18+ XCOM: Enemy Unleashed

Ben had listened to the girl Jen talk a bit more. He guessed that he really was lucky to have survived. Suddenly he got a message that the group should move into the gym.

"Hey guys, and gals, I think we should move to the gym for of practice with ol' King Duncan."

The rest of the group nodded their heads and said a few words in agreement. The group moved to the gym area, and as they arrived they saw Duncan talking with an Indian man and another man. Ben walked over to the area, and heard the man introduce himself as Nathan Black. He had heard some longer name uttered before that but had not quite caught what exactly was said.

Ben introduced himself to both Nathan and the other man. "So, Duncan, I guess this is a bit better circumstances than before? So, did you have anything in mind for us or should we just go lift some weights or something?"

"So, Duncan, I guess this is a bit better circumstances than before? So, did you have anything in mind for us or should we just go lift some weights or something?"
Duncan took stock of the new arrival. Realising where he'd seen him before, the Scot found himself awkwardly scratching his head. Their first encounter could have gone better.
"Hey there, Graham. Sorry about earlier, had a lot on my mind. I dont suppose you've met Jennifer yet?".

With that he began to look around at all the equipment. Nothing in particular caught his attention, so he just decided to go for a jog on a random treadmill. Before he started though, he nodded to Ben, Nathan, & the others, who were also arriving.
"Whatever you folk's want to try, help yourself". He thought of Issah's mission. "I have a feeling we might be needed in top shape in the days to come". With that Duncan started a steady jog on his treadmill.

It looked like they were supposed to lift weights and not shoot aliens after all. This heightened Jen's already pissy mood so she strolled into the gym after knocking over Duncan's coffee cup once again. "Oops." She said to herself sarcastically. Everyone was there when she got inside, working out on something or other. Duncan was pounding away on a treadmill, probably blowing off steam that Jen helped create. Grahm and Miller looked like they were eyeing some weights and Elizaveta had hopped on an elliptical and was looking rather graceful on it. Jen decided she wanted to punch something so she headed over to a punching bag a middle eastern looking guy had just got done with. She could only get in a few slugs before she was interrupted. A low pitched but ear splitting alarm started blaring overhead and was accompanied by a computer voice that sounded eerily like Jen.

"ALIEN ABDUCTION SITES DETECTED." The voice said. "ALL ACTIVE PERSONNEL REPORT TO READINESS STATIONS."

"Central Command to the Barracks, this is Central Officer Bradford. I need Corporal MacIntosh and his new recruits up here now. You're all being deployed and Dr. Vahlin has a few special requests. Get moving."

"Oh HELL yes!" Jen shouted, wasting no time sprinting out of the weight room toward the hallway that led from the Barracks to Central.

Jen didn't shake Liz's hand; she just glared absent-mindedly at her.
"Hey."
Liz lowered her hand, grimacing, just before two more big American men turned up; Jen seemed determined to piss these two off even more than she had been the Corporal.
"2nd Lt. Jennifer Scott. Marines, 4th Armored Infantry. I've been thinking about transferring to the rangers actually. I've seen Black Hawk Down and played Modern Warfare 2 on Veteran so I'd say I'm more than qualified."
Liz couldn't help but let off a wry smile as Jen grinned up at the Ranger, and Miller spat out his water as he laughed. Ben, the Ranger, managed to hold himself steady, apparently earning him a bit of respect from Jen. Miller mentioned something about their military nicknames; Army dogs, Jarheads, Navy Twats, and Special Forces Primadonnas. These were all American nicknames; Liz murmured a few words to herself, the name her Ukrainian squadmates had given to the snipers in the Army.
"Pryvyd."
No-one seemed to notice, mainly because Jen was talking in her loud voice again. She and Ben Graham were exchanging information on the aliens, whom they'd apparently had previous experience with. Liz had to admit, she wasn't unnerved by much; but what these two were saying unnerved her.

"Hey, where the fluff did William Wallace go? Thought we had a mission to do, not sit around in the lunch room and fluff with each other."
If 'William Wallace' was supposed to be a reference to something, Liz didn't get it. Perhaps it was an American thing.
"Hey guys and gals, I think we should move to the gym for a bit of practice with Ol' King Duncan."
Liz nodded, and followed the rest of her squad to the gym. She was just behind Jen, who noticed Mac's new coffee cup and knocked it over on purpose.
"Oops," she murmured to herself. Liz chuckled quietly behind her, finding Jen's rudeness strangely endearing. She didn't approve, but she couldn't help but enjoy it.

Duncan was running on a treadmill, quite fast. Graham and Miller, predictably, went straight to the weights, but Liz didn't have the same fitness requirements as a normal soldier. Upper body strength was important, but stamina and leg musclemass was far more important, to be able to relocate if necessary. So, she jumped on an elliptical, beginning to 'run' on it and watching Jen head over to the punching bag that had just been occupied by the Indian-looking man Duncan had been speaking to.

Barely ten seconds later, an ear-piercing alarm burst out of the speakers, accompanied by a voice.
"ALIEN ABDUCTION SITES DETECTED. ALL ACTIVE PERSONNEL REPORT TO READINESS STATIONS." This voice was quickly replaced by a calm male voice that sounded less like a computer.
"Central Command to the Barracks; this is Central Officer Bradford. I need Corporal McIntosh and his new recruits up here now. You're all being deployed, and Dr Vahlen has a few special requests. Get moving."
"Oh, HELL yes!" Jen shouted, sprinting out of the gym toward Command. Liz leaped off of the elliptical, jogging along behind her.

With the whole squad assembled in Command, Bradford began to speak.
"For this mission I will personally be providing Intel to the squad prior to deployment, to ensure that the squad can perform at maximum efficency on the field. You are being deployed to Paris, France, to deal with an abduction crisis. More will be explained closer to your deployment." He saluted to the squad, letting them drift away to gear up before heading toward Duncan. The two men had a brief conversation, before Bradford saluted and made his departure.

Liz couldn't help but be amazed by the Skyranger; such a huge, yet graceful thing. She shook herself out of her stupor, joining her team at the weapons lockers to retrieve her gear. She strapped on her body armour, slotting her sidearm into the holster on her thigh. Her beloved knife was strapped to the front of her shoulder, hilt pointing downwards so she could easily access it. And finally, she grabbed her sniper rifle, wiping the dust away from the scope. With that, she walked up the ramp into the Skyranger, sat down in one of the seats, and mentally prepared herself for what was likely to be the most difficult fight of her life.
...Until the next operation, that is.

"Central Command to the Barracks, this is Central Officer Bradford. I need Corporal MacIntosh and his new recruits up here now. You're all being deployed and Dr. Vahlin has a few special requests. Get moving."
Duncan, having grown somewhat short of breath after his vigorous exercise on the treadmill, almost replied to the intercom. He hadnt expected any action that morning. If it was an abduction then he was guessing it wasn't Issah's work. Washing off his sweat with a nearby towel, Duncan assembled the team. Or at least, those who hadn't already sprinted off.

"OK people. This is the first time any of you are gonna have a fighting chance of killing some X-ray bastards. I understand some of you have some... personal vendetta's with our adversaries, but I remind you that we are a professional force, and even with humanities finest tech there's a good chance we'll have our work cut out for us. Do not let your emotions-" Duncan noticed his spilt coffee, and paused for a split-second, "- threaten the mission, the team, or the planet in general. Now go gear up and i'll meet you all back in the hanger".

Then he too left the gym, with several calls of enthusiasm and support from the other opeatives throughout the room. Heading to the Barracks to gear up, the Scot wondered where they would be deployed to. He knew that Command sometimes had to make tough choices, especially with the low number of pilots available for the Skyrangers (some ships were never recovered from the field, and every pilot carried at least a sidearm after the failed OPERATION: SCALING WINDS). As he arrived in the locker room of the barracks and began to slip on his Nano-fiber vest, Duncan silently began to speculate on where they were going.

Arriving at the hanger to see the team mostly assembled, the Corporal stood in line with his crew as CO Bradford made his way over, with Sergeant Jacob following behind. Judging from their expressions the two seemed to have recently had a heated discussion
Bradford took stock of the team, then his eyes rested on Duncan. The friendliness the two of them usually shared felt absent, and the American had to pause before speaking to the entire squad.
"For this mission I will personally be providing Intel to the squad prior to deployment, to ensure that the squad can perform at maximum efficency on the field. You are being deployed to Paris, France, to deal with an abduction crisis. More will be explained closer to your deployment", the CO informed them. He then saluted to the group, and as they made their way onto the Skyranger Bradford re-focused his attention of Duncan, who panicked, thinking that Jacob might have let something slip. Fortunatly this was not the case.

He glanced over at the new recruits buckling up, and Bradford's expression softened briefly. "Dr Vahlen has put in a request for this group. She wants... bodies, so that her people can perform some autopsies. I understand some of the recruits may have some trauma in relation to the X-rays, so we have a back-up carrier on stand-by to collect any intact fatalities". Duncan tried to point out that if his crew did make it through the day then bodies wouldent be of much concern to their mental states, but the commanding officer had already turned away. As he left, the Sergeant gave him a quick nod and walked over, carrying a handheld device in his hand that gave off a peculiar buzzing noise.
"This is a little something I had produced in engineering. I think you'll find it useful".
Duncan looked at the strange device, feeling confused and even a bit worried.
"What is it?"
"It's an Arc Thrower. Hit an E.T. with it at close range and you can stun them".

The Corporal nodded, now knowing where the sergeant was going with this. "We dont have the facilities to interrogate one of the aliens properly-" Jacob interrupted him. "You let me worry about that". And with that he too was gone.
Walking onto the Skyranger, Duncan looked at his crew, unsure of what to say. He finally spoke after sitting down, and hearing the jets pushing the ship off of the ground. "So... you all happy with your new toys?"

Dipprasad was about to head back to his barracks when an alarm suddenly went off "ALIEN ABDUCTION SITES DETECTED. ALL ACTIVE PERSONNEL REPORT TO READINESS STATIONS." This voice was then replaced by a male voice. "Central Command to the Barracks; this is Central Officer Bradford. I need Corporal McIntosh and his new recruits up here now. You're all being deployed, and Dr Vahlen has a few special requests. Get moving.".

As the others ran off to be briefed and then gear up for the mission he decided to follow them to Central as he didn't know which squad he was in yet so now was the best time. after the team had been briefed and went off to gear up Dipprasad walked over to Bradford "Officer Bradford" he said as Bradford turned round "ah Dipprasad what can I do for you today?" he asked glad to help "I need to know which squad I'm in, if it's not too much trouble" he replied "Of course it's no trouble at all, infact your squad just left to get geared up for their first mission" he said pointing in the direction they had gone "Thank you" Dipprasad said before walking off towards the armory.

after collecting his rifle Dipprasad went to his room, putting his rifle on the bed he opened his wardrobe and picked out a custom Lightweight Ballistic Vest with rectangular pockets on the front meant for ammo clips. quickly slipping it on he grabbed 4 rifle clips and put 2 clips in one pocket and 2 in another, he then strapped two elbow and knee pads on before grabbing a drawer handle and opening to reveal a belt with a holster on it and a Glock 19 with one ammo clip already in it and 3 more next to it. strapping the belt on Dipprasad slotted his pistol into the holster and then grabs the pistol clips and pocketed them, putting on his Terai slouch hat he then grabbed his kurki and strapped it to the back of his pants before grabbing his rifle and heading out to the hangar.

arriving at the hangar he saw his squad being briefed on something called an "Arc Thrower" before they started to file into the Skyranger "Corporal MacIntosh, Central Officer Bradford has informed me that I am to join your squad and have our first mission so, Lance naik/Lance Corporal Dipprasad Dharmadhoj of the 7th Gurkha Rifles, 1st Battalion Reporting for Duty sir. I was deployed to the mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan carrying out several impossible missions within a circular 150 mile ratio of the area and of course, successfully coming out on the top. because some can't say my Nepal name they simply call me by my British name Nathan Black, I was nicknamed Captain by my peers and it stuck like glue," Dipprasad said proudly and waited for Duncan's response.

Jake wiggled around in his seat. He had a Shotgun on his back, a pistol in a holster on his leg, and a Bowie knife in its sheath, on his boot. His Assault Rifle was resting in between his legs. The Corporal walked in, and asked if the Squad liked their new "Toys", to which Jake replied "Oorah!". The Skyranger began to lift off from the ground. The ship shook a little bit as they left the hanger, and then smoothed out. Jake began to settle into his seat, next to Liz, when there was a big turbulence bump. Jake flew up into the air and landed awkwardly back in his seat. The pilot came on and explained they were still working out a few kinks in the ship. The seat was a little small for his size, but he was determined to be as comfortable as possible for the duration of the trip.

Jen grabbed her gear and sprinted aboard the Skyranger, heedless of the weight of the rocket launcher on her back and light machine gun in her arms. Years of training and combat experience had made her used to the weight of such heavy ordnance and all the ammo she was loaded down with made her bolder rather than slower. For some reason, regulations dictated she only carry the rocket her launcher was loaded with and she couldn't sneak another on board without someone noticing. That didn't stop her from sneaking a couple of extra grenades though. Once on board she slung her rocket launcher off her back and rolled it under her seat where it would stay, keeping her machine gun in between her legs. She was across from Millar, who looked uncomfortable in his seat. Considering the guy was huge and ripped and with all the gear he was carrying she understood. Liz looked a bit nervous, which she also understood. Ops like this were always risky but a good soldier used that nervous energy to concentrate on not screwing up. Jen assumed this woman would do so and if not, well, all wars have casualties.

"So... you all happy with your new toys?" Duncan asked. Jen grinned in response to Miller's "Oorah!" She tapped her rocket launcher with her foot. "You bet your ass I am. Just stay the fluff out of my blast zone. First x-ray I see's gettin' blown to fluffin' bits. fluff trying to capture 'em I say."

In accordance with this attitude Jen had "forgotten" the arc thrower that was assigned to her back at the base. She wasn't about to give these aliens any sort of chance to survive this encounter and she didn't care about what the nerd scientists wanted. Any interrogation would probably end up in the aliens dying anyway and even if they did learn something, what could it be worth? These aliens breath oxygen, use guns the same way as humans and die if you shoot them. What else did they need to know.

Jake sat down next to Liz, his seat clearly a little too small for him. No matter which way he sat down, he was forced to spill over into Liz's seat a bit. She didn't mind though; she was small enough to shuffle over and still have space. Mac sat down in a seat on the opposite side of the Skyranger.

"So... you all happy with your new toys?"
Jake replied with a loud "Oorah", clearly part of his US Marine history. Jen grinned in response, tapping her new rocket launcher with her foot.
"You bet your ass I am. Just stay the fl*ff out of my blast zone. First X-ray I see's gettin' blown to fl*ffin' bits. fl*ff trying to capture 'em, I say."
Liz was starting to like Jen; despite her close-minded, set-in-her-ways attitude, Liz could already tell Jen would be valuable to the squad's morale.
"Not if I get it first, suka," Liz said, grinning at Jen and tapping the tip of her rifle's barrel. Jen seemed to understand the curse, even if it wasn't her native language, and smirked back, apparently accepting the challenge.

The Skyranger hit a bit of turbulence, and Jake was thrown up out of his chair, landing awkwardly. Liz chuckled, but put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to keep him down if the jet hit any more kinks.

Ben had barely started to lift any amount of weight when the alarm went off. Suddenly a loud voice yelled about alien abductions. And for personnel to report to readiness stations. Naturally, Ben was a little excited. He rushed off to grab all his gear. He noticed the assault rifle felt more powerful than his old Ranger rifle had been. He got his uniform on -- his first time seeing it -- and rushed onto the Skyranger where the rest of the team was assembling. As he ran on, he saw an unfamiliar Indian man talking to Duncan. After a very short time they too were on and the mighty Skyranger lifted into the air.

"So... you all happy with your new toys?" Duncan asked

"You bet your ass I am. Just stay the fluff out of my blast zone. First x-ray I see's gettin' blown to fluffin' bits. fluff trying to capture 'em I say." Jen said, and Ben had not expected any better oration from the woman.

"Not if I get it first, suka," Liz said. Ben smiled at the interaction. It reminded him of his Ranger squad.

Suddenly there was a bit of rough turbulence, and Jake seemed to fly out of his chair for a moment. It made everybody smile.

"I'm not sure about this arc thrower. I will use it only if it is convenient, I suppose. I didn't decide to survive an ambush in the mountains of Hell just to die trying to help some sick science experiment."

Duncan was surprised at the upbeat chorus of replies. Normally recruits were nervous about their first encounter. Then again, some of these people weren't new to the extraterrestrial scene.
"Corporal MacIntosh, Central Officer Bradford has informed me that I am to join your squad and have our first mission so, Lance naik/Lance Corporal Dipprasad Dharmadhoj of the 7th Gurkha Rifles, 1st Battalion Reporting for Duty sir. I was deployed to the mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan carrying out several impossible missions within a circular 150 mile ratio of the area and of course, successfully coming out on the top. because some can't say my Nepal name they simply call me by my British name Nathan Black, I was nicknamed Captain by my peers and it stuck like glue,"

The Corporal paused to take this all in. "... nice to have you on team... Nathan...". That being said, the guys military history was quite impressive, so he gave the guy a pat on the back as he sat down next to him.
The response had begun to lead to small conversations between the groups members on the jet. With eight people on board there was a sense of confidence in the air. The Arc throwers were a particular topic of conversation. Ben questioned him on the value of these devices, and Duncan had to think about it.
"I'm not too sure about them either, and you're looking at a guy carrying a Shotgun. But even XCOM's knowledge of the X-rays is finite. Hostages are always useful too".

As the Skyranger entered French airspace a Hologram of Bradford came up on screen, along with some surveillance shots of their destination.
The central officer looked at the group, or at least in their direction. Duncan had always wondered what it was like on the other end of the device, whether they could see who they were talking to.
"You're being deployed to a train station in Central Paris. Abduction pods have been at work, and there is light alien movement in the area. Fortunatly the city has been evacuated, so no need to worry about civillians. Neutralize any threats you encounter, and-" for a moment Bradford's projection seemed to look at a Arc thrower that lay on the floor -"remember to use your equipment to benefit our cause". With that his image and the screen dissapeared. Minutes later, the Skyranger began its landing sequence, and everybody began to gather their gear as the door opened.
"Have fun!" Quinn called, as the 7-person team ran onto the streets of France.

The chatter piped down on board the transport as a hologram flickered into existence, in the shape of Central Officer Bradford. He began to give a more in-depth briefing on the deployment.
"You're being deployed to a train station in central Paris. Abduction pods have been at work, and there is light alien movement in the area. Fortunately, the area has been evacuated, so no need to worry about civilians. Neutralize any threats you encounter and remember to use your equipment to benefit our cause." And suddenly, he was gone. Within minutes, the squad began to gather their equipment as the Skyranger began to shudder through the landing sequence, and the 7 newly-acquainted soldiers spilled out onto the street.

Liz had always wanted to visit Paris; it had a mystical lure about it, something that attracted people across the world to it. She hadn't exactly planned on her visit being under these circumstances, however. She kept her rifle to her shoulder, glancing around the rooftops with narrowed eyes, looking for anywhere the aliens might have placed a sniper of their own. She couldn't spot anywhere nearby that had the ideal height; all the roofs around were either too high to get a good shot, or too low to be inconspicuous. Satisfied, she followed the squad forward into the train station.

It was a wide open space, with a few trains left abandoned on their tracks, and a couple of small waiting rooms with large glass windows. No real nests to be seen, so Liz would be up against it here. There was plenty of decent cover around the corners of the waiting rooms, but the majority that she could see besides were just small waist-high areas, under the trains' windows, for instance. She figured she'd be best off as far back as possible, so she rushed forward, stepping almost silently, crouching behind a train. Leaning round to the side, she saw nothing but darkness. She couldn't tell whether there were any aliens buried in the pitch black, so decided to play it safe; she stayed where she was, signalling to Duncan that she couldn't see any, but to stay vigilant anyway. These aliens had already proved themselves to be hostile to humans, and Liz had no intention of causing a death or injury among the squad, so she figured she couldn't really play it too safe here.

Brandon watched as more recruits joined them in the Gym, lifting weights, jogging on the spot, clearly getting into the best of shape but the lost thing they needed were fatigued soldiers who pushed themselves too hard exercising and then lacked on the field. Boundaries would clearly need to be put into place. There was loud cling, and the noise originated from Duncan’s ceramic mug which somebody knocked over, probably the lady closest to it. He wouldn’t call that to her face though, and she eventually settled in at a punching that recently opened up.

Brandon barely had time to think about anything before a low pitched alarm sounded.

"ALIEN ABDUCTION SITES DETECTED. ALL ACTIVE PERSONNEL REPORT TO READINESS STATIONS." A voice read, before it was replaced with "Central Command to the Barracks; this is Central Officer Bradford. I need Corporal McIntosh and his new recruits up here now. You're all being deployed, and Dr Vahlen has a few special requests. Get moving."

He wondered if he was a part of this group, he certainly wasn’t new. “Should go see what it’s about,” He mumbled to himself before moving over to his small office, throwing the files he had in his person onto the desk and threw on his protective vest. Before he left he made sure he had an extra few clips and double checked his Pistol, which was in perfect working order.

He walked down the passage and into the hanger while CO Bradford was briefing Duncan’s Squad, or rather at the end of the briefing while an Arc Thrower was handed to Duncan. Brandon slipped into the passage seat of the Skyranger fitting the co-pilot’s mask onto his head before the actual pilot got in. Quinn (hopefully the pilot’s name is Quinn) gave a nod before lifting the Skyranger into the air. Brandon could at least fly the thing, but not as grand as Quinn could and the thing did have an emergency auto-pilot if he did happen to fall unconscious. A holographic image appeared in the back of the compartment, the voice belonged to Bradford.

"You're being deployed to a train station in Central Paris. Abduction pods have been at work, and there is light alien movement in the area. Fortunatly the city has been evacuated, so no need to worry about civillians. Neutralize any threats you encounter, and-" for a moment Bradford's projection seemed to look at an Arc thrower that lay on the floor -"remember to use your equipment to benefit our cause" He made the last part seem as equally important as our lives.

The Skyranger landed, Brandon got out and put on a pair of black visors to protect his eyes. He glanced over at the other six members of the squad, and wondered how well they would work together. Paris is a beautiful city and he wouldn’t mine coming back here at least when the aliens are dealt with. He ended up at the back of the squad, briskly walking, taking note of their surroundings and their rear flank. One of the other recruits was checking the rooftops, before they all made their way into the train station.

Jen practically jumped out of the Skyranger when it landed, taking the cap off of her rocket launcher and rolling out the extra grenades. She added them to the others on her bandoleer, six in all. She was also carrying a large amount of machine gun ammo and the machine gun itself. Between all this she only had room for one rocket, the one loaded in the tube, so she'd have to use grenades and covering fire as much as possible, avoid wasting ammo and make her one rocket really count. She had been in similar situations in Afganistan and deferred to her CO's where to use her rocket. She would do the same for Duncan, regardless of their poor first impression.

Liz was out first and was already scanning rooftops, probably for a good vantage point while keeping an eye out for any x-rays. Jen was out next and then everyone else filed out, with two guys Jen hadn't been introduced to establishing a rearguard. Both looked like riflemen armed with smoke grenades. One was an Indian looking guy and the other was another white guy. Strong looking but not as ripped as Grahm or Miller. Jen also gathered from their body language that they were experienced operatives, not rookies like her and the rest. It was always good to have veterans in a new squad like this. It kept everyone calm and focused and it reminded Jen that she was in the presence of someone who knew more about the enemy than her and that she should listen. After all, she was a bi*ch but she was an observant bi*ch.

A few seconds after disembarking Jen spotted a large square pillar, big enough for her to hide behind and with decent line of sight if she poked her head out. It was also part of the big roof where the trains stopped under and where passengers boarded so she'd have overhead cover when she advanced to the other side. She immediately sprinted over to the pillar and took cover, putting her back to it. She shifted her body to the left and stuck her head out. Then did the same thing for the right. From what she could see, all was clear. In order to not reveal her position to anyone she couldn't see she used hand signals to communicate the lack of contacts and that it was okay for everyone else to move up.

The Skyranger landed, and Ben saw for the first time the city of Paris. It was a nice place, he would've loved to visit any other time. Yet somehow alien abductions seem to dampen the good side of things. The squad quickly moved out, the amalgamation of random soldiers from different countries with different stories working together for the first time. Ben decided it was poetic, but he sadly was never much of a poet.

They made their way into the train station, a rather disturbing place while abandoned. Train stations are practically non-existent in America, so Ben had never seen one. France, he realized, was much smaller and trains would be able to travel anywhere rather quickly. Next he wondered why he was wondering about trains at a time when he had only recently been in a battle with Aliens and was now willingly enrolled in a group that did nothing but fight aliens. He decided to not think about it and to focus on the mission.

Liz took up a more forward position, checking the rooftops to ensure that they were not about to all die from an ambush. Ben knew that was a smart idea, being straight from the Afghan War where such activities were common. Jen was not far behind, taking up a position behind a pillar. She made some hand gestures to state that it was clear. Ben and Miller were in the center with an Indian and another man acting as a rearguard.

Ben was a natural scout, so he did not really want Rocket Girl and Sniper Gal to be ahead of him. How could he know if they really knew how to tell the difference between natural sounds and footsteps? Why would a Sniper be a good scout anyway; sniper's literally have someone else to spot for them.

He moved on ahead of them, taking residence on the corner of a building. With his back straight to the wall, he was facing the group. He peered around the corner, listening for any sounds. He was about to gesture all clear, when he could have swore that he heard some footsteps. He gestured that he heard something despite not being certain. Better safe than sorry, after all.

After the briefing the Skyranger landed and dropped it's ramp and Dipprasad stepped off the skyranger and onto the street he held up his rifle and switched the safety off before quietly running behind a plant thing and looked around, seeing no one he waited for the others. Once they caught up Dipprasad joined with another male soldier and somewhat established a rearguard.

While moving up a female sniper glancing around the rooftops for hostiles while another female soldier took cover at a pillar and made an hand movement to say all clear to which Dipprasad and three other men moved forward before one of them broke off, took cover on a corner of a building and gestured that he heard something, Dipprasad nodded and slowly moved behind an ad board and peered round to see what was making the noise.

It was a grey alien of about 4,0 with a small weak-looking body but had a big head and was holding a strange green glowing gun luckily it was facing away so it didn't see him look round. Dipprasad turned back to face the others and started describing what was behind him with hand gestures like how short it was or what the distance was like between it and him.

As everyone began taking places around the abduction site, Duncan felt a rush of adrenaline course through his body. Nodding to Quinn to confirm the safety of their landing site, the Corporal then turned round to look for defendable positions, only to find the group already in action. Their sniper was safely behind a train, but poor visibility meant that Liz's response was to remain cautious. Moments later Ben signalled that he could hear some movement from his position next to a small building within the station. Things were escalating fast.

Lifting his weapon in preparation, Duncan decided to stay near the back of the group, letting the others get the feel of a real-life combat scenario. After a brief glance behind his cover Nathan confirmed a x-ray; based on his description they were dealing with a sectoid. Knowing of these creatures habits to operate in groups, Duncan then gave several commands; he gestured to Ben to keep an overwatch of his and Nathan's position, and motioned for Jen and Brandon to cover their own area. Unsure of what to do with Liz and her Sniper, he made a pistol shape with his finger, reminding her to keep her secondary weapon ready, for in the event of any aliens breaching the groups makeshift semi-circle. Finally he nodded to Dipprasad, signaling for him to take the shot.

Jake jumped out of the Skyranger, making a dull thud as he landed on the ground. His shotgun was on his back, strapped, and he was holding his assault rifle up and ready. Looking around as the others took up positions, he quickly followed after Ben, falling into position a few paces behind the man, taking cover behind a pillar. It was eerily quiet. Jake started to move forward, when a faint noise was heard ahead of him. Ben turned around, signalling with hand motions that he had spotted a sectoid. Jake's grip tightened on his rifle as he prepared for action. Looking back at Duncan, he saw him motioning with hand signals, Dipprasad was to take the shot, and there was no signals involving Jake, so he settled back behind the pillar again. Suddenly, a loud static like noise erupted through Jake's com system, temporarily deafening him. he yanked the communication unit out of his ear, and set it on the ground, rubbing his ear, gently. Looking up, he tried to figure out if the others had experienced the same burst in their com units as well.

Duncan nodded to Dipprasad, signaling for him to take the shot Dipprasad nodded back to him and peered round again to take the shot but it wasn't there. "what the fluff?!" he said quietly and then moving to the other side but before he look round a grey hand holding that strange glowing gun appeared Dipprasad was about to take it out but his communication unit suddenly let out an ear-piercing noise causing to fire his rifle but missed as his aim moved a little to the left from the pain before dropping his rifle by accident.

the x-ray turned to look at him and it almost seemed like it was smiling at him even though it have no mouth, before holding up it's weapon to shoot him. Dipprasad acted quickly fighting though the pain he knocked away it's weapon with a backhand from his left causing a shot to go off in a random direction and at the same time pulled his kukri out from it's sheath and stabbed the x-ray in the stomach and then stabbed it again in the chest to be sure before letting it drop to the ground.

after pulling out his communication unit and dropping it on the floor he sheathed his kukri and picked up his rifle "X-ray down and I suggest taking off whatever comms you have, oh that stings" he said nursing his ear, waiting for his hearing come back as he quickly moved behind a plant pot and took a breather for a minute.

Duncan told Liz to keep her sidearm at the ready, then signalled for Nathan (or Dipprasad; Liz wasn't quite sure what to call him) to take the shot on the alien he'd spotted. Nathan nodded, but seemed to have lost it. His bewildered look vanished in an instant when he was fired upon, and tried to return fire before dropping his rifle. Liz was ready to leap out and give covering fire for him to grab it again, but it wasn't necessary. Nathan managed to slap away the alien's pistol before stabbing it twice with his knife.

He grabbed his rifle again.
"X-ray down, and I suggest taking off whatever comms you have; oh, that stings." He rubbed his ear as he ran to cover. Liz kept her earpiece in place, however, figuring that she was unlikely to be under fire like the rest of them were. She slid her rifle round to her back, hanging by its strap, before drawing her pistol from her thigh holster and waiting for an order from Duncan.