XCOM: The B-Team, Chapter 11 – Operation Dying Station

THE B TEAM by CHRISTOPHER RUZ Chapter 11: Operation Dying Station   Table of Contents Note – this chapter was written as a thank you to all the XCOM fans on reddit who’ve been reading my fanfic since the beginning. All six squaddies are redditors. All six knew the risks when they signed up. Good luck, kids. - – - “Did you know that I once considered that squad my B-Team?” Commander Pournelle paced outside the infirmary. He’d just completed a lightning-quick tour of the injured, shaking hands and patting backs, and now he was fighting the urge to throw up. From Major Rudd down to the lowest of his Corporals, everyone was bleeding. Some of them more obvious than others. Shattered bones, plasma burns, spinal fractures. Others, like Alan Zelman, were hurting in places the doctors couldn’t fix with antiseptic and skin grafts. His new assistant, Moreau, just ducked his head. “I wasn’t here when you first recruited them, Sir. But I’m sure they’ve made you proud-” “Cut the weasel-word bullshit, Moreau. I sent them into battle week after week and they came back missing parts of their limbs and none of them ever asked for a day off. I promised them equipment and gave them scraps. I said I’d shift the budget and send them out with SHIV support and all they got was dime-store body armour that wouldn’t stop a .22. They were the last hope and they fought like it, and now every damn one of […]