XCOM 2 - Part 19

XCOM 2: Stars Against the Unknown
Mission: Operation Crimson Dawn
Location: Vancouver Outskirts – Alien Terror Site

Briefing Room, Avenger Command Deck

Central Officer Bradford paced in front of the squad.

“We’ve got a Tier 3 terror event unfolding in the Vancouver Zone. Civilian casualties rising. ADVENT deployed enforcers, but we’re detecting non-human signals—something bigger. Get in, get civilians out. Eliminate all hostiles.”

The squad nodded.

John Travolta cracked his neck. “Time to boogie, baby.”

Tom Cruise snapped his magnetic rifle into place. “Stay sharp. We’re not dancing here.”

Joe Jukic—call sign Digital Prophet—checked his custom Gremlin drone. “We’ve got EMP overwatch online. I’ll hack their mechs if needed.”

Lisa Furtado, rookie sniper and Nelly’s cousin, chambered a round. “I just want one clean shot.”

Nelly Furtado wore lightweight psionic armor—experimental and unstable. Her glowing eyes flickered. “Let’s save some souls.”

Landing Zone: Burned-out Suburbia, Vancouver

The Skyranger’s ramp dropped. Smoke rose in columns. Screams echoed. Civilian forms darted in and out of view.

“Split into pairs!” Cruise ordered. “Lisa with Nelly, Joe with me. Travolta—roam and distract. You’re good at that.”

“Copy,” Travolta winked. “Let’s make it cinematic.”

The team moved forward—cover to cover. They neutralized a few ADVENT troopers quickly—no sweat. Civilians evacuated behind them. Until—

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Lisa gasped.

A massive Muton crashed through a concrete wall, roaring like a freight train in hell. Red armor glinting in firelight, its plasma cannon charged. The civilian beside it turned into vapor.

“CONTACT! UNKNOWN CLASS!” Joe barked into comms. “Muton—first visual confirmation!”

Nelly’s psionic energy flared in response. “I got this.”

“You don’t got this!” Cruise yelled. “Take cover!”

Nelly instead stepped forward, glowing violet, hand raised like a prophet.

The Muton roared again. It charged.

Joe launched a combat protocol—his drone zapped the Muton mid-stride, slowing it. Cruise slid into cover, fired a magnetic burst—ineffective.

Then, from a rooftop, Lisa Furtado found her shot.

“Say cheese, bitch.”

BOOM. Armor-piercing round hit the Muton’s side, staggering it.

Travolta suddenly appeared, sliding into the scene with a shock baton.

“Disco’s not dead,” he growled, stunning the Muton with a whack across the jaw.

Joe ran forward, hacking an ADVENT turret and turning it against the monster.

Nelly channeled one last surge, her voice cracking: “GO BACK TO THE STARS!”

She let loose a psionic blast that launched the Muton into a wrecked SUV—explosion.

Silence.

Breathing.

Victory.

Post-Mission Debriefing, Avenger

Bradford reviewed the footage.

“You made first contact with a Muton. And you lived.”

Travolta shrugged. “I’ve faced worse. Studio execs in the ‘90s.”

Cruise grinned. “He got lucky.”

Lisa cleaned her sniper barrel. “No such thing as luck. Just timing.”

Joe uploaded the data to Shen. “We’ll need new countermeasures. Their armor’s thick.”

Nelly sat in the corner, tired but glowing faintly.

“Did you hear it?” she whispered. “When it roared? It wasn’t just rage. It was sorrow. Like it remembers Earth… but hates what it sees.”

They looked at her. Even Cruise.

She smiled sadly. “Next time… there’ll be more.”

TO BE CONTINUED
*in XCOM 2: Stars Against the Unknown – Operation Twilight Messiah