Part 54: Assault on the Mothership

Were there any problems during the flight to the ship?

: Not at all. We encountered no defenses, and no UFOs came to intercept us.

: I meant problems with the soldiers. Dealing with zero gravity, potential psionic interference, et cetera.

: None of that either. Many of the Rookies were enjoying the moment floating around. We all knew that once inside the Hive Ship, which had gravity and atmosphere, it would be all business.

: The Firestorm and the Lightning docked in a bay our telescopes had located. We quickly gathered our gear and headed down the route through the ship we were given. Enemy resistance was much lighter than we expected. We arrived at a large elevator which took us deeper into the ship, near its center where the High One was to be found...



Waddle Dee: We're still rosy, no aliens in sight.

Otto Zander: Good. We'll advance slower through here. We don't want a Blaster shot killing half of us.

Cooked Auto: You think they'll risk using Blasters this close to the High One?

Otto Zander: If they're desperate enough, yes.



Cowcaster: Oh hell, there's one of those alien garden things here. It's way too dark, and we'll need a bunch of men to sweep it.



Mayday: I got it. Maybe we should lob a few Blasters of our own here to get them first?



GetWellGamers: To many walls and structures here, we'd have no guarantee a dozen blasters would clear out everything.



DeltaOmega: And they still might not know we're here, what with the psionic blocker we have with us. Blaster explosions would just give away our position.



Jimmy Tango: What was that about a psionic blocker? I heard nothing about that.

DeltaOmega: Oh, uh, never mind. Just keep spreading out and thinking happy thoughts for us there Jimmy.

*wha-CHINK*



*wha-CHINK*





Cowcaster: Element of surprise is gone, three men down! Blasters incoming!



Cowcaster: I found it! Control that guy, we need to neutralize his Blaster!



Otto Zander: I have a better idea than simply neutralizing it. Let's use it against them!



Cowcaster: There's a second Ethereal on top of the garden.



Cowcaster: It's a hard shot from where I am. Backup!



John Ryker: Bah! I hit the cloak, but missed the skinny fucker beneath it!



RomikQ: I can't get it either!



Jimmy Tango: I can get it!



Jimmy Tango: What? Oh hell, there's something wrong with my gun!

Otto Zander: Maybe the safety is off. Try hiding somewhere safe for now. I'll deal with this Ethereal myself.



Otto Zander: Like so.




Otto Zander: Cowcaster, kill the one I have controlled, it has no ammo left.



Cowcaster: Done.



Waddle Dee: I've got one in sight. He's near one of those psionic freak-out rooms, so I'll get it for the rest of you.



Waddle Dee: I hope I have this right, there's a slight delay with my commands entering the tank due to your altitude.



Waddle Dee: Downed it. There really is a lot less opposition here than I thought there would be.

Otto Zander: Yeah, me too.





RomikQ: GoodShip! Guys, he's bleeding, we need to help him!



Kaider: Where'd the shot come from? I don't see anything!

RomikQ: It was from over there, I'll try to get a better look.



Max Powers: What the crap is that?



Max Powers: The alien have walking tanks now!



Max Powers: HAD walking tanks. I shot it twice in the head and its brain fell out. Cool.



Nemo2342: So when are they going to let us blow shit up?

Coolswa: I don't know. I don't think they trust me for some reason.



RomikQ: OH HELL.



Cowcaster: JESUS FUCK.



Cowcaster: It got me! Man down!

Kaider: Dammit, I only have the one med kit! Where's the alien?



Cowcaster: I'll...try...



Cowcaster: GOT IT!

Kaider: Help is on the way then!



Kaider: Here you go GoodShip, one injection will do ya!



Frenchie: Hey, isn't this just like the control center from that alien building in Kyoto?



Cedric: It looks just like on the tapes. Ethereals guarding the doors, too!




Cedric: The entrance is clear. I think this might be what we're looking for.



Otto Zander: Is everything under control here?



Jimmy Tango: I can help! At least I could have if you guys gave me a medkit.



GoodShipNostalgia: Wow, that will sure wake you up in the morning. Got me right in the chest!



Jimmy Tango: Hey, look at this.



Jimmy Tango: That Ethereal shot a hole in the wall. This place looks familiar.



Jimmy Tango: Hello? Any nasty aliens here?



Jimmy Tango: Wait, I remember, this is the final door before the main control center of an alien structure!



Otto Zander: Hold on Jimmy, I don't like the looks of this. We've only lost four men and killed around that many aliens. It's too easy for this to be where the High One is.

Jimmy Tango: You're thinking ambush?

Otto Zander: I'm thinking trap.



Cedric: Zander, you're already inside? We're fighting for control of the entrance right now!



Cedric: Eat stun, Ethereal asshole!



Cedric: OW NOT LIKE THAT.



Cedric: Well then. You're not stunned and I'm not dead. We'll call it a fair trade.



Frenchie: Let me clean up your mess Cedric. Let's get as many people on this door as we can!



Coolswa: Oh God, when are they going to let me shoot something? I'm getting bored.

Nemo2342: Me too.



Jimmy Tango: If there's a trap behind here, I should go in first. I'm more expendable, I'm just a Rookie.



Otto Zander: NO JIMMY WAIT! You're the only one preventing psionic-



Jimmy Tango: CHAAAAAAARGE!













Jimmy Tango: What the hell is this?



Jimmy Tango: They're all dead!



Jimmy Tango: These marks, look like laser burns! The aliens don't use laser weaponry, what the hell?

Otto Zander: This is very odd.

Jimmy Tango: Correction, this one isn't dead.



Jimmy Tango: It's been shot, but it's still alive. It's not conscious.



Jimmy Tango: I'm going up. If the High One is there, I WILL kill it. For Humanity!

Otto Zander: JIMMY! Your gun! We didn't give you a-



Jimmy Tango: Zander...it's the same up here.



Jimmy Tango: This is the High One? The most powerful psionic being? The alien's God?

Otto Zander: You can see it?

Jimmy Tango: It's dead. It's so feeble and frail looking. There are laser wounds all over its body. There are dead aliens all around me, and three destroyed power sources. Scorch marks everywhere. There was a hell of a battle here, recently at that.

Otto Zander: I-I don't believe this. I guess that would explain the lack of organized defense and psionic attack. Fuck it, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Coolswa! Nemo! Target this location! Blow it to hell!



Otto Zander: Jimmy, grab that living Ethereal, but be careful. They're fragile creatures. Everyone, back meet back at the elevator. We're going to blow up as much shit on our way out as we can.

----

















: It was too good to be true. The alien's Hive Ship was destroyed. All their cloning machines, their factories, their docked UFOs, gone. All of it. The High Ethereal had been killed. There were a few UFOs on Earth at the time, but they could be dealt with now that they had no leadership.

We had won the war.

Even though GoodShip and Cowcaster needed medical attention pretty badly, I ordered the ships to scan for any remaining power sources or weird readings coming from the debris.



: We detected a small reading, indicating an elerium power source, but it was fading fast.

----

Cooked Auto: What is that?



Jetsetlemming: It looks like an X-COM Power Suit. But we're not missing anyone.

Otto Zander: I'm moving closer.



Jetsetlemming: That's definitely a Power Suit, but the occupant inside....

Otto Zander: It's not a person inside!



Otto Zander: That's a robot! A fully robotic Power Suit!



Cooked Auto: Who in the hell built that?

Otto Zander: It wasn't X-COM as far as I know.

Jetsetlemming: Hold on, wasn't there a scientist who was lobbying Dr. Markus to make robotic soldiers?

Otto Zander: Yeah, I think so. Professor, what was it...Able Standard, I think. He quit the project months ago over a disagreement with Markus involving Standard wanting to make something like this. Markus refused.

Cooked Auto: Do you think that thing is what killed the High One for us?

Otto Zander: Maybe, we can't be sure. We may know...