View source for Operation Showdown: The Battle of Olympia, Part I

	Assault team Menace managed to survive the recovery process and the drama that ensued while they were recuperating.  For some of them, it may be refreshing to get back in the saddle and face the simple threat of murderous aliens instead of having to deal with the complications that arise when they have too much “free” time.  Family conflicts, issues with children and their bullies, overprotective friends, overseeing trials for cloned siblings, dealing with the fallout from forced beard trimmings and betrayal, the list goes on.  None of those problems can be adequately resolved by shooting it in the face.<br />

	While all this was unfolding and the rest of the team members lives were happening, Douglas embarked on a long and detailed intel-gathering operation in the Olympia area, where the aliens have garnered a strong foothold and subjugated the population.  With this threat at Elma’s proverbial backdoor, the time for ignoring it any longer has passed, especially now that Commander Wilson has learned of a new facility in the former capitol city:  One the Collective has dubbed a “gene clinic.”  She was led to believe that human genetic samples, like the ones that were harvested from her, Marie and Janice after they were captured in Brazil were stored in facilities such as these.  Furthermore, the Muton Elite, Khur’ral’lll, the butchering villain who has been antagonizing them recently—and was pivotal in their capture and torture in Brazil—seemed to be in residence there.  He may even be overseeing the Collective’s interests in this city!  For Fayth, neutralizing the gene clinic was of utmost tactical importance; she didn’t want the aliens to have further use of human genetic information for whatever nefarious purposes they planned to put it.  However, taking down Khur’ral’lll was an objective that had a strong personal importance to her, too.  If AJ, Brock and Carville are the vengeful types at all, it might rank up there with them, as well, even if they haven’t had their memory blocks removed.  This particular Elite was responsible for wounding and torturing them and making it necessary they received some of the cybernetic augments they were all saddled with.<br />

	Since Operation Hornet’s Nest, while Menace was on the bench, Team Rampage—staffed by the Rangers’ second squad—have been stepping in to fill their shoes.  They have been conducting routine patrols and fighting the occasional skirmish at the borders of the Greater Elma Area.  On the eve of the battle, a location of interest closer to the perimeter of Olympia has caught their attention, and Sergeant Hoff opted to go out with a bang as the primary assault team, venturing out further than they have for the past week or so.  They managed to find an actual alien encampment, where they neutralized the threats and rescued a civilian.<br />

	This was no ordinary civilian.  During the in-flight debrief, Hoff determined that this man may have viable tactical intel that may prove useful to X-Com in the upcoming assault.  He requested that Commander Wilson and her team meet with him and conduct their own interview.<br />

	The civilian introduced himself as Dr. Rhys Aloysius Catalano-Moore.  For a relatively young man, probably in his early to mid-thirties, he has an impressive list of pedigrees, the most interesting of which is his role as an astrobiologist, “not to be confused with Xenobiology,” he explained amiably with his gentle down-under accent.  Also, the major reveal that he has been working for Project Covenant for the last couple years or so really perked up their ears.  This guy was no rando.  He might know his shit, and they might be able to press him into service in the upcoming assault.<br />

	Douglas notified his sister that he has scheduled an Ops Briefing and would like her to assemble her team.  She read his text after receiving a mysterious letter dropped off in her office that drove home the stakes of the upcoming battle and made her cry.  She needed to put that hurt aside for now, dry her eyes and put on her game face.  It was time to be the Commander.  She called the team together, and Douglas filled them in on what he has learned.<br />

	The core buildings for this particular operation are dubbed the Gene Clinic and the Transfer Station.  They are surrounded by a fortification called the Outer Sanctum.  Douglas believes that the Outer Sanctum is a dangerous killing field type of affair that serves as a buffer between the city proper and the primary core facilities.  He also suspects that the area may be guarded by one or more Sectopod Mk IIs that are currently lying in wait.<br />

	In the surrounding areas are various facilities he has identified that may provide support to the core buildings in some manner and may yield useful intel or resources if X-Com is able to assault them and neutralize the threat they pose.  While he admitted it may be possible to attempt to storm the core facilities, he warned that the defenses were thick enough in the area that it may be necessary to soften up the target some first by eliminating some of the “secondary objectives.”  Bowing to Douglas’ insistence, AJ and Fayth planned to take out the Power Station, as Douglas was convinced this would eliminate many of the Alien’s powered systems such as their automated defense turrets littered all over the city.  Part of the operation also involved using assault team Rampage to stage a diversionary attack at an important facility near Olympia to draw off attention and resources.  Sergeant Hoff with the Rangers second squad was deployed in the Blackhawk to assault what Douglas had identified as “The Processing Center;” a compound where locals are sent to undergo unknown procedures, and potentially be trained as foot soldiers of the collective.<br />

	Douglas proposed an old plan that Marie had brainstormed months ago which involved acquiring the transmission signature of an elerium power source.  She had intended it as a plan to neutralize UFOs in-flight, but this proved operationally unsound.  However, with a fixed facility, it might not be such an unfeasible objective.  To complete it, they would require the transmission signature unique to the facility’s elerium reactor.  With that information in hand, power could be siphoned off of their reactor at an incredible rate, and if the siphoning object was designed to dispose of all that power in a particular way, Douglas had prepared a couple of “elerium bombs” that they could place to their tactical advantage.  Achieving this objective would require they assault the Power Station, which Douglas believed was a grounded alien vessel turned into one of the Collective’s bases.  It was relatively close to the core facilities, within a kilometer or so.  While the defenses of the Power Station might be too formidable to make entry at this point and properly root out, Douglas believed that if he could get one of his scout drones inside and stealth his way near the reactors, he could get the info that he needed.  The rest of the team formed up to make an attack and draw defenders out into the open which would give Douglas an opportunity to sneak his drone asset inside unnoticed.<br />

	The team assembled at the mouth of the street leading to the Power Station.  Ahead were barricades defended by a pod of Sectoids.  An attempt was made to eliminate them all from stealth in one fell swoop, but the range was too great.  The defenders were not able to mount a significant defense before they were cut down, however they were able to call reinforcements.  The first to arrive was a fast, massive monster, the Muton Berserker.  Upon emerging, it thundered down the street toward AJ and hammered him down in one hit, tagging AJ in the head with an immense fist!  Before it could proceed to disembowel the Army Captain, salvation came in the form of Hector “Slick” Gaspar and his prototype power armor.  He lobbed a flashbang at the Berserker, rendering it deaf and blind!  The beast retreated, but not before Douglas was able to slip his scout drone into the facility.<br />

	With the beast on the run and no need to dispatch it at this point, the team gathered up AJ and left the scene, meeting up with their transport at a nearby park.  In a few moments, Douglas should be able to give them the intel they will need to arm the two elerium bombs.  Then, it will be up to them to select targets and place the weapons.<br />

	However, while they were hunkering down, Douglas detected a significant spike of Psionic energy from the Transfer Station identical to the spikes from the teleportation signatures he has witnessed before.  A moment later, they received a frantic message from Sergeant Hoff at the processing center:<br />

	“Khur’ral’lll is in the field!  We are engaged!  Shit, he’s bouncing all over the place, Menace one-seven!  We can’t land hits on the bastard!”<br />

	Douglas continued to detect steady teleportation spikes from the Transfer Station with a link to the Processing center; something within was providing support to the Muton Elite.  If they hope to have any chance of defeating this nemesis, they will have to eliminate the monster’s technological support.  The clock is ticking, and the blood of Assault team Rampage is the sand in the hourglass...<br />