Update 2: Good BeginningsThat night, my sleep was interrupted by the wails of the siren. The voice over the intercom was loud and decisive, ordering all personnel to the command center. Not wanting to miss the action, I too hurried downstairs and headed for the center.
I could not believe it. I had previously thought it was all an elaborate joke, but now I watched transfixed as the small blip on the radar made its way across the screen. In the background, I could hear the faint roar of the jet engine as the Interceptor launched from its hangar.
The Interceptor was slightly faster than the UFO, and it was gaining bit by bit on the UFO. Before it caught up to the UFO, another message popped up on the screen.
The second UFO was smaller and slower than the first. Again, I could hear the distant roar as our second Interceptor launched for the UFO.
There were now two UFOs over Europe, one heading for England, the other for Spain. Predictably, the second Interceptor caught up to its slower counterpart first.
We all strained our ears to listen as the pilot radioed in to report.Pilot: This one’s pretty small, but it’s still moving at a fair speed. Should I take it down?
Gen. Brooke: Advance to missile range, but beware of alien weaponry. We still don’t know what their craft are capable of.
Pilot: It’s weaving to avoid the missile now…He crashed into the ground!
All around me, cheers erupted in the room. It was good to know that we still possessed air superiority.
The other Interceptor radioed in as well to confirm the crash of the other UFO. We had shot down two of their craft in one night, and they had not been able to even damage ours.UFO-1 shot down Jan 1 over English Channel
We were packed into the Skyranger and enroute to the second crash site within minutes. The first UFO had gone down into the English Channel, and we did not have the equipment nor the expertise to mount a sea salvage operation.
The Skyranger landed in just under two hours, and we were given our orders. Apparently, most UFOs came down relatively intact despite not being able to stay airborne and their occupants were often able to survive crash landings.
UFO-2 crash landed Jan 1 on France-Italy border
Soldiers: Accursed One, David Muller, Frederick “Old” Guye, Grue “Danger” McGee, James Ramirez, Phantom, Dr. Johannes, Frank Braeden
David Muller, one of my comrades, was first down the ramp of the Skyranger. He reported that the UFO was directly in front of the ramp.
David: Holy shit, we landed right in front of it! There’s one of those Sectoids with his back to us; permission to shoot?
Gen. Brooke: Aim carefully, David. He hasn’t noticed you yet.
David: I’ve got him in my sights…
David: Direct hit! The ramp’s clear now, guys.
Frederick: Pah, so small!? Why, back in my day, we had UFOs the size of houses!
*grumble*
Phantom: This side’s clear. I think there was just one Sectoid.
The mission was one of our simplest to date, and I foolishly imagined that the rest of the war would be that simple as well.
David Muller was promoted to Sergeant because he had scored the only kill in the mission, and by extension the first in the war.
There was a lot of euphoria on the ride home, as we celebrated our first successful mission together.
The next week, by contrast, was a quiet one. No UFOs were detected, so we spent most of our time lounging around in the mess hall or in our quarters. On the third of January, our Interceptors were rearmed with dual Stingray missile launchers, as the cannons were hardly able to hit at long range.
On the fifth, our heavy weapons platform arrived. It was armed with a rocket turret and promised to be a valuable asset in a firefight.
On the seventh, Johannes von Kleinfeld, who also worked part-time in the science department, told us that he and his colleagues had developed a field medi-kit to treat wounds in battle.
It was small and efficient, but difficult to manufacture. The engineers said that they would require a week just to produce four.
On the twelfth, I once again heard the siren ringing through the base. This time, a UFO had been detected setting down in the south of Germany, and we were immediately mobilized in the Skyranger again.
UFO-3 landed Jan 12 in the south of Germany
Soldiers: Soldiers: Accursed One, David Muller, Frederick “Old” Guye, Grue “Danger” McGee, James Ramirez, Phantom, Dr. Johannes, Frank Braeden
Operator: Landing zone is clear!
Operator: The UFO’s just southwest of us.
Operator: Sectoid! It’s in the cabbage field next to the farmhouse.
David: I’m aiming for him…
David: Damn, I missed!
Grue: My turn!
Grue: Man, these rifles suck. I can’t even hit a target twenty meters away!
Accursed One: I don’t have enough time to hit him!
David: Phantom, Frederick, Johannes and James, you go around and flank the UFO. Frank, can you see that Sectoid?
Frank: No, I can’t!
Frank: Wait, he moved out! Aiming!
David: Good work, Frank. Operator, could you move the tank forward and scout?
Operator: All clear on this side!
Frederick: Now, any of you young’uns volunteer to go in?
…
Frederick: Well, how about you, Phantom?
Phantom: Oh shit!
Phantom: I got one, but I need backup!
Frederick: Back in my day, soldiers didn’t call for backup unless they needed it!
Frederick: There, he’s dead. Happy now?
David Muller: No more to be found, so I think that’s the last one. Back to the Skyranger!
All-in-all, it was a good mission. The tank had proven to be an effective scout, I had one kill to my name, and again there were no causalities for us. Of course, the real prize was the fully intact UFO. The technology contained within would prove to be a vital part of our war effort. 
))