The XCOM Saga, part 30
by Dan Repperger

January 27th, 2016…

• With only 17 hours left on the second round of psi-testing volunteers, a saucer is spotted landing in Washington state.  Dr. Shen indicates that a prophet is part of their crew.
• Tex will lead this mission himself.  The team will consist of Chris Ings, Beth, John, and the two LIGHTNING units.  Ryan will run C3.  If the previous mission was a club of brute force, this one will be a dagger.
• When the team hits down, no aliens are in sight.  Chris is told to put the new SHIVs through their paces.  These dogs come with new tricks!  After a few taps on the remote control unit, L1 and L2 both open up their underbellies, spreading out flaps that glow with otherworldly energy.  Then they begin to ascend, searching the battlefield from above.
• It isn’t long before they spot a trio of heavy cyborgs.
• Apparently accepting the challenge for air supremacy, one of the aliens takes flight.  It fires on L1, but the shots miss.
• Showing an incredible understanding of our technology, the remaining two cyborgs skip past the SHIVs and assail Chris.  Despite his cover, the first shot hits.  He howls in pain, and his vitals waver.
• Chris starts to call for support but is cut off when a second volley hits the exact same spot as the first.
• Tex tells Beth and John to move in to save him.  Ryan countermands the order.  “He’s gone.  All vitals are flat.”
• For fear of the situation careening out of control, Adam is summoned to C3 to take control of the LIGHTNING units.  The team on the field just hunkers down as Tex prepares a new strategy.
• While the SHIVs await a controller, they continue following their last set of orders.  As if avenging their creator, they strike down the two cyborgs that shot him.
• The surviving (and flying) cyborg retreats from the field, apparently no longer interested in an air duel.
• If Dr. Vahlen’s estimate of the cyborg’s intelligence is correct, then her understanding of alien field command must also be correct.  A precision kill that left our drones in an uncertain state could only come from an advanced mind, like that of the prophet.  But behind the organized attack, Tex sees fear.  It needed Chris dead, because it can’t fight mechanical opponents.
• Taking control of the robots, Adam brings them back down to the ground.  Tex consolidates the team into a better firing position.  Though everyone knows an ally is dead, only Beth can actually see the corpse.  Indeed, she has to pass over the smoldering body on her way back to the team.
• L1 spots the remaining cyborg and buries it.  But right on its heels comes three more cyborgs and then a trio of hulks.
• Ryan notes the shift in alien strategy: they’re hitting us with everything at once.  Tex calls for the team to pull back into a gauntlet of ambush positions.  Let’s see if the prophet can keep his charge in good order.
• One hulk takes the bait and falls to our concentrated fire.  The other aliens just hold their positions around the craft.  They’ve adapted their strategy again.  Ryan starts working out the best approaches for a run on the craft.
• Tex makes an observation: We’re hiding behind the machines, but the prophet is hiding from the machines.  He orders Adam to use L1 and L2 to hold the left flank — nothing more.  The human elements will advance on the right flank, keeping the robots in good shape for their confrontation with the alien leader.  Two medics and a sniper are hardly the ideal mix for this strategy, but you use what you’ve got.
• In a sign we have their attention, the previously bashful aliens suddenly turn up the heat on our left flank.  When we fail to respond as they’d hoped, a cyborg is sent to jump behind our lines.  Beth turns and strikes it down.  It’s beginning to look like they’re losing control of the battlefield.
• Another cyborg charges us, but Tex lightens its payload by one head.  We know the prophet has a limited force onsite, so this is a losing strategy for his side.
• As we get a little closer to the craft, the prophet is spotted right behind one of the doors, flanked by two elite guards.  He’s out of his usual position.  Tex manages to kill one of the guards, but those SHIVs have to begin their run immediately.
• Beth alone has eyes on the prophet, so she’s ordered to retreat from its gaze.
• The SHIVs race into the craft.  A second hulk is spotted, but Adam keeps the guns trained on the intended target.  Two shots and the prophet goes down.  As the xeno dies, it releases an energy wave that destroys a nearby Elerium stack, killing the new hulk.  C3 reports that all we’ve got left is one elite guard.
• John stings the elite, and Tex deals the kill.  Unfortunately, it gets off a shot first, destroying L2.
• During the flight back, Tex can feel the emotional pressure mounting.  His soldiers are seated around a body bag, holding the remains of Christopher “Kingpin” Ings.  His wife, Jennifer, is living at the base and will find out soon enough.  To compound the problem, the SHIVs no longer have a dedicated operator, the group’s rightful leader is still under psych eval, and three soldiers are locked up in in the psionics lab.
• A memorial is scheduled for Chris Ings the following day.  It only seems right to wait until the troops in the psi lab are out, so they can say their own goodbyes.
• When Tex arrives at the end of the testing cycle, Dr. Vahlen has assembled quite a team there.  Chad and Chris Hussey were both “ungifted”, but Chris Mais’ body accepted the biological and cybernetic implants.  When told about Chris Ings death, he replies that he already knew.  When asked how the implants are affecting him, he remarks that he no longer sees the world so much as feels it.  The science team seems ecstatic, but Dr. Shen is horrified.  He ponders aloud what we’ve sacrificed to gain insight about their technology and whether this means the end of an era, regardless of which side wins.
• Tex allows the scientists to continue their observation of Chris Mais, if for no other reason than to make sure he doesn’t go into shock or mass rejection of the implants.
• The memorial for Chris Ings is held hours later.  Dan agrees to speak.  Despite days of seclusion, he seems well composed.  He reads from Scripture and eulogizes his fallen friend.  He ends his remarks with the comment that Chris was a man who “saw the right way forward”, offering no explanation as to what that meant.
• That evening, the team gathers for drinks in the rec room.  Chris’ picture is added to the memorial wall, and the proper rites are held there.  By the following morning, Adam, Julia, and Rachelle are summoned to the psi-lab.  The vats are ready for them.
• After getting formal permission from Tex, Dan resumes his duties over the base’s supply chain.  He orders plasma pistols to be constructed as replacements for everyone’s laser sidearms.  He permits the construction of psionic-amplifying armor for Chris Mais.  Three SHIVs are started.  Two upgraded launchers are ordered for the heavy gunners, with two more planned should we get the necessary resources.
• Last of all, he submits a troop requisition.  Chris Ings has to be replaced, and Dan has chosen Cape Rust.  The engineering team is ordered to give him a crash course on heavy weaponry and SHIV operation.
• The council report arrives at the end of the month, but Dan deletes the email without even opening it.