XCOM: United Front (IC / DEAD)

[Anowa]

Isabel piped up. "Snipers work in pairs, a spotter and a shooter. And considering the squid thing that got her, I would be asking for one too."

SGT. Wolfram Herrman
Cruise, a woman Wolfram had some respect for during their short introduction. That had gone out the window a while ago. When he said he read everyone's files, he mean everyone's. that meant everyone from Barbs to the IRA squaddie who he couldn't be arsed to remember.

That meant he knew details about their service that would be normally hard to extricate personally. Wolfram essentially cut out the middle man via some night time reading.

Without even breaking eye contact with Miyuki, Wolfram responded to Cruise's quip, "If it were you, I'd ask for PJs, they'd certainly last longer than a spotter." He still patiently awaited Miyuki's answer.

[Relikai]

The sniper simply slumped back onto her backrest, expression turning into a pout as her eyes narrowed. A shrug could be seen as her shoulders raised for a moment, before a barely audible sigh could be heard. Not even Samir's words could elicit a response from the sniper as she stared hard at Herrman, like the first time she came to her commander's defence.

"Well Sergeant, if you don't understand what your specialists went through, that is, the threat that got the sniper in your previous squad-" Her head nodded in the direction of Isabel "-and the one in your current squad-" a gloved hand thumped against her collarbone "-then you will have no way to protect them. Imagine this, an environment entirely silent, not a sound, not a single brush of breeze... and the next thing you feel are metallic ropes around your neck. It doesn't make a sound, and the only way for others to know about you is the choking and gasping as our fingers tried to pry the machine off..."

Miyuki's voice trailed off, her fingers frozen near her neck as if she was trying to get something off her neck, like a garrote or something thicker.

"All we know is the feeling of choking, while our only sin was to keep an eye on our allies, our teammates. Now the question is, sergeant, how you would organize this new squad on your first mission as a squad commander, while we perform to the best of our abiliti- what the hell?"

A foil packet landed on her palm, and before she knew it, Miyuki was blushing furiously as she tried to brush her hair forward to hide her cheeks. Sergeant Barbs was giving a briefing as she finally understood the use of the items she received.

Giving one last glare at Wolfram, Miyuki unzipped her rifle bag, pulling out her weapon as she heard Isabel's comments on the weapon.

"It won't jam, but we never take our chances. No leech or frog would get into the barrel onto to take a bullet for ET on my watch." A tight snap, and the weapon was secure. Back into the rifle bag.

Little did she know, Miyuki was softly tapping her boots to the rhythm of Roscoe's even as she rested her head softly against Samir's arm. Would be better if the Skyranger had a lower headrest for her.

"If it worries you too much, I'll walk with the unit. Our range is limited in jungle cover, and I was trained to shoot and move. Basic training."

Seeing the protein bar which landed next to her, the sniper quickly unwrapped it. Seeing a slight coat of hardened milk underneath the nuts and grains, a slight smile appeared on her face as she munched on it.

[Vacif]

Cpl. Shi Ai Nu, Alpha Two, Recon
Skyranger

While in line Corporal Harewood approached with a friendly greeting."Hi there, Corporal Shi. A good day to hunt, eh?" Shi was about to respond to the greeting when Colonel Reid started the briefing. Instead of interrupting the Colonel, he gave Elsa a curt nod, and a wave of the hand. Without much talking, everyone quickly boarded the Skyranger, and strapped in.

While in the Skyranger, the team engaged in their usual banter. The subjects discussed were...interesting. Barbs started handing out various objects of use, and explained what they were for. Shi turned down the black paint, and passed it on. He wore tinted ballistic goggles, and a dark green balaclava. Nothing would glean off of that. Everything else however he accepted. He casually tore open the condom wrapper, and carefully covered the barrel of his suppressor. With that done, he pocketed the trash, and grabbed some black tape to secure the condom to the barrel. It appeared as though everyone was eating first, so he'd refrain from spraying the permetherin. Didn't want to get any of it on his teammate's exposed skin. Following their examples however, he pulled the balaclava up to his nose, and started to chew on the protein bar. Nothing really fancy, Soldier Fuel was the brand name. Not bad, he'd had worse. Nuts, dark chocolate, some other stuff. He'd scarfed down the brownish colored bar down relatively fast. Like what he'd done with the condom wrapper, he shoved the protein bar wrapper into his pocket. He was sure the crew would appreciate not leaving a bunch of trash in their bird. Wiping his mouth with the back of his gloved hand, he pulled the balaclava back down, and grabbed the bottle of permetherin. It appeared as though everyone was done eating for the time being.

"Spraying, watch yourself." He warned his teammates. A heartbeat later, his boots were lightly glazed with the permetherin, and soon, his chest piece.

[Anowa]

-snip-

Wolfram passed the roll of condoms on to the next person in line, the rail extender pretty much covered the whole barrel save for the compensator, meaning the rubber would tear. Though he did grab the permetherin spray, he didn't get why barbs said not to spray it on your skin. It was a lotion for god's sake, and Wolfram was pretty sure the various governments would have something to say about a lotion that gave rashes. So he opened the collar to his uniform and sprayed a bit in. A bit more on his gloves, and the last he'd use on his boots.

He passed the bottle to the man next to him, Raul Ramirez, his file was unique. Not military, not even SWAT in the normal sense, he was LAPD CRASH for it's last five years of existence, after that he joined the FBI as an HRT. And here he was at forty years old. Not at all what you'd expect from the quiet and rather young looking man.

"In truth Konayama, I'd have you a few hundred meters back providing overwatch with Ramirez watching your back. But we'll be in a jungle so you'll likely have to stick with us anyway. And for the record, the Seekers make a distinct wooshing sound and flash purple as they un-cloak. Tinnitus would likely fuck with your hearing in that situation, but just stay aware from here on out."

[Parcia]

-snip-

Isabel

She turned towards the man. The respect she had for the man had suddenly gone. She figured he had read her file. This she was fine with, but using it against her like that?

Me gustaría ver por dónde pisas, Cobron, eso es fina capa de hielo en su caminar I slipped past her lips before she caught it. She didn't care and rolled with it.

If he wanted to start something then they would settle it back at base, not out in the field.

She turned back to June, her expression softening. "Yea, I could use some one to over my ass, if you want to." She let a wink go in her direction and found her self she rethinking what she just said. She probably just gave all of them a big sign that read Hey look at me, I like girls and went back to applying the paint.

[Translation: "I would watch where you tread, Cobron, that's thin ice your walking on."]

[Beiarusia]

'Apacolypto'
Yaxha, Guatemala
March 23, 2014 - 12:48
91°F (33°C) Sunny

The ruins of Yaxha were far removed from modern civilization. Jungle stretched on for as far as the eye could see, wild and untamed, the only break in the sea of green being the two large lakes sitting just south of the Mayan city. The ruins were overgrown, retaken by nature, and without the convenience of GPS to mark the location the ancient temples would have been completely overlooked from the air. Even with such a convenience the ruins were difficult to spot.

It had only taken two hours (give or take the time needed to ascend, reach speed, reduce speed, and descend) to reach the target zone from Nevada. Big Sky led the pair of aircraft, coming in high and circling wide around the ruins and the two lakes once with some caution, the RAF pilot scrutinizing the area below with both his eyes and instruments. "Got some interference on radar. Could be nothing, but I'm not taking any chances," the pilot announce over the comms to his cargo. Falling back, a more suitable location was sighted to the southwest. The Skyranger killed its forward momentum until it was hovering above the thick Guatemalan jungle. Below the canopy opened up to reveal a small clearing and a dirt road cutting through the trees. The second Skyranger found a similar point half a klick south on the same road. There was no room for a touchdown so the soldiers would be deployed via drop line. The rear hatch opened, said lines lowered, and after a final reminder of their objective the soldiers were dropped into the mission site. Once all feet were on the ground the Skyrangers ascended to a safe loitering altitude where they would remain for the time being. The mission this time was simple: recon the site, secure alien structures, and eliminate all hostiles. Alpha and Bravo were in LZ1 and Charlie half a kilometer south in LZ2.

The road leading to Yaxha was dirt and not well kept, grass and other exotic plants having taken root where they could. The trees grew in a thick clump that would make travel off the path difficult, and with their canopies branching out overhead the forest floor was rather dark despite the time of day. Most concerning, however, was the noise: nothing. Dead silence. No birds or insects or anything at all. Like the moments leading up to a disaster. The dirt road would be the fastest way to Objective 1 (the pyramidal canister) and would eventually lead to the Mayan ruins where Objective 2 (the antenna) was located, however, the path was ripe for ambush and the dense vegetations made seeing around the bends somewhat difficult. Caution would be needed.

[Relikai]

CPL Konayama Miyuki "Milky", Bravo Two, Sniper.
Skyranger

Childish behavior clinging onto every little nitpick would have soldiers continuously arguing back and forth, and Miyuki was more than grown up to understand that pointing fingers now would not help anything. How did Wolfram know of the machine's operations while it was... alive? Did XCOM know of the existence of such enemies, yet withheld the information to the new members? Did the commanders of the teams know of their tactics, yet Alpha and Bravo had snipers isolated from the main group, creating an opening for the aliens to attack?

If anything, chiding Miyuki and not actively doing anything to react to the existence of an Alien, or a new weapon in terrestrial terms, was the sign of a leader isolating the blame on the soldier, while not taking a shred of acknowledgement of these new weapons. A failure in leadership. At least Wolfram had the sense to assign Ramirez to her side, she could do well with additional support.

Still, she did not lash out her thoughts at the man, Konayama Miyuki was too disciplined to do so. She'd bear with the new leader who seemed worse than the Frenchie with his sarcasm and hidden annotations- At least Michel sans filter was honest and upfront about his views- and continue with her work on the field. To her, XCOM seemed to be less of an organization who would work with efficiency, especially after Miyuki's thought process understood what Wolfram's words and expression told her.

She was just a name, a number, a gun. Losing her simply means a chamber explosion, and a new weapon would be called up.

Exhaling heavily as she forced herself to relax, Miyuki simply gave a "Hmmph" with a nod, continuing to lean on Samir as she ate the bar. It would not be long.

---

The zipline was disengaged, Milky now carrying her sniper rifle in a resting position, her pistol ready to be drawn at a moments notice. The jungle air was hot, Milky scanning the treeline and almost everything within sight with her scope as the others formed up. No movement, as if the place here was devoid of animal life...

[Ubaria]

Samir 'Eight-Ball' Malik. AKA - 'Bravo 5'
Yaxha, Guatemala
'Apocalypto'


It was hot, not the dry warmth that Samir had been accustomed to at home in Lebanon, or even Nevada, it was a claggy, sticky and damp heat, the humidity in the air made it feel as though one was breathing a liquid and barely one minute on the ground had Samir plastered in a thin film of sweat and residue, his goggles already misted up to the point that everything looked as if it were shrouded in fog, he whipped them upwards onto his helmet in frustration.

"I think i've been bitten by something already. I don't like this place." He murmured silently, slapping the side of his neck to rid of whatever bloodsucking insect was leeching from his blood, whatever spray that Barbs had issued, didn't work very well. Apart from the annoying buzz of insects in the jungle air, the place was deathly still, even the plants seemed as though they had ceased to move, the chatter of jungle animals that would have been expected to fill such a place was strangely void, an eerie experience to say the least. Samir scanned the nearby underbrush for signs of movement, yet turned up nothing.

"Bravo Five in position"

[Kentucky Fried Land]

Roscoe cocked an eyebrow at the dismissive nature of Samir. “I mean, you didn't know how to play pool. I didn't think that Guns n’ Roses was all that big in, uh… Lebanon.” He racked his brain for the name of Samir’s country, finally finding it hiding away behind some childhood memories.

He propped his left foot up on his right knee, placed two hands behind his head and fell back, taking the time to attempt a nap. The nap never came. Instead he found himself staring at the back of his eyelids for the next few minutes, before opening them as Barbs began to hand condoms out. He almost said something to the effect of “Got it in a bigger size?” with that same sly grin on his face, but… no. He was a professional. He was a damned professional, and he was gonna act like one. So he took it, sprayed himself down, and prepared for landing.

***

The deck opened, Roscoe’s hand holding the bar hanging above him. The ride was smooth, but doing it just felt… right.

And you’re a very sexy girl, very hard to please…

Roscoe looked upon the land, visions of old ginger men dancing in his head. He followed the others to the deck of the Skyranger, rubbing at the smiley face on his breastplate. Still funny, he thought. The Duality of Man schtick from Full Metal Jacket had always interested him; so, he didn't fully rip it off. He just ripped it off with more subtlety.

Feel my! My! My serpentine! Shannanananana knees, knees! I wanna watch you bleed!

“Let’s do this shit.” He managed to produce a half-hearted laugh after that, looking at his feet. “Always wanted to say that.” He followed Bravo as they began to slide down the rope like firefighters to a truck. No Dalmatian awaited him at the bottom of this, but fire most definitely did. He glanced the rope up and down, shivering before walking up to it. He grasped it in his gloved hands, sweating and shivering only slight.

Fuck this. Fuuuccck this. He almost didn't go, but one shouldn't underestimate peer pressure. Roscoe found himself sliding down fast, unable to close his eyes although he wished he could. He was on the ground in no time, feet having found ground and lovin’ it. Roscoe almost jumped on all fours and kissed the dirt, but wondered if that would get him some sort of disease and stopped.

He walked up to Bravo Lead, or rather Wolfram. He preferred to be a bit more personal than Michel had asked them. He almost saluted, but instead continued past him with his SMG raised. The sounds of Axel Rose still pummeled at his mind, Roscoe hoping that alien fire would bring his mind off of this goddamned song. He stepped a few feet away from Samir, gun lowered. He stared off into the jungle, feeling eyes staring back at him. He was just paranoid, of course. Right?

“This is Bravo Four. In position.” He spoke into his hand.

[Anowa]

Sergeant Wolfram Herrman, Bravo-1

Fast roping was something Wolfram had done so many times it was muscle memory, Grab the rope, loop legs, loosen grip, slide down. Like sliding down a pole on those play sets in grade school. Except you could get shot, or the helo could get fucked and turn you into a ragdoll, slamming into trees and rocks and shit. God Carlisle went one hell of a way.

Regardless, the moment you let go, you were at the mercy of Mother Earth again. Whether feet firmly planted or falling from twenty feet her attraction to her indirect child would either be painful or comforting like any mother should be. And like any child, they should fight to the death to ensure their mother remained safe, and that's what XCOM was gonna do.

As Bravo team assembled -slower than Wolfram liked- he observed the situation. Bugs fucking everywhere, muddy as hell can be. More Humid than Victoria in the mid summer. And the occasional bug slap. It was a shit sandwich without the bread. But it beat an Afghani cave that was for damn sure.

"Someone get Charlie on the horn, tell em' to RV at the structure, try to set up a crossfire. Malik, you're Bravo-6, Jacobsson's 5, sorry for the mix-up thought you knew." A little more observation, road led directly to the site based on briefing, they just needed to follow it, not necessarily stay on it, "Barbs, I suggest getting off the road. Four meter distance. Bravo, staggered file formation, three meter spread, stay low, crow call if you see any ET. Let's move."

With that Wolfram edged his way into the jungle, whatever awaited him likely watching. "...And if anyone sees a snake don't turn into a little bitch."

[Vacif]

Corporal Shi Ai Nu, Alpha Two, Recon
Yaxha, Guatemala

The back door of the Skyranger opened up, and the team was immediately hit with the humidity of Guatemala. The Chinese national sighed internally as the musty weather stuck his uniform to his skin. He was glad that his armor was lighter than the standard issue, albeit slightly less protective. As Bravo team fast roped down, Shi rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. He wasn't worried about bugs. It just seemed natural that all forms of insects just seemed to avoid him. Perhaps it had something to do with genetics, or blood type? He vaguely remembered reading an article about insect bites, and genetics.

With the first few members of Bravo team out, and on the ground, it was Shi's turn. He clasped the rope with his right hand, then his left hand, and wrapped his legs around the rope as he slid down to the ground. Once on the ground, he quickly released the rope, and brought up his UMP. As he switched on his headset, he pulled down his infrareds. Entire place seemed devoid of life outside of them, perhaps animals had a way of sensing danger? Nothing immediately out of the ordinary quite yet, he pushed the goggles off of his face.

<"Alpha 2, in position.">

[The Moscow Metro Red Line]

Corporal Vasily Seregyevich Ivanov - XCOM - Unit Charlie
Current Local Time (CST), 23/3/2014
Yaxha, Guatemala

"I feel right at home!" Vasily spoke loudly and grinned as he grabbed onto the rope and prepared to ascend down it. There was always something about dropping from a helicopter or an airplane that made Vasily extremely excited. It was the immense familiarity with the action that made it almost feel homely. Perhaps it was the fact that he was deploying from an aircraft which made him remember his airborne training. He quickly descended from the Skyranger and landed feet first onto the moist jungle soil. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he leaped from the rope and took up a firing position near the landing. "This is Charlie Two, I have landed successfully. I can already feel my sweat sticking onto my face."

He raised his UMP at the jungle around him. He scanned the foliage and the green for anything that suggested movement. To be honest, he was really unsure about this type of combat conditions. It was too unfamiliar with him. He wasn't trained for this kind of warfare and now started to wish he was back in familiar stomping grounds. I think I prefer Afghanistan. There is too much green everywhere. He heard a buzzing sound near his head and felt something land on his neck. Swat. Great, now I have to worry about those tropical diseases. He wiped the sweat from the rim of his ultramarine beret with his free left hand. For the first time in a long time, Vasily was unfamiliar with his surroundings. And this unfamiliarity caused paranoia to gradually soak into the 52 year-old veteran.

[Altito Asmoro]

Cpl. Elsa "Valkyrie" Harewood/Alpha 3
Yaxha, Guatemala

As the back door of the Skyranger opened out, and the other teams went out, Elsa picked up her pace as she grabbed the rope to brought her body to the ground. With assault rifle on her back and her pistol out to keep her body from getting out slower, as she slid down from the rope and into the ground. The jungle and its environment is not dark, it is to be expected perhaps. She never though for once that they will go out to the field on the bright day. "This is Alpha 3, in position," said Elsa via the comms.

Elsa moved slowly and forward, assault rifle with grenade launcher. The environment makes it hard to ever noticed an ambush or even something sinister beyond the background. Makes it even hard for almost anything, when you think about it. The though of Wolfram's scarred face crossed her mind. It's not his physique, but his heart that made her fell hard on him. And she warmed considerably to the other features of him. Skills, face, physical appearance.

"He'll be safe," said Elsa to herself as she moved forward.

[Theyra]

Squaddie Anselmo Zavala
Yaxha, Guatemala
LZ 2

Anselmo roped down with the rest and landed with his weapon at the ready. Charlie Five good and and ready. He did a quick scan of his surroundings and to his surprise heard nothing. No animals, no insects, only the only the sound of the skyranger and that put him on edge. Well, this jungle didn't seem that different from Chile's, Anselmo thought to himself. Still a good place for a ambush and they needed to be ready.

More so since it's day and the silent was means it will be easier to be noticed. Anselmo slowly gets into position, looking though his scope to look at the surroundings in detail. Well, it could be worse we could be in the desert, visible in almost all directions and no cover.

[Forest State]

Kim Joon-Sook / "June"

June winked back at Isabel and stuck her tongue out, wiggling it almost suggestively, but her flirting brought back some memories from several years ago. She looked down, and silently waited to arrive at the location. Go time... Don't screw up this time. And focus. It's no time to have your head in the past. No matter how bad that past was.

She grabbed onto the rope, and let herself slide down to the ground. "This is Charlie Four, I'm on the ground," she said, looking around the surrounding area and sighing. "I'm from NorCal and Jersey. This humidity is too much for me," she muttered, sweating already. She was losing focus again, and she leaned against a tree and forced herself to pay attention to the mission and only the mission. Not the moments from the past that were playing on repeat in her mind. Maybe I should get my head checked when I get back. I don't think most people deal with bad memories this much...

[Theodosiya]

Sgt Marselinus "Shark" Setadewa
Yaxha, Guatemala

"Roping down" Seta shouted as he descended from Skyranger, part of his skin that's not protected by armor or BDU covered in green paint, googles already on his eyes. "Charlie Lead on the ground. Everyone, watch your surroundings." he said as he raised his rifle. It doesn't take a long time for him to notice that, first, the jungle, while different from where he came from, do have some similarities. Second, there's a lot of branches, twigs, leaves and bushes around him and a small pool of water and dirt. He quickly covers his body with the dirt and stick leaves and twigs as many as he could, to the point where he barely look human and look more like a strange creature, or a bush when he kneel or even lie down. As he stand and look around, there's an eerie feeling that they were being watched. "This is Charlie Lead to Bravo Lead and Alpha Lead. Any plan? I'd suggest we encircle the temple and approach as stealthy as we could" Seta suggest as he kneeled again, the bipod of his rifle rested against a fallen tree. Aaahhh, dammit. Why do i have a strange feeling that I've experienced something like this before he thought as his eyes scanned around. Oh no. Please not that one. He felt cold air sweeping his nape, as a very bad and very grisly memory briefly flashed in front of him. He sighed and tried to get pictures of it out of his brain, for now.

[Parcia]

Cpl. Isabel Cruise
Some shit hole in south america called "Yaxha Gautemala"

She stood up and grabbed the fast rope. This brought back a flood of memories of doing the same from the ass end of a CH-47 in some desert hell hole. She descended rapidly but with the subtle grace of some one who had done this countless times before. Her boots hit the ground and she automatically brought the rifle up and chambered the first round. "Alpha two on the ground." The heat hit her like a wave. A wave she new better then most of the people here, save Seta, and she immediately smiled. "This reminds me of the outskirts of Havana, feels just like home."

She fell in with the rest of Alpha team and awaited further orders.

[The Moscow Metro Red Line]

Corporal Vasily Seregyevich Ivanov - XCOM - Unit Charlie
Current Local Time (CST), 23/3/2014
Yaxha, Guatemala

"You know, I think I am glad that we were friends with the Vietnamese. No wonder the Americans lost so badly against them." Vasily spoke aloud as he continued to gaze around his surroundings. When Seta dropped down and began relaying information to the other squad leaders, Vasily walked closer to Anselmo. He leaned towards him and spoke quietly, "Hey, have you seen that American movie with elite soldiers and alien hunter? Because I'm starting to feel like those soldiers being hunted right now." Of course Vasily was referencing Predator, the American Action Movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the title Alien. Vasily had seen a few American movies in Russia such as the Star Wars Original Trilogy, Predator, Saving Private Ryan, and Ratatouille. His favorite genre of American movies is the action movies but he had a soft spot for the 'Kid films' that came out in America.

"If I see someone skinned alive and displayed like a trophy, I'm going to think that the aliens must have seen the same movie." He added to his last statement and continued monitoring the area. He was nervous and tried to make small talk to ease his own nervousness.

[SaintB]

Sergeant Barb, John K
Skyranger
While everyone kitted out with his supplies a member of Bravo team, Samir Malik? Took a condom and made a wise crack about buying him dinner first, when he handed the man a protein bar he winked suggestively at the man. He shouldn't be joking around with the men he was in charge of but that pesky lack of impulse control. Fortunately it hadn't caused him any real trouble... in the last few months anyway. The doctor said his implant would only help him control his temper and so far it had done a better job than the sergeant ever thought it would, maybe it somehow helped with his impulsiveness but he didn't think so - Barbs just hadn't been tempted by too many things recently, he had been living like a god damned monk.

He watched in silence as Wolfram dismissed Milky's feelings of insecurity about having to be alone in the jungle if more seekers were about. He was a good soldier but in that moment he was a shitty sergeant but he wouldn't call him out on that right now, he would wait until they could get some time alone to discuss that. It wouldn't do too call him out in front of his squad and undermine the authority he was trying to develop - that would make Barbs a shitty sergeant.


Yaxha, Guatemala
March 23, 2014

As soon as the door opened the heat and humidity from the jungle started to filter in to the climate controlled cabin of the skyranger. Since they were hot dropping in Barb's staid by the door and coached anyone who didn't know what to do and was the last to slide down the rope. Even with the heat leaching in to the transport it was like sliding down the rope into a sauna and the big man immediately started to sweat with his BDUs and all his armor. He was already looking forward to a long cool shower once this mission was over.

He listened to the suggestions from the other two sergeants before making his call on the matter. <"All right, Bravo you go west and circle clockwise through the jungle, I'll take Alpha east and go counter clockwise. Once we get to the northeast and northwest corners we'll stop and set up. Charlie, come up the road until you find my marker move through the jungle on either side of the road. Once we're all in position we will come up with our next move. Keep in cover and stay frosty. Nobody gets fucked up this time got it?">

[Theodosiya]

Sergeant Barb, John K
Skyranger
While everyone kitted out with his supplies a member of Bravo team, Samir Malik? Took a condom and made a wise crack about buying him dinner first, when he handed the man a protein bar he winked suggestively at the man. He shouldn't be joking around with the men he was in charge of but that pesky lack of impulse control. Fortunately it hadn't caused him any real trouble... in the last few months anyway. The doctor said his implant would only help him control his temper and so far it had done a better job than the sergeant ever thought it would, maybe it somehow helped with his impulsiveness but he didn't think so - Barbs just hadn't been tempted by too many things recently, he had been living like a god damned monk.

He watched in silence as Wolfram dismissed Milky's feelings of insecurity about having to be alone in the jungle if more seekers were about. He was a good soldier but in that moment he was a shitty sergeant but he wouldn't call him out on that right now, he would wait until they could get some time alone to discuss that. It wouldn't do too call him out in front of his squad and undermine the authority he was trying to develop - that would make Barbs a shitty sergeant.


Yaxha, Guatemala
March 23, 2014

As soon as the door opened the heat and humidity from the jungle started to filter in to the climate controlled cabin of the skyranger. Since they were hot dropping in Barb's staid by the door and coached anyone who didn't know what to do and was the last to slide down the rope. Even with the heat leaching in to the transport it was like sliding down the rope into a sauna and the big man immediately started to sweat with his BDUs and all his armor. He was already looking forward to a long cool shower once this mission was over.

He listened to the suggestions from the other two sergeants before making his call on the matter. <"All right, Bravo you go west and circle clockwise through the jungle, I'll take Alpha east and go counter clockwise. Once we get to the northeast and northwest corners we'll stop and set up. Charlie, come up the road until you find my marker move through the jungle on either side of the road. Once we're all in position we will come up with our next move. Keep in cover and stay frosty. Nobody gets fucked up this time got it?">

Sgt Marselinus "Shark" Setadewa
Yaxha, Guatemala


"Yes sir." Seta answered. He then looked at the rest of his squad and said, "You heard Sarge Barb orders. Vasily, you take Anselmo and June on the other side of the road. I'll take Seif and Valdez on my side. Make sure you all are hard to be seen. Cover yourself with whatever stuff necessary, that is, mud, leaves, branches, whatever shits until you're barely able to see yourself. Watch your surroundings. Leave comms open." He looked around, and continued "One important point i wanted to repeat again and again, blend with the enviroment and stay low". He sighed, and pointed his rifle at the direction of the temple. The enviroment are only slightly worse than the usual back home, so he don't sweat as much as the others. The benefit of born and lived in a Tropical country he smiled.

[Theyra]

Squaddie Anselmo Zavala
Yaxha, Guatemala
LZ 2

The heat didn't really bother Aneslmo as much as some of the others. Though he did grow up in a desert which helped and his training in the jungles of Chile. "Yeah, I seen the movie before and I remember one line from it", He replied quietly to Vasily. "If it bleeds we can kill it, and we know they bleed". "More so, since you guys have killed them before and there is a chance of the hunter becoming the hunted". "Just remember what Seta said about moving though the jungle, it is good advise. "Me and Seta have been trained to fight in the jungle, so if you need more advise just ask me or Seta". He said quietly as an attempt to ease Vasily. "Though I should say, try to move silently though the jungle".

Anselmo heard the orders from Seta and said to Vasily. "I will watch our six" and was ready to move on Vasily's command.

[The Moscow Metro Red Line]

Corporal Vasily Seregyevich Ivanov - XCOM - Unit Charlie
Current Local Time (CST), 23/3/2014
Yaxha, Guatemala

"Da, Tovarishch Kommandir!" Vasily replied right after Seta gave his orders. "Let's go! Glory awaits us, Comrades!" He motioned Anselmo and June to follow him as he sprinted across to the other side of the road. Vasily felt a rush of discipline when Seta gave him joint-command temporarily. This sense of higher responsibility caused Vasily to forgo whatever doubts he may have and just lead these soldiers to the best of his ability. When he reached the other side of the road, he looked for anything that could be used for camouflage. He was thinking about rubbing dirt on himself, but considered it unwise since he was a combat medic and if he had to be as clean as possible to not infect a wound he was treating. He grinned morbidly to himself at the thought of being the only one without camouflage in an environment like this.

"This is Charlie Two to Charlie Lead, We are in position and will be moving as quiet and as fast as possible to the objective. Try not to get injured or maimed along the way, will you?" Vasily joked to Seta before walking silently through the brush. While he never had the training for tropical environments, he tried to imagine that this was like a forested environment and work from there. He lead the way with June and Anselmo following behind him. "Eyes open. Maintain silence. Move with quickness and purpose." Vasily spoke quietly to Anselmo and June.

[SaintB]

Barb, John K
Yaxha, Guatemala
March 23, 2014

<"Excellent! Move out."> Barbs stated flatly, all business as he started to lead his squad into the dense undergrowth along the trail.

"Keep in each other's sight, if you can't see the person in front of you stop moving and radio in, we'll come back and get you." he ordered his squad before entering into the dense foliage.

The plants by the side of the road were a combination of grasses and thorny plants ranging from knee high up to the lower reaches of the Sergeant's shoulders with a few sapling trees and flowering plants tossed into the mix but he wasn't no fucking botanist so he'd be damned if he could name any of them. Further in he knew that the vegetation would change to ferns and mosses and fungus as the trees grew taller and thicker. It was a jungle just like that in Colombia where he got blown to shit by 'grenade' that was basically a soup can with some nails and explosives shoved into it. Against his will the memory of that moment started to well up unbidden like a dream and threatened to distract him from the task at hand.

Master Sergeant Barb, John K.
November 16, 2010
Llanura Amazonica, Southern Colombia

Knelt down on one knee in the mud he used his other knee as a makeshift table for the map and compass he was balancing precariously, using the straight edge to draw a line from their estimated location to the rendezvous with Blackhawks that had been sent to pick them up.

"Alright. We need to get the fuck out of this ravine and head north about 2 and a half kilometers in the next 45 minutes or we'll be camping out again."

"I don't think Eltee can survive another night out here Sarge." one of the new guys piped up... well he'd been a Ranger for two or three years now but to Barb he was still a new kid.

"No shit! And you won't survive five more fucking minutes if you bring that up again." he glowered at the soldier as he put the straw to his camelback into his mouth and sucked but instead of getting a spritz of too hot and stale water all he got was air and nothing, "Bullshit..."

He checked over the men following him. A handful of rangers and another dozen or so Colombian soldiers where who were standing around - not a single one of them didn't exhibit some kind of minor wounds torn clothes and a thick covering of jungle slime, there was another five or six men in various states of wounded or dead that they were dragging with them including the commander of this delightful little foray who lay unconscious on a makeshift litter. He'd been struggling for breath for almost 36 hours now because most of the air he breathed in was leaving through that sucking chest wound he'd received. The medic was Colombian and only spoke Spanish so Barbs didn't understand a fucking word the man said but could take an educated guess that most of it was dire.

All these people, the remainder of a group of about 48 men who had hit a cocaine processing plant just before the sun went down the previous day were looking to the Master Sergeant and veteran of too many SNAFUs to remember them all to lead them to safety. The cartell guys knew they were coming, let them torch the plant and then bum rushed them with almost 200 fucking armed thugs. Now they had been dogging them through the jungle since then, shooting at them with a mix of assault weapons, M1 Garands, about 60 AK variants, and even a fucking Tommy Gun were weapons he had recognized during the series of running gun battles they'd been part of. He didn't know how many by this point but the last was probably about 4 hours ago and that was when he had slipped the men into a ravine and retreated as fast as possible.

He had to believe they were up there somewhere on the banks waiting for them to climb out so they could launch another attack but if anyone was going to make it out alive they would have to make that climb. But first, he needed some liquid. Everyone stared dumbly at him as he inspected the 5 dead/wounded men and took a canteen from the belt of a Colombian soldier and then to the sound of the objections of nearly everyone opened it and took a swig. He nearly choked - coffee. That asshole had filled his canteen with coffee and Barb did not expect that. He took a second sip and then closed the canteen and looked at the objecting soldiers, "I need it more than the corpse of Pedro here does. So do you all." he tossed the canteen to the nearest soldier, "Take a sip and pass it around. We ain't got time to treat this muddy ditch water we've been standing in." he orderd.

"Who's got rope?" he demanded more than asked and one of the Rangers, Specialist Ted Wilson, tossed him about a 100 foot coil of line used for repelling but it could work for climbing.

The Sergeant pushed his head and left shoulder through the loop and let it ride across his chest as he examined the sides of the ravine and looked for the easiest way up, "I'm going to climb up there and drop the line down we can tie it around anyone who can't climb on their own and use it to hoist them up. The rest of you stay put and follow me up when I give the all clear."

Specialist Wilson raised his hand. That's right, like a damned school kid, "What?" John asked.

"Someone should go up there with you sergeant, in case its not safe."

"Fine. I'll voluntell you to come with me. Let's go." he wouldn't admit it but the specialist was right it would be dumb as hell to climb the edge of the ravine alone.

It was not an easy climb, the bank was sloped at probably 60 degrees or better and the whole surface was muddy and caked in jungle slime, even the rocks and plants proved to make shitty handholds as the pair of Rangers made their way up the side of the ravine. It took several minutes to climb up, far too long really but they didn't have many choices because ahead of them the ravine became more of a canyon with nearly vertical dirt and rock walls and behind them, well... probably armed men.

The younger and more spry specialist managed to scramble to the top first and reached down to pull his Sergeant up by the rope, "Give it to me and I'll tie it off over where it becomes a canyon and you cover me Sarge, your better at shooting than I am."

With a nod he shrugged the rope off and raised his M4 SOPMOD rifle up to scan the jungle through his optics when he heard a strange sound.

"Ow! What the fuck was that?" the specialist inquired and started to turn around. The sergeant was faster to react this time though and turned to see that the object that had struck Ted was a some kind of homemade grenade. Dropping his weapon and letting its sling drag it to his chest he grabbed the Speciaitst by the back of his armor and have threw, have shoved the man to the ground... "GREN..."

As far as John could recall there was no sound just a wave of pressure and a stinging sensation in the front of his head as he staggered away from the force that set him straight to the ground. Like a defeated boxer he tried to crawl to his feet but instead ended up laying on his side. From somewhere far away the voice of Specialist Ted Williams shouted for him but John couldn't answer. There was a lot of pain and he felt a chill despite the 100 degree tropical heat and humidity. So this was death huh? Not so bad after all.

He didn't try to fight, didn't worry about staying awake. He just let himself drift away into oblivion, into what felt like a gentle nap...

[Beiarusia]

Mason Reid
XCOM HQ, Groom Lake, Nevada, United States

“What do you think it is?”

Colonel Reid stood with his arms crossed, his visage stern as he observed the photograph of the alien antenna up on the large display. Sunday had been called down to the Situation Room to give her most “expert” of opinions on the matter, having spent the last few minutes with an intrigued expression plastered to her face, and while there was no denying her status as a prodigy the girl was naive and some no doubt felt that her time would be better suited down in the labs than here guessing the function of some alien device with only a blurry picture. Regardless the Colonel had asked for her assistance.

“It looks like an antenna,” Sunday deduced after another moment’s study. There was a collective mental facepalm from those in the room with one man actually going through the motions. Sunday either ignored them or, more likely, didn’t even notice. “Can you zoom in?”

“That’s as far as it’s going unless you want to have a closer look at that pixel,” Reid told her with little emotion in his voice. “Why? See something?”

Sunday pouted as she continued to study the image. “There.” She pointed vaguely at the display and, realizing that she was too far to accurately indicate what she saw, hurried over and onto a chair so that she could reach up to touch the screen. She pointed to the lower part of the antenna where a faint blue glow could be seen. “There. I think I’ve seen that before. In those squid-things you brought back from Mexico. It has” – Sunday hopped down from her impromptu pedestal, nearly fell flat on her face, and continued as if nothing embarrassing had happened, much too enthralled with this fascinating photograph to care – “it has the same shape and colour, though bigger. Like… a lot bigger.”

Reid remained straight faced throughout the entire display. “And you think it’s connected?”

The girl gave a classic I don’t know shrug. “Maybe. We assumed it was a battery of some sorts given how deep it was embedded into the structure, but after we found a more viable power source our original assumption no longer held true, and so far the only theory we have is that the device is somehow related to the… Seeker? Whatever you called it, we think the device has something to do with its camouflage, though both were too damaged for us to tell for sure.”

The Situation Room was quiet for a long moment as the news set in. If Sunday was correct, and they had no reason to doubt her as no one here knew what they were dealing with, then this antenna could likely be used for active cloaking but on a far larger scale… but for what?

It made as much sense as it could to Reid. “So they’re hiding something.”

Sunday gave the words a few seconds’ thought. “Perhaps. I doubt it’s an actual radio antenna. They likely have a more reliable form of communication anyway. Building relay antennas would just be redundant and a waste of resources.”

A good enough explanation, and until further notice it was the one that would be held as true. Reid thanked Sunday for her time and she soon left to work on her own projects down in Engineering (but not before offering a simple opinion on the other photographs, thinking the pyramidal structure to be nothing more than an energy container) leaving the men and women of the Situation Room to go about directing the current mission and passing word along. Reid, however, could not hide his concern. Something was lurking in those jungles.

Something that the aliens did not want found.

---

Yaxha, Guatemala

The XCOM soldiers had made their way north from the LZ and towards the Mayan ruins. Alpha and Bravo were leading the push, following the road from the safety of the sideline vegetation, while Charlie worked their way around to a flanking position. Corporal Ai Nu and Squaddie Jacobsson were conducting reconnaissance of the area immediately ahead of their fellows, being the only soldiers not within sight of the main group, and because of this the two were the first to have eyes on the clearing. It was a somewhat wide area, prone to flooding and further cleared by whoever had made the road so many years ago. Dirt with some grass and saplings near the fringes. In the center was the pyramidal structure, roughly as high as a man and emitting a yellow glow that seemed to form around its core. No signs of life to be seen. The two on recon reported their findings and awaited the others, it being several long minutes before the groups were back together (the XCOM soldiers taking their time through the vegetation lest they stumble across something they wished they hadn’t). Alpha and Bravo were positioned on the westernmost portion of the clearing; Charlie occupied the southernmost.

Above Big Sky had been circling the area, well enough away to avoid drawing too much attention to himself but close enough for the Skyranger’s external cameras to track the soldiers as they made their move. However, as they neared the clearing the men and women had simply vanished despite Lieutenant Libson knowing for a fact that they were there. He reported it in.

”This is Big Sky to ground team. I have lost visual. As in, you’re just not there anymore. Retrace your steps, over.”

A volunteer would dip back towards the way they had come and would immediately appear back on camera after crossing a certain threshold. A cutoff line between what existed and what apparently did not.

”Something’s hiding you guys from my cameras.”

It was then that the voice of Colonel Reid came over the team comms to address that what Big Sky was seeing was indeed the case – though it also served to confirm Sunday’s theory for better or for worse. ”This is Colonel Reid. Our resident prodigy believes the alien antenna to somehow be connected to the Seeker’s ability to go invisible. If that is indeed the case then the xenos are likely hiding something in that jungle. I don’t know what but it can’t be good.”

The Skyranger continued to circle the airspace. Knowing now that something was up the pilot enacted some of the aircraft’s surveillance equipment to perhaps signal in on something useful. It only took a few moments before something was found. ”This is Big Sky. Electromagnetic readings are off the charts. Localizing the points gives me three hotspots: the antenna near the temple, a sight on the far side of the north lake, and another three kilometers north. Central point is on the lakeshore nearest the temple. My bet is that whatever they’re hiding is there.”.

Reid took over the conversation. You hear that? Once you reach the antenna see if you can disable it. Knocking one out may destabilize this little ruse of theirs. Otherwise the mission is the same. I’ve already made the call to our auxiliary branch in Brazil. You’ll have some backup soon enough if we don’t like what we find. Good luck. Reid, out.”

[Altito Asmoro]

Cpl. Elsa "Valkyrie" Harewood/Alpha 3
Yaxha, Guatemala

Apparently there are some sort of antennas, or cloaking devices that looks like antennas that hiding the XCOM operators from Skyranger, but at the same time also hiding something that the aliens don't want them to find. Obviously something bad is gonna happen. And considering there is more than just one locations of this antennas/devices, well...fucked indeed.

She opened a radio chat between the Alpha, and between the Bravo and Charlie if possible, "This is Alpha 3. Considering we have three possible locations for the antennas, as well as the center of all of this at the lakeshore, should we split up and check the possible locations, or we go straight ahead into the lakeshore?"