Chronicle 1, Episode 1, Chapter 10

The Interstell Chronicles

Episode 1 - War from Above

Chapter 10:-

After his six months in a coma, it took another two months recuperating, with physio-therapy regimes, a controlled diet, and test after test before he was deemed fit to leave hospital, plus another month at home convalescing.
The doctors were still scratching their heads as Matthew walked out the front door into the late July air. Having a medical background working as a nurse, Matthew had also looked over his chart, and he was also surprised that he had made the recovery he had. His medical reports showed that he had suffered massive blunt trauma from a tree falling on him, along with acid burns from the contents of a Muton’s stomach. But they didn’t know that of course. They had filled a report with the department of the environments to try to find the cause of the acid burn, and the military had kindly offered the services of a special branch that looked at chemicals and chemical leaks.
That branch was of course an XCOM field science team that had used his burns as an excuse to close of the area, claiming that they had found some dumped toxic chemicals, but in actual fact allowed them extend time to clean up the mess left over from the battle against the alien landings.
The tidy up operation had only financed two months ago, and he had persuaded his commanding officer on a visit to tell him what they had found that had needed seven months to clear up.
He had been shocked to fins that the Aliens had actually been building an underground base to monitor the country. Live aliens that they has captured from that day had provided massive amounts of intelligence, including the fact that they were suspicious of the fact that their UFO flights over Europe were being tracked and intercepted, hence the monitoring outpost.
Though an indication of the troubles ahead, Matthew had developed more troubles with his family. His parents seemed to accept the fact that he had been back in the country on a recruitment drive to help support the fictional charity that had been established to cover intelligence operations, but his brother certainly did not accept the story.
But then again he was a police officer, and as such was used to telling truth from lies.
His return to duty after nine months away was a welcome change.

Matthew knocked on the door to the commanders office on level three of the base. The light over the door changed to green and he walked in through the glass door. The office was triangular shaped, located in the south eastern corner of the Operations room. A typical office style desk was placed in the south eastern corner, and the commander was sitting behind it, looking through the floor to ceiling transparent wall that looked over the ops. room.
He knew that Matthew was standing there, but he was still looking out the window, so Matthew just stood at ease off to one side.
Commander Quentin sighed and turned his attention to the paperwork sitting in front of him on the desk.
"Welcome back to duty Mr. Hunter, please sit." He said gesturing to one of the two chairs facing the desk. Matthew moved forward and took the one that faced the door more.
"How do you feel?" hardly an unsurprising question.
"Fine sir. Eager to get back to duty." The commander nodded and looked up and into his eyes.
It was at that point that Matthew noticed how tired the man looked. He had first seen him over a year ago when he barged into the Operations room and had a conflict with the second in command when the two had literally frozen upon hearing event on the radio that signaled the demise of the first tactical squad to engage the aliens on the ground.
His once dark hair was now graying at the temples, and the lines around his eyes were getting deeper. His eyes themselves, once a brown so dark they looked near black, but were now without that sparkle.
"I know your a smart man Mr. Hunter, so I will dispense with the pleasant talk. We are in trouble. Some of it you know about, some of it is classified above your current level. That I can rectify by offering you the rank of lieutenant commander and assigning you as third in command of your previous squad. That brings your intelligence rating up enough for me to discuss your next mission."
Matthew took the insignia from the commanders outstretched hand and replaced the one on his right chest. The commander then handed over a folder, emblazoned on two side with TOP SECRET and EYES ONLY.
"Follow me please lieutenant." The commander stood ands moved out from behind his desk and over to the second door that led out of his office. This door accessed a short dimly lit corridor that ran behind the main operations monitor on the east end of the operations center. The corridor terminated in the north east corner of the floor, where the base had a secure conference room.
The conference room had the same design as the commanders office, but instead of having a desk, it was outfitted with a lozenge shaped table, that already had some of the command staff sitting around it. Matthew took the last remaining seat nearest the exit to the operations room, sitting to the left of Commander Finch, while Commander Quentin stood at the end of the table farthest from the door.
"Gentlemen, this meeting is classified and compartmentalized. Discussion of any details outside this room with result in the severest of reprimands." Quentin sat and opened the folder on his desk, and everyone else at the table followed suit.
"XCOM intelligence had determined that the Chinese government had been bribed by the Aliens into allowing them free reign within their boarders in exchange for advanced technology."
From the fact that half the table did not react to this news meant that they already knew. But the other people were obviously startled. But like good soldiers, none talked, they just gapped openmouthed at Quentin.
"We have been unable to locate the source of the insurgency by the aliens, despite sending a dozen agents to china over the past four weeks. As you can imagine, this information is disturbing. It means that the Chinese government have withdrawn all covert support to XCOM."
What? Matthew was not sure if he heard that right, so raised his hand slightly to ask. "Yes lieutenant?"
Erm… what support was China giving to us? Last I heard, they didn’t even know we existed!"
"My applause. I forgot to bring up that piece of information. About six months ago, XCOM created a treaty that most of the worlds nations signed. It allowed us to recruit personnel from their military forces, purchase equipment at discounted prices and operate freely within their boarders, as long as senior ministers could monitor our activities via a liaison officer. Only a few countries opted out, including Iran, Iraq, Cuba, North Korea and a few in Africa and South America. Four weeks ago, our envoy to the Chinese government was informed that she was to leave the country, and tell all XCOM operatives they had forty eight hours to cease all activities. Any found within Chinese boarders after that point would be detained without trial, and executed if necessary. We made a show of pulling out of our offices, and allowed them to tail a few operatives out of the country. But they were not aware of how far we had penetrated their government. General Barton?"
The man sitting immediately to Quentin’s right sat up in his seat more and turned the page in the report in front of him. The man was balding, but still had a thick black and gray mustache, and he was quite heavy set, and bore a remarkable resemblance to Stalin.
"We have increased our intelligence operations inside China three fold, but as yet we have little solid information to go on. Reports of UFO’s in china were often dismissed by authorities, and they have the lowest spotting rate of any developed country in the world. At least till now. We have a contact in place, called agent 20, that has been able to erm…. procure certain documents that indicate the rise in UFO activity in remote areas. We also have reports that show the Aliens have offered, and given advanced technology to the Chinese military."
Quentin sat forward again and flicked a switch built in to the table. The lights dimmed and on the wall a display came to life, showing an ariel photograph of a military installation. General Barton used a laser pointer from his pocket to help continue the briefing.
"This is supposedly the most secret Air base the Chinese military has. It is in a remote area of Northern China, surrounded by mountains, and only accessible by air, or a secret railroad that winds through the valleys. Satellites have detected some unusual readings which we are learning to attribute to the Alien UFO’s."
The picture began scrolling slowly across the screen as the film progressed. It paused again, and Commander Quentin placed a pointer on another structure as it became framed in the middle of the picture. "This is the objective. It is the main hangar of the base, and according to American Intel, has an advanced laboratory and servicing area underneath.."
The pictures distorted slightly as the image was suddenly magnified. "Notice the tiered security layers. Armed guards on foot patrol the entire perimeter of the building, including the roof. Getting a team in will be hard, but we believe possible."
Matthew tore his eyes away from the picture, a growing sense of unease in his gut. "Sir?"
Commander Quentin turned to face down the table. If he was annoyed at having his meeting interrupted again, he showed no signs. "Yes Mr. Hunter?"
Matthew gestured to his two fellow squadmates next to him. "I take it we are in here because we are the team going in?"
Quentin nodded. "You have a problem with that?"
Matthew looked back at the picture, unable to shake the sense of dread. "No sir." What else could he say? I dot feel right about this? It was probably just unease at having his first operative mission after his accident.
"Good, then I will continue. The building, as you can see is set nearly in the middle of the base, but is about 100 yards from any other structure. Getting into the base and the building will have to be worked out on site. We can’t get enough details from satellites, and a spy plane would be easily intercepted by the sophisticated air tracking system. Insertion to China will be a Halo drop from an American plane about 100 miles away over a lake. You will then meet up with the contact network we have established in the area, who will get you closer to the base."
Quentin turned off the picture and the lights in the room came back up. "I shouldn’t need to stress this point, but I will anyway. The network is to have no part whatsoever in the mission against the base. They will drop you a good three days walk away on the nearest public road through the mountains. If any team member is compromised, we will have provided them with a device to prevent capture."
The sinking feeling in Matthew’s stomached dropped down through his feet and made it halfway to Australia before he remembered to close his gawping mouth. Luckily no one had noticed it. His two squadmated present in the briefing were staring across the table at the Commander with expressions set in stone. The other members of the preliminary briefing team found somewhere or something else to look at.
"We will be providing the team with a full loadout of the best equipment we have. The latest incarnation of the Armor suit will be ready in time for deployment with you, as will the new Heavy Laser gun and the Laser rifle mark two. Anyway, all this will be covered in more detail as the mission gets closer. You will be going in two weeks from today. Commander Finch?"
"Sir?"
"As from this point on, your team is relieved of normal duties. Have them report to extra training sessions that have been arranged. The timetable for which is in the back of your folder. Halo training will begin in four days time from RAF Lyneham. That is all gentlemen, good day."