Part 6: Murder Street!

XCOM PART 6: Murder Street!



Commander, South Africa has requested a satellite like the prototype we have over America. They’ll pay us a substantial initial fee, along with monthly compensation and the occasional technical staff member.

Great. If only it didn’t take us most of a month and all our money just to build one…good thing we’ll have one ready in a few days. We need that cash immediately.



We have noticed, Commander, that the aliens have studiously avoided any abductions in the United States ever since the first satellite went up. We believe that they know when they are being watched and will not attempt abductions in countries that are covered by XCOM’s satellites. Therefore, the Council of Nations has resolved to pay you an increase in funding for every single nation you are able to protect.

Sheez, they’re being really petty about protecting the earth. Every country has guys who just want to look out for themselves first and foremost, so they won’t throw us money until they know for sure we’ve got them covered.

There will also be… geopolitical effects… for managing to keep entire regions of the world safe.



Africa is a land of many untapped resources, and its waters are vital trade routes. Keeping it safe will stabilize the global economy, magnifying all funding available to you.



Some of the oldest and most respected academies of science and cooperatives of industrial engineers work within the European Union and Russia; the Council will provide your workshops and laboratories with much-needed spare parts for maintenance if you clear their skies.



Asia has some of the most cutting-edge tech sectors in the world, and Australia’s officer corps is one of the most efficient and progressive; they were the first country to allow female submarine officers, for example. Improving your electronics and training your officers will all be much easier with their help.



Ah, and we can’t forget South America! Some of the world’s best biologists spend their entire careers studying Amazon life forms; my own mentor, an exobiologist, is working out of South America. It would take almost no effort at all for her to help us, but first we’d need the local governments’ help to even find her in the jungle.

So much to do, so little time…okay, we’ll try to send our first satellite to South Africa, and then see if we can’t clear the skies over South America entirely. We do need to understand our enemies better.



The Genetics Lab is finished, Commander! We need only spend some money, time, and meld to begin splicing useful traits into our soldiers.
Money is really tight right now, Dr. Vahlen, I just had to sell a bunch of Sectoid bodies on the Gray Market to make ends meet.
I want regenerating health! How does it work? Where do I sit?
You’d need to spend three days soaking in a container filled with meld, during which the nanites would alter your body according to the genetic material attached to the suspension. Your body would partially liquefy, then reform with the new organs.
…liquefy!? Have you tested this!? I don’t want to be a meat smoothie!
I have tested it on a couple of chimpanzees, yes.
You own a super-monkey!?



The Cybernetics Lab is also complete.
Who would make the best candidate for becoming a cyborg, Dr. Shen?
The best possible subject would be someone whose coordination has been trained to its limits. Getting used to the new body would require a high learning curve, and I don’t think their aim would get much better once they were converted…
So the best possible candidate would be someone who already has a really high aim score…
…that would be me. *sigh* How much of my body would this procedure replace, Dr. Shen?
Your limbs and many internal organs would be amputated to make way for the new augmentations. Don’t worry, though: I have plans in place that would allow you to do anything with your new body you could do in your current one, even civilian activities or… er… carnal needs.
This sounds…really goddamn extreme. Give me a few weeks to consider volunteering.
No problem, Bar-Lev, we can’t even afford to augment you yet.



Alright, you wannabe saviors of humanity. Welcome to your new Officer Training Program.



Today’s lesson is HAND SIGNALS. That’s a quick, nonverbal way of communicating with your squad so you don’t fumble over instructions like a bunch of dumbasses in the heat of the moment.



Well, sir, the first fruits of my labor are available to you. This is a computerized targeting system that integrates with your weaponry. The only issue with it is, it requires a lot of hardware to be physically worn on the body of the soldier, so it will fill their pockets with miniaturized computer equipment and sensors. This will limit what else they will take into the field.
Ooh, I’ll take one of those! I don’t need grenades. Truth be told, my vision’s gone a little blurry ever since I was exposed to meld…I think I may have inherited the genes of someone with worse eyes…
Great, a sniper who needs glasses…
I don’t need glasses! I just…squint a bit…

Time Passes



Commander, more abductions from around the globe! Simultaneously, again.
We have to go for Japan. Most of Asia’s politicians are still freaking out about our inability to help them from the last time. Plus, this incentive of new engineers looks too good to pass up. Squaddies, move out!




You know, it’s kind of a shame, culturally speaking, that aliens are invading.
Culturally?
Scientific discoveries are great for new forms of scifi, but they’re also really bad for others. When we went to the moon and discovered nothing, well, so long to all the scifi about moon monsters. So on and so forth. And nobody’s going to make any movies about space aliens for the next ten, twenty years. It’ll be “too soon.”
And I’m sure once we have real talking robots, nobody will want to make any more Terminator movies because they’d be considered racist…
Exactly!



The rainstorm’s turning this whole street into a river!
Long, narrow areas are my specialty. Let me get set up and I can try to shoot at anything you guys see. Though I’m not a miracle worker.
Noted. Everyone but Princess, move! Watkins, take point.



AAAH! Help!



This is a bad angle and they’re in hard cover…no promises…



SHIT. I need a better position. There’s no high ground to take here.



I’m popping smoke! Keep your head down, Watkins.



More sectoids over here!
FUCK! I wish you had told me before!



They’re doing the glowy magic thing again! I think it makes the other one tougher or a better shot or something!



They’re shooting at me!



AAAAUUUGH! SHIT! FFFUCK!
How bad is it?
BAD!



Fucking piece of shit aliens almost kill me and make me leak blood all over my uniform! DIE!



Just fragged the other two doing the glowy stuff, but I count two more out there!



Make that FOUR!



AUUUGGGH! HELP!



Got the one that shot ya, Bar-Lev!
Good shot, Princess! I’m fragging the one by the truck to the left!



There’s two more camping up by that meld, nobody can hit ‘em… aaauuugh… what do I do?
Gggg…nnnn… Naomi, move up to the truck. It’s closer to the aliens, but in high cover. I’ll toss a smoke grenade, they’ll never be able to hit you. Try to get in close after that and you can just blast them out with your grenade.
I’ll…try…
I can reach at least one if I sprint over there!



I got one! Last one, Naomi, it’s right in your sights!



So much blood…die!



All…targets…down…*collapse*
Naomi! Ugh…*thump*
You saved me…
Quick! We gotta get them medical attention!





Amazing work, both of you. You’ve more than earned promotions. The doctors say you’ll both pull through, though there’ll be some rather bad scarring…Leroy’s in worse condition than you, I’m afraid.
She saved me…C-commander…I volunteer for the cyborg procedure…
Bar-Lev, are you sure?
S—sure…just get these broken limbs off my body. They’re not doing anyone any good now…



To be continued!