X-Com's primary base Area 51 had been destroyed. Even though the Master had lost some of his best troops, he knew that he had hurt the pitiful resistance known as X-Com. His swarm would soon conquer the remaining X-Com bases buried deep inside this planet Earth, and one day soon he would control all 6 billion humans on this world and make them part of the unity.

"Be wary my loyal soldiers now that X-Com has lost their main base of defense, they will most definitely wish to strike back at us. They must not overrun our bases on this world. This I leave to you as I enter my 3-month sleep period. When I awaken, I expect Earth to be ours. Now, eradicate the remaining X-Com bases, and overthrow the major governments of this planet. I have faith in all of you. Goodbye for now." The Master then initiated his sleep period that he required once every 1000 years. Luckily for humanity, the Master decided to attack Earth only a few months before his next period rolled around. During his sleep period, the Master did not control his soldiers directly. A huge computer now was in control of them using preprogrammed orders and instructions laid down by the Master. It was linked directly to the Psi emitter, and the orders were clear to every alien being on Mars, in vessels, and in bases on Earth: DESTROY X-COM.

Tatyana Torban had just returned to Congo base as they heard on the X-Com distress channel that Area 51 had been destroyed. She was glad that there were no casualties, of course, but with the loss of Area 51, the remaining bases would have to pick up the slack. It also meant that they would also be targeted by a larger, more aggressive incursion strike force the next time they were attacked. Tatyana entered Congo Ops and sat down at her Commander's chair. "Report Captain Crossett." "Ma'am, Commander Thompson and his squad have landed at Europa base. They had no problem getting there. Captain Jackson has returned from his salvage mission of those downed scouts in South Africa. 2 casualties to report: Rookie Paul Andianov and Sergeant Victor Torban." Tatyana's eyes grew wide as she stood up. "Are you sure?" "I'm sorry Ma'am, it's been confirmed." "Damnit to hell!", she cried. She took the report from Crossett and slammed it onto the cold, metal floor of Ops. "I told him to be careful, and he said he would. What happened." "Ma'am, the details are in the report that's lying on the floor. Shall I pick it up for you?" "No, I'll get it." Tatyana picked it up and read:

Captain Jackson's log, Mission 142, recover downed Alien Scout crafts. We have successfully neutralized the alien threat around the two downed scout crafts. It wasn't easy. They were both filled with Snakemen soldiers. I'm sorry to report that Rookie Paul Andianov and Sergeant Victor Torban were both killed by a plasma discharge at close range when we attempted to enter the second scout ship. They both died instantly. We killed the Snakemen soldiers who did this. These two soldiers died bravely in battle, and they died with honor. End log.

Tatyana felt a tear roll down her cheek, and she wiped it away quickly. "Goodbye Bro. I'll miss you. It's too bad Mom and Dad won't be able to come to your funeral. I swear to you I will avenge your death tenfold on those alien bastards!" "Ma'am, I'm getting a message from Europa. It is Commander Thompson." Tatyana readied herself. "On viewer." "Commander Torban, I'm glad to see you are well. Damn fine job shooting down that Battlecruiser. It has really opened up a lot of new doors. I'll get to the point. I am ordering each X-Com base to attack the closest alien bases to them as soon as possible. We have to show them that we're still alive and kicking and that we won't go without a fight. We have new intelligence that we obtained from a captured alien that confirms the location of EVERY alien base on Earth. You are to attack the base that is located in Northern Madagascar. Eliminate the alien threat so the salvage crews can cut it up into spare parts. We're going to be needing a lot of raw material for a new military course of action we will be implementing shortly. Take no prisoners. Eliminate the aliens with EXTREME PREJUDICE." "I understand Sir. I will make them pay for what they've done." "Great. Commander, I wish you good hunting. Thompson out." Tatyana's eyes lit up as she started to taste revenge. "Captain Crossett, inform Miss Faerber that we will be taking our regular squad on a bug hunt as soon as the Lightning is repaired." "Yes Ma'am." "We're going to pay the aliens a little visit."

The Lightning bolted through the air like a high-velocity bullet. It was getting late now, and the sun was steadily moving away from them. It had taken 3 hours to repair the Lightning's battle damage. Uta was at the helm, and Tatyana was navigating. "Uta, we're coming up on our designated landing zone. Prepare to take her down." "Aye Ma'am." "Listen up people, I know this is our first attempt at killing one of these bases. Our intelligence confirms that they are, surprisingly, sparsely populated with actual soldiers. There are, however, dozens of officer aliens scattered throughout the place. We have the element of surprise, so take out anything that even looks like a bad guy. We are taking NO prisoners, repeat NO prisoners, so aim for their heads and chests. I want a hole burrowed through each of these bastards' bodies by the time we're done. This time, we're using the heavy plasmas, so try not to waste ammo, but don't be shy to fire either. Keep alert, and stay alive. This time, it's personal. That is all." Tatyana's crew had always been top notch, but her speech raised their morale significantly, and all of them were prepared to do battle. Uta identified the landing site and took Lightning down. It was only 200 yards away from the Alien base. "OK people, fall out. I want a clean dispersal. Our map of this complex shows a doorway about two football fields that way that leads into the main complex. Since there are so few soldiers in these bases, we need to take them out first. The alien armory will be our next target as the officer aliens will want to defend themselves and will need guns. We will ambush them there." Her squad all looked at her and acknowledged her orders. "Let's go." X-Com moved quietly through the prairie grass that blanketed most of the island. It was slow going, but the team finally reached their point of entry. "Tatyana, I mean Commander Torban." "Yes Miss Faerber?" "I've found the door. It's inside this cave." The crew advanced into the damp cave. "Well, if I were an alien, this is were I'd make my base", said one of the rookies. "Quiet everyone. Uta, type in this code onto that panel. There should be one Snakeman Guard right behind the door. Johnson, you take him out." Sergeant Johnson nodded. Uta typed in the weird, alien symbols that appeared on the intel report. The door quickly hissed open, and there stood a single snakeman soldier armed with a plasma pistol. It turned to X-Com and was shocked to see them standing there with their weapons aimed at his head. Before he knew it, Johnson had fired a plasma bolt directly through his brain, and he lie motionless of the floor. "Quiet, let's move slowly to the armory. I'll take the point." X-Com moved through the weird, twisted light blue passageways of the alien's base. The aliens had no sense of interior design. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made of alien alloys, and they had no decoration whatsoever. Suddenly, another Snakeman soldier rounded the corner and was immediately blown away by a plasma discharge from Tatyana's rifle. "Left, we turn left here. Quietly, let's go." They continued down the ill-lit, warped catacombs and came upon a room with what appeared to be gun closets. "This is the armory, or their equivalent." All of a sudden, an alarm wailed from all around. Tatyana heard alien voices screaming in what seemed to be a panic. "OK, Uta. Take your squad and wait next to that door. I'll take this door. Wait until the aliens enter, and blast the hell out of them!" "We got it. Let's go!" Tatyana moved into position just as her friend Uta did. Out of nowhere, Snakemen started pouring into the armory. They didn't even see X-Com waiting for them in their panic. They opened the gun closets just as one of them turned around and saw Tatyana's team. "FIRE!!!" The snakemen turned only to see a slag of bright green plasma dart towards their scaly heads and decapitate them. Body after alien body hit the ground. Tatyana screamed angrily as she lofted plasma bolts at the snakemen. After the bloodbath ceased, Tatyana and Uta walked over to the huge pile of death and counted the corpses. "I count 24 Tatyana." "Me too. Looks like we got'em all. Just as a precaution, take your team through the rest of the base and use your motion detectors. You know what to do if you find something alive." "Right, make it un-alive." Tatyana smiled at Uta as she rounded up her squad and headed out. After 20 minutes or so, Uta reported back. "Ma'am, this base is dead. Looks like we got them all." "Good, let's head back to Lightning and let the salvage crews do the rest." On her way back to Lightning, Tatyana remembered her childhood with her brother Victor and all the good times she shared with him. X-Com climbed into their trusty craft and headed back to Congo. Tatyana turned one last time and looked at the cave where the base entrance was. "That one's for you Bro. I got them."