X-COM II: The Earth’s Revenge (Part IX)

[Craptacular]

So we're talking about one, maybe two missions every hour, right?

[JeeberD]

The more the better. Keep em coming, GB... :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

Thanks for all the feedback, both here and over in the polls thread. I appreciate it. Judging by the poll results, it sounds like most people would be fine with an increased pace. I don't think I want (or can) do more than 3-4 per week, but I might try to nudge up the pace to that level when I can. I'm really curious to see how this all turns out, and it's hard to stop once you get playing.

[Poli]

WOO!

[Sublime]

Wicked Awesome!

[Poli]

Just out of curiousity, is this game open ended (by that I mean, could you play forever in theory)? Or is there a time line that the game must end at?

[PsychoCop]

In a sense, it is open-ended... since the only way to truly end the game is to go to Mars and kick alien ass. :)

[kingfc22]

If we do ever go to Mars. I want to be on that mission.

[Tasan]

The Mars mission will probably pretty much depend on our Psi ratings. We don't want the mind controlling there.

[3ric]

Update

We get no rest. 10 hours after the EU COM Skyranger returns to base, Superman scrambles his Interceptor and gives chase to a Sectoid scout UFO over northern Europe. He engages the craft over Northern Ireland and after a short dogfight, downs the craft there.

The ASIA COM Skyranger is airborne within minutes to search the remains. On board are the following ten men:

GlenGoyne, Rich, Jeff Nights II, 3ric IV, Fonzie II, Thomkal II, Travis III, Zippy II, Qwikshot II, and Calis.

Good luck, men.

This mission will go up on Sunday.

Ah, Ireland. Might be best to gather strength before the battle with a pint o' Guinness, eh, lads?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skyranger Transmission

Word in from Jeff Nights II is "Light opposition encountered. No casualties. No problems. Everything is fine."

Mission 83 will go up sometime tomorrow, probably between 9-11PM CST.

[Fonzie]

Skyranger Transmission

Word in from Jeff Nights II is "Light opposition encountered. No casualties. No problems. Everything is fine."

Mission 83 will go up sometime tomorrow, probably between 9-11PM CST.

Translation:

"Everybody's dead. I'm outta here."

[Blade6119]

Skyranger Transmission

Word in from Jeff Nights II is "Light opposition encountered. No casualties. No problems. Everything is fine."

Mission 83 will go up sometime tomorrow, probably between 9-11PM CST.

Wha....what happened to outr trusted pilot?...some one finally shoot thay prick?

[illinifan999]

Skyranger Transmission

Word in from Jeff Nights II is "opposition encountered. casualties. problems. is f."

Mission 83 will go up sometime tomorrow, probably between 9-11PM CST.
I fixed that for ya GB. http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif

[klayman]

I doubt there is anything to worry about, it was only a Scout ship. I don't think GB would go from a perfect Terror mission to messing up a simple Scout Ship extraction. Unless it was night...and the aliens had psi-abilities...and most of them survived the crash...

/glad he's not on the roll call

[Glengoyne]

Whooot!!!
I'm Going IN!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
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uhh the rest of you might want to duck.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Rakurfraggersukmaggothead...

Not gonna make it tonight.

The computer with the write-up, images, and Photoshop on it is tied up at the moment in a work project that was supposed to be done three hours ago, but is quickly becoming the project from hell. I just love working on Sunday nights.

The mission will have to go up sometime late tomorrow afternoon instead.

Sorry for the delay. We'll be back on track soon.

[Blade6119]

take your time man..i know its hard to write all those letters to the wives of all the dead...im just glad im not one of them.

[JeeberD]

take your time man..i know its hard to write all those letters to the wives of all the dead...im just glad im not one of them.

AHEM!

Remember...

"That, my friend, is Karma coming back to kick you in the ass..."

I think that was my favorite QOTM... :D :D :D

[Blade6119]

he jeeber...im on a good karma streak...god is paying me back for killing me on my first mission the first 4 times(including the old games)...im a a good streak now, and UTEP sucks.

[JeeberD]

AHEM!

UTEP = 17-4 (RPI of 46)
Missouri = 9-10 (RPI of 61)

Who sucks now??? :)

[Poli]

I'm missing something. Is everything Jeff Nights says wrong?

[Fonzie]

I'm missing something. Is everything Jeff Nights says wrong?

It's not Jeff Nights per se, but Skyranger pilots in general have been known to be mildly inaccurate, wildly inaccurate, clueless, and/or deliberately deceitful when providing updates on missions. It adds a bit of suspense while waiting for the mission report.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Damn this real world interruption.

Still working...

Aiming for tonight. If all goes well, shouldn't be a problem. I just need 20-30 minutes to finish up the report, add the photos, etc. Before midnight CST.

[Poli]

Just make sure I'm involved, and I'll be happy. :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

83rd Mission: Sectoids in Ireland

The ASIA COM Skyranger chases the night across Europe on the end of its long journey. Ahead lies a large, Sectoid-infested scout that has crash-landed in rural Northern Ireland. The men should set down about mid-morning, and should have plenty of light.

Jeff Nights II has seniority over Qwikshot II, and leads our forces today.

After a short while, the green light goes on and the Skyranger begins its descent towards the countryside below.

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Glengoyne (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Jeff Nights II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. 3ric IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Fonzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Thomkal II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Travis III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Zippy II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Calis (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger begins its vertical descent through cloudy, wet skies to the soggy Irish farmland below. The men scan the battlefield. We spot the large, cross-shaped UFO easily. It lies to the immediate right of our exit, about 10 yards away. The door should be on the far side, facing away from us, but even so, this could be a quick engagement. To the left of the UFO, as we look at it, are a collection of small, single-story farm shacks. Past the nose of the Skyranger, we can see a small apple orchard. Immediately behind that is a two-story, brick barn. The area to the left of our exit is secure ground.

The Skyranger drops the final meters and squishes into the wet turf. The ramp falls away with a wet thud. Light rain begins to dampen the ramp. Cool air wafts into the Skyranger bay. All is quiet.

We roll our tank onto the ramp, then down to the bottom. It hits the wet turf, spins…nothing. It moves towards the UFO and waits. Glengoyne and Travis head out of the Skyranger, and then cut up under the nose of our craft. They’ll work their way up towards the grove and barn up past our Skyranger. Zippy III and Calis exit the Skyranger next. They head for the UFO and then bear left, towards the shacks just to its left. The rest of the men shuffle up to the exit and wait for the exit area to clear.

Our tank moves alongside Glengoyne and Travis as they advance. The team gets to the nose of the Skyranger without incident.

Zippy II and Calis continue their advance towards the shacks, but suddenly a Sectoid comes around from back side of the UFO, about 20 yards away! Both Zippy II and the alien go for their weapons at the same time, but Zippy gets to his trigger first and drills the alien with a ferocious plasma blast that cuts it in half. The creature howls and falls to the ground in two pieces. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Now that the exit is clear, we move out in force. Jeff Nights II takes the Blaster Launcher and heads out the Skyranger and left, where he sets up a firing position on the wet grass. Thomkal II exits next and heads out to provide firing support for Calis and Zippy’s advance. Rich heads out, joins Travis by the nose of the Skyranger, and together they head straight for the barn. Fonzie is next out, and he heads for Glengoyne, who has taken up a position by the tank. These men will sweep around the right side of the UFO once Rich and Travis clear the barn. 3ric IV and Qwikshot head out of the Skyranger last. The two of them head straight for the UFO. We can see a small plume of smoke drifting up from the exact center of the craft, which should indicate a hole in the roof. 3ric IV and Qwikshot begin prepping grenades to toss in the hole.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM83-1.jpg
X-COM forces search an Irish barn for Sectoids. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Things continue quiet, except for the booming thuds of 3ric and Qwikshot’s grenades. Both 3ric and Qwikshot miss their targets with their first throws, and the grenades go off harmlessly on the roof of the craft. However, 3ric’s second toss pierces the needle, and the muffled roar that follows brings a subsequent alien scream! Yes, 3ric IV got his first kill! X-COM 2, Aliens, 0.

Elsewhere, things are eerily quiet. Glengoyne and Fonzie wait at the tank for the “all clear” from Rich and Travis, who make it to the first barn and clear it without incident. Calis makes a thorough and uneventful search of the two small shacks to the left of the UFO while Zippy and Thomkal provide cover. Qwikshot lands his last two grenades inside the UFO, but we get no result. Grenade supply exhausted, 3ric moves to back up the men to the right of the UFO, while Qwikshot moves left of the UFO. Jeff Nights II waits to blow something apart with his Blaster Launcher.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM83-2.jpg
X-COM troops advance past a downed UFO in Northern Ireland. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

The minutes tick away and the men continue to move on. As we clear the two sides of the UFO, we spot some more structures. Just past the right side of the UFO is a two-story, brick building. Also, about 40 yards past the UFO on the left side are two more such buildings.

Time for strategy. The area past the UFO on the left is wide open, and in order to approach the barns past the open area, we’d have to expose our flank to any aliens exiting the UFO. The building on the right of the UFO is about even with the exit, and there is a small grove in front of it to provide cover as we approach. We’ll take this building first, and then use it to cover the UFO exit as the squad on the left of the UFO approaches the two remaining buildings. We’ll also hit these buildings with the Blaster Launcher to soften up anything inside.

We move out. Glengoyne cuts away from our tank and heads into the orchard that leads up to the first barn. 3ric hurries forward to join Glen. Zippy and the tank alongside the UFO to cover the UFO exit. Rich and Travis start towards the right side of the building through an open field on the far side of the structure. The men on the left side of the UFO wait, but Thomkal II makes some grenade tosses into the UFO to kill time. The blasts rock the still landscape, but provide no kills. Thomkal shifts back into line with the rest of the men waiting to the left of the UFO.

Suddenly, our tank spots an alien approaching through the field in front of the two distant buildings, about 40 yards away! Fonzie opens up from this side of the UFO. Thomkal, Calis, and Zippy all open fire from the far side of the UFO and tear the field apart. The Sectoid makes a dash for the UFO entrance, but Thomkal cuts him down with a perfect shot to the torso that drops the alien to the soggy field, dead.

That’s it? Aargh! All that movement for just three aliens? Yikes. I thought there would be at least a half dozen given the size of the craft and the fact that it was only mildly damaged.

Kills: Thomkal II, 1; 3ric IV, 1; Zippy II, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Thomkal II, 3ric IV, Zippy II
Final score: 88
Mission Notes:
I really wanted to get our captains some kills today, but the scant resistance didn’t allow us much action.

Lots of motion, but not much fighting today.

[Blade6119]

man...wheres all the deaths and such...Godzilla, your not becoming a good gamer are you?

[tucker342]

:eek:

[3ric]

Woot! \o/

I'm not a noob in the Sectoid-bustin' business anymore! It'd be nice to have seen eye-to-eye with the critter, but I'm not complaining. Now, for that pint o' Guinness, with being in Ireland and all...

[Thomkal]

:::shudder::: Barns...:::shudder::: why must there always be barns in missions I'm on?

Good job all-glad the captains didn't get any kills, I need to catch up. :)

And GB, I wasn't hoping to kill time with those grenade throws.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Urgent Directive

Eyes Only

To: All X-COM Agents
From: Godzilla Blitz

There will be a formal briefing of all X-COM agents Wednesday evening at 11PM CST.

Over.
GB

[Poli]

Does this include those of us on the friggin' waiting list? :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

Does this include those of us on the friggin' waiting list? :)

Yup. It's just going to be post of a meeting. You're there.

[Tasan]

I feel a alien base attack coming, or possibly the breakthough to get to Mars we needed. I want to go!

[Travis]

Excellent job GB, now then, onto important matters, what finger foods will be served at this meeting?

[MrBug708]

*wakes up*

Something to do? Awesome

[DeToxRox]

.. I have an Autograph show that night, no chance of rescheduling is there?

[klayman]

Massive layoffs!

[kingfc22]

Meeting? Meeting? Were talking about meetings man. I don't need to go to no stinking meeting. Just put me on the aircraft and you'll see what I can do. Meetings? What a joke.

[PsychoCop]

Oooh, are we going to do this meeting via video-conference through SAMCOM? :)

[Poli]

48 minutes to go. I'm holding down the fort.

[PsychoCop]

Can't wait. If I'm not here, GB, I'm volunteering for any dangerous mission you might have for us. :D

[JeeberD]

48 minutes to go. I'm holding down the fort.


Look at the memo again. Wednesday at 11pm. This is only Tuesday, AE... :)

[Poli]

CRAPT! I THOUGHT IT WAS WEDNESDAY! :) Actually, I thought it was for Tuesday...Bummer. I'll hold the fort for a long time, I guess. :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

PsychoCop: Yup, the VirtCom Rooms are getting set up now.

Travis: Thanks! Finger snacks are being provided by Crappy. Um, let's see here. Here it is. "Muton Munchables", "Reaper Crackers", and "Floater Floats". Now I know where all those missing alien corpses went. Enjoy!

Klayman: LOL! Sorry, but there's only one way to get laid off, and it's permanent.

Thomkal: Nice shot, by the way! It was a beautiful long shot across the field at a moving target. Bingo.

3ric: It was a little bit of a cheezy way to get your first kill, but you're alive!

Blade6119: I'm a good gamer on the missions you don't go on. ;)

Those Concerned about our Skyranger Pilots: Over the layoff, I fired all our Skyranger pilots. We're running on auto-pilot for the time being, but the new pilots are getting processed as I write this. Personnel Department has assured me that they are much better than the old ones we had.

Tentative schedule for the next few days...
Wednesday: X-COM General Meeting
Thursday: New Stats and an Update
Friday/Saturday: Mission 84 posted.
Sunday: New Update
Monday: Mission 85 posted

[Poli]

23.5 hours and counting. :)

[tucker342]

lol

[PsychoCop]

Hmmmm maybe "Poindexter" finally talked... just guessing though...

[JeeberD]

T-Minus three hours and fifty minutes... :)

[Poli]

3 hours and 30 minutes.

[The Afoci]

I bet his computer crashed and he lost the game and the saved game file.

Beatings will be accepted, cyberstyle, at 11:00p.m. on Friday.

I got nothing.

[Blade6119]

what is the timer ardent?

[Poli]

2:32 minutes by my microwave.

edit to clarify

2 hours, 32 minutes by my microwave.

[kingfc22]

Have I killed any aliens yet?

[Blade6119]

lol...thank you oh master of micro

[Poli]

1 hour, 54 minutes according to Mr. Wave.

[Swaggs]

Check... check...

[Poli]

testes, testes, 1, 2, 3?

[Blade6119]

ardent...isnt your OOTP time coming up soon?

[Poli]

Forget OOTP. IT'S X-COM TIME!

[kingfc22]

The master is here. Ssssshhhhhhhhhhh

[Poli]

He has my Precious.

[Poli]

1 hour microwave time.

[Qwikshot]

beep-beep-beep

[Swaggs]

Something is gonna go down tonight...

[Godzilla Blitz]

You guys are hilarious. The meeting's not for another hour. Go clean your weapons, or mop a base floor, or take some target practice, or something. ;)

[PsychoCop]

*Enters SAMCOM VidConference room while screaming to someone outside*

"I said COFFEE! COFFEE! This isn't COFFEE! We're in SOUTH freaking AMERICA for crying out loud! COFFEE! I don't want these beans!"

*Sits down*

"Is everything on schedule? Are we set? Why isn't the video screen on!? AND CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME COFFEE!?"

*Looks around, noone's there.*

[Swaggs]

I guess we all forgot to synchronize our watches... :redface:

[Poli]

48 minutes, microwave time.

[Poli]

Should we be worried? I just saw someone who looked like Morgan Freeman pass me in the hall.

[Poli]

29 minutes, microwave time. :)

[JeeberD]

T-Minus 13 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Craptacular]

*Enters SAMCOM VidConference room while screaming to someone outside*

"I said COFFEE! COFFEE! This isn't COFFEE! We're in SOUTH freaking AMERICA for crying out loud! COFFEE! I don't want these beans!"

*Sits down*

"Is everything on schedule? Are we set? Why isn't the video screen on!? AND CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME COFFEE!?"

*Looks around, noone's there.*


Juan Valdez and his burro should be on their way.

[kingfc22]

Is Yoda going to be a guest speaker?

[JeeberD]

T-Minus four minutes!

[MikeVic]

Is this a meeting on the board? Or in IRC?

[kingfc22]

kingfc22 reporting here sir. Ready for my first official X-Com meeting.

[Qwikshot]

ding! Dinner is ready...

[JeeberD]

Showtime!

[Sublime]

Tis time...

[Godzilla Blitz]

X-COM General Meeting

Eyes Only Top Secret

At all five X-COM bases, the newly installed VirtCom rooms were abuzz with hushed conversation. Each room was identical, with four large wall panels linked via satellite, one wall displaying each of the other bases. Everyone—from distinguished vet to inept rookie—was present. Even the agents on the waiting list were called in to USA COM. At AFRICA COM and SAM COM, you could see the pimply, nervous troops on the beginning legs of their guard duty stints. At the other three bases, there were the tough, scarred vets with the silent eyes—eyes that had seen too much death, eyes that had lost too many friends, eyes that held horrific stories of heroism and anguish. In the back of USA COM, there were a handful of nervous civilians—the new recruits not yet called into action—either too nervous to speak or too nervous to shut up. One in particular seemed to have an enthusiastic comment about everything and anything, until finally Wade Moore gave him a sharp stare that shut him up. But at each base there was a tense curiosity in the air: never before had all X-COM troops been called to a general meeting.

At exactly 11:00PM CST, Godzilla Blitz, Head Scientist Crappy, Chief Engineer Sterling Ice II, and Commander Kodos came into the room at USA COM. Everyone snapped to attention. The four men made their way to a table at the front of the room and sat down on the chairs lined up behind it. Godzilla Blitz began.

“X-COM Agents. At ease. Be seated.” He paused to let everyone sit, then began. “For ten months we’ve been fighting a defensive war against the aliens. We’ve scrambled to meet every threat. We’ve held our own and we’ve fought well.” A few men grunted approvals. “But the supply of aliens has been endless, and UFO attacks have increased greatly over the past month. There is every indication that the volume and strength of UFO attacks will increase in the near future. No matter how many we kill, there are more that step up and take their place. We have to outkill them ten-to-one just to break even, and every agent we lose is an irreplaceable loss.

“A few months ago, it became apparent to X-COM Command that we would never win the war the way we’ve fought it to date. In the end, we would simply get overrun by numbers, and the Earth would fall to the alien horde.” Several loud boos fill the conference rooms. Godzilla raised one hand, palm slightly down, to quiet the men. After a moment, he began again. “We realized that we needed, somehow, someway, to take the fight to the aliens, to go on the offensive, to hit them on their home turf.

“To be honest, we feared that this would be impossible. We thought we might need hundreds of agents and dozens of ships capable of distant space travel in order to take any kind of an offensive fight against the aliens. To be brutally honest, we feared we were doomed to die, and doomed to lose this valiant yet hopeless war.

Godzilla paused a moment, eyed the men, then resumed. “I am thankful to say that recent events have proven us wrong in this regard, and I stand before you this evening to tell you that last night Crappy and his dedicated researchers achieved a major breakthrough with their interrogation of “Poindexter”, the Sectoid Commander captured during the German base raid. We have every reason to believe this intelligence is accurate, and the significance of these findings will become apparent once you hear Crappy’s story. Men, I present to you, Head X-COM Scientist, Doctor Craptacular.”

Craptacular stood and picked up a slide clicker. A side display panel descended in each of the X-COM VirtCom rooms. Crappy began as the panels settled into place. “Men, you all know that the interrogation conducted late last month told us that the alien attacks have originated from Mars, our nearest planet. This was, at the time, extremely good news for us, as one of our greatest fears was that the aliens were coming from a star system too distant for us to ever reach given our level of technology. But we needed to know much more for this information to be of any use to us. How many aliens are on Mars? How many alien ships are there on the planet? Where on Mars are they located? What kind of defenses do they have? Who leads them? How could we penetrate their defenses? Are they beatable? How the hell could we get there?” Crappy paused again. “The questions seemed endless, but nevertheless, we persevered.” Crappy paused for effect. “I am pleased to say that we now have the answers to most all of these questions.” A buzz of hushed excitement runs through the five rooms. Men leaned forward in their seats.

“Men, we now know that the alien presence on Mars is a controlling force that coordinates their attacks on earth and throughout their entire attack sector, which spans several solar systems. This controlling force is stationed at a base on Mars code-named Cydonia. Long a riddle to many astronomers on Earth, this face-shaped area was most often dismissed as a fluke of nature. I show you a photo taken of that area taken two weeks ago.” The side panel displays a black-and-white photo of the surface of Mars.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOMB-1.jpg
The surface of Mars, showing the alien Cydonia base. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

“In the top right of this photo, you can see Cydonia. Let me zoom in.” The slide expands, showing a blowup of the section.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOMB-2.jpg
Cydonia, up close. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

“Men. This is our target. You can see that there are distinguishing construction features on this photo. Note the several pyramid-shaped mounds.” A red pointer highlighted the structures on the map. “These mounds and features you see here are just the surface portion of the base. One of these mounds leads to a subterranean base in which the alien command center lies. Inside this command center is our prize. We have learned that therein lies an alien ‘brain’, if I can call it that, that relays commands from the aliens’ home planet and in turn communicates with all the aliens involved with the attacks on earth. And this brain, men, is the one thing that we have been hoping to find for the past five months. This brain is the weak link. We knew that the aliens have been using some sort of telepathic, PSI-enhanced communication method, and this is what controls all of that. Our interrogations of Poindexter have convinced us that if we can knock this brain out, all communication to the aliens our system will cease, and all communication between the aliens in our system and the aliens’ home planet will cease. In essence, this brain does much of the thinking for the aliens, and if we take it out, the aliens here will cease self-function. Hell, it wasn’t until we brain-shielded Poindexter to prevent communication from the master brain that we were able to extract information from him. Left to their own, the aliens in our system will go into a form of cryonic state, turn around, and begin the long journey back to the mother planet. We will have won, and attacks on Earth will cease for at least the next hundred years.”

For the X-COM agents present, who have long assumed the war would last the rest of their lives, this was a gift of hope beyond their wildest dreams, and the buzz in the rooms was tangible.

Godzilla Blitz looked at Crappy and cut in. “Thanks, Crappy.” He then faced the men and again paused for effect. “Men, we aim to take this brain out.” Cheers welled up in the five rooms. Several of the men were standing. A number of men were clapping. A chant of “X-COM, X-COM!” welled up in the room. Godzilla calmed everyone with both arms raised. “Over the next few months, we will be focusing our operations on this final goal. We have many things to do before we can launch such an attack. First, we need a craft capable of space travel and capable of delivering a payload of personnel and equipment sufficient to get the job done on Mars. Crappy and 100 of his best researchers are working around the clock to develop a prototype model of a craft capable of making just such a trip. Once they’re done, Sterling Ice II and his engineers will begin immediate construction of the craft. Second, we need to determine the composition of strike force to make this attack. We are currently looking to have a strike force of 17 agents and 2 hover tanks, although this may change as things progress. Along these lines, we need to discover who of you are best suited for this attack. The fighting on Mars will be against the best the aliens have, and there will be hordes of them. The strike force must take control of the surface of the alien base, find and enter the passage to the underground command center, eliminate all resistance there, find the alien brain, and destroy it. Our intelligence tells us that we will come under intense, repeated PSI-attacks, and we need to find out who of you here today can sustain such attacks without cracking. To that end, we have more than doubled our PSI-training stations, and our focus for the months of November and December will be to evaluate every one of you that we think has the potential to be a member of the attack force. Third, we need to develop and construct better armor, tanks, and missiles for the attack force. Captured Floaters have led us to believe we can make armor that will allow us to fly in battle, and armor that will be more durable than our existing suits. A few of you have seen our new Hover Tanks, and we need to bring those on line as well. In short, there is much to do. But we will do it, and do it fast.

“There are huge risks in all of this, men. We need to get our ship to the surface of Mars. This may or may not be easy. Poindexter has revealed numerous passwords, codes, and ‘safe lanes’ through the alien defenses that should allow us to avoid anti-aircraft missiles and defenses on the way in. I say ‘should’, with some uncertainty, as we simply don’t know to what degree these codes will have changed by the time we get there. We do know the aliens know that we took Poindexter alive, and we have to assume that they will modify some or all of these codes and lanes at some point. Still, it’s a chance we’ll have to take, and we’ve ‘leaked’ a story about the untimely and premature death of Poindexter to the press to fool the aliens into thinking that we don’t know enough yet. Also, we’ll probably launch a diversionary attack on the alien base in Britain, with claims leaked to the press that we are frantically trying to capture another alien commander. Hopefully, this will keep the aliens from making all-encompassing changes to their defensive network.

“There is one more risk, though, that makes the risk of approach tiny in comparison. Our interrogations have revealed that if the alien brain on Mars is threatened in any way, it will send out an urgent call to strike at the enemy perpetrating the attack. The result will be that every UFO in this sector—and we believe there to be current alien operations against several star systems in this sector—will make a beeline for Earth once the first shot is fired on Mars. Men, we estimate that there are nearly 1,000 UFOs currently active in the system. The Earth would be overrun in a matter of hours. Every man, woman, and child on the planet will die.

“We’re only going to get one shot, men, and we need to make it a good one.”

The silence in the rooms was deafening. Men, fighting without hope, had suddenly been given hope. And each man in the five rooms silently asked themselves the question: “Am I to be one of the chosen ones? One of the few who will stand for humanity and determine the fate of mankind?”

An agent in the back of the USA COM room raised his hand. Godzilla acknowledged it. “Captain Patman, yes, go on.”

Captain Patman stood. “Sir, any idea when we’ll be making this attack?”

“Making a craft to get us to Mars will be our greatest engineering challenge to date. We estimate that even with a 100% effort, it will take us more than two months to build the craft, and we can’t start that until Crappy gets the prototype done. Best guess: two to three months from now. With UFO attacks increasing dramatically—we’re picking up almost one UFO each day now—we expect that we still have a hell of a lot of fighting to go before we can attack. To be exact, 62% of UFO spottings have resulted in ground combat missions. With about ten weeks before we can launch our Mars mission, we should have somewhere between 40 and 50 more missions. There is hope for everyone here, if they perform admirably and if they have the talent, to be one of those 17 agents to fight for humanity.

“But remember, men, all of this is moot if we’re dead three weeks from now. We need to survive until we launch the attack. Keep givin’ ‘em hell, and be ready to defend your bases. We know the aliens know where we are, and it’s vital that we not lose any bases as we prepare for the final assault. It’s no longer an “if they hit our bases”; it’s now a “when they hit our bases”. Expect them to come knocking on your door. And if we lose a base, our entire operation could be jeopardized. If we should lose EU COM or USA COM, we’d most likely lose the war. There is no room for error at these bases.

“That’s all, men. Get back to work. Dismissed.”

[Poli]

Ping.

[Qwikshot]

Damn.

[Poli]

Rock on.

[Poli]

I got a feeling this means I may never get in the game, though. :)

[Sublime]

Son of a crapper...sucks my bravery blows.

[PsychoCop]

I knew it.

Now someone hand me a nice hot cup of coffee.

[Poli]

Yes sir.

[Coffee Warlord]

It's almost time.

GB, all I gotta say is, that's the most ridiculously insane battle...ever. If less than 90% of the troops you send (and I want in!) aren't dead by the end, I'll be impressed. :)

[JeeberD]

Death to the alien horde on Mars!

[Blade6119]

If we win, can we start over? This is the best dynasty ever!

[kingfc22]

If I am not lucky enough to be chosen, I will honorably guard my base of operation until the return of the X-Com Elite Attack Force.

Possibly 50 missions left. I still have a chance.

[MikeVic]

I like that Mars picture. :)

I know I'll be one of the chosen. Isn't there some quote somewhere saying that the weakest ones are the strongest? Or.. err.. umm.. nevermind.

[PsychoCop]

Coffee: Agreed. I barely won a game via Blaster Launcher... my VERY LAST MAN sent a rocket down the corridor and managed to hit the brain. GAME OVER. My crowning moment.

[Coffee Warlord]

Coffee: Agreed. I barely won a game via Blaster Launcher... my VERY LAST MAN sent a rocket down the corridor and managed to hit the brain. GAME OVER. My crowning moment.

Got ya beat there.

My first victory in the game, I sent max troops + 1 tank. Was down to 3 people left. One of them happened to be my commander. He got mind controlled, shot one of the 2 remaining people. Commander got under control next turn, panicked. Other remaining guy got mind controlled, walked into a plasma gun.

And the last man standing, the fearless leader of the X-Com forces, mindfucked beyond belief, stumbled his way into the brain, and emerged victorious.

Even better, I name my guys after friends. I told him about his exploits as Commander, and his quote after I told him he offed most of his army while under alien control. His response? "Did we win? Yes? Screw em. Weaklings deserved to die."

[Poli]

X-COM General Meeting
One in particular seemed to have an enthusiastic comment about everything and anything, until finally Wade Moore gave him a sharp stare that shut him up.


Umm, was that me? :)

[JeeberD]

I'm thinking that it was... :D

[Abe Sargent]

If we win, can we start over? This is the best dynasty ever!

Someone might do X-Com: Tales from the Deep the next chapter in the saga.

-Anxiety

[Blade6119]

good ol ardent

[Travis]

Ohhhhhhhh, it gives me chills. Once we get that new armor going, think I'll goalieize mine with some custom art so the aliens know what's coming for them from now on...

[Kodos]

Cydonia, my name is Kodos. You killed my friends. Prepare to die.

[Travis]

Ah, now mix in some Andre the Giant and the nostalgia will be complete :D

[Qwikshot]

I think it's more traumatic that some of our good agents may not survive to be picked...it'll be more nervewracking till the ship finally heads to Mars (I think we all know that is going to be a tough battle), it's the funny things that can happen on the trivial runs that I worry about (stray bulltet, wild richochett, improperly deployed grenade)...(chills)

[Fonzie]

Woohoo!

[fantastic flying froggies]

...yawns
...cracks an eye open
...looks at the alarm clock
...looks at it again...


"SH!T ! F*CK ! Missed the damn meeting !!! Guess I'll have to read the transcript...probably some useless info anyway from the big shots..."

:D

[Breeze]

Sorry, I missed the meeting. Guard Duty. I want in (or course - I'm brave and stupid so why not.)

[fantastic flying froggies]

...yawns
...cracks an eye open
...looks at the alarm clock
...looks at it again...


"SH!T ! F*CK ! Missed the damn meeting !!! Guess I'll have to read the transcript...probably some useless info anyway from the big shots..."



...some 2 hours later...

I 've read the meeting minutes...oh oh...Guess i'm in trouble now...That'll be me mopping up the toilets of USA COM forever now...

[condors]

better late than never i guess

[Blade]

Great meeting! Ooooh...chill down my spine...

I am determined to train as much as possible to try and be selected for the mission...

Now if only I can avoid dying...!

[Wolfpack]

Wolfpack departs the meeting and returns to his bunk. As he tries to sleep, a scene from The Matrix plays out in his mind...

"So, has he told you why you're here?"

"Yep."

"So...you're here to save the world. What a frickin' mind-job! I mean, what do you say to something like that?"

[Thomkal]

X-Com! X-Com!

Thomkal II volunteers to be the first to be tested for psi-ability GB and of course go on the ultimate mission should he survive until then of course.

[hoopsguy]

If/when my newly generated guy turns out to be mentally worthless then I would like to volunteer to take on a slew of missions now in an effort to protect the resources we want on the flight to Mars.

Kind of a tough choice with the good PSI-ranking guys - do you run them in a bunch of missions now to make them tougher for Mars, with the risk of losing them now or keep them under close wraps so as not to jeopardize them.

[Sectoid Leader]

Puny earthlings.

You want some?

Come get some.

We'll send you home in boxes.

[klayman]

Puny earthlings.

You want some?

Come get some.

We'll send you home in boxes.
Shouldn't you be out raping a cow?

[Kodos]

Puny earthlings.

You want some?

Come get some.

We'll send you home in boxes.

We're already home, you interstellar bastards!

[Toddiec]

I would like to be the first to volunteer to fly the ship to Mars! I have been itching to get my hands on some of that crazy alien technology for a while now! I like shooting small UFO's down in a blazing inferno just as much as the next guy, but I want to fly something that can take out one of their battleships! The X-Com Air Force will be feared once more!

[klayman]

We're already home, you interstellar bastards!
I think he means from Mars, you silly alien. :)

[Kodos]

I think he means from Mars, you silly alien. :)

Good point. ;)

[Qwikshot]

We're already home, you interstellar bastards!

Actually, Earth really isn't your home is it?

[RawIsDan]

I'll stay back and make sure the women are ok. :D

[Godzilla Blitz]

Updated Stats...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 83)

USA COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
14. Wade Moore Active Colonel 23 22
43. Achilles Active Sergeant 17 13
46. Patman II Active Captain 19 10
61. Rawisdan Active Squaddie 14 7
73. CTHomer Active Squaddie 10 6
75. Alf III Active Squaddie 6 4
92. Jeeber D Active Squaddie 6 5
93. Afoci Active Squaddie 6 4
96. Illinifan V Active Squaddie 4 3
98. MrBug IV Active Squaddie 6 3
112. Airhog II Active Rookie 1 0
113. Anxiety II Active Squaddie 1 1
114. Blade6119 IV WND (9) Squaddie 1 0
115. Klayman III Active Squaddie 1 1


EU COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
2. jfbbis Active Colonel 20 19
10. Kodos Active Commander 23 22
19. Revrew Active Captain 21 17
37. The Time Active Sergeant 18 5
55. Sublime II Active Squaddie 14 9
66. Tasan Active Squaddie 13 6
70. Naiwf Active Sergeant 13 9
89. RealDeal III Active Squaddie 9 3
90. Coffee Warlord II Active Sergeant 10 8
97. Blade III Active Squaddie 4 4
101. Wolfpack Active Squaddie 5 3
102. Japherwaki II Active Squaddie 7 6
105. Swaggs Active Sergeant 7 5
110. Breeze Active Squaddie 2 2
116. Chuck U Farley Active Squaddie 1 1
120. Sachmo III Active Rookie 1 0


ASIA COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
15. Rich 1033 Active Squaddie 19 13
35. Jeff Nights II Active Captain 22 10
39. Thomkal II Active Sergeant 17 15
41. Fat Football II Active Sergeant 18 8
45. Danny VanHalen Active Sergeant 17 13
52. Qwikshot II Active Captain 17 11
76. Fonzie II Active Squaddie 10 7
78. Render II Active Sergeant 11 6
84. Split Pers III Active Squaddie 6 7
103. Condors II Active Sergeant 6 7
106. Travis III Active Squaddie 6 4
108. Zippy II Active Squaddie 4 2
109. Glengoyne Active Squaddie 3 2
111. 3ric IV Active Squaddie 3 1
118. Calis Active Rookie 1 0



SAM COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
71. Wignasty Active Squaddie 7 3
117. Psycho Cop II Active Rookie 0 0
119. Tucker II Active Rookie 0 0
121. Katon II Active Rookie 0 0
122. Mike Vic Active Rookie 0 0



AFRICA COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
59. Daimyo II Active Squaddie 9 5
74. AStott WND (4) Captain 12 16
94. Data King III Active Squaddie 5 2
123. Vince Active Rookie 0 0
124. Sir Fozzie II Active Rookie 0 0
125. Chief Rum IV Active Rookie 0 0
126. The Herd Active Rookie 0 0
127. Hoops Guy Active Rookie 0 0
128. ShaefIllini Active Rookie 0 0


X-COM II Troop Attributes

Name TUs Sta Hlt Brv Rea Fir Thw Str PsD PsS
2. jfbbis 75 82 61 30 35 82 58 56
10. Kodos 80 90 58 50 61 79 73 57
14. Wade Moore 79 81 56 30 59 91 72 67
15. Rich 1033 75 68 44 20 55 54 70 62
19. Revrew 76 67 54 30 36 65 59 58
35. Jeff Nights II 68 75 54 60 32 64 60 52
37. The Time 70 79 53 50 62 52 57 47
39. Thomkal II 70 92 60 30 56 50 61 49
41. Fat Football II 71 72 43 50 38 69 73 52
43. Achilles 70 73 55 10 45 78 79 53
45. Danny VanHalen 75 79 48 10 42 63 78 51
46. Patman II 76 69 51 60 47 52 79 54
52. Qwikshot II 73 81 45 10 58 77 65 52
55. Sublime II 72 73 44 10 40 73 76 55
59. Daimyo II 65 60 48 30 47 70 64 43
61. RawisDan 68 50 37 60 37 67 74 48
66. Tasan 65 60 46 50 39 64 58 52
70. Naiwf 74 70 53 50 40 62 69 49
71. Wignasty 64 45 37 20 38 61 72 44
73. CTHomer 68 67 38 10 58 45 62 46
74. AStott 73 55 51 50 55 71 62 55
75. Alf III 59 52 36 40 52 50 55 46
76. Fonzie II 68 74 52 20 42 63 79 46
78. Render II 66 59 45 50 57 72 69 46
84. Split Pers III 66 68 42 30 40 64 67 41
89. RealDeal III 70 72 33 60 47 64 68 51
90. Coffee Warlord II 73 81 46 60 38 72 69 45
92. Jeeber D 61 57 38 20 30 59 75 36
93. Afoci 61 59 37 30 40 45 54 44
94. Data King III 63 52 31 50 36 52 58 35
96. Illinifan V 57 50 44 50 56 53 66 40
97. Blade III 64 70 46 50 60 46 62 34
98. Mr. Bug IV 61 64 45 10 34 69 66 34
101. Wolfpack 65 72 33 40 35 61 59 32
102. Japherwaki II 67 77 42 20 32 51 52 48
103. Condors II 64 67 37 60 51 68 66 50
105. Swaggs 65 72 41 60 51 72 69 42
106. Travis III 65 61 43 30 54 69 58 35
108. Zippy II 58 71 35 40 47 69 51 35
109. Glengoyne 64 67 44 30 34 67 53 42
110. Breeze 61 49 35 60 31 67 54 41
111. 3ric IV 52 61 31 30 45 50 56 25
112. Airhog II 52 63 27 50 56 44 54 29
113. Anxiety II 55 66 37 30 57 64 67 40
114. Blade6119 IV 55 47 41 10 37 72 60 27
115. Klayman III 62 73 41 30 34 69 57 31
116. Chuck U Farley 57 63 31 40 53 65 76 32
117. Psycho Cop II 50 61 28 10 60 67 50 37
118. Calis 55 56 26 50 39 55 73 29
119. Tucker II 58 60 26 60 50 55 64 29
120. Sachmo III 54 54 32 50 46 56 57 32
121. Katon II 50 49 28 40 55 67 54 37
122. Mike Vic 59 41 38 10 32 44 52 34
123. Vince 53 65 26 10 45 64 57 39
124. Sir Fozzie II 60 65 27 10 31 67 50 25
125. Chief Rum IV 55 46 25 30 50 52 63 38
126. The Herd 51 66 37 40 58 50 77 40
127. Hoops Guy 52 49 36 40 41 59 65 24
128. ShaefIllini 55 45 40 10 59 56 64 28

Key: TUs = Time Units; Sta = Stamina; Hlt = Health; Brv = Bravery; Rea = Reactions
Fir = Firing; Thw = Throwing; Str = Strength; PsD = PSI Defense; PsS = PSI Skill

Support Personnel

Head of Research: Craptacular
(Current researching focus: Ultimate Fightercraft, Fusion Missile)
Head of Engineering: Sterling Ice II
(Current manufacturing focus: Power Suits, Fusion Ball Bombs, Hover Tank, Firestorm Fighter)
US Interceptor Pilot: CapnMorgan ( 9 Kills)
EU Interceptor Pilot: Superman (10 Kills)
AS Interceptor Pilot: Toddiec IV ( 9 Kills)


Attribute Leaders (After Mission 83)

Time Units: (80) Kodos
Stamina: (92) Thomkal II
Health: (61) Jfbbis
Bravery: (60) (Nine tied)
Reactions: (62) The Time
Firing: (91) Wade Moore
Throwing: (79) Fonzie II, Achilles, Patman II
Strength: (67) Wade Moore


Attribute Doggies (After Mission 83)

Time Units: (50) PsychoCop II, Katon II
Stamina: (41) Mike Vic
Health: (25) Chief Rum IV
Bravery: (10) (Eleven tied)
Reactions: (30) Jeeber D
Firing: (44) Airhog II, Mike Vic
Throwing: (50) Sir Fozzie II, Psycho Cop II
Strength: (24) Hoops Guy


Top Ten Kills Leaders

1. Wade Moore 22
1. Kodos 22
3. Jfbbis 19
4. Klayman (KIA) 18
5. Revrew 17
6. Shorty (KIA) 16
6. Astott 16
8. Thomkal II 15
9. Four tied with 13


Waiting List

ID Name Base Status Rank LBrvOK? OptUp?
129. Joker Ace - AWOL Rookie Yes No
130. Ardent Enthusiast - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
131. Peregrine - On Call Rookie Yes No
132. Raven Hawk II - On Call Rookie Yes No
133. Northwood DK - On Call Rookie Yes No
134. Shorty II - On Call Rookie Yes No
135. Lokugh III - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
136. BYU II - On Call Rookie Yes No
137. Kingfc - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
138. Barkeep - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
139. Fantastic Froggies - On Call Rookie Yes Yes

[sterlingice]

Head of Engineering: Sterling Ice II
(Current manufacturing focus: Power Suits, Fusion Ball Bombs, Hover Tank, Firestorm Fighter)[/code] Not to sound like an imcompetent boob, but what are these fusion ball bombs and firestorm fighter I'm working on?

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

October 25-27

Less, than 24 hours after the general meeting, EU COM radar picks up and tracks a large, Muton-controlled UFO over Europe. The craft touches down in Iceland, prompting us to lauch the EU COM Skyranger in hopes of catching the craft on the ground. However, the UFO takes off again before we get there, prompting us to reroute the Skyranger to base. Shortly after our Skyranger touches down, the UFO lands again, this time in northern England, less than 50 miles from the alien base. We immediately send the EU COM Skyranger out again, and this time it looks as if we'll have better luck catching the UFO on the ground. With luck, we'll beat the night and start our assault in the late afternoon on the 27th.

On board the Skyranger:
Revrew, The Time, Tasan, Real Deal III, Blade III, Wolfpack, Japherwaki II, Swaggs, Chuck U Farley, Sachmo III.

While this goes on, CapnMorgan engages and downs a UFO scout over North Dakota. USA COM prepares their Skyranger for interception and launches. They'll reach their target shortly after the EU COM Skyranger begins its engagement.

Mission 84 will go up on Friday or Saturday.

[Blade]

Ok...time to prove that I belong on the Mission to Mars...

Wasn't that a movie? ;)

[klayman]

Not to sound like an imcompetent boob, but what are these fusion ball bombs and firestorm fighter I'm working on?

SI
Fusion balls are the next step in missle technology, while the firestorm is a fighter based on UFO technology.

I hacked the X-com servers. hehe. Dad would be proud. But shh...don't tell GB.

[sterlingice]

Well, Crappy just sends me blueprints. I don't even know what I'm building half the time.

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

Sterling: The fusion bombs are the programmable ammo for the Hover Tanks. I think they pack a big punch, but not quite as much as the missiles from the blaster launchers. The Hover Tanks hold eight fusion bombs each. As soon as we get enough made, we'll start sending them on some missions so that we get used to fighting with them. We'll take 1-3 such tanks with us if we make it to the Mars mission.

Raw: You might rethink that. If we lose: no more booty. If we win and you're a hero: lots of booty for the rest of your life.

Toddiec: Got it. Superman might want in as well, and we'll make the decision on head pilot as the time draws near. Since the Mars craft will have a flight crew of three, you'll all be on board. We won't be using our regular Skyranger pilots, that's for sure.

Sectoid Leader: Bite me.

Qwikshot: Excellent points. The stakes'll get higher on each missions as we get closer and closer to launch. It would suck to be on the list to go and then die a week before launch.

Everyone:

* I'm assuming that everyone will want to go on the final mission.

* Don't worry about "attendance" at the meeting: everyone was there.

* The selection of troops for the final mission will be based on a bunch of factors. Although bravery is important, I'm leaning towards putting more emphasis on PSI defense, which is an unknown for everyone. Also, anyone who doesn't go to Mars should still see front-line fighting before that time.

* If you're on the waiting list, I'm guessing you'll see quite a bit of action. We're losing a little less than one agent per mission. With 40-50 missions left, you should easily make it into combat, even if our kills per mission is falling. I would even think people on the waiting list have a moderate chance of making the final mission. It depends on so many other factors, but I can think of a lot of scenarios where you'd get a chance to make it.

Coffee, Psycho: Yikes! You guys are scaring me! I had no idea the last mission would be that tough. I allowed myself to read the strategy guide section on the final mission, and they don't make it sound too bad. Then again, they don't go into much detail.

Blade6119, Anxiety: I won't be doing another full-fledged X-COM dynasty, even with the sequel. This is it. This is a blast to do, but I've got a couple of other dynasties I want to try next. I suppose at some point I may take a shot at the sequel, but not with full mission writeups and not to the same detail as this dynasty. It would be much briefer reports, etc. If anyone wants to take on the sequel, feel free. I'll sign up in a second!

[NAIWF]

GB: While it was nice seeing my name on the attribute leaders, you mixed up my reactions and firing. I don't belong on the list for the quickest reaction times :(

[Poli]

AE's morale went up with GB's last post. :)

[Poli]

Dola, I'll be gone for 4 days starting tomorrow, so if I receive a call up to active duty, by all means count me in.

I'll let out a cheer on Tuesday if it happens.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Naiwf: Thanks! Fixed it.

Ardent: No problem. Got it.

Klayman: I think the fusion balls are for the tanks, and the fusion missiles are for our new aircraft. I might be wrong though.

Sterling: I'll try to keep you filled in on what all you're making. I change it around a lot to fill emergency needs, so sometimes I have no idea what we're making either. Sometimes I'm not sure what something does either, so I'll just make one of whatever it is and then let Blade6119 try it in combat.

[Craptacular]

Sometimes I'm not sure what something does either, so I'll just make one of whatever it is and then let Blade6119 try it in combat.

Yeah, we ran out of interns after a while.

[kingfc22]

GB - just wanted to let you know that on the latest update you had my opt-in as "no" when it should be "yes" like the last update. Thanks a let's kick some martian butt.

[AStott]

Dang it! Still injured. Grrr...

I hope I go to mars... I hope I go to mars...

:D

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skyranger Transmission

Word back in from Captain Revrew:

Encountering moderate Muton resistance. No casualties. Mission proceeding as planned. Like taking candy from a baby.

[Poli]

Oooh.

[tucker342]

Bring 'em on!:D

[klayman]

Klayman: I think the fusion balls are for the tanks, and the fusion missiles are for our new aircraft. I might be wrong though.

Yeah, I was thinking missle==projectile weapons. I think you are right though, it's been a long time since I played.

[Poli]

I've never played this game...nor heard of it until recently...though I recall seeing the X Com dynasty thread often enough.

CW may have to hook me up one day.

[Vince]

AE, if you've never played this game, you're missing out. Probably The Best Game Ever Made (tm).

Godzilla Blitz - keep up the good work...here's hoping for some high Psi-Power :)

[Coffee Warlord]

Didn't make it sound too bad? Heh.

Psi Attacks From Hell? Check.

Having to move all your troops into one location you have to find on the map, WHILE being Psi Nuked, Shot At, and generally screwed? Check.

Just getting INTO the HQ is brutal. Once you're in. Hoo boy. It's a race against time. How quickly can you find the brain before your team kills each other. Oh. And there's enemy aliens shooting at you too.

[sachmo71]

Didn't make it sound too bad? Heh.

Psi Attacks From Hell? Check.

Having to move all your troops into one location you have to find on the map, WHILE being Psi Nuked, Shot At, and generally screwed? Check.

Just getting INTO the HQ is brutal. Once you're in. Hoo boy. It's a race against time. How quickly can you find the brain before your team kills each other. Oh. And there's enemy aliens shooting at you too.


You need to stop scaring the kiddies. Let them experience the fun for themselves, Coffee!

[Lokugh]

I've never played this game...nor heard of it until recently...though I recall seeing the X Com dynasty thread often enough.

CW may have to hook me up one day.

Ya know...you have a chance to play the new version of this game, if you want. I believe the new XCom game just came out. Played the demo...it was pretty good. Not quite the same, but good.

Lokugh

[Blade]

What? Blade III might live for another mission? It must be Friday the 13th or something...

(I know, bad joke...)

[MikeVic]

So if one has a low bravery score, can one still have a high PSI score?

[Godzilla Blitz]

MikeVic: Yes, the bravery score and the two PSI ratings are completely different. Bravery rating indicates how likely you are to panic when the mission starts going bufu. The PSI defense rating indicates how likely you are to succumb to alien PSI attacks. PSI skill refers to your ability to use PSI attacks on aliens. PSI defense does not change at all. PSI skill increases with training (and use, I think). Bravery almost never changes, but it does go up if your morale falls below 45 in a mission and you don't crack. The PSI ratings are unknown until an agent undergoes PSI training. We just began that last month, and their are about a dozen agents currently in PSI training. We'll find out their results on October 31. Next month we can train 10 at USA COM, 10 at EU COM, and 20 at ASIA COM. We don't have any PSI training rooms yet at AFRICA COM or SAM COM, and probably don't have time to build any. You've got to get to one of the three big bases to get PSI-trained. Lastly, our intelligence tells us that a low PSI defense rating would be a kiss of death on the final mission. I'm concerned about low bravery, too, but not as much.

Blade: Your guy has awesome reactions. Rumor has it that the top brass has their eye on you for the final mission. But I didn't tell you that. It's just a rumor.

Lokugh: Are you referring to UFO: Aftermath? I bought the game used, but haven't had a chance to play it yet. I've read a few threads over at Gone Gold where the majority of posters didn't like the game, though. Supposedly tactics/AI are non-existent, you can't enter buildings or blow them up, and the game balancing has problems in that the aliens bring out these turbo weapons about 2/3 of the way into that game that pretty much destroy your squads no matter what you do. Overall, it didn't sound like as much fun as the original. At some point, I'll give it a try, though, just to see what it's like. I do believe that Firaxis and Sid Meier have bought the rights to X-COM, Master of Magic, and Pirates. I know their working on a sequel to Pirates right now. If anyone could do a remake of X-COM justice, it would think it would be them. They usually "get" it.

Vince: Thanks!

Ardent: If you pick up the game, be sure to pick up the Collector's Edition. The regular version has a lot of problems on newer computers.

Astott: I think that number might be off by a day or two. You'll be back in action very soon.

Kingfc: Got it. Thanks! To be honest though, at this point it might not matter, as there is no one that is opting to refuse low bravery soldiers. Best strategy is to get into the game as quickly as possible, and don't die.

Coffee: I believe you about the final mission. The strat guide doesn't go into much detail, but the numbers and quality of enemies reads like an Alien All-Pro Team. They're bringing their A-Squad, that's for sure.

[Coffee Warlord]

You need to stop scaring the kiddies. Let them experience the fun for themselves, Coffee!

Have to. Our regular morale officer is on vacation.

[Blade]

Blade: Your guy has awesome reactions. Rumor has it that the top brass has their eye on you for the final mission. But I didn't tell you that. It's just a rumor.


Hooray! I need to prove my worth, then!

:)

[Godzilla Blitz]

84th Mission: Mutons in Britain

The EU COM Skyranger slices through the mid-afternoon sky on route to the large, Muton scout in Northern England. We’ve been following this craft for two days now, and this is EU COM’s third attempt to attack the thing. We’re racing against time: the UFO has landed of its own power and we want to get to it before it takes off again.

The men inside the Skyranger today are some of our finest veterans. Kodos and Jfbbis are sitting this mission out, so Revrew gets his first command.

The green light goes on. The Skyranger begins a fast, bumpy descent to the countryside below. Looks like we made it in time. It’s party time.

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Blade III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Wolfpack (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Real Deal III (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Tasan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Sachmo III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Revrew (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Japherwaki II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. The Time (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Swaggs (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Chuck U Farley (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops quickly through the cold grey skies of northern Britain. Strong winds buffet the craft. The men try to get a glimpse of the battlefield. We appear to be coming down on the southeast corner of the zone, which as usual is typical British countryside. We can’t see the UFO or any other structures. The only distinguishing features we can make out are two small groves, one to the immediate right of our exit, and one about 20 yards off to the left rear as we exit the craft. We’ll be coming down on the southeast corner of the battlefield; most of the areas to our exit’s right and to the nose of the craft are secure ground. The action will lie dominantly in front of our exit and to its left.

The Skyranger slams hard into the ground and bounces. Everyone inside falls hard to the floor of the craft. Equipment tumbles everywhere. The craft comes down again, this time a bit softer, and then the ramp drops away. As the men pick up weapons and scramble to their feet, the red alarm flashes! Hot landing!

There is a Muton in a field off to the right rear of our Skyranger, about 30 yards away. Our tank rumbles down the ramp. Revrew and Blade race to the edge of the exit. Once there, they drop to a knee and open fire. The Muton drops to a knee to return fire, but Revrew hits it twice to send it tumbling over onto its back. We hear no scream however, and can see from here that its chest is still moving. It’s still alive.

Our tank makes it to the bottom of the ramp, where it spins and searches for more aliens: nothing. However, we can now see a line of what looks like three two-story buildings about fifty yards in front of our exit. We quickly start to deploy.

Blade and Sachmo head out of the Skyranger and go slightly right, into the small grove that lies over there. Tasan and Japherwaki II exit and head slightly left. These four men, with our tank now in front of them, form a line and start advancing on the buildings in front of us. Chuck U Farley heads out and left, to cover our left flank. Real Deal heads out and back up towards the nose of the Skyranger, where he sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. The rest of the men wait for the exit area to clear.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM84-1.jpg
X-COM troops advance across British farmland. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

As the men advance on the buildings, they can hear doors opening and closing. This is not a good situation, as we’re moving through open fields on a concealed, dug-in enemy. We need to shake things up a bit. Real Deal fires a Blaster missile up over the Skyranger and into the brick wall of the building on the right. The entire wall goes up in a mighty blast that devastates the building and sets the field in front of it aflame. Ooops. So much for that stunned alien. He’s gone up in flames too. However, we hear no screams from inside the building, and catch no sight of alien movement. The men continue to advance. The tank weaves in front of them, trying to draw fire. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Suddenly, two Mutons approach from in front of the left building and open fire on our tank. One shot clangs off the tank, damaging it slightly. The tank returns fire and nails a Muton in the side of the stomach, but the thing stays up. Our line of men all open fire at once. Plasma tracers tear across the fields. Errant shots tear up the grass near the enemy and punch large holes in the wall of the building. Sachmo catches the right Muton with two quick shots that topple it over. Immediately after that, Tasan catches the other one with a shot that rips its leg off at the knee, and then Japherwaki catches it in the head with a shot that decapitates it. The body drops to the ground. Good shooting men! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

We expand our position. The Time exits the Skyranger, heads left, and joins up with Chuck Farley. Together the two of them begin a slow advance left into the fields on that side of our Skyranger. As they do this, they spot the enemy UFO—a bulky three-story craft—concealed behind the grove to our left. From our position, the craft is about 50 yards away.

While Swaggs, Wolfpack, and Revrew wait at the exit ramp, the rest of our men resume their advance towards the buildings. On the far right, Blade catches movement through the smoke coming from the building on our right. There’s something on the roof, about 50 yards away! There it is! An enemy sniper is sneaking into position. Swaggs and Revrew, at the top of the Skyranger exit ramp, actually have good long shots at this Muton. The two men drop to a knee and let rip on full auto. Plasma blasts race across the fields. The Muton drops to a knee, but Swaggs nails him in the chest and blows him backwards to the surface of the roof. The creature howls and dies. X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM84-2.jpg
A Muton sniper waits for targets. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Just as suddenly, Chuck U Farley catches movement in the grove in front of the UFO. Chuck and The Time train their weapons on the swaying trees as Japh and Tasan—much closer on the left side of our advancing line of men—toss grenades into the shadowy trees. Just before they go off, The Time spots the Muton moving between two trees and gets off a quick shot. The single shot sails into the woods and hits the Muton in the stomach, sending it howling to the ground! Nice shot, The Time! Wow! The two grenades go off a fraction of a second later and a chunk of the grove goes up in two crashing explosions. X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

Although we hear the whirring of internal UFO doors, things go relatively quiet for the next few minutes. Chuck and The Time explore the area to our left a bit, and then swing right towards the UFO. We can now see that the UFO is a square craft, with exit doors on the east and south sides, both of which face us. Chuck and The Time set up a firing position at a low stone wall that overlooks the craft.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM84-3.jpg
X-COM troops wait in ambush for aliens trapped in their UFO. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

On the east side of the UFO, we shuffle our personnel a bit. We get Wolfpack out of the Skyranger, and then send him, our tank, and Blade on a slow advance towards the east side of the UFO. They make it there without incident, and set up a firing position, using the tank for cover, about 10 yards from the east door. Japh, Sachmo, and Tasan resume an advance towards the half-destroyed right building. They make it their without incident as well, then begin to sweep through the smoky building toward the one to its immediate left. Real Deal waits in the field for targets of opportunity. Revrew and Swaggs stay in reserve in the Skyranger. After a bit, Revrew exits the Skyranger and heads for a hedge that overlooks the south UFO exit. He’ll add his firepower to that of The Time and Chuck.

After a few minutes, the east exit of the UFO pops open and a Muton steps out in front of Wolfpack and Blade. The two men open fire and tear the thing apart. The lifeless body drops to the ground in front of the exit! X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

A couple of minutes after that, our tank spots a Sectoid coming around from the back side of the UFO, about 40 yards away. The Muton twists away and heads back out of sight. This is the perfect shot for Real Deal, and he quickly plots a firing course for the open field behind the UFO and pulls the trigger on the Blaster Launcher. His rocket soars over the Skyranger, across the fields, around the UFO, and then slams into a small tree on the far side. A massive plume of smoke and fire shoots up from behind the UFO, and we can hear the screams of a dying Muton! Finally! Real got himself a kill! X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM84-4.jpg
The war-torn British countryside. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Before we can catch our breath, a Muton charges out the south exit of the UFO. Revrew opens fire and hits him in the arm, but the Muton is able to spin away and make it back inside the UFO before The Time or Chuck can get a shot off. Then another alien comes around from the backside of the UFO, this one only about 30 yards away. Our tank and Wolfpack open fire as the Muton lines up our men. A tank round rips off an arm at the elbow, and then Wolfpack hits it in the chest, killing it instantly in a puff of green. The body crumples to the ground. X-COM 8, Aliens 0.

Meanwhile, Japh, Tasan, and Sachmo work their way into the middle of the three buildings. So far, no sign of aliens over there.

Back at the UFO, “no aliens” is not a problem. As Swaggs leaves the Skyranger and jogs to add his weapon to those trained on the south exit, the alien Revrew hit springs out the exit again, and this time it knows exactly where Revrew is. It opens fire before anyone can get a shot off, and sends a plasma bolt right at Revrew. The shot blows apart the low hedge in front of him, but Revrew is ok! As the Muton twists to run back inside, Revrew returns fire, hitting the alien in the back and dropping him to the ground, dead! Almost as quickly, another alien comes out the exit! This time Chuck Farley gets off a shot, and it’s a good one. It slams into the alien’s torso and slams him back against the wall of the UFO, where the alien slides to the earth and dies gurgling in its own blood.

At the east exit, another alien exits! Once again, Blade and Wolfpack open fire from point blank range on full auto. Multiple shots rip apart the Muton, and it twists wildly as it falls and dies. X-COM 11, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet again. Japh, Tasan, and Sachmo methodically clear the last of the three buildings and quickly search the field behind the UFO. Nothing. Whatever aliens are left have to be inside the UFO. We wait for a while, and then decide to bust the UFO.

Tasan and Swaggs will lead the way in. We’ll go in through the east door and take it from there. After a few minutes the two men are in position. Tasan heads up to the door, pops it open…

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM84-5.jpg
X-COM agents prepare to assault a UFO. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Nothing. There is a wall in front of him and to his left, but a passageway opens onto a room to his right. He heads into the room. In the center is the mutilated corpse of a large cow sitting on some sort of an anatomy table. Ye gads. There are no signs of aliens, however. Swaggs joins Tasan inside the UFO, and together the two of them begin a search of the first floor. The room they are in wraps around the outside of the UFO, but apparently there is no access from this entrance to the rest of the craft and the grav-lifts up to the higher floors. Damn. We’ll have to send men in through the south exit.

Wolfpack and Revrew make their way to the south exit and prepare to enter. After a minute they are ready. Wolfpack takes a deep breath, pops the door…

Muton, in the corridor right in front of him! Wolfpack has the element of surprise and pulls the trigger on his heavy plasma first. Three shots slam into the Muton and it topples backwards to the floor of the UFO, dead! Whew! Way to go, Wolfpack! X-COM 12, Aliens 0.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM84-6.jpg
X-COM agents come face-to-face with a Muton. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

And that’s the last alien! Well done, men! That was a tough one.

Kills: Revrew, 1; The Time, 1; Real Deal III, 1; Blade III, 2; Wolfpack, 2; Japherwaki II, 1; Swaggs, 1; Chuck U Farley, 1; Sachmo III, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Everyone! Yippee!
Final score: 466.
Mission Notes:
Fun mission. Lots of aliens to kill and no PSI stuff to have to deal with. Good feeling when everyone gets experience. We still haven’t had a mission where no one dies and everyone gets a kill. The only one that came up short today was Tasan. I thought we could make it by sending him into the UFO, but alas, it was not to be. We sent him in the wrong door.

We only get credit for 11 kills. The game doesn’t count unconscious aliens killed by grenades as a kill for the soldier who throws the grenade.

Revrew is consistently racking up kills, and gradually closing in on the X-COM leaders. He’s one behind third-place Jfbbis, and only three behind Kodos and Wade Moore for first place.

[Kodos]

Nice job, Boys! Revrew is becoming a fine soldier! I was worried about that injured alien getting him...

[tucker342]

Great job GB!:)

[SirFozzie]

Now I'm itching for a mission :)

[Tasan]

The only one that came up short today was Tasan.Are you really suprised by this? The legacy continues....

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

October 27

As the EU COM Skyranger heads back to base, the USA COM Skyranger launches to clean up the UFO crash site in North Dakota. They should strike in mid-morning, which will give us plenty of daylight.

X-COM HyperWave Radar identified Ethereal communications from the craft before CapnMorgan shot it down. Ethereals are always such fun at parties.

On board:
Alf III, Achilles, Patman II, Illinifan V, AStott, Airhog II, Afoci, Wade Moore, Jeeber D, Mr. Bug IV.

Good luck, men!

Upcoming:
Monday (probably night): Mission 85
Tuesday: Updated Stats & Mission 86 Lead-in
Wednesday: Skyranger Transmission for Mission 86 (with our new Skyranger pilot!)
Thursday: Mission 86

[illinifan999]

Don't make me die in North Dakota please! We don't want an Illinifan VI. Maybe he'll run away like II or was it III?

[tucker342]

lol, can't even keep them straight anymore!:D

[Godzilla Blitz]

RING RING RING

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoops.

Calling everyone on guard duty at SAM COM and AFRICA COM! Pack up your gear and report to processing for active duty assignments.

There are 12 of you down there available (2 are AWOL, though). We need eight of you, so we'll take the first eight to respond. The slowest four have to clean the whole base by themselves and miss all the fun.

117. Psycho Cop II
119. Tucker II ( in transit)
121. Katon II
122. Mike Vic (in transit)
59. Daimyo II
94. Data King III
123. Vince
124. Sir Fozzie II (in transit)
125. Chief Rum IV
126. The Herd (in transit)
127. Hoops Guy (in transit)
128. ShaefIllini (in transit)

We're not calling off the waiting list yet, but if you're on the waiting list, we'll be calling quite a few of you once we reach the first of November, game time. Saves money this way; if we call you now we have to pay you for October.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

Skyranger Transmission

There is no word from the USA COM Skyranger. We are unable to raise them via radio. Probably just a technical difficulty. Don't worry.

[illinifan999]

:eek:

[JeeberD]

Uhoh, my first mission in forever and it sounds like trouble...

[ShaefIllini]

I'm ready for an assignment

[hoopsguy]

Reporting for duty. I'm sure I'll miss all the excitement here in Africa, but will do my best to cope.

[MikeVic]

Answering the call. Just don't put me in any nasty fights. I'm here for the status I'll gain as being a part of X-Com!

[DeToxRox]

I am ready for anything..

... ANYTHING.. (Lip lick)

[tucker342]

reporting for duty

[tucker342]

dola-

Update

Skyranger Transmission

There is no word from the USA COM Skyranger. We are unable to raise them via radio. Probably just a technical difficulty. Don't worry.

That can't be good....

[tucker342]

I was wondering why he was calling for 8 of us... I guess that answers my question...

[revrew]

Um, we can't lose Wade Moore. No. Nope, can't lose him. How many categories is he a leader in??

As for the EU Com mission, I was glad to wing a couple of those punks so our boys could get the kills. Just rip off alien appendages from long distance and send the youngsters in to mop up the mess. Nice mission, men. As for that shot into the hedge at my feet, you know what they say about "close" - it only counts in horshoes, hand grenades, and foreplay. Better luck next time, alien dogs.

[SirFozzie]

I'm in if I'm one of the 8 ;)

Answering active duty call :)

[The Afoci]

North Dakota isn't friendly.

[Blade]

Nice job on our mission, GB! Glad I could contribute with a few kills...

Let's hope the US team is alright...

[The_herd]

I can't count too well. So I'm just going to respond regardless of whether I'm in the 8 or not.

[Blade6119]

There are 5 guys with names beginning with A on this mission...this is like begging to die

[Godzilla Blitz]

The communication glitch was just that, a glitch…

(photos coming in an hour or so)

85th Mission: Ethereals in North Dakota

The USA COM Skyranger is barely airborne before it starts its descent to the North Dakota farmland. The short jaunt to the UFO crash site takes less than 30 minutes, and the men have to hurry through their equipment checks. The weather outside should be sunny and cool, a perfect day for combat.

Back in action after extended layoffs are both Illinifan V and AStott, both of whom have been out with wounds.

Wade Moore will lead us.

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Alf III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Achilles (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Patman II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Illinifan V (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. AStott (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Airhog II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Wade Moore II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Afoci (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Mr. Bug IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends through the clear skies to the North Dakota farmland. The men inside scan the battle field below. We appear to be coming down on the edge of a farm complex. We can see three two-story buildings: one sits to our exit’s immediate right; one sits about 40 yards away, off to the right rear of our exit; and the last sits straight out from our exit, about 60 yards away. We’re coming down on the southwest corner of the battle zone; the areas to the left of the exit and towards the nose of the Skyranger are secure zones. The battle today will occur to the right and rear of our craft. We can’t see the UFO, yet.

The Skyranger touches down. The ramp drops away and hits the ground with a thunk. Silence. Our tank heads down the ramp, reaches the bottom, and scans for aliens: nothing. Alf III and Airhog II exit the Skyranger and take up firing positions at the landing gear while our tank makes a more extensive search of the nearby area. We’re hemmed in by the three surrounding buildings, so we can’t see all that much, but there appears to be nothing nearby waiting to kill us. Still, these buildings are perfect hiding places for enemies; we’ll want to clear them as quickly as possible. We deploy in force.

Jeeber D and Afoci exit the Skyranger and head for the building (a barn) to our immediate right. Once there, Afoci blows a hole in the outer wall so the two men can enter and begin their search. Achilles and Airhog II follow our tank alongside a stone wall that leads up to the building (a house) off to our right rear. Once there, Airhog II blows a hole in the outer wall and the two men enter. Illinifan V and Alf III head straight out from our exit for the most distant building (another house). They reach it without incident. These two men can now see yet another two-story building just past a hedged-in grove behind and to the right of this building. Man, this is some tight quarters. While Illinifan keeps and eye out for aliens in the grove and more distant house, Alf III starts into the house the two men have just reached.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM85-1.jpg
X-COM agents move in on a North Dakota village. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

While these searches are going on, Patman II exits the Skyranger and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher near the nose of the Skyranger. Our tank pulls back to a small open field that lies between the first two buildings. AStott and Mr. Bug IV exit the Skyranger and join it there. The two men follow our tank in a slow advance through the field to a low hedge at the far end. AStott and Mr. Bug can now see the UFO, a crossed-shaped scout, lying in a field about 30 yards beyond the two buildings nearest us.

The first two buildings are cleared without any sign of alien movement, but Illinifan V reports that he heard a house door close in the fourth building, and AStott and Mr. Bug can hear the whirring of UFO doors. We’re getting close. Jeeber D and Afoci take up positions on the far side of the first building, just behind a stone wall overlooking the field that sits in front of the UFO. Achilles takes up a position at a window of the second building that overlooks the UFO and intervening fields. Airhog, who has just cleared the rooftop of the building, also moves towards the edge overlooking the field and UFO. Illinifan V and Alf III continue securing the third building.

Suddenly, Achilles spots an Ethereal, about 30 yards away, approaching the second building through a field to the left of the UFO! Achilles goes to fire, but the Ethereal is too quick! A plasma blast races for the house, cuts through the window and slams into Achilles’ shoulder, badly denting the armor and sending waves of pain through his torso. Achilles gets off two quick shots before the Ethereal retreats, but they both sail badly wide. Achilles ducks out of sight to catch his breath and shake his shoulder loose. Airhog, up on the roof, moves closer to the edge to try and pick up the Ethereal, but he can’t spot anything. In the field to their right, AStott preps a grenade and makes a long toss to the location we think the Ethereal retreated towards. AStott’s grenade goes off an instant later, sending a cloud of turf and smoke skyward. Right after the explosion, we hear the frantic screams of a dying Ethereal! Nice throw AStott! Good to have you back! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Back at the third building, Alf, who’s now on the roof, gives the all clear. While he moves close to the edge of the roof in order to try to spot movement in the fourth building, Illinifan V advances there along a hedgewall. We hear another door click open in there, so we know someone’s home. With action likely, Wade Moore exits the Skyranger and jogs forward to help. Come out and play, Mr. Ethereal!

Back at the second building, Achilles regroups and moves back to the window, just in time to see another Ethereal approaching through the same field to the left of the UFO! Before Achilles can get a shot off, the Ethereal puts a cluster of low trees between him and Achilles, and Achilles loses sight of the alien. Up on the roof, Airhog preps and tosses a grenade towards the area behind the trees, but the grenade lands well short of its target and explodes harmlessly. Eat more Wheaties, Airhog!

In the field just south of these two men, Mr. Bug IV, our tank, and AStott begin a cautious advance towards the UFO through the intervening field. They keep their eyes open left as well, in case the Ethereal, or Ethereals, draw any closer. If we can draw close enough to the UFO, we can toss some grenades into the craft through the damaged roof.

Just south of these two men, Afoci and Jeeber D start through the fields that run alongside the right side of the UFO. They’ll try to sweep around the right side of the UFO, so as to come up on the exit door, which must lie on the far side of the craft. On the way, they may be able to get some grenades in through the roof as well.

Suddenly, the Ethereal reappears in the field in front of Achilles. Once again, Achilles is slow on the draw. The Ethereal fires a rocket right at Achilles! The bomb slams into the outside wall of the house, right beside Achilles’ window, and goes off with a pop: stun bomb! A cloud of noxious gas fills the air, but not enough of it gets inside the house to affect Achilles. A fraction of a second later, our men are hammered by a ferocious wave of alien PSI-energy! Everyone stands firm, though! Way to go, men! Achilles and Airhog shake off the chills from the PSI attack and open fire on the alien in the field. It turns to take cover, but Airhog hits it in the back with a shot that drives it to the ground screaming! The alien dies a few seconds later. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We continue our advance, but waves of PSI energy are washing over us at regular intervals now. Finally, just as Alf, Wade, and Illinifan are ready to rush to the fourth building, Alf’s will power caves in. He panics, drops his weapon, and starts running away. Wade and Illinifan are forced to move on without him.

At the second building, Achilles exits and Airhog jumps off the roof. They move forward through the field and join our tank and Mr. Bug, who have cut over from the field to the south. This unit will advance around the left side of the UFO.

Meanwhile, AStott cuts toward the right of the UFO and joins up with Afoci and Jeeber D. This unit starts tossing grenades in through the hole in the UFO roof. A number of crashes follow, but none of them bring any alien screams.

Suddenly, an Ethereal flies up over the roof of the UFO and advances on Achilles, Mr. Bug, and Airhog! It’s 30 yards away and closing fast. Crap! I forgot they can fly! The three men dive for cover as plasma blasts tear up the ground. Patman II, back at the Skyranger, snaps awake, alertly plots a quick firing course with the Blaster Launcher, and pulls the trigger. An instant later, the Ethereal looks up in horror as a Blaster missile screams down on it. The missile is a direct hit: the Ethereal is vaporized in a massive fireball. Boo yah! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

We resume our advance, but we’re still getting hit with strong PSI attacks. While Alf blubbers away in the field just short of the fourth house, Wade and Illinifan make a careful search. Strangely, they find no aliens in the building. The doors Illinifan heard opening must have come from some other location.

Back at the UFO, we close in. Our tank leads the advance around the left side, and spots a couple of semi-destroyed shacks just past it. Aha! This must have been the source of the door sounds we heard. With Mr. Bug and Achilles close behind, the tank works it way through the structures, but finds no aliens.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM85-2.jpg
X-COM agents close in on an enemy UFO. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

On the other side of the UFO, AStott, Afoci, and Jeeber D expend their supply of grenades on the hole in the UFO roof, but they get no payback. Finally, grenades exhausted, they continue around the UFO.

We’ll use our tank for cover, and set up an ambush at the door with Mr. Bug and Achilles on the left side of the UFO. Airhog, who already has a kill, will stay in reserve. The two men follow our tank around the back side of the UFO, but suddenly a wave of PSI energy hits Mr. Bug, snapping his will to fight. He panics, and then goes berserk! He opens fire in random directions! Achilles and our tank scramble around a corner of the UFO to get away from the fire. Yikes! So much for that plan. We’ll use the men on the other side of the UFO.

AStott approaches the entrance alongside the wall of the UFO, while Afoci and Jeeber D set up a firing position on the UFO door from behind a low hedge. While we wait, Achilles tosses yet another grenade through the roof of the UFO. This time, the explosion gets us a horrific scream! Yes! We got one!

And that is the last alien! Finally. What a long mission just for four aliens. Ethereals are bastards.

Kills: Achilles, 1; Patman II, 1; Airhog II, 1; AStott, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Achilles, Patman II, Airhog II, AStott, Alf III, Jeeber D, Afoci.
Final score: One-hundred something (forgot to write it down).
Mission Notes:
I’m happy I was patient with this mission. There were a lot of places where I was tempted to cut corners to make the mission go faster, but I stuck to doing things right. A little tedious because of the cramped terrain in those houses, but it paid off. No casualties, good experience for such a low-kill mission.

AStott is a rising star in the X-COM ranks. Among agents with more than 10 missions, his 1.31 kill/mission average (KMA) is second only to Klayman’s 1.38 all-time high. Only two other agents with ten or missions—Blade6119 III (1.18) and Shorty (1.00)—have had a KMA of 1.00 or higher. If past performance is an indicator of future gains, AStott may want to cool off. Klayman, Blade 6119 III, and Shorty are all dead.

Airhog II saw his bravery go up ten big points!

[illinifan999]

I survived!

[tucker342]

whoa you scared me GB:D

[Blade6119]

damn...that was one bad mission for achilles...gets shot, is too slow like 10 times, get shot at by 2 rockets, has his closest squadmate turn evil(mr.bug)...that last kill was nice, but everytime something went bad achilles was their. i feel for you man, as Blade6119 is a walking target in godzilla's world.

[JeeberD]

Woohoo! I was worried that those PSI attacks were going to get me. Glad to see I was able to resist them and get some attribute improvements... :)

[3ric]

Whew. With that many men called up, I feared this mission would be like the movie about the "Black Sox Scandal"...

...

...you know, "Eight Men Out".

*rim shot*

[Alf]

I seem low against PSI attacks...

[fantastic flying froggies]

I seem low against PSI attacks...
You psi weakling !!!

:p

[kingfc22]

I seem low against PSI attacks...

So you finally came out from underneath your rock?

[Poli]

AE reporting for duty. For the waiting list, whatever. BS I'm not getting paid this month.

[Sectoid Leader]

Silly humans. You think you own the world? You think you are safe behind your Blaster Launchers? You have no power. We toy with you.

Watch this.

Calling Mr. Tasan. Tasan. Tasan. Tasan.

This is Sectoid Leader, Tasan.

We have decided to kill you, Tasan.

You will never see November.

[Fonzie]

Silly humans. You think you own the world? You think you are safe behind your Blaster Launchers? You have no power. We toy with you.

Watch this.

Calling Mr. Tasan. Tasan. Tasan. Tasan.

This is Sectoid Leader, Tasan.

We have decided to kill you, Tasan.

You will never see November.

:eek:

[Tasan]

Silly humans. You think you own the world? You think you are safe behind your Blaster Launchers? You have no power. We toy with you.

Watch this.

Calling Mr. Tasan. Tasan. Tasan. Tasan.

This is Sectoid Leader, Tasan.

We have decided to kill you, Tasan.

You will never see November.
EEK!

Why pick on me all the sudden?

*runs and hides under a rock*

[AStott]

Yes! Yes! I'm back! Sweet!

What? Me cool off? Not a chance. You underestimate my skills!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Communication

Didn't mean to scare everyone on that last mission. ;)

We still are calling up those eight agents, though, and we still need two to answer the call. Katon, PsychoCop, Vince, Daimyo, Data King, and Chief Rum, your phones are ringing.

Sectoid Leader: How bold! Calling out death! Trying to jinx us? We'll see. But I might start counting your own days left. It might be Tasan that shows up to personally rip your throat out.

Tasan: Don't let him shake you. Ain't nothing going to happen to you. (If you do want to stay out of action until next month, let me know).

AStott: Yup. I was off on those wounded days. As usual. Back in action, with another kill. You are a machine.

Ardent: Welcome back! Good trip? This thread dropped down to number 15 or so without you around to bump it up to the top. ;)

Jeeber D: Yes. Nothing phased you. Well done. And skills are up to boot!

Tucker, Blade: Thanks!

Blade6119: Yeah, Achilles is lucky to be alive. And that mission was hard as hell to keep everyone straight when I wrote it: all those "A" names! Eek. (Insert A-Team joke here).

I'll get those photos up tonight, by the way.

[Godzilla Blitz]

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 85)

USA COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
14. Wade Moore Active Colonel 24 22
43. Achilles Active Sergeant 18 14
46. Patman II Active Captain 20 11
55. Sublime II Active Squaddie 14 9
61. Rawisdan Active Squaddie 14 7
73. CTHomer Active Squaddie 10 6
74. AStott Active Captain 13 17
75. Alf III Active Squaddie 7 4
92. Jeeber D Active Squaddie 7 5
93. Afoci Active Squaddie 7 4
96. Illinifan V Active Squaddie 5 3
98. MrBug IV Active Squaddie 7 3
112. Airhog II Active Squaddie 2 1
113. Anxiety II Active Squaddie 1 1
114. Blade6119 IV WND (1) Squaddie 1 0
115. Klayman III Active Squaddie 1 1


EU COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
2. jfbbis Active Colonel 20 19
10. Kodos Active Commander 23 22
19. Revrew Active Captain 22 18
37. The Time Active Sergeant 19 6
66. Tasan Active Squaddie 14 6
70. Naiwf Active Sergeant 13 9
89. RealDeal III Active Squaddie 10 4
90. Coffee Warlord II Active Sergeant 10 8
97. Blade III Active Squaddie 5 6
101. Wolfpack Active Squaddie 6 5
102. Japherwaki II Active Squaddie 8 7
105. Swaggs Active Sergeant 8 6
110. Breeze Active Squaddie 2 2
116. Chuck U Farley Active Squaddie 2 2
120. Sachmo III Active Squaddie 2 1


ASIA COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
15. Rich 1033 Active Squaddie 19 13
35. Jeff Nights II Active Captain 22 10
39. Thomkal II Active Sergeant 17 15
41. Fat Football II Active Sergeant 18 8
45. Danny VanHalen Active Sergeant 17 13
52. Qwikshot II Active Captain 17 11
76. Fonzie II Active Squaddie 10 7
78. Render II Active Sergeant 11 6
84. Split Pers III Active Squaddie 6 7
103. Condors II Active Sergeant 6 7
106. Travis III Active Squaddie 6 4
108. Zippy II Active Squaddie 4 2
109. Glengoyne Active Squaddie 3 2
111. 3ric IV Active Squaddie 3 1
118. Calis Active Rookie 1 0



SAM COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
71. Wignasty Active Squaddie 7 3
117. Psycho Cop II Active Rookie 0 0
119. Tucker II Active Rookie 0 0
121. Katon II Active Rookie 0 0
122. Mike Vic Active Rookie 0 0



AFRICA COM

ID Name Status Rank Miss. Kills
59. Daimyo II Active Squaddie 9 5
94. Data King III Active Squaddie 5 2
123. Vince Active Rookie 0 0
124. Sir Fozzie II Active Rookie 0 0
125. Chief Rum IV Active Rookie 0 0
126. The Herd Active Rookie 0 0
127. Hoops Guy Active Rookie 0 0
128. ShaefIllini Active Rookie 0 0

X-COM II Troop Attributes

Name TUs Sta Hlt Brv Rea Fir Thw Str PsD PsS
2. jfbbis 75 82 61 30 35 82 58 56
10. Kodos 80 90 58 50 61 79 73 57
14. Wade Moore 79 81 56 30 59 91 72 67
15. Rich 1033 75 68 44 20 55 54 70 62
19. Revrew 76 70 55 30 37 66 59 60
35. Jeff Nights II 68 75 54 60 32 64 60 52
37. The Time 72 81 54 50 62 53 57 51
39. Thomkal II 70 92 60 30 56 50 61 49
41. Fat Football II 71 72 43 50 38 69 73 52
43. Achilles 73 74 57 10 46 79 79 53
45. Danny VanHalen 75 79 48 10 42 63 78 51
46. Patman II 76 69 53 60 47 52 79 55
52. Qwikshot II 73 81 45 10 58 77 65 52
55. Sublime II 72 73 44 10 40 73 76 55
59. Daimyo II 65 60 48 30 47 70 64 43
61. RawisDan 68 50 37 60 37 67 74 48
66. Tasan 66 62 46 50 39 65 58 52
70. Naiwf 74 70 53 50 40 62 69 49
71. Wignasty 64 45 37 20 38 61 72 44
73. CTHomer 68 67 38 10 58 45 62 46
74. AStott 74 60 53 50 55 72 62 58
75. Alf III 62 57 36 40 52 50 55 46
76. Fonzie II 68 74 52 20 42 63 79 46
78. Render II 66 59 45 50 57 72 69 46
84. Split Pers III 66 68 42 30 40 64 67 41
89. RealDeal III 73 72 35 60 47 65 68 54
90. Coffee Warlord II 73 81 46 60 38 72 69 45
92. Jeeber D 61 58 41 20 30 60 79 37
93. Afoci 62 59 37 30 40 45 54 47
94. Data King III 63 52 31 50 36 52 58 35
96. Illinifan V 57 50 44 50 56 53 66 40
97. Blade III 66 72 48 50 63 48 62 35
98. Mr. Bug IV 61 64 45 10 34 69 66 34
101. Wolfpack 65 72 36 40 36 62 59 36
102. Japherwaki II 67 78 43 20 32 52 53 49
103. Condors II 64 67 37 60 51 68 66 50
105. Swaggs 66 74 44 60 51 73 69 44
106. Travis III 65 61 43 30 54 69 58 35
108. Zippy II 58 71 35 40 47 69 51 35
109. Glengoyne 64 67 44 30 34 67 53 42
110. Breeze 61 49 35 60 31 67 54 41
111. 3ric IV 52 61 31 30 45 50 56 25
112. Airhog II 56 67 30 60 56 44 54 29
113. Anxiety II 55 66 37 30 57 64 67 40
114. Blade6119 IV 55 47 41 10 37 72 60 27
115. Klayman III 62 73 41 30 34 69 57 31
116. Chuck U Farley 57 64 34 40 53 66 76 34
117. Psycho Cop II 50 61 28 10 60 67 50 37
118. Calis 55 56 26 50 39 55 73 29
119. Tucker II 58 60 26 60 50 55 64 29
120. Sachmo III 56 57 35 50 46 57 57 36
121. Katon II 50 49 28 40 55 67 54 37
122. Mike Vic 59 41 38 10 32 44 52 34
123. Vince 53 65 26 10 45 64 57 39
124. Sir Fozzie II 60 65 27 10 31 67 50 25
125. Chief Rum IV 55 46 25 30 50 52 63 38
126. The Herd 51 66 37 40 58 50 77 40
127. Hoops Guy 52 49 36 40 41 59 65 24
128. ShaefIllini 55 45 40 10 59 56 64 28

Key: TUs = Time Units; Sta = Stamina; Hlt = Health; Brv = Bravery; Rea = Reactions
Fir = Firing; Thw = Throwing; Str = Strength; PsD = PSI Defense; PsS = PSI Skill

Support Personnel

Head of Research: Craptacular
(Current researching focus: Cydonia or Bust, Fusion Missile)
Head of Engineering: Sterling Ice II
(Current manufacturing focus: Power Suits, Fusion Ball Bombs, Hover Tank, Firestorm Fighter)
US Interceptor Pilot: CapnMorgan (10 Kills)
EU Interceptor Pilot: Superman (10 Kills)
AS Interceptor Pilot: Toddiec IV ( 9 Kills)


Attribute Leaders (After Mission 85)

Time Units: (80) Kodos
Stamina: (92) Thomkal II
Health: (61) Jfbbis
Bravery: (60) (Ten tied)
Reactions: (63) Blade III
Firing: (91) Wade Moore
Throwing: (79) Fonzie II, Achilles, Patman II
Strength: (67) Wade Moore


Attribute Doggies (After Mission 85)

Time Units: (50) PsychoCop II, Katon II
Stamina: (41) Mike Vic
Health: (25) Chief Rum IV
Bravery: (10) (Eleven tied)
Reactions: (30) Jeeber D
Firing: (44) Airhog II, Mike Vic
Throwing: (50) Sir Fozzie II, Psycho Cop II
Strength: (24) Hoops Guy


Top Ten Kills Leaders

1. Wade Moore 22
1. Kodos 22
3. Jfbbis 19
4. Klayman (KIA) 18
4. Revrew 18
6. Astott 17
7. Shorty (KIA) 16
8. Thomkal II 15
9. Achilles 14
10. Three tied with 13


Waiting List

ID Name Base Status Rank LBrvOK? OptUp?
129. Joker Ace - AWOL Rookie Yes No
130. Ardent Enthusiast - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
131. Peregrine - On Call Rookie Yes No
132. Raven Hawk II - On Call Rookie Yes No
133. Northwood DK - On Call Rookie Yes No
134. Shorty II - On Call Rookie Yes No
135. Lokugh III - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
136. BYU II - On Call Rookie Yes No
137. Kingfc - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
138. Barkeep - On Call Rookie Yes Yes
139. Fantastic Froggies - On Call Rookie Yes Yes

[JeeberD]

My reaction attribute didn't improve... :(

[Poli]

Couldn't my phone be ringing, instead?

By the way, I sent that nasty Sectoid Leader a mean PM. :)

[Poli]

Two things to remember for the next time I drive:

1. Get a driver's license.

2. Have proof of insurance.

I'd like to thank the Illinois state trooper he helped me figure that out.

Can't believe I got off with a warning.

My license expired in 99, but I've been told for as long as I can remember that as long as I have a military id, my license is valid. Problem is, my wallet was stolen last month, along with my expired license. So now I don't even have an expired license to show people.

My proof of insurance was in the trunk, along with my groceries, books, uniforms, and my suitcase of clothes. IE, my trunk was packed. I put my insurance card (and everything else) in the trunk while my window was busted out. I just hadn't put my insurance card back in the glove box.

But yes, it was a great trip. Four day weekends rule.

[Blade6119]

oh god, lets all feel bad for ardent and his sob story...fuckin elitists ;)

[tucker342]

AE, you've had bad luck lately haven't you?:D

[JeeberD]

Bad luck? He should have gotten at least two tickets. Sounds like great luck to me... :D

[Poli]

Actually, I considered not getting ticketed this time "lucky". I got a "warning" for broken head light. Nothing else. :)

[Blade6119]

why does ardent talking about his broken head lights make me think of his wife?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

October 28-29

UFO sightings are reaching a frantic pace. On the 28th, Superman knocks down a UFO scout in Slovakian airspace. We scramble the ASIA COM Skyranger late that day in order to begin an assault early on the 29th. As it's on its way across Russia, we pick up two large UFOs on route to Europe. They weave back and forth over the landscape, as if they are looking for something. Shortly before dawn on the 29th, both UFOs touch down in central Germany, within five miles of each other. We're in luck! The ASIA COM Skyranger is only a few hours away, and we can get the EU COM Skyranger airborne within the hour. With luck, we might be able to catch both UFOs at dawn, right before they take off.

We reroute the ASIA COM Skyranger towards Germany, scramble the EU COM Skyranger and launch for Germany, and launch the USA COM Skyranger for the downed scout in Slovakia.

Big day coming up. Three missions. Two of them biggies.

EU COM goes in first, as they reach their target at dawn on the 29th.

On board:
Jfbbis, Kodos, Japherwaki II, Tasan, Coffee Warlord II, Blade III, Breeze, The Time, Naiwf, and Sachmo III.

Good luck men.

I should also note that we've got some new Skyranger pilots with us now. These will be their first missions!

[Coffee Warlord]

Landed large UFO? Rock! Commander Kodos and his grizzled right hand, Sergeant CW on the job!

[Tasan]

No problems with the sectoid leader, I should have reacted better, what with my 50 bravery and all. Keep me in the game, waxing him and his kind as only I know how. (Wide left, letting someone else get a good shot and kill it)

[Lokugh]

GB,

Just a thought I had...have you considered building PSI facilities in Africa and SAMCOM? That way while the new folks are sitting around waiting, they could also get their PSI training done.

Lokugh

[Blade]

Wow! I get another mission just like that??? I think I may be pressing my luck!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skyranger Transmission

This just in from our EU COM Skyranger...

Skyranger Pilot: Hellooo? Mister X-COM? This is Dory. Um, Commander Bingo told me to call you. He—

X-COM Command: It’s Kodos, Dory. Kodos. Not Bingo.

Skyranger Pilot: Huh? Yes, anyway. Commander Elmo asked me to call you and tell you that—(loud bang) Aaaaah! What was that noise? Someone’s shooting at us! Aargh! Oh my God!

X-COM Command: Calm down there, Dory. Tell us what’s going on. Relax.

Skyranger Pilot: Hello? Can I help you?

X-COM Command: Dory?

Skyranger Pilot: Yes? What do you want?

X-COM Command: Dory, you called us. Tell us what’s happening outside. What did Kodos tell you?

Skyranger Pilot: Oh, I called you? What did Frodo tell me? Oh, I see. Um, what did he tell me? Aha! I remember now. It was about aliens. Yes! That’s right! Aliens! (pause) Does that make sense?

X-COM Command: What about the aliens, Dory?

Skyranger Pilot: (loud boom) Aaargh! There it goes again! That noise! What is that? Heyyyy, look at that. Why is there a man sleeping in the back of the Skyranger? Ew, what’s that red stuff? Oh my! Is he bleeding? Yes, I think he is. There’s someone bleeding all over the back of the Skyranger floor!

X-COM Command: Dory! Tell us what Kodos told you!

Skyranger Pilot: Kodos? You mean Chico, the Commander? (Huge boom) Wow! Look at the fireworks! Pretty! I like fireworks. (pause) Whoa! What was that? Suddenly I felt dizzy and then I wanted to speak Sectoid! Did you know I can speak Sectoid? Maybe I should go out and tell them to stop fighting us. I could say “Weeemuck doooooooo chaaa gofooooo baaaaaa dugga dugga!” Can you speak Sectoid?

X-COM Command: Dory! Listen to me! Tell me what Kodos told you!

Skyranger Pilot: Yes. Ok. I remember! Hey, I remember! He said, “P. Sherman. 42 Wallaby Way. Sydney.” That’s what he said. I remembered! Heyyyy, was that a leg I saw flying by the window? Whoa! Look, it is a leg! What’s that doing there by itself? Looks like someone forgot something, that’s for sure. Better head right out and pick that up. Don’t want to be leaving those things lying around where someone could trip over them. I could use a leg. Get rid of these fins. Heyyy, if I look out the window, I can see another guy lying down. Shouldn’t he be working? Heyyyy you! (tapping on window) Mister soldier! Time to get up! Do these guys get enough slee—

(Transmission terminated by X-COM Command)

[Poli]

Right. Is it the end of the month yet? :)

[revrew]

hehe. Very nice. Dory. I like it. Sounds like a skyranger pilot. But one question. Is our pilot a lesbian, too?

[Poli]

The conversation reminded me of Douglas Adams.

[Wolfpack]

I feel for the poor saps with Dory, but damn that was funny! :)

[Kodos]

Classic SkyRanger pilot! No mention of tentacles, so I should be okay! :D

[Qwikshot]

Skyranger Transmission

This just in from our EU COM Skyranger...

Skyranger Pilot: Hellooo? Mister X-COM? This is Dory. Um, Commander Bingo told me to call you. He—

X-COM Command: It’s Kodos, Dory. Kodos. Not Bingo.

Skyranger Pilot: Huh? Yes, anyway. Commander Elmo asked me to call you and tell you that—(loud bang) Aaaaah! What was that noise? Someone’s shooting at us! Aargh! Oh my God!

X-COM Command: Calm down there, Dory. Tell us what’s going on. Relax.

Skyranger Pilot: Hello? Can I help you?

X-COM Command: Dory?

Skyranger Pilot: Yes? What do you want?

X-COM Command: Dory, you called us. Tell us what’s happening outside. What did Kodos tell you?

Skyranger Pilot: Oh, I called you? What did Frodo tell me? Oh, I see. Um, what did he tell me? Aha! I remember now. It was about aliens. Yes! That’s right! Aliens! (pause) Does that make sense?

X-COM Command: What about the aliens, Dory?

Skyranger Pilot: (loud boom) Aaargh! There it goes again! That noise! What is that? Heyyyy, look at that. Why is there a man sleeping in the back of the Skyranger? Ew, what’s that red stuff? Oh my! Is he bleeding? Yes, I think he is. There’s someone bleeding all over the back of the Skyranger floor!

X-COM Command: Dory! Tell us what Kodos told you!

Skyranger Pilot: Kodos? You mean Chico, the Commander? (Huge boom) Wow! Look at the fireworks! Pretty! I like fireworks. (pause) Whoa! What was that? Suddenly I felt dizzy and then I wanted to speak Sectoid! Did you know I can speak Sectoid? Maybe I should go out and tell them to stop fighting us. I could say “Weeemuck doooooooo chaaa gofooooo baaaaaa dugga dugga!” Can you speak Sectoid?

X-COM Command: Dory! Listen to me! Tell me what Kodos told you!

Skyranger Pilot: Yes. Ok. I remember! Hey, I remember! He said, “P. Sherman. 42 Wallaby Way. Sydney.” That’s what he said. I remembered! Heyyyy, was that a leg I saw flying by the window? Whoa! Look, it is a leg! What’s that doing there by itself? Looks like someone forgot something, that’s for sure. Better head right out and pick that up. Don’t want to be leaving those things lying around where someone could trip over them. I could use a leg. Get rid of these fins. Heyyy, if I look out the window, I can see another guy lying down. Shouldn’t he be working? Heyyyy you! (tapping on window) Mister soldier! Time to get up! Do these guys get enough slee—

(Transmission terminated by X-COM Command)

Finding Nemo, classic...where's Marlin?

[jfbbis]

2 large UFO ? hmmmm.....

[Wolfpack]

Just keep shooting! Shooting, shooting shooting! Just keep shooting!

[Blade6119]

hey godzilla...can we see who are on the other two skyrangers? And did i heal before you launched?(Prays that he did since its only a downed UFO and not a large one)...please?

[Blade]

Oh no...please let me not die!!!

:D

[kingfc22]

So close to November...

[sterlingice]

That was great, GB! :D

SI

[tucker342]

lol:D

This could be an interesting mission...

[Swaggs]

I hate that damned Sectoid!

[Coffee Warlord]

I will live!

[PsychoCop]

Smell the carnage. I think PsychoCop II will finally be moving up from SAMCOM... unfortunately it will be at the price of the lives of other X-COM members.

[Barkeep49]

I think that XCOM will remain casualty free until the last mission the way GB is playing these days...

[sterlingice]

I think that XCOM will remain casualty free until the last mission the way GB is playing these days...
Well, you just jynxed it. Someone's gonna die soon. *hides in lab*

SI

[Craptacular]

I hate that damned Sectoid!

You sectist pig!

[kingfc22]

... unfortunately it will be at the price of the lives of other X-COM members.

It's an unfair price that some must pay, but Kingfc22 will be there to back them up with a plasma shot to the head.

[Godzilla Blitz]

PsychoCop: You already have been called. You're on your way to an active base right now.

Sterling: Thanks!

Blade: I'm trying to keep you alive. A bit tricky out there this time, though.

Blade6119: Don't have the game handy right now, but I know that you're on the USA COM Skyranger. I remember waiting until midnight, until you were cleared for duty. You're back in action.

Wolfpack: LOL! A new motto for the men of EU COM!

ardent: Funny you should mention Douglas Adams. Our new ASIA COM Skyranger pilot mentioned that he had been in a book of his.

Lokugh: I've been building the other two bases with defense in mind, so that means I only add a module or two at a time. The PSI modules take about 20 days to build, I think, so I might try to get some built for the start of December. The only thing is, if we need troops from AFRICA or SAM in December, I've got to move them out, thereby cancelling the PSI training. If we don't need them, then we'll have plenty of good men for Mars. I might build them just in case though. Who knows how long this thing will last if we lose a base between now and then.

Tasan: No problem. Sorry, I had to launch. It was your turn to go, and I figured you wouldn't want to stay out of combat because of something Sectoid Leader says.

Mission 86 is looking good for tomorrow.

[Poli]

Ford Prefect?

[Tasan]

Marvin the Paranoid Android I'm afraid.

[AStott]

hee hee! Nice radio transmission there!

[Poli]

We will kill you in your first three missions.

A PM from the Sectoid Leader. :)

[JeeberD]

They're going to kill you in all of your first three missions? I didn't realize that you were related to Lazarus.

Looks like the Sectoid Leader needs to take some english lessons... ;)

[Godzilla Blitz]

"Blood is the price of victory"—Karl von Clausewitz

86th Mission: Madness in Germany

The EU COM Skyranger makes the short jump to Germany. Once over German airspace it circles and waits for the dawn. Just as the sky begins to brighten, the green light comes on and the craft begins to head down to combat. Another day, another big fight for the proud men of EU COM.

Commander Kodos will take the troops in.

Our men:

Left Side:
1. Jfbbis (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Kodos (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Japherwaki II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Tasan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Blade III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Breeze (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. The Time (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Sachmo III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops down through the grey dawn to the battle field below. We’ve got a typical rural landscape today: fields, fences—you know the drill. We can see the massive UFO off to the right of where we’ll exit, but up by the nose of the Skyranger. We can also see two two-story buildings off from the exit of the Skyranger. One lies about 25 yards away to the right rear; the other lies straight out from our exit, about 50 yards away. The areas to the left of our exit and towards the nose of the Skyranger appear to be simply flat fields.

The Skyranger touches down. The ramp falls away and lands with a dull thud that shatters the still morning air. Red lights and alarms! Hot landing! Our tank picks up a Cyberdisc in the field in front of us, about 30 yards away, and a Sectoid on the roof of the house to our right rear, about 30 yards away!

We roll our tank halfway down the ramp. We spot another Sectoid, about 50 yards away, in a second floor window of the house straight back from our exit! Blade III rushes to the top of the exit and opens fire on the Cyberdisc. Plasma slams into the thing, but it stays up! Breeze, with the Blaster Launcher, breaks left inside the Skyranger. Jfbbis breaks right to clear him a firing lane. Breeze plots a course for the Sectoid in the house straight back from us and pulls the trigger. The missile screams out of the Skyranger bay and heads straight into the second story window of the house, where it explodes, blowing apart the second story and killing the Sectoid instantly. Jfbbis then rushes around Breeze to the edge of the ramp, drops to a knee, and opens fire on the Sectoid on the roof of the house off to our right. Plasma streaks toward the Sectoid as it lines up a shot on our Skyranger bay. After some rare misses, Jfbbis finally connects, hitting the Sectoid in the head. It screams, claws at its melting face, and falls to the roof of the house. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Kodos and Japherwaki II rush to positions behind Blade and Jfbbis, but they can’t get a shot off at the Cyberdisc. Our tank slams back into action, and heads for the bottom of the ramp, but before it gets there, multiple plasma blasts come flying at it from the nose of the Skyranger! The tank takes two quick hits and explodes, sending shrapnel and flames in all directions.

The Cyberdisc in the field opens fire on our Skyranger bay. Plasma comes streaming at Blade III and Jfbbis, but slams harmlessly into the smoldering tank body. Then another Sectoid, about 25 yards away, in front of the house off to our right! It drops to a knee and opens fire. Plasma comes screaming at our Skyranger and flies into the bay. Blade catches a blast in the left arm that pushes through his armor and rips the arm off at the socket. Blood explodes out of the shoulder joint, splattering Jfbbis and the interior of the Skyranger. Blade III drops his Heavy Plasma, topples over screaming, and frantically claws for his lost arm. Jfbbis twist his aim at the Sectoid, but it has ducked behind a low stone wall just in front of the house. Jfbbis quickly shifts aim to the Cyberdisc and opens fire. Plasma slams into the disc’s hull. One shot penetrates the armor and the thing explodes, taking a chunk of the field up with it. X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Kodos pulls the injured Blade III farther back into the Skyranger bay. Japherwaki II rushes the exit and steps out. Incoming missile from our right! Kablaam! The missile hits Japh in the right side and explodes with a loud bang. Stun gas! The force of the hit throws Japh sideways off the ramp. Japh lands to the left of our craft in a heap. His can’t see straight, but twists his head to look toward the nose of the Skyranger, expecting to come face to face with the alien that knocked out our tank, but there is nothing here? Huh? He struggles to his knees and turns to look over the ramp at the area the right of our exit. There are two Sectoids. One——the one who hit Blade—is looking over the stone wall in front of the house; the other is lying in a field about 20 yards away, and must be the one that fired the missile. Japh cuts back under the Skyranger and stumbles to the right landing gear, where he tries to gather his addled brain.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM86-1.jpg
Sectoids wait for X-COM troops. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Back in the Skyranger, Kodos lets go of Blade, then sprints to the exit ramp, drops to a knee, and opens fire on the Sectoid in front of the house. His first shot catches the Sectoid in the head, popping it like an eggshell. Green goo comes squirting up from the neck. The alien falls backwards, dead. Tasan and The Time charge out of the Skyranger exit, dive right, and come up firing at the Sectoid that has the stun blaster. Tasan’s shots, from less than 15 yards away, are some of the worst I have ever seen, as most of them rip up the ground less than halfway to the Sectoid. Maybe the “death call” that Sectoid Leader made has shaken his aim? The Time, however, is right on the money. The Sectoid cringes as plasma chews up the earth around it. An instant later, a plasma blast from The Time hits it in the shoulder, blowing a chunk of the creature’s torso off and killing the alien instantly. Kodos jumps left, off the Skyranger ramp, and takes cover behind the left landing gear. X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

Incoming fire, from up by the nose of the Skyranger! A plasma blast screams under the Skyranger, punches through Japh’s right shoulder armor, and sends a curtain of red onto the landing gear and underside of the ramp. Japh slumps to the ground, blood gushing out of his tattered shoulder. Kodos and Tasan spin towards the front of the Skyranger just in time to see a Cyberdisc slide out of sight around the backside of the UFO. Damn it! They’re everywhere!

Kodos yells for Breeze to open fire on the backside of the UFO. Breeze slams a shell into the Blaster Launcher, plots a quick firing course, and pulls the trigger. The missile roars out the Skyranger bay, curls back over the Skyranger, and whizzes around the backside of the UFO. It slams into the back wall of the craft and sends a massive fireball kicking back into the nearby field. A fraction of a second later we hear a second explosion: Breeze got the Cyberdisc! Boo yah! X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

Back in the Skyranger Coffee Warlord drags Blade to the rear of the Skyranger bay and slaps a Medi-Patch over the gaping hole in his shoulder socket. Blade has passed out from the shock, but he’s still alive.

Back outside, Japh—stunned and bleeding profusely—stumbles to his knees and starts crawling around to the Skyranger ramp. Jfbbis, still at the top of the ramp, scurries down, grabs him, and pulls him up the ramp. Once there, Coffee comes forward and slaps a Medi-Patch on his right shoulder. Japh stays conscious, but he is most likely done for the day: his right arm is next to useless.

While this goes on, Tasan and The Time move forward to a low stone wall about five yards off to the right of our exit. Once there, they set up firing positions. Kodos keeps an eye on the back corner of the UFO. Naiwf and Sachmo III exit the Skyranger. Naiwf heads straight into the field in front of our exit and scans the distance for signs of alien movement. Sachmo III takes up a position at the right landing gear.

Incoming fire! From the house off to our right! Plasma blasts come streaking towards Tasan. One shot slams into the side of his helmet and snaps his head to the side. His vision blurs, then blurs again as a second shot hits him in the same place, but Tasan stays up! Outside of blood trickling from his nose and ears, he’s ok! Whew! The Time and Tasan turn towards the source of the fire, just in time to see two Sectoids scurry back into the interior of the house. This side of the house has large chunks missing from its outer wall from some of the earlier errant shots, but even so, the two men lose sight of the aliens in the dark interior. Sachmo III crawls to the stone wall, and spots one of the Sectoids deep in the house. He opens fire as Tasan and the The Time quickly prep and toss grenades for the interior of the house. Sachmo’s shots miss the alien, but the two grenades explode with crashing booms that tear chunks out of the right side of the house. A Sectoids scream drifts out of the house! We got at least one of them! X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

http://home.comcast.net/~mwsmart/XCOM86-2.jpg
X-COM troops locked in a firefight with Sectoids dug in a German farm house. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

But just as quickly, Tasan picks up more movement in the smoky interior of the house. There’s still at least one live Sectoid in there! Tasan trains his Heavy Plasma on the motion and pulls the trigger. Plasma tears into the dark interior of the house and slams into the moving figure. It screams and drops to the ground! Yes, Tasan got a kill! Tasan lowers his Heavy Plasma…and catches movement out of the corner of his eye, off to the left side of the UFO…

Cyberdisc, 40 yards away, advancing on our position! There is a tall hedge near the disc that blocks Sachmo and The Time’s view, so Tasan is on his own. He jerks his Heavy Plasma up and opens fire as Sachmo tosses a grenade into the path of the Cyberdisc’s advance. Both Tasan and the Cyberdisc open fire at the same time. Tasan drills the Cyberdisc with two hits, but these things are tough, and it just keeps coming. Before Tasan can get hit it again, the Cyberdisc finds the range and nails Tasan in the stomach with a shot that blows clear through his armor and comes out his back. Tasan looks down at the massive hole in his torso, looks left at Sachmo, and then topples over the stone wall, dead. Sachmo’s grenade goes off with a roar, but still the thing keeps coming at us! Coffee Warlord charges out of the Skyranger, breaks right, and scurries to take Tasan’s place along the wall. He opens fire on full auto as the charging Cyberdisc. He connects with two quick hits, and the Cyberdisc erupts in a ball of flame! X-COM 9, Aliens 1.

While this goes on, Kodos makes his way to the front of the Skyranger, where he keeps a wary eye on the back corner of the UFO. We can hear whirring doors, and can expect something around that corner at any moment. Breeze exits the Skyranger, breaks left, and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher in an open field on that side of the craft. Naiwf keeps an eye on the terrain in front of our exit. Back inside the Skyranger, Japh walks back to check on Blade. Once there, he notices the Medi-Patch has slipped off Blade’s shoulder! There is blood streaming onto the floor of the Skyranger bay. Japh picks up the patch and tries to reapply it. He gets it in place, then checks Blade’s pulse: nothing. Crap. Blade is dead! X-COM 9, Aliens 2.

Back outside…Another alien! The Time spots a Sectoid moving behind and to right of the house off to our right, but before The Time can get a shot off, the alien slips out of view behind the house. Breeze plots a quick firing course and opens fire with the Blaster Launcher. His missile soars over the house and then straight down. It twists and hits the back wall, where it goes off with a crashing roar. The back side of the house goes up in flames, and we hear the death wail of the Sectoid as it burns. X-COM 10, Aliens 2.

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A German battlefield. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

We’ve got to get away from the Skyranger. We’re sitting ducks here. Sachmo III breaks away from the wall, cuts behind Coffee Warlord, and heads towards the nearby side of the UFO. He makes it ten yards from the wall when a plasma blast comes tearing in from his left—from the left side of the UFO as we face it—and hits him in the left knee. The shot blows the front half of his knee off in a splash of red. Sachmo crumples to the ground and screams. Blood is gushing out of the stump of his thigh; his lower left leg is held on by an inch wide sliver of flesh just above the knee. Coffee Warlord and Kodos turn toward the source of the fire…

Another Cyberdisc, bearing down on our position, about 40 yards away! Kodos opens fire on the thing. Coffee rips out his Medi-Patch and scrambles for Sachmo, who is clearly only seconds away from death unless someone can get to him. Incoming plasma blasts rip up the earth around Coffee and Sachmo. Kodos drills the oncoming Cyberdisc with hot plasma but it keeps on coming and keeps on firing. Coffee makes it to Sachmo, pulls out his combat knife, slices the piece of skin off that was holding Sachmo’s lower leg on, and slaps Medi-Patches on the top of the severed stump and the bottom of Sachmo’s thigh. Coffee then throws severed leg back towards the Skyranger ramp and starts to drag Sachmo back behind the stone wall. A plasma blast from the Cyberdisc hits Coffee in the thigh, sending bolts of pain up his spine, but still he keeps tugging on Sachmo. The Cyberdisc is 20 yards away, spitting death and closing fast, when Kodos catches the thing in a plate joint with a plasma blast that penetrates the thick armor and blows the disc up in a flash of orange and yellow flame. Pieces of metal clatter down on Sachmo and Coffee as Coffee drags Sachmo the last few yards to relative safety behind the wall. Sachmo is glassy-eyed but alive. Coffee is ok. Our mission, however, is a friggin’ mess. X-COM 11, Aliens 2.

Fortunately, we get a lull in the action and take stock of the situation. We’re down to six men—seven if we can get Japherwaki back into action. We can’t cover all directions effectively with this few men. If were going to succeed in the mission, we’ll need to take some risks. Time to go on the offensive. We’ll move forward instead of sitting here and letting the aliens pick us off one by one. We’ll form two groups of three—two men moving forward with one behind them keeping an eye out for aliens coming up from behind. Naiwf, Jfbbis, and The Time will form one group (Squad 1) and head alongside the long, left side of the rectangular UFO. They’ll loop around and come at the exits from the far side. This UFO has a two-story central section with small one-story exit stations tacked on to both ends, which means that our men should be able to gain entrance through the far end if they can swing around the far side. Kodos, Coffee, and Japh—who is fit enough for action now—will form the second group (Squad 2). They will swing around the near end of the UFO and try to get in from this end. They have a much shorter distance to travel.

Things stay quiet as Squad 2 forms up under the Skyranger and Squad 1 forms up at the remains of the battered stone wall. We then move out. Japh leads the way for Squad 1. Before he gets 5 yards from the Skyranger nose, a blast of plasma tears right for him and slams into an intervening fence post, blowing it apart. Cyberdisc, 20 yards away, coming around the corner of the UFO! Damn. Kodos yells at Breeze, who opens fire as Squad 1 hits the dirt. Breeze’s missile sails over the Skyranger and slams into the Cyberdisc, blowing the thing to pieces and scattering debris over a 30-yard radius. Relieved, the men get up, shake of Cyberdisc debris, and continue their advance. Within a couple of minutes they swing around the near corner and set up a firing position on the first UFO exit, which has a huge hole blown in it from one of Breeze’s earlier missile shots. X-COM 12, Aliens 2.

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X-COM troops prepare to assault a Sectoid UFO. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

The Time and Naiwf lead Squad 2’s way, with Jfbbis covering the rear about 15 yards back. They make it to the far side without incident and get ready to swing around on the exit. Suddenly, A Sectoid and a Cyberdisc come around the corner in front of them, only 5 yards away! Both sides appear to have surprised each other, but the Sectoid gets the first shot off. A plasma blast flashes across the gap and drills Naiwf in the faceplate, snapping his head back, shattering the faceplate, and driving hot pieces of glass back into Naiwf’s face. One large shard knifes into Naiwf’s left eye, slices it in half, and embeds itself two inches deep into his head. A fraction of a second later, The Time disembowels the Sectoid with a plasma shot, then twists to fire at the Cyberdisc.

A fierce pain tears through Naiwf’s skull, but he shakes his head…and stays up! Both agents open fire on the Cyberdisc, whose first shot sails just over The Time’s head. Stunned by the force of the blow and down to one working eye, Naiwf’s shots go wide, but The Time slams a shot into the Cyberdisc’s armor, sending an explosion of sparks shooting from the underside of the craft. The Cyberdisc pivots and starts to retreat around the corner, but The Time keeps pummeling it with plasma. Just before it goes out of sight, The Time nips it with one more shot, and the Cyberdisc explodes. Less than 10 yards away, both men are blown backwards by the force of the explosions. They land hard on their backs and grind to a stop. They regain their focus, quickly scramble to their feet, and watch the corner for more signs of aliens. After a moment, Naiwf reaches up with his hands, grabs hold of the piece of glass sticking out of his eye, and pulls. Two inches of Crappy glass come out of the socket, and blood streams down Naiwf’s face and into his armor. A wave of black nausea washes over him, but he stays on his feet and bites through the pain. The Time opens a Medi-Kit, pulls out a patch, and rips it into quarters. He drops three of the pieces, and then carefully sticks the remaining one over Naiwf’s shattered socket. The whole procedure takes less than a minute. Naiwf gives a quick thumbs up as the pain killers stream into his head. The two men continue their advance. Boo yah! X-COM 14, Aliens 2.

Naiwf and The Time make it around the corner of the UFO, and now we’ve got both squads set up outside the UFO doors. We’ll all go in at the same time, on three. Japh will lead one assault; Naiwf will lead the other. Everyone takes a deep breath…one…two…three.

Japh and Naiwf charge their respective entrances. Japh’s entrance area is empty of aliens, but as Naiwf opens his door, he sees a Sectoid, about 5 yards inside the entrance room. Both combatants reach for their weapons at the same time, but Naiwf is a fraction faster. A stream of plasma blows the Sectoid backwards in a smoking heap, killing it instantly. X-COM 15, Aliens 2.

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An X-COM agent comes face to face with a Sectoid. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

And that’s it! The last alien! My God, what a mission. They really had us there for a while.

As the assault teams return to the Skyranger, Breeze hurries to Sachmo to check his status. He reaches down to feel for a pulse: none. Sachmo is dead. Crap. No wait! There is a pulse! Sachmo is alive! Kodos is the next to the spot, and he and Breeze carefully carry Sachmo back to the bloody bay of the Skyranger. It’ll be close, but he might survive the ride back.

Within minutes, the men have loaded Tasan’s body, picked up Sachmo’s leg, and gotten the craft airborne. Fortunately, the ride back is a short one, which gives Sachmo a better chance of living. We’ll come back later to cannibalize the UFO.

As they head back, they get word from X-COM Command. The ASIA COM Skyranger is heading in for the second UFO. The beat goes on. Let’s hope Sachmo’s heart does too.

Kills: Jfbbis, 1; Kodos, 1; Breeze, 5; The Time, 3; Naiwf, 1; Coffee Warlord II, 1; Tasan, 1.
KIA: Blade III; Tasan.
Wounded: Sachmo (critical); Japherwaki II (16 days); Naiwf (6 days).
Attribute Improvements: Jfbbis, Kodos, Breeze, The Time, Naiwf, Coffee Warlord II, Sachmo III,
Final score: 425. Good score.
Mission Notes:
Damn it. Two deaths. One agent critically wounded. Two more men wounded. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Too expensive. Too friggin' expensive. I can’t friggin’ believe it. 50% casualties. Aaargh.

Note to self: I think I could have saved Blade III if I cycled men across the front of the Skyranger bay instead of having the first two there expend all their APs shooting. I might have taken out the Cyberdisc and been able to leave someone there with enough time to react to the Sectoid that opened fire from the right. I don’t know how I could have prevented the other casualties, as we had so little cover and were getting shot to shit from all directions. Tough mission. Such a shame to lose two, maybe three, good men.

[JeeberD]

Sectoid Leader is psychic!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

[Poli]

Dang it. :(

Rest in peace, fellas.

[jfbbis]

I can't believe that I survived this one. I don't know why, I would have bet everything that it was my last one. My condolences to Blade III and Tasan families. They will be avenged.

[Blade]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

:(

Well, all three Blades will be cheering you guys on from Heaven...

[NAIWF]

What a brutal mission. I lost an eye, two people ended up dead and two others were injured. At least I've got a 6 day vacation while they fix me up with the latest in optical technology. Looking like RoboCop might be pretty cool :)

[Coffee Warlord]

Do I get to keep Sachmo's leg as a new alien fighting weapon?

[AStott]

Wow! Brutal mission... My attack on the scout ship will be awfully dull by comparison...

[kingfc22]

Damn cyberdiscs and Tasan, what a way to go out. Having the sectoid leader call you out and finish the job. Scary.

On the bright side, I'm just that closer to getting a chance to prove my worth to the X-Com commanders.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Jeeber D: Damn that Sectoid Leader. Psychic or not, he will pay. We're coming to his house soon. We'll get him.

Blade: Sorry about your death. I think if it happened again, I might have been able to save you. I'm not sure though. They had about ten aliens set up to waste us as we got off, and they were all spread out. The aliens on the UFO had quick access to us as well. I think I could play that mission a dozen times and I'd still lose at least a couple of men. I'm actually kind of thankful we didn't lose more. Our streak of "no-casualty" missions was bound to end sometime.

Jfbbis: Yeah. It was pretty wild for a while there. We were all huddled up around the Skyranger, taking heavy fire. Everytime we moved, something shot us. Japh is one really lucky bastard, though. Knocked off the ramp on the way out, shot in the shoulder later, and survives a charge into the UFO.

Ardent: You're communicating with Sectoid Leader? Careful. They can get in your mind before you know it. Have you been humming Barry Manilow lately? Don't worry about his threat, though. I'll protect you. Oh, wait. That didn't work so well with Tasan. Maybe I should shut up. Um, good luck?

Naiwf: Tasan and Blade have got some eyes they don't need. You've got your pick. Not sure if they'll match your color, but hey, nothing's perfect.

Coffee: Crappy and his men are trying to save Sachmo III's life as I write this. If he survives, your quick work will probably allow them to reattach his leg. They can use Tasan or Blade's knee if they can't find enough of his original one. All is good.

AStott: Dull is good. I like dull.

Kingfc: The phones'll be ringing shortly!

Coming up...
Friday: Sachmo III's fate. Lead in to Mission 87.
Saturday: Skyranger Report
Sunday: Mission 87

Still aiming for a Sunday/Thursday mission posting from now on.

[Poli]

Rock on.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Ring Ring Ring

We need eight men for guard duty! We'll call ten. The first eight to reply are in the game. We've got a bit of time before the first of the month, but I'd like to get you all set so we don't have to hold up the game once we hit early November. After a couple of days, if we don't have eight reply, we'll call Fantastic Froggies, Blade IV, and Tasan II.

Calling: Joker Ace (2nd Call), Ardent Enthusiast, Peregrine, Raven Hawk II, Northwood DK, Shorty II, Lokugh II, BYU II, Kingfc, and Barkeep.

Regarding the move up from active duty, we still needed one more person, so I moved up Vince from guard duty to active duty even though he didn't reply yet. This dynasty is his idea, and so he's getting a free pass into action.

[Poli]

I'm freaking there, dude. No need to call me. :)

[kingfc22]

I proudly answer the call of the great X-Com general GB. I will stand guard waiting for any sectoids.

[Poli]

Ardent: You're communicating with Sectoid Leader? Careful. They can get in your mind before you know it. Have you been humming Barry Manilow lately? Don't worry about his threat, though. I'll protect you. Oh, wait. That didn't work so well with Tasan. Maybe I should shut up. Um, good luck?



I'm married. Aliens don't get more mind controlling than women. My mind is mush as is. :)

[Kodos]

Dang it. :(

Rest in peace, fellas.

Nice try, ae! But we know how you really feel!

That was a hellish mission. Sad to see 2 good men die, and others get serious wounds. But we must fight on. This is a war that we cannot lose, no matter who dies.

And Sectoid Leader: We will be coming for you soon. :mad:

[Poli]

Nice try, ae! But we know how you really feel!




What, hold your tongue, infidel!

I'm being consoling!

[Kodos]

You're a cat who has already revealed his stripes, my friend.

[Poli]

You're a cat who has already revealed his stripes, my friend.

I am no cat. I have no stripes. I am no alien.

[Kodos]

We'll see about that when you're spouting Sectoid right before your head gets blown off, son! :)

[Raven Hawk]

Reporting for duty, sir!