Update 1: An IntroductionIn the immediate aftermath of the First Alien War, the people of the world were shocked that the existence of aliens and a covert war against them had been kept secret for so long, despite the widely-publicized terror attacks in urban areas. There was a clamoring for more information beyond the short UN press release, and of course, many publishers were quick to capitalize on the rights to the stories of the war.
This is my story.
I, Frank Braeden, was 27 years old when I answered an ad put out by what was apparently a mercenary force. At that time, I did not know about the true nature of the war we had been recruited to fight, only that the pay was good – twenty thousand a month. The other clauses in the contract – non-disclosure agreements and the like – did not seem out of the ordinary. Within a day or two, I was being flown to a base in Crete, which would be my home for the duration of the war.
The base - named Evening Star - was completely underground, with only the radar systems and entry lift protruding from the ground. There were construction crews working to extend the base around the clock, and I could tell that the corridors I was walking through were newly-constructed.
I was directed to my room, which was small and cramped, containing only a bed, computer and closet. What was more important was the paper that lay on my bed.X-COM SOLDIER BRIEFING (JANUARY)
CLEARANCE LEVEL: ROOKIEWelcome to the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit or X-COM for short. If you are reading this, you have already agreed not to reveal any of your work to the public. The following may come as a shock, but the purpose of X-COM, as you may have guessed from the title, is to fight aliens. To be specific, the aliens that we are fighting go by the designation of “Sectoid”. They are almost exactly like aliens in popular culture, having a humanoid shape and enlarged head with large eyes. The procedure that X-COM takes to fight these aliens is as follows:
Firstly, upon detection of an airborne UFO, our assault craft, Interceptors, will be mobilized to shoot it down.
After the UFO has been shot down, or if a UFO has been found on the ground, we will send a team of soldiers like you to the site. You will be ferried by a Skyranger, which has enough space for fourteen soldiers.
On the mission, you will be accompanied by a remotely controlled heavy weapons platform. These mini-tanks are remotely operated by pilots back at base, and will provide heavy weapons support for you.
You will be equipped with the following X-COM weaponry, which have been ordered from weapons suppliers around the world.
Our standard pistol can be quickly aimed and fired one-handed, but is not a very effective weapon. The pistol is recommended for those in a scouting role.
Our standard rifle can be deadly in the hands of a skilled soldier, but takes longer to fire. The rifle is a general purpose weapon that can be used by everybody.
These are our two support weapons, the Heavy Cannon and the Auto-Cannon. The Heavy Cannon is more powerful and accurate, but the Auto-Cannon is faster to aim and has the advantage of an automatic fire mode. These weapons are difficult to carry, but can be useful against a heavily shielded enemy.
This is the only close range weapon that X-COM has, the Stun Rod. It is designed to incapacitate a target through electric shocks. However, no soldiers will be issued with this weapon yet as we do not currently have an alien containment unit.
Finally, the standard grenade will be issued to all soldiers, to provide a backup explosive weapon.
Good luck in your battles, Soldier!
X-COM Commander,
Gen. Charles Brooke
I reread the briefing again, trying to make sense of it. Surely this was an initiation joke, to fool the new soldiers into believing that they were fighting aliens. I put the briefing aside and went to sleep on my bunk. 
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