23:28, 04/30/2015, UNKNOWN LOCATION
The room was dark and almost devoid of furniture, save for an almost featureless desk and chair. The room might have been mistaken for a long-forgotten office or storage room were it not for the lack of dust combined with the well-dressed man who stepped into the room. Out of long-ingrained habit he sat in the seat after straightening his tie. His posture was ramrod straight as he pressed a seemingly random spot on the desk before tapping in front of him as though he had a keyboard.
The wall across from the desk flickered as power fed into a monitor hidden in the darkness. Text began to scrawl as the system powered up.
>>SYSTEM ACTIVATION
>>LOGIN/PASSWORD REQUIRED
>>”0”
>>”********************”
>>USER AUTHENTICATED
>>ESTABLISHING SECURE CONNECTION
>>SECURE CONNECTION ESTABLISHED
>>0 IS NOW IN ATTENDANCE
>>CURRENT ATTENDANCE INCLUDES 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
>>ALL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE
“Good evening, gentlemen,” The man known as Zero said to the empty room, and his speech appeared as text on the monitor. “You all have had time to review the reports compiled by Commander David Bradford. We will now discuss—“
Before he was even finished speaking, a line of text appeared that was followed with a synthetic voice. More lines of text and synthetic voices began to join in as the conversation began to spiral out of control.
2: Are these reports a joke? This Stardust project is housing an alien captive? A cooperative alien captive at that?
5: That appears to be the case.
3: I can’t believe Bradford’s allowing it. He’s compromising the security of the XCOM facility in North America. We cannot afford to have our efforts threatened from within at this time.
10: Vahlen’s reports show suspicious activity from numerous personnel who have come into contact with the specimen. A significant portion of the base personnel might be compromised.
>>16 has called for a vote: ENABLE ‘BLANK SLATE’ PROTOCOL, NA FACILITY
>>Yes votes: 5 total, No votes: 8 total, 4 Abstain.
>>Proposal rejected
11: You can’t be so short-sighted. For the first time we have a living, breathing alien specimen that’s willing to cooperate without physical persuasion. The benefits of such an asset are unknowable.
1: Its motivations are completely unknowable as well. What proof do we have that it isn’t an infiltrator designed by the invaders for the expressed purpose of gaining our trust? They’ve proven they are capable and willing to tailor-make forces to fit their environment.
9: You’re forgetting that the infiltrators we’ve been seeing thus far have been somewhat less than convincing. This ‘Twilight’ has none of the tell-tale signs of deliberate engineering that the Thin Men have displayed. Look at the Medical Imaging data. No surgery scars, no redundant or obsolete organ structures, and no implants. It appears to be a product of natural evolution wherever it’s from.
16: Are you seriously trying to argue that somewhere in the universe there’s a world filled with brightly-colored unicorns?
15: Look at the art assets uploaded from the project. I think unicorns are the tip of the iceberg. Gryphons? Dragons? Hydras?
13: It’s all evidence that this thing is an invader tailored to cater to our preconceptions. There’s irrefutable proof that the invaders have been studying us for a significant amount of time. How else could it know about such mythical creatures from our culture?
5: You seem to be discounting the possibility that Twilight isn’t the first visitor from her world to ours.
3: So the explanation of all our myths is aliens?
5: You know what I mean. Don’t be pedantic.
7: Perhaps we should come back to this subject, as we’re getting nowhere. What we should be discussing is the capabilities the creature has displayed. I don’t believe it’s ‘magic’ for one second, but what it can do at will is disconcerting.
3: I’ve read the reports. I’m not happy that the only thing keeping it in place is something as mercurial as a good mood.
10: I concur. Its telekinetic capabilities could render all projectile weapons useless against it. Where are we on reverse engineering the invaders' plasma weapons?
11: Nowhere near finished. Current timelines put the earliest working prototypes at least two months from now. ARC Throwers seem to be the best option, though there’s the problem with range.
13: Range is the least of our concerns considering Twilight’s ability to teleport as well as render itself invisible to the naked eye. I’m struggling to understand why it doesn’t just walk out at any time.
.
2: Or fight its way out. The armor cameras quite clearly show how it dispatched a Chryssalid with rather excessive force. What’s stopping it from simply blasting its way out to the surface?
11: I still can’t believe how intentionally ignorant you all are being. Read the logs and the audio, and spend five minutes looking at the video footage. That thing is desperate for approval and companionship. So long as it is provided, I suspect Twilight will stay and obey orders.
13: I know what the damned logs say, but we cannot know what it is thinking for certain. It is not human and there’s no way to guarantee it thinks in the same manner we do or holds the values we do. Attempting to project human values onto it is foolhardy at best.
1: I concur.
15: The logs do mention the virtues of her people. Kindness, generosity, loyalty, laughter and honesty; do those sound like anything the invaders hold dear?
1: It’s too good to be true.
3: Agreed. An alien that is all sunshine and rainbows shows up out of the blue while we are facing the possibility of extinction at the hands of other invaders. There’s no such thing as coincidences that big.
5: She did not come here by accident. An entity called ‘Discord’ sent her to us against her will.
6: I did notice that, and it greatly worries me. If the reports on the limitations of teleportation are accurate, then Discord knows about Earth. What I don’t understand is why he would send Twilight here.
4: Self-preservation. Twilight’s own reports, if they can be trusted, describe Discord being given an ultimatum to surrender peacefully or be annihilated by whatever the ‘Elements of Harmony’ are. The Elements can’t work without Twilight’s active participation, so by removing her from the equation he’s ensured his continued existence for the time being.
3: So you’re saying it’s not the destination that matters, but her place of origin? That she ended up here was just another coincidence? Why not just teleport her into a star, or deep space?
15: Twilight’s reports describe Discord as… not a stable individual. It might be twisted about like a ball of twine, but I imagine he must have had some logical reason for sending the unicorn here. Perhaps he didn’t know we were at war?
5: Or perhaps he did.
11: I can’t help but notice that everyone is pointedly avoiding the other superpower that Twilight has mentioned personal contact with. This ‘Celestia’ that she mentions--
13: Are we seriously taking religious devotion into consideration? You can’t go two steps outside these days without someone claiming they’ve spoken to their god. And how many kids write letters to Santa Claus with the sincere belief that there’s an obese toy maker at the North Pole who reads them?
7: Your sarcasm is not constructive in this matter.
16: Enough. This speculation is pointless as the only evidence we have comes from an alien. Without independent verification we cannot act on it. Agreed?
1: Agreed.
3: Agreed.
5: Agreed.
4: Agreed.
10: Yes.
11: Agreed.
16: This creature has provided a veritable flood of information that cannot be verified, and I suspect that it is holding back. There have been a handful of occasions where it has refused to comply with Vahlen’s testing procedures, as well. The gentle approach has produced no results that XCOM can use in the field so more severe methods of question may be necessary.
5: You’re wrong. The successful acquisition of alien assets during Silent Rain could be attributed to the creature willingly using her abilities to assist the two volunteers she interacts with.
13: Abilities that she had not displayed when asked to describe her capabilities. Abilities that alter the perceptions of everyone around her. That sounds dangerously close to mind-altering powers. She also used this ability without consent being given. What else has she done while the science personnel weren’t looking?
15: Others have mentioned it as a weapon against Twilight in these proceedings but it’s a sword that cuts both ways. She is not human and does not think like we do, and none of you can deny the desperation for approval she shows when she’s around the volunteers. Where she is from, asking for such help would likely never have been considered since it’s so readily given.
13: Again, what other abilities has she been using without the knowledge of the science team, all to ‘help’?
1: We’re getting off track. It was mentioned earlier that alternative methods of interrogation were being considered?
13: Why are we considering alternative interrogation at all? Just give the thing to Vahlen and let her perform her usual procedures.
16: I’ll have to disagree with that recommendation. This creature is one of a kind, and Vahlen has a tendency to expend her subjects after operations. As enlightening as that interrogation and subsequent autopsy would be, it would waste the potential here.
13: What exactly are you proposing? Stop beating around the bush.
16: The Vault containment facility is nearing completion in Argentina. Its highest security cells were designed with the likelihood of capturing alien command elements intact. The primary holding cell operates like an elevator car. Any sign of breach and the cell drops into the Copahue lava vein while the elevator shaft is demolished with sequential charges. Should the creature attempt to force the doors, it would drop and burn. Regarding teleportation, known restrictions involve line of sight combined with knowledge of the distance between points. Should the subject be sedated and deprived of sensory input in transit, I’m confident potential teleports could be curtailed.
1: These seem like reasonable countermeasures.
16: In addition, professionals can be acquired to coax more information out of the creature while preserving its physical condition.
13: Coax more information? Just come out and say you intend to torture it. I hear it’s a specialty in South America to be proficient in such things without leaving a mark on your victims.
16: Aren’t we a little past the point of being ethically squeamish? We’ve done far worse to these invaders and there was far less objection.
5: What’s wrong about this is that this creature is willingly cooperating with us and will continue to cooperate so long as we’re reasonable.
10: Until it decides it doesn’t want to cooperate any more. I would rather be prepared to throw it into a deep dark hole the moment that happens rather than hope it doesn’t come to pass.
11: I can’t seriously believe that this is being considered. The first friendly alien we’ve ever met and we’re debating how best to torture it.
1: We’re here to ensure the survival of humanity by any means necessary. If you cannot put humanity’s needs over those of an alien then perhaps your replacement will need to be contacted.
“Enough.”
Instantly the debate died as the Zero spoke.
“I will be the first to admit that this creature presents a problem. It might not be a problem that XCOM anticipated, but it is a problem it will need to deal with. Preparation of the Vault will continue. Experts to staff the facility will be contacted, however this will remain as a contingency for the worst case scenario.”
A long moment of silence passed before a response was apparent.
16: I can sense a ‘but’ coming.
“Commander David Bradford’s judgement thus far has been exemplary in both his tactical acumen as well as his management priorities. As it was his decision to house the creature in the manner it now finds itself in which has elicited all the information we have thus far, I recommend the final decision be his. The question now is, ‘Does this Council continue to trust the Commander’s judgement?’”
>>0 has called for a vote
>>Yes votes: 17 total, No votes: 0 total, 0 Abstain.
>>Proposal Accepted.
“Excellent. If there are no further matters to discuss, this Council is now adjourned.” One by one the other Councilmen disconnected.
Zero tapped his desk as he too disconnected from the conference. He tapped another place on his desk and clasped his hands before him.
“Good evening, Commander.”
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/158/326/9148130.jpg
Good morning folks! After the massive amount of interest in the Council's decision I felt it might be enlightening to get a sneak peak in the discussion that led to that decision.
Also, as the Council is never shown ingame I put a little bit of imagination into what a meeting would entail. Rather than each council member heading to some secret location once per month (that might be subsequently hit by invaders), I felt this kind of faceless and voiceless (besides synthetic voices) teleconference would best. That way if any Council Member is compromised he cannot be interrogated to compromise the identities of other Council members.
Next chapter is also under way as well. Will hopefully have this one done by Monday-ish.
Squee! New chapter and we see the head honcho's duking it out like kids!
Nice reference to South America's bonus to interogation and autopsy.
So, this is based in North America. I say these are signs of elitism! Europe or nothing! Cheap labs and workshops surpass aircraft! :D
Love it, keep it up!
Cheers
GM
The sliding scale of "do the ends justify the means." I can't say I'm surprised that half the council just wants to perform an autopsy and move on.
Well that was a nice little look into the minds of the people in control, nicely written man
Actually I do not understand why they do not send one of the council to Xcom. If they are so suspicious about intentions, etc, why not get it directly from the horse's mouth? I mean many of them do not believe in magic. Seeing it first-hand would be a good thing. I mean you would of course go in with a cover identity with only maybe the commander knowing anything about what is going on with a need to know and you do not need to know level of security.
Send #15.
Double space between 'weren't' and 'looking'
And wow, Bradford has the unanimous support of the council. Bet that'll change as things inevitably get worse. And five of them voted to 'Blank Slate' the base anyway.
Where are we in the XCOM mission storyline? If there are arc throwers and Chryssalids in play, we'd have to be getting close to the alien base assault at least, but no laser rifles means they probably aren't ready to go for it yet. Unless Twilight gets to come along and wreck the place, but that seems unlikely given her temperament and how many of XCOM think she's a potential hostile.
2945414
When they're already suspicious that she's altering people's perceptions and minds? That seems like an imprudent choice. Besides, they're busy people one presumes, and they trust the proxies they have to do the job better than they ever could. They don't even show their faces during the conferences with the commander.
You don't get a seat on the the Omniscient Council of Vagueness without learning to delegate.
2945350 Asia or bust. Free Officer Training school, cheaper command and combat upgrades, and 4 countries that you can throw to the dogs without having to worry about losing the continent's ability? I'd say being able to kick ass better > cheaper labs and workshops.
Africa's "All In" is also good, but Asia is the best of all. Especially if you're going after the "No Looking Back" and the "Our Finest Hour" achievements.
reminded me of the way the members of seele in evangelion would meet
2945434
That is kind of why I chose #15. I think that member would be willing to volunteer for it. Plus it is one of the most junior members.
I like the premise of the chapter. Showing the council's differing opinions really makes their orders come into light. It's nice to see there are at least a few members who aren't completely genocidal without needing actual proof of aggression or subversion.
2945453
I'm just not sure what actually taking the risk of showing up at the base and exposing a council member to unknown mind-altering abilities gets them that video footage, every possible earthly medical test they can run, the recommendation of their science team, and interview results wouldn't.
2945445 Pfft. Officer training is only good for a little bit. But cheaper workshops and labs means you can build more, earlier. And they are relevant for longer too!
Research all the way up to plasma weapons, cheaper Firestorm's earlier on...Europe is where it is at, buster! :D
2945506
If you are going to go that far then it should be Twilight typing at the keyboard. Sort of like how she did in arrow 18 where she started making her own log entries.
1: Is there new information available that this council is not aware of?
17: I could provide the council with tons of information.
0: Who are you and how did you get into this meeting?
17: I am Twilight Sparkle and once I knew about computers, it was easy to flip a bit and make it think I was entering the right password. It did take a trace spell hours to figure out which bit but it was worth it.
2945561
That would be hilarious if it also didn't lead to bad end. I can see it now.
Subject has unrestricted access to secure electronic environments. Containment breach. Possible mental subversion through new communication access. Panic mode. No one is safe, not even the children. Etc.
2945574
Yep, that would unwittingly cause an extreme level of panic.
2945330
I'll admit that's EXACTLY what I was thinking when the line got written out.
2945350
It's not elitism. 'MURICA is just better at everything. >_>
2945361
They are quite used to not having to deal with the lingering presence of alien prisoners. They capture them, they get their answers, and then its dead.
2945395
Thanks!
2945414
While first-hand experience is always best, I doubt any council member would be willing to risk themselves to do so. That's why you have minions. :D
2945422
Bradford is an exceptional commander but you also have to consider that the unanimous vote might have been inspired by the person asking the question.
The timeline has started to diverge somewhat from canon XCOM. In Canon XCOM, Zhang is recruited in mid/late March and the events of his later missions take place in late April. I usually delay the base assault until late May if I can, late June if at all possible. In Stardust timeline, Zhang was recruited mid-April, the base assault hasn't been attempted yet, same with the remainder of Zhang's missions. Tech is still relatively low since it's insanely fast how they can come up with hardware in the game. Interrogations and autopsies I could understand taking a week. But Plasma weapons?
2945434
Omniscient Council of Vagueness. I like that.
2945445
I actually choose Asia for my harder playthroughs because the reduced officer upgrades are AMAZING early on. Though if you're classic difficulty or higher you have to build the officer's building.
2945446
Secretive council meeting to direct a military/research organization on how to best fight aliens? I smell another crossover. >_>
2945497
After the last chapter I felt it would be good to illustrate that the Council had many opinions on the matter rather than all agreeing to the same thing every time.
2945506
Remember Kim Ngo's quote from one of the earlier logs? First we thing she's cute, next it's hugs, a month later we're setting the XCOM facility to self destruct in the name of our new furry overlord! All according to plan...
2945547
So long as you wait to build the Hyperwave beacon you can hold off on building Firestorms, which is really where the NA bonus shines. For me the hardest part of the game is the first two months where there is SO MUCH DEMAND for your income, and on the harder modes having the Officer school discount really helps.
2945561
And I imagine that would enable Blank Slate on the NA facility very quickly if they found out she could manipulate electronics to such a degree. Right now the only thing Bradford and Vahlen have to keep their peace of mind is that she CANNOT do that...yet.
2945574
Yep!
Totally awesome take on the council's inner workings.
2945561 Arrow 18? That fic hasn't updated in over a year. Too bad, it's pretty good.
2945547 "Officer training is only good for a little bit."
"And they are relevant for longer too"
Really?
So "Squad Size", "Rapid Recovery", and "Don't Die on Me" loses relevance in the late stages of the game?
Let us not forget all the Foundry Upgrades like "Improved Medkits", "Ammo Conservation", "Improved Pistols" (I'm Sniper and Heavy kind of player), and "Heavy Weapons Platform".
Now compare the number of times you have to do ground missions compared to an invading aircraft (3:1). And even then, once you blow it out of the sky, what happens immediately after? A ground mission to take it over.
Therefore, Asia beats Europe.
I'm really interested now in who is who, beside 16-Arentine and 0-Voice-of-Council.
2945350 Double that. Go Europe, fill half of available space with workshops - that's how I've done it. And with it comes adjustment resource preservation bonus.
2945618 Liked for the 'Murica.
And true. Forgot that the "Pre-built" building was a difficulty thing and not a "congrats for picking us, you get free shit because of it."
Asia Rules.
Now if only we could get Godzilla to wake the hell up and kick the aliens from our home...
Can't wait to see Twilight's reaction to the Psi-labs.
2945506 Even worse: They send 16, who was definitely eager to tear the pony's head open, and he is the one who does a complete reversal of personality.
2945589
Bradford: *walks into the situation room the next morning and looks up at screen*
*drops coffee at the panic levels.*
I´ve never liked the Council in the game and i don´t like it here! I don´t believe that they´re about protecting humanity,but protecting their own interests and gaining more power.
Just look at the global map in the game when you have full satellite coverage.Do you see those dark places on the map that are without satellites?Those places were left to burn while the Xcom protects only the 16 Council states.Around 2/3 of Earth is free-for-all playground for the aliens.
With everything that is happening i really wonder what is Twilight´s true goal on Earth.Gain trust of some humans so they would go against orders to protect her?Or perhaps gain Humanity as trusted ally?This has been bugging me a lot.
And when it comes to Twilight´s contribution to Xcom,not a single person have asked her that simple question-can you teach me magic?
2946200 Actually, that's one of new X-Com's negative points. In original X-Com operated worldwide and while not all countries paid, all required cover, which itself worked differently (I mean, seriously? Same satellite type cover all Russia and yet just Japan?).
2946200
It does seem strange that they're so upset about her not giving full disclosure considering I can't recall them ever asking her to just list her spells/abilities... I'm having trouble imagining her saying no to an excuse to write them a list; though we know she has at least some knowledge of restricted magic (Star Swirl's time travel spell at minimum), I don't see why she wouldn't tell them what the spells all do since saying what the spell does and how to do it are entirely different things (and currently they have seemingly no capacity for spellcasting at all...).
Twilight's motives are sort of mysterious even to the reader. She appears to just be passively waiting for contact from home (entirely reasonable) and complying with their requests while she waits. She HAS made a two minor attempts to determine where she is in relation to Equestria (the internet + trying to memorize her brief view of the stars), but I find it strange she hasn't asked to be allowed to do anything like that; maybe she successfully memorized the stars and is quietly working the math in her head on the side trying to recognize them as stars she's seen before from another angle (not sure even she's smart enough to do that with such a small sample of the sky)? She knows Discord made a "bet" but doesn't seem to think it was a legitimate challenge. I'm wondering if the challenge is simpler than it seems (but still impossibly hard): convince Vahlen to be her friend...
Still, it's kind of weird having the story get this far without her doing anything on her own initiative (other than the spur of the moment protection for her friends).
2946397
The thing is, it will never be enough. It's simple enough human arrogance and entitlement to say that we deserve everything. If we have a need that's life threatening, things just get less pleasant. Twilight tells them her spells? They will want demonstrations. Twilight gives demonstrations, they will want the ability to use them on their own. Twilight tries to help using some sort of technology or arcane magic theory, and when it doesn't go well, they accuse her of holding back, or any convenient excuse and strap her on a table and dissect her and try to clone her horn or something.
I have a feeling that progress is only going to happen when the powers that be realize that they are not going to reverse engineer the cute purple alien and try to work with her instead of exploiting her. Or she dies. But that would make a less interesting ending, really.
As far as Twilight's motives? I don't think she's thinking much beyond "make friends - prevent total mental breakdown" on an instinctive level. She's grasping at straws.
Ooooh, neat. I really like how you've got all sides portrayed here, definitely showing the right amount of suspicion, yet with others voicing that however coincidental, Twilight should be judged by her actions alone and not by those of others. Very nice, especially as they've really agreed that the person "on the ground" should have the final say.
A nice little tidbit. I needed that.
2946452
Right, but they still haven't asked in the first place. I'm not saying it would satisfy them or anything... but they're acting like she's withholding stuff just because she's not volunteering everything without prompting. Do they not realize that SHE doesn't realize that her current situation is that of a prisoner they're trying to extract as much information as possible from, and thus are upset that she's failed to recognize the implicit "tell us everything you know" behind her circumstances?
Yeah but usually when she's unstable or upset she tries to take complete control of the situation. She's a mare of action (just because her favorite action is research doesn't mean it's not action).
UFO Commander
We are the future
We're gonna take you to the future
Then we're gonna get to the future
Where everyone talks like they're from the future
UFO Commander!
Can I say that I am extremely impressed how you protray the council to us. Makes sense without being to cliche. Also like how everything seems to fall to Commander Bradford skills rather than some no Named council in the decision making
2945335
images.wikia.com/evangelion/images/4/4d/Seele_meeting_Ikari.png
2945446
Damn, beaten to it.
2945618
The Council of Nations is actually on the list already.
I kind of want to see them drop Twilight into a lava vein, only to have her burst out, angry and on fire.
2945873
Vahlen might be happy, she'll be closer to having something that can detect magic.
MOAR!!!!
2945632
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
2945659
I greatly enjoyed Arrow 18. I needs it to finish though. I hate it when a story leaves me hanging. (which is partially why I'm working at a break-neck pace with Stardust. Must finish. NAO)
2945674
I actually completely forgot about the foundry discounts. I tend to not get Foundry until mid game. By that time I can just pour money into it for upgrades and such.
2945729
If you have ideas or speculation as to which country is which number then by all means post!
2945735
'MURICA. Also, I've reached the point in my Classic Ironman playthrough where I won't lose any countries unless I get SEVERELY borked or I start losing teams specifically because of my discounted Officers academy.
2945780
A very accurate assessment. Twilight IS a pawn right now.
2945873
Magic. Magic EVERYWHERE
2946179
2946200 2946386
That may be the case in Canon XCOM but in my little story I suspect they'll be a little more proactive in their defense of the world, not just those that pay the rent.
2946397 2946452
Purgamentum said it pretty well. We humans are pretty demanding creatures like that.
2946427
At this point there isn't much she can do. The only way for her to return home would be for her to calculate the rough distance between them and then acquire enough energy to teleport there. It's either that or wait for someone from home to find her.
2946537
I'm happy to provide! After the last chapter and all the discussion that the council's decision spurred, I felt it might be nice to see just what they were discussing.
2946589
It's implied (but I don't think explicitly stated) that Vahlen asked just that when they first started testing with her. Naturally that testing was aborted when Vahlen decided to bully the proverbial dragon.
2946638
I'm sensing a catchy melody and dance number coming on...
2946735
Thanks!
2946768
Oh hey a TV tropes link.
...
I just had a brilliant idea for a little joke chapter for Twilight when she first accesses the internet.
2946953
Your Twilight Sparkle has evolved into Rapidash?
2947191
Perhaps...
2947598
Soon.
And when I say soon I mean as early as tomorrow. Just spent this afternoon cranking out 6k words. Fired it off to my proofreader. If I'm lucky I could have it posted as early as tomorrow morning, barring any major corrections or rewrites.
2948741
What time zone is tomorrow relative to?
2949157
Oh, ah, morning for me will be in approximately eight hours. Of course this all assumes my proofreader gets to me by then. He's in a crazy time zone so it might not be until tomorrow night or even Monday morning or later.
2948741
Oh god, I can imagine Twilight's visit to TvTropes.
It likely would be similar to one time I got trapped there.
I got home from school and thought 'You know, I'll just go on this ONE TvTropes page.'
Before I knew it, it was dark out and I had 12 tabs open.
One point that I am amazed has been overlooked by the Council is the possibility that Twilight's current state is being monitored by the forces that sent her to Earth.
So the question becomes: If she was suddenly terminated, would there be reprecussions from said forces. After all, this unicorn can blatantly ignore multiple laws of physics and project a massive amount of force, so what would a creature that SHE considers to be a 'Goddess' be capable of in a fit of rage at the brutal torture and slaughter of her student.
Humanity would not survive as it would have TWO wars it couldn't win on it's hands.
2950250
She would never escape TVtropes.
EVER.
2951808
You've got good instincts. This possibility is brought up in the next chapter. Enjoy! :D
2945446>>2948741
The alien threat has been eliminated, the promised day has come, and the XCOM project has outlived its usefulness. In order to remove the obstacle to their hidden agenda, the council faked evidence that XCOM is attempting to take over the world with its alien technology and widespread satellite network. And now the entire world's military is after them.
Humanity's greatest enemy, is humanity itself...
XCOM: Enemy Unknown Movie - End of XCOM
Coming 2015/02/30
Just caught this one: Natural bodies are filled with redundant or obsolete organ structures. Think of the Tailbone and the kidneys in Humans, for example.
A real sign of artificiality would probably be a lack of vestigial organs.
"4/30/2013" I did not see it till now but the year is wrong. Xcom: EU is set in 2015.
Good to see that at least some of the Council has their heads on straight. You've noted that plasma weapons are months away, I'm curious about the lasers in the meantime.
Typos/Suggestions:
invaders plasma - invaders' plasma
Keep up the great work!
I was just thinking about it: a few chapters back, Twilight described the discovery of Arcanite as being performed by amplifying light when being subjected to light. So... fluorite? Some other solid form of fluorine? Phosphorus, perhaps?
Please don't answer.
And I absolutely love your story, btw.
2950250 Only 12 tabs? I would have been trapped there forever had my browser not crashed from having too many tabs open.