XCOM 2 - Part 5

XCOM 2: Operation Knife Hole
Featuring: Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Mel Gibson, and Joe Jukic
Mission Type: Sabotage Alien Psionic Relay
Location: Derelict Arcology Complex, New Sahara Megazone

Briefing Room – XCOM Avenger, 0300 hours

Commander Shen’s hologram flickers to life.

Shen: “Commander, we’ve intercepted psionic transmission bursts emanating from a deep-buried alien relay site. We’re calling it… Knife Hole. Intel suggests the Elders are using it to project dreams into global leadership figures—dreams designed to make them compliant. This is mental colonization. You’ve got four agents cleared for psychic terrain.”

The Squad
Tom Cruise – Specialist (Field Hacker, Parkour Expert)
John Travolta – Ranger (Close Combat Specialist, Dance-Fu Style)
Mel Gibson – Sharpshooter (Sniper, Occult Recon)
Joe Jukic – Psi Operative (Codename: “Mythmaker”)

Drop Zone: Outer Wall of Knife Hole Facility
The Skyranger roars overhead and drops them into swirling dust and neon-green psionic mist. Crumbled alien architecture hums with energy.

Cruise: “We ghost in. No alarms. No ads.”
Gibson: “If I see one of those snake ladies again, I’m firing silver bullets.”
Travolta: “Let’s keep it tight and rhythmic. Remember: double tap, spin, glide.”
Joe Jukic (mind glowing purple): “I hear them dreaming. They’re singing in binary. I can rewrite the chorus.”

Encounter 1: MEC Patrol and Codex Cluster
The team creeps through ruined hallways. A patrol of Advent MECs approaches.

Cruise wall-runs across the corridor and disables one MEC with an EMP grenade, flipping backward into cover.
Travolta backflips into melee, slashing a Codex in half and moonwalking away from its clone.
Gibson, perched on a broken statue of an Elder, lines up a perfect headshot through a glitch in reality.
Joe chants something in ancient Croatian. A Codex stops mid-teleport and screams as it collapses into a black hole of forgotten memories.

Objective: Psionic Relay Core – 12 Turns Before Activation
The Knife Hole pulses with light, distorting gravity and sanity. The central relay floats above a chasm of writhing tentacles.

Gibson: “This is what I saw in Apocalypto 2. I wasn’t crazy.”
Joe (telepathically): “Don’t listen to the whispers. They’re just reruns.”

Cruise sprints up the central tower, dodging plasma fire, and slaps the override on the relay.
Travolta holds off a wave of Mutons with dual plasma blades, spinning like a disco warrior.
Gibson activates Deadeye and drops a Sectopod with a shot that bounces off two mirrors and a pigeon drone.
Joe channels raw psionic feedback into the core. The dream-code unravels, revealing a buried subroutine:

"PROJECT EGO: INITIATING SUBJUGATION OF EARTH CULTURE THROUGH CELEBRITY PROPAGANDA."

Joe smiles: “I’ll write a better ending.”

Escape
As the Knife Hole collapses, an avatar of the Elders appears—half-machine, half-Bob Hope.

Elder Avatar: “You could’ve been gods… entertainers… icons forever.”

Travolta: “We already were.” He dabs the alien to death.
Cruise leaps into the Skyranger while on fire, screaming, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
Gibson lights a cigar with a burning psi-scroll.
Joe turns to the team: “Let’s build a new myth. No ads. No Elders. Just soul.”

Post-Mission Debrief
Operation Knife Hole – Flawless Victory
Alien Transmissions Crippled in 9 Regions
New Dark Event Unlocked: Project Cameo Collapse
Psi Feedback Surge: Joe Jukic’s brain now stores 3.2 petabytes of alien meme data.