Central Officer Jane Bradford Explains.

"You remembered my name..." Jane's eyes light up with what looks like hope. "Whatever they did to you, whatever happened, we'll get through this. "

She sniffs slightly, before standing up and crossing the room. You take in a better view of your surroundings. It's not a hospital, that's for certain. It looks like an advanced military facility, with readouts and computers against one wall, and small trophies and models and what looks like a skull in a small case nearby.

"It's been 20 years." She leans down to tap at a touchscreen and the row of computers light up with statistics, and what looks like an X-Ray of a skull and a small computer chip. "They came from space. The Aliens had been abducting and probing for years, but they started getting brazen. The attack in Germany in 2012 struck home that they were willing and able to openly attack military units, and X-Com was activated to fight back."

Some old video feed pops up on the monitor. A VTOL ship taking off, small grey aliens with what looked like wristwatch blasters, and footage of civilians being grabbed by what looked like green goo meet your eyes. It's a lot to take in.

"We had our main facility at NORAD in Colorado. We THOUGHT that being buried under a mountain would keep us safe. " She turns her head back to look at you sadly. "Unfortunately, we only had extremely limited facilities, even with World Council support. The bastards kept saying that Aliens weren't real or weren't a real threat, until the monsters started bombing civilians that is. That was when they officially started calling it a war."

A flash of anger crosses Bradford's face as she looks at you.

"They fucking sold us out. The Council decided that there was no way we could stop the Aliens, and so they started making what they called Contingency Plans." She breathes deeply, and looks at you with an even stare. "They told the Aliens right where our base was. That was the price for being Uplifted, as they called it. Now the Aliens are the government and the damn bootlickers call them "The Elders", but that gets complicated and frustrating."

"You were our commander and I was your Executive Officer. We had actually hurt the Aliens a few times. Hell, we saved those civilians in Buenos Aires, and what did the Council do? Issue a reprimand because some Nigerian McDonald's got blown up."

After another second, she winces slightly.

"I'm sorry, Personal..." She rubs at her stomach slightly, and you see her jaw tense as she does. "It's been a hard day, and this is bringing up some bad memories. I lost a lot of good women looking for you over the years. I almost had given up hope that you were still out there. Acted on the Intel as soon as I got word."

She smiles, and her expression becomes a little more gentle.

"I'm going to head down to Dr. Tygan and get her to look at this bruise. Nothing serious, but now that you're stable, She may have some time for me. If you need a little more time to rest, I understand. If you want to... well, you know." She winks at you "Catch up, you can find me in my room. It's one floor down first door on the right. If I'm not there, I'll be at Operations. I never really feel at peace when I'm not keeping an eye on the situation, you know? "

She pauses at the door to the room, and looks back at you one last time.

"It's damn Good to have you back, Commander."

She leaves with no further ceremony, the metal bulkhead closing behind her.