovered that the creatures would die the second it was removed.

"There are indications to that matter doctor". She decided to stick to the official explanation to the millimeter.

"Doctor, I understand security clearances. However what I'm trying to determine is how great the absorption of the species and their culture can vary inside the alien society".

Picking a carrot with her fork she brought it to her mouth but remained silent. He sighed and continued. "I had expected it. But in any case I wonder if you could still help me. See I believe I have strong evidence already of the Gillmen being a natural species rather than being developed by the Aquatoids". She looked at him. The Gillmen had first been encountered on the second year of the war and it had been a surprise for both scientists and military commanders.

The autopsies and interrogations of captured prisoners had revealed them to be humanoid reptiles that had green skin and were fully capable of living either on the land or underwater. The official version was that they had been developed from human and reptilian DNA to provide the Aquatoids with a army to take the Earth's oceans.

"You are saying that the Gillmen are like the Snakemen of the previous war? Something that the Aquatoids picked along? That sounds ridiculous".

"Just bear with me doctor. There aren't genetic similarities between Aquatoids and Gillmen. However it is known that the same doesn't apply to Gillmen and humans".

"Of course. The aliens didn't simply create the Gillmen out of nothing: they used humans and that's why we share a lot of DNA with them".

"But in that case why didn't they use also Aquatoid DNA? And why haven't we found the same genetic markers that are equal to both humans and aliens on them". The comment drew hard looks from the sailors that were close enough to hear it and Elliquist dropped his voice. "I believe they once were a fully matured and independent species before they were conquered by the Aquatoids".

She shook her head with a strand of hair falling to her face. "That argument has been used over and over, doctor". Removing it and tucking it back to her ponytail she continued. "The truth is that it would imply that an intelligent species has been living on the bottoms of the oceans of this planet for thousands of years without being discovered or even reported. That would be either the greatest case of blindness or a major error being done in the whole logic".

"I know it sounds preposterous but my research has shown that there might be the right answer. Gillmen it seems, have their own mythology which his preserved on a mental tradition close to our oral or written ones, with the only difference being that they use their mental powers in the process".

"Myths? Do you mean they have a religion?"

"No, it's more of a tradition, stories that are passed from one generation to another. Like children or religious stories".

"But how have you determined that?"

"By examining unclassified reports of interrogations being made on the aliens. The intelligence personnel censor most of the information contained but things like details from their society are revealed. Unlike any aliens ever encountered we have found that there are two genders anatomically and genetically separated, full sexual males and females theoretically capable of sexual reproduction, although the military kept out the part if they ever recorded any couplings made in captivity". The notion of aliens having sex also disgusted Camay and expressed it to Dr. Elliquist, who was quick to stop and apologize".

"It's better if you get to your point doctor".

"Yes, madam. Well, when those reports were released to the scientific community a number of social scientists including myself started to wonder if it was possible for more complex patterns of social behavior to exist inside alien societies. Sexual reproduction by an intelligent species would sure mean the existence of a collective conscience regarding the way they see their society as a whole. That's another aspect we are also trying to figure out, if they have something like families or larger communal institutions or even if there's social differentiation between sexes. But going back to my point, another thing we start to notice on the recordings made of their interrogations was the reference to what was translated into nearly metaphysical expressions. Terms such as 'Paradise', the 'Fallen Ones' and others made us to wonder to what they are referring since those words were always spoken in the past tense".

"Could just be that they are longing for the stars. Depends on your point of view, doctor, although nowadays nobody wants to believe the story that the aliens are trying to contact the Starspawn".

"Oh, I'm well aware of how the Inquisitor General sees such opinions expressed on the scientific papers we present to him. Somehow I've discovered that it's easier to get authorization if those ideas are left out of our final research".

Elliquist smiled and but Camay didn't find it amusing enough and kept looking at him with a neutral expression unwilling to be seen as a potential troublemaker. "Anyway, those matters aren't important to my research. What I want to discover is how Gillmen society might have been organized before their take-over. See, there wasn't any data available on that on the few materials available from the..." The conversation carried on during the rest of the meal although Camay didn't said much and preferred to listen more. At the end she decided to go back to the cafeteria at the X-Com barracks since she was bored to death.

 

October 5th, 2044

Brooklyn, New York City, US

 

John Delaney was dead. He wasn't physically deceased yet but he was sure the clock was ticking against him as he saw the news on the visionset about the death of the admiral that was in charge of X-Com days ago. He had seen the warnings before as he had watched a number of Cult advertisements on the networks and knew that something wrong had happened.

Not something, he told himself, but an inevitable step that he had taken, choosing to ignore all consequences because they would be even worse. Telling the visionset to disconnect he considered what actions were still available to him. He couldn't go back to the Cult now or even require police protection since they would simply think that he was insane. And meanwhile they could start to suspect of his abilities and police officers weren't much sympathetic towards the aliens in general.

Getting up from the sofa, his eyes crossed the beard and beret of the Che Guevara poster that his female friend had chosen to be projected on the wall behind the visionset. 'No pasar

[Hobbes]

X-COM: Abyssal

Chapter Five

[Hobbes]

Close to Queen Charlotte's Island, Canada

 

It had been the second time that the dark blue figure of petty Mellow had lurched forward on his seat to examine the communications and sensor console and that made Markovitch starting to wonder what was the content of the messages he had received. Something unexpected had come up on their way to the target. Those last-minute communications were only made in case of a calling back of the mission or if complications had arrived. Since they hadn't been recalled it could only mean that something had happened and she wished that Mellow or the ensign would inform the rest of the squad of the content of the message. Their silence told her that it wasn't their intention back then and now they only ordered all combat teams to be ready to deploy.

The Triton was only about ninety feet below the surface of the sea and that surprised Markovitch as she looked at the depth meter built on top of the main hatch of the craft. They had flooded their helmets, which was procedure to deploy at greater depths than this one. They could have fought instead using air to breathe that would have also allowed then using the sonar communications devices. There was something else going around at a different depth we were made ready to deploy to both situations. Now it made sense why they were being deployed breathing liquid although it wasn't necessary at this lower depth. Unlocking the safety on her harpoon rifle she grabbed a railing on the wall to secure her position while the Triton landed.

Unlike all touchdowns she had experienced so far this one wasn't like the smooth descend was accustomed but she felt something bruising against the hull of the craft that caused a disturbance on the water. As the Triton felt it got worse with twitching sounds as it finally rested in a somewhat smoother landing than she was waiting for. However there was a slight list portside and when the doors opened she blessed that they hadn't brought the SWS since they would have to dig through the sand for the tank to clear the hatch.

Renton's team were already half way in clearing the space and deploying when she crossed the hatch and found herself in the middle of an aquatic jungle.

The Triton's automatic pilot controls had brought it down in the middle of something Markovitch had never imagined it could happen. She was moving through large trunks of algae tall enough to be the same size of small trees and close to the surface large leaves covered the surface of the sea, allowing small patches of sunlight to break through but giving the feeling of a darkness where a living mass swiveled erratically around her. She immediately looked to Gutierrez knowing that they simply couldn't be racing around otherwise they'd get completely lost and he saw him telling everyone to hold down their positions. She immediately looked searching for the new rookie that had replaced her. He had remembered to keep always Gutierrez on sight and was also waiting with his rifle ready. Take it easy kid. He was definitely holding it tight so far although he fighting hadn't started yet. She was glad he was. If he has shot down she would have to move forward and play scout in the middle of this forest and her leg was holding up so far but she didn't want to take the risk of trusting it would hold out fine.

When the ensign and the petty stepped out of the Triton they also seemed at a loss to react to the forest around them. We need to hit them with everything we got now! The ensign tried to protest while Mellow punched some orders with his arms. He was telling them that they should disperse and clear the area. It pissed her off since she knew that they should simply advance until they found the aliens and attack them. She felt closer to be fighting on a jungle with all the kelp algae that surrounded the troopers.

Holding a position far to her left side, Crazy T wrestled uneasily to clear the barrel of his gas cannon free from the floating leaves and branches that littered the bottom of the sea. He was barely managing to maintain visual contact with his fireteam leader and knew that he was covering that entire flank. As they moved forwards his anxiety started to rise as the other soldiers completely vanished from his sight. Then the corner of his eye picked up movement.

Steadying himself on his feet as he turned his weapon he immediately tracked a dark swimming shape that glittered for a second as it passed below the light of a clear surface patch.

The recoil from the discharge of first gas HE round made him tremble a bit as his right feet slipped down a loose dead branch on the sandy bottom. Hissing as it sped towards the target the warhead detonated as it missed the figure and struck a group of kelp halfway to the moving figure. His verbal curses only come out as low mumbles due to the liquid he was breathing and as he searched again for the alien he discovered that had vanished from sight. But they were also overshadowed by the sound of the explosion of the grenade.

Petty Mellow already knew that they were in trouble before the rumble of the high explosive reached his position. While they had been advancing he had lost any visual sight with his fireteam leaders plus both Costa and the rookie. The direction of the noise told him that it was Barnby's team that had made contact with the aliens. Grabbing his torpedo launcher steadier he moved towards the position through the kelp forest.

Moving as quickly as possible across the field Markovitch wondered with no more shots had been overheard after the first one and she was starting to think that someone had confused something else for an alien. She had just entered a somewhat clearer section in the middle of the kelp as she saw also the same figure that Crazy T had seen, a sleek dark creature with a tail and limbs.

She dropped her weapon when she realized that she was looking at a brown sea otter that had just immediately flipped his body and sped towards the protection of the large leaves.

Someone had seen the sea otter as well.

A harpoon bolt flew from Renton's fireteam direction as a nervous and inexperienced rookie mistook the aquatic mammal for an alien and discharged his weapon at it. It missed badly but the sound of the round's propulsion jet jumped started the entire squad into action since their nerves were already alerted by the initial gunfire. The waters became alive with the cracking noise made by the Gauss rounds, together with the long hisses and puffs of the older gas and hydro jet operated weapons. A second afterwards another sound joined them as explosions rocked the giant algae and burst several trunks tearing the leaves down with the ripple waves from the blasts disturbing the ones still standing upwards. As Markovitch looked for the otter she couldn't see its sleek shape anymore amongst the bubbles formed by the explosions and a floating green mass composed of shredded and blasted algae leaves and branches.

The X-COM troopers couldn't find any targets and they just kept shooting at anything in front of them that moved. For seconds the area around their positions was simply blasted by every weapon on the squad as Markovitch crouched down to avoid getting hit by a stray shot. A muffled thud told her that even the petty had fired his torpedo launcher. She got more worried since all of the commotion they were wrecking on the area would signal the aliens their location.

The low whining of the general recall sound made her to get back up as the soldiers in the kelp forest stopped shooting and looked at their team leaders for orders. Gutierrez was standing several yards also at the edge of the clearer area but her attention was on a blue figure that rested again the bottom of the ocean with his helmet releasing a constant stream of air bubbles. Close to him, petty Mellow was running to reach the position of the fallen X-COM soldier.

By the time the NCO reached the light blue downed figure he could see that it was bad. Not because of the loss of air since they were breathing liquid and it didn't matter but because of the red blood that was flooding into the water. It was the rookie they had brought along from first squad. Damn! Mellow muttered as he took out the glove and tried to feel the rookie's vital signals. No pulse and sign of no breathing.

A quick examination of the body turned the story: the man had been shot at the back but the shot hadn't stopped at the breathing equipment carried on the backpack. It had carved into the rookie's spinal cord and severed the neural connections of the brain to underneath the neck. His body had simply stopped working and there was nothing they could. But Mellow wondered about who had fired the shot. The wound didn't have the cauterized look of a sonic round but instead the bloody edges of a Gauss one. As Mellow saw a trooper in dark blue armor moving forward with his weapon lowered he knew he had the answer.

He got up and looked at the approaching X-COM troopers he was about to mention them that the rookie was KIA but as one of them stopped suddenly he started to pay attention to it also.

A low rumbling could be heard after the noise of the explosions had subsided like the sound of water being dropped on a hot plate. There was something burning hot below the sea and it could was close. But what could it be? There were no reports of underwater volcanic activity reported at this region. Mellow suddenly realized that they were against a large USO, not one of the smaller scouts. Then he saw it for the first time and was shocked at how close it was. They had been looking at the level of the bottom but the craft was tall and large enough to stand out in the middle of the darkened kelp forest. Pointing towards it he started issuing orders to the rest of the squad and deal with the death of the rookie later.

The dark yellow hull of the USO resolved itself against the green mass as Milinic moved closer to it with Markovitch keeping an eye in case any alien decided to pop up of the kelp. She had never seen a two level type of craft before and this one stood at more than twenty feet, about two-thirds of the height of the green trunks. The thing could even have more levels but the branches made them invisible. As the rookie circled the craft as Gutierrez was ordering to she felt a sea urchin below one of her feet and dropped to her knees to remove the sharp spikes that had become impaled in the sole of her boot. They weren't hard enough to penetrate the rubber suit but they made it difficult to get a steady position for her feet. Her leg was already a bit too stiff to her liking but so far she had made it out with no problems.

Quickly moving in the direction of the rest of her team she found that the rookie was by now keeping an eye at a pair of twin doors that stood on what she assumed was the stern of the craft. The aliens had a tendency to place the entrance to their USOs on that location.

The rest of the squad was also catching up and when she and Milinic stood by both sides of the doors they had ready half a dozen men ready to support their entry.

Pressing her hand against the yellow metal she activated the touch mechanism that controlled the movement of the door and it sent the tough aqua plastic plates sliding into their positions inside the hull and revealing a dark interior. Both soldiers raised their harpoon rifles and stepped inside as Kern finished switching the ammo on his gas cannon into armor piercing rounds more suitable for close combat. On his side the dark blue figure of Gutierrez had his bright gray Gauss readied also.

The doors led into a large chamber with bright green walls that stood for more than fifteen feet height and where two small balconies could be seen leading into the upper level of the craft. A pair of entryways was below the rectangular openings as the chamber squeezed in the middle of the craft and the team split up in pairs and each one approached the middle of the craft.

Where are the aliens? She kept waiting for the green figure of a Gillman or an Aquatoid to pop out and start shooting at the soldiers but so far they had by now reached a flight of stairs that led into the upside chamber that they had spotted from the entry doors. There were dark marks on the walls as if stray shots had hit them but that was impossible since the X-COM soldiers hadn't discharged yet their weapons inside the craft.

As Milinic light blue suit started climbing the stairs carefully she waited below to check on a pair to closed doors that led into another compartment at the bow of the craft. They also opened easily and a quick look told her that the inside was also dead but not empty like the rest of the craft. The rectangular shapes placed on the floor of the chamber were the ones she had seen before on other craft and that were the USO's propulsion systems. But unlike the intact ones she had seen these ones were mangled and destroyed with the metal still releasing streams of bubbles. The lights mounted on her helmet also picked more dark stains on the green metal but the hull hadn't been breached by the explosions something also surprising since Zrbite usually exploded with quite a large destructive power. The force of the blast had been quite recent since there was still parches of something burning up on the wall that bathed the chamber in an orange light. The substance could only be phosphorous or something that generated heat enough during the combustion to even burn underwater. The temperature of the water on the chamber was more akin to a jacuzzi so she decided to leave.

She stepped back next to the flight of stairs and saw Mellow already onboard the craft and at the beginning of the stairs. Waving one hand in front of her she told him that it was clear and then followed him upstairs.

The upper level of the USO consisted of the bridge and two small chambers from which troopers had just come out from and giving the all clear sign. The bridge of the ship had also been blasted apart and in some cases she wondered if grenades had been used. But there was a complete absence of alien bodies or their weapons. The entire vessel was nothing more than a 'ghost ship' and the alien crew was either dead or had vanished without a trace. Mellow and the other troopers also seemed at a loss as they looked all around the craft.

What has happened back there? The question rummaged through Markovitch's mind as she sat on the Triton and opened her helmet. After the troopers had spent nearly two hours combing through the kelp forest they had found no trace of the aliens and were now heading back to Madhouse after the recovery teams had started loading the nearly empty hulk of the USO. With the exception of the rookie's death it had been a most uneventful mission although that would change when the team got back at the base and the whole matter of the friendly fire incident was investigated. The helmet cracked open and a flood of breathing liquid came down her chest and slid down the seat until it joined the ever-growing pool that was on the bottom of the Triton.

Markovitch waited until the breathing gear had cleared the helmet of the fluorocarbon liquid with her mouth closed. Petty Mellow had finally ordered the squad to go back to air breathing as the mission was over and the Triton was already on its way back to Madhouse. Around her she heard the soldiers coughing as she finally opened her mouth and started throwing away the liquid on her mouth and throat.

As the involuntary muscles on her lungs started functioning they pressed the liquid still inside them over her trachea until it finally reached her larynx. The automatic reaction of her body was to expel the liquid and she started coughing nearly without control as more and more of it came from her lungs and was expelled amongst saliva to the bottom of the Triton. When she finally managed to regain control of her breathing she already had tears growing at the corner of her eyes. Looking past the water on them she found the rookie's worried face looking at her until she gave him a thumbs-up. He had been the first to clear the liquid and had nearly thrown-up, which would have been disastrous if it had happened at the beginning of the process but she had guided him in and he had managed to control it long enough until his lungs had cleared all liquid. Then he had thrown up the floor of the Triton completely. Most likely Mellow would assign him to extra cleaning detail when they arrived at the base.

The petty officer was already breathing normally again and looking down with his hair and mustache still completely wet from the liquid but from time to time he would look across the cargo section of the Triton. Markovitch could see to who he was looking. Everyone on the squad had also figured out by now what had happened before they had boarded the ghost alien ship.

The body of the rookie had been placed against the wall that separated the cargo section from the frontal area of the transport craft. It had been wrapped up in one of the body bags that were which were a permanent gear item assigned to every Triton. Renton knew it also has he refused to look at anyone and simply stared at the black figure on the ground. In a sharp movement he removed the ammunition clip in anger and placed down the weapon next to him. Then he simply looked down in resignation during the rest of the flight as the rest of the crew also refrained from saying anything.

 

October 17th, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

 

"Enter". Delacroix removed his hand from the palm reader as he heard the command that came through the small speaker installed above the electronic identification device. The metal door slipped to let him inside the small alcove that led him into the personal office of the deceased Admiral Koles that now had been occupied by Commodore Gregory Paris, the interim commander of X-COM.

As the door closed behind him he relaxed and waited for the scan to be complete. Commodore Paris had ordered the addition small chamber recently to the office and it was a weapons detector in case any other attempt was made at X-COM's commanding officer. The sensors embedded on its walls were capable of detecting any metal, plastic, chemicals or biological agents present on Delacroix's body and clothes that might be a threat. In case the computer system detected any, the twin doors would stay closed and prevent any attempt of escape while a tranquilizer gas was released and a security team immediately detached to retrieve the person trapped inside.

When the door in front of him finally opened, Delacroix knew as expected that he had passed the test. His eyes immediately scanned the antechamber that led into Koles's office and he noticed the changes since the last time he had been here. Now a pair of combat troops in blue aqua-plastic armor stood by the door fully armed with gray Gauss rifles that quickly snapped into attention has he walked inside the room. The ensign that was Paris' aide quickly rose from his chair on the right side but Delacroix simply ignored him and started walking towards the guards. "Commander, you may enter....".

By the time he reached the door he had stopped paying attention to the junior officer. Both guards briefly looked at him from their aqua-plastics glass helmets, with one of them bringing up his eyes into the infinite while the second took a second longer.

They didn't move from the front of the door so Delacroix simply stopped in front of them and said in a low voice. "Just don't take too long getting your asses out of there or I might get impatient".

"Commander" The shocked voice of the Ensign came from behind him. "You still need to present yourself to my desk. You are not following the new security protocols" Half turning towards the smaller man, who now seemed to be completely dumbfounded. The doors swung open and the blond bearded figure of Commodore Paris appeared, wearing the white close fit trousers and jacket of staff officers. Pushing the soldiers aside the officer demanded: "What is going on here?"

Waiting in silence Delacroix simply took attention of the whole situation as the ensign tried to explain and made a fool out of himself. "Sir, I was explaining to the commander the new..." Jerking his hand back Paris ordered him to shut up. "Next time just allow the commander to enter my office, is that understood?" Then, not waiting for an answer he simply moved back inside with Delacroix stepping behind him and closing the doors.

When he turned back towards the commanding officer he saw him standing up while scratching his rugged blonde beard. Giving a quick salute with his right hand, he said: "Lieutenant Commander Paul Delacroix reporting as ordered sir".

Saluting back Paris replied. "You sure haven't changed in two years Delacroix. Your attitude is still the same. Please have a seat. We have business to discuss". The dark-haired man remained on his position, his dark blue suit and beret contrasting with the higher officers' whites. "What do you want sir?"

The attitude made Paris to shake his head and quit. "Fine, stay up if you like. Just remember one thing and just find a way to carve it into that mass of stone that you have for a brain. One thing is to bully those half-brained taddies out there with your pose. But I won't tolerate that sort of attitude inside this room, understood?" He tapped the admiral's pins on his lapel. "Those count for something else".

Delacroix simply said nothing for one second then he relaxed his arms, moving them from behind his back and to his sides. "Sure Gregori. And by the way congratulations on your new position. Going from lieutenant commander to admiral in two years is quite an achievement. I doubt that any other officer in here would be able to achieve it. It takes a very special person to get to that position".

The change of mood into a personal setting startled Paris. "Gregori? I don't recall giving you permission to address me with such familiarity commander".

"Neither do I sir. But I've noticed that it seems one of the easiest ways to advance your career around here". Anger flashed on Paris eyes for one second as he caught the implicit implication on Delacroix's sentence. Then he shot back. "Do I detect a tone of resentment there commander? Are you angry that you're still at the same rank after two years while I've moved upwards to commodore?"

"Everyone has their own personal merits, admiral. You probably have mistaken the tone of my voice. If so I apologize for any misinterpretation that you might have understood. I only meant that it's a well known fact in every job, either military or civilian, that you won't get promoted unless you play along with the rest of the team, admiral".

A sleazy grin on Paris's lips told Delacroix that he had just said what the other man had just heard what he wanted. Or at least what he thinks he wants. "Indeed it is. Yes indeed it is. Don't call me admiral yet, Paul. Until the Council approves it I'm still a commodore". The only thing missing are actually the signed papers that confirm you as admiral. Delacroix added mentally, since he had already noticed the newly minted insignia on the collar of the other man and his name and rank on the door. "I'm sure you'll be their first choice for the position...Gregori". He twisted the sound of the name it made Paris to give him again a hard look as confusion took the man about if Delacroix was simply being nice or simply sarcastic. But the neutral tone of his voice didn't give more of an argument for the superior officer. He quit after a second and headed back to his desk.

"In any case, there are some decisions right now that are within my power as a commodore and that I must take. As you know the base is in need of a combat operations officer after Captain Canteno was killed a week ago by that alien sniper in the Bermudas".

"I regret to inform the admiral that I'll have to decline the offer, sir". Paris kept his bewilderment well conceived, thought the officer as Paris digested his refusal.

"Now wait a minute Delacroix. You know how much we have pushed the several councilmen to replace Koles by a more competent officer. The same happens to the majority of the combat commanders on this outfit and now you are telling me that you have to refuse the position. Why?" Because you need a scapegoat that can be used at any time in case things turn sour and you know just enough about me to transform me into one. It was true that him and a number of other officers had been most critical of Koles and her overall strategy. They had held informal meetings off base to discuss the matter and Paris had been one of the attendants. Delacroix had immediately tagged him since then as an opportunist, someone smart enough to recognize the way the mob was turning and place himself on front to reach a higher seat. So far Paris hadn't gone against his initial assessment of him but he didn't matter since it also made the superior officer predictable and like any soft-bellied politician absent of ideas very susceptible to hear any ideas that would contribute to his personal improvement.

"You know my background. I only wish to defeat the aliens and preferably with my own hands. I don't want to get myself assigned to a position that is almost useless to the war effort. Land force commanders are nothing more than paper pushers around here". Which is about what I have to do know, unless I want to risk going to the field with a bunch of half-trained soldiers that care more about getting their bonus payments at the end of the month than to actually kill the aliens. Although Delacroix was officially listed on the X-COM roster as a combat officer, he hadn't been placed in charge of any unit or department but had been instead assigned to the pathetic section that was supposed to be handling military intelligence. He considered the title of the S-2 section as double misleading. Not only the personnel assigned to it made no effort to even try to look military but also their IQs rated slightly more than those of a clam. Instead the unofficial tasks given to him by Williams had been of gathering as much information as possible regarding the aliens and taking care of special operations.

"You know, your talking about paper pushing is something weird, considering what your current assignment is". Knowing that Paris wouldn't quit just yet he simply made a grimace. "We need to know as much as we can from them. Then," he made a fist with his right hand and struck his left palm with it in a quick movement that nearly made Paris jump on his chair, "we destroy all traces of their presence on this planet". Paris knew it well that he simply couldn't give any order to him since he felt off his command and he also knew what his true motivations were. "I thought you were past that inquisitor stuff". Rubbing his hand against his white coat he continued. "Look Paul, what I truly need is someone who can stir things a bit around here, who can talk to the several currents of opinion that right now we have among the force' officers". You need someone who can control the most radical ones amongst us. Like Delacroix, a number of officers and soldiers inside X-COM had either belonged to the Inquisitors' movement and everyone in the council knew it, although no one had ever bothered to investigate their hidden background. When the aliens had resurfaced on 2039 he had simply asked for reassignment from the Navy to X-COM and other former members who were in the military had also do the same. But the truth is: you can't do it. Nobody can. And that because no one knew how far X-COM was filled with former inquisitors since they all acted independently from one another and each had their own opinions on how to deal with the aliens and all things related to them. "You know what I'm talking about don't you?"

"I can guess sir. However I doubt that I'd be of much assistance on that matter". Which is the truth after all. "You'll just have to find some other officer better suited for the job". And watch out your back because otherwise someone might get pissed if you try to manipulate them. Delacroix's attention moved back towards the scanning chamber. Or maybe you're smart enough to already know that.

When he looked back to Paris, the commodore was giving in an appraising look but he quickly concealed it. Drawing his attention back to the corridor, he stuffed his hands inside his pants pockets and started wondering just how smart his commanding officer might be. Paris seemed to concede defeat but before he dismissed Delacroix, the younger officer stepped in the conversation again. "Very well. In that case, let's go back to the other subject of why I'm here. Have you seen the top secret report from Madhouse concerning their latest USO recovery?"

The mention to the Hunter vessel that had been recovered by Markovitch and her squad puzzled Paris. "You mean the 'ghost ship'?" What makes it so special? Most likely the aliens had some sort of a technical malfunction and the crew abandoned the craft before the Triton arrived".

"Commodore, the squad reported that they saw sonic blast marks all over the hull of the craft before it was dismantled by the recovery teams". None of the twenty people working on MI had noticed that small detail on the report or they had dismissed it. "Now, unless I'm mistaken only the aliens mount sonic weapons on their craft. Something fired those weapons at the USO, either to force its landing or when it had already set down".

Paris fidgeted scornfully before speaking "Commander, get one thing straight from this moment on. I'm not Admiral Koles and I know that she would pay no attention to this recovery. I'm still not sure of why I'm doing it myself but for the sake of not being accused to listen to any advice I'll let you go on with that idea since I'm sure that you must have a solid motive for it".

"There's talk among the scientists that there might be a rift between Gillmen and Aquatoids and that both date back millions of years".

Paris scowled again at him and spat in an ironic tone. "I wasn't aware that the Inspector General had approved such a line of research nor that the council had even discussed the official position regarding the alien's origins Commander".

"Neither are they in possession of this information. On the contrary of you, that now have knowledge that things might be changing in the future".

"The speculation regarding the alien's origins has been lasting for years commander! There is absolutely no proof..."

"The evidence will be brought forward in time, Paris".

"Those are not proper ways to address a superior officer Delacroix" The outburst made the security guard to open the door in preoccupation but the X-COM officer simply replied in a neutral voice. "I apologize, sir. Still it will be up to you to decide on these matters. I shall take your time no more and request permission to leave". Paris was still trying to compose himself from his display of anger and simply nodded to him. Delacroix passed by a surprised trooper on his way out that closed the door after him. Next time you are going to hear me out really good. He intended to keep his own promise.

[Hobbes]

X-COM: Abyssal

Chapter Six

[Hobbes]

North Pacific

 

The alien attack on Kodiak Island had been raging for hours while the Triton from Madhouse Rock was traveling towards the location as the base had been immediately alerted.

Petty Mellow was standing by the flight console on the cargo area and holding a heavy Gauss rifle instead of his usual torpedo launcher. Markovitch had never seen one of those so far. The weapon seemed cumbersome but he seemed to have to problem carrying it although the scowl on his face showed that he was worried and so was Markovitch. Gutierrez had explained to her that the harpoon weapons like her rifle would still work over water but she still felt unsure about using it on a conventional fight. Plus they were using their water suits and their light blue color completely dismissed any thoughts of camouflage plus the lack of their helmets meant that their heads were completely unprotected.

"Like fish on dry land hum?" Kern stood next to her as always but instead of the jet harpoon cannon he had switched like the others to a gas cannon whose shells were propelled by a long burst of the charge on housed on their bottom.

"These clam heads back at base have no notion of reality. We could fight better if we had conventional weapons and flak jackets".

"Yeah, file a complaint Watkins. Who knows, maybe they will listen to ya. And while you're at it ask also for world peace". Kern stood at his feet like the rest of the others and holding one of the several leather straps that hung from the ceiling. A sudden hop made him stagger and she had to move and grab him on the shoulder to help him steady. The tip of the barrel of his weapon also poked at Ensign Costa's face, who glazed in annoyance at them. The Colaecanth tank was completely useless, except for the Aquatoids to have some target practice, since its torpedo launchers were designed to work inside water. So Mellow had to press the entire squad into service, including the helpless officer who was supposed to be the deputy commander of the entire unit.

But both Markovitch and Kern quickly ignored the officer as everyone inside the Triton was suddenly projected sideways as the flying craft made a quick change of course. "Ensign, where the hell are you taking us?" Mellow was angry enough and looked at the wall on the direction of the cockpit, although he couldn't access it since it was sealed from the main body of the Triton. "Turn back to that LZ! Now"

The reply came soon afterwards as the pilot finally steadied the flying sub. "No can do petty. The Militia's commander ordered us off by the radio". He spoke in a casual manner but Mellow's answer was more emphatic as his head started turning red, something that didn't went unnoticed by many of the soldiers as they eavesdropped in the conversation to try to find out what was going on. "Tell the Militia to go screw themselves! This is our jurisdiction" Mellow apparently had forgotten that Books had command of the mission until he dropped them off, after which they weren't any of his concern anymore, only the craft.

"Petty, hold on your pants". Quite a few soldiers felt the urge to laugh at the officer's comment since but by now they had all activated the tactical radios that they used on the low-depth missions where they breathed oxygen instead of the liquid fluorocarbon mix. No one dared although a couple of grins were passed through as Mellow addressed the squad inside the flying sub as it turned to a different heading.

"We just got reassigned. The remaining aliens broke through the Militia cordon that was keeping them pinned to the storage areas. They're moving back into the port facilities and the Militia wants us to stop them until they can reorganize". That seemed to make things clear for Mellow who signaled everyone to lock and load their weapons.

"Shit" Gutierrez comment was low but still audible to the rest of his team's members as he flipped a clip into his Gauss rifle. They were the first team to deploy, meaning that they had to cover the side of the Triton's door and bring down any aliens that might interference with the landing.

"Hey, no big problem right? We'll just have to hold them back?" Both Kern and Markovitch looked at Vantauskas. The Lithuanian rookie was looking in anticipation for his third mission, having survived his first two without a scratch. She was a little expectful that he would make it past the five mission limit but she couldn't have much hope. Most of the rookies she had known during her months here were dead and several had been sent back to shore with something missing from their bodies, usually the limbs. One of the casualties had half his bowels dissolved by a sonic round but he had been stabilized quickly enough and had made it back to a hospital where a series of long surgeries had fixed whatever remained of his intestines.

"Almost kid". She was at least fifteen years older than him. "We'll have to hold them back...at any cost if this fight is going to end". As he considered that thought the radio from the cockpit buzzed again with the voice of Books. "Petty, we're right on the LZ. See that building on the right at two o'clock? The space between it and the tower? I can bring you right down there. It seems clear of any aliens".

Without waiting for a reply the Triton dropped down, its boxy shape shaking as the atmospheric engines turned into vertical landing mode. The vibration made all the aquanauts inside to grab the leather straps even tighter and Markovitch muttered to herself that even the Skyrangers were a smoother ride than the half-breed sub/plane that they were using.

When the craft finally touched on the ground the bump was felt over the entire hull, as the Triton lacked either wheels or landing skis and rested on its bottom. "Kern, Watkins, right side. Me and Vantauskas will take left". Right after Gutierrez's words the door slid to the side and her fireteam immediately stepped out into the harbor.

A light drizzle and mist hung upon the air, with the Sun partially blocked by the clouds, already forming small puddles of water on the concrete. To her right Markovitch saw a empty checkpoint, with the vehicle yellow and black barrier still down while a figure moved inside.

"Aquatoid! Two o'clock" She immediately called and Kern turned his bulky Gas cannon firing a round that broke through the glass window of the small hut, shattering it before the entire guardhouse burst into flame. Looking around she saw that Ensign Books had landed close to the bank of the harbor, with a high metal fence separating their position from the blue waters. That area was full of wood containers, oil barrels and a number of low metal walled buildings and a humanoid figure suddenly jumped into sight ten meters away from them.

First Markovitch confused it to be one of the dock workers but quickly the circular metal helmet and the brown uniform it wore told her otherwise. "Calcinite! Shit" A trooper from behind her gave the warning as her jet harpoon was already turning to aim on the alien terrorist.

Pressing the trigger the weapon shot a three-round burst but all missed the alien, instead hitting the crates and the metal wall behind the creature as it charged towards their location. Other aquanauts took a number of potshots as they rushed past her position, hitting it with at least one Gauss round that sent the creature spinning sideways.

But before she could take another shot, amidst the cracking noise of Sonic rounds and the lesser pitch of the sounds made by human weapons she heard something that made her turn towards the tail of the sub.

A small blue and red globe rolled as it fell on the ground, on the area nearby Gutierrez before a flash filled her vision and all battle sounds suddenly ceased to be heard. The blast wave of the sonic pulser threw Vankauskas towards her, pushing her to the ground with his body, as the side of the Triton was engulfed in a wave of flame as the sonic pulse from the alien grenade detonated the oil inside the barrels, setting off secondary blasts amidst the sound of another pulser explosion to the back of the Triton.

The explosions hit several X-COM aquanauts, most of them simply vaporized as the powerful blast hit their unprotected bodies. Petty Mellow was thrown into the metal fence but apparently his aqua-plastic armor protected him as he got up from the ground and started shouting orders as soon as he got up, while ensign Costa finally decided to step out of the Triton, looking in horror at the scene of mayhem and destruction before and freezing at the door, Vantauskas body was limp and as she started to push him away from him she noticed that blood was oozing out of his ears. Checking his pulse Markovitch discovered that he was dead.

"Jesus! Watkins, are you alright?" Kern approached her, still dazzled by the explosion as his face showed burn marks on his temples and forehead.

She didn't bother to answer and scrambled to get up after finding her jet harpoon rifle. "Where's Gutierrez?" As she looked to the area where their fireteam leader was standing less than a minute ago she only saw the mangled remains of his Gauss rifle, all blackened by the explosion. "Dead and Vantauskas also. Let's get out of here before more grenades start raining on us".

A cry of pain caught both soldiers' attention as Petty Mellow stumbled back into their sight, its dark blue aquaplastic armor scorched and twisted all over his torso and the white bone of his left shoulder socket barely visible between the black remains of what used to be his left arm. Costa froze at the sight of the crippled NCO as Mellow gathered its strength and approached him, his still intact right arm grabbing the ensign's back of his neck while his mouth was clenched and his white teeth cringed in pain. Then Markovitch and Kern watched as his eyes turned upwards and he collapsed.

"Oh Jesus" Costa stood petrified for a moment before he panicked and started on a run towards the metal fence. As he dashed Markovitch got up to his feet, while Kern rushed to the NCO's aid but quickly discovered that he was dead.

"Anyone out there? What is going on?" The voice of Books, who was on the cockpit of the Triton, came to her ears as she saw Costa jumping from the pier to the water and decided that the officer had actually taken a wise decision since it would be better if the junior officer stood out of this one.

"This is Watkins. Mellow is dead and Costa just turned chicken". Curses came over the line as the surviving squad members heard her grim announcement. Burton and Crazy T came from their position at the aft of the craft with the taller assistant seaman shoving Burton with his Gas cannon. "Ass wipe! You should have gotten that Aquatoid"

"What happened?" Markovitch demanded as it looked that the LZ was finally clear but at a grievous cost.

"This idiot can't shoot straight! He failed to get that alien that was lobbing those grenades at us! Barnby and Milinic are dead because of him" Then he looked at the corpses nearby and nearly threw himself at Burton but Markovitch stepped between both of them. "Shut up T! We got bigger problems now"

Then the tactical radio crackled with Renton's voice. "All teams! We're being pinned by aliens on the building to the bow of the Triton! We could use some help around here"

Looking around, she counted more two fallen bodies that Mellow had just checked and left alone. Of the fourteen aquanauts at least five, including their squad leader, were dead while Costa was out of the fight, leaving only her and the three soldiers around to deal with the aliens present on this section of the oil facility.

"Watkins, you better move your lovely ass to Renton and give him some help. I can't do much from here"

Get moving or no one will make it back. Immediately she jumped into action, shouting to the three soldiers."Follow me"

Oil mixed with the water on the wet floor turning it into a rainbow of colors as she and Kern rushed forward, with Crazy T and Burton on tow, past the cockpit of the Triton where Books was furiously trying to get the Triton back airborne. A sonic round whizzed above their heads before hitting the ground and making a smoking hole.

She saw Renton and Marsden taking cover on the metal pillars of the tower nearby the Triton and firing their weapons at the second floor of a white building whose walls were becoming pocketed with blast marks. Joining him below the flight of stairs that led into the upper level she asked. "How are we doing?"

"Bad". Renton stepped out of his cover and fired an auto shot at the building before hiding again. "Ballard and Ewing are dead. What happened back there? Where's Gutierrez?"

She shook her head. "We're the only ones left and that puts you in charge". Renton grimaced as he counted them and tried to decide on what to do.

"Watch out" The large head of an Aquatoid appeared on one of the windows and fired his Sonic Cannon at their direction, barely missing Marsden, who afterwards rushed from her position to the cover of one of the large low metal buildings that littered the area. She fired her rifle in response but the alien went back to cover.

"Any ideas Watkins?" The surviving aquanauts standing underneath the tower were trying to bring down the alien snipers on the building, along with the other team.

"We need to rush their position".

"Ballard already tried. A Calcinite on the ground floor ripped him into pieces as he stepped inside". Looking at Kern, who was trying to find a target for his Gas Cannon, her sight dropped to a orange painted clip on his belt. "Kern! Load up the phosphorous and lit the place up" First he looked at her in confusion but then he stepped back to the safety of a pillar as she called upon Crazy T to do the same with his weapon.

Turning toward her, Marsden asked defiantly. "Watkins, who the fuck put you into charge?" Mellow's angry voice came in reply.

Ignoring the female aquanaut and putting all her strength and determination on her voice she ordered. "Crazy T: switch to the ground floor afterwards. Burn the fuckers now"

For a second nothing happened then two rounds came flying towards the second floor and through the windows, with two short explosions afterwards that sent flames to the outside. Renton's voice came next, as both Crazy T and Kern switched fire to fill the inside of the building with fire: "Everyone, do as she says. Geady for them as they leave"

A loud shriek was heard and through the metal door on the floor the Calcinite came first, its brown diving suit filled with flame. Instantly the alien was fired upon and dropped by all X-COM soldiers, before it had even covered half the distance to the other team. One of the Aquatoids also rushed forwards a few moments later holding a Sonic Rifle and firing furiously at its human tormentors but the creature took shot from Markovitch's jet harpoon on its chest that rocked him backwards and it fell dead on the ground a couple of moments later.

"Let's move out" Renton's voice came next as the remaining Aquatoid came to one of the windows, its body on fire and trying in anguish to escape the smoke and fire hell that the second floor had turned into and jumped to the outside, landing on its head after a ten meter fall.

After going through the building and finding the burnt remains of another Aquatoid inside, Renton and Markovitch stopped inside the building and while they recharged their weapons he asked her. "OK, now what?"

"We hang out until the Alaskans get here. Find a strong position and fortify it". A crashing sound was heard from the above levels and both of them looked upwards. The other four aquanauts had spread around the room and were keeping an eye outside. "This place is coming down". At Renton's warning she rushed to an inner door, she kicked it open, finding only an empty office, with papers spread over the floor and pavement.

"Come here Renton" When the leading seaman got inside the office she pointed towards a long and low brick building that was close to the administration building, whose upper windows were still intact, with a metal tower standing behind it. "Sounds like home to me".

He looked unsure to the building and pointed towards the metal door on its front. "There's got to be another one on the other side".

"Fine. I'll circle it and take Kern with me. You and Crazy T rush the front. Marsden and Burton can cover us in case any alien shows up while we are approaching it".

"We got a plan. Good luck" Calling Kern, she stepped outside the administration building as the ceiling started to release smoke. The aquanaut's expression was less than thrilled but he readied his Gas cannon and moved behind her, each pair of soldiers rushing five meters before kneeling down while the other run to reach his position. Then they would repeat the process, taking cover on the metal containers spread around the dock. It took them less than thirty seconds to cover the distance and meanwhile Books had informed them that the Alaskans were closing from that direction to link with the X-COM squad. He also said that Costa had apparently cooled off from the swim he had taken and had came back to the craft but since he was fearful that the ensign would panic again he had ordered the officer to remain inside the Triton.

When the four soldiers finally reached the eastern brown brick wall, Markovitch moved over to the back of the building but as she finally stepped into the other side a sonic round crackled from above and she hear a cry of pain behind her.

Her eyes scanned upwards and she saw an Aquatoid standing on the tower above them: apparently the alien must have waited for them to approached and his shot had hit Kern, who now retreated backwards, his hand gripping his stomach tightly. Pointing her harpoon rifle upwards she tracked the alien as it started to move back towards the small room on top of the tower and pressed the trigger.

But instead of the whizzing sound that she was expecting a small clank she heard briefly a small clank as the jet harpoon got stuck into something inside the yellow barrel and the compressed propellant discharged most of its power still inside the tube before the growing pressure finally forced the harpoon out of the barrel but not without the recoil kicking the weapon out of her hands.

Shit. The misfire on the barrel of the jet harpoon snapped the lightweight composite tube like a broken twig of a tree as she looked desperately at the weapon. A small dent near the ruined section told her what had happened: she must have inadvertently hit something on that location of the rifle's barrel and when she had discharged the weapon the jet-propelled round it had simply got stuck inside and the propellant had detonated there. She had never considered that the weapon's resistance would be lesser in the surface than in the war and therefore had never thought of taking extra care when holding the harpoon rifle on land. Why couldn't they just give us some old-fashion lasers! She immediately dropped the weapon and jumped to the direction of a wooden crate, since she was standing on open ground and the Aquatoid would easily pick her like shooting fish on a barrel.

A cracking sound and a small explosion to the top of the crate where she had just taken cover told her that the Aquatoid hadn't forgotten about her. Throwing the useless weapon aside she crawled to the left and peaked.

The alien was still inside the cabin on top of the metal structure and seemed to have noticed that she wasn't firing back since he was right at the door and tracking for her. She immediately removed her head and a second later a small explosion carved a hole in the ground as the wailing sonic round barely missed her hair. "Fuck" She looked around to see where the positions of Kern or any other aquanauts were but found none. An explosion on the inside of the brick building on her back told her that there were aliens inside and that they might be stepping out of the metal door very quickly.

Her hands went to the hooks attached to her shoulder and to the small backpack. From one hook she removed a red and white can-shaped particle disturbance grenade and from her back she took a yellow and red stun rod that she quickly extended to its full size. A full automatic round of Gauss fire was heard on the inside of the warehouse and a window exploded into a million pieces. Apparently Renton and Crazy T were also having problems inside the building.

She was trapped if the aliens decided to escape the building: she couldn't get out of her position since the Aquatoid would gun her down from its advantage position if she tried to move. And any alien that stepped out of the door could easily shoot her before she had a chance of use any of her weapons. Act! Even if the chance is one to a million you can make it!

She could use the particle disturbance grenade to cover the door and make a run for the tower. If she could reach the underneath of the platform the alien wouldn't be able to fire at her. Tricky but it just might work, she considered as she got to her knees and reached for the harpoon rifle. Activating the white and red colored grenade she called loud to warn any soldier that might come out of the door.

"Prox at the back door" She called on the radio threw the grenade towards the door and it hit its surface before it landed on the ground and stood quiet. Will it work over water? She couldn't afford the thinking and threw the rifle to the left a second before she had also thrust to the other side, holding the red and yellow barrel of the thermal tazer on her hand. A double cracking sound caused the side of the crate next to her to burst into splinters and a sharp pain on her arm told her that something sharp had hit it. The alien apparently hadn't been fooled by the distraction but his shots had missed and she was already halfway and taking random turns of direction to make the Aquatoid's aim more difficult.

The alien still managed to release another shot before she reached the safety of the underneath of the tower but the shot went way over her head.

As soon as she only saw metal above her head she suddenly stopped although the sudden change of motion made her stumble while turning back towards the door. To her horror she saw that it was open and the red eyes on the small bulbous head of a Aquatoid were locked into her direction while the alien moved its green thin arms to point something that looked like a big water pistol at her that had a barrel a couple of centimeters wide. Stun launcher! That was the term for it during the first war and she had been already informed of its existence and equal effects on this war. It had been surprising to know how much the alien's weapons hadn't changed in terms of configuration from one war to the other but it was also frightening to think that the aliens had a weapon like the blaster launchers available on the first war.

She started moving towards one of the metal pillars for protection but as the alien lurched forward and fired the thermal shock launcher, the grenade detected its movement and detonated as the stun bomb was still gathering speed in the barrel at the section where the two circles that composed the weapon joined. The shot went completely off and hit one of the girders on the tower to her opposite direction but the blast as the round set itself off rushed past her on a feeling of heat bathing her immediately followed by a glacial cold sensation. The difference in temperature made her to feel as if she had just stepped into a cold shower after a very hot sauna and the pain on her arm increased enough for her to clench her teeth. As confusion and nausea overtook her for a second and during that time she saw that the blast had failed to take out the alien although it had been injured.

It wouldn't miss a second shot and she was too dazzled to move before the alien fired. The humming sound and a sudden crack made the alien face cringe with pain however and it dropped its weapon before falling dead to the ground. Thanks a lot whomever you are! Glancing upwards she remembered the upstairs alien. "Watch out" The white boots of the aqua-plastic armored soldier were the first thing she saw moving towards the door before the air between her and the trooper seemed to wave as a sonic round hit the chest of the leading seaman. The whipping crack jumped her into full alertness and she started moving towards the stairs that lead to the above cabin. More humming told her that the NCO was replying to the alien's fire. "Watkins! Stop right there" A voice called from the building making her stop as she had cleared the first flight of stairs.

They needed to root out the alien out of the cabin, she knew that and looked again at the next flight of metal stairs. The whole of her left arm felt wet and her hand was covered with warm moisture. I can deal with this later. As she begun moving forward again Renton's voice came back. "Stop dammit! Crazy T, get that fucker"

From a broken window on the side of the building she saw a brief vision of a yellow muzzle as it fired a gas propelled projectile that flew towards the cabin and through its open front door before hitting a metal wall and bursting the inside of the room. The explosion shook the flight of stairs and she lost her balance. As her feet tried to stay steady one of them sidestepped the metal of the stairs and she raced down towards the ground, with her arms trying to get a grip on the stairs. Her good arm managed to a grip solid enough for her to control the fall but as she felt her hand loosing the hold she had no choice but to drop into a hard landing on her feet. Still she immediately rolled over to deflect the momentum of the fall. When she finally stopped she was reminded again of the piece of metal slashed into her arm. Shit. I had forgotten that officers bleed like everyone else. Looking at the arm she saw a twisted fragment of metal standing out of a torn section just underneath the shoulder of her suit covered with blood. Guess I'll have to be back to the butcher shop.

With her right arm she reached for the shrapnel and in a brusque notion pull it off from the injury. The rawness and anger of her yell as the pain overtook her body surprised her and she quickly opened her eyes to see Renton moving to towards her. Over the bent section where he had been hit by the sonic weapon his eyes were scanning at her in bewilderment. "Gezz, Watkins. Who do you think you are? Trying to win a medal or something?"

Looking at the shard of the metal at her hand for a second before tossing it aside she replied. "Give me a hand here. My ankle is hurting also". Crazy T had also by now stepped out of the warehouse and was looking at her with surprise as Renton gripped her extended hand and pulled her up to her feet.

As she steadied up he ejected the empty clip of ammo from his silver Gauss rifle and replaced it with a new one slamming it into the opening on the barrel of the weapon. "You know it's easier to get a full case medal here than the ones they pin at your chest don't you?" His face was half-amused, half speechless at her.

"Full case medal?" Her weapon was useless and she didn't bother to check it again. "Yeah, for some reason they ship the bodies back to shore on metal coffins".

Looking back to her discarded weapon she decided to pick it back up from where it stood on ground behind Crazy T and Renton. But instead her eyes went open wide as another door was slammed open and a brown figure with a metallic head stepped out and rushed forward towards Renton with its powerful metal claws ready to strike the leading seaman.

The Calcinite's first swab cut through his backpack like a razor on paper rocking him forwards as she started to move towards him with her stun rod. Crazy T also immediately jumped into action but as he pointed his gas cannon towards the helmet of the figure she realized in horror that the weapon was loaded with high-explosive shells and that the blast would take out both humans and alien.

Then suddenly the alien's suit exploded as a Gauss round found it, sending the alien crumpling down to the ground, where it stayed with a green goo coming out of several locations on its body. Still that didn't prevent Crazy T from racing towards the figure and kicking it in anger as now Markovitch helped Renton to get up. "Close call". He added as she turned to see who had saved their asses from the dead alien.

A group of soldiers slowly moved over the dock and towards them, but instead of the blue suits worn by X-COM's aquanauts they were gray and white urban camouflage battle uniforms and held silver Gauss rifles. One of the PRA soldiers approached the group looking in confusion at Crazy T, who by now was shouting all manner of obscenities at the dead alien. "Who's in charge of this circus!?"

Turning towards him Markovitch saw triple bars marked in black on his helmet, marking him as an officer.

"Put it down Crazy T" Renton had regained his composure and turned to the officer whose facial features marked him as a Native Alaskan. "That's me. How wants to know?"

Coming closer Markovitch read that the nametag on the officer's left chest said: "AULAK" and realized that Renton had just bitten too much to swallow. "The PRA corporal! We're taking control of this area. I want your ugly faces out of here" Renton's face brightened and Markovitch realized that the officer had just given him the reason he wanted to do something at his attitude. "Really? Gues what? You can..."

her quick words stopped whatever Renton was about to say.

She placed herself between Renton and Aulak, her elbow striking backwards and hitting the armor of the X-COM soldier and making him stop whatever he was about to say. "Ensign Costa must be over that area, sir! He's in charge of our unit".

Until now the PRA officer had ignored her but now he turn his attention from Renton, studying her for a second before his mouth relaxed. "Inform him that his presence here is no longer necessary". Without a dismissal he moved forwards following his men, who were busy securing the brick building.

Turning back towards Renton and Crazy T, who had just spitted on the Calcinite, she added. "You heard him. Let's get out of here".

"Watkins, who just died and put you in charge?" Renton's voice showed irritation at her interference but he let it go and the three aquanauts moved back to join their comrades at the other side of the harbor.

 

October 22nd, 2044

The White House, Washington D.C., US

 

The windows on the circular room had been recently replaced from bullet-proof glass to aqua-plastic so that now they could withstand better any shots fired at the building that housed the president of the US. However, one of the two Secret Service agents that stood in attention still frowned as President Richard Ambergrist slightly moved one of the curtains aside to take a look at the anti-war rally that had been scheduled for the day. The protest was being sponsored from a major of anti-war movements and Ambergrist shook his head in frustration, wondering if there was ever a way to please all of their claims. Everybody who had a political position against the government had expressed their intention to join the rally and it made a very mismatched group of protesters. There was the Freedom of Succession, a movement that defended that all states had the right to separate from the union, to the association of veterans that had most of its support based on the northern states, from Washington through Dakota and Maine. Unlike the southern states that had experienced droughts and whose weather in some areas was closest now to a desert their upper latitude had kept them pretty amenable to live but their inhabitants were getting tired of the migrations of people from the south. Then there was also the National Association of Veterans, who demanded that all US forces to be pulled out of the demarcation line with Alaska and the Caribbean, so that the skirmishes would end on both areas. The Green Party was also present, which demanded that Congress would sign a treaty with the Alaska People's Republic so that both countries could agree on how to conduct a sustainable exploration of the resources on Western Pacific. And in an already plethora of movements Ambergrist could also see the purple pyramid signs carried by members of the Cult of Sirius, who demanded that all hostilities to be stopped against the aliens and that the US pulled out of X-COM. The report that he had been given by the FBI had also mentioned a number of other organizations, and the whole cocktail was potentially very dangerous since most of them had opposite and radical ideas meaning that the rally could well turn into a riot. The DC police had mobilized all of its agents and put them out on the street but if things got out of control the situation on the capital could turn very sour. There was a battalion of Marines ready to intervene in case any government building was threatened and the presidential VV-43 VTOL plane was ready to take-off at any minute but Ambergrist wasn't going to leave Washington soon. He had a very important meeting in fifteen minutes but for the time being he was talking to the Attorney General of the United States, which had been summoned for a previous talk before they would meet the American X-COM councilman.

John S. Cameron was one of the youngest attorney generals in the entire US history. He had been only 35 when Ambergrist had named him to the position when he had been elected. The lawyer had quite a reputation before entering office as he climbed all the way until becoming North Carolina's top attorney general and when Ambergrist had known him during his election campaign he had became impressed with the young man and later had decided to invite him for his team after being advised so. Ambergrist knew that the man was on its way to an impressive political career: he had the ambition and the contacts inside Washington. "Things don't look so nice do they John?"

"Things can look the way we want them to be Mr. President".

"Yeah, if I had your age I'd think the same way. In two weeks we have reelections and the polls are too close to give me any comfort". He looked again at the crowd in the rally.

"You know there are people there who actually support an unilateral cease-fire with the aliens?"

"Cult members Mr. President. One of the characteristics of living in a democracy".

"It's not just that. I received calls from two senators this morning. One has stated the need to maintain current defense spending otherwise unemployment will grow on his state. The other has claimed exactly the opposite, that he has been bombarded by calls and mail from voters who have complained about the current war status. Now how should I reply to any of them? What should I tell to the people who are going to listen to my speech in Tennessee in a few hours?" Ambergrist already had an idea but he liked listening to Cameron's views on the subject.

"Sir, you were elected due to your promise to re-establish normal relations with the Alaskans and end the present situation. If the aliens hadn't reappeared you'd have reached that goal by now".

"Yeah and the other guy has just appropriated himself of my ideas! You heard him on the visiscreen the other day. He wishes to enter negotiations with the Alaskans to finish all affairs and a complete demilitarization of the area".

"That won't go every well with the diehards on Congress about the succession and the political action groups against it. It may backfire on him".

"For him and for me. The whole matter is too sensitive at the moment John. You've done a great job together with State department in resolving things silently and quickly with the trial of those Alaskan spies who tried to infiltrate through the Canadian border. It was only after they had been exchanged for some of our people who had been imprisoned by them".

"The whole matter only blew out to the press after the exchange was done. Otherwise we'd have people clamoring for their release while others would want them hanged after the trial".

"Yes and that's a good point. See, there's something else I want to tell you although you haven't been cleared for top secret access....yet". The last word brought a half-smile on Cameron's mouth. "I'm fully aware of my duties and responsibilities sir. I took an oath years ago".

"That will suffice for now although I'll ask for your security status to be upgraded later on. It's like this: I called councilman Williams to be fully informed of the situation regarding the aliens after the attack on their oil facility. It's a blessing the aliens didn't hit us instead since tempers are already running hot but he already gave me a preliminary report that will only be revealed after the election because of its potential for 'collateral' damage".

That made Cameron worried. "We are winning the war right?"

"Well, he says that we are not losing it, which can be either both as good and bad news. But what he told me was that there might be a division within the aliens that might help us. In other words, it seems that there might be a split between the Aquatoids and the Gillmen".

"That would be a major breakthrough, sir. You should go with this public".

"Oh?" That was a major surprise for Ambergrist, who had decided otherwise. "Why do you think it so?"

"This information is going to hit the public sooner or later sir. It would be better if you can use it to your own advantage. Right now there's a lot of criticism pointed towards X-COM and although it was not your decision to join it you have tied the US war effort to the organization. That news is a major confirmation of your policies sir. It also reminds people that the war has been long so far but that we are getting somewhere. It will also distract the public and the media enough from the Alaska question and make the other guy". He smiled at the mention of the contender from the other party. "To look bad: he also wants to try to reach an appeasement with the aliens. This information will only show that we'll have to keep fighting them because they're oppressors".

The President of the United States thought about that for a moment before a low buzzer went off on his desk telling him that Williams' limo had just cleared the back gate. "Let's see what our representative has to say about this". Cameron said but Ambergrist clearly had something else on his mind.

"Harry, I have an idea. What if I ask Mr. Williams to call councilman Roberts of the PRA and tell him to relay this message to the Alaskan Politburo: the US is deeply concerned about the current state of affairs at the area but our forces will not fire unless fired upon. And unofficially, we are willing to cooperate on the alien question, bypassing X-COM if necessary". That brought a surprised look from Cameron, who clearly was considering the idea. "That might be hard to sell, especially on an election year, plus can we trust the Alaskans?"

But Ambergrist dismissed Cameron objections and the Attorney General now realized how the US President had already decided on what to do concerning the whole situation. The previous talk they had was simply a way to ask a second opinion without revealing his thoughts. It made sense to Cameron, who saw the Alaska affair as more of a political nuisance than anything else.

"The attack on Kodiak must have hurt them. This way we can make a good will gesture in the hope that later we can solve this whole situation and concentrate on the war. They only have to win with this". Considering his words Cameron nodded. The proposal would be kept quiet until some measure of success could be achieved against the aliens, something easier if the US and PRA navies weren't engaged into pissing contests against one another. Then the whole story would be revealed later on, probably the week before the election day to give a little extra boast to the President's party on the upcoming congressional elections, something not to be overlooked on the middle of an administration first term. "We might have a problem selling it to Defense though".

"Leave Gilligan to me. You'll be in charge of coordinating things with State and Williams".

"As you wish Mr. President". Cameron smiled but his lips didn't move.

 

October 26th, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

 

"Doctor Camay, there's a matter to discuss about your research concerning the question of the alien races we've encountered so far". She acknowledged the Inspector General's words but waited for him to continue before revealing anything. After her talk with Elliquist she had made a throughout examination of their DNA plus her own interrogations on a captured Gillwoman. The evidence now pointed towards the fact that the Gillmen were native to this planet and that their biological data could date back from millions of years ago, something she considered unbelievable until she could check it with other data.

It meant that probably the human race hadn't been the aliens' only attempt to provide an intelligent species to a planet that already had one. Humans wouldn't even be able to claim anymore that they were the only intelligent species on the planet. Gillmen were here before us, on the time were reptiles dominated the world and from the remains still present on them once had a rich culture and a society. The aliens had taken nearly all from them and had left only brief remains of individuality. Most likely the Gillmen still had those remains of their former culture as an unconscious need although they had forgotten the original reasons behind it. The discussions of the subject with other scientists had brought the terrible conclusion that it would be the end of result of human society and culture in the case of alien conquest. Still, what gave her hope was that from her experience with the captured gillwoman, there was a lingering need of individuality and curiosity behind their eyes and thoughts. Apparently the Aquatoids hadn't been able to erase all of the species' intelligence and ability to rationalize their present situation. In other words, they weren't totally subjective to the Aquatoids.

However, she assumed that all of that evidence wasn't enough to bring it forward to the council's attention. Following that logic it also dictated another thing that was a really hard question: if the Aquatoids also showed proof of being another branch of the Sectoid family that had split away from the main branch millions of years ago. In other words the Aquatoids could be established on the planet since that time and in that case, where were their settlements and bases located? She had discussed this all with the scientists, so that even if the Inspector General decided to shut down her work the idea would still be around for a while. But apparently Alkeviades had had enough of all her speculation.

"I first only authorized this program because I had considered it to be of a low priority and because I expected the results to give us something more practical on the field. However, from your latest reports I've noticed that the guidelines under which this subject had been researched were completely different from the ones I've just mentioned. Of course, considering your previous association with Councilman Williams I actually should have been expecting this". Which you didn't, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation.

"Councilman Williams never pressed me into this subject or others". She knew it not to be completely true but decided against revealing it. "I have been wondering into the possibility of calling for a motion of censure upon him on the next council meeting". He said flatly.

Looking away from him, she asked: "Will you include me on that motion?" Not that she really mattered since all it meant was an official reprimand. The only penalty highest for that that the Council could attribute was death by firing squad in case a soldier deserted while on combat or shoot a fellow officer on propose.

"I wish but it seems I won't. Instead I'm going to order you to continue your research and to prepare to present a report to the Council by the next meeting".

"Less than a week? It will be impossible, Inspector". Frustration came to his face but he nodded to her. "Make it a short summary of the hypothesis and your estimate of its plausibility. The Council needs something to keep them occupied. But by the end of the year I expect to have a full brief to present them".

"I'll need to given authorization regarding further confirmation research during that time". She decided to see how much of a leash he was giving her. "Just pass them properly marked to my secretary and they will be reviewed and be given a reply immediately. I'm sure the Council will provide all authorization necessary when they meet at the end of the month".

"I'll need further resources".

"You'll get them. Just pass your request to Commodore Paris' office". Then Alkeviades left her office making her to wonder who things were changing and if it meant that they were about to finally make some progress on the whole war.

[Hobbes]

X-COM: Abyssal

Chapter Seven

[Hobbes]

Atlanta, Georgia

 

"It's me. Open up".

"And who might you be?" The computer generated voice nearly replicated the tone of one of those suspicious concierges who are usually afraid of any visitors. Delacroix sighed realizing that the software had failed to recognize his voice unlike Cyberweb's claim that it was 100% full proof.

"The person who pays the rent and the electricity that feeds your goddamn microchips. Open up"

The female electronic voice nearly had the tone of giving him a lecture. "I still haven't positively identified you yet, lieutenant. Please look at me in the eye". Cursing the software that controlled the door Delacroix stepped to the side and placed his left eye in front of the blue plastic bubble that housed the sensors that read his iris. A flash of light come into his vision but later the door still remained closed. Already tired, he felt his irritation growing at the automatic lock and he growled. "Well, open it up you piece of junk"

"Machines have feelings you know". The reply made him to look in disbelief at the bubble as the artificial voice stood silent afterwards. Cursing whomever had designed it Delacroix realized in despair that he must have forgotten about the date of the next inspection made by the Cyberweb technicians since it definitely had developed some sort of a bug. The software that controlled the door was supposed to welcome him home with a friendly voice although he had thought that sometimes it was unnerving since it sounded too intelligent and personal for a machine.

The damn thing must be having a glitch. Moving to the small keypad built into the wall below the sensor he tried to remember his personal access code that would open the door but after fidgeting with the plastic numbers for ten seconds he nearly smashed it as he realized that he couldn't remember it. Which gave him only two choices: either blow up the lock with his pistol or take the commuter train back into the city to find a motel to sleep and tomorrow call the nearest Cyberweb store and have them send a technician to deal with the door.

A small click suddenly heard on the gray corridor coming from the door made him look at the lock and utter a prayer of thanks that the software had finally stopped its bitchy mood and had allowed him entrance. Grabbing his duffel bag he pushed the door open and entered his apartment deciding to call Cyberweb the next morning for they to check the electronic lock. He hadn't heard the 'Welcome home lieutenant. How was your day?' usual phrase from the machine as he stepped inside. It had come when he had moved into the house years ago at the beginning of X-COM and the machine still thought he was a lieutenant. So much better since sometimes the question would really annoy him. But that was natural since he would spend weeks absent from home, and he considered it more to be the place where he could storage his few personal objects and serve as a safe house.

A very unsafe house! The first signal that someone had broken into his apartment first brought him into full attention as his eyes scanned the corridor that led into to the small bedroom and sitting room and found something that wasn't supposed to be there. His right hand dropped his bag into the floor and reached for the Gauss pistol holstered against his left side underneath his leather jacket.

It was a dark blue medium heeled woman's shoe tumbled over the dull sand carpet. Then he momentarily relaxed as he heard a mocking voice coming from the direction of the sitting room. "Welcome home, Paul, or whatever you call yourself these days. How was your day?" He was sighing even before she spoke to him as he had already figured who the person might be.

Lynn.

Still holding a grip on his pistol he moved down the corridor and turned into the small sitting room, the gun following his sight. The late afternoon's sky thrust its grey tone through the windows at the end of the other room. Delacroix found Lynn seated lazily on his sofa with her bare feet on the carpet and her long curly hair nearly hiding the pillow underneath. She smiled at him while holding a glass half full of an amber liquid but he ignored her. Looking back at his bedroom and finding it empty he finally turned to her and asked: "What are you doing here Lynn?"

She sat upright on the sofa and grabbed her hair with her hands until she had tucked it into a ponytail. "Now that's a warm greeting Paul. No 'Hi Lynn great to see you after all this time'?"

He placed his gun back to the holster and took out his dark jacket and placed it on a chair back. "You and I haven't met in three years for a reason. I thought you'd be clever by now to have understood it. What do you want?"

She shook her head in frustration. "Tsk tsk. Again, you're not making this easy. Why do you have to be so stubborn Paul? You know we could use you back". Placing himself behind the chair he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm through with that Lynn. I belong to X-COM now and that's more than going around setting bombs that kill Cult members along with innocent bystanders".

She looked at him defiantly. "Bullshit. You know that better than me. You don't belong to them. They're just mercenaries". She spat the word in disgust and her eyes narrowed. "They have no belief in what they're doing unlike both of us".

Delacroix didn't dismiss the flash of aggression but he chose to ignore it since it could turn the whole conversation into a powder keg ready to explode. "Let's not have another of our old philosophical disagreements, shall we? Whatever the reason you're here the answer is no". His voice hardened. "Please leave or I'll make you leave, understood?"

She got up and met his gaze in a concerned tone. "Paul I'm here not only to ask but to give you some advice".

"I never stop listening to other people's advice, although in your case I might make an exception". Opening his bag he started taking off his dirty laundry and piling it on the floor. A couple of Gauss pistol magazines also found their way there and he made a note to remember separating them unless he wanted to ruin the laundry machines on the basement.

She moved over and placed her hand on his arm. "You're being blind Paul. You're being manipulated. In the past two years I've suspected more and more that X-COM has been from the beginning nothing more than a sham make to trick us all while someone tries to reach some sort of accommodation with the aliens".

With a slight move he pushed her hand aside. "You're being extremely paranoid as usual Lynn. No one at the council is trying to achieve that".

"How would you know? Did your money loving opportunist councilman Williams tell you that? Do you think he tells you all that is going on?"

"No. But I don't need to know everything that is going on and I don't want it". Moving away from him she stopped near to a small cabinet set against one of the walls where a old fashioned picture frame made of silver stood empty along with some other small personal possessions of his. Lynn pointed towards it and asked: "Wasn't there an old pic of your family? I seem to remember it looking at it once when you were sleeping. Is it still hanging around?" He remembered it quite well but he had it burned when he had joined X-COM since it was a security risk for him and them if someone ever found out about them. "You have nothing to do with it Lynn".

"No? In that case why haven't you gone back to them? Or are you seeing somebody else again to forget her?" That started to anger Delacroix and he was both mad at her indiscretion and the way she was manipulating him using their former relationship. "This conversation is crap. We've been done for years and I have nothing to do with your agenda. Leave or I might get tired of waiting for the police and toss you out instead".

Her mouth snarled in excitement at him. "You wouldn't dare both. If they ever identified you..."

Staring at her eyes he called her bluff. "Your eyes would also say a number of things about you Lynn. Wanna see who goes down faster?"

It worked since she moved away from him but she still didn't let it go. "I remember that you were pretty efficient and deadly when you were on my side Paul. And the body count has never stopped increasing since then has it?"

"I've stopped counting and X-COM is doing more against the aliens than we ever did that way. Plus if I kill people it's not for pleasure but for necessity. Not every Cult member has to die and it matters more if we stop this madness as soon as possible".

"Ha! You believe this Council is different from the other one. You're a fool Paul because Williams will use you then get rid of you as soon as possible. We all have a role to play. I'm calling you to do yours and come back to us. The moment is rising". Again she played the intimacy card but Delacroix shook his head and a memory from these days came back to him, which he thought appropriate for the whole situation.

"The path of the righteous one is a lonely one". Some of his former associates were clergymen who believed the fight against Sirius had to be taken into a spiritual level and gave such messages to the members. That particular one had been burned on his mind for years and its meaning was quite clear for both of them.

She gathered her coat and headed for the door but not before replying in a sad eye. "You fool yourself Paul. We both walked the same path until now. Too bad you will see it when it's too late".

"Goodbye Lynn". His short dismissal made her collect her shoes and leave without looking back. Delacroix watched her close the door and then went back to sorting out his laundry. He would have a couple of days off before his next assignment and the only thing he wanted was to be able to relax meanwhile.

 

 

October 25th, 2044

Tuffs Plain, Northwest Pacific

 

Block Thirty-Seven Alpha was located at Tuffs Plain, an open sea bottom area that extended from the continental platform of North America to the middle of the Pacific. Although the area was located on the high seas and therefore no one could solely claim its resources it was located on the US side of the demarcation line, the unofficial division of the Pacific between Alaskan and US waters.

For Irving Samuelson, that fact didn't please him too much since the gas field that United Oil had detected lying under the sea bed also extended to the Alaskan side and the PRA wasn't too happy to see United discover the field and to develop it without asking for permission or to set a deal to divide the highly valuable gas resources. The work was hard: every two weeks he would be transported by a mini-submarine to the underwater facility that United had installed at the sea bottom close to the gas fields. Boring holes into the seabed and placing valves into them extracted the methane gas and then it would transported by high-pressure pipes, which would be connected to the floating platform that liquefied the gas before transferring it to tankers standing on the surface. Robots did the work on the fields but all of the maintenance work for them and the supervision of the drilling and extracting operation needed human hands and eyes. That meant that every month he would have to go through decompression procedures before coming back to the surface for a week on the shore to rest and also to don his high depth diving suit everyday but the pay fit the nature of his high-risk job. Plus, nowadays such secure jobs were difficult to find and he needed the money to pay for his new house.

As he moved on the sandy bottom a pair of workers also clad on their bronze diving suits passed by him, holding to the mini submersible as it transported them to well #24, which had been brought offline for repairs. Several of the wells at the outermost edge of the field were actually located in what would be considered Alaskan territory, although no country recognized high seas claims made by others. Samuelson couldn't care less if the Alaskans had never bothered to survey this area or to develop it for their own. Occasionally a PRA Militia submarine would inspect the field and the facility from a distance but if they considered United to be trespassing they had never taken any action besides their usual warnings related to any type of exploration on the area. But Samuelson couldn't care less about their neo-communist rhetorical bullshit.

Step by step he advanced on the sea bottom, which stood nearly empty of any life which the exception of some fish that would approach his dive suit and leave afterwards. The living quarters stood some meters in front of him, a rounded yellow metal habitacle that served to support the crew and the drilling operations. Moving closer to the entrance of the water lock he pressed a large red button standing on a panel and watched by the window as the chamber inside filled with green salt water. After the chamber was filled and a green light appeared flashing on the panel he grabbed a lever and pulled it down. The massive door opened and he stepped inside, closing it afterwards and the chamber started to fill with pressurized air as he started to get out of his diving suit.

Twenty minutes afterwards he had already changed into a jumpsuit and grabbed a mug of coffee while heading for the control chamber. Another engineer was standing there and checking the array of monitors and dials that controlled the entire operation. Sitting on a chair, he called from the computer the latest reports from the surface.

Then suddenly a loud boom was heard all over the chamber. Turning to the other engineer on the room he asked: "What the hell was that? Sonar echo?"

"Undetermined. The bearing was 281. That's the direction of well #36".

"What's its status?"

"Shit. Look at this". Samuelson looked at the monitor: NO DATA AVAILABLE.

"Damn. OK, report to top that #36 is offline. We need to send the crew there when they finish the work on #24. One of the damn robots must have screwed up things again. Tell Calatrava to have a look and see what's happening after he's done with #24...". Samuelson and the other engineer stopped as the indicator for well #25 changed its status to offline, along with #26, and #27.

"What the hell is happening?" More lights switched colors in a rapid succession. Ten, no twelve wells going offline all of a sudden!?" The buzzer on the speakers on top of them told them that someone on the overhead platform was also looking at the same information and asking the same question.

Grabbing a headset he dialed Calatrava