Our world is not our own anymore.
In 2015, aliens arrived–a multi-species, militaristic force with unimaginably advanced technology. They created bioengineering monstrosities, had mastered interstellar and atmospheric flight-capable aircraft, and could even reach out mind-to-mind and control their enemies. Earth never stood a chance, though we still fought.
At first, they toyed with us; we still don’t know why. They conducted a shadow war in small strikes, prodding and poking us as though to see what would happen. Eventually, though, they came in force, and one by one they demanded the surrender of our nations. The first to surrender created the ‘ADVENT Coalition’, which laughably pretended to govern with the aliens, as partners. We all knew better.
Open warfare was swift and brutal. They bombed our cities with a toxic fog that rendered them unlivable, leaving anyone caught within to devolve into a nightmarish echo of their own humanity, forcing the rest of us to flee to the open countryside. Scattered, without our satellites, without anywhere to concentrate our forces, it was only a matter of time.
They decided to stay. Under the ADVENT Coalition, they rebuilt the cities that they cared to in their own design, to their own sensibilities, stripping them of human culture and tradition. There, humans are kept like favored pets: cared for, nourished, but never let off leash. They control information, health, food, and of course all armed forces.
However, their control is not complete. Outside the cities, the aliens don’t seem to care much what the rest of us do. We eke out a life however we can, struggling day-to-day, and perhaps they think that means they can ignore us.
They have always underestimated us.
More and more of us are answering the call to resist. We don’t have much to turn against them, but we find ways: by learning where supplies are kept, when transports are running, who their important personnel are, and where our own prisoners have been taken. We gather this precious information, and we disseminate it to anyone with the means and will to fight back; anyone willing to try and hobble their horrific machine.
They control the planet, but they don’t yet control us, and as long as there are still people able to fight, we’ll support them. No matter the cost.
This is one of three parallel stories that act as a sequel to XCOM: Falls the Shadow. This story focuses on the survivor communities that comprise the non-combat Resistance to the ADVENT coalition government. They live a hard life in the dangerous wilds outside ADVENT’s control, struggling day-to-day between basic survival, dodging ADVENT patrols and crackdowns, maintaining human culture, and supporting the ongoing fight to be free.
Hosted and narrated by:
JPL (Prester)
Started 01/28/24.
Scenes played: 2
License: Community License
