XCOM: The Great Invasion

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"An organisation dedicated to fight extraterrestrials?"

"We need the best of the best. The cream of the crop."

"Bradford, you are asking us to invest in an organisation dedicated to battling beings we don't even know exist. Do you realize that if the media get a hold of this, the entire world can go into an uncontrollable panic attack?"

"We have proof they exist. X-rays, as we call them, have attacked a small city in Germany. Unfortunately, there were no survivors, and we lost some of our men while exploring the area. That is why the XCOM project is now fully active, and that is why we need all of you to give us your best soldiers."

"And in return?..."

"We'll make sure that the aliens don't destroy your cities, your people and your countries while keeping everything under wraps."

"... Very well, Bradford. The council has decided to accept your request. You will receive the new soldiers in three days. Do not disappoint us."

You have been chosen, the form said. That night, three hours after that meeting, certain soldiers were called to their headquarters in order to fill out a form for some "basic military experiments". They needed soldiers to test new weapons, and they needed to keep those new weapons a secret. And the night after that, certain soldiers would receive a letter, a letter telling them they have been accepted, to pack things up and to be at their local airport the next morning. Some of them followed the orders of the letter. Some of them didn't, rejecting the opportunity. Those that did were collected by a commercial airplane, designed to hold at least twenty people. And after a long day of collecting new people (for some reason, they needed all the new recruits on one place), the pilot finally announced that they were heading for their final destination: the headquarters.

He informed them how they were now part of a new secret military group, and how they would be briefed on the subject once they arrived at the group's headquarters. For now, the pilot said, mingle. The people around you come from various nationalities and different backgrounds. Plus, they are the ones that will have your back when your time on the battlefield comes. That was all he said, that was all they got, as they were now on their own to XCOM headquarters, to fight their unknown enemy.

"New military group?" Ray muttered to himself, glancing about at the other people on the plane as discreetly as he could. Part of him figured that he'd prefer knowing as little as possible about these people. Every life story he knew whenever a soldier fell would be another tragedy of a life cut short. Then again, the world had been mostly at peace for some years now; what could they really be up against? And why all the secrecy?

Ray thought vaguely of the crazy conspirators that would insist the government is evil and really trying to suppress the population. They weren't about to become faceless goons tasked with putting down loud mouthed free thinkers or rebel countries that hadn't yet joined the Council of Nations, were they?

He supposed they'd find out soon enough. And probably be killed if that's the case and we refuse Ray thought to himself, though honestly he didn't think all that was very likely. He coughed loudly and a bit awkwardly at the silence. "I'm Ray Ivers" Ray said simply, then after looking around and realizing they were mostly from different countries added, "Irish American."

The trip to his new unit's headquarters could be summed up for VJ in just a few words: paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. It actually wasn't that bad compared to the daily bureaucratic grind of the military, just a hazardous duty waiver and non-disclosure agreement. Not unusual for a special mission unit and nothing that the sergeant intended to violate anytime soon. Something about the situation told him that this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Several hours later, he found himself on a plane to nowhere with individuals from all sorts of coountries and backgrounds. VJ tried to get a little sleep in but strains of conversation kept intruding into his thoughts.

"Sergeant Claassens, South African National Defense Force", he piped up finally, "my mates call me VJ."

edited 18th Nov '12 7:26:18 PM by HouraiRabbit

"Bye mama, Bye papa... will write to you soon I swear" said the young man kissing his parents good bye, and leaving his home country for the first time in a long time.

Fransisco's thoughts had been submerged in a pile of books since the beginning of the flight. It was more entertaining that way. He began to hear some talking about introductions and he closed his book and set it on the pile. "The name's Francisco, I come from Argentina" He said to the men around him... Good god, he would kill for a smoke

Shinato Durant, however, lacked this luxury of being notified that he would be taken by plane. As soon as he turned 21, he was transported to the airplane by some people he was sure weren't with the boot camp. In either case, he was on the airplane with several other people. They were speaking of their names. Their surnames. Shinato wasn't lucky to have gotten a name for himself. The only name he could consider a surname was something only a G-Rated R Lee Ermey would shout down his face.

"Spork." He said. "Japanese American." He said.

Vladimir had been feeling fine on the trip so far. He had nothing to distract himself with save his own thoughts and the dog tags of his brothers, which he had always carried since their deaths, but that was enough for him. However, since it appeared that everyone else was introducing themselves, it would be rude and suspicious to avoid contributing to the conversation.

"Spork...an English nickname, I assume. This language is full of funny little words like that. My name is Vladimir Beria, from Russia...with love," Vladimir uttered, chuckling at his own joke. Use of comical wordplay and media reference was a traditional method of earning trust, was it not?

VJ snorted a little at the stupid joke.

"So what do you all do? I'm just a shooter so I have no idea what they want with me."

The last part being light sarcasm.

"I'm a leader." A woman wearing a very formal uniform from an unknown military replied. She was not only smoking a very obvious cigarette, but she was sitting on the armchair of one of the nearby seats, clearly listening to the conversation between the soldiers.

"Hello, boys. And before we begin, if anyone says anything about how implausible a woman being in a secret military group is, I'll drive this fucking cigarette into said person's eye." She said, pointing to the cigarette. "Just thought your little conversation could get some female interaction. I'll be looking forward to working with all of you in... whatever the hell we're going to do. Just follow my orders and we'll all be fucking fine at the end of the day." The woman said, shrugging and taking a long drag out of her cigarette, taking her time to look at the window.

"Under one condition" said Francisco half-joking, and now very much looking at the woman"Give me one of your cigs' and I'll follow you to hell, lady"

VJ grunted in response, and it could have sounded something like "Yes ma'am", if heard from the right angle. An officer, probably a junior officer if she felt she had that much to prove. Trying a little hard, though.

He then turned his attention toward the in-flight movie, Clive Barker's Supergod, an adaptation of the screwed-up comic book of the same name.

"You remind me of my previous superior, save for your demeanor," Vladimir told the lady. "In comparison, you are far more tame. As former government special operative, even when working alone, one must trust in superiors to avoid catastrophe. Never before have I been in team, but I will learn for sake of our mission. May my skills be a benefit to you, and to the rest of this squad, in the days to come."

Was he laying it on too thick? Would his words be taken as some form of pity? Vladimir hoped not, but he could not think of a better way to state his mind. At least he did not feel that he would be physically abused for his response, unlike that Francisco character...

Ray glanced over at the woman, keeping his face neutral save for one slightly raised eyebrow as she crudely introduced herself as their 'leader'. I'll believe it when I hear our ranks called Ray thought to himself, turning back to simply staring at the air in front of him with an emotionless expression. It wasn't that she was a woman; it was her attitude and choice of language in a perfectly peaceful situation that made Ray doubt her validity.

He remembered that VJ asked what they all do, so Ray added in a simple statement. "I'm a combat medic" Ray said flatly, still staring at nothing in particular with a blank expression.

"Only got one." The woman said to Francisco, and she gave Vladimir a half-assed glare, dragging on the cigarette every few seconds. "Well, I'm not your leader yet, but I'll be. I was recommended for this group because of my... track record, one might say. Every group I've been the leader of has successfully completed every mission given to them without injuries or dead soldiers. In other words, I'm one of the best in the entire world."

"What about you, Rusky? You don't mind me calling you that, do ya? To be frank, I don't even know if you guys are still pissed off over losing the goddamn Cold War." She asked, pointing at Vladimir with the but of a cigarette. "All of you boys can chime in too. Why are you all here? Might use this information when I'm out there in the battlefield."

"I was part of the 12th Corps. of Jungle Huntsmen, then when this little proposition rolled by the Brigade's HQ I couldn't help to sign up, lady" said Francisco, now with a pen in his mouth to calm his nerves.

"Jeez, lady, tone down on the swearing... I mean, I know it's we're soldiers and you're our leader and all that, but it doesn't really give you the excuse to go all Full Metal Jacket on us..." Shinato said.

"Why are you all here?"

He had no idea why he was transferred here. Or if he is even part of this group.

"... Would you believe the MIB came and took me? I was at boot camp when they came for me." He said to the woman.

edited 20th Nov '12 4:21:39 PM by Psyga315

"Wow, they just took you?" VJ asked with mild incredulity, "Just like that? In South Africa they held tryouts and a fair few people washed out."

"Yeah, back home too, well less try-outs, more recommended lists and who ever accepted took a test to actually get here" said Francisco

Confidence was always a valuable trait in a leader. It took courage and determination in order to proceed with delicate operations, especially if failure could lead to disaster. However, there was a thin line between confidence and pride, and the lady before Vladimir was on that thin line between commanding and sinning. 'Every group', 'every mission', 'no injuries'...if it turned out that this lady had only led one mission in her life and had lucked out during it, it would not surprise Vladimir in the least.

"As a matter of fact, events of Cold War is part of reason I am here," Vladimir began, his tone of voice now a tad more bitter. "It is not enough that Russia is major funding source; we must send men to die for unknown causes to avoid bigoted media labeling it as Commie scheme. Still, I risked life to protect homeland I love dearly, and whatever we will be fighting is bound to be just as threatening to Russia as foes I have faced before. As for nickname 'Rusky'...I have never been given nickname before. Still, should somebody die and another soldier from homeland comes as replacement, you might need to think of something more creative in order to avoid confusion."

"And speaking of nicknames, as you have yet to tell us your name..." Vladimir continued, pausing in order to take a deep breath. "Curly. Brownie. Porcelain. Fairy. Hot-shot. Yapper. Stockings. Washboard. Fumes. Flapper. Tactless. Executioner. Stop me if you hear one you like, by the way."

"I'm not your leader, idiot." The woman said, holding back the urge to slap Shinato for not paying attention to what she was saying. "I'm just telling all of you they'll obviously pick me to lead a squad in the battlefield."

Once "Rusky" said the nickname "Washboard", there was a small silent moment as the woman connected the dots. After realizing what he meant, she scoffed. "I'll have you know, the uniform is perfect at hiding some of my more... wanted features. The name's Anouk. Means grace. Which is something I don't have and something you don't need on the army. What's important..." a pause for another long drag, "is that you get the job done.

"Don't know about that Lady, I bet you have enough finesse to be called graceful" Said Francisco "I guess we will find out soon"

"Is this what you people call flirting?" Anouk said, patting Francisco's shoulder. "If it is, you're doing a really bad job. E for effort, anyway."

"Not flirting, Lady, complimenting, just that" Said Francisco clarifying "If I was flirting I would already have you eating out of my hands"

edited 21st Nov '12 9:21:05 AM by Sanojutsu

"If this is what you call professionalism", VJ mumbled under his breath, "we are all going to die."

"Oh, I am going to have so much fun making you train every single day." Anouk said, resting back on her seat and closing her eyes. "Once I become your leader, of course. Go back to talking amongst yourselves. Going to take a much needed nap right now."

Francisco just laughed to himself and went back to his pile of books humming gleefully. "At least I found out what makes you tick, Lady"he thought to himself before resuming his reading.