X-COM: Chronicles

Written by: Adam "ManKorn" Korenman, CC2K Video Games Editor

“Those who play with the Devil’s toys will be brought by degrees to wield his sword.”

“SatCom, this is NORAD. Do you have eyes on anomaly at Victor Uniform 3213-4549?”

 

I sat up straight in my chair at the briefing, listening to the voice on the television. Central Officer Bradford handled the presentation, standing at the podium in his normal uniform of a sweater and dark brown slacks. He looked more like a businessman than an intelligence gatherer, but the bars on his shoulders spoke volumes. Few were ever accepted into the ranks of X-COM, and fewer still rose to such high positions. 

Our group was small–only 14 soldiers to start–but the auditorium could fit far more. This base could house an entire army, and it would take just that to weather the coming storm. 

Even buried underground, the African heat seeped into my skin and ignited by innards. I’d been fighting a case of the shits for days before arriving at the command center, and the excitement of the previous week hadn’t helped any. It seemed like only yesterday I’d been soaking up the sun in Madagascar, and now I was conscripted to the war effort. But who was I to complain?

Nobody expected a goddamn alien invasion.