X-COM 3-Night Vision

Perhaps I should write this now. While it's fresh... But I do have to go shopping and it's already 3:30, time for jobs to be coming in. Which sorta defeats the hope of shopping as well. Don't want to get a job then stand in line waiting forever to buy your stuff then have it cook in the car for the next 6 hours while you are working. But I need the food so I can prepare excellentness for the missionaries. Oh the drama. 


Starting now(after the current mission) I am keeping track of kills/takedowns and missions, MVP and all that jazz. Just for fun. And I will have to make some banners or something like I did last time. Those were gorgeous. So, yeah, that's where we stand. And the people are supposed to be bringing beds today, but by Charlie I bet they bring them as soon as we all leave. Since I'm left here holding down the fort, well, as soon as I leave. 


Maybe I'll just play some Black Ops.

  It was late in the evening. Anataly was watching the moon rise over the mountains to the south east. It's slivery form seemed elongated as it rose over the peaks. Through the cross thatched window by her bed, Anataly could see the rooftops of the houses around her. They were covered with snow, each window emitting a faint yellow glow, blurred by the frost frozen on them. The smoke rising from the chimneys blanketed the town, as it cooled in the freezing air it sunk back to earth, making a type of mist through the packed city streets of Berezhany. The stone buildings were stark in the dimming light of the street lights of the town. Though the city wasn't small, in their parts of town it was rare for many cars to come by. Still, the occasional headlights would light up the streets, driving carefully down the snowy streets.
  Anataly heard her father downstairs, talking on the phone. He was laughing and joking with whoever he was talking with. Even though she was young, just barely eleven on the fourteenth, she knew that big changes were coming. Her father was somewhat secretive about his work, but he shared most of the secrets with her. She and her father were very close.
  She held her stuffed dog, Marko in her arms and stared at the moon. She wondered if the moon looked the same in America as it did in Ukraine. Though her parents never said it, she assumed that someday soon they would be in America. Something about that dream filled her heart with hope. America seemed to be such an incredible place, far different from where she was now.
  She heard her father and mother talking downstairs, then she heard her the front door close. Through her window, she could see her father climb into the car. She waved from the window, but he didn't see. He drove away into the night.
  Anataly sat with her elbows on the window seal, dreaming of what life would be like in America. It seemed the colors would be brighter, the flowers more pretty, everything would be better there. How she longed to be there. It began to snow, and flakes began lazily drifting down from the sky. In the street she saw three sets of headlights, tracing their way down the road. Someone must be having a party for so much traffic on a night like this. That seemed odd though, since it was a Wednesday. The cars sped down the road pulling to a stop right in front of there. Suddenly Anataly was scared, and she ran downstairs to her mother. In the living room, her mother was looking outside.
  "Mama, there's people out there!" Her mother turned and shushed her. Anataly could see the scared look on her mother's face.
 "Anataly I need you to listen to me very carefully. Go up to your room, climb under your bed and hide there."
  "But, mama what..."
 "I need you to be brave, Anatally. Hurry, go and hide!" A fist began banging on the door. "Open up! This is the police!"
  "Hurry, Ana!" her mom ran to the door and slid the chain look into place. Tears were coming to Anataly's eyes. "But, momma..."
 "Go!" her mother hissed. The fist banged again. "Open up!" Anataly ran up the stairs, clutching on to Marko, and quickly climbed under her bed, snuggling in amongst the boxes under there. She put her ear to the floor, listening.
  She heard shouts from the men, then a crash as they broke down the door. Her mother screamed. She pressed her ear in harder, trying to listen.
  "Search the house! Where are the documents?"
 "I don't know what you're talking about." Her mother sounded terrified.
  "The project 115 documents. I know they are here. Where are they?"
 "I don't know what you are talking about!"
  There were footsteps outside the door. Two men ran to the top of the stairs and split up. One opened her door, looked around and then left.
  "Are they upstairs or downstairs? Where does he do his work?" Apparently the men were looking for something of her fathers.
  "I don't know what you want. Why are you doing this to us?" Anataly heard the men outside again. They turned and ran back down the stairs.
  "You worthless woman!" the man downstairs shouted. There was a crash, and her mother was crying. In her mind Anataly heard her father. "We always have to look out for each other. Whatever it takes, we have to take care of each other." She knew what she had to do.
  She crawled out from under the bed, then turned down the hallway to her parents room. When she got there, everything was overturned, drawers were pulled out, and the sheets were off the bed. The men had wrecked it. She jumped to her father's side of the bed, then reached between the bed and the wall. Sticking out from under the mattress was the but of a pistol. She grabbed it.
  Her father had taught her how to use it. And now she was going to use it to do another thing her father had taught her: protect her family.
  She ran back to the stairwell. She could hear shouts from below. The stairway was a straight flight down, which curled to the side rooms when you reached the top. She crept part way down the stairs until she could see into the room.
  "Nothing upstairs," one of the men reported. They were wearing uniforms, but Anataly wasn't sure what they were from. Not from any police she had ever seen.
  The leader turned his eyes on her mother. "Where is his office? Where are the documents?"
  Her mother was crying. "I don't know, I don't know I told you!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
  "You expect me to believe that? I know he tells you about them! TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!"
  "We've found them! I've got the folder!" Another man ran the folder to their leader. He opened it and looked it over. "Ahh, good." He turned to her mother. "This could have been much easier..."
  Her mother stared the man in the eyes. "You will pay for what you have done." The man laughed. "Will I? We shall see." He turned as though he was about to leave, then swung around, hitting her mother in the face sending her falling over a chair towards her.
  A gun went off. The pistol in Anataly's hands was larger than the others she had fired. When the man hit her mother, something made her act. All eyes in the room turned to her.
  "Anataly! NO!" Her mother screamed and ran towards her. From behind, she heard a voice.

   Anataly jerked out of sleep, clutching to her side with her hands.
  "Whoa. You alright?"
 She looked around. She was on the Skyranger. To her right was Tyson, she was clutching to his arm.
  Sheepishly, she let go and stared at the floor. "Yeah, I'm fine. Dream, that's all. Sorry."
  Tyson didn't answer. She brushed her hair from her eyes and looked at him. He was staring at her. "Ok." He finally said.
  Anatally hadn't relived that moment for years, she had tried to bury it in the past. But something about that last mission, about watching Rob get shot, had brought those memories to the surface. And that was something she dreaded.

***

  An alarm was sounding somewhere in the distance. Tyson rolled over in his bed. It felt like he had only been asleep for a few hours. After the mission, which felt much longer than it actually was, they spent another 3 hours scouring for equipment and artifacts. Two helicopters had arrived from an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, and the soldiers helped them load up the extra equipment. Since the 14 soldiers were being exposed to this secret alien project, Tyson wondered why they weren't in this program instead of them. That was a good question.
  The alarm was sounding from the hallway. A yellow light was flashing on the wall in the corner of the living area. They already found another UFO? Tyson wiped the sleep from his eyes.
  "Did they already find another one? Seesh how many of these things have been flying around and yet no one really knows about it?" Kevin was on the bunk above him.
  "I don't know." Tyson felt groggy. What time was it anyway? "You can never tell what time it is when there's no windows in your room."
  "Why is the blue light on?" Tyson looked at the lights in the corner. There were three colors, yellow, red and blue. The yellow one was on when there was an active UFO. As he remembered the blue light lit up when the UFO was on the ground, ready for assault. "I guess we had better get down there. They must have shot it down fast."

  Just then Cory walked in. "Guys, we've got a UFO on the ground. They sighted it a few minutes ago, we are leaving ASAP. Get ready and grab your stuff, see you in the hangar in five." He rushed out of the room.
  "Dang, another one? We've only been back for like...12 hours I guess." It felt a lot shorter. The last mission had left him exhausted. Tyson slid on his clothes sitting at the bottom of the bed. He put on the jumpsuit, then put on his boot. Equipment was in the Skyranger, armor, or what they had, was in the hangar bay where they had took it off. Tyson's bed wasn't made. Certainly not something that would pass in a real military base. He tossed the blankets over the bed, just to put on the appearance of order. Or diligence, one or the other.
  "You ready dude?" Kevin was waiting for him. "Yeah, let's go." They moved down the hallway to the hangar. The team was assembling near the armor. There was a screen on the wall. From the far side of the base one of the interceptors was taking off.
  "So, where is this thing?" Tyson asked as he began strapping armor and kneepads on his legs.
  "It's over by Algeria." Taylor answered. "This one is landed on the ground. It's a golden opportunity to catch them on the ground and with undamaged components. So far the engine has always been destroyed by the crash, but this one we might get something." Tyson looked at the screen. A yellow dot was leaving the location of the base, heading for a small green dot in northern Africa.
  Elden marched into the hangar bay. "We need to move out as soon as possible! Grab your extra gear, you can equip in the Skyranger. Let's go, Alpha squad, you're on first!" Tyson grabbed the shoulder gear and his back pack with his helmet in it. The crew was just finishing prepping the Skyranger as he climbed on board. He made his way back to his seat and sat down. Kevin followed him in, taking a seat across from him.

  "I guess we are going in with just 8 people. There should be 2 more troops coming, but they won't be here for a couple more days." Kevin shook his head. "This still feels crazy man." Tyson glanced up at him. He thought the grogginess was finally wearing off. "Yeah. Well, it kinda is man." The other troops began filing into the Skyranger. Anataly took her seat by Tyson. Part of him wanted to ask her about whatever happened 14 hours ago, but something told him that wasn't a good idea.
   The MAT rolled on board the Skyranger. We should just call it MAT, Tyson thought. He mentioned it to Kevin. The Skyranger's engine flared to life, and the large hangar doors swung open overhead. The rear hatch began closing.
  "Alright guys, ETA about 1:30, we'll be getting there around 2350 local time," the pilot announced. Two alien battles in under a day. Sounded like one of those movies, or a video game. Except you get shot here, you're dead, Tyson reminded himself. Hopefully that wouldn't happen again here.
  "If you look in your backpacks you'll see that we've got new helmets. These ones are equiped with video cameras and visors. You can be connected to your team and see their view." Tyson pulled the helmet out of his back. The camera was integrated into the upper left side of the helmet. He slid it over his head. On the left goggles a small screen appeared. It said 'Alpha 1 Camera Offline.' Now this is some cool stuff.
  "The techs still haven't been able to completely configure these. The camera's have a link you can use to target enemy forces. The triggered enemy will be encased in a red box on everyone's screen, with a small red arrow pointing the direction of the enemy. They are still working on installing the laser pointers, we should have them by next mission." As the Skyranger hurried on, Elden briefed the team on the use of the linking cameras.

In case you were wondering, I've fought with many a camera out here on the alarm installation battlefield.

  "You two get the stun sticks. Everyone grab a flare, we'll be hitting the ground in 2 minutes!" Tyson and Kevin both received a stun rod. Tyson held it apprehensively. It certainly didn't look like the best weapon to be using against flying aliens. Perhaps he could throw it like a spear. He tucked it into his backpack.
  "Why are we using flares? Why not night vision goggles?" Yuri called out to Elden. 'That,'Tyson thought,'is a very good question.'
  "You realize your goggles have light dampeners on them? If you see a flash of plasma with night vision on, your eyes are going to explode." 'And that is a very good answer,' Tyson thought.
  The Skyranger began to slow and bank to the right. Tyson donned his helmet, and checked his shoulder straps where a grenade and electroflare were waiting to be used. Suddenly it dawned on him that his first combat mission ever had started less than a day ago. It felt like a week ago. And now they were about to be tossed into it again. He suddenly felt very tired.
  The radio in the Skyranger cracked on. "This is interceptor one, there's a grassy field you can land in, just to the west of the farm house. We haven't been low enough to get straight infrared readings, but the aliens haven't spread too far outside the farm area it looks like."
  "Roger that Interceptor one, thanks for the update," the Skyranger's pilot responded. "30 seconds to the ground!" Tyson grabbed his laser pistol in his hands.Kevin had already moved up closer to Cory. They only had two people on Bravo squad, there wasn't time to reassign anyone before this mission had started.
  Anataly was looking over her pistol, her eyes had a solid determination that was quite unlike she had been when they were arriving there at first. She was staring towards the back of the Skyranger, a glazed over look in her eye. Her eye caught Tyson's and she smiled slightly at him; which caused him to quickly glance away. He hadn't realized he had been staring! The landing thrusters pounded to life and completely filled the cabin with noise.
  A mini map in the lower left corner of Tyson's visor came to life as the Skyranger's wheels hit the ground. The map formerly placed on his wrist was now part of the headset. In the upper right corner the video feed from MAT came to life as the hatch popped open.
  A 23:52 local time there wasn't much to see. The moon had been narrowing for a week, now waning just past half full. It was a clear night, but regardless the video feed had a very
limited range, until a beam of green energy lit up the ground around the tank.

  "Hostile to the left!" Cory shouted. Tyson focused on the linked camera. Mat rolled off the ramp, and as the camera stabilized he could make out a small humanish form with a large head. Three laser bolts ripped into it, causing it to screech and fall to the ground.

  "The LZ is secure. MAT head south, Carlie and Bravo cover the east." Tyson's MAT suggestion had caught on. "Alpha, we're moving north." Elden was on the ground, holding a large machine gun. Like any good commander should be, Tyson supposed, on the ground with a machine gun.

  As Tyson stepped near the hatch, he saw that the immediate area was lit up by multiple bright lights coming out of the ground. Anataly pulled out her electro flare and pressed it, then threw it to the northwest, where the shiny hull of the UFO sat. It lit in the air, then landed alongside the UFO, revealing nothing. He heard laser fire to the right, where he saw Charlie and Bravo squad lined up along a hedgerow. The laser weapons tore into a barn located near a house, tearing large holes in the sides of the building.

  "What are they shooting at?" Tyson asked into the com, keeping his eyes to the north. Despite being able to see decently well with the flares lighting the ground, he was still leary of what may walk around that UFO.
  "We're checking out the barn, just without going into it," Taylor said. "Looks like it is clear. See how much easier that was?" He turned to Yuri as he said it. Sucks to be that farmer, Tyson thought. Then again, the UFO had been outside his house for about 2 or 3 hours now. Holes in his barn was likely the last thing he would be worried about. If he was even alive to worry about it.

  "Charlie, clear that house. Alpha, we're following MAT around the far side of the UFO, Bravo approach from this side and cover Charlie. Let's do this boys!" The MAT rolled past Tyson and he tagged along behind it. He heard more laser fire, and turned to see a path shot through the thick hedges, and Yuri walking towards the house with his grenade launcher raised. "Keep your eyes on those windows." Taylor told his team.

  The MAT quickly outdistanced him, leaving him feeling exposed. Cory made a break for the UFO, picking up his thrown electroflare and tossing it closer to the UFO's entryway. Noticing MAT's camera growing dark, Tyson primed his flare and threw it into the darkness ahead. Nothing was there. Thankfully, he presumed.

  "We're in the barn. Looks all clear." That was the other Tyson reporting. 'Where are these aliens?' Tyson wondered. Why wonder, they were all hiding in the UFO he was running around! What else would they do hearing an airplane landing outside? Surely they knew they weren't bearing gifts. He paused near the edge of the UFO. MAT had moved farther north, scouting a field. Beyond here it was all dark.

  He held his pistol steady in front of him and swallowed hard. His heart was beating fast, and he really didn't want to go around that corner. "Almost to the entrance." He heard Cory say. They had to meet Bravo! Something inside him was freaking out. "Got your back, Tys," a familiar voice said behind him. It was Anataly. She threw a flare over the far side of the UFO, lighting the area. Tyson walked around the corner, revealing nothing. 'Whew,' he thought.

  "Bravo, hold until-" Elden's voice was cut off following a flash of plasma from the other side of the UFO. Tyson could see it on the side of the 2 story house. "Alien, in the garden! Watch it!" Tyson G. was yelling. There was an explosion, seemingly a grenade, followed by more laser pistol fire. "He's down!" Cory called.

  "Keep your eye's peeled guys. Tyson, head to the house, I'll cover to the north." It was Taylor talking. Other Tyson. "Bravo hold until that house is clear. Alpha wait for me to grab a flare..." Tyson could see Elden, running towards a flare hidden in a thickly weeded area. He glanced at the minimap, seeing Cory and Kevin covering the sides of the barn as the yellow dots indicating Charlie team members entered the house. Too bad the red enemy thing didn't work.

  As MAT rolled past the side of the UFO Tyson and Anataly followed. Elden had grabbed his flare, and lobbed it completely over the UFO. "Wait for MAT to clear that side then prepare to enter the UFO."

  "I'm already here." Cory said. Tyson and Anataly jogged around the corner to see Cory and Kevin waiting at the door. Laser blasts were coming from the house. Tyson had to admit, blowing open the walls were a far better alternative to getting popped walking through the door way. Unfortunately, UFO walls were too strong for anything like that.

  "Tyson, you on the right, Kevin on the left. Just like last time," Cory was saying. Kevin pulled out his stun rod. Tyson gave him a wide eyed look. "What?" Kevin mouthed. "The house is clear over here," Charlie team reported.
  "Ok, wait for me before you enter the UFO," Elden said. "He just want's the glory," Tyson joked. 'Though a glory I would like to give,' he thought a second later. "Hey, just cause we're out here doesn't mean the aliens can't come out, keep focused on that door," Cory reminded them.

  Elden walked around the corner of the UFO. "Miss me?" Cory nodded, then slid the UFO door open. The first room was empty. "We're going left," he said. Tyson and Kevin followed, covering both doors. "We've got the right side. You guys enter first, we'll let you know when we are there." Elden and Anataly walked down the hallway to the door on the right.

  Tyson tapped a button on his wrist, and the shared cam switched from MAT to Elden. He watched as Elden approached the far door. The hallway in front of him narrowed, and he pressed up behind Kevin. Cory slid open the door, and entered a small room. The next door led to the bridge.

  "In position," Elden said. "Ok, we're moving," Cory responded, in a whisper. Tyson could only see from behind Kevin. He saw Cory slide open the door, and walk into the room. He followed as best he could with Kevin in front of him.

  "Got one!" Cory called and began firing. Elden burst open the door. Tyson could see the stunned alien from Elden's viewscreen, looking behind then forward. It was shorter, small and gray-brown, with big eyes. Your typical X-Files alien. Elden fired with explosive rounds, one hitting the wall by the alien and killing it. Anataly ran past Elden, kneeling along the wall across the bridge from Cory.

  Tyson ran alongside Kevin, both of them still around the corner from where Cory and Anataly were. Tyson was staring at Cory's back when a green blaze burnt into his chest. His body fell backwards, his gun flying in the air.

  "Man down!" Kevin reacted fast, jumping over Cory's legs and chasing the alien back into the small room in the center of the UFO. Tyson heard the alien screame from inside the room. Tyson rounded the corner and was looking right into Anataly's face. She looked in shock. "I saw him come out...but Cory was there, I couldn't shoot..." She stammered.

  "All clear in here!" Kevin triumphantly called. Tyson knelt over Cory. The plasma had hit him in his left lung, burning away most of his upper left torso. It was likely he was dead before he hit the ground, the place were his heart should have been was gone. Their armor was useless against this stuff. Anatally was staring at the ground as Elden ran past her. Her hands were shaking as she held the pistol in one hand. Tyson wasn't sure what to do.
  "Stunned this one!" Kevin said. "We've got a live one!" he reported over the com, met with excitement by the other soldiers. He dragged the alien out of the engine room as Elden radioed in to base that the mission was over, and that Cory was KIA.
  "You got him with that?" Tyson said half heartedly. Cool, yes, but the fact that Cory's corpse was sitting behind him dampened his spirits. He could hear considerable excitement coming from the com relating to Kevin's capture as well. Anataly had stood, and walked over to Cory's body. She knelt over him, and appeared to be praying. Then she rolled him to the side.
  "Can you help me with him?" She turned to Tyson. He holstered his pistol, and the two of them carried Cory out and to the waiting Skyranger.

  Meanwhile, inside the UFO, Kevin and Elden were inspecting the odd container in the middle of the UFO. It looked like it was filled with glowing honey.
  "Any idea what it is?" Kevin asked.
 Elden shook his head. "Haven't seen it in any other UFO. But I think it is what make's this thing fly. Nice job with that stick son. You did good."

  "Thanks." Kevin's spine tingled. A live alien. And probably the commander. That, and whatever was in the orange tube seemed to be a key to using the alien weapons against them. Something made him feel it.

So, I started this mission like a month ago. Yeah, I'm really moving along at a great pace. Kevin get's the MVP award for being the first ever to zap an alien with a pointy stick. Very very impressive.

What brought me to finish (at least the typing portion) today? Well, took my computer to the area (an hour drive) and I've been at McD's for 3 ish hours now. Not all on this but a decent amount of time. Let's hope it saves so I can get it up. Then maybe start another one? Maybe...

I thought of some other titles for this one. First was 'Man Down' which wasn't too great because someone has died each time, but it does add some suspense and we know Cory better than the other dead peoples. The second was 'We've got a live one!' which is also a dead give away as to what happens. So I decided on a neutral boring one.