The XCOM Project

Operation Purple Mist

An Xiao smiled a little. She was back in the field, after all. It only took the end of the world, but it got her there. Around the cabin of the Skyranger, her smiles were not echoed. Two scowls and one grim line.

"We're getting hazard pay tonight!"

"Shut up." That was one of the scowls, a woman named Morozova sitting her left.

"Indeed. This is more than just hazard pay." That was the other scowl, an Egyptian named Tareq Rahman. His scowl deepened when any of the others spoke.

"Shut up yourself, Tareq. She enjoys her work." That was the grim line, another woman. The lines on her face were marginally deeper than those of her fellows. Xiao shared a look with the older woman, Aya Suleiman, who flashed her a short smile.

"Okay, ladies and gent", announced the pilot, "Welcome to beautiful Moscow. Visibility looks good, and there's no snow on the ground. We're dropping into the train depot now. Looks like lots of rust around and plenty of places to hide between the tracks. Be careful out there."

"Copy that, Z", responded Aya as the door lowered. Pheonix Team disembarked.

"Central, confirm uplink," commanded Morozova.

"Link is solid, we're receiving your imagery five by five," responded Central.

"I'm approaching a large, boxy object. Appears to be green, glowing, metallic," narrated Rahman. He, like his female companions, had withdrawn his assault rifle and was staring down the barrel, looking for movement.

"Understood. Stay clear of it. We don't know what it does."

"Copy. Looks like it's smoking a bit too," added Morozova. "Reentry heat?"

The team approached a train from the side, rusted in place by the looks of it. Rahman motioned for them to fan out and cross at multiple points. He, Suleiman, and Morozova clambered through the boxcars and flattened cargo containers, while Xiao, wearing a hooded gaze for the slight, watched the rear. Over the train, there was a drop to a loading depot, this full of rusted vehicles.

"Are those bodies?" asked Morozova.

"I think so," replied Suleiman. They were swathed in some kind of glassy green webs, wholly immobile and in various states of recoil and repose.

Morozova's mood was alleviated somewhat when she checked one near her for signs of life: there was no breathing, and the body was cold. "They appear to be deceased." Under her breath, she continued "serves them right."

"This is X-Cent-Actual. We confirm observations of hostile action towards humans. You are clear to engage. I repeat, weapons free." The team shared a look, before their eyes were drawn back to the shadows of the rusty cargo station.

Past them, a drop led to a roadway, or at least some kind of cargo loading dock. "Did you see that?" asked Rahman. "It looked like a child."

Morozova moved forward to the balustrade. They were anything but children. Three tiny creatures pierced her with giant, pupil-less eyes. While they had proportions similar to a child, yes, they were grey, and held glowing weapons in their hand. One raised the device towards her. Morozova felt the recoil of her assault rifle and the roar of the rapport as she loosed a volley straight into its disproportionate head.

"Weapons fire! Cover Morozova!" yelled Aya. Rahman just growled before sweeping another away with his volley. The last one skittered away behind a van. It was made out of rust more than metal.

Thousands of miles away in Central, controllers stared at the imagery being relayed. Everything seemed to stand still as the first recorded encounter between humans and aliens devolved into shooting. The Commander took a sigh and turned to the Special Rapporteur for XCOM, Henry Whitcomb. "Let the record show that I authorized use of force per the relevant UN Security Council Resolution on this date, blah blah blah, upon determining that the extraterrestrials had hostile intentions, etcetera."

"Commander, I have to question that decision, in addition to your casual language," responded Whitcomb, his British accent giving him an appropriate air of offense for a politician. "It is not at all clear that the aliens had hostile intentions. It could be that this is an attempt at study, or that they place a lower value on individual lives than..."

"Mr. Whitcomb," said Bradford, adopting a strident tone, "you may question decisions at any time, but not in my war room. Shut up or get out, we have a battle to win." A few low whispers were exchanged between Whitcomb and the Commander before they exited the room.

"Thank you," said the Commander on the way out.

Meanwhile, just outside Moscow, Pheonix team continued to advance, searching for the alien that had skittered away from them. Suleiman and Morozova had dropped onto the loading depot and the field of rusted vehicles. A glowing stream of heat and light burst towards them as it opened fire, lighting up the gloom of outer Moscow.

"I can loop around and take it from the back!" yelled Xiao. "Moving!"

"Copy that! Do it!" yelled Aya as she loosed a series of rounds at its shelter behind another rusted car. It held, sadly. Another stream of fire tracked Rahman as he dashed up behind her, having traded his height advantage for a better angle on the being. He took a bead before its head exploded into yellow pus, torn apart seconds before he could fire by Xiao, who shot from the above and behind the alien.

"I had him!" he yelled.

"I had him first!" replied Xiao.

The adrenalin faded, the acrid smell of gunfire mingling with the ozone of the alien weapons. "It looks like that's all they brought; the motion trackers show nothing more in the area" answered Central. "Head back to the Skyranger."