Chapter One: Volunteer Work
I remember sitting in my chair that day, thinking about what we were going to do with the new tissue samples now that the machines were down, and how we were going to store the overflow of specimens. I also remember thinking about how nobody had called the support guy, so the coffee maker was still broken to the point that it churned out a liquid that made you decide to just suck on the filter for a while.
I remember thinking that those were problems. Big problems, even. Maybe not as big as the backlog of unpaid rent on my apartment or the student loans that never seemed to give up and go away, but still big problems. I had absolutely no idea then just how much my life could change in the next few hours.
Michelle, the research lab's secretary/receptionist, came over to me at my station (she loathed her given name, stating that only pasty-white people who smelled like 'antique' upholstery called her Michelle. I pointed out to her that, considering the sun exposure a lot of us lab rats got, all we needed to do was sit in an old sofa in order to call her that).
"Hey Mickey, what's up. What are you doing back here?"
"Uhh, well... This really would have been a perfect opportunity to buzz you on the intercom, but seeing as we don't actually
have one of those, I had to come back here to tell you."
"Tell me what? You haven't said anything beyond stating how woefully under-equipped we are. Which, really, isn't saying anything."
She looked a little unsure for a moment, obviously thinking about how best to put it. Then she blurted out
"There are a couple big men in dark suits waiting up front to see you."
She looked at me, searching for an answer.
"You're not... You haven't, you know,
done anything... Have you?"
I'll admit I actually had to give it some thought. Looking back through my recent past, I couldn't determine anything that 'big men in dark suits' would be unhappy with me for. Or, more importantly, anything they could find out.
"I'll go see what they want. Go find Richards and tell him to look busy at my station for a while, 'kay?"
She nodded and went off. I'd managed to settle her down about the unknown visitors, now it was time for my to try my luck on my own nerves...
Getting to what served as a sort of front desk for the facility, I encountered the two men described to me by Michelle. They were, as she said, both very big. Their suits were also very dark, but I have to admit I was focusing a little more on the first detail. They noticed me and came over.
"Professor Mikolaj Kagus?"
"Call me Mike."
I proffered my hand, but the man simply reached into his suit jacket and retrieved what looked like a policeman's credentials.
"I'm agent Stuart Crismond, and this is agent Guy Long. We're from ADAM."
"ADAM?"
"Agency for the Defense of All Mankind." chimed agent Long, who came over to the huddle.
"I'll admit it's not a particularly creative name, but the Powers That Be didn't exactly deem it necessary to spend too much time on what they should call us."
I looked at them. They looked back. They looked like they were serious. I probably looked like I was seriously confused. I guess this time, looks weren't being their deceitful selves.
"So... What do you want with me?" I asked.
Agent Crismond stuffed his ID back into his suit and said "Professor Kagus, are you familiar with the X-COM?"
"The Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, yes. Big thing quite a few years ago. But it was shut down not long after the new millennium though, wasn't it?"
Crismond nodded. "The X-COM unit was successful in pushing back the threat to humanity. And, as it was no longer needed to combat the alien menace, it was officially disbanded."
Agent Long then stepped up and said "Unofficially, however, they never really stopped completely. We've had feelers out for some time, always keeping an eye out in case of another attempted incursion."
"And a few months ago, we found something."
This was all just getting more and more confusing. Two strangers waltz into my lab, start talking about 'alien incursions', and then refer to an almost mythic organization as part of 'we'.
"I still don't see how this relates to me." I said.
"The new threat", he responded, "isn't extraterrestrial".
Agent Crismond pulled out some papers from his jacket and handed them to me. I wondered what else he had hiding in there.
"These are reports from the various Watchpost facilities we have scattered around the globe. As you can see, several coastal installations have been picking up activity in waters around South America, China, Australasia and the East Coast of the United States. They have confirmed this activity to be of alien origin."
I leafed through the papers. None of the graphs or notes meant anything to me, but I doubted it meant much to the two goons in front of me either, so I tried to look like I knew what I was doing. I wanted to have
some sort of upper hand on them, as I found myself slipping more and more down a slope of incomprehension. They had probably taken classes on how to do that...
"ADAM is fully reinstating the X-COM, effective immediately. You have been selected to lead the effort."
I looked at Crismond with what I imagine must have been an expression similar to that of a rabbit which has recently been subjected to a significant voltage. I started to gabble.
"Wha-but, what? Me? Why the hell do you want
ME? I'm a scientist for chrissakes! A goddamn pencil-pusher! I've never had anything even
remotely to do with, with... this sort of thing!"
"Due to the nature of the threat, ADAM has been looking to recruit a marine biologist to lead this effort. Your psych profile came up. You were picked, they sent us."
"And now we're telling you about it" added Guy.
I looked at him incredulously.
"But X-COM was a military organization! I'm a civilian, I've never been near anything more dangerous than the BB gun my uncle gave me!"
To this, agent Long said "Not anymore. As of now, you are an official member of the United World Protection Force."
He then smiled slightly and popped a crisp salute. Interestingly enough, my mind was somehow able to siphon off the processing power required to wonder how such a casual person could wind up as a high-level government agent, let alone retain his job for any length of time.
I took a deep breath, and thought about all that had been said.
"This isn't a joke, is it?"
Both agents shook their heads.
"Just figured I would check..."
Another deep breath. Helped whisk away some of the clutter in my mind.
"Alright then. What do you want me to do?"
End of Chapter One
Yeah. So, basically, nothing has happened yet. I haven't been able to get around to actually doing anything ingame yet, and it's closing in on 2:00 AM here, so I won't be doing a whole heck of a lot more tonight. Location has been chosen, as has the name of the base itself (although this may be subject to change if people object).
All I need to do is plunk it down and get to workin'. I recommend y'all start claiming spots on the roster.
