XCOM-esque story

 This is a piece that I just started recently that in the XCOM continuity would be well into XCOM 2’s timeline. The end goal for this piece is for it not to actually be tied to any of XCOM’s lore and really be its own thing. I do use the characters from my XCOM playthrough but I suppose that’s fine because in a way they have become their own characters. The big thing is just let me know what you think and I will be writing more of it for tomorrow!

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15 years after first contact

Karl always found getting up the hardest part of his day. It didn't help that the springy cot that was so generously called a bed seemed to have left him with a perpetual back ache that no amount of stretching or physical therapy ever seemed to get rid of. Or maybe it was the fact that the artificial light that beat down on him never seemed to really wake him up just like the sun did.

"The perks of living underground." he muttered to himself as he donned his gear, still half put together from his missions yesterday.

There was a time where Karl was very diligent in making sure his gear was fully broken down and stowed when he went to sleep last night, but the nonstop deployments at any hour meant it just made more sense to not waste time on something that really only mattered in basic. At least that's what-

He quickly stopped himself from continuing that train of thought. Now wasn't the time to get sentimental. The blinking red light above his door reminded that his sleep being interrupted wasn't for a drill. 

The base outside was as crazy as usual whenever a team was gearing up for a mission. Orange light draped the flowing masses of human as if it was lava passing through the subterreanan chambers. Heavy footfalls created a steady thumping that gave a backing  He picked out some ground team crew members frantically running by him shouting about how the secondary dropship was going to need to be serviced after this one. The chances of that actually happening were pretty slim, the base only house three dropships and one of them was shot down on a supply run almost half a year ago. That loss of supplies and equipment made logistics around the base a living nightmare. Karl knew how stressful his job was, but he couldn't imagine just how crazy it was for the people stuck in here. prepping these teams for missions, watching them leave the base, and all of them praying that he and his fellow soldiers would be able to come back safe. Even worse, they would have to make sure everything was ready for the next one coming. 

Fortunately, it quieted down the closer he got to the briefing room, everyone in the base knew how critical this section was and did their best to keep the noise out. That didn't mean they couldn't feel the action below them. Karl took a seat in the front row as he usually did. It appeared that he was the last one to show up, something that definitely didn't happen often. He was hoping that maybe today command would be giving him a mission that he had been trying to push for a while now. His squadmates didn't really fill him with confidence in that. They were all new. New as in they were all recruited to the main operation from various resistance cells within the last two years. Either they showed that they were a capable fighter who could handle the pressure or their cell was destroyed and they were one of the only survivors. A lone figure, sitting very upright in the back of the room first caught his eye: Petrovich. She was an ex-spetsnaz sniper who was part of a resistance cell in Siberia. They made the mistake of taking on an enemy facility head on with no intel. Everyone but Petrovich were KIA in that operation. 

"Listen up everyone, this should be a pretty routine mission." The commander, a mysterious faceless figure who coordinated the resistance movements, started saying the details in a clear, yet slightly gravelly voice that filled the room, "A cell in Europe left a drop of rations and ammo in old Berlin and we need your team to retrieve it."

"Is that why you called Mr. Clean here sir?" Petrovich's slightly russian accented voice called out from the back of the room, filled with skepticism.

"That is correct Petrovich." There was a hint of annoyance, one that barely registered for Karl, "Mr. Clean's knowledge of the area will help ensure that the retrieval can go smoothly and most importantly, quietly."

"Very well." Petrovich laid back in her chair, appeased for now.

"Enemy activity in the area has been pretty light over the last month, so your team will be bringing in C class gear."

That brought out a few grumbles from the assembled squad, but no real protesting. Advanced tech was limited and command clearly didn't want to risk any of it on this seemlingly unimportant mission.

"If there are no further questions, I will begin sending tactical data to your personal comms."

"I actually have a question, sir." Karl stood up from his chair.

There was an uncomfortably long pause before the commander responded, "Speak."

"May I have permission to bring an A class sensor kit on this mission?"

"No."

"Commander, I feel that bringing one may-"

"Permission is denied Mr. Clean." Even though there was no face on the screen in front of them, there was no ambiguity of the anger behind the voice, "We will not risk vital equipment on a routine mission such as this, especially when it's related to the ghosts you've been chasing for the last few years."

Karl clenched his fist, and then gave a stiff nod, "Very well."

He thought he heard a chuckle behind him, but decided to not give anyone the satisfaction.

"Now that there's nothing else, data is coming now, be ready to deploy in 10, command out." The screen went black as the connection was quickly dropped.

"Nice job there," He heard Petrovich's voice from behind him, "I think you almost got him to raise his voice there."

"Let's just get this mission done..." Karl sighed and began reviewing the mission details.

Everything about the mission screamed routine. He would deploy with a team to an abandoned subway station on the west side of town and make their way to a dead drop at one of the service stations. The area had been surprisingly untouched by the invasion and with it being underground, served as a very convenient place for resistance cells to exchange information, items, and troops. It made Karl a little wary of it becoming a more central area though as more activity meant more risk of it being discovered. He had repeatedly experessed his concerns to command, but most of them had been waived off given their priority being to make a central area to make resistance connections stronger. The whole thing left a sour taste in his mouth as he made his way to the armory.

"Sooooo looks like they got you guys on C class gear, coming right up!" Gears, the cheery master of the armory was ready for the squad as they arrived.

"Yep, it's gonna be one of those missions." Karl made an effort to match it.

"How are we for ammo on this mission?" Frogman piped up from behind him.

"For the ARs, you get 45 backup bullets each." Gears's voice came up from behind a pile of munitions, "Petrovich, you'll get 10 .50 cal"

"So little ammo... that has to be a mistake." Karl responded, slightly annoyed.

"Afraid not, command has this marked as a low risk, low priority mission so that's all you get. If you do run into resistance you'll have to make do." There was some sympathy in her voice, but she knew her hands were tied.

"Guess we just avoid a fight if we can." Artyom dejectedly added from behind Karl