XCOM - Corruption within (KuroRekka & Kaybee)

Earth was slowly being ravaged by the war being waged by mankind and the alien menace that had descended from the heavens. In the months following first contact the once one side war was quickly becoming a stalemate due to mankind’s ability to replicate their enemy’s technology. This problem however soon forced the ones humans call Ethereals’ to start studying more than just human biology, but their habits and desires too. It was during an abduction run that they uncovered what they classified to be a data centre, housing human storage systems filled to the brim with knowledge.

It had taken a few weeks of delving into the human psyche before various schemes were set into motion; many however did not bear fruit while others were still in testing. One of the more promising schemes however had just reached the field testing stage and was currently position behind a team of Sectoids assigned to abduct live human test subjects needed for various other experiments. If the new unit was successful in the field the results would lead to the initiation of a plan that could see the fall of mankind.

The night air of the nearly deserted USA neighbourhood was lit only by the moon, the stars and the various neon lights still seeking to cast their brightness across the tar and concrete. Silence now blared out over what was once a busy Fred’s 24 hour gas station and the few low rent apartment buildings huddled around it. The neighbourhood had once been home to many occupants, but now it stood in vast loneliness with only its lifeless objects to hint at a time before the aliens.

The people had attempted to flee to safety on the first nights following the extra-terrestrials initial assault. Many were able to escape the onslaught while some had perished in the hell that had broken loose, others would have chosen death rather than the fate they had been given. To occupy alien stasis tanks was considered a fate far worse than death and the few life forms that still called the vacant buildings home, if only for a night or two, would rather leap into a blazing inferno than be captured..

It was nearing the middle of the night as the Moon inched closer to its peak when the low hum of alien engines started to whisper over the calm and dust encased gas pumps. The persistent hum grew louder and the air pressure kicked up the discarded sheets of papers and various plastic wrappers, tossing the dust and debris in all directions. Soon two watery blue eyes peeked out through the dangerously cracked window belonging to the convenience store attached to the gas station; fear quickly drowned the blue eyes when it gazed upon the floating hunk of metal. It took a couple of moments for the brain attached to the eyes to comprehend the full danger and signals soon raced to the rest of the body.

However the chance for escape had evaporated faster than a block of ice alone in the desert, before the blue eyed teenager could even fully turn to sprint pain squealed from his shoulder. Terrified eyes pulled the head in the direction of the attack, only to find a small grey humanoid brandishing something that looked like a gun in the young man’s direction. Whatever he had been struck with was obviously not lethal, but then again it was far from safe too as thick green sludge spread across his body rapidly before freezing his face in sheer terror.

The remaining Sectoids had fanned out, quickly scurrying about the area surrounding Fred’s gas station to investigate possible human hiding spots. One had scrambled around to the back of the convenience store, only to be painfully introduced to the end of a filthy steel pipe. Unfortunately the older woman’s triumph over the unsuspecting Sectoid was short lived as she quickly found herself petrified in translucent green slime. All compliments of another vile grey humanoid perched upon a blue van that had bulldozed into the rear entrance of the convenience store, blocking off any chance for someone to escape out the back door.

While the Sectoids rummaged through empty cars, overturned trash cans and rain soaked boxes a perfectly hidden object floated quietly past the unused gas pumps. The object continued its course and was soon passing through the door of the store held open by a decayed corpse. Undisturbed it traveled down one short isle until it slipped silently into the dark storeroom at the very back of the store and there it hovered just inside the doorway. Its artificial eyes glared straight ahead in anticipation of fulfilling its primary objective to the best of its abilities.

More and more of X-Com's resources were required now, whole squads being needed to fend of terror attacks or raid landed alien ships. They simply didn't have the manpower or the funds to send entire squads after abduction attempts any more, not with bigger fish to fry everywhere else.

That wasn't to say that X-Com wasn't doing it's work to prevent abductions at all. Where an entire squad of soldiers was an unrealistic response to such a threat it was also an unnecessary one, as one or two Elite soldiers could fend off the handful of sectoids and their occasional support troops just fine. Between cybernetics, armor upgrades, and veteran status of the majority of their forces, a pair of soldiers could do what had once taken three times their number to pull off, and with the new satellites giving more accurate reads on the numbers and types of aliens present at any given abduction zone, weaker opponents could even be dealt with by a single man or woman, albeit one in power armor and carrying the most powerful weaponry they knew how to use...

Such was this mission, a half-dozen sectoids had been spotted beginning an abduction and while Anomalous heat signatures suggested caution would be necessary on the part of the response a single soldier was dispatched, and less than an hour later the Skyranger's back was lowering as it coasted to a stop and Irene Jaworski was already hurrying down the ramp, beelining towards the nearest cover she could find and palming a battle-scanner, blinking as the augmented reality display in front of her outlined her surroundings in blue in preparation to display the aliens in red once the scanner was activated.

She was tall, taller now than she had been at the start of all this thanks to the genetic augmentations she'd undergone over the course of the project. Her straight blonde hair cut to end just above her shoulders, and while she was sturdily built thanks to physical training and live combat she was far from stocky. If anything she was quite a bit more slender and graceful than her strength would suggest. Another genetic augmentation having densified her muscle tissues to the point that with the semi-powered armor adding to her strength she could deadlift a small car.

In some ways, she even felt a little sorry for the sectoids, though had she known what lay in wait alongside them, she likely would have felt no such thing... As it was however, she threw the battle-scanner out, then hefted her rifle, a sturdily built laser weapon as she watched for the aliens to appear. Time to play...

The sight of the human air vessel was like ringing the play time bell for the sectoids while for the mystery player it signaled that prey had arrived. The sectoid that had played king of the van got the attention of the three short grey humanoids positioned behind the gas station, and plasma guns were soon armed and itching to go. Out of the ten alien invaders present in the area, only one had ever faced the X-com forces, lucky only to survive when two chryssalids had mutilated the human attackers. So unlike its comrades who were advancing on the hostile, it instead ducked into the store to hide.

The sectoid nearest the hostiles LZ scampered behind a rusted old white sedan, gun clasped tightly in hand before it peeked around the back bumper. The other vile beasts almost copied the first by seeking cover behind various objects, such as a tin trash can, the corner of a building or even a gas pump. The grey humanoid on the van had taken the high road by leaping onto the roof of the store and stalking up to the edge of the other side. The three at the back of the store took up positions around the van and lay in wait to capture or kill the assault team they assumed had arrived.

If one had a top down view of the situation they would see that sectoids were quite strategically placed with the first behind a car parked on the road. A few feet behind him and to the left was the second leaned up against a while pick-up truck while the third hugged an overfilled trash can. A forth was far to their right and huddled behind a gas pump. The fifth grey menace was squatting on the roof with two more sectoids occupied the store, though in truth the one was trying its best to look inconspicuous at the back of the store.

As time moved on and neither side attacked the grey dwarf sized alien behind the pick-up decided to get the show started. Focusing on his nearest comrade he forced his will upon him, the sectoid closest to the LZ posed no resistance as the mind merge commenced. The very instant the merge completed the control sectoid discarded its cover and started firing at the location he had witness the human soldier take cover.

Irene grimaced as the sectoids tried to pin her behind the car. The little grey aliens were not physically imposing but they were smart, and learned very quickly, meaning that she had to move before the vehicle exploded. She rose to a crouch and took off in a low run, rising to her full height only as she cleared the front hood as she rounded the vehicle at full speed, thrusting one shoulder into the oncoming fire and trusting in her powered suit to take the hits as she took one step, two, three, and then ducked low.

Sliding in behind the next parked car and hefting her rifle to fire back at her aggressor, Irene was quick, taking only a few seconds to center the sights and squeeze the trigger, sending a line of searing crimson at the hostile extraterrestrial. Then she ducked back behind the car, scanning the battlefield again, trying to avoid being flanked.

The plasma rounds wreaked holes in everything they struck, but the controlled sectoids aim was off and thus leaving the target unharmed. Unfortunately the same could not be said about the female target as the retaliation shot seared a devastating wound throw the sectoids scrawny neck. Even as the lifeless form of their comrade crumbled to the earth, the other grey invaders continued their assault. The gas pump hugging extra-terrestrial started to fire off a few rounds while the mind merging grey humanoid sprinted from his cover behind the pickup.

The one who had just moments ago manipulated his comrade crouched low as he neared the earthling’s new cover spot. The small alien Slinked slowly around the back end of the car readying his weapon to capture the female human for experimentation purposes. Cautiously its large head peaked out behind the car to judge the distance to the target.