Operation Patient Mountain

Simultaneous abductions have occurred around the world around and XCOM is alerted. Unable to respond to all the distress calls, XCOM makes the hard decision of answering Russia's call for help.

XCOM calls upon it's First Contact soldiers, who are the very first to come across and engage in the alien abductions.

SQ. Ashley Spears and SQ. Margo Crane, both who are the first to score confirmed kills against the aliens, are leading this team. Due to their experience, they have demonstrated particular skills Heavy weapons and Sniping, respectively, and have received training prior to this mission. RK. Mark Duggar has also played a role in the first encounter, but has yet no kills. This will be RK. James Montgomery's first mission with XCOM. He takes the place of SQ. Andrew Robison, who bagged one x-ray but sustained injuries in doing so from plasma shots. He is wounded and will return to active duty in nine days.

 The squad is given their objectives and briefed on the situation unfolding in Russia. Unfortunately, information is bare and target's locations are not known, so it is a search and destroy mission and the dread of searching for deadly foes who move in darkness is unsettling.

 With Strike-One touching down, the soldiers hit the ground and immediately move into cover. It is quiet and not a single person (human or alien) is in sight. They slowly move forward from cover to cover, watching for signs of life or movement. Eventually, SQ. Crane spots the tiny creatures she had encountered previously and alerts the rest of the squad. The creatures (numbering two) also spot the XCOM team and scurry into cover and a firefight breaks out.

The noise brings out another two creatures to the team's right side and they are in danger of being flanked. SQ. Crane stays back, laying sniper fire down and keeping the aliens from moving from their position. SQ. Duggar moves forward and is able to position himself in good cover and sees one of the aliens channeling energy from it's head into one of the creatures and notes the aggressiveness generated by the receiver. Formulating a quick theory, RK. Duggar tests it and steps out of cover and lays a burst of rifle fire into the alien generating the energy. It's body crashes to the ground lifeless and the other creature who was 'linked' twitches violently for a second and falls lifeless.

SQ. Spears moves into cover near a fountain and is able to dispatch one with a quick spray of her LMG. She attempts to hit the final creature but is unable to as it evades into cover but is ambushed by RK. Montgomery and it's life comes to an end in a hail of bullets.

The operation is a success and after an extensive search, no more aliens are detected. The troops enter the skyranger and proceed back to base in Europe. Rk. Duggar receives a promotion to SQ. and due to his observational skills and willingness to observe the battlefield conditions has received training in a Support capacity. Rk. Montgomery also received a promotion and was noted in his ability for creative destruction with a grenade to remove cover from the aliens and received training in Heavy weapons.

A perfect execution on this encounter, XCOM takes a moment to celebrate, though many murmur that this good luck may run out...