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XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 208: Chapter 206: Icarus

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Ranger

Chapter 206: Icarus

By Wanderer D

Twenty Years Ago

The powerful, initial riff of "Flight of Icarus" echoed through the Skyranger as Stardust secured themselves to their seats.

As they felt the thrusters kick in, seat-belts were tightened, armor double-checked and strapped properly, weapons were held tight and more than one nervous glance shared.

"You guys better hold on tight," Spitfire shouted. "The Defense Matrix is single-use! If I mess up, we're all dead before we even get there!"

"How's that any different from any time we take off on this thing with you at the helm?" Bors countered.

"Hey, since Spits here is going on her last mission with us, shouldn't she be an honorary member of Stardust?" Irvine asked.

"She'd need a knightly title!" Elaine said.

"Princess qualifies as knightly?"

Elaine smirked. "Yes. But we're not talking about me."

"Well, let's see… we have…" Irvine pointed at Zhang. "Dragon," he pointed at Elaine, "Princess," he pointed at Lionel and then Bors, "Rook and Knight…" he pointed at Sunset and himself. "Vision and Cowboy."

"I still think we should have changed that to Archer."

"I don't drink enough."

"Nerd."

"Big Sky is fine, fellas," Spitfire shouted. "Now, brace!"

The Temple Ship started firing plasma bolts at the Skyranger, which deftly eluded them, banking left and right under Spitfire's iron grip.

In the passenger bay, the members of Stardust held tight to their seats as the plane ducked and weaved, putting incredible pressure on all of them. The plane shook and groaned, straining with a flight into combat it wasn't designed for.

They could hear the return fire from the experimental laser cannon's unique charge-and fire sounds, even if they couldn't feel any kick from it, and Spitfire's mad cackling didn't help much.

"I see their weapons systems! Firing Avalanche Missiles!"

Their bodies were thrown to the side when the missiles shot out, making Irving gag.

"Don't you dare throw up, you wimp!" Bors ordered with a tinge of hysteria.

Everyone held their breath as the plane banked down, making them feel like they were floating for a split second.

"Ladies and others, we're experiencing a bit of turbulence," Spitfire said on the speaker just as everything turned sideways and Sunset, Zhang and Lionel were looking down at Bors, Elaine and Irvine. "...so please make sure you remain in your seats, strapped down, butt-cheeks clenched, and that you put the goddamned trays up."

The plane shook and they were all pressed down, as if the air itself was pushing them down.

"Remember that this is not only a smoke-free flight, but also a vomit-free flight and fate-of-the-earth or not, I will make whoever throws up clean up the mess!"

The plane shook suddenly, shaking them in place while the sound of ripping metal and a small explosion that could be felt through the hull made Irvine gag again.

"What the fuck was that?!" Elaine shouted.

"Language, princess!"

"Shut up!"

"Ladies and others, we have lost our left landing gear. Thankfully since this is a one way trip, the loss was an acceptable—"

Spitfire cut off as the plane dropped, then tilted and pushed up with an added kick of the thrusters. "...eventuality, and won't really impact our arrival."

Zhang chuckled.

When the others looked at him, he blinked. "She said impact."

"Of course you would find that funny."

"Hey, Spitfire! Aren't you going to fire that fancy Phoenix Cannon?"

"Are you the pilot, Bors? Then don't ask stupid questions."

They could all hear the whine of the engines as they went to a high-pitched noise. They felt the pressure build as Spitfire accelerated, and now could hear the sound of the enemy ship trying to shoot them down.

"Entry point confirmed," Spitfire announced, the Skryanger swaying from side to side. "Gaining on Temple Ship… engaging Defense Matrix!"

A hum ran down through the systems, loud enough for the whole team to hear.

"I'm never making fun of the Avalanche pilots. Ever again," Lion promised.

The plane rumbled, and tugged violently. "We're in! Space barely big enough to navigate! Brace for impact!"

Sunset and the others crouched down just as the Skyranger smashed into the first obstacle. The Ship bounced up and down, screeched and tilted violently as a wing snagged on something. It spun, still sliding on the alien alloy floors of the mother ship.

They could hear and feel the ship being torn apart. The Skyranger bounced and spun again, and they could barely hear Spitfire shouting something before they felt something pull back the ship.

Something snapped and flew across the middle of the passenger area, slamming hard onto the wall of the cockpit as the Skyranger slowed to a screeching, fizzling, crackling, smoking halt.

Present Day

"But what if it's some type of Psychic link to the Ghost?" Dr. Luna asked.

"A what now?"

She gave Central a look. "You know, what if she's linked to it? Similar to what…" she motioned with her hand at Laetitia's body. "my counterpart here did with Laetitia?"

"But wouldn't that already had caused some issues?" Shen asked, "the Commander didn't seem to react negatively when the rest of the ship's vaguely psionic soldiers were affected by Twilight's magic."

"Perhaps," Princess Luna said, "but my counterpart raises a good point. If a link exists and it is psionic instead of mere knowledge, we might need some way to measure it and locate it."

"So you're saying we definitely need to bring Tygan into this?"

"Either him or Estella will do," Luna said, "but we should cover our bases. If it's Elder related, it is less likely to be magical in nature, and while miss Marilla seems trustworthy so far, the Commander has a lot more trust and confidence in Tygan."

"More for our merry crew," Central growled. "The Commander will not appreciate the crowd."

"Think of it as an intervention, John," Dr. Luna said gently. "I know you respect the Commander and don't want to add anything else to her plate, but if this is just coincidence, then we'll find out… and if it isn't… we need to know. For her sake and ours."

"Fine," Central sighed, motioning for Dr. Luna to contact Tygan. He turned to look at the others. "Do we need any additional people in this? Because unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't want anyone else involved. If we don't decide on them now as indispensable for this, then they're not coming."

"There is… one more, I would add," Princess Luna said carefully. "As I believe the familiar face will help, besides the more obvious assistance on psionics."

Bradford took a deep, calming breath. "Who?"

"That's ridiculous," Annette said, crossing her arms. "The Elders don't listen to music. You guys are getting paranoid."

"Welcome to XCom," Shen said. "Where it is okay to be paranoid, because they really are out there to get you."

"You were more bearable as a child."

"Ladies, if we could?" Tygan spoke up, clearing his throat. "It is very unlikely that the Commander would be listening over and over to the same song the Ghost sings only because of coincidence. It is very clear that something else is going on, and should this prove to be some sort of interference, or message, or even some obscure attempt to manipulate her, we should do everything in our power to make it stop.

"I need not remind you all of the sheer importance of our task, nor of the dangers therein. Since we are the senior staff, we need to deal with this now that we are aware. I don't believe anyone else has been informed?"

Princess Luna shook her head. "Only us."

"It would just be our luck that this is some form of attack from an unknown enemy to create an enemy within," Shen muttered.

Tygan shot her an odd look before shaking his head. "We will approach the Commander with this, but it is possible that the Elders programmed a reaction in her. Please be ready to act if necessary."

"I think I should be able to control her if she suddenly snapped," Annette said. "Maybe."

"If not, I do have my magic available," Luna said.

Central rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes. "Just so you are aware, the Commander is very proficient in combat… if she becomes violent, you must act immediately."

Dr. Luna glanced at the grim-faced group. "You sound paranoid… but I sense there's more to it than that?"

"Central is probably considering this as similar to a Mind Control scenario," Tygan said, "which, however unlikely it sounds after all this time, is still possible. We do not know for an absolute certainty that the Commander doesn't have a sleeper-agent command of some sort."

Dr. Luna ran her hand through her head. "Every day I'm here I understand more why you need an army of psychologists and counselors."

"We've only got you right now, doc. Laetitia is currently a pony with wings and a horn, and the nurse cannot be trusted with this information."

"Thank you for the reminder, Shen."

Central nodded. "Let's go. It's time to face the Commander."

o.0.o End Chapter 206 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Chapter 207: Vision Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 34 Minutes
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