I think I'm going to try out another way of writing this post. Hopefully it will work out, but it really is somewhat an experiment. Well, here goes:
Tyson woke up early in the morning, to the sound of the Skyranger-1 returning from the latest mission. Apparently it was a terror mission. Tyson had fought in one before. This one took place in the same city. Which was odd to him. Perhaps the aliens had something going on down in South America. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he wondered how Jesse was doing. The mission had taken place about 3 hours ago, and he'd overheard some of the status reports, especially the last one as the Skyranger left the site. There were two casualties: one KIA and one wounded.
He wondered about Brad. Brad was one of the first X-COM operatives promoted Sergeant. Tyson had just been promoted to Sergeant, for whatever reason. He checked the clock. It was around 1:00 the first of March. Apparently there was a budget cut from the sponsors. He had heard that it didn't matter much though. They were setting up another base in the United States. After missing every UFO last month they decided that something needed to be changed. Maybe he would be transfered.
After a few more hours sleep, he got up and decided he would go and check on Jesse. He started for the medical wing, when orange alarm lights started flashing. He was on the roster for the next mission, and he quickly headed for the hanger where the Skyranger was stationed. From the far part of the base he could hear the Interceptor-1's engines roaring. He arrived at the Hanger along with Quinn S., a new recruit, though Tyson had known him for some time. "Where is it?," he asked. "Central Asia,"Quinn responded. "I don't think they'll catch it though." Tyson checked the monitor. The UFO was heading north, from India to China. They continued to watch as the rest of the team arrived: Zen Halen; Mijo; Courtney J.; Britt P.; Chelsea W.; Kamille L.; Maria P.; and Bree G. After about fifteen minutes contact was lost, and Interceptor-1 was sent to investigate. It would take the interceptor at least an hour and a half to get to the location; the UFO could be halfway to Mars by then. Or where ever the aliens were from. The team still needed to stay on alert though.
"I heard they are recruiting 6 more soldiers," Tyson heard Zen say. "Think they're more people we know?" For some reason every soldier in the place were people Tyson had known in High School. He remembers how he got here: a few men in suits arrived at his door one day, and the next thing he remembers he was on a bumpy ride to an underground base in Africa. Four of his old Cross Country team mates were there with him. He didn't understand how they had been chosen. But at least it was for a good cause. "I've heard they've hired a few more engineers too. Not many options considering the low budget though..." Courtney was responding.
Around 10:00 GMT, Interceptor 1 crackled over the comm system.
"I'm picking up the UFO. Probably just took off."
"Affirmative I-1, keep within following distance." Eyes turned back to the screen. The UFO had appeared near Interceptor-1's position, and it was now being pursued west. After flying over most of Asia, it started outdistancing the Interceptor.
"I'm losing it, it's outrunning me!"
"Keep on him, Interceptor-1. We're dispatching Interceptor-2"
"Hopefully early enough this time," Kamille murmured, which brought a smile to Tyson's face.
The UFO turned to the south, and Interceptor-1 caught it and shot it down in the Middle East. "Alright, everyone! We've got to move! Get your equipment checked and let's get out there!" the hangar staff commanded.
The Skyranger took off, headed for Turkey....
I've just realized that I'm probably going to sound fairly impersonal if my friends die. One consequence of writing this way, I guess. Oh well, it's just a game...
The Skyranger took some time to get to the crashed UFO. It was mid-day...and as usual Tyson hoped for the best. "We're about to put down, everyone hold on!" the pilot called back. Tyson glanced around the cabin. There wasn't enough armor to go around, and Bree G. and Mijo were left without. Well, they did the first mission fine without armor. Bree did get one of four Heavy Plasmas. Tyson grabbed one along with Courtney and Chelsea. Zen grabbed the rocket launcher, glad to be back. The Skyranger set down and the ramp swung open.
A small Sectoid was standing in plain view, and Tyson was glad there was 10,000 pounds of steel resting in front of him. The tank chugged it down the ramp, and the alien opened fire. Tyson and Zen were both at the front of the craft. They ducked, expecting some fire. Though the shots all missed, Tyson heard one of the rookies behind him, "Whoa...."
Glancing at his new Sergeant badge, Tyson stood and shot the Sectoid. "Alright, everyone!" he shouted, "wait for the tank to clear the area, then we'll get off! Make sure to keep your headsets ready, and remember: shoot first, ask later!" So much for good advice from their Sergeant, Tyson thought. "Shoot first, ask later?" The tank rolled off to the west..."I've got a visual of the UFO out here. And there's a Sectoid guarding the door," the voice came over the comm. Zen climbed down onto the ramp. "Can't get a decent shot..." he muttered. Tyson and him both climbed off to the sides and crouched. Mijo was off the craft next. "I've got you, you little brown..." His sentence was drowned out by his laser rifle. Tyson saw one of them hit the Sectoid, but it appeared fine. "What the?" Mijo started muttering. Courtney was off next, she hit the Sectoid from the ramp.
"Alright, let's go!" Tyson commanded. With the UFO so close by this may be a dangerous landing. There were likely aliens inside, if they came out... They'd need to keep their sites on the door all the time.
Britt P. jumped alongside Tyson and Mijo near the end of the ramp. Chelsea and Kamille both moved further out, and the remaining two rookies waited on the top of the ramp. Tyson glanced around...so far so good.
The tank kept moving forward. "I've got another one, over the hegdes!" he called back. Chelsea could see it, and she opened fire. Her three shots each went in a straight line, the first cutting down the hedge, the second cutting down the alien, and the third flying over the alien's body. Tyson blinked twice at the spectacle, turned and gave Chelsea a thumbs up. The tank kept moving. It rolled past the UFO and didn't report anything. But a large orchard with tall hedges posed a problem. Either way, they had to get in that UFO.
Mijo ran ahead, Tyson and Britt following. Chelsea and Kamille ran to a wall, keeping an eye on the UFO door. "Courtney, you, Zen and Quinn head down and secure that orchard," he said into the headset. "Oh sure, Tyson. Think you're top sergeant now?" she replied. They started towards the orchard.
The mission ended here, so no drama. Or deaths.
The area was secure. Whew. Tyson breathed a sigh of relief. The UFO was in tact, but better by far there were no deaths. He lay back on the Skyranger-1, feeling suddenly tired.
When they got back to EuroCom, Willam Grey, the top general, came out to meet them. "Well done, my boy! You've certainly proven you're command material!" With that he gave him a slap on the shoulder, and called Courtney over as well. Apparently they were both becoming captains. Tyson was very gracious for this promotion, and wondered what he had done to deserve it.
After grabbing a Snickers from the dispenser, he headed for the medical wing. Jesse wasn't conscious. He had been hit twice on his last mission. Once in the back, and once on his right side in his ribs. Luckily the armor had absorbed most of the damage. But he had severe burns on both his sides. The coolant nozzle on the medi-packs worked wonders, apparently. "How long before he is better?" he asked the doctor. "He won't be back in for another month. He's got some horrible internal damage. Luckily, cloning body parts isn't much trouble here. I mean, we are in Africa." The doctor winked and Tyson chuckled. He walked into the radar room. There was something mesmerizing about watching those circles spin about. That, combined with about 50 views of earth by satellite. The information seemed too much. Not that they were seeing much. He wondered how many UFOs really were soaring the skies. Maybe some in east Asia, or America. They were half a world away! Surely any UFO flying by Europe would be instantly detected. Maybe not caught, but at least detected. He hoped so anyway.
Some days went past. Tyson spent time talking to his fellow soldiers, checking out the new production and research. The alien alloys they had recovered were being put into 3 new armor suits, enough for everyone on the Skyranger to have one. The scientists were attempting to understand the properties of the alien power source, Elerium-115. Every once in a while he'd glance into the alien containment, but only the large Reapers were in there. He wasn't sure what they could find out about them.
He checked the roster for the next mission, but it wasn't ready as they were expecting new soldiers at any moment. Likely he wouldn't be on it though...
The next day am excited scientist ran down the hallway. "We've cracked it!" he was muttering, "we've figured it out!" Tyson wondered what this all was for, and decided to ask Kevin. He was up to date on these things. "Elerium-115, 155 protons. Apparently it uses anti-matter to create a gravity hole and force the ship forward. Truly fascinating. Too bad we can't reproduce it. I don't even think it's in our galaxy." Kevin was always a genius on these things.
"Huh, anti-matter. Seems like an oxymoron."
"I know, but the aliens know how to use it. Hey, at least I can get my college education out here with these Scientists. I was only at Weber for a couple semesters when they brought me here. I miss the running team, but this is pretty nice otherwise."
Tyson didn't point out getting shot at wasn't that great, but it was unnecessary. Rather than bring up that possibility, he carried on.
"Oh yeah, where are you getting all your miles? I run around the Hangar every once in a while, but it's just so....circular."
" Oh, yeah, you hate tracks, huh? I run up by the coast. It's right at the bottom of the cliff this base is built into. It's nice, you can get some fresh air."
"How'd you pull that off?! I thought this place was all about secrecy."
"Well, you know how Jesse's a Colonel now? We were talking about that right before the last mission, trying to find some other place to run. I guess he woke up just long enough to tell the General to let us run up there. Apparently it isn't a problem."
"Sweet. I've been wanting to go on a real run. Hangars and treadmills aren't cutting it for me."
"So true, man. Hey, I'll see yah at 6, tomorrow morning, by the access lift."
"I'll be there."
Just then they heard the Hangar doors open. "You think it's the new soldiers?" Tyson asked.
"I bet. What do you think the odds are that we know them?" He left that unanswered as they headed for the hangar.
The General was waiting for them. "Ahh, good. The rest of you should be arriving soon. Except Jesse, of course, but that goes without question." There were six new recruits, Tyson wondered who they'd be.
Natalie C. was the first one off. "Hey, she was in music 1010." "Yeah, we went to that concert with her." She was followed by Courtney F.; then Melissa W.; Spence E.; Carly Rawlins; and Jacque A.
The General called them all over and told them he was pleased with their work. Then he re-graded them based on their performance so far...though they didn't change much. A few more scientists arrived later in the week, and it became apparent that there was enough armor for every crewmember of the Skyranger.
The week ended quietly, with no other alien sightings. Tyson wondered what the whole point was behind the alien excursion, and why he and his friends had been chosen to combat them...
Well, that was fun, wasn't it? I think it took longer than the usual reports, but it was a taste of variety, at least. Hard to do when you're fighting alongside you're friends. I mean, I'm glad no one died. More glad than usual. Anyhow, here's the new troops stats:
Natalie C. B+,R:54,56,40,40,53,57,64,23--Good with accuracy and reactions. But reactions wins out.
Courtney F. C-,G:56,64,25,20,30,50,66,28--Well, accuracy is average with strength and reactions below.
Melissa W. B,R:53,63,30,50,55,57,59,21--Fairly high reactions, accuracy is above average.
Spence E. B,S:55,46,38,30,54,62,50,25--High accuracy, reactions are up there too.
Carly Rawlins B-,G:57,58,38,20,4,57,54,38--Accuracy is fairly high, strength is up there as well.
Jacque A. C,G:60,64,31,50,49,49,61,31--TUs and strength are high, decent elsewhere.
Well, that concludes this report. I've had enough writing for a time. Sorry it wasn't very exciting, it would have been much nicer to talk through a battle scene, at least on the excitement scale. Well, maybe next time I try this.
1 comment:
tyson, i really like this format. keep them coming, if you have time. now that you have a job, it won't be so easy to do. but when you can, keep them coming.
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