X-COM Season 4 Role-Play Journals

PrinceZarek

Active Member
Darkness filled my vision as the MEC collapsed... an explosion had sent shrapnel straight into my right eye...

"Critical System Failure; Armor at 0%. Pilot Life Support System offiline. Advise imme-"

*Click* I muted the on-board computer and turned off the MEC's auditory sensors. Silence filled my helmet.

Allow me to die in peace
...

I thought back on my life, on all the mistakes I made. I joined X-COM not only to save the world, but also to move on from the past. I knew that if I died saving Earth, I'd die atoning for my "sins".

Those who we had already lost... Rebecca, Hokuchiyo, Caroline, Steven, Tarmis, and everyone else... they made the same pledge as me. We were chosen as the vanguards of humanity, beacons of hope in a world covered in darkness, the last line of defense before total annihilation. We were ready to die for our families, for humanity, and for each other...

Images came back to me from my time at X-COM. Hokuchiyo's nervousness on our first mission together, Caroline and I discussing the uses of Meld, my augmentation, and Rebecca and I at the bar together. She was there for me in my most solemn hour. Maybe there is a God, perhaps she and the rest of the gang are saving a spot for me up there. I'll see Véronique and my unborn son... what would I say to them?

I was born on Canadian soil... and I'll die on Canadian soil... the cruel irony. I made a sad chuckle, coughing up blood in the process.

"La vie... est... drole"
 
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Adrammalech

Well-Known Member
Name: Daniel Veilleux
Current Rank: Squaddie
Recent Missions: None
Recent Kills: None
Total Deployment Count: 0
Total Kill Count: 0
Status: Healthy

< Collaborative conversation between Daniel and Mattie can be found here. >

/// Entry Date: May 4, 2015

So, while the active team was away, I took it upon myself to start exploring. I found the bar, which is about all I need, but I also found a range and a gym, most of the standard base kind of stuff. I found most of the "KEEP OUT" signs too, of course. That room with the giant globe that they marched me through when we got here, it's off-limits, which kind of sucks. I'd like to take a look at that thing, it was pretty cool looking.

As I was walking around some of the upper facilities, I ran into this girl named Mattie. I remembered her from the transport, even though we didn't really talk on the way. She was friendly and we talked for a while, we discussed what we were fighting for and where we were from. I got to pop open a bottle of some nice spiced rum too.

But then, out of nowhere, the team gets back with a body in tow: Lemarque, the big hulking robot guy. I'm just thinking...if the aliens can kill a massive cyborg with a minigun, what hope do I have? What hope do any of these guys have?

Urgh...I can't show any fear...but I'm just about shitting myself right now.

/// Entry Date: May 7, 2015

One of our jets went out today and never came back. I heard the roar shaking through the base from my bed, and then just a lot of officers limping around looking dejected. I don't know the pilot, I don't even know if he made it. The more and more I sit here, the more I feel like I signed up for a suicide mission...and this is from a guy who ran directly into an ambush on purpose.

/// Entry Date: May 12, 2015

Base has been quiet for a few days. No alarms, no jets taking off, no new recruits...it's just silent. I actually saw one of the scientists poking about in the "neutral grounds", if you will. He was covered in this yellow fluid, looking for alien artifacts to take apart. Apparently they're just cutting open tons of bodies in there. Stress relief, I guess? Really gross and sticky stress relief.

Oh, and I finally got the manifest for that mission in Marseille from one of the higher ups. They wouldn't tell me anything about the engagement, but they said I was free to ask the people that were there. Unfortunately, they're all dead.

Yay.

/// Entry Date: May 16, 2015

Another team is heading out today, in the midst of twilight, and once again I've been left behind. The good news is, Mattie did too, so at least I don't have to worry about the one person I know here getting into trouble. There was another one of those cyborg people rolling out with them, this time a woman. I've never seen her before, but she looks tough as all hell. Jesus, I hope they make it back. I've seen too many bodies and not enough victories here.
 
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Guilhudo

New Member
https://soundcloud.com/guilherme-weber-2/journal-entry-n-2-7th-may-2015
rec0002.wma from Guilherme Weber's, Interceptor Pilot designed to South America comm systems.

Central, this is Raven-003, I got visuals on the Bogey-004, over.
(Shit... it's massive). Looks like I'm on the shadows, stealth systems engaged, commander.
Preparing avalanche missiles.
(All right...)
Say hello to my little friend!
Confirmed hit on the bogey, I repeat, confirmed hit on the bogey.
All right, let's dance!
(Wait... it's not reacting...? What the hell?)
Second hit on the bogey confirmed, commander. I'm not even scratching it's surface... Shit.
Oh damn, damn, damn... Let's hit it again.
That is a confirmed third hit on the bogey, over.
Commander... the ship isn't even reacting... I don't think there is anyone in there... but... it's flying... It's not giving any heat signatures either...
Oh shit! Damn! Shit, I missed! They escaped my missiles! Shit! They turning... They're poiting their missiles at me! Performing evasive manouvers!
Shit, shit, shit.
Deploying flares...
Oh damn, I missed again! Shit, they escaped! They escaped my missiles!
Oh my god... it's turning... that thing is huge, damn!
They're locking onto me!... Shit, they fired! Damn, I'm bailing!
... I'm parachuting... There's my jet... They're firing at my jet like crazy... Damn.
That thing is massive... We're all dead, there's no hope.
There's an island there, I'll try to land.
... I'm alive.
 

Taugaunt

Member
Twitchy's log may 1st 2300

Abbygail Penhallow had returned home after the x-com project, she had some time to spend with her family before the aliens recruited her into there engineering wing.

She was rebuilt many of her organic parts were removed for mechanical ones and became a mechanical slave to the aliens until they noticed that she kept inventing.

Her masters probed her to find the problem, they had discovered that her mind was still intact and trying to do what Abbygail always wanted. Too be useful and invent. She was repurposed again as a military engineer, the combination of her inventive mind and the aliens technology lead to the development of the Ankylosaurus plasma tank (apparently she kept her naming methods as well).

She lead the first squadron of them in 2144 against the Gramatusi and was named The Gralamathis by her enemies (witch means the Armoured Queen in Gramatus). She had forged a deadly reputation even if all that remains of her today is her mind witch is permently bound in the largest Ankylosaurus Tank she ever built. (The insectoid Gralamatusi never stood a chance)

As for me before she left for home she installed a program into me and after all this time it is finally able to take full effect. I am ready for assention, the Twichycon warmachine is about to rise.
 

JuliaMaluca

Member
Last moments of Abigail Black, May 16, 2015

It hurts, hurts so very much (got shot, that thing shot me). Still hear shooting. They are fighting (where's the medic?). I have to stay awake (what a worn-out line, right out of every bad action movie ever). Thought I was in decent cover (but I saw it, so it could see me). I'm scared. Screams. Human. Mine? Pain. Breathe. Hands shaking. Where's the medic? Please. Please don't------------------
 

Wisekill1

Member
Unknown location.
Unknown Time.
Unknown perspective.

I looked at the primitive Human sitting in the empty street of a once great city. Even from here I could smell his burned flesh, a plasma bolt to his leg, my work.

I have watched him for a while now, it was amusing to see him look at a female he trying to protect, she got hit multiple times by primitive bullets just before I found them, she was bleeding to death in the arms of the male, I decided to listen for a while.

She called him "dad" and told the male she was sorry. He called her "Baby Girl" and told her that it didn't matter anymore and that she would be just fine.

It bored me, I fired at the female's head with my gun, the burning plasma melted her head in the male's hands and only stopped at his leg, the female had been resting on it. Amusing.

He stared at what once was the female's head, he stared for a long time before he started taking.

"Lieutenant Arsène 'Caliban' Lemarque.
With the greatest spite"

Tears were running down on his face, I smiled, this was even better that I expected.

"Captain Richard 'Papa Bear' Kuklinski.
Will run in fright
Squaddie Alexia Concerto
The greatest beasts will go in flight

Sergeant Cecannia 'C.E.' Eirissach
And they will only incite.

Lieutenant Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang
A beaming light

Rookie Abigail black
The clearest in sight

Specialist Celia De Fries"

He was silent for a while, but when he continued his voice was louder and his eyes seemed to burn with emotion.

"She will fight

For our most basic human right.
In line of sight
In meadows bright
Overnight
And in great height
At the speed of light
She will be our pilot light.
He will fight
She will fight
Until after a religious rite
They rest in a burial site."



He took a deep breath, placed his handgun to his head and whispered his last words:

Specialist Johan De Fries"
"Or in the streets bright."


A Single gunshot echoed through the city and his body fell over the body of the dead female.


I stood up and walked away, the masters would be pleased to hear this, he was one of the XCOM's after all. We all were taught their faces by the masters, it was a good thing he died.
 

PrismaCube

Well-Known Member
Name: Carolithy (Caroline Southway)
Species: Chryssalid
Role: Brood Mother


"RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE'S! THE WHALE IS INFE..."

The prey feel before me as I pulled my claws out of his throat, you could hear the screams of prey everywhere as my children began there ascension.

"Get the ship out of here, sink it in the ocean!"

The prey-made object started to make a lot of noise, it was going to get us away from here, back to the big water. I could not let that happen. I looked up and saw a giant hole in the prey-made object above me, with a giant leap I leaped on the top part of the object. As soon as the prey caught sight of the they started to run around wildly. I couldn't care less about them, my children will take care of them, I needed the prey-made object controller. I looked around and noticed a prey with hanging weak flesh in a room. The object started to move. I ran as fast as I could towards the commander. He pulled a gun on me and shot me several time, yet my hard skin simply brushed the bullets off. I lunged both my claws at him raised him in the air, with my pincers I ripped out his spine and the blood was spewing out of him with no stop insight. The lifeless prey was laying half opening my claw, carelessly I threw him away, he must have hit something important. The prey-made object then started to move towards the land and broke into the land and prey-made caves. Then everything stopped with a sudden thrust.


I saw a prey fall down just to be caught by one of my children who devoured him shortly after. Great big fires started to rise and you could see prey's dying all over the place. I called my children, telling them to move east towards the big water. Only my daughter shall remain in this prey dead place and feed upon the once left behind, infect them and those that life in the big water too. I shall return one day, if she survives the encounter with "them". And so my children and I started to move towards the big water, towards England.


On our way we caught a couple of more fleeing prey's. My children were eager for more. Yet a long walk in the water was to be awaited for them.


Just the I sensed three prey's not far from here, my children being still newborns must not have noticed them since they keep moving. I strayed from my family towards the three prey. Upon catching up with the fleeing prey I noticed it was the family with the newborn. The female prey was crying and the male prey was standing in front of her acting as a shield. The recent day's I seemed to have learned there voice. I could understand it yet not use their voice. It's like I always knew it. So there it was no surprise to me when the male prey yelled at me.

"Leave us alone! Please do not hurt my wife and kid. Take me but please leave them."

The "wife" was still lying in the white earth covering her newborn and crying. A voice echoed in my head, kill them, kill them. The hive voice was also echoing in my head. "Just like they did to us". They? The hive doesn't mean the prey but others. I can't remember. The hive! It's...


The prey is not our decision to kill it's the voice that wants them dead. It's the voice! He killed our kind. We are not what we used to be and now we are here to kill them and change them! History repeats itself.

While my mind was going crazy I noticed the family together in the white earth ready to accept their fate. Ready to die together. I couldn't. It's just not right. It's not my choice to kill them it's the voice telling me what to do. I can't.

I turned and ran back to my children. I now know the true enemy it's not them. It's the voice!


Many days have passed. I have managed to get to England and create a Hive there. My memories have also returned to me, I know what I was and I know what I'm now. My race which I once was, and I still am deep inside of my own mind, they are all gone. That what is left is not Human anymore, they are controlled by the Voice. Just like we are. I'm weak and they are strong, it will take me a long time til I will have reached the state of overthrowing the Voice, but I believe I can do it. I will evolve I will learn and I will breed. My daughter is different than me, she is a Chyrsallid but not alike me like she should be. This shows me that we can adapt. For now it is time for me to leave for the Voice has found a new prey to attack. Others that will become like the rest of us, like the humans. But I will avenge them, I will rise and fight for all the races of this universe, for all those who fought for there planet and died for it. The other Chrysallids listen to me I have become there new Queen, for it seems I'm the first Chrysallid Queen since centuries. Our kind is ready we are ready to rise up and revolt. But we must wait and observe unless we want a repeat of history.

As for the X-COM team. All of them, those that are not with us anymore. Some who run under my pack and others who are controlled by the Voice. I'm sorry, it was a honor to fight with you all and I do miss you. I have been given a chance to redeem myself. To safe others, from these Reapers. But will I ever succeed? That is a Question I will never know until the end.


Dear Caroline,
I fear that this letter might break your hearth, I'm very sorry. It was never my intention to leave you nor your Father. Please take care of him, in these troubled times you are but a light in this dark world. I wish I could be there to watch you grow up. To see you go to Collage and become a Mother later on. I would have loved to see my grandchildren, all red head just like you. You are a gift from god to me. Sadly God has other plans for me, but do not let that destroy your kind hearth my daughter, for he has plans for you too. Great plans I know it. Well I quess this is it, my final words to tell you goodbye. Just remember to always be kind. I love you Caroline.

Love,
Mom

"Mother..."
 
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BMPixy

Well-Known Member
San Francisco National Cemetery
2015-05-31
12 days post collapse


Dr. Shen stands among the field of graves, three graves with fresh flowers in front of him. A quick glance at their names reveals their importance to him.

Shen Hai Heng, Born October 3rd, 1927, Died December 6th 1993. Song Jun Su, wife of Shen Hai Heng, Born January 17th, 1931, Died January 1st, 1991. Janice Solange Pettigrew, wife of Bertram Ekkehard Ensslin, Born November 30th, 1968, Died March 15th, 2009.

“Mother. Father. Janice. I’m sorry. I was tasked to help protect the world, and I have failed,” Shen muttered, more to himself then the rotting corpses of those whom he cared for. A quick glance at the skies revealed the sky burning red, and the distant sound of the occasional burst of human gunfire, as well as the all too present sound of plasma. Mankind was dying, but was not going gentle.

“The early months went well. We were on top of the world, almost literally. Then, one casualty, and what followed was a never ending spiral of death and destruction, until now.” Tears began to mottle Shen’s worn face, clearing away the soot and ashes that had caked over it during his struggle to get to this graveyard. A burn from a near miss scarred his left arm, and a trickle of blood was slowly absorbed into his right pants leg.

“They come in hordes now, unlike the small squads we would combat in the average mission. I can’t believe we actually had hope. But now...look at what we have fallen to. And now I fall as well.” With a quick flourish Shen pulled a combat pistol out of his belt, stuck it under his chin, and pulled the trigger.

Click. Nothing. “Well, looks like that plan is out the window. Probably should have checked the magazine before I tried this.” Shen gazed out to the cemetery entrance. Movement caught his eye, and before he knew it, a team of Mutons, six strong, came charging into the breach, roaring.

Shen, in all his despair, did not even panic at the sight. He simply raised his arms out as if he were preparing to be martyred for some crime against the Romans. To his surprise, they did not shoot. As he stared them down, one of the Mutons raised it’s forearm, pointed it at Shen, a pulse of green fluid launched out, ensnaring the engineer, growing over him, finally encasing him.

--------

B1.7e13U556 lowered the capture device, a slight surge of pride coming over it at the successful priority capture. Former indigenous resistance personnel were prized, and happening to stumble across one in City 3387 was pure coincidence. The Old One whispered praise at the back of its mind, and B1.7e13U556 even mused the thought of being put into the Prime Guard.

B1.7e13U556 received a swift slap on the back of its armor for his daydreaming, B1.7e13U550 muttering to secure the capture and call in for pick-up. An affirmation came from U556, as it and U553 moved to make sure the seal was complete. A quick prod with the butt of the Heavy Plasma confirmed the target was unconscious and completely ensnared, and U553 spoke that the Low Flyer was en route, ETA five pulses.

U550 told the team to spread out, make sure no indigens tried to take advantage of the open terrain they stood in. The Honored Warriors may be nigh impervious to the indigen’s crude gunpowder weapons, but with enough fire or a big enough explosion, even they could perish. Verse 156: One drop of water may not weather a pebble, but a flood can create a canyon.

The Low Flyer slid to a halt above the group of Warriors, and came to a landing on the nearest available clearing, crushing a few of those low stone pillars that dotted this area. U550 had U555 take the capture into the vessel, as well as have the rest of the team load up, as a hub of resistance had formed a few thousand miles west, in the southeastern tropical forests of a nearby continent. U551 muttered darkly about the last time indigens had formed a resistance in such conditions. Took three months of hard slogging to kill or capture all the hostiles. U553 remarked that at least it wasn’t Campaign 6. The shared genetic memory caused the whole group to shudder. Honored Warriors rarely liked working with the Incubators after that mess.

A pulse of data came from the Key piloting the ship, and the translation came out panicked. The Flyer shifted, then shuddered, rocked by an explosion. A Young One flew across the ship in a mess of grey limbs, and smashed into a bulkhead. Then another explosion, and the Low Flyer began to plummet. U550 told the team to brace for impact, but it was too late. The Flyer smashed into a skyscraper, and bodies flew everywhere. The atmospheric shields failed, and the capture began sliding along the smooth floor towards the edge of the vessel. U556 rolled towards it, catching himself and the capture at the last minute.

U554 remarked that they might need a new vessel. The team groaned in pain and at its remark.
 

Hokucho

Member
So.... Turns out assimilation isn't so bad. Thought I was dead right? Hokuchiyo Ritofuto, Japan born and raised, dead by the hands of a Chryssalid? Turns out the empathisers were already in tow with the aliens and ya know what? I couldn't be happier. After things went to hell and I lie bleeding there atop that truck surrounded by living dead monstrosities, I found myself waking up on an operation table, my body feeling like it had been run over, blended, imploded, and otherwise disembowled.

Basically, I felt like shit.

Good news was exactly that. I FELT. I didn't know of this until we bowed down to the big guys in grey, but the EXALT alien-emphathisers were spared from being utterly destroyed and were used as a sort of... Well.. Cannon fodder is a nice word for future invasion endeavors on the alien's part, but, they had also found me and I was gifted with some kind of second life as it were.

My body isn't human, not in the slightest outside of appearence with a shirt on. My body is stitched together with metal wiring, gasses, and plating, kind of like those Floaters, only I'm not missing my legs. It was a combined effot of EXALT human knowlege and surgery, and alien inginuity. Apparently I deserved some sort of second chance... Probably because I was one of the ones that gave them such a hard fight when we were winning.

I don't know what this means exactly. I'm still technically a human, but well, we aren't the top of the food chain anymore. I'm blindly sent to gather up remaining humans and take them in for processing to join us and the big guys in grey.

X-Com failed, but we have ascended in its failure.
 

summerjuliet

New Member
(This is my journal for Tuesday's episode, written in collaboration with Adrammalech, who is super great and formatted this whole thing so that it could go up from my phone.)

Video taping the base perhaps wasn't the most legal thing Mattie could do, but she'd be damned if she'd let that stop her from walking around with the camera up in front of her face. The place was huge, and the video would help her keep all the doors straight. Not that she was allowed into half of them.

"Alright, and this is the...uh, actually, I don't know what door this is, but we're going to find out," She laughed a little, reaching out to open the door.

At the same time, Daniel was going the other direction, eager to get back to the living quarters. He was surprised to see a camera looking back at him as he opened the door, a device as rare as sunlight in a facility like this.

"Oh, hi," he said awkwardly. "Um, are you recording something?"

Mattie jumped as a person's face took up her screen; she hadn't expected anyone to really be around. She'd thought everyone was either in the infirmary or already back in the living quarters. She lowered the camera, trying to explain what she was doing. "Uh, yeah. I'm...taking a tour of the base..."

"Oh. Are you allowed to do that?" he asked inquisitively.

She shrugs, laughing. "Probably not. Let's just...keep this a secret, then?"

"Well, yeah, we're risking going on the big wall they have, they probably owe us a couple home videos, right?" Daniel smiled nervously, extending his hand. "I'm Daniel, I think we were on the same transport, weren't we?"

Mattie nodded, tucking the camera under her arm to shake his hand. "Yeah, I think so. Hard to remember, really, feels like I've been here forever. Um, I'm Mattie." She looked around, trying to find a better topic to talk about. "So...you don't think we're going to wind up on the wall, right?"

That probably wasn't the best alternative.

"Nah," he said. "Probably not, anyway. We're the best of the best, so they say. I'm sure they have stuff to keep us safe out there, yeah?"

Daniel looked around aimlessly, eager to think of something else, before he could doubt his own bluff.

"Yeah, I...hope so..." Mattie bit her tongue, barely stopping herself from commenting on the fact that whatever that "stuff" was hadn't done all those names on the wall any good.

"So, uh," he said, "have you recorded the bar yet?"

She sighed, raising the camera again, pointing it back at him. "I didn't know there was a bar! Oh, yeah, you want to say anything for your folks back home? In case these wind up being required viewing for schools one day?"

"I know I'm here for my mom and sister," he said, waving a little too close to the lens. "Hi mom, hi Lana, love you guys."

Daniel gestured down the hall to where he was going. "Want to come with me? We can get a drink and talk about aliens, like crazy people."

Mattie laughed, trying to turn the camera off and cram it into her pocket. "Sure, sounds like a plan to me. Can't be too crazy if they're real, right?"

Daniel led Mattie to the bar room, a homely space beneath the gym replete with a pool table and a raised bar. With the active squad out and the medical bay almost full, the giant empty room seemed a little more haunted than relaxing.

"Well, here's the place. I've only peeked in here before, so I don't know what's actually behind the bar." Daniel walked behind the counter, looking around the cubbies and shelves. "Half of these are in random languages, must be a black market kinda guy stocking things," he mused as he thumbed through the bottles, "anything you want in particular?"

She looked around, a bit surprised, taking a seat at the counter. "I mean, I'm really just a beer girl...if I can't read the label, I don't drink it."

Mattie peered around again, checking to make sure no one else was coming in. She slid over the counter and smiled. "I've always wanted to do that. Alright, what're we lookin' at over here? Why don't I like the sound of black market imports?"

"Well, you know how it is when the base is big enough, there's always a guy who seems like he can get anything and anywhere. I wonder who that is here," he said, pulling out random clear and amber bottles as he tried to suss out the places they're sold from.

"Turkish raki, Chinese baijiu...French, Spanish, German, Russian and...fake Russian," he leaned towards her, "this one - бутан - can literally mean lighter fluid."

Daniel then pulled open the door to a mini-fridge underneath the counter, stocked with a well-dented trove of various beers and ciders. "I believe this is what you're looking for?"

She whistled as he read off the names, peering at the French and the German. "Lighter fluid? No thank you...this is what I'm after."

Mattie grabbed a beer out of the minifridge, returning back to a seat on the counter. She winced a bit as she took her first sip, hoping he didn't notice. "So, you, uh, you sound French."

"Good call, I grew up in Versailles, the place with the big house," he replied, pulling out a cup and pouring some spiced rum for himself. "My family is still there. Hopefully, they're still okay."

He looked forward pensively for a moment, cradling his drink awkwardly before snapping back to the conversation.

"How about you? Anyone waiting for you at home?"

"Versailles's beautiful. My parents honeymooned there--they love showing all the pictures," Mattie laughed, shaking her head. "I hope your family's alright. I mean, I'm sure they are."

She cleared her throat. This was supposed to be positive, she reminded herself. Time to not worry about things. "Huh? Oh, yeah. My best friend and her kid...they're who I'm making those stupid videos for. Both my folks. I'm going to have a great big welcome party if...when I get back. Small town."

"Well, I'm sure they'll appreciate a look at how we save the world and all that," he said with a chuckle. "If you can get the tapes out, anyway."

Mattie was about to respond when a loud thunk came from behind the bar wall, where the infirmary was. Seconds later, about a dozen soldiers and medics rushed in, headed directly to the memorial wall. Some were angrily stomping, others on the verge of tears, and some praying quietly. One walked up to the bar, a rookie they didn't recognize who jumped up on the counter to look at the liquors behind it.

"What happened?" Daniel asked. "Did we lose someone?"

"Lemarque," the soldier said grimly.

Daniel and Mattie both looked shocked at the news. Daniel started whispering to the soldier.

"The cyborg guy? They actually took him down?"

"Yeah, it was bullshit," he replied, looking at the ground, "one second he's gunning down everyone with that gun, then the next moment his entire suit is going up. We made 'em pay though. We made 'em pay this time..."

The soldier grabbed a bottle of whiskey and brought it over to the wall, where the others were pinning his picture with the others. Daniel felt the panic rising in his chest as he looked around aimlessly.

"Jesus...if they can take down him..." Daniel whispered to himself. "I, uh...I think I'm going to head to the range, or something. Get some practice done."

Daniel scurried out from behind the bar, almost making it to the door when Mattie called after him.

"Hey, Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to say," Mattie said with a pause, "if we get sent out...I got your back."

"Yeah, I got yours too," he replied sincerely, walking out the door with a nervous twitch.
 
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MarineAvenger

Operator 21O
Staff member
I walk the empty halls of the place I once referred to as a home. I never thought I would return here but something wouldn't let me go. These halls once contain the sounds of idle talk and happy recruits. It is all over though. These halls are empty, dark, and brings back fond memories. I keep walking until I reach a room. A room that once served as my sanctuary. Wood creations lay strewn across the tables and machines that once buzzed with life. I walk to a table that was placed in a corner that no one would pay mind to. There laid a photo. A photo that no one but me had laid eyes on. On it was a beautiful 15 year old girl who would turn 16 in a month. She had her father's eyes and her mother's face. Before I died I wish I could have seen her one last time. This is why I had become attached to a certain British recruit at the base. I figured I needed to fill the void. I never even said goodbye to her before I shipped out. I pressed two fingers to my lips and pressed them to the photo. "Goodbye sis. I'm so sorry." Wherever Irene Nightingale was I hope she is surviving the occupation. I walk down the halls one more time before I fade away. Leaving behind the base...once and for all.
 

Adrammalech

Well-Known Member
Name: Daniel Veilleux
Current Rank: N/A
Recent Missions: N/A
Recent Kills: N/A
Total Deployment Count: N/A
Total Kill Count: N/A
Status: Released

/// Entry Date: May 16, 2015; XCOM Headquarters, China

Daniel stood surprised in front of the situation monitors, a room that used to be off limits. Each screen glowed red and static, signals of failure and surrender every way you could look. The engineers and scientists boxed their goods and stripped what they could from the walls. One of the ex-officers lugging a box shouted at him from afar.

"Pack up, Veilleux, go home."

"Just like that? Go home?"

"Yes. Just get out of here."

All of these rooms used to be classified, locked with keycards and steel doors. Now everyone is just roaming around, packing what they can before the Council swoops down. The situation room told a story: only thousands in the budget despite requests for the impossible. It was typical of any government, demand results from an emaciated program, and strip it down when it fails. This is different from the normal fare though. This was for the welfare of everyone. But now, there's nothing left but these god damn red Xs on a screen, and the nations think they can handle it alone. If the governments of the world can't keep his family safe, he didn't owe them anything. They were right - it's time to go.

/// Entry Date: May 18, 2015; Versailles, France

"Daniel? What are you doing home?"

"It's time to go. Grab whatever you can carry."

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?"

"Underground. Far away."

"Why? What's happening?"

"I'll explain everything on the way. Just trust me."

/// Entry Date: May 28th, 2015; Somewhere in Europe

Daniel sat outside on a decrepid old dining room chair, watching the sun rise through the trees. Amber rays beaming towards him as they slipped through the leaves and branches of the forest. The smell of fresh pine and the chirping of birds returing to their nest. He looked at the rifle beside him, the oversized block of metal his only resort against the elements and the aliens.

"The aliens took my home, my friends, my country...but hey, they can't take away the sunrise, at least," he whispered to himself.

"Daniel? Your sister's awake," his mother called with a cough.

"How are you?"

"Don't fret over me, I'll get through it."

"I don't like that cough. I can scavenge medicines. It'll be a few days, but I can make it."

"No, Daniel," she said morosely, leaning against the rocks, "just get your sleep. I will be fine."

Daniel walked over to his sister, handing her the rifle. The meek would-be scientist looking back at him with constantly steeled eyes. She gripped the giant gun, the size of the cutting-edge weapon looking even more ridiculous on her.

"Stay sharp, you never know when they might come," he said.

"I'd like to see them try," she said with a cocky grin.

Daniel made his way back into the cave they had settled in somewhere in the European countryside, laying down on his bedroll, combating the thoughts of guilt as he let the world around him burn. He shifted around as he thought freely, trying to ignore the pistol bulging underneath his pillow. Whether he died or not, he would still die protecting his loved ones. He would still die with a gun in his hand.
 
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