Skyranger took down at the edge of the forest and approaching the site the suspicion was confirmed: against all odds the alien aircraft was still in one piece. Splintered trees and debris was all around, burning and pillowing heavy smoke, but the saucer was intact. Proxy was staring at the looming figure in the distance while Skyranger descended towards designated dropzone and he thought he saw something light blue shimmering along its hull.
[SKYRANGER CREW CABIN TRANSCRIPTION]
Proxy: "Germany. I have nothing good to say about Germany these days."
Ironside: "I'd like to hear what happened in Cologne, just for reference you know?"
Proxy: "Maybe we'll see an encore here at the German countryside..."
Sureshot: "In that case I want a scotch before I die! Marl?"
Mad Marl: ...
Pilot: "Sorry Marl, seems like you've got a job cut for you once we're done with this saving-the-world stuff, serving coffee and guiding ladies across the street."
Proxy: "Cut the crap, guys!"
Ironside: "Whoa, he really doesn't like Germany."
[TRANSCRIPTION ENDS]
The team hit the ground and spread out, Mad Marl taking the treeline, where it was slightly higher above the ravine the saucer had plowed. Proxy took the left flank and Sureshot advanced in the middle with Ironside. Mad Marl found his sniper rifle a bit awkward in the bushes, but found finally a good post for popping anything that moved in the ravine.
Three brave veterans approached slowly, keeping their angles clear and began to realize the proportions of the saucer. It was maybe thirty meters wide and both sides - judging by the still functional force field of a kind in the middle - were scraped open by the terrain while the craft was grinding to a halt. Proxy spotted two sectoids on the left side, scuttling next to their saucer and then something odd happened. The other sectoid stiffened and went almost motionless, while the other was crouched behind a pile of debris. It looked as if the other was guiding the other, like a radio-controlled toy car. Proxy wondered this turn of events for a moment too long as the apparently mind-controlled sectoid fired a burst of plasma from an open angle. It glanced Proxy, but it also hurt as usual. Proxy took cover behind a thick wall-like structure, that looked like it had got ripped apart from the alien craft. Sureshot and Ironside took quick shots behind the covers, but missed their targets. Mad Marl saw things escalating and moved a bit forward on the right flank, slowly towards the saucer, but keeping the sectoids on his firing arc.
Proxy peeked from the cover and fired a quick burst on the crouching sectoid that was now a bit more open for a shot. Burst of full metal jackets hit their target and the sectoid now decorated its means of arrival and departure as a permanent painting. Ironbay was the closest to observe its friend's head suddenly explode and he could not wrap his mind around the whole scene. Small, ball-headed guys shooting weapons that surpasses anything he has ever seen, controlling each others minds and all that made him feel dizzy. The terrible thought of one of those controlling him - or worse - one of his squadmates planted a firm seed somewhere beneath his imagination-laden writer's skull. That thought was cut short as two more sectoids spurted from the wreckage further to the left, hitting him on the edge of the helmet. He could feel a trickle of something starting to make its way down his face, and while his ears were ringing and humming weirdly, he tried to keep focused. Sureshot responded with a burst that split the other sectoids head in half. Proxy and Ironside scattered their bullets across the German woods, and Sureshot finished also the other newcomer.
Mad Marl had slowly advanced towards the saucer's right flank, which was ripped open as well. He decided to move into a better position to see inside and took cover behind a fallen tree in the treeline when something stirred inside the saucer. It sounded like a thousand million - that's a billion - insects woke up and saw some figure moving in the front part of the saurcer, beyond the gaping hole but close enough for him to make a quick decision to get the hell out of there. He spurted as fast as he could behind a pile of unassorted and largely unknown alien aircraft gear it had left trailing and tried to peek out. Something much bigger than the thin men they met in Australia emerged from the hole in the saucer wall, when Sureshot stepped from behind the cover and let go with his assault rifle...
The bullets clattered on the saucer hull like a bucketful of marbles poured in a bathtub, missing their intended target. The creature carried a rifle-like weapon that looked much bigger than those of the sectoids of the tin men, and it fired a bolt at Mad Marl. The cover Marl was hugging offered no protection at all as the plasma bolt hit him full-on, cooking his brains instantly and reducing what was visible of him to something that was not so visible any more. Ironside lost it completely. He started roaring something in gibberish and firing all over the place, just barely missing Proxy. After that, he fell to his knees and could not do anything else but stare at Mad Marl's remains, the trickling something now also partially obscuring his vision. Proxy stood up from his cover and had the perfect flanking position towards this monstrosity. He hit it with a sharp burst and to his relief, it fell down. He kept on aiming at it for a while more, but it stayed down.
X-Com Central: "What the hell was that?"
Sureshot: "Shouldn't you tell us?"
Ironside: "We're going to miss the kid, he's got some character."
X-Com Central: "That's for sure. Sureshot, bag the baddies, loot the area, bring him back home and give the other guys a hand. This looks like tough business from now on."
Ironside: "For a change?"
Proxy: "I told you. Germany sucks ass."
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