Part 11: X-COM SOLDIER BRIEFING TWO - SQUADDIE CLEARANCE LEVEL

Dr. Markus: Good to see you here Director, Allen's been telling me all kinds of interesting things.

Ulysses: I didn't know he can communicate with the captured alien through a wall. I thought is required visual contact.

Dr. Markus: Turns out it doesn't! It's also a lot safer this way. There's no chance the captured alien can escape his containment chamber if we never open the door.

Ulysses: What are they talking about now?

Dr. Markus: We are currently discussing dimensional field theory. It is the only topic in which it has any desire to openly talk about. Prying other information from his mind is rather taxing.

Ulysses: Reis?

Dr. Markus: *shakes his head* Yeah, I'm still here. Psionic channeling takes some getting used to.

Ulysses: So do we have answers to the important questions?

Dr. Markus: Just a second, I need to focus... I have drawn from the subject the information you require. Knowledge of my species, its command structure and the ciphers to decode their transmissions.

Ulysses: Excellent work Allen! Or...Reis...whoever I'm talking to.

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X-COM SOLDIER BRIEFING TWO - SQUADDIE CLEARANCE LEVEL



We have completed our interrogations of the captured Sectoid. We finally know the grand purpose behind the alien invasion, and we now constructing a specialized system in the base for enhanced detection of UFOs.



The completion of a second laboratory on base will double our ability to learn the secrets of alien technology. Much needed weaponry and equipment will find its way onto the battlefield in far less time than it has previously taken.



Construction is underway on a "Hyperwave Decoder".



The captured alien served on his ship as a form of communication officer, decoding and sending signals to other ships. Through Allen, we have learned how to detect and decode these transmissions. Once completed, we will have full intel on the nature of the UFOs we are attacking before we even send a ship out to intercept.

Analyzation of the metal used in UFO construction has also been completed.



Composed of an alloy of nickel, titanium and scandium, the alien alloy is strong and light. The ability to mold and form the alloy using electromagnetic fields is unique to our science, so it is taking some time to set up a manufacturing facility. The first production run will be of a personal armor suit for our soldiers. Unfortunately, the requirement of scandium is a problem for making alien alloy from scratch. Though plentiful on Earth, separating and purifying scandium from mines is a difficult and expensive procedure. This means that for the current time being, the only source of this alloy will come from the aliens themselves.

As many of you have suspected, the aliens have a new tactic to deal with X-COM



We have learned of the nature of the specific mission that the captured alien was on. There is some worry as to how the aliens seem to know so much about the workings of X-COM. With the location of our base being a secret, the only way the aliens can truly strike at us is to target our funding nations. Fortunately, Japan was one of three nations to propose the X-COM project to the UN in the first place, and it is unlikely that Japan will pull any funding.

Future attacks on other nations pose a problem however.

All of the above knowledge pales in what we now know about the real nature of the Sectoids, and their business with Earth.



Something we have kept from common soldier knowledge is the "psionic" abilities of Sectoids. Lacking any kind of verbal or physical language, Sectoids communicate with bio-electromagnetic waves. Specialized organelles in their brain greatly amplify and receive EM waves, allowing a form of communication. Only 1 in 100 humans however are capable of receiving these signals; fortunately I (Dr. Reis Markus) am one of them. Interrogation of the captured subject was done by Allen, who then in turn communicated directly to me, directly through me. Any kind of translation was all done by Allen - we would really be in a bind without him.

Though we have not witnessed it, the captured Sectoid claims that psionic fields can alter the state of mind of an intelligent living being. The lack of any kind of psionic attack on any of our soldiers refutes this claim, and even for someone like myself, communication is a difficult process requiring much concentration. Thus we believe the threat of psionic attack to be non-existent.

Sectoids have two reasons for being on Earth. We have confirmed that Sectoids are a cloned species. The reduced amount of DNA diversity is slowly becoming a problem for their species. One of their goals is to come to earth to create a type of hybrid species - essentially a human with psionic abilities.

We have learned that there are only six unique Sectoid genomes. This in turn leads to a religious caste system where lower classes live only to serve the higher classes. The highest class believe themselves to be in service of the Sectoid God - The High One - A supernatural omnipotent being that is claimed to have created the universe, created Sectoids in its own image, and is in psionic contact with each member of the species. The parallel with Earth religion and mythology is intriguing, but we are convinced that this story is exactly that - myth.

The second reason the Sectoids are coming to earth appears is conquest. If they cannot use us to create a hybrid species, they plan to genocide us, using any survivors as slaves.



The captured alien has told us that his UFO embarked from the "Hive Ship", an enormous base that houses all the UFOs that are sent to Earth. While we have more research to do, we believe elerium to be the fuel for UFOs. All of the UFOs we have captured intact can hold twice the amount of elerium in the engines than what we recovered. This means that ships appear to be holding enough fuel for a round trip from the Hive Ship to Earth. The large UFO that caused the attack on Tokyo may have been a one-way suicide run, using all their fuel simply to reach Earth. Worrying is the claim that the Hive Ship is slowly approaching Earth, making round trips possible for larger and larger craft.

We have been unable to learn anything more about the link between humans and Sectoids, Floaters, or the nature of the Hive Ship. The alien we captured, as stated, was merely a communication/navigation officer, a grunt, someone without the knowledge of the larger picture. It claims it has never seen a life form other than humans and Sectoids. It is now imperative that we capture an enemy leader to learn more about the Sectoids, and this Hive Ship.

X-COM Head Scientist,
Dr. Reis Markus




THE BEST FAN ENTRY OF THE THREAD IS BELOW