LUCKY'S SAGA

Chapter 1 - Making a Name for Yourself

Xcom and Xcom Apocalypse are registered trademarks of Microprose.
This is fan fiction and should not be sold or distributed for profit.


     I remember the first time I saw an alien.  We were sweeping a warehouse
for bugs.  I slowly advanced through the rows of boxes scanning the area for
movement.  Then, from out of nowhere one of the brain huggers leapt towards
my face.  I raised my weapon and fired.  I missed, and then it was on me.  I
thought to myself, "This is the end." Then I heard the report of a weapon at
the same time the alien flew from my head and I felt the wetness of blood.
I turned and looked at the hugger, it was lying on the ground dead.  I
looked back, and there was Luisa smiling and giving me the thumbs up sign.
I realized that she had shot the bastard from off of my head, and I thanked
the maker that she wasn't carrying HE ammo for this foray.  I turned and
started to proceed onwards through the warehouse.  
  Thunder came over the radio, "Kurt, you are one lucky bastard.  You should
be glad Luisa is a good shot."
  Luisa came back, " I was sure of the shot."
 I took a second to calm myself and replied with a steady but sarcastic
voice, "I'm OK, thanks for asking."
  Thunder replied, "I assumed that you were OK, if you were hurt from that
shot, you'd be probably be dead."
  I didn't have a reply to that.  To all appearances it looked like I was
unshaken by the incident, but inside I was shaking like a leaf.  So when the
next little bastard popped up, I took all that emotion and poured it into
him through my rifle.  The rest of the mission was uneventful for us,
although Beta Squad got into a decent firefight and Rock was injured.
     Back at the base, Lieutenant Ice and the other squads looked over our
combat camera footage.  As Luisa shot the hugger off of my head, there was a
round of applause.  I was slightly embarrassed as I watched my vital signs
jump as they replayed the sight of the hugger coming at me.  
 Thunder leaned over after the verbal exchange played out on the screen and
whispered, "Don't worry about it, any other rookie probably woulda wet himself."
 I was dreading the end of the combat analysis.  Luisa and I had got our
first kills, and would be getting a squaddie badge with our new callsign
engraved on them.  Pietro from Beta Squad would also be getting a badge
tonight.  I watched as he skillfully maneuvered through the enemy fire and
lobbed a grenade at the enemy.  I watched his performance from his and the
other squad members cameras. He was moving so fast, the alien couldn't get a
bead on him, and then the alien flew apart as the grenade blew it into pieces.
  As the lights came up after the footage, the Lieutenant retrieved several
small boxes from his podium.
 "Pietro, Luisa, and Kurt, front and center please."
 As we took our places in line, the Lieutenant Ice took a squaddie badge out
of the first box and stood in front of Pietro. "For maneuvering through
enemy fire and killing your first bug, we give you this squaddie badge and
your new callsign.  From henceforth, you shall be known by all as Dodger."
 Next the Lieutenant stood in front of Luisa, "For killing your first bug
without hesitation and saving your fellow rookie's life we award you this
squaddie badge and callsign.  Because you were sure of your shot and took
it, from henceforth you shall be known as Sureshot."
 As the Lieutenant stood in front of me a million names danced through my
head.  What would they call me? "For killing your first bug after a
traumatic encounter and didn't let it phase you, we award you this squaddie
badge and callsign.  Because you are one lucky bastard, from henceforth you
shall be known as Lucky."
  After the debriefing I went down to the Labs to talk to the tech-heads.
The halls were deserted, and the place was pretty dead due to the late hour.
On my way I thought about why the naming protocol had been put into place.
Originally, personnel brought into the program were told to keep their last
names to themselves to keep the friends and family they had left behind safe
in case there were alien infiltrators in the program, or someone got caught
and tortured or mind-probed.  As soon as possible, even the first names were
replaced by nicknames or callsigns.  I think rookies weren't given their
callsigns until they made squaddie because too many rookies died in battle.
We had been very lucky on the mission, one of our best yet.  I guess the
naming protocol could also be used to give promotions, when nobody your rank
knew your real first name, it would probably be time for you to move up in
the ranks.  As I rounded the final corner, I hoped that I wouldn't be too
late to get what I came for.
  As I entered the lab area, one of the white-coats came over to meet me.
Glancing  at the new shiny badge on my breast he said, "What can I do for
you Squaddie?"
  I asked if they had examined the huggers we brought in from the mission
yet.  Luckily, they said they hadn't gotten to it yet, they were looking
over some new weapon.
   "I would like the slug from the hugger we tagged #2, that one nearly got
me and I want a souvenir to remember the slimy bastard."
  The tech smiled at my odd request and said, "I think we can do that, wait
here."
A few minutes later he came back with the slug in a little plastic baggie
and said, "You might want to check with a mechanical engineer named Silver,
she makes costume jewelry in her spare time here and can probably put that
on a chain or something for you."
  As I walked back to my quarters, I thought a chain would be nice.  After
all, with a name like Lucky, I had to have a good luck charm.