The Stormbreakers: A Stellaris Story

[Macavity116]

Really exciting and excellent stuff Mac. I've read through Chapter 10 and enjoyed every bit of it. Better late to the party than never I suppose. Keep up the wonderful work! I suppose this means I'll have to go back to the other stories at some point.

Cheers!

Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed the story so far!

 

[Macavity116]

Spoiler: Happy April Fool's Day

This post is for you, HistoryDude.

The past few weeks have been pretty stressful for us all, so I want to kick off the month of April with something different to take our minds off things, at least for a little while. To that end, I would like to make a huge announcement!

Starting today, The Stormbreakers will be changing format! The story will now be presented as a YouTube series, featuring gameplay footage from Stellaris: Apocalypse, XCOM2: War of the Chosen, as well as Blackbird Interactive's smash-hit blockbuster Triple-A game, Homeworld 3!

So, readers, I hope you enjoy the newest chapter of The Stormbreakers, in which the men and women of Voodoo Squad hunt down the Chosen Warlock and defeat him once and for all!
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Chapter 20
The Mortals Conquer Olympus

​

 

[Thatguyishere233]

That’s some pretty cool weapons and armor, what mods do you use?

 

[Macavity116]

That’s some pretty cool weapons and armor, what mods do you use?

I mixed and matched over twenty weapon/armor mods to make my troops look like that. The most crucial ones:

• Long War Laser Pack
• Coilguns for War of the Chosen
• Disposable Rocket Launchers
• Everyone Equips Everything

You can see my full modlist at this page: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2043620991

 

[Macavity116]

Hello readers. Thanks for indulging me in a little April Fool's Day silliness. We'll be getting back to our regular programming now. The Stormbreakers will resume in it's regular narrative format on Monday.

Next week: Our heroes finally discover what happened to Mira Mihaka! Come back on Monday to learn the ultimate fate of the Protagonist of After Everything!

 

[Macavity116]

This week's chapter is a busy one, and the end of Act Two is rapidly approaching with a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up. But if you have Google Translate open in another tab while reading this week's post, you might just find a hint towards why Akira Robinson has been acting so enigmatically for the past few chapters.

That said, here we go... it's time for a very dark discovery...
======

<== Previous Chapter (Te reo Māori)

Next Chapter (A Dark Doorway) ==>​

Chapter 20
A Horrible Truth

​

Tuesday, July 17, 2035 11:30am
Ruins of Jilin City, Manchuria, East Asia


Things moved very quickly now.

As soon as Voodoo Squad confirmed the death of the Chosen Warlock, Makara Ranginui returned to her ship. The crew of the Kakama informed us that Makara was going to lead the forces of the Triple Alliance in a general offensive to try and force the Elders to surrender. Manako and the members of Team Takea crossed over to the Avenger crew and helped us unload and catalog all of the loot seized from the Chosen Warlock’s personal fortress.

Pyotr and his troops had killed twenty-nine aliens inside of the Warlock’s stronghold: A whole squad of ADVENT Army soldiers, plus a handful of assorted alien fighters. The shipping container dropped off by the Skyranger held the bodies of ADVENT Army soldiers, Codices, Mutons, a Chryssalid, an Avatar, and a number of other aliens we’d never encountered before. Voodoo Squad also managed to seize a sizable cache of enemy weapons. Plasma Rifles, Psionic Amplifiers, EMP Bombs, Magnetic Cannons, you name it, they found it.

But we didn’t understand the full magnitude of this victory until the next day. On Tuesday morning, after Pyotr and his troops were given a night to rest, he and his squad were hauled into the Resistance Ring to be debriefed.

A picture of the Avenger's Resistance Ring as it appeared during the final year of the Second Hyperspace War. This was the primary strategic planning center of the Human Resistance during the fight against ADVENT and would briefly be used by the leadership of all three branches of AFUNE (the post-ADVENT Human military)

The Ring is a special meeting place in the Avenger where the highest-ranking members of the Resistance and their allies can gather and plan out future operations. Since large-scale gatherings of leaders like the one at Site X were a rare occurrence, the Ring was outfitted with a holographic communications system that enabled dozens of people to engage in a virtual conference remotely.

On Commander Harper’s request, I attended the debriefing. Ignatius Petoskey and Jericho also came along, and although she wasn’t invited, Chihiro was listening in via our Psionic Link. When I got to the Ring, Central Officer Bradford, Doctor Tygan, Chief Shen and several representatives from the various Resistance factions were also present. Geist, the Leader of the Templars, paced back and forth as he waited for the meeting to begin. Ivan Kuznetsov was speaking for the Reapers in the absence of Konstantine Volikov, and a lone female Skirmisher I’d never met before rounded out the group. Three members of Team Takea were present as well: Partogan Manako Ranginui, Kelt engineer Dolim Dehuri, and Assurian soldier Adil. Sarah Harris was next to them, translating as usual. All five members of Voodoo Squad sat together on one side of the Ring, an oval-shaped conference table that took up most of the room.

Before she sat down, Chief Shen tapped a few buttons on a computer screen. With many flashing lights, the holographic silhouette of a man appeared at the head of the table. As usual, the Spokesman of the Council of Nations had obscured every detail of his appearance, making it impossible for me to describe him beyond the words “he looked like a bald man.”

Once everybody was seated. The Councilman commenced the proceedings.

“Colonel Ilyshin. You and your soldiers are to be commended. The defeat of the Chosen Warlock is a loss our enemies may never recover from. I am sure our Templar allies will appreciate such a painful thorn being removed from their side.”

“Make no mistake, I am very grateful.” Geist said. “Not just for the destruction of our common enemy, but for neutralizing a menace who sought to steal the Psionic energies of this world, energies that rightfully belong to Humankind.”

“Colonel,” Bradford addressed Pyotr. “Stormbreaker Squad is on deck to go after the Chosen Assassin. We need you to tell us exactly what happened, so that Lieutenant Robinson and his team will be prepared for whatever surprises are in that fortress.”

“Don’t leave out any details.” I chimed in. “Petoskey, Jericho, and I are going to take notes. I’m also sure that we’re going to have a lot of questions, too.”

Pyotr nodded his understanding. Standing at the opposing head of the conference table from Commander Harper, the Russian officer picked up the remote control for the holographic projector and clicked it. A three-dimensional representation of the Chosen Warlock’s personal fortress appeared in midair above the conference table and began to slowly rotate clockwise, granting everyone a view.

“Kon-Mon Dessurik’s Fortress was located on Wizard Island, which is a volcanic cinder cone in the middle of Crater Lake in Oregon.” Pyotr began. “The Fortress is not dissimilar from an iceberg. Roughly ten percent of the installation was built above ground. For the most part, it’s an underground structure that can be sealed up at a moment’s notice. Lucky for us, the Templars were able to locate a weak point in the enemy defenses and we were able to blast our way inside.”

Pyotr clicked the remote. On the north side of the fortress, a holographic explosion caused the landing pad to collapse, revealing a cavernous hole that granted the attackers a direct route into the underground facility. The hologram briefly dissolved into millions of chaotic points of light which re-arranged themselves into a map of the underground base.

“Damn.” Bradford said with a low whistle. “Reminds me of the old XCOM base in Kansas.”

Pyotr stuck his hand inside the hologram and placed his finger inside a small room, which flashed red.

“We breached here, a storage facility.” Pyotr explained. “This thing here at our backs is a forklift, and the doorway in front of it led further into the facility.”

“What was in the next room?” Ignatius asked.

“An ADVENT Army Foundry.” Pyotr replied. “One of the facilities used to manufacture ADVENT soldiers.”

“Foundry?” Manako repeated. “Manufacture soldiers?”

Doctor Tygan turned in his seat to face the Triple Alliance soldiers. While he spoke Sarah translated Tygan’s words into Partogan:

“A significant majority of the ADVENT Army consists of genetically modified clones, manufactured in several facilities all over the planet. Clearly, one such Foundry existed in the Chosen Warlock’s Fortress.”

“Which means my squad might run into one when we go fight the Assassin.” I said. “Petoskey, write that down.”

Ignatius nodded and quickly scribbled some French words in a handheld notebook.

“So, what happened after you entered the Foundry facility?” Commander Harper asked.

Nuwa Tang, a Chinese woman, stood up and took over for Pyotr. The blueish light of the holographic display made her grey hair shine brightly in the dim room. She pointed towards a doorway that connected the Foundry to a room that contained some kind of power generator.

“We took contact from this doorway.” Nuwa pointed. “An enemy officer and a couple of underlings were guarding the Elerium generator, and they heard us making noise in the Foundry. They alerted the entire fortress to our presence.”

“Over a dozen ADVENT soldiers converged on our position.” Bernard von Unfal added. “We had to lay down a great deal of Overwatch fire to keep them from getting too close.”

“So how did you deal with the enemy contacts?” Geist inquired. He was hanging on every word of the story with great interest.

“We split the squad.” Nuwa answered. “Ilyshin and Zhao fell back to the storage facility. Baker and Julian ran into the next room, and von Unfal and I dug into the Foundry.”

“You did all that without taking fire from ADVENT?”

“Oh, we did take some fire.” Andrea Baker chimed in. “Just not as much as we could have. We used Chief Shen’s new toy to take some heat off us.”

Andrea reached into her pocket and produced a small red and white object. At first glance, I thought it was a very large 12-sided die, but then I spotted the tiny little hologram projector diodes on each face.

“Excellent!” Chief Shen exclaimed. “So the Mimic Beacon worked? How long did it last in the field?”

“The beacon created a holographic double of me for about two minutes.” Tao replied. “It was just convincing enough to draw fire from a grunt and an officer, which gave Ilyshin time to work his magic with that bigass Laser Cannon.”

“Hey Shen,” I said, “I want three of those Mimic Beacons for my squad.”

Ivan Kuznetsov scratched his beard thoughtfully.

“So, you distracted the enemy with the Mimic Beacon. How did you exploit that?”

“Baker and Julian ran through this room and outflanked the enemy squad.” Pyotr answered.

He pointed to a long chamber on the map. It consisted of a central hallway with many small rooms on each side.

“Hold up,” I said. “Are those cells?”

“Affirmative.” Andrea replied. “It was some kind of prison or jail or brig. We found out the hard way when Julian destroyed a bunch of cells with his Shredder Gun.”

Commander Harper furrowed her brow.

“Robinson, intel says that your comrades Smith, Endo, Walsh, and Ackermann are all being held in the Chosen Assassin’s Fortress. You’ll need to check your fire down there. Avoid smashing the prison block if you can help it.”

“We’ll go light on the explosives again, ma’am.” I told her. “Pyotr, how long did it take you to neutralize the defenders?”

“It was a long gunfight.” Pyotr reported. “Thirteen, maybe fourteen minutes. The good news is that while we were fighting down below, the Templars were keeping the enemy busy up top. There was never a moment where we had to worry about enemy reinforcements… at least for the first half of the mission.”

The Skirmisher rapped her knuckles on the table.

“Just as the Templars guarded your comrades, we will occupy the upper levels of the Assassin’s fortress and see to it that you are not attacked from behind.”

“Much appreciated.” I thanked the Skirmisher, then went back to questioning Pyotr. “Hold on, where was Dessurik during all of this? He must have gone directly from fighting my squad to fighting yours.”

“As far as we could tell,” Nuwa speculated. “Dessurik showed up inside the Fortress two or three minutes after we breached it. We could hear his voice over the intercom, but he never actually showed himself during that first gunfight.”

“Once we cleared the area, we started searching for the Warlock.” Tao said. “But it was Shen’s robot, Julian, who found the way forward.”

Chief Shen stood up and began to manipulate the holographic representation of the Chosen Warlock’s Fortress with her remote. The model fortress fell away until a single room was left. The words “Ascension Chamber” appeared in bright blue above it.

“Julian scanned this platform and compared it against all alien technology XCOM knew about.” Shen said. “He found a match. It was obscure, but a match nonetheless. This platform seems to be an updated and modernized incarnation of the Matter Transporter system used by the Zudjari during the 1962 War.”

The hologram changed. An old Matter Transporter appeared next to the modern Ascension Chamber, complete with a 1960’s-era XCOM agent standing on it, tipping his fedora hat with one hand.

A drawing from 1962 depicts what was believed to happen when an XCOM agent uses a Matter Transporter. Unfortunately, there is no one left who knows exactly what this experience is like, or to verify the authenticity of this image.

“Best I can tell, these two systems serve the same rapid transit function, but they go about it in different ways.” Shen explained. “The Matter Transporter scans a person and records their composition right down to the atomic level, then it disassembles them into molecules and beams them to the matching platform, where they are reassembled. By contrast, the Ascension Chamber uses some kind of Quantum Tunneling device to rip spacetime and push your intact body through the hole.”

“Slipgate!”

Everyone turned to see who had spoken. Adil, the Assurian soldier who had accompanied Manako, was standing up and had raised an arm to get our attention. He paused while he waited for Sarah to whisper a quick translation in his ear. Then Adil spoke again:

“You call it warp hole… space tunnel? I don’t find word.”

Sarah tapped Adil on the shoulder and urged him to sit down.

“It’s cool you’re trying to speak English,” Sarah told him. “Let me help.”

Sarah took over for him.

“Adil says his people call that tech Artificial Slipgates. Basically, they’re man-made portals or wormholes, tunnels through space that lead to one specific destination.”

“Somehow, that makes me less comfortable going through one.” I said. “Pyotr, please tell me you guys didn’t…”

“We did.” Pyotr confirmed. “Julian was confident that it was safe, and he was right.”

“All six of us stood on the platform.” Nuwa said. “And then Julian activated it.”

“The whole trip took only a second.” Bernard added. “But when we came out on the other side… We came out somewhere fascinating.”

The holographic map changed one more time, revealing a wide-open space that reminded me of certain Buddhist temples I’d seen in Japan. The ceiling was so high up that I don’t think the soldiers of Voodoo Squad ever saw it. Ornate gilded trimmings adorned every surface of the temple walls and ceiling, and the whole place seemed like an odd combination of a throne room and a crypt. On an elevated platform, a huge slab of solid Elerium was suspended in midair above an altar.

The holographic projection of the Council Spokesman walked through the table and examined the altar more closely.

“This is a Psionic Capacitor.” The Councilman said. “During my time as a member of the ADVENT Government, I oversaw the construction of two such devices. Now we know what they’re being used for.”

“Capacitor, huh?” Nuwa repeated. “We called it a Sarcophagus the whole time. I like that word better.”

Doctor Tygan and Dolim were both very interested in the Warlock’s Sarcophagus. The little reptilian alien actually climbed up onto the conference table and stood inside of the hologram, his head sticking up through the floor of the holographic temple.

“The Capacitor transfers immense amounts of Psionic energy to the Chosen in such a short span of time, restoring them to perfect physical health.” Tygan said, his voice getting quicker with excitement. “This, Commander, is clearly the secret! This is how the Chosen continue to survive our attempts to kill them! Neither the Hypervital Module nor Partogan Nanomedicine can heal wounds as quickly as this device!”

“It’s no wonder these things just keep coming at us.” Bradford breathed. “I think its safe to assume there’s one Sarcophagus for each of the Chosen. Robinson, your squad would do well to pack some serious heat. HMG’s, anti-materiel rifles, Helix Rail Cannons, maybe even a Blaster Launcher.”

Jericho sat up in her chair.

“So, obviously, you guys smashed that Sarcophagus into pieces, right?”

“We tried to.” Andrea said, “That was when the Warlock actually showed up.”

“And he wasn’t alone.” Bernard told us. “He was using his power to teleport enemy soldiers directly into the temple with us!”

“We had to drop a couple more Mimic Beacons to avoid getting swarmed!” Nuwa added. “There were Mutons, Codices, even an Avatar showed up! Every time one of us put a round into that damn slab, more and more enemies appeared.”

“And the whole time the Warlock was plying our flanks, trying to Mindfray us.” Pyotr said. “Things got so messy, we actually killed him twice! But each time, his body would teleport back into that Sarcophagus and be restored, then we’d have to fight him all over again!”

“But then,” Andrea finished, “We finally got some room to breathe and put a ton of rounds into that thing, and it broke like glass!”

Nuwa shuddered.

“When the Sarcophagus broke, Dessurik went insane. He started talking gibberish and saying stuff that didn’t make sense. He was freakin’ berserk!”

“Lashing out at anyone and anything in range.” Tao said. “I thought he was going to bring the whole fortress crashing down on top of us!”

“What happened!?” Jericho squeaked! She was sitting on the edge of her seat.

Andrea Baker and Bernard von Unfal gave one another knowing looks.

“Dessurik had gone psycho.” Andrea said. “He wasn’t watching his flanks. I got around on his right and shot him in his side.”

“While Baker was doing that, I went around the left.” Bernard finished. “We took him down together! Two to the chest and one to the head!”

Excited chatter swirled around the Resistance Ring. There was no doubt in the room, this was XCOM’s biggest victory to date. A seemingly invincible enemy had finally been put six feet under. We had proven that the Elders were no gods, and that we really could fight them off.

“Commander!” I stood up and addressed Harper. “We have to follow up this victory as quick as we can. Give the word, and I’ll have Stormbreaker Squad ready for dustoff in an hour! We’ll bring back our missing soldiers and the Assassin’s corpse!”

Central Officer Bradford clapped his hands and cheered. Manako Ranginui uncrossed his arms and nodded approvingly at me. The Council Spokesman’s holographic avatar regarded me for a moment.

“It is fortunate that Stormbreaker Squad will be taking point on this operation.” The Spokesman said. “They already have inroads with our allies on the ground. This will be our first Joint Operation between XCOM and EXALT. Lieutenant Robinson, the Resistance Council looks forward to seeing your progress.”

Commander Harper took the floor again.

“Soldiers, here’s the intel you need for the assault on the Assassin’s fortress.”

With one click of her remote, the hologram on the table turned into a topographical map of Vladivostok, the largest city in Eastern Russia. Vladivostok itself was situated on the tip of a peninsula that jutted out into the Sea of Japan. About five miles northwest of the town was a very large ADVENT military base, nestled in the side of a rocky hill.

“Thanks to the intel seized from Dessurik’s Fortress in Oregon,” Harper began, “We can be confident that the Assassin’s base is also a Foundry, churning out new ADVENT soldiers on an assembly line. I’m also very confident that this base is where the Assassin herself was created. ADVENT Gene Therapy clinic records confirm that several individuals who were selected for a ‘special program’ ended up here.”

“Commander, is there any way to verify the identity of the Chosen Assassin?” Doctor Tygan asked. “In the same way we confirmed the names of Dessurik and Madron?”

Commander Harper hesitated.

“It is possible.” She said, “And we have tracked one specific Gene Therapy patient we suspect of being the alter ego of the Assassin. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough evidence to be confident in our guess. Since we’re not certain enough to put a name on the Assassin, we won’t do it here.”

Harper swept the digression aside and pointed to the holographic map again.

“A company-sized force of EXALT fighters are already on the ground in Vladivostok, supporting the local Resistance fighters as part of Operation Crack the Sky. The Russian President and Japanese Prime Minister Nakagawa are working together to break ADVENT’s grip in the region.”

Scoffs and groans of disbelief ran around the room. In the back of my mind, Chihiro telepathically said:

Japanese and Russians working together!? Outrageous, but believable. But XCOM and EXALT on the same side!? Incomprehensible! That’s how you know the world really is ending, Blake… when mortal enemies become allies, it’s a sign that all our days are numbered.

“Nakagawa has a lot of pull in the EXALT hierarchy.” Harper continued. “He has promised to break off a Platoon of his unit and make them a part of our operation. EXALT will launch a diversionary attack on the base defenders and incapacitate the local anti-aircraft defenses.”

Bradford let out a low whistle.

“Never thought I’d live to see the day when XCOM and EXALT were on the same side. I’ll bet more of them can remember a time when we used to shoot each other on sight.”

“No worries, John.” Quipped Ivan Kuznetsov. “I’m sure you two will go right back to killing one another when this is all over.”

Harper silenced them both with a look.

“After Nakagawa’s forces silence the triple-A, the Skyranger plus an escort of Partogan warships will perform an air assault on the base. Lieutenant Robinson, your troops will move into this office area here. You’ll be directly above a Cybernetics laboratory. Use X-4 charges to punch through the floor and gain entry to the main area of the base. Fan out and search. Your top priority is to find and kill the Chosen Assassin, but your secondary priority will be to find and rescue your comrades. If you find an Ascension Gate or Matter Transporter or whatever the hell that thing is called, don’t go through until either you find your friends, or Team Takea catches up with you. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.” I said.

“Good.” Harper finished. “Councilman, how long will it take to get all of our allies into position for the assault?”

The holographic silhouette of the Council Spokesman scratched its chin thoughtfully.

“The Skirmishers have been effective and punctual allies thus far.” The Councilman said, “EXALT is still something of a wildcard, but we do have functional channels of communication now. As for the Partogans and their offworld friends, the speed of their deployment will depend on our translator’s ability to handle the workload.”

“You can count on me, sir!” Sarah stood up and puffed out her chest in a confident way.

“Good.” The Councilman acknowledged her. “Commander, I will need twenty-four hours to make all of the necessary arrangements. The mission to kill the Chosen Assassin and rescue the soldiers captured in Pyongyang will commence the day after tomorrow.”

“It’s settled then.” Harper said. “Robinson, day after tomorrow, zero-dark-thirty. You and your squad will put down the Chosen Assassin. After that, every man and woman who’s still standing is gonna be on deck for Operation Leviathan.”

On those last two words, a chill seemed to run through the whole room. We all knew what the Commander was referencing: the plan to go through the Psionic Gate and assault the Elders on their own turf.

“This is it, everyone!” The Commander addressed the room at large. “As soon as Stormbreaker confirms the death of the Chosen Assassin, the final mission will be a-go! There will be no delays for any reason. We aren’t going to stop to tend the wounded or bury the dead. Injured troops get left behind. Damaged equipment will be destroyed in place. We don’t stop until the Elders are finished! Does anyone have any questions?”

“No ma’am!” chanted the room at large.

“Then get to your posts, and God go with you all. Robinson, meet me in my office. This’ll be quick.”

…

While the meeting broke up and soldiers went their different ways, I instructed Jericho and Ignatius to wait for me in the armory. As soon as they left, I started to make my way towards the exit, intending to follow Commander Harper to her office as ordered, but Manako Ranginui caught me before I’d gone more than a few paces. Sarah, looking a little harassed, panted as she caught up with him in turn.

Now that I was right in front of him, I could clearly see Manako’s features in greater detail. The Partogan commander had a Maori-style facial tattoo that covered much of his lower face, and gave the impression that he was peeking at me from behind a bush. I felt unnerved, as though the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. I couldn’t help but understand why Sarah had been so frustrated with Soylent Green over his tattoo. Compared to Soylent’s, Manako’s tattoo looked much more… genuine. I could easily imagine a Maori person wearing it.

“I want to wish you luck.” Manako said in decent English.

He snatched a quick glance at Sarah, who flashed the double thumbs up.

“He asked, I taught him.” Sarah confirmed.

Instinctively, I offered my hand and a few friendly words.

“Best of luck to you too.” I replied. “I look forward to fighting alongside you.”

Manako reached forward and clasped my hand firmly in his.

Now I’ll admit, I’ve gotten electric shocks from a handshake before, but I’ve never had a jolt as powerful as this one! It took all my discipline to hold myself still and hide the fact that Manako had just given me a pretty powerful shock. I shook his hand once and quickly let go.

“Kia mihi.” Manako said with a nod. “Me haere ahau.”

Turning on his heels, Manako started moving towards the exit with a look of determination on his face. He shouted something in his own language which caused his compatriots to follow him with an unexpected degree of urgency:

“Whakapaia ki te whawhai! Ko te hoariri o taku kuia, kei konei!”

…

I followed Commander Harper upstairs to her office behind the bridge, nervously wondering what was about to happen. I started thinking of all the things I might have done wrong and started planning to defend myself:

Did Harper know someone else had triggered Jericho’s ankle bracelet at Site X? Well, it hadn’t happened again since. The battery in the other remote was probably long dead. That problem was clearly over.

Did Harper know Chihiro and I had quietly gotten married? I knew we risked running afoul of anti-fraternization rules by doing that, but if it was a serious issue, then I’d happily hand over the role of Squad Leader to Soylent or Hal if that allowed us to stay together.

Did Harper know I’d considered abandoning the mission in Shanghai because my squad was in danger? I decided to stand by that one. I was the Squad Leader on the ground and it was my call, no one else could be held responsible for that.

Did Harper know Chihiro and I had discussed trying to make Jericho and Yutaka break off their relationship? Well, in any professional military, Yutaka (an officer who outranks Jericho by miles) would be accused of abusing his power and get busted all the way down to Private… so that one actually works in my favor.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I barely noticed Commander Harper locking her office door after I stepped inside. I did notice when she reached up to the back of her neck, disconnected her Mindshield, and held it out to me.

“Wait… what? Why?” I was suddenly quite full of questions.

“I don’t want to deal with telepathic eavesdroppers.” Harper replied.

While I clipped the spindly device to my neck and made sure the Elerium conduit was snug against the base of my spine, the Commander withdrew a second Mindshield and attached it to her own head. Then we both sat down on opposite ends of her desk.

“Listen to me, Robinson.” Harper said. “This is of crucial importance. You cannot repeat anything I’m about to say to anyone. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Keep that Mindshield on until this mission is over, otherwise things might fall apart pretty quickly.”

Commander Harper brought her desktop computer online and tapped out some instructions on the keyboard. She turned the screen around so I could see the relevant documents and intel as she spoke:

“When you were in Shenyang, Captain Green and Lieutenant Hawkins found some curious documents in a Gene Therapy clinic’s computer.” Harper began. “The records of an individual named ‘Patient 116’ who was cured of several serious illnesses and injuries before being confiscated for a special program.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Well, Lieutenant. We were able to cross-reference that patient’s data with the intel taken from Dessurik’s Fortress.” Harper explained: “Our contacts inside the ADVENT government were able to trace Patient 116 throughout the Gene Therapy system. We found the date and location of her first visit to the clinics, as well as all subsequent visits.”

Commander Harper folded her hands and I leaned forward in my chair. I was starting to have suspicions, and I was dreading the confirmation.

“Patient 116 visited a Gene Therapy clinic for the first time in the summer of 2025. Back then, security was much looser and the ADVENT Coalition didn’t seem to have a problem with lending their services to non-Human visitors. Patient 116 was recorded as a one-eyed Partogan female, aged approximately 142 Earth years. Over the course of nine visits, her biological age was reduced to just 47 Earth years. Travel records suggested this Partogan was an expat. She would leave Earth in a personal spaceship and return regularly, although ADVENT had a very large amount of trouble keeping track of her movements and activities when she was actually on the ground.”

I felt a prickling along the back of my neck. As I put the pieces together in my mind, a nightmarish picture was coming into frame.

“In November of 2028, ADVENT security forces caught this woman using a faster-than-light communications device to intentionally violate Causality.” Harper expounded. “Local Peacekeepers moved in to arrest her, but they were ambushed and driven away… by a fourteen-year-old Jericho.”

“Oh, no.” I breathed. “Oh, no. Oh… God! No!”

“The woman called ‘Patient 116’ vanished after that.” Harper continued. “Disappeared completely, just went off the grid. No more offworld trips, no more clinic visits. For two years, the trail was cold, but then… on December 7th, 2030, Jericho burst into the Beijing Gene Therapy Clinic with Patient 116 leaning on her shoulder. She was suffering from end-stage stomach cancer… an ailment that ADVENT medicine could completely cure in about ten seconds.”

I felt like I was going to be sick. This couldn’t be true! It cannot be true!

“Jericho never saw Patient 116 again.” The Commander finished. “The ADVENT government had changed its laws and restrictions, so when the patient’s DNA was scanned, she tripped every possible alarm. She was flagged for a special project… transferred to Shenyang, where more work was done on her… and then she was transferred to the Vladivostok Blacksite.”

The last puzzle piece clicked into place in my mind. I retched.

“Fuck!” I gasped. “Fuck this!”

But Commander Harper finished her story nonetheless:

“Six months after Mira Mihaka disappeared… the Chosen Assassin appeared for the first time.”

I grabbed the trash can from under Harper’s deck and spit bile!

“You… no! You’re wrong!” I pleaded. “There’s gotta be a mistake somewhere!”

“I wish there was a mistake.” Harper sighed. “Damnit Robinson, I got down on my knees and prayed I had it wrong.”

I put the bin down and sat up.

“What do we do?”

I couldn’t help but choke back a sob. I was thinking of Jericho. How the hell was she going to take this!?

“Not we.” Said Harper. “You.”

I wiped my nose on my sleeve, unable to find words again.

“Robinson, Jericho is the best damn weapon we’ve got in this war, and her mother’s database proves that someday soon, Jericho is going to be the key to our salvation. I can’t share the details without derailing your own future, but please believe me when I say she’ll be useless if she’s traumatized. We must not… we cannot… allow her to learn about this, under any circumstances. Jericho will function better for us if she thinks her mother is alive and hidden somewhere else, understand? She finds out, all bets are off. We’ve got to play this close to the chest, or we might just doom all of mankind.”

Harper reached forward and grabbed my hand in both of hers. She stared hard into my eyes, and I thought she was going to burn my soul away.

“Robinson, do you still have the remote control for Jericho’s Arc Brace?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. When you find the Ascension Chamber, I want you to stun Jericho. Make sure she’s out cold, tie her to something solid, and leave her behind. Nakagawa and the EXALT team will bring her back to the Avenger. You and your soldiers will continue the mission. And Robinson… When you find Mira Mihaka: Kill her. Destroy the body. Erase the truth.”

<== Previous Chapter (Te reo Māori)

Next Chapter (A Dark Doorway) ==>​

 

[HistoryDude]

Mira is the Chosen Assassin? Dang.

XCom wants to erase all evidence of this? That’s not great...

Also, the two described teleportation methods aren’t as similar as they seem. One dissolves a being into atoms and then reassembles it…which could destroy their soul. The soul isn’t endangered by the other technique.

Nice April Fools’ prank...

 

[Macavity116]

Mira is the Chosen Assassin? Dang.

XCom wants to erase all evidence of this? That’s not great...

Can you imagine Blake and Commander Harper keeping this secret under wraps for the rest of Jericho's life? The next 14 months would be incredibly painful for everyone involved, and that's assuming she doesn't find out.

Also, the two described teleportation methods aren’t as similar as they seem. One dissolves a being into atoms and then reassembles it…which could destroy their soul. The soul isn’t endangered by the other technique.

True on all counts, but I like to imagine that being forcefully shoved through a Quantum Wavefront and pulled through Hyperspace to be 100 times more traumatic.

Nice April Fools’ prank...

Thanks. I'm planning to use a second video during the Intermission. (the gap between Acts Two and Three) I'm planning for it to be much, much shorter, of course.

 

[markros50]

Dude... Seriously... You hit the only glass wall in the system...

 

[Macavity116]

For all of you readers who, like me, just had their stay-at-home orders extended by a month... here's an extra long chapter.

Stay safe, stay healthy.
======

<== Previous Chapter (A Horrible Truth)

Next Chapter (Mira Mihaka) ==>​

Chapter 21
The Dark Doorway

​

Wednesday, July 18, 2035 1:15am
Outskirts of Hunchun, Near the Tripoint Border of China, Russia, and Korea, East Asia


“Hate to do this, but you’re the only one who can pull this off. You know I’d go myself if I could.”

“The gateway is primed. Is the subject prepared?”

“Ready. I’ve hardwired what was left of the Codex brain into Rover. It should be emitting the same signal the Codex used to pass through the gateway.”

“Excellent. Let us begin… We’ve already seen the Codex opening a similar rift in the field. I am sure your… device… will be fine.”

“There. We’re set to record across all spectrums. Remember: Go in, take some quick readings, them come right back through, okay?”

ROV-3R, the little Gremlin drone, began buzzing through the air towards the open Psionic Gate, which illuminated the Shadow Chamber with vivid blue and purple light. The Codex brain strapped to the top of the drone made an odd clicking sound as it passed through the rift held in the crescent-shaped archway.

“Woah!” Shen gasped. “Are you seeing this!?”

“It appears our signal has been received!” Tygan acknowledged. “Increasing power!”

While Tygan punched a command into a touchscreen, Shen looked away from her workstation and dared to peek through the Psionic Gate with her own eyes. A completely alien environment filled her field of vision, complete with green lights, purple flora, and an eerie floor-to-ceiling transparent wall that looked out on an ocean biome, where schools of fish flitted into and out of the light.

“Doesn’t look like anyplace we’ve been to before… or any place on Earth for that matter!”

“Perhaps this is the source.” Tygan mused, keeping his face glued to the screen. “The aliens ‘seat of power’ if you will. Secured beyond any physical limitations.”

“Only one way to find out.” Shen addressed her Gremlin drone. “Go on. We’re counting on you!”

Moving with caution, ROV-3R crossed the threshold to the other side of the Psionic Gate. At once, the data feed from the drone went dead, a fantastic white light pulsed out of the gate, and the drone itself was flung backwards! Crashing to the floor, Shen’s drone came to rest at the base of the gate and didn’t move again. The Chief Engineer gasped and quickly scrambled to recover her fallen drone.

“That is definitely not fine, doctor!” Shen protested.

Unfazed, Tygan gestured to his computer with a look of triumph.

“The process did work. There was an instant where the device was in between locations. However, once that occurred the gateway called for a second signature… an organic signature. When we could not provide one, it generated a sort of feedback pulse.”

“Obviously.” Shen scoffed, gently picking up the remains of her drone.

Tygan barely heard her. At this point, he was just thinking out loud.

“If the Codex creates the door, this organic signature must be the key.”

“Well we’d better make sure we have the right key before we try again.” Shen carried the wreck of her drone over to Tygan so he could see the damage. “I would hate for this to occur to something organic.”

“Agreed. I will report our findings to the Commander immediately.”

…

If the Avenger had landed during the daytime, I would have wanted to go sightseeing. The Tumen River was a fascinating place, and I was quick to add it to a growing mental list of places I wanted to visit after the war. This river was so fascinating to me because it was the point where three radically different countries all shared a border. On the west side of the river, rocky hills marked the beginning of the Korean Peninsula. On the eastern side of the winding river was miles and miles of seemingly endless Chinese farmland, going all the way to the base of the nearby mountains. The mountains themselves, however, were all solidly inside of Russia’s territory. All of this was visible to me as soon as I disembarked from the ship, not because of the moonlight above, but because of the fire. Just four miles away from the Avenger, the city of Hunchun was burning.

The Chinese city had been targeted as part of Operation Crack the Sky, and Resistance fighters were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing: causing so much chaos that ADVENT forces were drawn away from other duties to fight them. The brilliant yellow-orange light emanating from the war-torn city illuminated the countryside as though it was early morning, just before sunrise. Against that backdrop, I could see enemy aircraft and vehicles making their way towards the distant battlefield. Commander Harper, Central Officer Bradford, and Voodoo Squad Leader Pyotr Ilyshin joined me, and we surveyed that battleground through binoculars.

“Look at the insignia on that troop transport!” Bradford pointed to an aircraft streaking in from the East. “That one came from the Assassin’s fortress!”

“The plan is working.” Harper mused. “The Chosen are sending their own security forces to engage us in the field. The Vladivostok Fortress should be vulnerable now.”

“How are we getting there?” I asked. “Skyranger?”

“Yes, and you’ll have an escort.” Bradford answered. “EXALT has been keeping some World War Three-era vehicles held in reserve for a situation like this. The Skirmishers also managed to steal some ADVENT vehicles when they defected to our side. On top of all that, the Partogans and their Triple Alliance will be lending air support.”

I let out a low whistle.

“This is no small raid.” I commented. “It sounds like you’re putting together a combined-arms assault.”

“A vehicular assault preceded by aerial bombardment and supported by an infantry column.” Commander Harper said. “It’s a very similar strategy I used against Soviet strongpoints during World War Three.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, your strategy was effective.” Pyotr said. “I lost a lot of good men to your tactics, Commander.”

“Are you upset about a war that happened twenty-five years ago, Colonel?” Harper raised her eyebrow at Pyotr.

“Not tonight.” Pyotr replied. “This fight is bigger than all of us. Besides, my people already blame someone else for our defeat.”

Even though he was standing just out of my view, I could feel Pyotr’s eyes boring into the back of my head.

“Speak of the devil…” Pyotr grumbled.

I looked around to see what had caught his attention. Chihiro Tachibana was coming down the ramp, craning her neck to get a good view of the nearby battle. Pyotr broke from the group and went back of the ramp, re-entering the ship.

“Hey Blake!” Chihiro waved an arm to get my attention. “Have you seen Homura Hanako anywhere?”

As she reached the bottom of the boarding ramp and joined us, Chihiro reached up and absentmindedly touched the Mindshield apparatus on the back of my neck.

“Still?” she mouthed at me.

“Sorry. Later.” I hissed back. “What was that about Hanako?”

“I’m trying to find her.” Chihiro grumbled. “That Partogan guy, I think his name is Manako, asked me where he could find Homura. Said he wanted to meet her. But I can’t find her anywhere. You didn’t see her come down the ramp, did you?”

“No, it’s just us.”

To my surprise, Commander Harper raised her eyebrows at me.

“Give me a moment,” the Commander said. “I have an idea…”

She closed her eyes and took a deep meditative breath. For the briefest of moments, I could have sworn I felt a small ripple of Psionic energy move away from the Commander. Then Harper relaxed, opened her eyes, and said:

“She’s in the Shadow Chamber, talking to Tygan. Both of you go get her. Colonel Ilyshin and I will wait here for the EXALT team. Oh, and Corporal Tachibana!”

Commander Harper unclipped her Mindshield and offered it to Chihiro.

“Please wear this when you go into the Shadow Chamber. I’ll want it back when you’re done.”

Chihiro nodded and started to attach the Mindshield to her own neck when Harper stopped her.

“One more thing.”

The Commander pushed past Bradford and gently grabbed the Mindshield on my own neck.

“Wait, what are you-”

“Sorry, Robinson.” Harper said. “But I’d rather deal with this tonight instead of later.”

With a tug, Harper disengaged my own Mindshield. There was no mistaking it the second time around… I felt a telepathic incursion into my mind and realized Harper was behind it just as she started to withdraw. Before I could say anything, the Commander had clipped both Mindshields back onto our necks and sent us on our way. Chihiro and I were both pretty dazed, and didn’t say anything as we moved up the ramp. The world seemed to spin around me with each step, and I couldn’t form a single coherent thought besides “Go to the Shadow Chamber” Behind us, I could hear Bradford saying:

“You sure that was good idea, Commander?”

“It’s not. But the alternative is worse.”

…

By the time Chihiro and I were back inside the Avenger, the fog was starting to clear from our heads. We paused in the barracks and caught our breath.

“What the hell just happened!?” I stammered.

“I.. I’ve got a weird feeling.” Chihiro muttered. “You know that feeling you get when so realize something that blows your mind?”

“Now that you say it, I’ve got it too.”

We both looked at one another. Whatever Commander Harper had done, it had caused us both to understand something. Simultaneously, Chihiro and I were processing a revelation, and as we made sense of it, our faces fell. The full truth dawned on Chihiro first.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped. “How long has Akira been scrubbing our brains like that!?”

“She made us forget who she was.” I shuddered with terror. “She’s probably done it to the whole crew by now!”

Chihiro put her hands over her mouth and let out a muffled scream.

“Oh, I never should have let her out of the brig!”

“And now we’ve got a Gifted time-traveling psychopath lose on the ship.” I swore. “I hate being right!”

The memories and knowledge were flooding back now, like some kind of dam had burst! Akira Robinson, our daughter from some alternate future, had hidden herself away behind some false identity, scrubbed as much knowledge about herself from the minds of XCOM’s soldiers and crew as possible, and was now hiding from our new Partogan allies.

“There’s no way this is the first time we’ve gone through this!” I was starting to get angry. “Akira’s probably made us do this stupid dance more times than she can count!”

“Why the hell do the Partogans want her anyway!?” Chihiro said. “What did she do to them?”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a new thought hit the both of us. With a gasp, we said together:

“Manako is Gifted!”

“He noticed.” I said. “There’s no way he wouldn’t. He would have picked up on Akira as soon as he came aboard!”

“And Commander Harper’s clearly been wearing a Mindshield the whole time.” Chihiro added, reaching up to touch the device on the back of her neck. “Whatever Akira did wouldn’t affect her!”

“So, what do we do?” I asked. “We don’t know what Manako’s gonna do when he gets to Akira, and they’re both supposed to be on tomorrow’s mission with us!”

Chihiro didn’t say anything. She turned on the balls of her feet and started moving towards the Shadow Chamber at a brisk pace.

“Wait!” I jogged to keep up. “What’s the plan?”

“No plan.” Chihiro said. “I’m going to find Akira and have a little talk with her.”

…

The Shadow Chamber is one of the most secretive locations controlled by XCOM. Here, scientists work to decipher alien encryption and intelligence, as well as work to reverse-engineer some of ADVENT's more archaic technologies. The Psionic Gate was installed here after its seizure in the Battle of Kanna. On July 20, 2035, a strike team of XCOM soldiers passed through this gate and found themselves inside of the Alien Fortress deep beneath the Pacific Ocean.

​

By the time Chihiro and I reached the Shadow Chamber, nearly all of our memories of Akira had been restored, including my particularly traumatic trip through Akira’s memories. We didn’t go directly there, however. Chihiro and I had stopped in the armory to pick up a pair of sidearms. Chihiro had her Shadowkeeper tucked into her belt, while I had an Arc Thrower strapped to my leg. (Arc Throwers are loud as hell, but nonlethal) We weren’t in the mood for being caught off-guard again. Checking our Mindshields one last time to make sure they were secure, Chihiro and I pushed the door open and stepped into the Shadow Chamber.

Doctor Tygan, Chief Shen, and Akira were all standing around a steel table, where Tygan was examining the body of the Avatar killed by Voodoo Squad during their raid on the Warlock’s fortress. They were so wrapped up in their work that nobody noticed our entrance.

“Remarkable.” Tygan was saying. “It’s almost as though this creature were… unfinished. There are missing lines of code in the genetic material.”

“This thing is already a near-perfect fusion of Human and Elder DNA.” Shen commented. “What else is there to add at this point?”

“Jericho.” Akira spoke in her false voice, not knowing her disguise was compromised. “In a lot of ways, she’s superior to an Avatar. A wider range of powers, Muton-like physical strength, yet docile enough to be easily controlled. Could you imagine being able to copy that template?”

“Agreed.” Tygan said. “The Jericho is the ideal soldier. I can see why my predecessor was so eager to make more than one. It is disappointing that she failed.”

“Manipulative bitch.” Chihiro hissed under her breath.

Before I could stop her, Chihiro stepped into the middle of the Shadow Chamber and cleared her throat loudly, making our presence known.

“Homura Hanako! I need you to come with me!”

Wow, Chi. No need to tip our hand that quickly.

Akira looked around at us and I saw her face flicker through a whole set of expressions before locking into a bemused look. Still talking in her fake voice, Akira thanked Tygan for his time and followed us into the hallway. Even though my Mindshield, I could feel the air around both Akira and Chihiro’s bodies starting to warm up, a sign that both of them were charging their powers.

“Don’t pick a fight with us, Akira.” I warned. “We’re not going to be as stupid as you think we are.”

“When did your memories come back?” Akira’s natural voice was deeper than her fake one and had a gruff tone, like a tomboyish soccer player.

“We’ve had just enough time to realize you pulled the wool over our eyes.” Chihiro growled.

“Petoskey or Harper?”

“We’re the ones asking questions, Akira. Not you.” I snapped.

All the while we’d been talking, Akira’s disguise quite literally faded away. Her brown eyes slowly shifted back to their natural blue while her whole body reshaped itself in small but noticeable ways. Akira’s face seemed to inflate as the chubby cheeks she’d inherited from her mother came back; at the same time, her skin faded back to its original pale tone. I guessed she had been holding the ensemble in place with Psionic power, and made a mental note to tell the Commander that Psionic disguises could fool a Mindshield.

“Why the hell did you put your disguise back on!?” Chihiro demanded to know. “We were just starting to trust you! Now all of that’s gone to waste!”

The air in the hallway suddenly became very hot. Akira had discharged her built-up energy, a sign that she’d decided not to fight us.

“I’m sorry,” Akira said. “I did it to protect myself.”

“Protect yourself!?” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “How does living under a false name and planting dangerous ideas in Tygan’s head count as self-defense!?”

“From the Partogans, Dad! I’m hiding from the Partogans!”

A loud voice down the hallway made us all jump. Looking around, I saw two members of Team Takea approaching. Kailani Kalili was leaning on the shoulders of Temirzhan, one of the Assurian soldiers. Something must have tickled Kailani’s funny bone, because she was laughing uncontrollably, causing Temirzhan to be unsteady on his feet as he practically dragged her along. When Temirzhan and Kailani drew level with us, I looked to my left and saw Chihiro pointing at the spot where Akira had been.

This time, I actually saw the Psionic disguise materialize around Akira. It happened so quickly that her seamless transformation into another person looked like a sped up video of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. One moment Akira was there, and next thing I knew, I was looking at Akaya Ogawa, a dark-skinned Okinawan who served as the deputy leader of Echo Squad. She took a step backwards to let the Partogan and the Assurian pass, but Kailani froze and pointed at “Akaya.” Tilting her head from side to side, Kailani stopped laughing, swayed dangerously as though she was about to fall, and then screamed!

“Titiro!” Kailani shrieked. “Whiro Aparangi! Kaikōhuru! Tangata kōhuru! Taihara! Taihara! Taihara!”

“Uh… Kon'nichiwa.” Akira murmured in Akaya’s Pacific Islander accent.

Temirzhan had to grip Kailani by both shoulders to stop her from lunging at Akira/Akaya. The Partogan woman had gone from manic to unhinged in mere seconds, and Chihiro and I were lost for words. Spit flew from Kailani’s mouth as she continued to hurl what I can only guess are insults at the disguised Akira.

“Whiro wahine!” Kailani spat. “E patua ana e koutou aku hoa! Taihara!”

Temirzhan grabbed Kailani by the shoulder, said something that sounded like an apology, then started dragging her down the hallway. Kailani wasn’t done, though. As Temirzhan pulled her away, she shouted back at us:

“Kaore ahau e wareware ki a koe! Kia mahara ki a Asalele! Kia maumahara Aoraki! Toa Rob-sun! Toa Taki-benuh! He kino taua wahine! Taihara! Taihara! Taihara!”

Apologizing profusely, Temirzhan finally managed to get Kailani away from us. Her shrieking carried through the hallways long after the two of them were gone. The door to the Shadow Chamber swung open and Tygan and Shen poked their heads out to ask what was going on.

“That Partogan woman, Kalili.” Akira answered in Akaya’s voice. “Shouting and screaming."

“Oh, I see.” Doctor Tygan replied. “You soldiers would do well to stay away from her. The Partogan leader told me that Miss Kalili is suffering from serious mental damage done by a telepathic attack. They claim to have a special treatment that restores her sanity, but it’s only effective for a short span of time. Clearly, you crossed paths with her in between treatments.”

While Tygan and Shen retreated back into the Shadow Chamber, Akira dropped her disguise and leaned against the wall with a loud sigh.

“Even a crazy person is right once or twice.” Akira groaned. “So, what now? You gonna put me back in the brig or something?”

“Don’t give me ideas.” I folded my arms. “Right when you were starting to earn some credit with us, you try to deceive everyone around you again. Why don’t you start by telling us why you need to hide from Kailani and her folk?”

Akira looked back and forth between me and Chihiro, as though pleading for an excuse to avoid answering. Finally, she gave a resigned sigh and quickly said

“Look, Dad. The shortest explanation that makes sense is that the Partogans know who I am and what I do. They’re not okay with me changing history, and they want me to stop.”

“Oh, God.” Chihiro put her head in her hands. “Akira… did you change their history?”

Akira’s silent stare was confirmation enough. Casting my mind back to an earlier conversation, I said:

“Okay, let’s go down below.”

…

Chihiro, Akira, and I made our way down to the Guerilla Tactics School. This time of night, it was empty, and we could lock the door from the inside, allowing us to talk more freely. Akira sat down on one of the benches by the whiteboard while I paced the length of the room, trying to get my thoughts in-line. Chihiro was too jumpy to sit down. She got on one of the treadmills and walked at a slow pace throughout the whole conversation.

“Alright, Akira.” I began. “You said that you’ve been jumping all over time trying to change some battle a year from now, right?”

“Yes.”

“So now, not only were you jumping all over Human history, but you were tampering with alien cultures too?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

Akira paused.

“All of them. Pretty much everyone.”

I stumbled. This was a bit much to wrap my head around.

“All of that work, all this tampering, is just to change one battle?” I said. “Really?”

“The War in Heaven is going to be civilization’s last stand!” Akira raised her voice a little. “Almost every civilization that has ever flown in space will be right here, at our planet, fighting for their own survival! I’ve had to mess with everybody’s histories just to give them a fighting chance!”

“Including ours?” Chihiro asked. “Back in Jilin, you said that you needed to ‘tweak’ some things before the War in Heaven.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Akira confirmed. “I’ve already hit a few things on the checklist, and I’ve got a few more things I need to change over then next twelve or so months. Then it’s pretty much a straight shot to the perfect future.”

On those last two words, Akira let out a dreamy sigh.

“So close to the end, it feels so good.”

“I’m almost scared to ask,” Chihiro said, “But has everything we’ve done since Pyongyang been part of your plan?”

“Oh, hell no!” Akira waved a hand dismissively. “When I don’t push history in the right direction, it pushes back the other way. I’ve had to rework the plan a few times since Pyongyang. There have been quite a few surprises I had to deal with.”

Akira held up one hand and counted “surprises” on her fingers.

“Let’s see: Blake brought back Ludmilla’s body and let Sophia bury it. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Soylent Green and Holly Smith were never supposed to be captured in Pyongyang, they should have been with you two the whole time. Kailani Kalili isn’t supposed to be insane, that was quite a shock for me and I’m still trying to find out how that happened. You two got married three months too early, which means you won’t get a chance to bond with Tsubaki this fall.”

Chihiro perked up at this news.

“Wait! That means we’re going to rescue Tsubaki and the others! Does everyone get out safely?”

Akira nodded.

“The whole squad survives tomorrow’s mission. Speaking of rescues, Dad, be sure to keep a couple of soldiers in reserve to help pull Tsubaki out. ADVENT destroyed her prosthetic legs, so she can’t walk on her own right now.”

I groaned.

“Good to know. It sounds like most of the surprises you had to deal with were small ones.”

Akira laughed so hard she had to grip her sides. It still didn’t sound like a normal girl’s laugh though. The noise made my skin crawl just a little.

“Oh, no! Did I forget the big one!?” Akira giggled.

“What big one?” Chihiro sounded nervous.

“The biggest surprise I had to work around…” Akira wiped her eyes. “You two have to understand, this is the one-hundred-sixteenth time I’ve gone through this sequence of events, right? Well, this was the very first time that the Elders chose someone else to be the Chosen Assassin.”

The room went quiet. Deadly quiet. Even Chihiro’s treadmill fell silent as she stopped walking.

“Wait, you know who the Assassin is?” Chihiro asked in a hushed whisper.

Instinctively, I reached up to my Mindshield to check and see if it was still in place.

“I found out just before Commander Harper did.” Akira replied. “XCOM’s higher-level leadership found out on their own about a week ago. I… uh… yeah. It was a real shock.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

Akira stood up and put her hands on her hips.

“For the past one-hundred-fifteen Cycles, the Elders always picked the same woman to become the Chosen Assassin, and it wasn’t a problem because you would kill her in tomorrow’s operation and that would be the end of it. But now the Elders picked someone else to be the Chosen, and original ‘Chosen Assassin’ is still out there. Now her life has gone completely off my script, and she’s basically a wild card now.”

“The original Assassin,” I said, “She’s not somebody we know, is it?”

“That’s the troublesome part.” Akira sighed. “You’ve both met her before, and I saw what happened the last time you two crossed paths with her. I’ve been keeping tabs on what she’s been doing since she missed her ‘appointment with destiny’ and it looks like you’ll get to meet her a few months after you overthrow the Elders.”

“Right.” I said. “We’ll make sure not to mention that appointment with destiny to her face.”

“Wait!” Chihiro said. “Who’s the Chosen Assassin right now?”

Akira started to reply, but I cut her off!

“That’s not important! Let’s not worry about that!”

Both Chihiro and Akira looked at me, mouths open. I took a step back and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d spoken instinctively, but now I was starting to wonder what would have happened if I’d just let Akira say the name. Chihiro’s face flickered between disappointment and frustration, and I knew she was trying to force her way past my Mindshield.

“You know!?” she breathed. “How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Uhh…”

I spent too long trying to think of a good answer. Chihiro turned to Akira.

“C’mon! Tell me who it is!”

Akira sighed and folded her arms.

“I’m sorry, Mom. This is just something you’re not supposed to know. Blake’s gonna be the one to kill the Assassin, and it’ll be easier for him if… certain people… don’t know her name.”

Chihiro, angrier than I’ve seen her in a while, puffed up like she was about to start screaming. She balled up her fists and looked from Akira to me and back again. I resisted the urge to take another step back. I’ve been with Chihiro long enough to know that doing so would set her off. Finally, Akira said:

“Mom, please don’t get mad at Dad.”

Chi and I were both caught off guard by that one. Some of the tension went out of the air as we both looked at Akira.

“What? Why shouldn’t I?” Chihiro asked. “He’s the one keeping secrets from me!”

“He’s got good reason.” Akira replied. “The Assassin has to die tomorrow. If this mission gets screwed up, she’ll live all the way to the War in Heaven, which is bad for you. Trust me, I’ve seen this mission go sideways thirty or forty times. It’s not pretty. Let Blake have this one now and he’ll take care of you when you get the bad news tonight.”

I felt my heart drop into my stomach, and Chihiro’s face went pale.

“What bad news!?”

“It’s nothing you can’t handle.” Akira answered. “But it might take your mind off tomorrow’s mission. Speaking of which…”

Akira’s face was hard to read as she asked:

“Am I still going on tomorrow’s op? Or are you going to turn me in to the Partogans?”

When I hesitated, she quickly added:

“Dad, you have no idea how important it is that the Chosen Assassin dies tomorrow. We have got to kill her, and you’ll need all the help you can get!”

Thinking hard, I remembered how Akira had managed to hold her own against the Chosen on multiple occasions. I decided to take a calculated risk.

“Fine. You’re on-mission, but you’re going as Homura, and listen here: You are a soldier in my squad under my command. If you so much as think about tricking, deceiving, or manipulating any of us, I’m handing you over to the Partogans.”

“Fine.”

“And once ADVENT is done, and this whole war is over with, you come clean to the whole squad, and the Commander. No more disguises after this, understood?” I gripped Akira by the shoulder, forcing her to look me in the eye.

“Deal.”

…

A lone Skirmisher rests at Camp Hua Mulan shortly before the final assault on Mira Mihaka's fortress. During the final week of the War on Earth, thousands of ADVENT Army soldiers would desert their posts and become Skirmishers, a sign of just how quickly the Elder's control over Earth was falling apart.

​

Wednesday, July 18, 2035 4:00pm
Camp Hua Mulan, near Tushan Zitun, China


Later that day, I gathered all of the Stormbreakers together, and we assembled outside of the Avenger. By this point, we all knew what lay in store for us. Chihiro and I allowed Akira to resume her disguise as Homura Hanako, with the expectation that she would come clean to everyone after Operation Leviathan. But that was at least two days away, maybe three. In that span of time, we would have to end a war.

A convoy of Old World military trucks, painted with the colors and insignia of the People’s Liberation Army, was waiting for us. We threw our weapons and gear into the first truck and them piled ourselves into the back of the second. Engines roaring and tires trundling along the old dirt road, Chihiro, Jericho, Soylent, Odette, Ignatius, “Homura,” Isis, Yutaka, Hal, Sophia, Matthew, and I all watched the Avenger disappear behind a hillside. After just twenty minutes of driving, we had arrived at our destination.

Camp Hua Mulan was just one of many outposts built by what remained of the Chinese Army. It should surprise no one to hear that the largest military force on Earth was able to survive the Alien Invasion and remain somewhat functional. The Chinese had been battered quite badly over the past twenty years, but ADVENT had failed to defeat this particular foe. Utilizing the same strategy that had carried them to victory in the 1940’s, the Chinese forces had taken advantage of China’s vast size, population, and resources to wage an asymmetric guerrilla war. Now, with the entire world rising up in a global battle against the alien occupiers, the People’s Liberation Army had emerged from hiding to take their country back.

Nearly ten-thousand soldiers had gathered in the valley to the east of Hunchun and built a bastion of Humanity here. Camp Hua Mulan was outfitted with a mix of Old World and present-day technology. Railgun turrets stood on the walls while World-War-Three era landmines choked off most avenues of approach. A forty-year old radar dish spun quickly on a tower while electric trucks moved men and materials into the complex.

Chinese General Shaojie Zhang was waiting for us at the main gate. Guiding us inside, Zhang showed us where his forces had been preparing for the joint assault on Vladivostok alongside the Partogans and their allies, as well as XCOM’s Human allies: EXALT, the Skirmishers, the Reapers, and the Templars.

“This will be the largest combined arms assault since the Liberation of Kyoto!” Zhang proclaimed, invoking a semi-legendary World War Three battle that many XCOM soldiers had been part of.

Then, we were given our role in the upcoming fight. Once again, the Stormbreakers would be broken up into two squads with two roles. This time, I would be leading the Red Team, whose job it was to actually breach the Chosen Assassin’s fortress and hunt her down. On my team would be Chihiro, Yutaka, Homura, Soylent, Isis, Hal, and Jericho.

The rest of the squad, Ignatius, Sophia, Matthew, and Odette, would become part of a “Quick Reaction Force” or QRF for short. The QRF would wait in reserve and then reinforce whoever needed help the most. There were four other XCOM soldiers in this unit: Jane Kelly, Lee Chong-Il, and Song Soo were all good soldiers I’d worked with before. I knew I could trust them. The leader of the QRF, however, was someone I hadn’t expected.

“The Commander said this operation is too important to let get away from us.” Central Officer Bradford told me. “So to make sure nothing goes wrong, I’m going to command the QRF personally. Don’t worry, Lieutenant Robinson. Your men and women are safe with me.”

Team Takea would also be joining in the attack. Manako, Kailani, Reepi, Adil, Temirzhan, and Elsina could be found in a far corner of the compound, where their spaceship, the Assault Frigate Kakama, was idling. All of the Triple Alliance warriors were unpacking some of the most technologically advanced weapons and armor I’d ever seen. I swear that giant talking peacock, Reepi, looked as though some kind of nanotech had made his wingtip feathers as sharp as blades!

Sarah Harris was amongst the members of Team Takea, and she broke off to talk to us.

“Lieutenant! Look! Check this out!”

Sarah turned to one side so I could see her new unit patch. Uniforms of the New Zealand Army are very similar to American ones, so it only took me a second to find what she wanted to show me. On Sarah’s left shoulder, directly underneath the flag of New Zealand, was an oval shaped patch with a strange symbol on it: three circles held within a pair of elegant double crescents. Underneath the symbols were a series of alien words that I guess were Partogan.

“I’m an honorary member of Team Takea!” Sarah bragged. “Manako wants me embedded on his ship for long duration work. I’m gonna teach his whole crew to speak English!”

“Nicely done, mate!” Soylent slapped Sarah on the back. “Wait ‘till everyone down under finds out the world was saved by a Kiwi! We’ll be throwin’ you a parade in Canberra when this is over!”

Sarah, Manako, and a couple other Partogans broke off from their group and followed my squad as we crossed the base, chatting about tomorrow’s mission. “Homura” hid herself between Soylent and Ignatius, determined to avoid the gaze of Manako Ranginui. The Partogan leader himself was being quite friendly and cordial, shaking hands with most of the squad and holding conversations through Sarah.

Rounding out the soldiers slated for the ground attack was a mixed group of paramilitary soldiers who had been tasked with the diversionary assault on the Assassin’s fortress. As soon as we saw them, several Stormbreakers instinctively reached for their weapons before Zhang snapped:

“They are allies now! They are friends!”

Six rough-looking men were gathered around a campfire, all of whom were wearing the same orange and red bandannas around their heads. They had rolled up the sleeves of their uniforms, revealing the green tattoos of an eye above a four-pointed star. These men were members of EXALT, a secret society of transhumanists. 20 years ago, they had tried to use alien technology to build a new EXALT-centered world order. This plan had involved picking a fight with XCOM, and that fight had not gone well for the secret society. The last time I’d gotten this close to a member of EXALT, it had been because I was running him down with a bayonet.

One of the transhumanists looked up from the rifle he was cleaning and saw us. I recognized him on sight. None of us had seen Japanese Prime Minister Ryo Nakagawa since the big meeting at Site X, but he hadn’t changed much. He still looked like the same power-hungry politician I’d met in the ruins of Hiroshima so long ago.

“Lieutenant Robinson!” Nakagawa stood up, passed his weapon to another soldier, and greeted me with a smile and an offer of a handshake.

Refusing to shake Nakagawa’s hand, I said:

“I see you’ve brought substantial help to our cause. I’m sure Commander Harper is grateful.”

“You would not be wrong!” Nakagawa spoke with a heightened amount of enthusiasm. “I will be commanding my troops via radio from here, but I assure you, a platoon of my finest troops is already in position near Vladivostok. They only await your arrival.”

I thanked Nakagawa for his time and asked General Zhang to show my Squad to the place where we could camp and sleep for the night. Before we could move away, though, Nakagawa shouted:

“Wait!”

The Japanese Prime Minister called us back, much to the annoyance of several squad members who just wanted a place to sleep.

“I apologize.” Nakagawa said. “I promise this won’t take a minute. I just need to deliver a message.”

“Fine.” I grumbled. “What is it?”

Nakagawa raised his eyebrows at me.

“The message is not for you, Lieutenant. It’s addressed to…”

Nakagawa pointed at Chihiro. She winced and recoiled from the man who, many years ago, had revoked her royal status and taken away her name.

“Although, the letter does say that you may hear the message if she gives permission.” Nakagawa said. “Will you give your permission, ma’am?”

Chihiro looked even more uncomfortable with being addressed like that. She was one of the youngest members of the team, and was fully aware of the fact that over a dozen people were now staring at her.

“Fine, whatever.” Chihiro grumbled. “Out with it already.”

Nakagawa fished about in his pockets for a couple of seconds and withdrew a sealed envelope. Chihiro, Homura, Soylent, Yutaka and I all gasped when we saw it. We had all spotted and recognized the image of a chrysanthemum flower stamped on the front of the envelope. We knew what that symbol meant. The rest of the squad looked around at us in a confused way. The Partogans asked Sarah to translate as best she could.

Nakagawa opened the letter and read aloud:

“To the Blue Dragon who is the Great Hero of Hiroshima.​

​

It has been decades since last we spoke, and the world has changed in ways we at first thought were impossible. Since then, everything is different, and nothing is beyond possibility anymore. Only recently have I learned that you still live, even after I mourned you and built a shrine for your spirit. I am filled with happiness to know you are still among us. Please allow this humble man to express his joy by righting a wrong he witnessed over two decades ago: By my birthright as a descendant of the Goddess Amaterasu, and with the approval and authorization of the Japanese National Diet and its Prime Minister, I humbly greet you as my sister with the name and titles that are her own supreme birthright: Her Imperial Highness Princess Chihiro of Chiyako. ​

​

Signed,​

Tennō Heika​

June 6, 2035; 19th year of the Saisen Era”​

Chihiro was shaking. Soylent, Yutaka, and I all froze, not daring to say a word. We had been there, on that cold night. We had all seen how Chihiro had responded to what she perceived as perfidy, if not outright betrayal. The rest of the squad was slowly piecing together the message and what it implied. Sarah had lowered her voice to a whisper as she brought the Partogans up to speed as quickly as she could. Ignatius and Jericho both looked at one another nervously.

Nakagawa folded the paper and put his arms to his sides.

“When this war is over,” the Prime Minister said, “I eagerly await Her Highness’ return to the Palace, as does all of Japan.”

Finally, Chihiro spoke, her voice a furious warble.

“You really expect me to just go back?”

Nakagawa took half a step backwards. Such a simple act was a very big mistake.

Chihiro exploded like a volcano! Her voice echoed off the low clouds and could be heard across the entire camp!

“I threw away my life for my country!” Chihiro shrieked at Nakagawa! “I volunteered to fight! I sent myself into that war and put my life on the line for Japan! I saved those kids at Tsuruga! I kept the Russians busy so people could escape from Fukuchiyama! Those Russian tanks blown up at Himeji!? That was me! All for my country! I almost drowned, I’ve been stabbed and shot! I almost got scalped and raped by the Spetsnaz on the same day! I’ve been blown up and buried! That bastard over there damn near killed me and all my friends!”

Chihiro pointed a shaking finger at Yutaka, who covered his face with one hand and looked away. Nakagawa quaked under Chihiro’s building wrath while behind her, Ignatius was spooling up his Psionic Amplifier and getting ready to project a Calming Aura.

“I was doing my part!” Chihiro screamed! “I was ready to die for Japan! I almost did more times than I can fucking count! Who the hell found the Russian artillery at Hiroshima!? That was me, Nakagawa! I saved you, and I saved your government! And after I pulled your stinking hide of the fire what did you do in return!? You had me arrested! Made me out a criminal in front of my family and the whole country! You took everything I had except the clothes on my back! What the fuck makes you think I wanna go back to that life!? I’d rather watch the world end first!”

Chihiro unholstered her Shadowkeeper pistol and started to cock the hammer back!

“Petoskey!” I shouted.

A bright halo of light rippled away from the old Frenchmen and washed over Chihiro. Sapped of her anger, she fell silent in a prolonged hesitation. I reached forward and grabbed the pistol out of her hands!

“Did you forget what you put us through, Nakagawa?” I asked curtly. “Or did you just not care?”

When he didn’t respond, I pulled the letter of his hand and stuffed it in my own pocket.

“I’m sure we’ll see you after the war.”

Leaving a stunned Nakagawa behind I steered Chihiro away, knowing that Petoskey’s calming power would wear off in short order. Reading the tension in the air, General Zhang escorted the squad to the spot where we’d be spending the night. While Stormbreakers and Partogans chattered and gossiped about what had just happened, I heard Sophia Kuznetsova say:

“I’m on Chihiro’s side. I’d rather blow my brains out than go back to a family that rejected me.”

…

Two huge tents had been set aside for the Stormbreakers to use, one for the men and one for the women. Some PLA soldiers had even been kind enough to set up cots and sleeping bags for us all. Checking my watch, I knew that getting any meaningful rest before this assault would be a tall order.

“I want everybody to get some food and be in bed by 17:00!” I addressed the troops. “Wake up is at 23:30 and wheel’s up is one hour after that! Understood?”

“Yes, Lieutenant!”

I stood to one side and let Soylent, Matthew, Yutaka, Ignatius, and Hal go into the male tent first. I wasn’t really in the mood to sleep, plus I wanted to talk to Chihiro before she went to bed. Chihiro herself was in a state of shock. She just kind of drifted aimlessly over to me, leaning on Akira/Homura’s shoulder for support.

“I knew you’d stay out here for her.” Akira spoke softly, so that no one else would hear her real voice. “You always do.”

“I don’t need a time traveler to remind me to comfort my wife.” I hissed back.

The two of us supported Chihiro in what must have looked like a three-person-wide side hug.

“Chi, you okay?” I asked. “Nakagawa just kinda hit you out of left field back there.”

“I… I was kind of expecting something like that.” Chihiro admitted. “But just the way he said it… like he expected me to just forget everything that happened before. Nakagawa didn’t care what I’d gone through and he doesn’t want anyone to remember why I got kicked out in the first place.”

Chihiro sobbed and wiped her eyes with her uniform sleeve.

“I guess, now that ADVENT’s falling apart and we’re getting our world back, all of the old Governments are coming back, and the Diet would look so much more legitimate if they had someone in the palace.”

“I suppose you’re right.” I admitted. Reaching into my pocket, I fished out the letter I’d taken from Nakagawa. “But Chi, you’re missing the most important part: That’s Akio’s signature, isn’t it? Your brother’s alive!”

Chihiro grabbed the paper and scanned the handwritten signature at the bottom. She traced every line of the Kanji symbols with her fingernail and smiled.

“Akio… this is really from him, isn’t it?”

Chihiro and I both looked at Akira. Our alternate-future daughter looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching or listening, then nodded and confirmed our hopes.

“Yeah, that's his signature. It’s really Uncle Tenno.”

Akira sniggered.

“Sorry, that’s what I always called him when I was young and in my own timeline. But that really is your brother, Mom. He’s alive and happy to know that you’re alive too.”

Chihiro folded the letter and slipped it into her breast pocket.

“Right. When this war is over, maybe I’ll go to Tokyo and say hello. But it’ll just be a quick visit. I’m not rejoining the Imperial Family.”

Chihiro thanked us both, kissed me, and vanished inside the female tent, where Sophia, Isis, Jericho, and Odette greeted her with celebratory squeals and excited chatter. Beside me, Akira let out a contented sigh.

“I don’t know what it was exactly, Dad.” Akira admitted. “I never got close enough to hear you say it, but whatever you said to Mom in Hiroshima really worked. Every Cycle, whenever she’s given the choice, Mom picks you and the Stormbreakers instead of going back to the Palace. Nice job. I’ll see you in the morning.”

After six hours of some of the worst sleep I’d ever had in my life, it was time to wake up the squad and kickstart the longest 48 hours of our lives… which would also be the last two days of Humanity’s war against the ADVENT Coalition.

...

A rare image of Central Officer Bradford in the field. As the second-in-command of XCOM, it is extremely uncommon for Bradford to join his troops in the field except for rare and extreme situations. The Battle of Vladivostok would be Bradford's final combat deployment as Laura Harper's Central Officer. XCOM leadership would be reorganized during its integration into AFUNE, the Human military force that would represent Earth during its active participation the Second Hyperspace War.

​

Thursday, July 19, 2035 12:25am
Camp Hua Mulan staging ground, near Tushan Zitun, China


Even before I saw the staging ground, I could already hear very familiar noise. It was a deep thunderous sound, one that grew louder and more oppressive with each moment until I could feel it in my chest!

“The Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian armies have been keeping these in reserve for just this kind of mission!” General Zhang shouted above the noise. “They’ve been maintained as best as possible, but it’s just not possible to do this more than once. None of these vehicles will be usable after today, so be sure to make this count!”

Waiting for us on the field, thundering away in the darkness, was no fewer than fifty Old World military aircraft. Some forty helicopters, eight fighter jets, and two bombers, all from the World War Three era, were blasting hot air and noise into the night as their engines warmed up.

Amongst the airfield I spotted nearly a dozen Hinds, the nightmare-inducing Soviet helicopter that had terrorized Japan for six years. A battered-but-functional Chinese J-11 fighter-bomber tested its flaps one last time before takeoff. Two Japanese F-4 Phantoms were parked wingtip to wingtip and their pilots were leaning out of the cockpits to talk. Korean Chinook helicopters were being loaded with as many troops and weapons as they could carry.

The most crucial part of the fleet, though, was the addition of two dozen Partogan aircraft to one side. I felt my jaw drop as, for the first time in my life, I laid eyes on a genuine Starfighter. A whole squadron of these light attack ships was being guarded by Partogan ground troops who intended on keeping our folks as far away from them as possible. A starship bigger than the Avenger was parked in the field next to the Assault Frigate Kakama, and Partogan, Assurian, Levakian, Amadii, and Vanian soldiers were being rapidly transferred from this massive ship to smaller dropships. Chihiro had to pull me away from the Partogan fleet.

In the middle of this assembly, our own Skyranger seemed a little out of place. The ship was one-of-a-kind. Wendy “Firebrand” Carter herself was waiting for us already, sitting in the grass underneath the Skyranger’s twin tails.

“You ready to end this war, Firebrand?” Yutaka asked her.

“Hell yes.” Wendy replied. “Skyranger only seats eight, so who’s going where?”

“Tachibana, Hanako, Jericho, Green, Dekker, Yamamoto, Macintosh.” I said. “You’re all riding with me on the Skyranger.”

“What about us?” Sophia asked.

“Kuznetsova, Petoskey, Hawkins, Fournier, you’ll be hitching a ride with some old friends.”

I pointed to a nearby Korean transport chopper. Song Soo and Lee Chong-Il waved their arms and shouted for the four remaining Stormbreakers to get aboard.

“Okay, everyone!” I had to shout because Wendy had fired up the Skyranger’s engines. “When you complete the combat drop, we’ll rendezvous in the prison block on the North side! Everyone got it? Prison block, north side! Gather there! And remember, we’ve got four of our own people in that fortress somewhere, so check your fire and call out for them regularly! We’re looking for Holly Smith, Tsubaki Endo, Sophie Ackermann, and Kathleen Walsh! The first person to find our comrades calls the QRF on the radio. QRF callsign is ‘Guardian Angel,’ they’ll take care of the rest! Watch each other’s six, check your targets, rescue our friends, and get the job done!”

Homura, Jericho, Soylent, Isis, Yutaka, Hal, Chihiro and I boarded the Skyranger and strapped ourselves in. No sooner had the deployment bay door began to close when Wendy started talking in the cockpit.

“Avenger, this is Skyranger. We are go for takeoff.”

“Acknowledged, Skyranger.” The voice of Commander Harper came out of the radio. “All callsigns, this is Avenger. The mission is a-go. I repeat, the mission is a-go! Begin takeoff in the assigned order, climb to five-hundred feet, and engage your targets!”

With an almighty roar, sixty air and spacecraft rose from the valley floor and tore east, out of China and into Russia! In the Skyranger, all of us were pinned to our seats as Wendy floored the throttle, determined to keep pace with the front of the pack. Below us, mountains sped by, while high above, fighter planes streaked ahead of us, clearing the way forward!

“Avenger, this is Xian Two.” A male Chinese voice spoke over the radio. “We detect a hostile radar station ten miles ahead.”

“Roger that,” said the voice of Commander Harper. “Engage and destroy.”

“Xian Two, bird’s away!”

A twenty-year-old missile fell away from one of the Chinese fighter planes. It failed to activate and nosedived harmlessly into the ground. The pilot punched his console angrily and pulled his plane out of the attack run, allowing his comrades to take over.

“Xian One! Bird away!”

Another fighter plane took point and successfully fired a missile. The flaming spear of heat and light drilled into the mountainside and erased the enemy radar station!

“Good kill, Xian.” Harper called over the radio. “Continue mission.”

The vast formation of aircraft roared across the landscape before, without much in the way of a transition, the ground below gave way to water! We were out over the Sea of Japan! Up ahead, a WWIII-era Russian bomber had flown far ahead of the group and was now over a narrow rocky peninsula whose one and only feature of note was a medium-sized Russian town: the port city of Vladivostok.

“This is Backfire! Target in sight!” Reported the pilot of the Russian bomber. “Ordinance inbound… Confirmed hit on the armory!”

A column of acrid black smoke began to rise from the top of the hill overlooking Vladivostok. In the pitch darkness of the cloudy night, the fire below could be seen for miles! Up above, the Russian bomber banked hard to the east, her engines beginning to surge and fail.

“Avenger, we have engine failure!” The bomber pilot reported. “We’re going to try and bail out over Korea! Good luck!”

With her lights out and engines silent, the old bomber tumbled out of the sky like a broken leaf, her crew descending to the sea beneath tattered old parachutes. Meanwhile, the Chinese fighters pressed the attack!

“Xian calling Avenger, we see the fortress. Smoke and flames coming from the south side! Enemy soldiers are moving to set up triple-a along the perimeter wall!”

“Confirmed” Harper’s voice replied. “Engage all of those targets.”

“Xian One, guns guns guns!”

The Chinese fighter planes put their noses down and dove on the Assassin’s Fortress! Thousands of rounds of hot lead rained down on the enemy, and Gauss weapon fire rose up and into the clouds. One of the fighters got clipped and went spinning into the sea, but a second later:

“Xian One, this is Zhukov.” A Russian woman’s voice sounded over the radio. “Brake left now!”

The squadron of Russian attack helicopters had finally caught up and rejoined the attack! Rocket pods and machine gun fire raked the perimeter wall! It was impossible to see the Assassin's Stronghold behind the billowing smoke and flames, which had been kicked up into a swirling vortex by helicopter blades! The swirling inferno was too much for some aircraft! A Korean Chinook teetered dangerously before its engines, choked with sooty air, failed. The transport helicopter twisted sideways and fell out of the air like a rock! Slamming into the streets of the town below, the explosion illuminated the nighttime battlefield in a haunting way.

“All Human aircraft, withdraw to a safe distance!” Sarah Harris’ voice filled the airwaves. “The Triple Alliance is about to attack!”

The Partogan warships arrived in force! Starfighters swarmed and swirled around the fortress, pummeling the structure with Plasma weapons fire, Mass Driver volleys, and raked the structure with vivid beams of purple light! It seemed as though the fortress was going to be completely flattened! Weapons fire lit up the area around Vladivostok like a sick twist on a New Year’s party!

No sooner had air superiority been established over the greater Vladivostok area, than rest of the troop transports arrived. Flying at the front of the pack, the Skyranger screamed through the air, lowering her deployment bay doors and allowing my team to get our first views of the site.

“Site’s too hot!” Wendy yelled. “I can’t drop you until those hostiles below get cleared out!”

“Snipers!” I yelled. “Tie yourselves off and get a good shooting position!”

Chihiro and Soylent both grabbed their weapons from the overhead rack while Isis and I attached safety lines to their belts.

“Firebrand!” Soylent shouted. “Bring us to a hover!”

The Skyranger turned around and began to hover in mid-air, Chihiro’s Laser Sniper Rifle and Soylent’s Anti-Materiel Rifle pointed out the back of the deployment bay while Isis and I (who were closest to the door) grabbed our respective sniper by their belt and started calling targets. Both Sharpshooters began sending a hailstorm of lethal fire into the fortress below!

“Officer! Seven hundred yards! By the truck!”

Chihiro loosed a volley of laser fire and brought the enemy soldier down!

“Triple-A crew! Five hundred yards! Left side!”

Soylent fired his AMR three times in rapid succession! Two hostiles went down, while the third soldier dropped his weapon and scrambled for cover!

“Two runners on the perimeter wall- HOLY SHIT!! CARTER! GET THE PARTOGANS TO CEASE FIRE!”

The Skyranger swayed violently and nearly toppled out of the air like a leaf as the Kakama swooped past us and dropped an absolutely massive bomb on the Chosen’s Fortress! The fireball lit up the darkened sky as though it was daytime and rose nearly two thousand feet into the air, singing every hair on my face! The shockwave caused Chihiro and Soylent to fall backwards into the deployment bay, landing in front of my feet!

“Kakama, this is Skyranger, check your fire! You almost killed friendlies!”

“I’ll tell’em to back off, Firebrand! Standby!” Sarah called back.

“All troop transports, this is Avenger.” Commander Harper broadcast to the fleet as a whole. “Landing zones are now clear, commence your combat drops!”

Pulling Chihiro back into her seat, I shouted:

“Lock and load everyone! This is it!”

Suddenly, the Skyranger veered violently to the left, throwing all of us back into our seats! Soylent’s sniper rifle flew out of his hands and out the deployment door where it fell six hundred feet to the ground! Out the open doorway, I could see Gauss Weapons fire light up the starry night sky like a meteor shower!

“NOT CLEAR!” Wendy screamed into the radio! “LZ is hot! I’m taking ground fire!”

In the back of the Skyranger, all eight of us were thrown and buffeted about while Wendy put the Skyranger through a series of evasive acrobatics! I grabbed Chihiro’s arm and held onto her as tightly as possible!

“DAMNIT! MORE INCOMING!” Wendy shouted! “HANG ON BACK THERE!”

The Skyranger rolled violently and for a few terrifying seconds, we were completely inverted in midair! Down was up and up was down, and the whole time, I could hear the loud whistling of Gauss Rounds missing the ship by inches! Isis turned green and vomited, the sick mess flying all over the deployment bay! Then Wendy put the Skyranger into a chaotic dive before pulling up so hard that Chihiro and I crashed into each other, hard!

I felt a cracking sensation in the back of my head! Fighting the forces of gravity, I turned my head and saw what had happened: That last high-G turn had forced my head to press into a metal plate on the back of my seat, and as a result, the Mindshield I got from Commander Harper had been smashed to pieces! Little bits of splintered Elerium conduit flew in all directions and out of sight!

I didn’t have any time to think about that, as less than a second later, a powerful impact caused the Skyranger to lurch and shake more violently than ever before!

“We’ve been hit!” Wendy shouted! “Hydraulics are down! I’m losing attitude control!”

“BRACE!” I screamed to my troops! “EVERYONE PUT YOUR HEADS DOWN!”

The Skyranger began to spin like a top! My head was forced to the left like I was on some out-of-control carnival ride! Chihiro screamed and grabbed me with both hands! Jericho began to project a flickering Psionic field around herself! It expanded and enveloped everybody in the cargo bay! Straining herself, Jericho started pushing her energies towards the cockpit!

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” Wendy’s voice carried above the whining engines! “This is Skyranger going down hard! I have nine souls on board! Latitude: four-three point one-six-three! Longitude: one-three-one point nine-eight-three! Skyranger hit by ground fire! We are going down!”

Engines screamed! Wind roared! The ground rose up to meet us!

WHAM!

<== Previous Chapter (A Horrible Truth)

Next Chapter (Mira Mihaka) ==>​

 

[HistoryDude]

That's a cliffhanger!

How will the Partogans react when they find out that "Homura" is actually Paradox?

"Attitude control"? I'm assuming you meant altitude control... but the typo makes the sentence hilarious.

The end of Earth's Liberation approaches, so Earth's role in the Second Hyperspace War begins...

Why do I feel like Jericho will find out that Mira is the Chosen Assassin, and the results will be disastrous?

 

[Macavity116]

That's a cliffhanger!

Reminds me of the old Faith in Chaos days.

How will the Partogans react when they find out that "Homura" is actually Paradox?

By this point, Manako definitely knows. Possibly Makara as well. Kailani was definitely not lucid during this chapter, but even an insane person can be right once or twice.


It's quick, but the narration does say that Manako was shaking hands with several Stormbreakers during their meeting at Camp Hua Mulan. Anyone who has read Chapter One of My Sistership: A Short Stellaris Story might be feeling a sense of alarm right now. It's safe to assume that Manako has used his Unique Psionic power on more than half of the Stormbreakers at this point. Even if he doesn't have all of the puzzle pieces, Manako has enough information to pinpoint Akira's location and disguise. She's in trouble.

"Attitude control"? I'm assuming you meant altitude control...

I asked one of the Air Assault soldiers in my unit to clarify and he said this: "Attitude control is a helicopter's ability to move forward or backwards by tilting one way or another. The rotor downblast pushes the chopper in the direction the pilot wants her to go. That's why helos always look like they're diving when they're actually just moving forward. Loosing attitude control is nearly always a death sentence, it's like if your car's steering wheel broke off while you were doing 80 on a highway."

In the case of the Skyranger, it's more akin to a VTOL plane suddenly loosing the ability to hover... while it was hovering.

The end of Earth's Liberation approaches, so Earth's role in the Second Hyperspace War begins...

So true. The XCOM half of this story is rapidly coming to an end. Act Three will bring with it the Stellaris/Homeworld half of The Stormbreakers.

Why do I feel like Jericho will find out that Mira is the Chosen Assassin, and the results will be disastrous?

Get out of my head, clever reader. And don't forget to see how your prediction plays out in next week's post: Chapter 22: Mira Mihaka!

 

[Macavity116]

Announcement regarding today's reveal of a whole new XCOM game.

Earlier today, 2K Games announced that a whole new entry in the XCOM franchise named Chimera Squad is going to be released on April 24. After watching the trailers and gameplay footage, I am rapidly falling in love with this new title, just as I have done with all other XCOM games. The story trailer on the XCOM website makes clear that this new game will contribute heavily to the lore and universe of XCOM, and I have decided that I fully intend to incorporate some details and elements from XCOM: Chimera Squad into The Stormbreakers.

To that end, here's the plan going forward:

The release schedule for the remainder of Act Two has been thrown out the window. I'm going to take full advantage of the fact that I have nowhere to go and nothing to do these days. My new goal is to finish Act Two within the next ten days. This means I will be posting four chapters over the next two weeks. After that, I will put this story on a short hiatus so that I can thoroughly play and explore Chimera Squad and incorporate its story into my own. From here on out: new chapters of The Stormbreakers will be posted online as soon as they are completed. This pattern will continue until Act Two is over.

When I planned out this story, I was ready for Stellaris: Federations. I wasn't ready for XCOM: Chimera Squad.

 

[Macavity116]

There's another Star Wars reference in this chapter, although this one's a little more overt. I just ripped a whole conversation out of Return of the Jedi. The opportunity was too good to resist.
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<== Previous Chapter (The Dark Doorway)

Next Chapter (Enemy Within) ==>​

Chapter 22
Mira Mihaka

​

“Blake! Wake up! Please wake up!”

I had trouble opening my eyes. It felt like getting out of bed after oversleeping too much. My back, neck, and head all ached. Up above me, I could see the cloudy night sky, flickering and flashing like a lightning storm. Airplanes, Helicopters, and starships swirled around above us while the sounds of weapons fire assaulted my ears from all sides. Finally, I sat up and looked around.

The Skyranger was destroyed.

Wreckage was strewn about everywhere. Flames licked at what remained of the engines, and little red circles of blood speckled the concrete we had landed on. Next to me, Chihiro was wrapping a bandage around my arm while all around us, the soldiers of the QRF were hiding amongst the debris and waging an intense gunfight with an enemy I couldn’t see. Central Officer Bradford had wedged the barrel of his rifle through a hole in the hull and was firing indiscriminately into the night. Matthew Hawkins and Odette Fournier had teamed up to operate a heavy machinegun together and were keeping the right flank locked down while Lee Chong-Il, Song Soo, and Sophia Kuznetsova were fighting on the opposing flank. Ignatius Petoskey had taken cover near Chihiro and I and was talking into his radio.

“Guardian Angel calling Avenger. We found Trojan! He’s alive, but shaken up! We’re gonna move him in a minute.”

“What’s going on?” My voice cracked.

“Skyranger hit the deck.” Chihiro explained. “Just inside the perimeter wall! We landed right in the middle of a goddamned firefight! ADVENT’s in front of us, and EXALT’s on our right, so keep your head low!”

“Anyone dead?”

Chihiro answered using the callsigns for our teammates:

“No, but Soylent, Freud, Steampunk, and Firebrand are hurt really bad. They’re out of the fight. Jericho and Supernova are both missing.”

“WHAT!?”

I tried to stand up, but Chihiro and Ignatius both put their hands on my shoulders and forced me down again! A second later, the loud Ratta-tatta of machine gun fire sounded over our heads!

“What part of ‘firefight’ did you miss!?” Chihiro shouted at me!

“How long was I out!? When did they leave?” I raised my voice, desperate to convey the urgency.

“You were down for about ten minutes.” Bradford answered. “We saved you for last because you were the least badly injured. The rest of Red Team has been extracted already.”

“Jericho took off about two or three minutes ago.” Chihiro added. “And Supernova went chasing after her.”

The news hit me hard. Jericho had run off by herself, and Akira/Homura was trying to chase her down. Instinctively, I reached up to the back of my head and felt the place where my Mindshield used to be. All that remained of the device was some twisted metal and broken wires. The primary component, an Elerium conduit, was nowhere to be found. I felt the sinking feeling in my stomach get ten times worse, then asked:

“What did Jericho do before she ran off? Did she say anything?”

Song Soo fished a Laser Rifle out of the wreckage and took a quick peek at the nearby enemy positions. Turning back to me, she said:

“I asked Jericho to pick you up and carry you back to the QRF helicopter! She grabbed your head to start lifting you up, and then she dropped you.”

“Jericho dropped me!?” I was shocked.

“Yeah.” Lee Chong-Il chimed in. “Then she started screaming! I thought she’d been shot or something!”

At that moment, there was a loud interruption of gunfire! A billowing column of flame roared over our heads! The intense heat alone was so painful I thought I’d stepped into Hell itself!”

“Enemy flamethrower!” Lee Chong-Il yelled. “Thirty feet! Right side, by that doorway!”

Sophia Kuznetsova pulled the pin on a hand grenade and lobbed it overtop of the ruined Skyranger hull. A second later, there was a loud crack! The column of fire above our heads sputtered and died as the enemy flamethrower was neutralized. Turning back to me, Bradford had to shout above the noise of battle!

“Jericho wasn’t shot, but something in her head definitely broke! She just kinda knelt over you for a couple of minutes while we were fighting! Talking to herself!”

“Then she got up and ran over there!” Song pointed towards an area just outside of the Skyranger crash site.

For the first time, I took note of exactly where the ship had come down. The Skyranger had crashed through the roof of a building and had come to rest in what looked like a cafeteria, just inside the boundaries of the Chosen Assassin’s fortress. One of the building’s walls had collapsed, revealing the courtyard outside, where a huge hole had been opened up in the ground. I could just see dim reddish light coming from the chasm.

“Jericho opened up that hole and then jumped in!” Sophia reported.

“And Hanako?” I was dreading the answer.

Chihiro gave me a very uncomfortable look.

“She saw Jericho go down that hole.” Chihiro told me. “Then she shouted ‘Oh my God, she knows!’ And then Homura followed Jericho into that hole.”

My heart stopped for a good two seconds, and my brain froze up.

Jericho knows.

I reached up and checked my broken Mindshield again.

Jericho knows.

I looked at Chihiro, her confused expression meeting my horrified one.

“She knows, Chi.” I gasped. “Jericho knows about Mira.”

“What?”

I didn’t resist when Chihiro telepathically made her way into my memories. Her face shifted through several phases of shock and revulsion as the truth sank in. Chihiro was so busy processing this new information that she didn’t notice me grabbing my sword from a smashed weapons locker next to us. As I grabbed my Alloy Cannon off the ground, Central Officer Bradford spotted me and shouted.

“Lieutenant! What the hell are you doing!?”

“Mission’s compromised!” I shouted back. “I’m going after Jericho!”

Checking my weapons and armor one last time, I vaulted over the low wall of wreckage and charged into the open, sprinting out of the crash site towards that yawning chasm in the ground! Behind me I heard Bradford yell:

“God damn it all! Antigone! Dragon! Enforcer! Go with him!”

I reached the edge of the precipice! ADVENT soldiers spotted me and raised their weapons in my direction, but a Psionic blast from Chihiro forced them back into cover while I jumped! I hit a loose pile of rubble and slid down into the underground section of the Assassin’s fortress! Chihiro, Sophia, and Chong-Il crashed onto the scene behind me.

…

Thursday, July 19, 2035 12:45am

Inside the Fortress of the Chosen Assassin, Vladivostok, Russia


The interior of the Assassin’s stronghold was disturbingly similar to the Aralkum Blacksite. Sophie, Chihiro, Chong-Il and I found ourselves inside of a large room filled with bloodstained medical equipment. Instead of the traditional beds, large metal slabs marked the spots where God-knows how many victims met their demise at the hands of ADVENT’s twisted science. It took the four of us a second to realize just how badly the room had been wrecked.

“There was a fight in here.” Chong-Il pointed towards a series of scorch marks on the wall. “A very one-sided fight at that.”

“Jericho was here.” Chihiro said. “There’s residual Psionic energy in the air. I can feel it.”

“Could you lead us to Jericho?” I asked. “By following that energy?”

“Maybe.”

“Right, everyone ready up.” I ordered the others. “We can’t assume Jericho cleared this place out by herself.”

Chihiro drew her Shadowkeeper and led the way, passing through a smashed doorway into the next room. Keeping our own weapons at the ready, Sophia, Chong-Il, and I followed.

The next room was some kind of factory. Two assembly lines ran on each side of the room, carrying half-built war machines. MEC troopers, Sectopods, and heavy suits of powered armor lay where they had fallen. The floor was so covered in broken machinery that the four of us had to tread very carefully.

“Some of these MECs put up one helluva fight.” Sophia murmured. “Did Jericho do all of this by herself?”

“It’s possible.” Chong-Il breathed.

“Wait!” Chihiro froze in front of the far door. “Listen! Voices on the other side.”

Making sure to keep the heavy metal door shut, the four of us stacked up on one side. We could hear a male voice talking in an alien language.

“Enforcer, prep a flashbang.” I hissed. “Hit’em, then I’ll breach.”

Chihiro shoved the door open with one hand and Chong-Il tossed the stun grenade! On the other side of the door, I heard two voices gasp, followed by a loud bang!

“Go go go!” I shouted, and started to dash into the room!

We stormed into what looked like a power station. An Elerium generator hummed away with a dull tone and filled the room with a sickening green light. Smoke curled up from a spot on the floor where the stun grenade had detonated. Behind the smoke, two humanoid shapes threw up their arms and shouted:

“Partoga! Partoga! Pargota!”

“STOP! HOLD FIRE!” I shouted.

Manako Ranginui and Kailani Kalili stepped out of the smoke, coughing and wheezing. Kailani stuck one finger in her ear and twisted as though she expected to find something in there. Manako gave us all an angry look.

“What the hell are you two doing down here!?” I shouted.

“Yeah, we almost killed you!” Chihiro added.

Manako grabbed his Plasma Rifle off the floor and said:

“We hunt enemy. Same like you.”

Kailani didn’t say anything. She was looking at Chihiro and I with a screwed-up expression, as though she was thinking very hard. Finally, she shook her head and followed Manako as he moved to one of the doorways on the other side of the room. The four of us started to follow him, but Manako pointed to a doorway on the far side of the room and said:

“Human girl go there. Takea go here.”

The four of us turned on our heels and backtracked, following the way Manako had pointed out.

“Wait a minute.” Sophia said. “He said ‘girl’ as in singular. Did he see Jericho or Supernova?”

Quickly, I turned around to ask, but Manako and Kailani had already gone through the doorway and moved into the next room. Behind me, Chihiro pushed the doorway open and shouted into the next room:

“Jericho? Supernova? Either of you in here?”

To all of our surprise, a voice called out in reply! A voice I hadn’t heard in months.

“Aw, bugger. Now I’m startin’ to hear voices. This is your bloody fault, Walsh!”

A female voice responded, speaking in English through a thick Irish accent.

“Me!? Come over ‘ere and say that ya gobshite!”

My heart leapt!

“WALSH!” I shouted and pushed my way past Chihiro into the next room. “Kathleen Walsh, is that you!?”

We had found it. A long, narrow hallway stretched on for about two hundred feet in front of us, the walls lined with heavy doors that were unmistakably meant to keep someone inside. It was the prison block! Chihiro, Sophia, Chong-Il, and I fanned out, banging on each door and shouting the names of our missing comrades!

“Sergeant Walsh!” Sophia cried out. “Talk to me, which cell are you in?”

“Colonel Smith!” Chong-Il raised his voice, “We’re here to rescue you!”

“Corporal Ackermann!” I yelled. “Gimme a sign! Sound off!”

“Tsubaki-chan!” Chihiro spoke in Japanese. “Doko ni imasu ka?”

One by one, cell doors were smashed open, and we reunited with the last four missing Stormbreakers. British soldier Holly Smith looked terrible. She had lost quite a bit of weight, but that didn’t stop her from standing up and walking out of the cell under her own power.

“Oh, I’m so glad to see you!” Holly greeted us with a smile. “I was starting to think we’d worn out our welcome here. Oi! Robinson, when the hell did you get promoted?”

American Resistance fighter Kathleen Walsh punched me in the shoulder by way of saying hello.

“Never a doubt you’d be the one to spring us!” Walsh gushed, “But why’d ya take so effing long?”

Sophie Ackermann, looking paler and more emaciated than I’ve ever seen her before, lunged out of her cell and wrapped her arms around Sophia in a great big bear hug.

“Thank you!” Sophie cried. “Thank you so much! I thought I was gonna die in there!”

The Russian woman embraced her South African comrade and said in a soft voice:

“There, there. You’re okay now. You’re safe. We’re here for you.”

One cell over, Tsubaki Endo was so happy to see us that she didn’t wait for anyone to help her up. With both of her prosthetic legs missing, Tsubaki tried to crawl on her arms across the cell floor to get to us, but Chihiro and I grabbed her and supported her between our shoulders.

“Chihiro-Kun!” Tsubaki gasped. “I knew you’d find us! I knew it!”

Kathleen crossed the hallway and gently ruffled Tsubaki’s messy brown hair.

“She did, ya know.” The former Secret Service agent told me. “Every day after they took us, Miss Endo here said ‘oh I just know Blake and Chihiro are gonna come for us. They’d never forget about us cause we’re their friends.”

“We’d have probably gone insane without you, Endo.” Holly said. “So, thanks.”

“What the hell happened to you?” Chihiro asked. “It took us quite a while to find you.”

“Not really sure.” Holly admitted. “We all got interrogated a few times. They asked us about Commander Harper and the Avenger, but then they just stopped after a while. Getting’ food twice a day was the only interactions we had with anyone until you lot showed up.”

“Something’s off.” Chong-Il said. “You’d think ADVENT would have done away with you as soon as you stopped being useful. Experiments or brainwashing or something.”

“Maybe the Chosen Assassin had something specific in mind for them.” Sophia offered.

“Speaking of her…” I started to ask, but Kathleen cut me off.

“Oh, yeah. Something’s definitely up with her, but how did you get past her, anyway? This is kinda her place.”

“We haven’t seen the Assassin yet.” Sophia answered. “We were following someone who charged in here on their own.”

“That must have been the voice we heard earlier.” Sophie interjected. “Someone came in here, said, ‘wrong place’ and then left!”

“Jericho!” Chihiro and I said together.

“Listen, we have to chase her down.” I told the others. “Antigone, Enforcer, take everyone topside and get an evac started. We’re going to get Jericho.”

Passing Tsubaki off into the arms of Sophie, Chihiro and I broke from the group and resumed our search. Behind us, Sophia and Chong-Il guided our comrades out the way they had come.

…

The further we got into the Assassin’s stronghold, the quieter it became. Simultaneously, the devastation got worse and worse. Bodies of ADVENT Army soldiers and aliens alike lay strewn in the corridors, and since we were underground, the smoke from several fires had nowhere to go, filling up the ceilings with acrid grey and black clouds. Whole walls had been reduced to rubble, causing small cave-ins throughout the facility.

Moving cautiously, Chihiro and I realized that somehow, Jericho had annihilated the defenders of the stronghold single-handedly. Every once in a while, the sounds of combat up above would seep in via the ventilation system, but things were soon as silent as a crypt, doubly so when we reached our final destination.

Even though we’d never seen an Ascension Chamber before, Chihiro and I recognized it on sight. The room containing the device was different from all the others. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all guided and shiny, as though the room was made from mirrors and polished chrome. We could see our reflections on nearly every surface, and it was quite disconcerting. A huge statue of an Elder stood on a plinth just behind the Ascension Platform itself, looking down on us with a blank face.

Standing on the platform, Chihiro and I looked around.

“No doubt about it, Jericho and Akira went through here…” Chihiro seemed to be talking to herself.

“How can you tell all of that?” I asked.

“The gate told me.” Chihiro breathed. Again, it seemed like she was just thinking out loud. “This is amazing… It’s like a telepathic link… The Ascension Platform is designed to let Psionic people use it without touching the controls.”

Chihiro grabbed my shoulder.

“Stand over here and don’t move!”

“Are we going through now?”

“Yes.”

“Any idea what we’re going to find on the other side?”

“Kinda. There’s definitely a fight going on. Keep your weapon up.”

Chihiro and I both raised our weapons, aiming at the statue of the Elder.

“On my mark.” Chihiro said. “We’re going through in three… two… one…”

It was like all of reality suddenly went to pieces! The floor beneath me seemed to just fall away into an endless void of color and light! I was racing through this tunnel of chaos and I couldn’t move my arms or legs! Rigid, paralyzed, I fell through the spinning vortex of god-know-what until a brilliant white light overpowered everything in my sight! I jammed my eyes shut and waited for it to be over!

I felt my feet hit something solid, and my senses told me I was no longer falling. I opened my eyes… and saw that I had just appeared in a completely different place.

Blake Robinson and Chihiro Tachibana enter the inner sanctum of the Chosen Assassin.

I knew right away that this was the inner sanctum of the Chosen Assassin. Chihiro and I were in a vast chamber with a high ceiling supported by ornate silver pillars. The floor beneath us was polished to the point where our reflections looked back at us in perfect relief. Two huge cauldrons filled to the brim with purple Soulfire were the only decoration in here, but on the far side of the chamber, I could see a huge rectangular slab being suspended in midair above an altar.

In the middle of the chamber were three people: Jericho, Akira, and the Chosen Assassin. All three combatants had their weapons raised at each other and were clearly in the middle of a three-way standoff.

“What kind of monster are you!?” Jericho was shrieking at Akira! “You tried to make me kill my own mother!”

“She’s not your mother anymore!” Akira shouted. “She’ll turn you over to the Elders the first chance she gets! She’s too dangerous to be left alive!”

“You can’t kill her!” Jericho cried “She’s my mom! I won’t let you!”

On those words, I reached into my pocket, found the Arc Brace remote, and jammed the button as hard as I could! Jericho screamed as her ankle bracelet activated and delivered an electric shock that would have instantly killed any other person! Falling to her knees, Jericho rolled out of the way as the Assassin swung her sword at Akira’s head! The time traveler jumped back and fired up her own Celestial Gauntlets!

“Chi!” I yelled. “Get Jericho out of here!”

Akira heard my voice and looked around. Seeing us, she threw herself to one side as Chihiro and I both opened fire on the Assassin! The sound of both the Alloy Cannon and Laser Sniper Rifle going off at the same time was like a lightning strike! Both volleys caught Mira Mihaka in the chest and she fell over backwards! Before she’d even hit the floor, her body had dissolved into millions of little points of purple light that converged on the Sarcophagus!

“Killing her won’t do any good until that thing’s destroyed!” Akira shouted, pointing at the Sarcophagus!

Chihiro and I leveled our weapons at the floating stasis chamber! It was now enveloped in a shimmering aura that clearly wasn’t a sign of anything good! Chihiro and I both fired our weapons again, putting a pair of pockmarks in the Elerium plating!

“What are you doing!? STOP!”

A pulse of Psionic energy hit the both of us from the side! Chihiro and I fell over, I twisted my head just in time to see Jericho bearing down on us! A vortex of Psionic energy swirled around her as Akira intercepted Jericho and stopped her closing the distance on us!

“I’ve got her! Kill Mira!” Akira screamed before throwing a Psi Lance at Jericho!

A loud rushing noise and a flash of light told us the Assassin was back!

“See now the futility of your actions and stand down!” Mira declared, “Your deaths shall be merciful!”

“Chi! Left side!”

Chihiro threw herself out of the way while I drew my own sword and parried the incoming attack at the last second! I was nose to nose with Mira Mihaka as her Katana and my Arc Blade locked against one another for the briefest of moments! Pushing with all my strength, I forced the Assassin to disengage!

To one side, Akira and Jericho were locked in Psionic combat! Akira flicked her wrist, sending some invisible force towards Jericho! With both hands, Jericho deflected the Psionic attack, causing the floor next to her to explode outwards, sending debris flying into the air! Then Jericho went on the offensive! Sending one pulse after another towards Akira, it was all the time traveler could to do shield herself! Each time a jet of violet energy struck Akira, her telekinetic shield would shatter into millions of semi-corporeal shards and she’d have to make a new one! In less than ten seconds, Akira’s shield had been broken nearly a dozen times!

Akira pointed both of her palms towards the ground and projected two arcs of white light into the floor! Two more arcs leapt of the floor near Jericho and hit her at the same time! With a flash and a crack like thunder and lightning, Akira and Jericho had traded places! Jericho, facing the wrong direction, tried to turn around to continue fighting Akira, but Akira had moved faster. Slamming her right hand to the ground, six translucent tentacles erupted from the floor and seized Jericho, holding her high in the air, immobilized!

Meanwhile, Chihiro and I were holding our own against Mira. The Assassin avoided engaging us in a drawn-out fight. Instead, she would strike and then withdraw! After the first two hit-and-run attacks, I figured out that she was gunning for Chihiro, not me. With her big and bulky sniper rifle, Chihiro was pretty much useless once Mira got too close.

“Chi! Switch to your pistol!”

“Blake! She’s coming again!”

As she dropped her rifle to the floor, the Assassin waved her Katana through the air. Psionic energy trailing behind the blade reshaped itself into a dense fog that started to fill the battlefield.

“Damnit, I can’t see!” I shouted. “Where’d she go!?”

“Into the mountain mist, where the reed is bent by the wind, but not broken.” The Assassin taunted from the shadows. “I welcome the darkness, for it is my ally… and your… betrayer!”

On that last word, I finally saw movement in the swirling fog! I raised my sword again, but it was too late! For a full second, I could see the Assassin bearing down on me before her sword flashed through the air! Just before the blade struck home, I felt a powerful burst of cold air wash across me! The Assassin’s blade hit my chest and bounced off! Recovering from the deflection, Mira turned around just in time to see Akira approaching her at a run! I fell backwards and crawled out of the way as twin Shard Blades extended from Akira’s Celestial Gauntlets!

Mira raised her Katana and blocked Akira’s next blow! Cold and harsh Psionic energy radiated out of Akira’s body as she pushed the Assassin away from me!

“How fitting.” The Assassin sneered at Akira. “Not only will I deliver Jericho to the Elders, but the Paradox as well. Not only shall I regain my master’s favor, I may just yet become their champion. This will be a truly great day.”

Akira tried to slash at Mira’s chest with her Shard Blades, but the Assassin dodged her strike with ease. Slashing her Katana through the air again, a huge blue and white wave appeared in front of Mira and washed across the chamber! Chihiro, Akira, and I all got caught up in it! Tumbling, we were thrown through the air and came crashing down several yards away! Hearing the Assassin’s footfalls, I tried to get up, but my hands and feet wouldn’t obey me! I just couldn’t find the strength to stand up again! I was starting to panic!

“Blake!” Akira screamed. “Stay down! I broke focus! She’s coming!”

“I know where the Assassin is, thank you very much!” I roared angrily.

“Not Mira!” Akira shouted. “JERICHO!”

A hurricane-force wind erupted above me! Even down here on the floor, it sounded like a tornado had somehow materialized inside of the chamber! The Assassin’s telekinetic hold on us snapped, and we could move again!

Scrambling to my feet, I saw that Jericho had broken free of that strange Psionic trap Akira had left her in. As the Assassin scrambled back to her feet, Jericho screamed:

“ENOUGH!”

A shimmering wall of Psionic energy appeared between ourselves and Mira, not quite splitting the chamber in half. The Assassin struck the telekinetic shield with her Katana, and when she saw that she couldn’t break it, took a step back.

“Your skills have improved.” Mira said through the shield. “Battlefield experience is truly the greatest teacher.”

Breathing deeply, Jericho glared at Akira, Chihiro, and I in a way that said “don’t you dare move or talk.” Approaching the shield, Jericho took a good long look at Mira.

“You don’t recognize this?” she gestured to the shield. “I learned it from my mother… from you.”

“That title is meaningless to me now.” The Assassin hissed. “I am but an instrument of the Elders, and their will extends throughout the universe!”

“And before that, you were a lost time traveler with no way home.” Jericho kept her voice level. “And you were the first family I ever had.”

Mira took a step closer to the shield. To my right, I saw Akira cautiously start inching towards Jericho.

“In the Elder’s embrace, we can be together again.” The Assassin offered. “Come with me, Jericho. Free yourself from the Paradox.”

Jericho shook her head.

“We can be together without the Elders, Mom. Come with me.”

I was so shocked, so stunned, that I wondered if I was asleep and just having some freakish dream. Did Jericho really just say that… to one of the Chosen!?

In the back of my mind, I heard Chihiro’s voice:

Are we allowing this!? What if Jericho really does turn one of the Chosen? What the hell are we supposed to do then!?

I don’t think anyone ever considered the possibility. I thought. But if Skirmishers can defect, why not a Chosen?

Because that’s fucking insane, Blake!!

“I won’t let my friends kill you.” Jericho said. “And I won’t let you kill my friends, which leaves us at an impasse. This is the only way out, Mira.”

Jericho held her hand out in front of her, as though offering to shake the Assassin’s hand. For the first time, Mira visibly hesitated. Chihiro had dropped her weapons from shock, and Akira continued to slowly creep towards Jericho, a look of steadfast determination on her face.

“I know my kind and loving mother is still in there somewhere.” Jericho said. “The Elders couldn’t have completely destroyed her. That’s why you didn’t fight me in Oregon, and that’s why you won’t take me to the Elders.”

Mira swayed on the spot. She didn’t step forward or backward, but she no longer seemed to be… steady.

“You… cannot… comprehend the power of the Elders. I fell out of their favor after my repeated failures, and yet they allow me to live. It is a generous mercy I can never hope to repay. I must obey their command. It is the Elder’s will that I bring you before them.”

Jericho never lowered her hand.

“I won’t cooperate. You’ll be forced to kill your own daughter.”

“If that is our destiny.”

Jericho stepped closer. Her fingertip was now brushing up against her own shield, which rippled like a pond disturbed by an insect.

“You won’t do this.” Jericho spoke in a hushed voice. “I can feel that little spark of resistance in your mind, in the core of your soul! Listen to it! Listen to your own will instead of the Elders!”

Mira hesitated again. When she spoke, Chihiro and I both gasped! The Assassin’s voice had changed! It was a tiny, subtle difference, but we both picked up on the slightly less harsh tone as the Chosen Assassin said:

“It is too late for me, daughter. The Elders see, hear, and know all. I will be disposed of.”

A loud rushing noise caught my attention! Chihiro, Jericho, Mira and I all looked around! On the far end of the chamber, the Ascension Platform came to life as a column of white light descended down from the ceiling onto it! I shielded my eyes with one hand, bent down and recovered my sword. Just as I straightened up again, the light faded and we all saw what had just arrived in the Assassin’s inner sanctum.

It was a lone humanoid figure, clad in black and purple armor. If I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed it was a young Human woman in her mid-twenties… but Human women do not wear purple face masks, they do not have long white hair that sticks straight up in defiance of gravity, and most importantly of all: They do not have the spectral image of an Ethereal floating in midair behind them.

An Avatar in the field. According to multiple combat reports, a single Avatar is more than capable of stopping a whole squad in its tracks.

“AVATAR!” I shouted!

Jericho, Chihiro, Mira, and I all raised our weapons together and took aim at the Human/Ethereal Hybrid! Akira turned around to face the Sarcophagus, and everybody moved at once! A roiling inferno of Soulfire erupted away from the Avatar and enveloped the whole chamber! Pain, searing pain unlike anything I’d ever felt before wracked every inch of exposed flesh! Clutching onto my sword as tightly as I could, I felt the pain subside! Opening my eyes, I saw that my suit of power armor had taken the full brunt of the blast, and was now burned and singed very badly. I realized that without that power armor, I almost certainly would have died just now.

The Soulfire inferno was over, extinguished by a Harbor Wave attack! The Chosen Assassin was fighting against the Avatar! Mira slashed her sword, cutting through the Avatar’s armor and drawing blood before crouching low and retreating! The Avatar raised its Psionic Reaper to fire on the fleeing Assassin, but before it could pull the trigger, Chihiro had opened fire! The Shadowkeeper pistol let out a loud crack and belched a thick cloud of black smoke! The slug hit the Avatar in the shoulder and threw off it’s aim! Mira escaped into a dark corner and the Avatar quickly turned to see who had fired. Chihiro herself had also scrambled for cover and concealment, escaping from the Avatar’s wrath.

Meanwhile, Jericho and I had taken the offensive! Yelling my last best hope to the heavens, I charged the Avatar down and slashed at its chest and head with my Arc Blade! Orange blood splattered the floor and the front of my armor! I scored a hit!

Immediately, there was a rushing of Psionic energy followed by a quick flash of light! The Avatar had vanished!

“It teleports when it takes damage!” Jericho shouted. “And it heals really fast! Watch your flanks!”

The Avatar re-appeared on the other side of the chamber! Akira dropped her plasma pistol and took a swipe at the enemy with her Shard Blades, forcing it to teleport again! This time, the Avatar appeared a few paces away from Chihiro! She raised her Shadowkeeper and took another shot! The Avatar vanished one more time and reappeared between Mira and myself. We both drew our swords and charged! The Avatar looked from one to the other of us and acted in a moment! With one hand, it pointed at me! I didn’t know what it was doing, but I found out in a moment when I ran headlong into a telekinetic shield! It was like hitting an invisible brick wall! Dazed, I shouted!

“Mira! Watch out!”

The Avatar turned its full attention to the Chosen Assassin! Pointing both palms at the incoming Mira, the Avatar fired a Psionic Lance! The beam sailed through the air and impaled Mira straight through the chest! She collapsed in mid-run!

“NO!” Jericho screamed!

“It’s not over!” Chihiro yelled.

Mira’s body once again dissolved into a cloud of little sparks, which once again converged on the Sarcophagus! Using Psionic energy to close and heal its wounds, the Avatar teleported once more, this time landing in front of the altar above which Mira’s Sarcophagus was floating. It turned around and pressed one hand to the device! Cracks began running up the Elerium plate!

“Someone stop that Avatar!” I shouted!

“I got this!” Akira shouted!

Just as she had done in Kanna, Akira pointed one arm towards the ceiling and projected a beam of purple light into the air! It collided with the ceiling above and white glowing cracks began to spread out from the site as though the whole ceiling was about to cave in! Then a single bolt of lightning materialized in the chamber! It arced from Akira’s hand to the top of the Sarcophagus! The stasis chamber shuddered as the charge ran down the length of its shape and jumped onto the Avatar! The Hybrid was blasted off it’s feet and flew backwards about a quarter of the way across the chamber! The Avatar hit one of the cauldrons of Soulfire, spilling the supernatural flames across the floor, setting a large portion of the chamber on fire!

“I’m guessing that’s a bad sign!” Chihiro shouted, pointing at the Sarcophagus.

I looked at where Chihiro was pointing, and felt my stomach lurch.

Mira Mihaka’s Sarcophagus had been destroyed. Broken shards of Elerium cascaded to the floor as the splintered device made a terrible buzzing sound like a broken power line. Then, with a loud rushing sound, Mira herself rematerialized at the base of the Sarcophagus. With her healing device damaged, only the most serious of Mira’s wounds had been healed. She looked to be in terrible shape, and I worried she might just keel over and die at any moment.

Mira Mihaka is unable to heal without her Sarcophagus.

“Now,” Mira panted, “We fight on even ground, with death itself at stake for all!”

Chihiro, Jericho, Mira and I all charged the Avatar at once! Akira hung back to grab her plasma pistol off the floor. Mira unshouldered her shotgun and fired a blast into the Avatar! It teleported away, but not far enough to escape Jericho! She launched a beam of light through the air and caught the Avatar in the back! It teleported again, only to get caught by Chihiro’s Shadowkeeper on landing!

Standing back to back, the four of us kept the Avatar on its toes, never giving it a beachhead or a moment to rest! Gunfire echoed throughout the chamber while smoke and flames enveloped more and more of the room. Just when it seemed like we were at a stalemate, the Ascension Platform came to life one more time, and two Partogans materialized on the platform! Manako Ranginui and Kailani Kalili only had to observe the situation for a moment before they threw themselves into the battle!

With two more combatants to worry about, the Avatar was finally overwhelmed! Kailani drew her own Plasma Sword and slashed at any part of the Avatar she could reach! It teleported to the farthest corner of the room and tried to quickly heal itself, only to get caught in Manako’s crosshairs! The Partogan leader trapped the Avatar inside of a shield bubble and then filled it with Soulfire! Burning and desperate, the Avatar lashed out at everyone around it! Psionic blasts from its hands and weapons caught everybody at least once as the enemy got more and more desperate!

Firing its weapon wildly, the Avatar took aim at Akira, who caught the incoming blasts in one hand imbued them with her own Psionic energy, and then reflected the attack back onto the Avatar! Blasted with its own power, the Avatar was running out of options in a hurry. Finally, I had enough breathing room that I could start to make a plan to actually kill this thing!

Then I heard Mira shout:

“If the Elders command my death, then let me die with victorious honor!”

“Mira!” I shouted, “Wait!”

Too late! The Chosen Assassin drew her Katana, broke formation, and charged! The Avatar took aim with its Psionic Reaper, and Jericho screamed!

“EVERYBODY DOWN!”

Chihiro, Jericho, Akira, Manako, Kailani, and I all hit the deck as Mira unleashed one last Harbor Wave! A rolling tide of Psionic power rolled across the chamber, extinguishing the out-of-control Soulfire and striking the Avatar! At the last moment, the Avatar fired its weapon one final time! Dozens of rapid-fire beams of energy struck Mira in the chest and arms! Simultaneously, the spectral image of the Ethereal abruptly faded away and vanished! As soon as the spectral Ethereal disappeared, the Avatar went limp and fell to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

And finally, there was silence. Silence except for the dripping of water from the ceiling and blood from our wounds. Silence except for the panting of four exhausted Humans, two winded Partogans, and one nearly-dead alien.

“Oh my god.” Chihiro breathed. “What the hell did we just do? Did we just kill an Avatar!?”

“No.” Mira’s voice sounded strangled, and she coughed up some blood. “I have merely severed its connection to the Elders. It is very much alive, but no longer a threat.”

Jericho stepped over to the inert Avatar and gave it a swift kick. It didn’t respond in any way.

A loud hissing noise caught my attention. Looking around, I saw that Manako and Kailani were standing over a translucent purple sphere. Akira herself was hunched over inside the sphere, and seemed to be unconscious.

“What the!?” Jericho gasped. “A Sustaining Sphere!? When did Akira get hit? Did anyone see?”

Both of the Partogans shook their heads and looked confused. I stepped over towards the spot where Akira had fallen and saw that inside of her Sustaining Sphere, Akira was bleeding from some kind of head wound. Chihiro let out a low whistle.

“Sustaining Sphere means she almost got killed just now. Probably a stray shot from the Avatar… which means…”

Everybody looked over at Mira.

It was grizzly sight! Mira Mihaka had been shot nearly a dozen times by the Avatar’s Psionic Reaper during that final fight. Adding those injuries on top of the rest she’d already taken, and a very grim picture was painted for us. The Assassin wavered on her feet and grabbed Chihiro’s shoulder for support. Jericho screamed!

“NO! We just got you back!”

The former Chosen Assassin fell to her knees and coughed up even more blood.

“I told you.” Mira choked. “The Elders commanded my destruction.”

“That’s not fair!” Jericho cried. “I just wanted my mom back!”

Jericho looked around at all of us.

“Does anyone have a Medkit? Anything we can help her with!?”

“Help her?” I repeated, “Jericho, I’m on a mission to kill this woman. I obviously don’t have a Medkit.”

Mira let out a hacking wheeze that got my attention.

“A way.” She gasped. “There is a way…”

“Wait, you mean a way to save you?” I asked in a hushed voice.

Mira nodded.

“But only if you will allow it…”

Mira looked at Jericho, eyes narrowed. Chihiro telepathically confirmed that she, Jericho, and Mira were having a Psionic conversation. After a few moments, Jericho’s eyes went wide. Chihiro put her hands to her mouth in a silent gasp of surprise. Both she and Jericho looked like they’d just had their minds blown.

“Are you kidding me!?” Jericho gasped. “THAT’s how you did it!? That was how you possessed Lieutenant Kelly and Blake!?”

My stomach lurched.

“Possession!?” I asked. “How is that supposed to help!?”

“It’s a whole lot more than just plain old possession.” Jericho answered. “It's a really special power. Mira told me about it when she talked about her old time travel days. It’s too complicated to explain right now, but in short: we’re gonna use Mira’s special power to save her life. Chihiro, are you in?”

“Yeah, I’m in.” Chihiro replied.

“What!?” I burst out.

Let me be clear, I’m perfectly okay with using Mira’s unique Psionic power to save her life. She signed her defection to our side in her own blood, after all. What I’m not okay with is using said power on Chihiro, especially when I’m not sure on what it is.

Don’t worry about me, Blake. Chihiro’s voice filled my mind. This is going to be temporary. I’ll be fine. That’s a promise. Just promise me you’ll get Akira to a medic, okay?

Okay, fine. I promise.

Then Chihiro nodded at Jericho.

“Right, this isn’t going to hurt.” Jericho said. “But it will be unpleasant.”

Jericho took a deep breath and focused her powers on Chihiro. Instantly, Chihiro’s whole body convulsed and she went limp! I jumped forward and caught her before she hit the floor. Lowering her down gently, I knew exactly which of Chihiro’s old Gene Mods had just been activated.

“You tried to Mind Control her!” I yelled at Jericho. “What the hell is wrong with you!?”

“Sorry, Blake” Jericho said quickly. “She needs to be unconscious for this part, and it’s just temporary.”

While Manako, Kailani, and I watched, Jericho laid the Assassin on the floor next to Chihiro, then checked Chihiro one last time.

“Okay, Corporal Tachibana’s out cold. We’re ready, Mira. Anything you wanna say before you leave that body forever?” Jericho asked.

Coughing, Mira smiled at us and said in weak voice:

“Your good friend there, give him my weapons. He is worthy of them, especially of the blade.”

Jericho telekinetically summoned both of the Chosen Assassin’s weapons and passed them to me. I was caught off-guard by how lightweight and well balanced the Katana was in my hand. Closing her eyes and resting her head on the burned and bloodstained floor, Mira addressed all of us:

“You have fought well, XCOM. May you reclaim this world for your own.”

Mira stopped breathing and became still.

One second later, Chihiro opened her eyes and sat upright.

<== Previous Chapter (The Dark Doorway)

Next Chapter (Enemy Within) ==>​

 

[HistoryDude]

Wait, where is Mira going to get a new body?

Mira gave Blake her weapons... Dang.

Yep, definitely getting Return of the Jedi vibes...

That actually went much better than expected.

Will Mira tell XCOM about what Paradox has done?

How will XCOM's command react to a Chosen switching sides?

 

[Macavity116]

That actually went much better than expected.

In the world of XCOM, any mission where nobody dies is considered a glorious success.

Wait, where is Mira going to get a new body?

That disabled Avatar is the perfect candidate for the job. However, any readers who have played XCOM2 will know that if Mira takes that Avatar body for herself, she will completely override and re-write XCOM2's ending... and send this story down a much different track.

Mira gave Blake her weapons... Dang.

She's not going to need them going forward. Plus, as you'll see in a future chapter, I'm using Mira's Katana as a way to power up Blake (a little) so he can keep pace with the other Gifted characters. (Forged by the Angelis Ethereal itself, Mira's Katana is a weapon to be taken very seriously and a potential rival for a certain sword carried by Partoga's great warrior Queens.)

Yep, definitely getting Return of the Jedi vibes...

That was one of my favorite movies growing up. I couldn't resist the urge.

Will Mira tell XCOM about what Paradox has done?

Probably the same things Manako and Makara are going to say. Partogans gotta stick together!

How will XCOM's command react to a Chosen switching sides?

As you'll see in the next chapter, the news will cause a debate that will have repercussions in Act Three. The next chapter is named Enemy Within for good reason.

 

[Macavity116]

This is it! We are rapidly approaching the end of Act Two! The Liberation of Earth is at hand!
======

<== Previous Chapter (Mira Mihaka)

Next Chapter (Ashes and Temples) ==>​

Chapter 23
Enemy Within

​

Central Officer Bradford and Doctor Richard Tygan, photographed during the procedure which transferred the Psionic entity formerly known as the Chosen Assassin (Mira Mihaka) out of the body of Chihiro Tachibana and into the inert Avatar, where it would remain for the rest of the Second Hyperspace War.

Thursday, July 19, 2035 4:10am
EXALT Forward Operating Base, Outskirts of Vladivostok, Russia


By the time Jericho finished explaining the situation for the umpteenth time, she was starting to lose her voice. Commander Harper, Central Officer Bradford, Doctor Tygan, and the holographic images of Geist, Betos, and Konstantine Volikov all listened to Jericho’s story with rapt attention. On the other side of the cramped little command center, two bodies were laying in partially zipped up body bags. The corpse of the Chosen Assassin was being examined by several EXALT scientists, while the still-breathing body of the Avatar was being given a very wide berth by everybody.

Behind Jericho, Chihiro Tachibana had been restrained. She was shackled at the wrists and ankles, gagged, had an Arc Brace had been fitted around her forearm, and two huge EXALT operatives were holding onto her shoulders. By this point, several hours had passed since Mira Mihaka had woken up in Chihiro’s body. I’d gotten over the shock of the whole thing, and I’d cautiously accepted Mira’s assurance that Chihiro would be fully restored to her own body after Mira vacated it.

“Your comrade is still here.” Mira had explained. “She’s just been suppressed.”

I would have been standing at her side, but the EXALT soldiers didn’t let me get any closer than ten feet. I held my place behind Jericho and watched XCOM’s leadership expectantly.

Finally, Commander Harper broke the tense silence.

“Where’s Akira Robinson? I think it’s safe to say her secret’s out… Again.”

“Medical tent number two.” I replied mechanically. “Plasma weapon impact to the back of the head. The Avatar must have got behind her at some point.”

“Is she stable?”

“Yes, ma’am. They’re applying Partogan nanomedicine now.”

Harper focused her gaze on Chihiro.

“This changes everything.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.” Bradford chimed in.

Commander Harper walked over to the table where the corpse of Mira Mihaka was resting. She cautiously placed two fingers on the Chosen Assassin’s throat and checked for a pulse.

“She’s dead.” Harper told the group. “Definitely dead. But you’re saying, Jericho, that her… her what? Spirit? Her soul? It just moved?”

“Let’s call it a ‘soul.’” Jericho offered. “It’s easier that way; and yes, it’s been moved.”

Pointing at Chihiro, Jericho said:

“Commander, you of all people should know about the wide range of things you can do with Psionics. Astral Projection is Mira’s unique skill. That’s how she could possess people and leave us thinking it was Mind Control. Mira can separate her soul from her body and… well… if you’re asleep, or unconscious, like Corporal Tachibana was…”

Commander Harper gulped and looked Chihiro in the eyes. Not breaking eye contact, she said:

“You surprised me, Jericho. I never imagined the possibility that a Chosen could defect. In fact, I’m still having trouble believing it.”

Gagged and unable to speak, Chihiro/Mira narrowed her eyes at Commander Harper.

“Mindshields all around, honey.” Harper tapped her own head. “Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to talk before we make any decisions.”

“Hold on, you’re actually going to listen to her!?”

The hologram of Konstantine Volikov stepped through Harper and then turned around to address her. EXALT’s hologram tech is nowhere near as sophisticated as ours, so when he stepped away from the projector, Volk’s image degraded severely, but we could still hear his voice just fine.

“Commander, you’re not seriously considering that!” Volk protested. “After what happened this morning, you’re still willing to listen to what a xeno has to say!? Those Partogans almost killed our own people out there! She’s one of them! She cannot be trusted!”

“Xeno or not, she’s a defector!” Harper said. “As much as we would have liked to see her dead, we can’t execute her in cold blood anymore!”

“Agreed.” Betos added. “The moment the Chosen Assassin took up arms against a servant of the Elders, she became one of my Skirmishers. In our view, Mira Mihaka is on our side now.”

“She’s ADVENT!” Volk shouted so loudly that the speaker cut out for a second. “She’s an alien! She is the enemy!”

Chihiro/Mira tried to talk, but the cloth gag got in the way. Bradford talked over her.

“Volk, Jericho got the Assassin to change sides. It’s a win for us and a blow to ADVENT. What more could you want!?”

“Dead aliens!” Volk yelled. “That’s what I want! My men are fighting and dying to take our world back! We will not laying down our lives so that you can share the good green Earth with alien filth!”

The Reaper leader rounded on Harper.

“Look at me, Laura!”

Even though he was just a flickering two-dimensional image in midair, we could see just how angry and deranged Volk had gotten. He pointed at Chihiro.

“I told you back in Nevada that I drew the line at Skirmishers and Partogans. Letting the Chosen Assassin live is going too far! If the Assassin’s really in that girl, then do the right thing and put a bullet in her head! End this threat once and for all!”

“LIKE HELL!”

I stepped out of line and placed myself firmly between Chihiro and the Commander. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel my own pulse in my arms.

“No one is going to hurt Chihiro!” I shouted.

Now Volk turned his wrath on me.

“What the hell is wrong with you, boy!?” Volk’s holographic silhouette took a step towards me and I held my ground. “We’re talking about a dangerous alien here; this should not be a debate anymore!”

“That alien just fought an Avatar to the death to protect Jericho!” I countered. “That’s the opposite of dangerous, Volk!”

Volk made a head-bobbing motion that suggested he had just spit on the ground, wherever he was.

“Don’t even get me started on that half-Human freak!” He turned his head to address Harper.

“This is why I wanted you to keep Jericho out of the loop, Laura! If she hadn’t found out about her so-called mother being the Chosen, we wouldn’t be in this hole!”

“We’re not in a hole!” Bradford cut in. “By bringing the Assassin over to our side, Jericho’s given us an opportunity we didn’t even know existed! The fact is, Volk, we don’t need to kill our enemies if they can be convinced to turn!”

Volk put his hands on his hips and shook his head.

“You’re still too trusting, John!” He snapped. “Aliens are below Human sentiments like that. Stop assuming that these things think like us! You let Mihaka live, and you’ll be giving up everything XCOM fights for: A free Earth, void of outsiders and ruled by free men.”

The hologram of Betos cast a dark look at the Reaper leader.

“You seem to be very misguided about what XCOM fights for, Volk.” Betos said. “We fight for the freedom of all who were enslaved by ADVENT, not just Humankind.”

The two faction leaders stared at one another; their holographic faces filled with implied threats. I was quite grateful that neither of them was physically in the same room as us. Finally, Commander Harper ended the argument:

“Betos is right, Volk. In this kind of war, freedom is an everybody-or-nobody option. We’re going to accept Mira Mihaka’s defection. She’s one of us now.”

Stepping away from the holographic faction leaders, Commander Harper ordered me to remove Chihiro/Mira’s gag. Behind me, I heard Volk fly off the handle:

“Listen to me, Harper! You do this, and the alliance is off! Reapers have long memories, and we won’t forgive anyone who turns their back on their own species! Don’t make an enemy out of me, Harper!”

A flurry of movement and sound caused me to pause and look around.

Harper, Bradford, Tygan, Betos, and Geist had encircled the hologram of Volk. The group seemed to be radiating hostile intent.

“Any Reaper who wants to join us and help bring down the Elders is more than welcome.” Harper growled. “But let me make this clear, Volk: Undermine our mission, come after any of my people, do anything at all that I don’t like, and I will leave no trace that you or your Reapers ever existed. Am I clear? I. Will. End. You.”

Volk didn’t speak. He didn’t so much as blink. After a moment, he disconnected, causing his hologram to vanish. Harper sighed and gave Bradford a quick nod. The Central Officer quickly stormed out of the command center, talking into a radio as he went:

“This is Central, pass the word to all XCOM, Triple Alliance, Templar, and Skirmisher squad leaders: Reapers are now hostile. Repeat, the Reapers have turned and are now hostile. Follow standard rules of engagement.”

Meanwhile, I finished removing Chihiro/Mira’s gag and stepped aside, allowing her to face Commander Harper.

“I apologize for that scene.” The Commander said. “Making an ally out of your enemies is very messy art form.

“You speak with a certain wisdom.” Chihiro spoke in Mira’s voice. “I see why your Resistance was so quick to rally around you.”

The doorway to the command center swung open again, and two Partogans entered. Manako and Makara Ranginui both halted when they saw the Assassin’s body lying on one of the tables. Jericho waved to get their attention and they approached.

“I just heard you found Mira Mihaka!” Makara’s English was now nearly perfect, and her voice seemed to be permanently locked into a South Island New Zealand accent. “Where is she?”

“The answer is… somewhat complicated.” Doctor Tygan replied, pointing at Chihiro.

Manako and Makara both looked very confused as Chihiro/Mira waved at them. I tried to help:

“Mira’s original body was killed. She’s using Astral Projection to inhabit someone else right now, and we have a plan for a more permanent solution.”

Makara did a double take, looking from the Assassin’s corpse to Chihiro, then said aloud:

“Kia ora?”

“Kia ora.” Chihiro/Mira answered calmly. “Ko Mira Mihaka toku ingoa. Kei tawhiti ahau i te kainga.”

“Ae.” Makara nodded. “Kei te mahara ahau ki te whakatau ia koe.”

Chihiro/Mira nodded.

“Pai.”

Makara addressed me again.

“You said she’s using Astral Projection, and that this body is a temporary host? Where is the new host body?”

I crossed the room and tapped the inert Avatar on the head.

“It turns out Avatars don’t have minds of their own.” Jericho explained. “They’re just puppets for the Elders to use. When Mira cut this Avatar off from the Elders, it just collapsed.”

“Using this specimen,” Tygan added, “I’ve theorized that the Elders were looking for a way to permanently inhabit the bodies of the Avatars, doing away with their current system of Psionic tethers. This might even be the end goal of the AVATAR Project itself.”

“So,” I said, “If we put Mira in this Avatar body like Jericho suggested, then we’d basically be doing the Elder’s work for them.”

“Yes and no.” Tygan replied. “Remember, we will be exploiting the Chosen Assassin’s power of Astral Projection to do this. As far as we know, this power is unique to her.”

“That is no longer a guarantee.” Chihiro/Mira interjected. “The Elders have spent countless centuries trying to overcome such limitations. The AVATAR Project will only bring them closer to succeeding.”

“Speaking of that project.” Commander Harper raised her voice to get everyone’s attention. “We only have a few hours left before we have to move against it. I, for one, would like to have Corporal Tachibana restored to her own body as quickly as possible. Is there anyone here besides the Reapers who opposes allowing Mira to inhabit the Avatar body? Anyone at all?”

Looking around, I saw that nobody had an issue with this.

“So, what’ll happen to Mira after that?” Jericho asked. “She’s still my mom.”

“No doubt I’ll be expected to answer for my actions against you and your allies.” Chihiro/Mira said.

Commander Harper shook her head.

“Perhaps, but for now, that will have to wait until after ADVENT’s overthrown. Mira, I have no doubt that you have a trove of actionable intel we could make use of. You’ve already done so much by defecting to our side and protecting our troops. But before this war is over, I have to ask if you would be willing to contribute anything else to our fight against the Elders. Please, Mira. You might help us tip the scales today.”

“I know you are planning to breach the Psionic Gateway, and bring war to my masters in their citadel,” Mira answered. “You will need a guide, as well as a protector. Many terrors await you in the deep.”

“You were our enemy less than six hours ago.” Betos said. “Out of an abundance of caution, I say it is far too premature to give her a weapon and expect her to fight against ADVENT. We must give her time to acclimate to our way of living and fighting!”

“Betos, twenty-four hours from now, this war will be over!” Harper snapped. “The time for caution and half measures has passed. Either we defeat the Elders now or the AVATAR Project goes live! Either way, it’s over! Tygan! Jericho! Start prepping Mira for the transfer. Everyone else, start packing your gear for the trip back to the Avenger. Operation Leviathan will launch first thing tomorrow!”

Commander Harper picked up a clipboard from a nearby table and approached me.

“I think this goes without saying, Robinson, but your troops are going to take point on Leviathan.”

“I was counting on that, ma’am.”

“Good. You’re going to be leading the assault, but Stormbreaker won’t be going alone. I want you to pick a platoon’s worth of soldiers to join your unit.”

I felt my mouth drop open.

“Ma’am!? You’re giving me a platoon!?”

“Take any soldier you want from any squad. The Skirmishers and Templars will open their ranks to you as well. I’ll talk to the Partogans about loaning some of their troops for the operation as well.”

“Team Takea is available to you.” Makara cut in. “I’ll see if any other Triple Alliance Marines can be set aside for your mission.”

Harper put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“Smith, Walsh, Ackermann and Endo are back at the Avenger now, being evaluated in the infirmary. Shen tells me they’re all itching for a fight. Ackermann pretty much threw herself into the Hypervital Module an hour ago, so she’s ready to fight. Endo is getting fitted for new legs right now. I’ll send Tachibana to join you as soon as she’s separated from Mira.”

Looking around the gathered leaders in the room, I hesitated for a moment before deciding not to say Akira’s name.

“And the other soldier in the Medical Tent?”

“I’ll send her as soon as she’s on her feet.” Harper replied. “But she did get shot in the head, Robinson. That kind of damage needs lots of Nanomedicine, and we’re dependent on the Partogans for it. She might not recover in time. Be ready for that.”

Commander Harper let go of my shoulder and finished by saying:

“You and your platoon will be briefed on the final mission at nineteen-hundred hours tonight. Dismissed, Lieutenant!”

I turned on my heels and made for the exit. Just as the door closed behind me, I heard Makara say:

“Commander Harper, I need to talk to you. My brother says he encountered a certain Human named ‘Akira Robinson’ a few hours ago…”

…

Thursday, July 19, 2035 3:30pm
Near the Ruins of Artyom, Russia


The Avenger had landed in a grassy field that used to be Vladivostok International Airport, just a short ten-mile drive away from Mira’s old fortress. With the Skyranger destroyed, the roads leading to the ship were choked with trucks moving between the ship and the battlefield. It took several hours to reach the Avenger, and while I waited for Chihiro, Jericho, and Akira to catch up, I decided to have a little reunion.

Sophie Ackermann, Tsubaki Endo, Holly Smith, and Kathleen Walsh were all still in the infirmary. The rest of the squad was there as well, recovering from their various injuries sustained during this morning’s fight. Our missing comrades were more than happy to be home. Tsubaki told everyone about how she had always known a rescue would come while taking a few practice steps on her new cybernetic legs. Kathleen was telling tall tales about being interrogated by the enemy, while Sophie mostly stayed silent, listening to the goings-on and watching us all like a wallflower. Odette Fournier had joined her, and the two were having a silent moment together. Holly was being debriefed about her time in captivity by Isis Dekker. Isis herself had a notepad and was writing down anything she might consider to be useful intel.

Once cheerful reunions simmered down, I got the group’s attention and quickly debriefed everyone on what had happened recently. I told the squad about how the soldier they knew as Homura Hanako had already been revealed as the time traveler Akira Robinson once, and that she had suppressed their memories of her after the Partogans appeared. Ignatius Petoskey was particularly disturbed by this news. As soon as I confirmed what Akira had done, he activated his Psionic Amplifier and started to inspect our minds, one by one. Ignatius found the “damage” Akira had inflicted and started to undo her handiwork, one Stormbreaker at a time.

Meanwhile, I brought Holly, Sophie, Tsubaki, and Kathleen up to speed on everything that had happened since their capture at Pyongyang. At times, other members of the squad chimed in with their own contributions to the story. As it turned out, none of our rescued comrades knew that Sophia’s twin sister Ludmilla had been killed during the fight at Pyongyang. Sophie and Tsubaki hugged Sophia and shared a few moments of crying together.

“Once the war’s over, we’ll go to Kanna, and we’ll give Ludmilla a real funeral, okay?” Tsubaki offered. “All of us, together.”

The news of our Partogan allies was taken differently by each woman:

Holly punched the air and gave a celebratory shout!

“YES! There’s always a bigger bully on the playground!”

Kathleen was suspicious and skeptical of the Partogans.

“I don’t like ‘em. How do we know we’re not trading one alien master for another?”

Tsubaki was curious about the Partogans shocking resemblance to the natives of New Zealand.

“It can’t be a coincidence that they look and talk like Maori. No chance in hell! Something’s up, and I wanna know what it is!”

Sophie was downright xenophobic.

“So what? Once ADVENT’s down we’ll just have to start fighting them. There’s nothing to stop them trying to take our world.”

Finally, I completed the recap by giving Holly and the others a complete blow-by-blow retelling of Akira’s activities since her first appearance in Korea, as well as her apparent history with the Partogans. When I reached the part about Akira being unexpectedly downed during the fighting earlier today, Kathleen clenched her teeth and made a hissing noise.

“Oh, shit!” Kathleen gasped. “You mean to tell me the Partogans fragged Akira!?”

Everybody turned to look at Kathleen. Matthew Hawkins scratched his ear and said:

“Care to repeat that? Cause it sounds like you said the Partogans f-”

“Fragged!” Kathleen repeated. “Don’t any of you greenhorns know what fragging is?”

“Some of the young-in’s might not know,” Hal suggested. “But us vets… we do.”

Sophie, Sophia, and Matthew were the only Stormbreakers who didn’t know the term, having never fought in a war before the Alien Invasion. Hal quickly provided an explanation:

“’Fragging’ is when a soldier deliberately murders one of his own comrades. It happened a lot during World War Three, especially as the Soviet forces started to fall apart.”

Yutaka Yamamoto nodded and added:

“Towards the end, nearly everyone in the Soviet Army realized we were going to lose. Morale was low and discipline was nonexistent. Almost every night, someone would toss a live hand grenade into the officer’s barracks, trying to kill the Commissars. Sometimes, in the middle of a firefight, a Red Army soldier would shoot and kill his own comrade, then blame it on the enemy. That is fragging.”

“And it sounds like that’s what happened to Akira.” Kathleen finished. “The Partogans must have tried to execute her when you had your back turned.”

Several distinct conversations broke out as Stormbreakers debated and argued with one another over whether or not the Partogan soldiers had genuinely made an attempt to murder Akira. Taking advantage of the unmoderated chatter, I pulled Holly aside for a quick chat.

I was expecting the Colonel to get upset when she learned that I would be the one to lead the Squad during the final battle. Instead, she took the news with a surprising amount of grace.

“Better you than Yamamoto, Robinson. You’re much more trustworthy.” Colonel Smith said. “Speakin’ of Yamamoto, he’s looking unusually chipper. Somethin’s definitely different about him. What’s been going on?”

Damn! Holly was quick on the draw! I settled on the truth.

“He’s been… in a relationship with Jericho for the past couple of months.” I whispered. “You know, the romantic kind.”

Holly retched.

“That creep!? Really!? Trojan, mate, you’re killin’ me! That’s creepy as all hell! Please tell me you told the Commander!”

“Hey, I got creeped out too!” I said, throwing up my hands, “Chi and I were talking about doing something, but we never got around to it. Besides, both of them seem to be doing well. Happy enough as far as I can tell.”

Colonel Smith shook her head disapprovingly.

“Listen here, Lieutenant. Time for a British Royal Army leadership lesson: You cannot have a Captain doin’ romance with a lower enlisted. Those kinds of relationships are nearly always because the officer is abusing his rank to take advantage of the other soldier. The lopsided power dynamic is bad for morale and cohesion in long term. Trust me, Robinson. You’re just doing damage to the whole squad by letting Yamamoto get away with this.”

Holly paused.

“Wait, what country are we in?”

“I think we’re in Russia.”

“Russia, right. Okay, Robinson, I’ll bet you a thousand Rubles that it’s not a real romance. Yamamoto has got something on Jericho, and he’s using it to boss her around.”

“You’ve only been back a few hours and your intuition is that good?” I let out an impressed whistle. “Tell ya what, Smith: If this mission goes sideways and the war keeps going after tomorrow, you can have the Squad Leader job back.”

A little while after this, Jericho and Chihiro returned to the Avenger and joined us in the infirmary. When Chihiro stepped through the doorway, I joined in the celebratory cheers that greeted her before giving Chihiro a hug and a kiss as well. Ignatius insisted on telepathically checking Chihiro’s mind to make sure Mira had well and truly vacated the place; but Jericho swore, hand over heart, that Chihiro was whole and intact.

Isis Dekker hugged Jericho and didn’t let go for nearly a minute, although Jericho didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Now I’ve got two Moms at the same time!” Jericho cried. “If we live through Leviathan, I’ll make gifts for both of you!”

The celebration would have gone on longer, but one by one, we noticed that both Chihiro and Jericho had the looks of people who were about to deliver some bad news. The joy fading fast, I asked if something was wrong.

“No Partogans.” Jericho informed us. “They’re still going to help us fight ADVENT elsewhere, but they’re not going to help us on Operation Leviathan. We’re on our own tomorrow.”

“What!?” Soylent gasped. “Why’d they back out!?”

“That doesn’t make sense!” I protested. “That Makara lady said we’d have the Takea squad for the Assault.”

“Makara recalled Team Takea to her ship.” Chihiro looked crestfallen as she reported this. “After you left the FoB, Makara and Commander Harper got into an argument… about Akira.”

The jubilant atmosphere left the infirmary like air from a balloon.

“Wait… seriously!?” Kathleen stammered.

Jericho nodded.

“Makara told the Commander that Akira is a wanted criminal on Partoga. Sounded like Akira did something really serious, because Manako and his sister wouldn’t stop going on about how ‘dangerous’ she is. Even Mira agreed with them, she said that Akira is a genuine threat..”

“Anyway,” Chihiro continued. “Makara demanded that Harper ‘surrender’ Akira to the Partogans at once.”

Chihiro screwed up her voice and did an impression of Makara:

“This is a crucial matter of Commonwealth national security and it will be a non-negotiable aspect of any future alliance between Earth and Partoga. You must extradite Akira Robinson to our custody immediately.”

A shocked silence ran around the room.

“So… I guess I was right.” Kathleen sounded stunned. “Manako really did try to frag Akira.”

“Yeah, Harper inferred as much without saying it out loud.” Jericho confirmed. “Here’s the sticky part, though. Commander Harper used some kind of legal technicality to stop the Partogans from taking Akira.”

“A legal technicality?” Isis repeated. “How the hell could she do that?”

“Harper said that XCOM is a military organization sanctioned by the Council of Nations.” Chihiro said. “And that only the Council has the authority to ‘handle that kind of request.’ Basically, Harper passed the buck and told Makara to call up the Council.”

Pause.

Then, everybody started to laugh!

“The Council hasn’t met in over twenty years!” Ignatius roared. “And most of its members are on the enemy side these days!

“‘Its members have all sworn allegiance to ADVENT, with one exception.’” Soylent recited in a near-perfect recreation of the mysterious Council Spokesman’s deep voice.

“And the new Resistance Council hardly counts as a government!” Yutaka chortled. “Their authority doesn’t go any farther than the firing range of our biggest gun!”

“So, what happened?” I asked

“The Ranginui twins made it clear that they aren’t going to help us with Operation Leviathan if Harper holds out for Akira.” Jericho concluded. “And then Harper asked me to let you know that Akira would be staying with her until you picked out the troops for the mission.”

“Pick troops?” Soylent repeated. “You haven’t decided who’s on mission yet, Robinson?”

I gave the Captain a mischievous smile.

“You’ve got it backwards, Colonel.” I said. “We can’t afford to let this mission get away from us. If you can walk and hold a gun, you’re on deck for this op. Now I just have to pick three more squads’ worth of soldiers to go with us.”

“THREE MORE SQUADS!?” The Stormbreakers gasped in unison.

“Yeah.” I confirmed. “We’re gonna do Operation Leviathan as a platoon. Get your gear and meet me in the armory at nineteen hundred. First thing tomorrow, we’re ending this war.”

I got up to leave. Next to the Infirmary door, Holly had put Yutaka in a headlock and was playfully messing around with his hair. The Soviet soldier protested and demanded the Colonel let him go.

“Oh, c’mon, Captain!” Holly kept her tone light and jovial. “What’s a little roughhousin’ among officers? Oh!”

Holly gave a little jump as she brushed up against Yutaka’s leg.

“What the bloody hell is that in your pocket, Captain?” Holly tightened her grip on Yutaka’s head with one arm and stuffed her free hand into Yutaka’s cargo pocket. “Lieutenant Robinson got you carryin’ bricks or something? C’mon! Give it up!”

Holly withdrew a small remote control and held it up over her head.

“This isn’t funny, Smith!” Yutaka protested. “Give that back!”

Jericho, Chihiro, I all saw the remote in Holly’s hand.

“Is that… the Arc Brace remote you lost at Site X!?” Chihiro gasped. "Jericho! Has Yamamoto been threatening to shock you this whole time!?"

Yutaka looked horrified. Jericho went completely pale and nodded quietly.

“Oi! Robinson!” Holly shouted. “You owe me a thousand Rubles!”

…

Thursday, July 19, 2035 6:55pm


I don’t think the full weight of what I was doing hit me until the last two hours or so. I spent that last afternoon before the mission picking and choosing the men and women who would fight in what might just be the last battle in Human history. If everything went well, we would defeat the Elders and liberate the Earth. If we failed… well, then we would be the last noteworthy men and women ever. We would be the ones refusing to go gentle into the good night.

The Final Platoon, as our group came to be known as, would be broken up into four Squads. First Squad would, of course, be the Stormbreakers: Holly, Chihiro, Jake, Yutaka, Matthew, Ignatius, Isis, Sophie, Tsubaki, Sophia, Kathleen, Hal, and myself. Akira would also be joining us just before we went through the Psionic Gate.

I chose Jane “Gatecrasher” Kelly to lead Second Squad. She had been fighting the good fight since she was old enough to hold a gun, and had been instrumental in the mission that had rescued Commander Harper, Chihiro, Holly, Soylent and I from ADVENT captivity. It was only fitting she be there for the final blow. Kelly picked some of XCOM’s best and brightest fighters for her squad, including the entire team responsible for killing the Chosen Warlock.

I gave command of the Third Squad to Pratal Mox, the Skirmisher who served as Betos’ second-in-command. Mox drew from the ranks of the Skirmishers as well as XCOM’s best Rangers to build his squad. He was deeply grateful for the chance to lead a strike against the Elders themselves and swore on his honor that he would not return through the Psionic Gate until he had struck down an Avatar.

I had a little trouble picking a leader for the Fourth Squad. The gravity of the situation had finally sunk in. I tracked Jericho down and asked her for some advice.

“Did Mira’s database say anything about who I picked for the Final Platoon?”

“Yes.”

“Did it say who I picked for Fourth Squad?”

To my surprise, the question caused Jericho to become extremely uncomfortable. She tried to dodge the answer and change the subject twice before I got her to give me a straight answer:

“I’ll tell you who I picked, okay? As long as you promise I won’t have to work with him.”

“Uh, okay. Is he someone you don’t get along with?” I asked. “If it’s bad, I can just pick someone else.”

“No, you really should pick him.” Jericho admitted with a defeated sigh. “He’s a decent leader, and what’s more important is that he’s good under pressure.”

“But you don’t get along with him.” I pressed. “What, is this guy an ex-boyfriend or something?”

I was trying to be sarcastic, but when Jericho blushed and hid her face in her hands, I realized how hard I’d hit the nail on the head!

Turns out, during that brief period of time when she had been separated from Isis but not yet moved in with Mira, Jericho had dated a Hawaiian named Duane Gardner, and she had ended up dumping him after multiple bad experiences. Duane himself turned out to be a little too clingy for Jericho’s tastes, and he refused to admit under any circumstances that their relationship was actually over.

With the promise that she wouldn’t have to work or fight alongside him, I jogged out to the Templar camp and asked a liaison to put me in touch with Duane. The Hawaiian Templar reported to the Avenger just fifteen minutes before the briefing started, and he brought with him seven fully armed and equipped Templars. He had also recruited six of XCOM’s Psi Operatives for his own squad as well.

With just five minutes left until the briefing started, the Final Platoon in its entirety had assembled in the Avenger’s armory. Fifty men and women had picked out the weapons and equipment they would carry to the final battle. XCOM, the Skirmishers, and the Templars had formed our own little “mini Triple Alliance” to take down the Elders without any help from the Partogans. By what must have been a miracle, Central Officer Bradford, Commander Harper, and I finally managed to quiet the crowd and begin the last pre-combat briefing of the war:

“It’s time we put ADVENT down for the count!” Bradford began. “This will be a two-pronged assault. Echo Squad is already in position at the ADVENT Network Tower in Berlin. They’ll be the first to move.”

“A few hours from now, it will be midnight here on the Pacific Rim, and also the midday to late afternoon hours in America and Europe.” Harper told us. “At that time, the Speaker of the ADVENT Coalition is scheduled to give a broadcast announcing a final climactic breakthrough in Gene Therapy. Before the broadcast finishes, Echo squad will hack the Network Tower and cause a worldwide disruption of the Psionic Network the enemy uses to coordinate their troops.”

“Shen has also cooked up a surprise that’ll keep ADVENT glued to their television screens while we work.” Bradford added. “Something that’ll really get their attention.”

“With ADVENT in an uproar,” I continued. “We’ll activate the Psionic Gate down in the Shadow Chamber and start funneling troops into the Elder’s domain.”

“This is a risky plan,” Commander Harper said. “A lot could go wrong, but bringing the fight directly to the Elders is the quickest way to stop this war.”

“Soldiers!” I raised my voice so that everybody in the back could hear me. “On the other side of that Gate is the seat of the Elder’s power! Think of it as their capitol! Their headquarters! Your orders are to dismantle and destroy the domain of the Elders so that it can never be rebuilt! Let the Elders know that they will have no place on our world anymore! That nobody on this planet, Human or otherwise, will ever kneel to the Elders again!”

“Men and women of XCOM!” Harper addressed her troops. “For the past twenty years, you have sacrificed much and risked all for your friends, families, and communities. You’ve given up your strength and health so that others can be free! You practiced and mastered the art of warfare so that your children and grandchildren might master something else! You have forever earned my respect and trust. In time, I hope everyone on this world will recognize you as the heroes I believe you are!”

Commander Harper pointed to a weapon’s crate. Obeying her wordless orders, Bradford and I quickly pushed it in front of her so she could stand head and shoulders above every member of the Final Platoon.

“Every commissioned officer in the room! Raise your right hand and repeat after me!”

There was a great rustling and commotion as men and women raised their hands above their hearts. Central Officer Bradford and I couldn’t help but smile at one another. We had been warned about this surprise about five minutes beforehand. Then, the walls and ceilings shook as twenty voices, including my own, recited the oath Commander Harper dictated to them:

“I solemnly swear to devote my life and abilities in the defense of the United Nations of Earth. To defend the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to uphold the freedoms of all sentient life. From the deepest ocean, to the peak of the heavens, for as long as I shall live!”

As we finished reciting the oath, Commander Harper declared:

“By my authority as a General of the United States Army and as the Commander of XCOM, I hereby grant all of you a battlefield promotion!”

The uproar of cheering and celebration nearly deafened me as Lieutenants became Captains, Captains became Majors, and Majors became Colonels. Officers high-fived and congratulated themselves, too busy to notice what all of the lower enlisted soldiers were staring at. Only a few people noticed at first when Commander Harper stepped down from the crate and allowed me to take her place, but silence quickly fell when the newly promoted Commander Bradford shouted:

“At ease!”

I didn’t raise my voice as loudly as Harper did. I didn’t need to. Even though she was in the middle of the crowd, I could clearly see Chihiro’s eyes light up as she realized what was about to happen.

“Privates, Corporals, and noncommissioned officers of XCOM.” I began. “It’s your turn.”

Thirty voices reciting the new oath together actually caused my ears to ring! In that small, cramped armory, you might have thought that every army Humanity had thrown against the aliens was gathered in that one little room! As I promoted the other half of the Final Platoon, I couldn’t help but feel that our morale couldn’t get any higher! I enjoyed every moment of the celebration afterward, trying hard not to think about the possibility that by this time tomorrow, many of these happy young soldiers might be dead.

…

The Speaker of the ADVENT Coalition makes his final public address in Berlin, Germany before the collapse of the Elder's regime reached its climax a few hours later. No one is sure what happened to him after the Liberation of Earth, and many people believe he is still alive and in hiding somewhere on Earth.

Thursday, July 19, 2035 4:00pm
Metropolitan Berlin, Germany, Central Europe


All across the world, at exactly four in the afternoon, Berlin time, television and radio programs were interrupted to bring a special message from the Speaker of the ADVENT Coalition. Millions upon millions of people stopped what they were doing to watch, be they at home, at work, or in one of the Megacities that had not been attacked during the earlier wave of violence. Electronic billboards in every city and town switched their feeds to the ADVENT News network as the announcer addressed the world:

“Good morning, fellow citizens. The ADVENT Coalition has announced the definitive advancement in Gene Therapy has been delivered to the Speaker of the Coalition as a Gift for all of Humanity. Coalition officials assure us that the Elder’s greatest Gift to Humanity will be made available to all citizens immediately. We turn now to the Speaker for more.”

The images on all screens shifted away from the news desk to an outdoor speaking venue in the heart of downtown Berlin, where the Speaker of the ADVENT Coalition addressed a cheering crowd from behind an ornate red and gold podium. The Speaker himself was a thin man with dark round glasses and a long neck that was covered in odd brown spots and speckle-marks. He might have looked rather gangly, but he spoke in a passionate way that would have made anyone pay attention.

“Fellow citizens, for twenty years we have put our trust in ADVENT, in the Elders; because we believed a better future is possible for all. Today, that trust… that belief… has been rewarded! ADVENT’s peacekeeping forces are traveling across the world carrying the greatest gift from the Elders! A revolutionary Gene Therapy, yes. But! So… much… more! This is an end to disease, to decay, to pain! The beginnings of a new tomorrow, available to all of us, today! Truly, Humanity takes its rightful place amongst the stars.”

The Speaker took a deep breath. Having finished the speech, he was convinced that this would be his magnum opus. Looking away from the cameras and the teleprompters, the Speaker was ready to bask in the adulation of the loyal crowd. To his surprise, the Speaker saw that the watching crowd of Germans did not look happy or cheerful. In fact, they weren’t looking at the Speaker at all. Instead, they were gesturing angrily at the large digital screen behind the Speaker and muttering furiously to one another.

Sensing something was wrong, the Speaker quickly looked around at the digital screen, and saw… horrors.

The broadcast had been hijacked. Almost from the start. While the Speaker had been delivering his speech, his words had been accompanied by a plethora of sickening images and videos… bodies of thousands of victims of one of the Blacksites… ADVENT soldiers attacking a defenseless village and kidnapping the people living there… the Chosen Hunter gunning people down for sport while laughing to himself. Images that had been seen by the entire world.

The Speaker only had seconds to react before the crowd of spectators converted itself into an angry mob and surged towards the stage!

...

The Stormbreakers report to the Shadow Chamber before their final mission on July 20, 2035.

Left side, front to back: Tsubaki Endo, Matthew Hawkins, Chihiro Tachibana, Jericho, Blake Robinson, and Yutaka Yamamoto.

Right side, front to back: Sophie Ackermann, Jake Green, Holly Smith, Kathleen Walsh, and Sophia Kuznetsova.

Friday, July 20, 2035 4:00pm
Near the Ruins of Artyom, Russia


“Weapons check!” I shouted.

“Locked and loaded and ready to kill!” My squad shouted back!

I paced the hallway again, inspecting everybody’s armor one last time. The dim light of the Psionic Gateway flitted underneath the doorway of the Shadow Chamber. It was nearly time. The hallway leading to the Shadow Chamber was lined with XCOM soldiers. All fifty members of the Final Platoon had taken up their positions in line to go through the Gate. The Stormbreakers would be first through, and once we had a beachhead, the other squads would be turned loose.

“I’m tired of waitin’ around!” Kathleen shouted. “Let’s get this done!”

“Robinson!” A voice called out.

Commander Harper and two people were dashing up the hallway to join us. Akira, fully armed and armored, was jogging behind her.

“One time-traveling daughter, as promised.” Harper said.

Akira darted out from behind the Commander and hugged Chihiro tightly.

“I can’t believe Manako actually tried to kill me!” Akira gasped. “I’m sorry I almost missed the big show.”

“Kid, supernatural Gift or no, you got shot in the head.” Matthew said. “Are you sure you don’t wanna sit this one out?”

“And miss one of the most important battles in Human history!?” Akira asked sarcastically. “Not on your life.”

Then Akira turned to face me.

“I’m here to help, I swear. Tell me where you need me to go.”

Now wasn’t the time to be picky. Not when so much was at stake.

“You’re with me.” I said. “Odette, Holly, and I are going to be running the flanks.”

“Got it.” Akira said. “Stay mobile, attack from the sides.”

The door to the Shadow Chamber swung open.

“Stormbreaker!” Shouted the voice of Doctor Tygan.

Three at a time, we filed into the Shadow Chamber. As each row of soldiers laid eyes on the stranger in the room, there was a series of “oohs” and “ahs.” Chihiro gasped, Akira froze in shock, and Jericho beamed with happiness.

The Avatar we had fought in Vladivostok was here, but I almost didn’t recognize it. The Avatar had taken on a whole new look. Instead of the purple and black armor worn by all other Avatars in the field, this one was dressed up in a soft white and blue armor. The simple change in color scheme alone made this Avatar look downright friendly.

“I’m glad you approve of the cosmetic changes.” Tygan noticed the whole squad staring. “I needed to be sure that you would be able to differentiate a friendly Avatar from a hostile one.”

The white Avatar approached and stuck out her hand for me to shake.

“You helped to spare my life.” Mira Mihaka spoke through the Avatar. “In this new form, I hope to atone in some measure for all of the harm I have caused you and your comrades.”

“Welcome aboard.” I grasped Mira’s new hand and shook it firmly. “Let’s start by defeating the Elders.”

Mira gesture to one of Doctor Tygan’s workbenches behind her.

“Your scientist insisted on examining these before allowing you to use them.” Mira explained. “I have done my best to assist and allow him to complete is work quickly.”

Doctor Tygan picked up the Chosen Assassin’s shotgun and held it out to me.

“This weapon is, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing weapons I’ve ever come across.” Tygan said. “It’s build upon an a composite frame of Elerium and makes use of a Magnetic Ordinance Reduction System. Lieutenant Robinson, this is no ordinary shotgun, it is an armor-piercing cannon!”

I took the shotgun and ran my hands across the smooth surface, admiring its simple yet elegant design.

“Tradition must sometimes give way to technology.” Mira admitted. “Arashi has never failed me in the rare moments when I required its power. I am sure you will find it useful, but I hope you will agree with me that this is the true treasure.”

When Mira picked up her old Katana, she handled it with the same gentle care as one would handle an infant. Doctor Tygan’s eyes lit up at the sight of the sword. He too, seemed to value it more highly than the shotgun.

“If I may.” Tygan said. “The Assassin’s sword is something else entirely, and may just be among the more unique and perhaps important weapons we have ever recovered. Incredibly, it defeated all of my attempts to analyze its composition. All I can tell you is that the sword is made from multiple non-terrestrial elements that are held in a tight suspension by Psionic energy, and as for that energy itself… I have no explanation. This weapon is a prize for scholars as well as warriors.”

I hooked the Arashi to one of my shoulder straps and took the Katana in both hands. The experience of holding the Katana again was extraordinary. The weapon was perfectly balanced in my hand, even though the handle seemed to be quite heavy in proportion to the blade. As an XCOM Ranger, I had handled my fair share of swords. This weapon blew all other blades out of the water for me. There was simply no comparison!

“This Katana was forged by the Angelis Elder’s own hands.” Mira told me. “As part of the Elder’s efforts to make the forces of ADVENT appear divine or godlike, the blade was fashioned in the same style as the mythical Samurai of Japan. But the appearance is intentionally deceitful…”

Mira put both of her hands on the handle of the Katana, and pulled and twisted at the same time! Tygan and I both gasped! The handle snapped cleanly in half, to reveal a second, shorter sword hidden inside of the Katana’s handle! One weapon had suddenly become two!

“Incredible!” Tygan gasped. “I had no idea!”

Mira held up the short Tanto blade on one hand.

“This is the secret of my Katana.” Mira said. “This blade is made from pure Elerium and infused with energy drawn directly from the Shroud.”

“Shroud?” Tygan and I repeated together.

“Another plane of existence.” Mira’s voice sounded a little dreamy, as though she was looking back on a profound memory. “Made entirely from Psionic energy, it was the site of a great battle many Eons ago. The Elders visited the Shroud and imbued this Tanto with the residual energy from that bout of legendary combat.”

Mira reattached the Tanto to the Katana, hiding the Elerium blade away.

“That is the secret of my sword, Robinson. It contains the fury of a dying god. I’m confident you and your comrades will put it to good use against the Elders.”

Mira offered the Katana back to me. I discarded my Arc Blade and accepted it.

“What about you?” I asked. “We’re about to step into one helluva war zone. What will you fight with?”

Mira picked up a Psionic Amplifier from Tygan’s workbench.

“The Elders gave me this Gift, expecting that I would use it to enforce their will and expand their domain. Today, I will use it to bring freedom to all they have enslaved.”

The former Chosen Assassin, Mira Mihaka, photographed immediately before she went through the Psionic Gate. Mira is the highest-ranking member of the ADVENT Army to turn and fight against the Elders. She would guide the forces of XCOM through the Alien Fortress during the Battle for Earth.

Satisfied with that answer, I shook Mira’s hand one last time.

“Welcome to the Stormbreakers, Mira. Let’s put the Elder’s down once and for all!”

As Mira and I rejoined the ranks of the squad, Commander Bradford stepped in front of the deactivated Psionic Gateway, the better to talk to us while Tygan activated the device.

“Alright people, the world got its wake-up call.” Bradford began. “And now they know the truth. ADVENT is a lie, and their time is up.”

Commander Bradford gestured to a map of the world pinned to a nearby wall.

“They’ve got a full-fledged war on their hands now! While the aliens struggle to contain our world, we’re gonna make a move on theirs!”

Behind him, the Psionic Gateway came to life! A chaotic swirling Rift opened up in midair between the crescent-shaped pylons before resolving itself. I couldn’t help but stare, mesmerized. I could see the Elder’s domain through the Rift! Towering ornate statues and polished silver pillars reminded me of the temple-like interior of the Chosen Assassin’s sanctum. Bradford stood to one side and looked through the portal at the citadel on the other side.

“It won’t be easy, but you’re used to that. You did what was needed, you never gave up the fight!”

Tygan flipped a switch next on his console and held up one hand in the “wait” signal. The Gate was almost ready! Commander Bradford took those final seconds to psych us up one last time!

“You are XCOM! You’re gonna end this! Humanity is counting on us, people!”

Tygan flashed the thumbs up and he and Bradford both stepped out of our way. It was time to go, time for the final battle to begin.

“STORMBREAKERS!” I shouted to my team! “MOVE IN, TAKE GROUND, AND FIRE AT WILL!!”

The Psionic Gate. In the early morning hours of July 20, 2035, exactly 52 fighters under the command of Captain Blake Robinson passed through the gate and arrived in the heart of the Elder's Fortress, instigating the final Battle for Earth.

<== Previous Chapter (Mira Mihaka)

Next Chapter (Ashes and Temples) ==>​

 

[HistoryDude]

So, ADVENT has been exposed....

Why don't the Partogans just tell XCOM about Paradox's crimes?

Also, is the "fury of a dying god" the fury of the End of the Cycle when Paradox killed it?

Will the Shroud-Beings make an appearance? I mean, they were technically imprisoned in the Shroud, not killed, so...

 

[Macavity116]

Why don't the Partogans just tell XCOM about Paradox's crimes?

Makara tried, but Commander Harper wasn't interested in hearing about what Akira's done. She's placed too much value on Akira's ability to fight the Elders, and doesn't like the idea of the Triple Alliance taking away such a powerful fighter.

Also, is the "fury of a dying god" the fury of the End of the Cycle when Paradox killed it?

Your intuition serves you well, and you are on the right track. Mira's Katana has in fact been infused with the energy of a Shroud-Being. Unfortunately, it's not the End of the Cycle in there.

Will the Shroud-Beings make an appearance? I mean, they were technically imprisoned in the Shroud, not killed, so...

You are right again! Akira didn't kill the Shroud-Beings, only incapacitated them. The Shroud-Beings are nowhere near as strong or powerful as they were in After Everything, but they are by no means down for the count. All five Shroud-Beings are alive and active, and only one is accounted for: the one currently locked up in Mira's Katana. According to Mira, the Elders have been to the Shroud at least once. Who knows what they saw or did in there?

Expect to see more of the Shroud-Beings in Acts Three and Four.

 

[Macavity116]

<== Previous Chapter (Enemy Within)

Next Chapter (The Girl Who Killed a God) ==>​

Chapter 24
Ashes and Temples

​

Friday, July 20, 2035 12:01am
The Alien Fortress, Tethys Seamount, Pacific Ocean


Mira and I were the first two soldiers to step out of the Psionic Gate. I think we had only about two or three seconds to take in the environment around us. Nothing I’d seen before, not the Blacksites, UFOs, or ADVENT Megacities could prepare me for an environment as alien as this one.

Purple, green, and blue light overwhelmed my vision for a moment, before the colored shapes resolved themselves into an ultra-futuristic place. We had arrived in some kind of massive scientific facility. I saw computers with holographic screens and keyboards that seemed to hover in midair. Windows in the far wall revealed some kind of growery or greenhouse where purple fauna bloomed beneath violet lights. The walls and ceiling around us were transparent, revealing that the Alien Fortress lay far beneath a vast sea of water. A cloud of jellyfish swirled above my head, while a vaguely familiar looking shark swam past the wall to our right.

Just when I started to realize that we were still on Earth, I heard a voice! It resonated throughout the chamber and echoed off every surface! As the rest of the Stormbreaker Squad exited the portal and arrived, they held their hands to their ears as the voice assaulted their senses:

“Such loss. Such needless waste. You force our hand, yet we still offer peace. Join us and your world will be spared.”

There was a flurry of movement in the Greenhouse just ahead of us. As Ignatius brought up the rear and confirmed that all of the Stormbreakers were now on-site, Mira Mihaka pointed towards the Greenhouse and said:

“The Crypt of the Elders is that way.” Mira told us. “While their power extends far and wide, their physical forms are confined to this place.”

“Wait.” Soylent said. “Did she just call it a ‘crypt?’ Are the Elders dead already?”

“Death holds a much different meaning for the Elders.” Mira clarified.

The squad started to advance, crossing the lab and stacking up against the door to the Greenhouse, where we could now hear alien chatter inside. Behind us, the Psionic Gate came to life as the members of Second Squad began to make their appearance.

“On my go,” I said to the team. “Breach and clear in three, two, one… Go!”

Kathleen kicked the door open while Matthew threw a flashbang into the room! A Sectoid screamed in surprise as seventeen Stormbreakers erupted into the Greenhouse, guns blazing! We cleared the room right down to the very corners, gunning down three Sectoids and a couple of Vipers!

“Clear!” Chihiro shouted.

“Room’s clear!” Ignatius confirmed.

“You harbor such blind hatred for us.” The Ethereal voice said to us, their voice seeming to come out of nowhere. “We cannot understand it. Our intentions for your world were never hostile. They are still not. You are a part of us.”

Soylent smashed a window with his Anti-Materiel Rifle and then shot an alien on the other side.

“They actually expect us to buy any of this!?” he said in an exasperated way.

“More distrust.” The Ethereal sounded offended. “Perhaps you would find more reassurance in our words if…”

The Ethereal trailed off and fell silent as we exploded forth and began raiding the next room. Freed up from the distraction, we were able to focus on the tough fight in front of us:

By this point, alarms had been raised throughout the entire fortress, and a disturbingly large force of aliens met us in the next chamber, which looked like some kind of manufactory. A veritable horde of Mutons had taken up defensive positions all over the facility, and their lines had been augmented with MEC troopers and…

“Another goddamned Sectopod!” I shouted. “Doomsday, Alecto, Freud! Keep it busy! Mihaka, Paradox, and Vampire! Get ‘round the enemy’s flank!”

“On it!” Akira replied.

“Hell yeah! It’s killin’ time!” Holly cheered.

Keeping my head low, I moved along the XCOM battle line as it started to form, ordering soldiers into place and calling out targets. Second Squad was now all the way through the Gate and was starting to funnel their own troops into the fight as well.

“Holy shit, Robinson!” Jane Kelly gasped as she took cover behind a huge piece of machinery and joined the fight. “Where the hell did you get almost three dozen Mutons!?”

“I’m just lucky!” I shouted over the noise of gunfire. “Where’s Third Squad!?”

“On their way now! Keep up the pressure!”

And then, somehow, above the noise of nearly one hundred weapons firing on both sides, a voice made itself heard! It was the most kind, sweet, motherly voice you could possibly imagine. In my mind’s eye, I pictured the voice belonging to an angel from heaven. Somehow, without any plausible explanation why, every member of the Final Platoon knew at once that we were hearing the voice of the Angelis Ethereal, the undisputed enemy leader.

“So many were risked to give you life, Jericho. And for what? For violence... for war… for death. Truly you were meant for something more than this.”

To my left, Jericho launched a handful of Soulfire towards the enemy positions before ducking back into cover. She rolled her eyes as the Angelis Ethereal’s voice faded.

“And they’re talking to me.” Jericho complained. “Great. Just great!”

Holly and Yutaka fired a pair of rocket-propelled grenades into a Sectopod’s flank before it could get the chance to stand up at full height. The war machine teetered over and collapsed, crushing a group of Mutons and sending a whole squad of them fleeing! Behind me, I heard a shout:

“Forth Squad’s here!”

Duane Gardner skidded into cover, using Psionic power to deflect incoming weapons fire away from his soldiers.

“Gardner!” I shouted. “Is that everyone?”

“Yeah, that’s everyone!”

I stood up and shouted at the top of my lungs!

“PLATOON! PUSH FORWARD!”

Throughout history, there have been many “armchair generals” who discount the Human Wave Attack as a senseless strategy used only by idiotic commanders. Let me tell you, those people have never been on the receiving end of a Human Wave, and more importantly… they’ve never been on the giving end.

When fifty-two heavily armed men and women all broke cover and started moving towards the enemy line, firing their weapons as fast as they could pull the triggers, it had a psychological effect on friend and foe alike. With comrades all around me, left and right and front and back, I felt more secure than I should have, in spite of the fact that I was completely exposed out in the open. Advancing inexorably, we poured a hellish storm of fire and metal into the enemy ranks, sending tens of thousands of rounds downrange in a matter of seconds! The overwhelming cascade of fire struck the enemy line like a tornado! Any and everything the enemy was using for cover was swiftly destroyed! Blood and dust and smoke filled the air as the alien formation collapsed and broke beneath our assault!

“They’re running!” Sophie screamed. “They’re falling back!”

“Don’t stop!” I shouted. “Everyone keep pushing!”

“We offered your people hope!” The Angelis Ethereal preached above the sound of the battle. “A brighter future, to be something greater, yet still you refuse. What more can we offer you than the greatest gift of all?”

“Somebody shut that voice up!” Sophie shrieked while gunning down a Muton.

At the back of the line, Ignatius had not fired his weapon once. Instead, he was using his Gift to protect the Platoon from enemy fire, deflecting plasma beams and gauss rounds as best he could! Odette Fournier prowled the flanks like a panther, making sure nobody ambushed Ignatius from the sides.

“Your promise of gifts and salvation are lies built upon lies!” Ignatius roared. “And now the whole world knows!”

“So much time spent needlessly resisting, fighting your ascension to something greater. And yet, here you are… just as we envisioned! In your efforts to prevent the Avatar’s creation, you have followed the path we set forth, truly exceedingly even our own lofty expectations, Jericho.”

“Shut him out, Jericho!” Isis screamed above the din! “More alien lies!”

“Screw your expectations!” Jericho shouted at the Angelis Ethereal, even though she couldn’t see her. “I’m not living by anyone’s script anymore! I’m not going to be a puppet!”

The last cluster of Mutons resisting our Human Wave Attack was suddenly torn asunder in a horrifically graphic way as Jericho unleashed a Psionic storm! A swirling vortex of Psionic energy rippled around the Rift she had opened in the middle of the enemy lines! In seconds, more than half of the enemy force was annihilated! Panicking at the sight of their comrades being destroyed, most of the alien force broke from their positions and started to fall back, retreating further into the fortress.

The soldiers of the Final Platoon were also left stunned by Jericho’s sudden display of power. Some soldiers hesitated, but I urged them onward!

“Follow Jericho!” I shouted to my troops! “Keep up with her!”

Sticking close to Jericho, the soldiers of the Final Platoon surged through the Alien Fortress with all the destructive intensity of the Apocalypse! Every computer in sight was smashed. Thermite demolition charges fitted to machinery, and everything else was put to the flame! Forcing our way out of the manufactory, we came across something that made a few of us quite sick.

The next chamber was huge. It was probably six hundred meters wide and another nine hundred long. In this space, we found a near-perfect recreation of… a neighborhood. Twenty American-style suburban houses, complete with yards, a cross-street, and a network of power lines sat in the heart of the Alien Fortress, looking quite as though some detail-oriented collector had removed the neighborhood and placed it here with the greatest possible care. The one and only thing that seemed out of place was the street sign at the corner, which said:

Maple Street, U.S.A.

Oh, and there was also at least three platoons of alien fighters swarming through the neighborhood, setting up defensive positions and getting ready to fight the Human invaders.

“Time and again, you have rejected our wisdom. And still we show compassion and generosity.” The Angelis Ethereal carried on. “But as with all things this too must end. We can no longer afford to suffer your transgressions.”

“I don’t know what she means by that!” Hal yelled. “But I think we’re out of time! Let’s finish this!”

The Final Platoon surged into the facsimile neighborhood! Jericho, Akira, and Mira took the lead, blasting the enemy with a wide array of Psionic powers! Fighting on transplanted Human territory, the forces of XCOM and the Resistance finally had homefield advantage! Navigating the boulevard and structures with ease, “Maple Street, U.S.A.” quickly became a kill zone! Mutons, Sectoids, Vipers, MEC Troopers, Chryssalids, Codices and Archons all scrambled to find cover and concealment.

“Mimic Beacons!” I shouted. “Draw them out!”

All over the battlefield, there were flashes of blue light as Mimic Beacons were deployed all along XCOM’s new battle line. Without fail, the holographic duplicates of our soldiers drew fire from the enemy, giving away their hiding places! Our next volley of return fire was so vicious and lethal that it drew an immediate response of a different kind.

“I admire your tenacity, XCOM.” Hissed a familiar voice. “Bringing the fight to the Elder’s inner sanctum, that’s a bold strategy. Are you ready to see if it pays off?”

“My brother is here!” Mira shouted. “Everyone, find cover!”

CRACK!

The Chosen Hunter didn’t miss a mark! On his first shot, a soldier from Second Squad went down! Hit in the chest, the poor man didn’t even have the breath left to scream!

“Man down!” Jane Kelly shouted.

“I can get to him!” Tsubaki Endo yelled. “Someone give me cover fire!”

“Dragon!” I yelled. “Fangirl needs help!”

“Let’s do it like Hiroshima!” My wife called back!

Together, the three of us executed a leapfrogging movement. While one of us dashed to cover, the other two were laying down suppressing fire on Gur-Mon Madron, forcing him to cease fire and hunker down in cover. Finally, Chihiro used her Laser rifle to keep the enemy’s heads down while Tsubaki and I made the final dash to the wounded soldier.

It was Bernard von Unfal, the German soldier who bore the most responsibility for killing the Chosen Warlock a couple days ago. While Tsubaki grabbed von Unfal and started to drag him out of the line of fire, I saw something hit the side of a 2015-era minivan and roll along the pavement towards us.

“Stun Grenade!”

Too late! The device went off with a loud BANG! Suddenly, sounds and sights didn’t make sense! I could just barely hear Chihiro screaming to my left, before a voice cut through the chaos!

“Piper! Recovery protocol!”

A powerful electric jolt hit me in the head and spread out from there, shocking my whole body back to its senses, quite literally. Across the street, I saw Isis Dekker calling her Gremlin drone back, ready to load another Nanomedikit into it. Looking around, I realized Chihiro was still down. She was kneeling on the ground, holding her head in both hands. I started to move towards her when Isis shouted:

“On your left! Trojan! Hunter on your left!”

Once again, Madron had gotten so close he could have reached out and touched me! Instinctively, I raised the Arashi and fired! Mira’s shotgun went off with the force of a cannon and knocked me over backwards! The car next to Madrox got hit with the full force of the blast! Knocked clean off it’s wheels, the minivan rolled over and came to rest on its side while the Chosen Hunter laughed at me.

“You stupid monkey! If that gun didn’t do my sister any good, what makes you think it’ll work for you!?”

Madron drew his pistol and took aim at me! Before I could do anything, there was a chaotic eruption of light and sound! Duane Gardner and Akira had attacked the Chosen Hunter simultaneously! Two sets of Celestial Gauntlets projected intense beams of Psionic energy into the Chosen, hitting him so hard that he dropped his pistol and fell back! Activating their Shard Blades, Akira and Duane both charged! I jumped to my feet and got out of their way just in time!

A jet of light shot out of the Hunter’s free hand and connected with Akira’s chest! In an instant, the Chosen Hunter had completed a Psionic Inversion! He had forced Akira to teleport against her will! She rematerialized in the spot where Madron had just been standing, and suddenly found herself on the receiving end of Duane’s attack! The Hawaiian Templar saw what was happening and intentionally stumbled, grazing Akira with his blades instead of impaling her!

Meanwhile, Gur-Mon Madron had reappeared in Akira’s spot, which was just behind me. In a lightning-fast decision, I picked a plan of attack. Turning on the spot as quickly as I could, I reached up to my shoulder and grabbed the handle of Mira’s Katana.

Drawing a sword in anger always gives me an insane adrenaline rush, I was prepared for that, but the Psionic energy embedded in the Elerium blade multiplied that feeling a thousandfold! It was like I suddenly got all of my strength and stamina back! His pistol fallen on the ground; the Hunter started to raise his Sniper Rifle to fire on me! Gripping my new sword in both hands, I could feel the aches and pains of battle leaving me! I was light on my feet, stronger than I’d ever felt in years! The sword was giving me power!

“Now! Strike now!” An animalistic voice growled in my mind. “Strike with all your strength!”

Screaming like some kind of monster, I swung the Katana downward with so much force I could have split steel! With supernatural violence, Mira’s Katana sliced through Madron’s armor and dug into his flesh! Yellow blood sprayed all over my armor! The Chosen Hunter howled and retreated! Using his grappling hook to escape, Madron pulled himself up onto an open-top observation platform at the end of the simulated neighborhood.

“Follow him! Press the attack!” The Katana ordered, “Do not let him escape!”

Before I could take two steps, the Hunter finally managed to get the quick-draw on me! Just like the Assassin’s shotgun, the Hunter’s Rifle made a sound like a cannon! I felt a powerful thud and was blown clear across the pavement and crash-landed on my back! Opening my eyes, I saw strange multicolored shapes swirling in front of me before they resolved themselves into a thin trail of smoke, curling up from my body armor. I had just taken a gauss round to the chest! Was I dead? That didn’t matter right now.

“Get up!” Mira’s Katana shouted in my mind. “Get up! On your feet! Get up now!”

The shock of being hit so hard was wearing off in a hurry. I was surrounded on all sides by the fury and destruction of the battle, by smoke, flames, gunfire, shouting, and explosions; and yet, I was totally focused on just one thought: Get to Madron! I ran full-tilt across the street, scrambled up the ladder to the observation platform where the Hunter had fled, and found him unprepared.

The Chosen Hunter must have assumed he had killed me, because he was now focused on sniping other XCOM soldiers, and kept his eye in the scope until it was far too late. Madron noticed me as I drew the Katana back and aimed one hand at my face, preparing to hit me with a Psionic blast!

“Kill! Kill!” The Katana savored the moment before the deed. “KILL ALL ENEMIES!!”

I droved the Katana home! Piercing the Hunter’s damaged armor as though it wasn’t even there, I drove the blade all the way into his chest, then I detached the short Tanto blade from its hidden place in the handle! The translucent Elerium blade flickered with its own internal light, as though some kind of entity inside the blade was throwing itself against the walls of its prison! I thrust the Tanto into Madron’s heart!

At once, the Tanto blade got very hot in my hands, in exactly the same way a Gifted person gets hot when they discharge Psionic energy! In an instant, the Tanto blade had siphoned away all of Gur-Mon Madron’s Psionic energy, completely depriving him of his powers! Unable to teleport to his Sarcophagus to heal, the Chosen Hunter was about to die… and stay that way.

Panting, the two of us didn’t move. Some force compelled me to look at Madron. He looked up from the points where I’d stabbed him. Realizing what was about to happen, the Chosen Hunter coughed and spluttered:

“Have to admit… didn’t see this one coming… So, this is what it feels like to be afraid? Not… my style.”

The Chosen Hunter let out one last ragged breath and slumped over, unmoving. No teleportation. No rapid healing. No resurrections this time. As I heard Madron’s expiring breath and watched his eyes roll back, I felt something… a sensation, an emotion that I had never connected with the act of killing before. I’d never felt so… satisfied. I was satisfied enough to smile at the sight of the Hunter’s body on the platform floor.

I didn’t have any extra time to process those feelings, though. The noise of battle was suddenly punctuated by an eruption of screaming! I returned Mira’s Katana to its sheath on my back and slid down the ladder. Returning to street level, I recovered Mira’s shotgun and reached Chihiro just as she was revived by Isis’ drone.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

“Jericho’s burning the alien lines!” Isis reported. “She just made a freakin’ tornado of Soulfire!”

Chihiro, Isis, and I ran through the wrecked neighborhood to catch up with the XCOM attackers. Sure enough, Isis was right! A massive swirling vortex had somehow appeared in the cavernous chamber and was now tearing through the enemy lines!

“Damn.” Chihiro breathed. “If Ignatius tried something like that, he’d exhaust himself in five minutes!”

“Jericho doesn’t have to worry about that.”

Akira had rejoined us. She was watching Jericho unleash hell on the enemy with a knowing look.

“It’s her unique power.” Akira explained. “Jericho can do whatever she wants with the Gift because she’ll never exhaust her powers.”

Isis and I both let out low whistles.

“How the hell is that possible?” Chihiro asked. “You can’t just create energy out of thin air.”

“She’s not.” Akira clarified. “She’s drawing energy out of all living things around her. Passively, all the time.”

I felt my stomach lurch as a realization hit me.

“Wait a minute, so… back in Pyongyang, when Jericho said she needed to ‘recharge’ she was…”

“Yeah.” Akira confirmed. “And now she’s drawing energy from friend and foe alike. The Elders keep sending more and more aliens to fight us, each one adding to Jericho’s powers without realizing it. Dad, when we get to the Crypt, I need to draw the enemy out. Provoke the biggest fight you possibly can, and we’ll win this thing.”

…

Overwhelmed by Jericho’s latest attack, the enemy broke and retreated once more. The Final Platoon reformed and pressed the attack again, erupting out of the faux neighborhood and into a wide, multi-tiered area filled with large alien machinery.

“This is it!” Mira called out to the troops. “This is the Foundry where Avatars are made!”

Before we could get a chance to destroy anything, the alien defenders had reformed their battle lines and returned to fight us again!

“They’ve got reinforcements!” Hal shouted. “Four, maybe five platoons!”

“It’s a whole feckin’ company!” Kathleen confirmed. “We’ve really shook the hornet’s nest now!”

A whole new conflagration erupted in the Avatar Foundry! Ignatius dropped his unused rifle and raised both of his arms, creating a huge Psionic shield around the Final Platoon! The air was so thick with gunfire that Gauss slugs and conventional bullets rained down on the floor after hitting one another in flight! The snaps and pops of lethal projectiles melded together into a constant deadly roar! The Foundry became hot as Jericho, Akira, Chihiro, Mira, Ignatius, Duane, the Templars, and several ADVENT Priests and Sectoids unleashed the full spectrum of Psionic powers against one another! Chihiro got close enough to me at one point to share her powers with me, and I took full advantage of them!

Using Mira’s Katana to channel my shared Gift, I fired beams of energy across the chaotic battlespace, dropping anything that wasn’t under Ignatius’ protective field. I noticed that my Psionic powers were much more potent if I channeled them through the Katana, so I made heavy use of the sword as I blasted the enemy back with telekinetic force! The Katana itself seemed to be quite thankful to be used in this way. As for the rest of the battle, I couldn’t see what was what anymore! There was too much movement! Too many muzzle flashes, too many pulses of violet and purple light!

“From here we can call upon endless legions of reinforcements. You will be overrun. Yet our armies could be withdrawn at any time, Jericho. Peace is within your grasp, if you would only join us.”

“NEVER!”

To the shock of friend and foe alike, Jericho leapt into the air and flew a short distance, landing smack in the middle of a huge group of alien fighters, before they could do anything more than blink, a lightning storm erupted out of Jericho’s body, striking down everything in her immediate vicinity! The light radiating away from Jericho was just as intense as a flashbang grenade! When the storm finally subsided, I could see that Jericho had punched a hole so big in the enemy force that we were basically fighting to smaller groups of enemies now, instead on one large unit.

“Keep moving up!” I ordered the troops. “Punch through that hole!”

“You are capable of so much more, Jericho!” The Angelis Ethereal pleaded. “Yet you fail to grasp the true nature of your power. Join us, and your world will live on. Resist, and there will be nothing left to save.”

A group of alien handlers turned a pack of Chrysalids loose on the battlefield! The monstrous insectoids ran rampant, attacking enemy and ally alike!

“Focus fire on the monsters!” Mira told me. “My daughter and I will clear the way!”

The men and women of the Final Platoon shifted their fire toward the incoming horde while Jericho and Mira stood side by side, venting psychokinetic destruction down upon the alien force!

“Here come the bugs!” Isis yelled.

“Melee fighters, move up front and spread out!” I ordered. “Sharpshooters and Specialists, uncover to the left! Set up overlapping kill zones!”

Rangers and Templars moved to the front of XCOM’s lines and spread themselves as far apart as they could. Swords and Shard Blades were brought to bear while snipers and rifle marksmen set up behind the left shoulders of each soldier. Like my fellow Rangers and Templars, I took a knee while behind me, Chihiro raised her Laser Sniper Rifle and unleashed her first volley! Nearly a dozen Chrysalids were knocked down by the first hailstorm of fire, and only eight actually got close enough to our line to be a threat! I slashed Mira’s sword at the closest bug and took its head clean off! The sword seemed to growl with pleasure as I turned and struck down a second Chrysalid that got too close. Duane Gardner got two more, and by the time the last four bugs were downed, Mira and Jericho had cleared out most of the enemy force, opening the way forward.

“You view us as the conquerors of your world, but that was never our intent!” The Angelis Ethereal protested telepathically. “Each species you’ve encountered, the ‘aliens’ you have fought and slaughtered. None were given a choice. Our home was the oldest of worlds, and the first to be consumed. Billions were lost, if only that were the end.”

“If you want our pity, you’re twenty years too late!” Jericho shouted! “We’re not going to join your slave army out of pity!”

“Yeah!” Sophie chimed in. “If anything, they should join us!”

“Our power does not waver. You will find our forces here loyal. They require no coercion, for they know failure here means the end for all.”

True to the words of the Angelis Ethereal, the last remaining alien fighters broke cover and committed themselves to one last suicide charge against our lines! The Final Platoon dug in and held firm! Refusing to give an inch, we fired into the enemy formation unceasingly until every alien had dropped to the floor, and at long last… there was complete, blissful… silence.

We had secured the Avatar Foundry!

“Specialists, see to the wounded!” I ordered. “Grenadiers, scrap everything in here! Sharpshooters and Rangers, cover the doors!”

Odette, Tsubaki, and Isis both sent their Gremlin drones buzzing around the Foundry to check on their fellow soldiers while Holly, Hal, Yutaka, and Matthew joined Grenadiers from other squads in their efforts to affix thermite charges to any piece of machinery that could have been used in the construction of an Avatar. (which is pretty much everything in the room)

Finally, after a few moments, I received a casualty report: Two soldiers were dead, and three more had been wounded, not including me. American soldier Andrea Baker had been blown up by the main cannon of a Sectopod. Bernard von Unfal, despite being taken to safety and treated by Tsubaki, had died of his wounds after being shot by the Chosen Hunter.

Once I dismissed the medics, Mira and Jericho approached me.

“Through there.” Mira pointed towards a very large door at the far end of the Foundry. “Finished Avatars would go there, to the Crypt of the Elders. Each Avatar was paired to an Elder and became their new body.”

“How many?” I asked.

“Four were made.” Mira replied. “However, one has already been removed from the Elder’s possession.”

Mira gestured to her new body.

“Which means were going to have to fight three Avatars in there.” Jericho told me. “Things are going to get chaotic really fast, Blake. Is everyone ready?”

I nodded, looking Jericho squarely in the eyes.

“Don’t worry.” I said. “The Final Platoon will support you. We’ve got your back.”

“The whole Platoon? Really?” Jericho looked taken aback. “Come on, you don’t need to…”

I put one hand on her shoulder.

“The Elders are right about just one thing, Jericho: You are special, and capable of so much more. But not because the Elders see value in you. Your parents… your real ones, knew there was going to be something unique about you before Doctor Vahlen ever picked them for the Jericho Project.”

“He is right.” Mira said. “The Elders do not desire you because they respect your power. The Elders fear you, as they should. You represent success where the Elders found only failure. You are the future the Elders sought in vain. A perfect union of old and new, the physical and Psionic. You are the only true Avatar among us, an Avatar of freedom.”

Jericho took a deep breath, then chuckled.

“No pressure, huh?” She sighed. “Just promise me one thing, both of you.”

“Anything.” Mira replied.

“What is it?” I asked.

Jericho pointed to someone standing behind us.

“Burn his notebook.”

Looking around, I spotted Duane Gardner. He was standing a few feet away from us, clearly eavesdropping. He had a pen and notebook in his hand and appeared to be scribbling something down. When he looked up and spotted us, Duane quickly returned the pad of paper to his pocket, but not before I saw that he had written the phrases “Elders fear her,” “Perfect union,” and “Avatar of Freedom.”

I shot Duane an angry look and replied to Jericho.

“Yeah, consider it done.”

…

Finally, we were ready. Unfortunately, the three wounded soldiers from the previous fight were too badly injured to carry on. We sent them back to the Psionic Gate, but couldn’t spare anyone for an escort. We just had to cross our fingers and hope they made it back safely. Including myself, there were forty-seven soldiers left in the Final Platoon, ready to breach the final doorway and enter the Crypt of the Elders.

I took point with Duane, Sophie, Akira, and Ignatius. The rest of the platoon stacked up behind and around us. We were ready to surge through the doorway in the largest breach-and-clear strike of XCOM’s history.

“We all know what’s on the other side of this door.” I told my troops. “Is everyone ready? Does anybody have any, oh, I dunno… famous last words?”

A hearty laugh went through the Platoon, infused with nervousness. But as the nervous chuckle subsided, Chaplain Ignatius Petoskey bowed his head as if in prayer, and recited these words from a 19th century poem:

“Then out spake brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate: ‘To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers… and the temples of his gods.’”

And on that note… we breached the Crypt of the Elders.

…

“Your form is but a shadow of our truth. We seek to defy that which would consume us all. Your efforts deny the sacrifice of those who came before! You leave us no choice.”

The Crypt of the Elders was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. This massive underwater temple had no walls or ceiling. Instead, the vast expanse of the surrounding oceans was held at bay with some invisible (most likely Psionic) force. Great gilded platforms rose up from the middle of the floor, each one containing a long black and gold structure. All around the edges of the Crypt was a series of staircases. At the top of each one was a platform containing a Psionic Gate. In total, there were eight of these gates scattered around the room.

Finally, there was a huge structure in the center of the room, a two-story cube with translucent walls was filled with a yellowish-green substance: jellied Elerium. I could vaguely make out the shape of some kind of alien creature suspended in the fluid, unmoving.

When we arrived, the Crypt was empty. Yet I couldn’t help but get the feeling that we were being watched. Slowly, cautiously, we began to fan out and search for the enemy. Mira had said there would be three Avatars in here. Forty-seven men and women took to searching the room in pairs, while Akira broke off from the group to inspect the central tower.

Chihiro and I saw her, and cautiously walked towards her position. We only got about halfway, though, when we heard a shout!

“OH MY GOD!”

Dashing over to where we had heard the noise, we saw that Sophie Ackermann was pointing to one of the long gold objects with a shaking finger.

“Eth-Et-Ethe-” Sophie stammered. “It’s an Ethereal!”

I looked down. Everybody looked down. My blood ran cold as I finally understood what I was looking at.

These long gold objects were Sarcophogi. Not like the Psionic slab we’d seen in the Chosen strongholds, no. These were real ceremonial coffins… with transparent lids that allowed us to see their interiors. Lying on its back, the head of its casket resting against a pillar… was an Elder… an Ethereal. An atmosphere of genuine terror descended on the room. Twenty years ago, it had taken a fully armed squad of XCOM soldiers to bring down a single Ethereal, and even then, we had just barely escaped with our lives that night. Looking around, I got a quick count.

Twenty-six.

There were twenty-six Ethereals in this room! Some of the caskets were arranged on the floor in neat patterns, others were standing on their feet and bolted the walls of elevated platforms. Now that we knew what was in the room with us, we were all starting to sense the incredible amounts of Psionic energy hanging in the air around us.

“Mira…” I said slowly.

“They are awake.” Mira replied in a soft tone. “And they are conscious.”

As if in response, a movement caught all of our attention! Akira jumped backwards from the central tower, having just placed her hand on the glass. For the first time that I knew of, Akira, the time traveler who had crossed the universe and manipulated so much of history, looked genuinely terrified. Something had deeply disturbed her.

“No!” Akira gasped, staring at the unknown creature drifting in that huge vat of Elerium. “It can’t be!”

A billowing blue and purple mist began to rise up above the central tower, and as the men and women of the Final Platoon watched, slack-jawed, this cloud of shimmering Psionic energy reshaped itself into the ghostly image of the Angelis Ethereal.

“When we first encountered Earth, we wept for a broken world.” The Angelis Ethereal addressed the whole platoon. “For a tortured race crying out to the stars in agony. We answered your call. We saw your true potential.”

“Liar!” Palestinian soldier Karmina Isra shouted from the ranks of Second Squad. “You invaded our world! You enslaved us!”

“The first invasion was a test.” The Angelis Ethereal countered. “But your people did not fail as you believe. You succeeded beyond measure. You need only accept your place among us. Jericho! Come to us! Save your world!”

Moving as one, the soldiers of the Final Platoon moved to surround Jericho, shielding her from the Angelis Ethereal’s sight. Chihiro, Ignatius, and I stood at the front of the pack, staring down the self-imposed “God-King” of our world.

“I believe we have passed the point of rational discourse.” Ignatius said.

“We didn’t come here to talk.” I added.

“We’re here to remove you from our world.” Chihiro finished. “By force.”

And then, Chihiro drew her Shadowkeeper pistol, aimed at the nearest Sarcophagus… And shot an Ethereal in the head!

That was the moment when Hell itself was unleashed.

All of the Psionic Gates around the perimeter came to life! Aliens of every type and variant began to flow into the room, armed to the teeth! There were Sectoids, Chrysalids, Archons, Mutons, Berserkers, Faceless, and Vipers! A flickering swarm of Codices preceded a trio of Sectopods and a dozen MEC troopers! Alien monsters we’d never seen before joined the fray as well!

The Final Platoon fought back with every weapon in the XCOM arsenal! Rockets and grenades blasted away at the larger targets! Laser cannons and heavy machine guns brought to bear against the horde! Gauss rifles and coilguns sniped at distant targets with pinpoint accuracy! Bullpup rifles chattered away! Shard Blades sliced and slashed, while Psionic Amplifiers light up the environment with an eerie aura!

The specter of the Angelis Ethereal joined the fight as well! Great crimson lances descended from the ceiling and struck one of Pratal Mox’s Skirmishers, killing him instantly. Ignatius pointed both of his palms at the watery sky, shielding his comrades from the assault!

In the midst of it all, an ADVENT soldier armed with a flamethrower forced our troops to scatter! The swirling cone of fire roared across the battlefield, enveloping several of our own soldiers! I ran forward and pushed Chihiro to the ground to save her from the same fate! As we stood up, though, Chihiro saw something that made her scream!

“Fire!” Chihiro shouted. “She’s on fire!”

Sophia Kuznetsova had gotten caught in the flamethrower’s path! She dropped her weapons and ran across the Crypt, screaming and flailing her arms! I jumped to my feet and blasted the enemy with my shotgun! The flamethrower’s fuel tank ruptured and sent a huge fireball into the air!

“ICARUS!” I yelled. “Help Antigone!”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sophie Ackermann fought her way through the battling crowd, reached Sophia, and tackled her to the floor, smothering the flames with her own body! A concussive blast extinguished the flamethrower’s handiwork, and I looked around to see where it had come from.

In the middle of the Crypt, Akira had just tried to use her powers to smash the central tower, only to be blocked by…

“AVATAR!” I shouted. “Anyone who’s got a shot! Take it now!”

Akira opened her palm and fired a Psi Volt into the first Avatar’s chest! The enemy Hybrid immediately teleported away from view, allowing Akira to continue hitting the tower with Psionic blasts.

Something hit me in the back with the force of a freight train! I fell forward and quickly scrambled around to see a Muton! It was already charging towards me again, serrated bayonet at the ready, when I blasted it twice with the Arashi! The huge alien staggered and recovered, only to get hit in the side by a sniper rifle blast! The Muton keeled over and I saw Chihiro, who was already on the move again!

“Now we’re even!” I shouted to her.

“Not for long!” Chihiro yelled. “Avatar, behind you to the left! Sixty yards!”

Chihiro raised her rifle and fired! The first Avatar was hit squarely in the chest! It jumped straight into the air and vanished inside of a tiny Psionic Rift! A second later the Rift opened up just ten feet away from me! I pumped my shotgun, raised it to shoulder height and shouted:

“Off my planet!”

One in the chest! One in the head!

The first Avatar was dead before it hit the ground! If anything, this made the enemy even more desperate! More and more soldiers funneled out of the Psi Gates! The Angelis Ethereal intensified her attacks, and something on our side finally gave out!

Above the Final Platoon, the Psionic shield Ignatius had been using to protect us from the Angelis Ethereal flickered and went out. I looked around at our old Chaplain, just in time to see the color leave his eyes and his Psionic Amplifier blink one last time before extinguishing itself.

Ignatius Petoskey had exhausted his powers.

Unimpeded at last, the enemy began to rain death down upon the Final Platoon!

Missiles and Psionic lances began to rain down on us from above! Akira was struck and knocked to the ground by something I didn’t see! Soylent was blasted off his feet by the Angelis Ethreal, and alien grenades rained down near Holly’s position! The British Colonel dropped her machine gun and hunkered down behind cover, both of her hands too badly maimed to be useful anymore. A Psionic Lance struck Ignatius with such incredible force that his entire right arm was torn off! Men and women were being downed all over the battlefield!

“We’re losing control in a right hurry!” Kathleen shouted. “What do we do!?”

“JERICHO!” I hollered while beating back a Viper with my sword. “Give us some fucking breathing space!”

I saw, just for a fraction of a moment, a bright violet or pink ball of energy sail through the air before smashing to the ground on the far side of the Crypt! Psionic energy exploded forth and enveloped itself around the corpses of several dead aliens. Never thought I’d be happy to say this, but I felt my spirits rising alongside the dead. Jericho’s impromptu zombie horde surged forward and hit the enemy from the back!

Meanwhile, Akira did her part to help lift the pressure. Slamming her hand to the floor, she sent a pulse of Psionic energy running along the floor towards the corpse of the first Avatar. A glowing silhouette separated itself from the dead Avatar and stood upright. At Akira’s command, the Psionic Ghost joined the fray, wielding the same powers as Akira herself!

Meanwhile, Holly and the Grenadiers had used their last rocket launcher. They stormed one of the staircases and finally managed to lock down one of the elevated platforms with a Psi Gate. Having finally secured some high ground, the Grenadiers used their machine guns to turn the tide of battle just as the second Avatar appeared on the opposite end of the Chamber.

“Fangirl! Draw that thing into the open!” I ordered. “Forth Squad! Mow it down!”

Using our last Mimic Beacon, Tsubaki caught the attention of the second Avatar and drew it towards the main body of the Platoon. On Duane’s order, the Templars of Forth Squad surged into the fray and…

Well, I didn’t see what happened next. I turned away from the second Avatar and started moving along XCOM’s battle line. I second-guessed myself right away. Why the hell was I doing this? I wanted to help fight the Avatar, not inspect the troops! I tried to turn back, but a voice spoke up in the back of my mind.

“Kill the betrayer!”

Oh… shit!

How long had I been under Mind Control!?

I frantically tried to refocus my mind, to break free, but I had no idea who had me! Somebody else was controlling my body all of a sudden, and I was just a passenger along for the ride at this point! I felt my hands reloading the Arashi and commanded them to stop, but nothing happened. The alien voice began to repeat the mantra in my head:

“Kill the betrayer! Kill the betrayer! The Betrayer!”

Panicking, I reached out telepathically, to try and contact Chihiro! Almost as soon as I reached out to her, she reciprocated! At least Mind Control couldn’t overpower our link!

Hold on, Blake. I’ll find the controller! Just hang in there!

Fighting the influence of the controller as hard as I could, I felt my body sidestep around Hal and come to a stop near the central tower, where Mira and Jericho were standing together, firing their weapons at a Muton Berserker. Against my will, my arms raised the Arashi to shoulder height! I tried to force my mouth open, to scream a warning!

No! I won’t do it!

“Kill the Betrayer!”

No!

“Kill the Betrayer!”

“I won’t!”

At the last second, I got just a little control back! As I pulled the trigger with my right hand, I jerked my left in the first direction I could think of! The Arashi went off! Mira stumbled as she was hit, but she was still alive! The former Chosen Assassin quickly recovered and looked around at me. I couldn’t see her face through that mask, so I desperately thought to myself, hoping she could hear:

I’m under Mind Control! Help!

Mira must have gotten the message, because she acted right away! Before my body could be forced to fire the Arashi a second time, Mira had crossed the distance between us and grabbed me by the head! I felt a charge running through my skull, which distracted from the fact that Mira threw me to the ground very hard! Whatever she’d done had worked, though, because when I heard Chihiro’s voice, my body obeyed my command to turn and look at her.

“There’s another Avatar!” Chihiro was saying. “The last two Avatars are on the field right now!”

“They’re both here?” Mira repeated. “Then we can finally end this! We must focus our efforts!”

Jericho picked up the Arashi and tossed it back to me.

“Mira! We’re going to finish off the Avatars! Keep the big one off our backs! Blake, Chi, hold on!”

Psionic energy enveloped all three of us as we rose into the air! Levitating up to the top of the central tower, the three of us now had a good view of the battle below.

It was chaos. All semblance of battle lines had been abandoned, and the battle had descended into a hundred skirmishes and firefights that overlapped and clashed with one another. Above it all, the Angelis Ethereal had stopped raining Psionic lightning onto our side… because she had noticed us. The spectral Ethereal flew across the Crypt, arms outstretched towards us! Before Chihiro, Jericho, or I could do anything, her advance was halted! Mira had fired a Psi Volt at the Angelis Ethereal to get her attention, and the enemy broke off to change targets!

“Betrayer!” The Angelis Ethereal shouted at Mira before it attacked!

While Mira engaged the Angelis Ethereal, Chihiro and I spotted one of the Avatars. It carved a path of death and destruction through the combating forces, coming towards the central tower!

“It’s going for Akira!” Chihiro pointed!

Down below, Akira herself had just killed an ADVENT Priest and picked his Amplifier up from the ground.

“Akira!” I yelled. “Avatar behind you!”

Spotting the Avatar just in time, Akira lashed out before it could attack! Just like in Vladivostok, six translucent tentacles reached up from the floor and seized the Avatar, forcing it high into the air where it struggled and flailed in vain!

“Focus fire!” I yelled. “Everybody, take that thing down!”

All at once, nearly half of the Final Platoon turned their weapons against the helpless enemy! Suspended in midair with no possible defense, the second Avatar was annihilated so completely that nothing remained of it when the smoke cleared!

And then there was one. Only one Avatar remained, and the battle had now definitively turned in XCOM’s favor. Nearly half of the Elder’s Sarcophagi had been damaged or destroyed in the conflagration of battle, killing their occupants. Two more Ethereals had died alongside their corresponding Avatars. With nearly half of all the Elders dead, the Psionic Network they used to command their troops had been crippled. The reinforcements coming through the Psi Gates had slowed to a trickle, and after a further five minutes of fighting, all eight Psi Gates were firmly under XCOM control, and our Specialists were hard at work stopping the flow of ADVENT soldiers entirely.

Meanwhile, Mira, Jericho, Chihiro, Duane, and the Templars had set to work cornering the final Avatar. The final bout of Psionic combat was vicious and brutal as the Angelis Ethereal had attached itself directly to the final Avatar. It fought with her strength and powers. Determined to stop the last Avatar from escaping, Chihiro and I guarded the flanks. Sharing her powers with me again, Chihiro and I both used Psionic shields to box the Avatar in, and force it backwards towards the outer edge of the temple, where the only thing separating us from the vast ocean around us was a Psionic bubble.

The Angelis Avatar lashed out, striking all of us and causing our shields to ripple!

“No!” The Angelis Avatar was pleading with us. “Your victory here means the end for all others! It will follow you as it followed us! You are not ready! We must not fail!”

Jericho stepped forward and fired a continuous beam of light from her hand towards the Angelis Avatar! The enemy conjured one last shield, dispersing the beam around itself like water around a rock!

“It doesn’t matter if we’re ready or not! You must fail!” Jericho shouted. “And no matter what comes at us next, we’ll find a way to survive! We’ll adapt and overcome anything that comes our way! Because that’s what Humans do!”

Jericho pushed her hand forward and intensified her final attack! I had to hold my own hand up to my eyes and squint to be able to see what was going on! Finally, with one last push, Jericho’s beam broke through the shield connected with the Angelis Avatar’s chest! The Ethereal being screamed! It was an unnatural, unearthly sound that made my ears hurt!

“THIS IS NOT YOUR PATH!” The dying Ethereal shrieked. “NOT YOUR PURPOSE! YOU NEED OUR GUIDANCE TO HONE THIS POWER! WITHOUT US… WHAT ARE YOU!?”

I was so busy protecting my eyes from the intense light that I wasn’t ready for the explosion! A powerful shockwave hit us and we were all thrown back! Blinking rapidly to get the stars out of my eyes, I clambed back to my feet as quickly as I could and tried to make sense of the scene around me.

The Crypt of the Ethereals was trashed. No more or less than six of the Elder’s Sarcophagi were intact, and the floor was so badly strewn with bodies of Humans and aliens alike that it was impossible to walk at a normal pace. The surviving members of the Final Platoon were picking through the wreckage, either trying to dig the wounded out of the wreckage or find the bodies of the fallen.

And in the middle of it all, Akira was standing in the middle of the room, staring at what had once been the central tower. The glass panes had shattered, causing the Elerium slurry within to spill all over the Crypt. Akira was standing just outside the spill zone. I walked gingerly across the sea of bodies to reach her, curious. I was wondering if she’d spotted the mysterious creature we’d seen drifting in the tank before it had burst.

“Akira!” I called out. “Everything alright?”

Slowly, Akira turned to face me. The expression of pure terror on her face caused me to stop in my tracks.

“T-They h-ha-had one.” Akira stammered. The genuine fear in her voice was unmistakable. “I-It was r-right here! How long was it here for!?”

“What was?” I asked. “What did the Elders have?”

Before I could get an answer, the Crypt shook! Water and Elerium sloshed around and everybody shouted and exclaimed!

“Earthquake!” Soylent yelled.

“Don’t be such a crybaby.” Chihiro’s confidence came from the fact that she was raised in a country known for earthquakes. “That wasn’t even a level 4 quake!”

The shaking started again, this time vigorous enough to make Chihiro shut up.

“Akira…” I started to say.

“Run.”

“What’s going-“

“RUN!” Akira screamed at the top of her lungs! “EVERYONE GET TO A PSI GATE! RUN!”

One more time, the Alien Fortress quaked! There was no mistaking the signs this time!

“The place is coming apart!” I shouted. “Specialists, point a Psi Gate at the Avenger and let’s get out of here!”

“Out of my way!” Mira shouted.

The former Chosen Assassin put one hand on the crescent pylon of the nearest Psi Gate and poured energy into it until the gateway surged to life! She stared waving XCOM troops through the activated gateway, pushing the more hesitant soldiers over the threshold!

“Everyone into the gate!” Mira shouted! “The Crypt is collapsing! Go! Go! Go!”

A violent crashing sound came from deep within the fortress! The whole place was coming down! In just one minute, the whole structure was going to be an underwater grave! I stayed just long enough to watch Chihiro jump through the Psi Gate, and then, clutching both of my weapons tightly, I threw myself into the Gate!

…

Friday, July 20, 2035 1:16am
Near the Ruins of Artyom, Russia


Mira was the last person through. As soon as she reappeared in the Avenger’s Shadow Chamber, a torrent of seawater erupted through the Psi Gate and nearly washed away both Tygan and Shen! After a panicked moment, Tygan managed to press the emergency kill switch, shutting off all power to the Shadow Chamber and deactivating the Psionic Gate.

The doorway swung open, draining several hundred gallons of saltwater into the hallway. Commanders Bradford and Harper saw the room crowded with 34 tired and battered soldiers, all of whom were covered in blood and seawater. Almost sarcastically, Harper asked:

“What the hell happened in there?”

Jericho flashed the thumbs up and said:

“Mission accomplished, Commander."

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