The Invasion Has Only Just Begun(XCOM EW+LW, Interactive) [Archive]

Brian Swartz

03-02-2015, 02:41 AM

Thanks for joining and for the positive comments! I happen to have a long shift Monday, but a day off on Tuesday. I plan to get the first mission done and some other introductory stuff Monday night or by Tuesday night at the lastest.

Since we have three courageous/foolhardy volunteers, a description of the career paths available to you would seem to be in order so you can choose intelligently -- assuming you don't die horribly your first time out, of course.

Remember that XCOM's most valuable resource isn't finances, technology, or even luck -- it is you, the fighting men and women.

Ranks

The XCOM Charter defines ranks for both enlisted soldiers and an officer corps, though the latter is purely a hopeful plan at this point and has not been put in place. It is worth noting here though that will is the most important attribute for a successful officer, should any of you alphas have the ambition to become such a leader even in this elite force.

Enlisted 'Promotion Ladder'

Promotion to the next rank takes longer the further you progress up the ladder. Promotions depend on the following, in order of importance: (1) Overall squad performance on a mission, (2) Personal kills, (3) Personal performance. It is actually possible to lose experience, for example, if the squad does poorly and you miss a number of good opportunities to hit the enemy. But squad performance first and kills second make up the lion's share of the evaluation.

Private First Class(PFC) -- This is what everyone is right now. Having volunteered from nations across the globe to fight for mankind, you are a proven operative, in most cases from elite special forces units. Now you must prove yourself once again. Known as the 'Red shirts', PFCs have been accepted for operative duty and are the tip of the spear, with all of the privileges and perils associated with that responsibility. Basic ballistic weapons, armor, grenades, and a few other possibilities are available to you. You will given a full tour of XCOM and part of that will involve briefings on the capabilities of these items.

Specialist(SPEC) -- With a basic amount of combat experience, XCOM will approve you for training specializing in a particular approach to combat or other skills which will be tactically useful. See 'Classes' for more detail.

Lance Corporal(LCPL) -- At this the third rank, and each rank above it, you will have three choices of what special skill or training to choose. These choices are vital to your development, and may allow you to fill a truly unique and/or powerful niche in the XCOM arsenal.

Corporal(CPL) -- Achieving the rank of Corporal is required before a soldier can be considered for the possibility of being an officer.

Sergeant(SGT)
Tech Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Master Sergeant -- The top rank an enlisted man or woman can achieve, and a truly invaluable part of the agency.

Soldier Classes

Once you have demonstrated on the field of combat that you are not a complete screw-up or magnet for enemy fire, you will be promoted to Specialist and one of four general paths will be recommended. Each path has two classes, and at this point you can choose one of those two or choose to be randomly placed in a different class. This selection is permanent, and choosing a random class is risky: it may be better, it may also be worse. It is generally only used when neither of the recommended classes are desired.

Of course, if there is a particularly obvious choice, the Commander may simply tell you what your assignment is. I.e., it doesn't matter how badly you want to be a medic if you have a great aim and a sniper assignment comes up when XCOM is in need of one.

Scout/Sniper -- The scout is one of the most important classes. Their job is essentially to get shot -- no, really. Well, get shot at. A small difference of two letters, but an important one. They will scout out enemy positions, and are given training in Lightning Reflexes, after which enemy reaction shots will have a 90% less chance to hit for the first one, and 70% less for each shot afterwards. The Scout is therefore vital in drawing away enemy fire while the rest of the squad advances on a dug-in position. Mobility is the most important attribute of a scout, though health and defense are also very valuable. They have a high mortality rate, even for XCOM, due to the dangerous nature of their role.

The Sniper is essentially the polar opposite. They have unlimited range, specializing in taking out targets from anywhere they have line of sight to the target. The Sniper is trained in Squadsight, which allows them to use targeting data from any member of the squad. Line of sight, it must be emphasized, is the only requirement. Aim is their most important attribute, and in most cases the only important attribute.

Gunner/Rocketeer -- These are the specialists in heavy weapons. The Gunner, especially when inexperienced, tends not to get kills very often. This is because they are trained in Suppression, a very low-accuracy barrage of ammo in the general direction of the target. This lowers an enemy's chance to hit if they fire, and allows a reaction shot against them by the gunner if they move.

The Rocketeer fires rockets which provide an area effect of significant damage -- if they hit the target. Often they don't. Using Rockets is their specialist training. Aim is most important for them, but mobility is as well in order for them to be able to carry large payloads and not be a drag on the squad formation.

Infantry/Assault -- These are the operatives XCOM turns to when the battle becomes chaotic and the enemy threat needs to be thinned out, NOW. The Infantry class is as important as any in the agency due to their basic Light 'Em Up ability. This allows the soldier to fire twice in one turn if they don't move, giving them an overall damage-dealing ability far beyond any other class.

The Assault has a more specialized role. They are the close-range fighters, and as a result can be very vulnerable if the enemy is waiting in ambush. Their Run N Gun training allows them to fire after dashing a great distance, allowing them to reach enemies, especially isolated ones, that might have considered themselves to be at a safe distance. Mobility is probably most important, allowing them to range further and further with their devastating close-range attacks. Health is also highly valued, given their propensity to occasionally get themselves in highly hazardous situations.

Medic/Engineer -- While many classes rely mostly on their primary weapons, those are of secondary concern to these support classes, if they bother to use them at all. The Medic's job is to keep wounded soldiers alive and/or get them back in the fight. When things go wrong, as they often will, they can be the difference between a dead operative and a live one. Their Field Medic training allows them to always bring one medical kit with them on missions, and get two uses out of any additional ones they add to their loadout. Mobility is most important here, as reaching the wounded in time takes precedence over any other consideration.

An Engineer is one who takes the contrary approach, using grenades to incinerate or disable enemies, or else to aid their comrades, depending on their approach to the battlefield. Grenadier training allows them to throw their grenades 20% further, making them useful in more circumstances, and also allows two destructive grenades for each spot in their inventory. The explosive potential of the Engineer is far greater than the same weapon in the hands of anyone else, often making their 'rifle' an irrelevant afterthought.

The Commander considers the Scout, Infantry, and Medic classes to be the most important. Particularly when accompanying rookies on less dangerous missions, these classes will be prioritized and those who chose them may find themselves out in the field more often than the others.

Brian Swartz

03-02-2015, 03:17 AM

Setup Options

For those of you familiar with the game who are curious ...

Difficulty: Normal(other options are Classic, Brutal, and Impossible. The mod info says Normal is harder than vanilla Classic, and I can't argue with that overall. I'm not a masochist, well not much of one).
Progeny/Slingshot: Included(these were originally DLC with EU, each is a mini-series of Council missions that I think add to the experience)

Second Wave Options

My goal with these was to make it as 'realistic' as possible, not go for making the game easier/harder. And yes, good grief there are a bunch of them.

** Damage Roulette -- On. This makes weapons less predictable, as they do a wider range of damage. LW makes this a narrower range than vanilla, in which you could do a point-blank shotgun blast with a flesh-wound 1-damage result. Highly annoying. The implementation is very good I think.
** New Economy -- On. The funding from each nation is randomized.
** Strict Screening -- Off. This fixes PFC stats as the same for each, I'm doing everything I can to make each character a unique individual.
** Hidden Potential -- On. Improvements in attributes when earning a promotion have a significant random element. Every once a while, a cruddy PFC turns into quite a valuable operative, and I really like those kinds of stories. Individuality again.
** Training Roulette -- On. Some of the choices for training when promoting are random. Some of the combinations can be crazy-good, other times there are 'I don't really want any of these, I'll take the least-bad one'. More individuality, and a great option IMO. A lot of metagaming theories revolve around the 'optimal build' for each class, choosing one option because you know you can get option X two promotions later ... I'll take the less gamey approach every time.
** Save Scum -- On. I don't reload unless I clicked somewhere on accident(one tile short of cover or past the move range, etc.). This resets the seed so that reloading may result in a different enemy action.
** Red Fog -- On. any operative, or alien, who takes damage finds their mobility and aim significantly reduced. This is one that works in XCOM's favor, but realism and change in tactics is the main reason for it.
** Absolutely Critical -- Off. Any flanking shot guarantees a critical hit. I generally don't like guarantees, and flanks get a massive critical hit chance bonus. That's more than enough for me.
** Liberators -- Off. Requires XCOM to free all nations before finishing the war. I'd rather have the choice to do or not.
** Not So Long War -- Off. A shorter game, though still longer than vanilla.
** Results Driven -- On. Countries lower their financial support as panic increases. Sensible, and I like how it changes the strategic elements.
** Cinematic Mode -- Off. Should be called 'EZ Mode'. XCOM Weapons, both air and ground, hit significantly more often. No point in playing a mod like this and then using this option IMO, unless it's just to learn it.
** Diminishing Returns -- Off. Satellites increase in cost the more you have built. Don't really understand the appeal of this one. Doesn't make sense to me.
** More than Human -- On. Training psionic abilities has a lower chance of success. Generally they are considered to be overpowered both in vanilla and in LW, so making them rarer seemed to be a good idea.
** Itchy Trigger Tentacle -- On. This could cost XCOM the war, but I love the idea. Upon being discovered/triggered, aliens can choose to just shoot right away instead of moving/overwatching. This can take away XCOM's usual advantage of having the first chance to get the drop on the enemy, and especially with powerful enemies, makes things more dangerous. This is the one option I have that really helps the aliens. It doesn't happen often, but one example: I had a rookie happen upon a trio of drones. Freaking drones, probably the weakest enemy in the game. Anyway, one shot him despite being in full cover. He panicked and hunkered down, and a second one hit him anyway and killed him before I had a chance to do anything. I just stared at the screen when it happened in disbelief. Very low chance, but it adds to the 'anything can happen' element that I really enjoy.
** War Weariness -- Off. Council funding drops slightly each month. A reasonable option, but Results Driven sort of has this covered and I like that one better.
** Bronzeman Mode -- Off. Strange one here, allows restarting missions when using Ironman, which isn't advised in the mod anyway as there can be problems with it. I more use 'Honorman', meaning I won't reload unless I did something I didn't intend to, i.e. no reloading just because something went badly.
** Total Loss -- On. Another one that really can hurt. Any soldiers who die or are left behind don't have their gear recovered. Realism here, but a 'squad wipe' mission can be EXTREMELY expensive with this on. Gotta do it though, doesn't make sense not to.
** Alternate Sources -- Off. Power requirements for all facilities increased. I think the balance is good as is, getting enough power for everything is definitely not too easy.
** Aiming Angles -- On. Another one I really like, and which works both ways for human/aliens. The closer the shooter is to a flanking shot, the more their chances are increased. 'Straight-on' shots are the hardest to hit, while, 'almost flanking' can have close to a 20% increase or thereabouts. Again mandated by realism.
** Mind Hates Matter -- Off. Gene-modded and psi-capable soldiers are mutually exclusive: with this on you have to choose one or the other. That increases specialization among the elite soldiers, but it doesn't really make sense to me, almost an artificial way of making things harder. Pass.

Breeze

03-02-2015, 08:47 AM

First Name: Benton
Last Name: Gale
Nationality(optional): UK
Focus Attribute(optional, will try to pick a character strong in this): Will
Neglect Attribute(Optional, will try to pick a character weak in this): Movement
Starting Squad Member(optional):*Yes please
Special Requests: NA

chesapeake

03-02-2015, 09:24 AM

First Name: Ches
Last Name: O'Peake
Nationality(optional): USA, but any is fine
Focus Attribute: No preference
Neglect Attribute: No preference

path12

03-02-2015, 09:14 PM

First Name: Path
Last Name: Twelve
Nationality(optional): no pref
Focus Attribute(optional, will try to pick a character strong in this): Aim

Sounds fun!

Coffee Warlord

03-02-2015, 09:44 PM

He's baaackkkk...

Name: Coffee Warlord
Nationality: Any
Don't worry about focuses. Coffee Warlords come and go too often to worry about such things.

Brian Swartz

03-03-2015, 02:57 AM

** OOC Note: I'll denote any explanations or other out of character this way, with asterisks and italics. I should point out here that within the last couple of days the Long War team released beta 15, the last gameplay update. It was tempting, but while there's good stuff in it in my opinion nothing is truly 'must-have'. More importantly, it will take probably a couple of months to fully debug and balance it. Beta 14, which I am using and familiar with, is very stable and that's as important as anything to a project like this, though I'll still be saving and backing up obsessively. Anyway, we are now officially underway ... **

It was almost as if they knew we were coming. Within minutes of the official activation of XCOM on the morning of March 1st, the following images came in. All they know right now is it was from somewhere in Europe.

At first the locals thought it was a meteor shower. This is one of the first objects that hit. Frankly, though the situation itself was incredible, I couldn't take my eyes of this man's hair. I mean, it's just perfect. Superman perfect. It doesn't move, though the earth falls apart around him. His friends and relatives will sure be proud of the corpse he leaves behind ...

http://i.imgur.com/aRl7jC6.png

That is, if they live long enough to notice. After the smoke cleared, a crowd gathered around a strange mechanical object, oddly square-ish in shape. A few brave citizens dared approach it closely. I simply must ask though: why were only the conservatively dressed out on the town on this night?

http://i.imgur.com/9RM41SP.png

Curiosity turned to terror-filled screams within moments, as what I can only describe of tendrils of green gas poured from the object at nearly every conceivable angle.

http://i.imgur.com/RJWIb1k.png

Unfortunately, this did not last long. I say unfortunately not out of sadism, but because soon the final recorded images showed streets of near-absolute quiet. Nothing moved any more. The partially-liquefied and apparently congealed corpses were an image my mind would never be able to erase. It was obvious our attackers were not here in search of natural beauty.

http://i.imgur.com/YdwkQTR.png

Within moments I was wide awake and scrambling for updates. It was clearly time for the proof-of-concept mission the Council had demanded. It went without saying that failure was not an option -- long-term support required results, and without it our species had no chance. With that, Operation Hot Dirge was launched. The classified, state-of-the-art transport aircraft that we call the Skyranger 77-SRH landed in Murmansk just minutes later.

http://i.imgur.com/GKYeYIF.png

One way or another, the world would never be the same.

Icy

03-03-2015, 03:40 PM

First Name: Ivan
Last Name: Drago
Nationality(optional): Russia
Focus Attribute(optional, will try to pick a character strong in this): Mobility
Neglect Attribute(Optional, will try to pick a character weak in this): No Preference
Starting Squad Member(optional): No Preference
Special Requests: Think Dolph Lungrend. Huge muscular guy, light blond hair, the typical non very smart heavy machine gunner/rocket launcher from the movies, so strong to carry loads of ammo to cause destruction while listening to heavy music!

BYU 14

03-03-2015, 07:08 PM

First Name: Ace
Last Name: Idol
Nationality: British
Focus Attribute: Aim or movement

Brian Swartz

03-04-2015, 02:47 AM

**Warning: this will be an image-heavy post. I intend most updates to contain at most maybe a half-dozen, but I wanted to give the first mission the royal treatment, and there were some that happened to be particularly well-timed as well. There were also a few concepts/features that an image would best highlight. I would also like feedback from the community if they are too large: I know people use lots of different resolutions. If there's constant side-scrolling in these, let me know what resolution you use and I'll resize the larger images down to something a little below that in most cases at least. As always, I'm open to all suggestions on any other subject as well :)**

OPERATION HOT DIRGE
Murmansk, Russia
3.1.2015, just past midnight

** Three of our heroes venture forth in this first mission: the rest of you who did not request to go on the starting squad will find out more about your characters after we get back to base. Assuming we don't go out in a blaze of ignominy at the first mission of course. The first mission is always nerve-wracking to a degree, because I can't control who goes or what equipment they have. I've just gotta fly with whatever we get, and that can result in some pretty tough situations. By the way, I hate this map -- it's literally my least favorite one in the entire game and we start here. Go figure.**

The three other members of the squad are Su-Min Kim, a tough soldier with a fairly good trigger; Naomi Foster, also tough but not quite as skilled, though she has the only medkit and that makes her important here; and Lily Brodie, a little flimsy but solid shooting and fairly good will.

Didier Keita has a pair of grenades, one armor-piercing and one flashbang. It's the only flashbang in the squad and will almost certainly be needed. Good health, very good will(42), but literally the worst aim I've ever seen in a PFC(sorry, 55) and somewhat of a magnet for fire(-2 defense). Benton Gale has a pair of AP grenades, off-the-scale will(44), poor aim(58), and hideous defense(-4). Dean Hoo has a very solid all-around soldier with very good potential I think. Good aim, and I think you brought along a laser sight to make it even better so you've got the best shooter on this mission. above-average will(34), a bit flimsy with only four health and a single AP grenade.

** Both Gale and Keita are female: I didn't have much choice in this since it was one of those oddball things with only two males out of six operatives. Feel free to change names if you wish to something more ... feminine. **

The squad deployed on the edge of a street, with a 'artistically developed' wall in front past some abandoned vehicles. Trouble can come from almost any direction here, and we don't have the high ground.

http://i.imgur.com/V5WNu1T.png

Kim is clearly the best for scouting duty in the group, and moves up the police cruiser in front, everyone else taking cover as best they can. Soon the squad hears a noise straight left down the street, but it's more a mechanical sound than one of movement. Heading that way is asking for trouble anyway, taking higher ground if possible is a far more pressing concern.

Then Kim reports hearing ... movement. Past the wall, just past the white 'fuel tank' car. Seems like they are close ... but the train cars would likely shield us from their vision. Kim moves up the ladder ... and we spot a flying mechanical unit of some kind and a pair of whitish creatures that scamper out of sight on all fours. What in the ... well, it's official. First contact. We didn't get all dressed up for nothing. The new species move to the right, while that machine or whatever comes straight forward.

http://i.imgur.com/7fSW12R.png

There's no way we can get more than one up there into firing positions quickly, there just isn't time. I order the team to fall back, hopefully they'll chase us. This is risky as well -- if we are approached from the left down here on the street, this could get ugly in a hurry.

We spot that flying thing for a second, Brodie is in position for a shot but misses badly. It's just floating at the edge of the wall. Gale retreats around the back of the semi cab, and hits ... it's damaged but still airborne.

http://i.imgur.com/BWGnjQl.png

**Probably a good time to point out the idea of damage reduction here, which is a LW feature. The 'red 2' is the actual damage done to the enemy, the 'bluish 1', a little harder to see, below that is the damaged that was 'absorbed' or bounced off. Being in cover grants a bit of damage reduction if you are hit, and some enemies have a significant amount of inherent DR as well. It sometimes happens that you hit the target, but to no effect.

Brodie tries again, and her rifle incinerates it. That's some better shooting! One less enemy in the area and they didn't even get off a shot. I'll take that.

Looks like the others have taken the bait as well, one of the moves up and dares us to move, waiting to take a shot at anyone who tries it appears.

http://i.imgur.com/YDXawtT.png

** The 'eye' above the shield icon tells us that they are lying in wait for use to move. The first soldier to move in it's vision will trigger an overwatch or reaction shot. This is a risk best avoided when possible, espescially when they have the benefit of an elevated position.**

We won't be taking that bait. Unfortunately Keita is just a bit too far away for a grenade. An armor-piercing toss by Kim damages it, but doesn't quite kill it. More of them come in from left, and despite it's injuries the damaged one comes down and fires over the police cruiser at Kim ... he's hurt but still ok. The other moves forward and fires at Brodie, missing. And then, more join the party ...

http://i.imgur.com/wB2eCqa.png

This is a tactical cluster right now. They're coming at us from high ground in front, and flanking from the left. We've got to take out some of the enemies right now, or this is going to go very badly, very quickly. The on up top behind the train is the real problem. Brodie has a pretty good shot at it but we need better than that ... it needs to die for sure. Foster moves to the back of the police cruiser and just has enough arm to get an ap up there ... gone! That's a huge one.

http://i.imgur.com/cSM9Oci.png

Kim moves to the 'landing pod' or whatever those things are, executing the second one from point-blank range. That leaves three coming at us down the street. We move to cover, and there isn't anything decent except the semi cab, but we won't be able to see anything from back there. Two move up. One had a decent angle at Kim from behind some rocks, but missed. The other is waiting for us to give him a shot. Kim's stuck a bit too far forward, and we have to pull him back even with the risk. He dashes back to the semi, and thankfully they miss. Foster heals Kim, and we hunker down.

They advance a bit and look for reaction fire again. It's a mutual cat-and-mouse game right now, we've got the numbers but they have better position, each trying to bait the other into a foolish rush. We hold again, Hoo has a decent look at one of them but fires a bit high. He's really the only one in decent shooting position here.

http://i.imgur.com/uP5pKIB.png

The enemy in front seems to be the toughest and most threatening of the group, and Foster treats it to a grenade now that the distance has closed. That barely did anything. A follow-up by Kim injuries it more, but it's still up.

http://i.imgur.com/W3nvtnZ.png

**I think this is the best shot of what happens when an armor-piercing grenade goes off that I've managed to get. A cloud of shrapnel, purplish for some reason.**

They press us hard now, the injured one moving up but not able to get off a shot, one of the enemies behind firing at Brodie from that van ahead on the right, but missing. Kim has a shot but misses. Brodie is forced to move up to the pod and take it down. Two left.

http://i.imgur.com/jEt7t9G.png

They don't seem to want to approach us, instead going for suppression on Brodie on the right, and a missed shot at Foster on the left. Our turn now to inch forward, and they try Brodie again, she has good cover there and they miss. Both are huddled behind that van, which presents an opportunity. Foster moves in and takes one of them down, but both Brodie and Gale miss the second. Keita uses the flash-bang to pin it down, and a minute later it's Gale moving around to finish the job.

http://i.imgur.com/5GoneZh.png

For the first time since we first spotted them, we are clear of the enemy. With most of the grenades spent, I hope this is over soon. The squad heads back to the insertion point, preparing to use the ladder and go back up over the wall to the train. Whatever else is out there, high ground will probably be useful.

Again Kim is ready to go up, and just as he is we hear them again. Straight past the train, right where the first group came from. Super. I think we're in better position now than before, perhaps we can get shooters up top in time. Four of them! They're just past the train. Damn it. This isn't likely to be easy. They move left, and I think we'll have a better approach from the right though it isn't going to be great from any direction. As we gather over the wall, the train cars shield most of them from view, and vice versa. Somebody's about to get a nasty surprise, and I'm not sure if it's us or them.

http://i.imgur.com/zkxNsMY.png

They find a couple of shots at Hoo, badly missing one but they hit him the second time. He panics and stands there in one of our few good shooting vantage points, babbling like an incoherent fool. Fantastic. We get mostly into firing positins, Brodie and Foster are left, Hoo/Gale in the middle, and Kim/Keita on the right. Keita has a reasonable shot at the close one that injured Hoo, but fires just high. Gale still has two grenades, and soon she has one and we have one fewer enemy.

http://i.imgur.com/YvBPbDg.png

They fire at Hoo again and miss. Probably of more importance, one does this strange thing that seems to combine his mind with that of a comrade. It's just past the train, probably waiting in ambush. We're not taking that bait. From that position, they could fire on anyone trying to breach the train line. I'll say it again, clever bastards.

http://i.imgur.com/fJuhFKx.png

**The wavy lines indicate a mental link, and give away the position of the third member of this group

The hiding enemy sneaks along the tracks to try and get a shot at Brodie ... Foster has her covered but misses, shots at Brodie miss as well. That, my friends, was an absolute gift on a silver platter.

http://i.imgur.com/xHNdEqx.png

They won't get another chance, as from that close range she gives the enemy a premature grave. We can now fire at them from both sides, but only Kim manages to hit anything. One of the enemy has to reload, the other scampers into a defensive position behind the building up on the left. We have numbers now and can afford to be patient. Keita finally drills the wounded one, and there's only one of them left up here. That we know of. It's Brodie again, and they tell me that's all of them! No life signs remain, except of our course for the known animal life, and ours.

POST-MORTEM

Phew. 10 of the enemy were killed, 0 of our lost. That was very tense, and could have gone a LOT worse. Could have been better too, but we were up against it almost from the outset and are very lucky nobody came back in a body bag. It is to be attributed to nothing other than sheer dumb luck. I fear XCOM will need a lot more of it in the days ahead. There's no question we are up against a sneaky and intelligent adversary.

Artifacts Recovered

7 Sectoid Corpses
Drone Wreck
8 Weapon Fragments
1 oz. of a mysterious orange substance.

It is 1:58 AM as the Skyranger returns to base. The whole thing took maybe half an hour, but it felt like half a lifetime.

Brian Swartz

03-04-2015, 02:48 AM

In the next day or two I'll get into our first promotions, the XCOM tour, and other similar shenanigans now that we are, for the moment, safely back at base.

law90026

03-04-2015, 05:32 AM

I see I covered myself in glory there ... Not!

Brian Swartz

03-04-2015, 03:23 PM

Truly spoken, there was more blood than glory in your performance. But there is a bit of a silver lining.

Brian Swartz

03-04-2015, 11:08 PM

XCOM BRIEFING TOUR: ADMINISTRATIVE

XCOM HQ
Classified location, somewhere in Germany
3.1.2015, approximately 0200

There is only one way in or out of XCOM Headquarters. It's a vertical descent straight through the ground. We call it simply the Shaft, the circular opening from the ground barely visible here due to poor lighting as it closes behind us as we descend into the base.

http://i.imgur.com/ZQbcsLP.png

The Shaft continues about 120 feet straight down, where it opens up into the Hangar, which is another 80 feet. At the top, XCOM's four Raven-class fast attack fighters, outfitted with the lastest weaponry, electronics, hardening, and stealth technology, await orders on their landing pads.

http://i.imgur.com/DSFnOtw.png

The Ravens can be outfitted with either Avalanche or Stingray missiles, provided in abundant numbers by the Council for use as we see fit. The Avalanche is our most powerful missile, while the Stingray sacrifices warhead size for a shaped charge with greater armor penetration. The vigilant eye notices personnel working on loading Stingrays onto a pair of the Ravens; this order was given to ensure we are ready for any circumstance with a balanced approach.

Flight Roster

FO 'Boss' Bordini
FO 'Mangler' Neale
FO 'Chainsaw' Katz
FO 'Blinker' Kamala

Their pilots are often nearby, and generally stay clear of the field operatives. None have seen any action yet, but nobody expects that to last long. Many analysts believe that it is in the battle against the alien craft, of which we know virtually nothing, that XCOM may face it's sternest and most desperate test.

Below this the hangar widens out a bit more into the landing pad for the one and only SR-77H Skyranger. This craft's classified VTOL(Vertical TakeOff & Landing) tech allows it to use the Shaft as safely as the smaller ravens. It is stealth and thermal shielded and can deploy anywhere in the world within hours. Although it seems strange to have only one of these vital ships that deploy our strike teams around the globe, we are assured that only one is needed. It may be the most advanced feat of engineering in the entirety of XCOM.

http://i.imgur.com/3kOktvV.png

The mood as we exit the Skyranger is celebratory, but subdued. XCOM has earned its spurs, but there was a price as the Hot Dirge team is reminded of as they carry PFC Dean Hoo off the transport on a stretcher. From the perspective of the 'ant colony' view presented in these schematics, the team must proceed from left to right through civilian areas to reach field ops. If that seems a strange way to setup the HQ base to you, I definitely agree: but apparently it was done to allow for immediate debriefing if that is necessary and remind the soldiers that they are not autonomous. I don't buy these concerns, but even one with near-absolute authority such as the Commander cannot exactly reinvent the wheel at this point.

Everything on the same level as the hangar is known as the Administrative Level -- this is where the power structure of XCOM operates and where the most important decisions are made. As we enter Mission Control it is impossible not to be impressed by the feat of engineering. The sweating, and in some cases bleeding soldiers make their way past sophisticated electronics and the best civilian operators in the world manning these stations: it's a instant and obvious clash in every way imaginable.

http://i.imgur.com/f0MDMQv.png

The room is dominated by the Hologlobe, a sphere twelve feet in diameter suspended in the air and bathed with the light of ten massive floodlights, four from each side and one each above or below. All manner of data regarding XCOM's operations and alien activity around the world can be displayed on it in real time. Surrounding it are the dozens of workstations that serve as the nerve center for XCOMs intelligence, data gathering, and tactical decision-making operations, data which is used to update the Hologlobe. Overseeing all of this is this man, who can be seen conversing with the Commander himself nearby.

http://i.imgur.com/x062u57.png

This is Central Officer Bradford, XCOM's second-in-command on the civilian side of the agency. As he puts it, his job is to make sure the Commander can focus on the bigger issues at hand. More specifically, the flow of information is a three-step process. The various personnel here in mission control, usually a couple dozen, collate information from the myriad of sources around the world. Whether it's an intelligence source in a remote part of the world, an official in some major government, satellite feeds from anywhere on the globe, etc., anything that appears to be promising or important will first come here. When a diplomat or important national official announces self-servingly that they have 'just been in contact with XCOM' about some matter relating to the alien threat, it was someone in this room they were talking to almost certainly. The personnel here filter out the garbage and report the most vital information to Bradford, who in turn uses this to apprise the Commander of the overall situation. In this way, I am able to avoid being bogged down in minutia, but need concern myself only with the most vital developments. Bradford strikes as a man who is stiff, naive, and a fair bit overeager, but despite these flaws extremely capable. There's no question his role is a very important one.

Moving through Mission Control leads us to field ops, but if we take the stairs on the right upwards, we will reach a smaller room of much more vital importance. It is not one that the average soldier will often be allowed access to, as it contains the most sensitive strategic information. This is the Situation Room.

http://i.imgur.com/m9hRVXI.png

No hologlobe here, but the far wall is a lit flat-panel display of the world that does not at first seem to tell us anything of significance. Once I enter the room, Commander's identify confirmed by the sophisticated ID verifications, the display comes to life. At present, that looks something like this:

http://i.imgur.com/zaCd3uL.png

On the map itself, there are icons representing our satellite coverage(only one, in Germany). These are not your usual communications or even spy satellites, but stealth satellites hardened against every form of detection and more importantly, capable of detecting nearby distortions in gravitational fields. I am informed that the one working prototype we have up there, though quite small in size as satellites go, was built at a cost of twenty million euros, the same as our Raven fighters cost to build, though improvements in fabrication have lowered the satellite price significantly. Needless to say, these assets are as pricey as they are essential. Also shown is the location of our HQ in Germany and the four interceptors available to the continent.

In the upper left of the map is what's known as the Doom Tracker. Right now it's set at 0, as all 16 Council nations have pledged to support XCOM's defense of humanity. If any nation ever leaves the Council for any reason, the Doom Tracker will tick upwards. XCOM will continue the fight so long as a single important nation supports us, but if all 16 leave us, there will be no hope and the project will be abandoned. It is my job to ensure that never happens.

Finally, along the left and right of the map are shown vital at-a-glance information about each funding nation. The panic levels are color-coded in five levels. Thankfully at the moment there is virtually no panic in Germany due to our presence, and around the globe 15 of the Council nations can be seen to be at Green status, the lowest panic alert level. The exception to this is India, which has borne the brunt of activity so far and moved into the second tier, Aqua status. As panic increases, the amount of funding from each nation will decrease. The amounts currently shown are listed in hundreds of thousands of Euros. I.e., we presently have 7.8 million per month coming in from our home nation of Germany. Conversely, having satellite coverage will result in a doubling of income from the nation the satellite is deployed over, adding a very practical economic value to investing in them. The shield icon shown between each nation's panic and funding represents their ability to resist the alien threat, and will increase if we trade them classified materials or specific assistance as they request it. Due to the vital importance of keeping the global coalition strong, I have instituted a policy that 30% of the resources XCOM acquires will be made available for this purpose. The majority, the remaining 70%, will of course be used for our internal needs, but we cannot do this alone.

News Feed

Below the map, the latest headlines from around the world scroll by. At present, the following has been noted:

** Residents of Mumbai stand behind reports of an unknown 'creature' lurking in the streets; so far no evidence has been presented
** Experts debate as early indications show objects in space are of 'alien' origin
** Drastic increase in reported UFO sightings leaves experts baffled
** Alien sightings shock world population as reports continue to climb
** Successful military incursion by unknown forces in Russia stops alien abduction in progress

XCOM FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

In addition to all of this information, I can access in the Situation Room internal reports detailing the economic situation. We have an initial funding of 60.6 million, which I have divided in half between two priorities. The Air War half will be used for satellites, fighters, and all associated support expenditures. The General Fund will be used for everything else. We have no hope of defeating the aliens on the ground if we cannot contest their control of the skies, and it is obvious their technology is superior to ours in both arenas. At present, though the changing situation will impact these numbers, we are expecting another 74.6m to come in next month. 18m will be eaten up in maintenance costs for the Skyranger and Ravens, another 2.5m for some of our more advanced facilites in the rest of the base. That leaves a projection of 54m for new expenses at this time.

Of course, it is very possible that we will be able to pick up additional sources of income. In fact, I'd venture to say that XCOM's survival will require it. If we are desperate, one of those additional sources, which would bite into our available resources to trade to Council nations, is the Gray Market. Here we can sell classified materials for a price. After Hot Dirge, we have the following in storage, along with their selling price point:

7 Sectoid Corpses -- 200k ea.
1 Drone Wreck -- 200k
8 Weapon Fragments -- 100k
1 oz. MOG(Mysterious Orangish Goo) -- 700k per oz.

** Next up will be Field Ops, likely to be the most interesting part of the tour as we will get into starting attributes for all of FOFC's brave volunteers, promotions from the first mission, available equipment, and so on.**

Brian Swartz

03-05-2015, 01:23 AM

XCOM BRIEFING TOUR: FIELD OPS
Equipment Overview

Field Ops is the one core department that isn't really limited to one level. It takes up the right wing of the base, both the administrative level and also Sublevel 1 below it. Here's how the cross-section of the entire area looks:

http://i.imgur.com/muXVUXb.png

There's a lot of different things that go on here. First up, there's the room where I work, the Commander's Office, which might fit better in the Administrative Briefing but that was going on a bit and I knew everyone was tired from the last mission. Now that we've gotten a bit of rest, I should point out that my office is just to the right of the Situation Room.

http://i.imgur.com/YUCvhnM.png

It may not look like all that much, but it's got all I really need for my workstation and close access to the rest of the Administrative Level, a luxury few can be afforded at XCOM due to limited space. As for all of you as field operatives, you'll be better off not spending a ton of time in the Commander's Office. Generally you won't see the inside of it unless you are making a habit of being a screw-up.

Taking up the lower half of the Administrative Level are the first two parts of Field Ops itself. We'll begin with the Armory.

http://i.imgur.com/AiwYx01.png

The Council nations have supplied virtually unlimited amounts of every conceivable type of standard ballistic small arms here. When a new mission profile has been approved, those soldiers selected to the squad will be given access, a duty usually handled by a 'blue shirt', or candidate operative being evaluated for potential commissioning as a full-fledged XCOM soldier. Some types are available only to specific classes of soldiers, but the following can be used by anyone, PFCs included. Our featured model here is PFC Lily Brodie, who made a name for herself by being in the right place at the right time consistently during Hot Dirge, racking up an impressive 5 kills and playing a huge part in XCOM's probationary approval by the Council. This Scottish blonde(be professional, gents!) will display some of the options available to you in outfitting.

Armor

Choosing the right armor for a mission is about balancing survivability and mobility, the latter being often useful in getting out of harm's way or getting a better firing position to increase lethality.

Tac Armor -- +2 Health, +1 Mobility. This is the standard armor many soldiers will use, and provides maximum protection against enemy fire.

http://i.imgur.com/3azQ6o4.png

Tac Vest -- +1 Health, +3 Mobility. Those who need or desire additional mobility on the battlefield, or who are particularly tough physically, often choose this less restrictive option.

http://i.imgur.com/ZFhWSF0.png

Primary Weapons

Typically the determining factor in what weapon you choose will be your intended role on a mission.

Assault Rifle -- Long range, 2-6 damage, 10% critical chance(6-10 damage), 3-burst ammo capacity. This is the weapon PFC Brodie is using in the above images.

Assault Carbine -- Long, 1-5, 5%(5-8), 3 bursts, +7 aim, +1 mobility. A somewhat smaller weapon that is more accurate and allows for better movement, but also does less damage.

Submachine Gun(SMG) -- Long, 1-5, 0%(5-8), 2 bursts, +3 mobility. When quick movement is all that matters, this small, low-damage weapon can be chosen. It is typically by used by scouts or by classes, esp. medics or engineers, who do not rely on their primary weapon but tend to use other items and skills most often.

Secondary Weapons

These are generally of far less importance, but that is not always the case. Each soldier will carry with them a 'pistol-sized' secondary weapon. The most common use is in relateively desperate situations where it is better to fire a limited weapon than take time to reload, time that the battlefield does not always permit.

Pistol -- Long, 1-3, 0%(3-5), 2 shots, less accurate at long ranges.

Machine Pistol -- Long, 1-5, 0%(5-8), 2 bursts, -1 mobility, -10 accuracy compared to pistol, less accurate at long ranges. Carrying a machine pistol will slow a soldier down a bit, and is usually not worth it. It does provide considerably more punch however.

Utility Items

Every soldier can carry two 'extras', which are usually tailored to their expected role in the next mission. All of these also exist in effectively unlimited quantities, as they are fairly basic equipment. That will not be the case as more specialized items are developed. These are also optional: if more mobility is desired, leaving a slot empty will increase mobility by the weight of the item removed(usually 1).

Alien Trophy -- Reduced chance of panic, Weight of 1. Some engineers wasted their time putting together a 'momento' of our success in Russia, essentially a fusing of alien skulls with some of their weaponry. Bringing this on a mission will serve as a visceral, if rather grotesque, reminder that the aliens are mortal, and help a soldier keep their head in the fight. I consider a complete waste of time, soldiers generally ought to be more concerned with more practical means of waging the fight.

Battle Scanner -- Limited-time tracking device, Weight of 1. For use in scouting an area without risking a soldier, these will relay sensor information back to squad and can be thrown similarly to a grenade into potentially dangerous parts of the battlefield.

Ceramic Plating -- +1 Health, Weight of 1. An insert worn underneath the soldier's primary armor, this will improve the amount of enemy fire they can survive. These can be the difference between life and death.

Anti-personnel Grenade -- 1-7 damage, Weight of 1. The AP grenade showed it's usefulness in Hot Dirge. They cannot damage enemies behind cover, meaning they must usually be thrown slightly past the target. As with any explosive device, damage is greater the closer the target is to the detonation.

** I earlier referred to these, incorrectly, as armor-piercing not anti-personnel. Not sure why I mixed that up. There is no 'armor-piercing' grenade. Perhaps the Commander should be more certain of his facts before he decides to wax eloquent :)

Flashbang Grenade -- Disorients target, Weight of 1. The FB grenade is highly favored due to it's ability to disable the enemy. Though it is not believed to be effective against mechancial enemies such as the drone encountered in Hot Dirge, organic life forms suffer significant penalties in aim and mobility if they are caught in the blast radius.

Smoke Grenade -- Deploys a defensive cloud, Weight of 1. The cloud of smoke resulting from this grenade grants +20 defense to anything, friend or foe, within the cloud. As Commander I do everything I can to limit exposure to danger, but these can be very helpful when the situation demands it.

High Explosive Grenade -- 0-6 damage, Weight of 1. Unlike the AP Grenade, the HE Grenade damages everything in the blast radius, cover included. If an enemy is cowering behind something particularly destructible, the damage to their cover may be more valuable than any injury it causes directly.

High-Capacity Magazines -- +1 ammo, Weight of 1. Enlarged magazines allow the soldier to shoot one additional time before reloading, significantly improving their effectiveness in prolonged firefights.

Laser Sight -- +5 aim, Weight of 1. Laser sights are probably the most commonly used item, allowing for greater accuracy in both primary weapons and, for those who use them, rocket launchers.

Medikit -- Variety of medical applications, Weight of 1. Medikits can restore three health or cure a variety of battlefield infections. They can also be used to stabilize critically wounded soldiers if needed.

http://i.imgur.com/ml4oxXp.png

This is known simply as the Activities Room. Some call it the Lounge. You can call it whatever you want, but remember that all training and combat and no play is not good for your mental health. Blow off some steam every once in a while. Your Commander will be glad you did. Few things are better for your effectiveness in the field than a reasonable amount of R&R.

MacroGuru

03-05-2015, 10:16 AM

First Name: Mac
Last Name: Roguru
Nationality(optional): Scottish/Welsh if Possible
Focus Attribute(optional, will try to pick a character strong in this): Aim
Neglect Attribute(Optional, will try to pick a character weak in this):
Starting Squad Member(optional): Not required
Special Requests: Bald and Goatee...that's about it.

path12

03-05-2015, 12:46 PM

'sup Lily.

Brian Swartz

03-05-2015, 01:47 PM

Ten volunteers! I salute you all, one in four XCOM soldiers is a FOFC representative!

XCOM BRIEFING TOUR: FIELD OPS, PART 2
Soldier Profiles

Moving down to Sublevel 1, there are three more rooms in Field Ops. The first is the Fitness Center, which is open 24/7 and you are encouraged to take advantadge of it's facilities to keep yourself in optimal physical shape during your down time. The vigilant observer will note that for some reason, the 20kg plates have been stamped 'XCOM' in case you are tempted to forget where you are.

http://i.imgur.com/WPFJDHu.png

Directly below this is the bar, and never was an orange BioHazard sign displayed in a more appropriate area. To the far right rear, there is a bluish wall with three stars on it if you look closely. This area serves as the Memorial Wall(thankfully and fortunately still blank) and killboard, to honor those who have died in combat as well as those who have racked up a sizable total of alien scalps. Those of you who served in Hot Dirge may wish to review it ...

http://i.imgur.com/ymHhqKS.png

KILLBOARD

PFC Lily Brodie -- 5
PFC Benton Gale -- 2
PFC Su-Min Kim -- 1
PFC Didier Keita -- 1
PFC Naomi Foster -- 1

Finally there is Medical, where PFC Dean Hoo will unfortunately be spending quite some time. The diagnosis is that he was gravely wounded, and will be out of action for 19 days. Evaluation has indicated that there are no signs of permanent PTSD damage to his pysche, and he is expected to serve with distinction once he recovers.

**There are two kinds of injuries, wounded and gravely wounded. The difference is recovery time(up to a month for regular injuries, up to 40 days for grave injuries) and that grave injuries can also impart a permanent will reduction**

http://i.imgur.com/HYAlEKr.png

That concludes our Field Ops tour: it's time to meet our soldiers. There are a total of 40 at this stage, and XCOM can recruit more at a cost of 2.5 million for each.

PFC Dean Hoo -- Ukraine, 1 mission, 0 kills, gravely wounded(out for 19 days), SPEC Candidate
Health: 3
Mobility: 12
Will: 34
Aim: 68
Defense: 0

Dean was usually in the wrong place in the wrong time during Hot Dirge, and when he did get an opportunity he failed to take advantadge of this. For this reason, the Commander requires that he remain a private for the time being. Aim is still a little above-average as is will, though health and mobility are on the low side. He should prove a very capable, if fragile, soldier in time. There will still be many opportunities for him to distinguish himself.

http://i.imgur.com/HZusUAy.png

PFC Benton Gale -- Japan, 1 mission, 2 kills, awaiting promotion to Specialist
Health: 3
Mobility: 13
Will: 44
Aim: 58
Defense -- -4

Her claim to fame is being the most strong-willed soldier in XCOM, giving Gale excellent officer potential should she survive long enough and wish to pursue it. Low health, aim, and defense will definitely not help her, though mobility is decent.

http://i.imgur.com/u6N6JOG.png

PFC Didier Keita -- Mexico, 1 mission, 1 kill, awaiting promotion to Specialist
Health: 4
Mobility: 13
Will: 42
Aim: 55
Defense: -2

Keita is unfortunate to have the worst aim I have ever seen in an XCOM operative. Elite-level will along with decent health and mobility will go some way towards making up for this. She is another with excellent officer potential.

http://i.imgur.com/1lGjefz.png

There are six more heroes to profile who have not yet seen action. That will come in time. Naturally priority in choosing your 'avatar', if you will, was done in the order of sign-up.

**I should mention at this point that I am slightly concerned. This seems to be one of the least-talented rosters that I have seen. It seems the good old RNG is not feeling kind to us.**

PFC Jace Hunter -- Netherlands, 16th in the queue
Unfortunately, there was only one Canadian who didn't really fit the requested profile, plus they were slated second-to-last to go out.
Health: 4
Mobility: 11
Will: 30
Aim: 70
Defense: 3

Apart from being slow as dirt, Hunter has everything required to be a top-notch soldier. Decent will and health, excellent aim and an ability to avoid enemy fire. Big things are expected from him.

http://i.imgur.com/gYt8VBh.png

PFC Ches O'Peake -- USA, 5th in the queue
Health: 5
Mobility: 13
Will: 29
Aim: 65
Defense: -2

Ches is very tough which should grant excellent survivability. Otherwhise she is not particularly good or bad at anything, versatile with no great strengths or weaknesses. A blank slate on which to craft a successful career.

http://i.imgur.com/W4DXnNp.png

PFC Path Twelve -- Germany, 4th in the queue
Health: 3
Mobility: 12
Will: 27
Aim: 72
Defense: 3

Path Twelve is considered at this stage to be the most accurate shooter in XCOM. She will need to make good use of that, given below-average marks in most other respects, though defense is high as well.

http://i.imgur.com/fyo4uVn.png

PFC Coffee Warlord -- Israel, 6th in the queue
Health: 3
Mobility: 15
Will: 30
Aim: 61
Defense: -1

Coffee can't hit much of anything and he's flimsy, but he moves as well as anyone on the roster. As a scout or assault soldier he might do some fine things.

http://i.imgur.com/4RFMkxc.png

PFC Ivan Drago -- Honduras, 14th in the queue
**This has just been a really weird starting roster. Stupid weird. There wasn't a single Russian to be found, only Hoo was close as Ukrainian, but I've got Australians and South Africans all over the place. It's bizarre. Anyway, I just went for a reasonably close attribute match and then customized the appearance. I did change the language to Russian to help me remember the character. A Russian-speaking badass from Honduras. Sure. **
Health: 3
Mobility: 15
Will: 27
Aim: 64
Defense: -1

He can move. That's about it really, though Aim is just a slight but subpar.

http://i.imgur.com/PjxbjKI.png

PFC Ace Idol -- UK, 17th in the queue
It'll be a bit of time before you see action, but not that long and worth it I think. This is one of the best matches I was able to find, right nationality, attributes, and gender.
Health: 3
Mobility: 14
Will: 29
Aim: 67
Defense: -2

Ace has more than enough skill with the trigger and with his legs to make something of himself.

http://i.imgur.com/SCc9b4u.png

PFC Mac Roguru -- Australia, 21st in the queue
Pickings were slim in the Aim dept. by this point, but going to the Land Down Under you have one of the best who were remaining.
Health: 5
Mobility: 12
Will: 26
Aim: 68
Defense: 2

A pretty good shooter, Roguru should also be highly survivable though he's a bit fragile mentally.

http://i.imgur.com/hwrcVoF.png

Grover

03-05-2015, 01:57 PM

RNGesus has not been kind to us.

Brian Swartz

03-05-2015, 02:06 PM

Ok it's time to make a couple of choices. PFCs Benton Gale and Didier Keita, you are on the clock. 48 hours to choose your class, you will be promoted to Specialist once you have done so with updated attributes.

Benton Gale

The Scout/Sniper path has been preselected. Sniper is out of the question with your low Aim. Scout or a random class from the remaining six are your two choices.

Recommendation

Honestly this is a tough one. You have enough mobility to be an ok scout, but the low defense wouldn't help. It's also not an optimal class for an officer. Probably wouldn't prevent you from becoming one, but officers are best when close to the rest of the squad and a scout by nature takes the lead. On the other hand, a random class could be either better or worse. You'd fit well as a medic or engineer, but if it was infantry or rocketeer you'd be worse off than as a scout due to the aim issue.

You are now on the clock. Choose carefully :).

Didier Keita

Gunner/Rocketeer have been selected. Rocketeer is not an option for the same reason, your legendarily poor aim. Gunner with an eye on potential officer training down the line would be fitting for your skills. In the Commander's opinion this an excellent spot for you, and the random class is too risky. If infantry or sniper were selected, you'd be a disaster.

Congratulations, Specialist Didier Keita(Gunner). You have been promoted, and your new attributes are as follows:

Health: 5(+1)
Will: 45(+3)
Aim: 56(+1)

A pretty 'meh' set of increases unfortunately. You now are authorized to use two new weapons:

SAW -- Long, 2-8, 0%(8-13), 6 bursts, -1 mobility. The SAW does more damage and probably more importantly for your concerns, has double the ammo capacity. You'll use it up quickly with your new Suppression ability.

Light Machine Gun -- Long, 3-9, 5%(9-15), 8 bursts, -2 mobility, grants Squadsight. The LMG is both more powerful and more restrictive. It is the largest portable weapon in the XCOM arsenal, but also requires careful positioning: you cannot move and fire in the same turn.

The Commander recommends the SAW for your use, given your near-complete inability to hit anything. The extra ammo will be useful for suppression, you don't need more damage since you aren't likely to do much anyway. Have a look at your new armor(same protection, but different detailing)

http://i.imgur.com/CqW4iq8.png

Brian Swartz

03-06-2015, 01:53 AM

I am informed by PFC Benton Gale that she wishes to tempt the RNG and go with the random class selection. And so the results are ...

Infantry. Congratulations on your promotion! Condolences on the fact that you weren't able to roll a more appropriate class. But hey, you did make it up one level, and infantry are always in high demand -- but more so if they can hit something. SPEC Benton Gale now has the following attributes:

Health: 4(+1)
Will: 48(+4)
Aim: 60(+2)

Another very 'meh' promotion gain, though somewhat better than the other one. The rest of you soldiers really need to step it up. XCOM needs better than this. In NPC news, Su-Min Kim got solid improvements in becoming the first Assault, Naomi Foster proceeded even more cruddily that our pair of heroes in initiating the Engineer class, and despite her gaudy number of kills, Lily Brodie's talents were seen fit to start off as a Medic. A massive will increase(+9) in her case solidified her place as a person of extreme interest.

Scout, Sniper, and Rocketeer classes remain empty at this juncture.

Here's your new appearance, Specialist Gale, decked out in infantry blue:

http://i.imgur.com/gZMPsmy.png

There are pair of new weapons that you can technically use. I say technically, because you won't actually be using them anytime soon.

Battle Rifle -- Long range, 2-8 dam., 15% crit(8-13), 4 bursts, -15 aim, -1 mobility. A heavy assault rifle variant, the battle rifle can only be used effectively by an elite soldier. In the hands of one, the significant accuracy penalty can be negated enough by their skills to make the higher damage count. Unfortunately others such as yourself would be simply polluting the atmosphere without much of a chance of hitting anything.

Shotgun -- 3-9 dam, 20%(9-12), 5 bursts, short range, less damage against enemies in cover. The shotgun is a close-range, execution-style weapon that can technically be used by an infantry soldier but really shouldn't be. To be used effectively, they would have to be placed so close to the enemy that they would not survive long.

It is likely that you will be sticking with the standard options of assault rifle or carbine.

Brian Swartz

03-06-2015, 03:00 AM

XCOM BRIEFING TOUR: CONCLUSION

This is the final part of the tour, in which we will explore the two departments that govern the civilian side of XCOM, reporting directly to Bradford. Both are headquartered on Sublevel 1. First, directly below Mission Control, are the Research Labs.

http://i.imgur.com/1kQuKEc.png

Research is under the direction of Dr. Vahlen, who seemed a bit over-doctrinaire in our first conversation. After stating the obvious fact that all of XCOM's research and development is directed from this part of the base, she mentioned that her team has already begun analyzing the artifacts recovered during Hot Dirge and that the potential for improvements is promising. She stated that work would begin immediately 'with my approval'.

http://i.imgur.com/9A46l4M.png

I have the feeling she has no intention of waiting for my approval anyway. Regardless, she seems quite competent and nothing is more obvious at the moment than that we are desperately behind the invaders in terms of technology. Unquestionably the efforts of the teams under Vahlen's direction will be invaluable. I am informed that we currently have ten of the best scientists from around the world working for her on site.

There are three project proposals presented, though one of them(Alien Materials) is merely theoretical at this point as it will require resources we don't have. The other two are Xenobiology and Alien Weaponry. Vahlen's summary of the Xenobiology project is compelling enough to make it my choice, given that the time and resource requirements for the two are almost identical:

'It is crucial that we gain a thorough understanding of the alien physiology in order to develop weapons and tactics better suited to combating them.' I couldn't agree more. The project is authorized, and I am told results are expected in the second half of March given the current staff available.

As I leave, she is keen to remind me about the need to preserve as many alien artifacts from the field for study as possible, urging me to limit use of explosives. It's always good to have somebody telling me how to do my job, particularly when they insist on emphasizing the obvious. As important as her stated priorities are, the lives of the soldiers under my command will always come first.

Continuing back to the left across Sublevel 1, the base extends underneath the hangar itself. Before we fully reach our next intended destination, this disturbing site greets the passer-by:

http://i.imgur.com/8tVVG3T.png

There are some places not to vent your sense of humor. What would possess someone to think this is an appropriate way to label what appears to be the generator powering this part of the base?

I have little time to consider this, as continuing on I enter the final department: Engineering.

http://i.imgur.com/sngBIm5.png

Soon I find myself face to face with Dr. Shen. This is his corner of the XCOM world.

http://i.imgur.com/zXl2WGW.png

He politely welcomes me, and after a brief tour of their facilities assures me that 'anything they can dream up in the research lab, we can build it here.' I sense already a bit of rivalry with Dr. Vahlen in his tone, but that is only natural. They are driven, highly successful in their fields. If they were not, they wouldn't be here. Competition for XCOM's limited resources will undoubtedly be fierce. But I'm a little more concerned about the demonstration of the robotics at his disposal on the assembly line. Impressive to be sure, but I think said limited resources might be better used on a task other than what appears to be massive quantities of metallic lunchboxes. Perhaps Dr. Shen might be a little too ... 'experienced'. I need to watch him closely.

http://i.imgur.com/pX3gXNu.png

He hands me a great stack of folders which he says I should peruse. I retreat to my office, and soon realize that while he may be a bit strange, his information is really very good.

Equipment

Or at least it appears to be. One immediate possibility for our combat teams is detailed:

Sawed-off Shotgun -- Short range, 4-8 dam., 5% crit(8-11), 1 burst, -1 mobility. Essentially a street modification of our standard shotguns, these can be carried instead of a pistol, though it seems only by some classes and they will slow them down. Still, it could be useful in some situations. Best of all, it comes at the very acceptable price of free. The engineers need only the original shotguns to modify, which we have in unlimited amounts. We almost certainly won't need to use these often at all, but I tell Dr. Shen to build us four of them anyway. I am told they will be ready tomorrow. If he's always this efficient, we will get along well.

Also of great interest are the blueprints for the Super Heavy Infantry Vehicle(SHIV). Essentially this is a small tank, and there are ideas for ways to improve the basic functionality. The cost is 6m each. While the concept is interesting in theory, I've always been a fan of boots on the ground. Nothing in the report indicates that a SHIV has the potential of a human recruit, though they are certainly expected to be initially more combat effective than an untrained PFC. The cost is also well over twice that of a new recruit. While both Shen and Bradford voice their disapproval, I tell them my policy is that we will have a human fighting force. I state emphatically, with far less conviction than I feel, that Field Ops is up to the job without these mechanical replacements.

New satellites are also in Shen's capability to produce, at a current cost of 14 million each. 25 days would be required for each. Certainly we'll need to expand the number of those we have available to detect alien activity in more nations, but we're not ready for that yet.

Facilities

The final folder in the stack to review is by far the thickest, and for good reason. Here Dr. Shen has detailed what lies beneath: the mostly empty and undeveloped levels below. There are four of them in all, Sublevel 2 through Sublevel 5, and it is here that expansions can safely be built. So far, there is merely an access lift down to SL2 and a satellite uplink for communicating with the bird over Germany.

http://i.imgur.com/E4Kwzg7.png

There is much more that can be done, however. The schematic outlines the basic structure of the levels, as follows:

http://i.imgur.com/Se1JwI2.png

There are several designs for facilities we can build, if I choose. Access lifts will give us access to the next sublevel via the central shaft, laboratories will increase the efficiency of our research teams, workshops will allow us to build equipment more inexpensively(though not faster, more engineers are required for that), power generators will increase our ability to power more of all types of facilities, satellite uplinks are required to maintain more satellite coverage, and a foundry would allow more advanced engineering of current equipment or possibly new focused studies on new possibilities. Clearly I have a lot of choices to make, and not a lot of time in which to make them.

Attempting to clear my head before my next crucial task, orders on what areas of XCOM's operations to invest in now that all personnel had gotten a good tour of the base, I headed down to sublevel 2 to say hello to some people in Uplink Control. I was sorry I did after being greeted with this:

http://i.imgur.com/jCGOQp2.png

There are some things I would be better off just not knowing. It was a full minute before I regained my powers of speech.

Edit: The last image seemed dark to me. If it seems that way to others, this cautions reads: 'If the device begins leaking or malfunctioning contact your supervisor immediately. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before. Risk of electrocution.'

Travis

03-06-2015, 09:14 AM

Looking forward to joining the squad and hopefully lasting long enough to become a sniper.

Brian Swartz

03-06-2015, 01:33 PM

INITIAL DECISIONS

Already Dr. Vahlen's research team had their orders, and Shen was working on the sawed-off shotguns. On the Air War side of the budget I ordered another interceptor. The price was steep, but it wasn't going to get any cheaper and we need to have an increased presence in the air. That put us down to 10.3m remaining, not quite enough for the next priority which is getting another satellite uplink going so we can extend our coverage to other nations in Europe.

As for the General Fund, after reviewing Shen's information it was clear that our top priority had to be getting access to that steam vent in Sublevel 3 right next to the access shaft. We are currently using almost three-quarters of our available power, and a thermal generator there would more than double our supply. Having one so close was quite fortuitous, a sign that not everything was going against us. The first step was building an access lift for 10m, most of which came out of the general fund but some out of the air war portion as it will also allow more space for more uplinks eventually. I am told this will take a week to build. We also began work on a laboratory on the far left end of Sublevel 2, and began excavating in the other direction as well: I want to get a workshop up and running as soon as possible. A Euro saved is a Euro earned. The lab will take three weeks, and each space excavated required five days. With these orders given, a good amount of our initial funding was gone. Here's the remaining balance:

Air War: 7.3m
General Fund: 10.3m

**This is the end of the 'setup' posts. It is still 1:58 am on March 1 in the game, but we will now progress chronologically. After we get 'caught up' to the current date which won't take long at all most likely, the Commander will present a daily briefing in this space -- even if there is nothing significant to report.**

Brian Swartz

03-06-2015, 11:56 PM

Looking forward to joining the squad and hopefully lasting long enough to become a sniper.

I hope you do. Especially with limited talent, we will definitely need to get the most out of everyone.

Brian Swartz

03-07-2015, 01:12 AM

The Story Continues ...

For a while there were a glut of observers in Mission Control, mostly just talking nervously and waiting to see what would happen. After about an hour they were dismissed from the room. It was really just a distraction to those doing vital work there, and everyone has to get used to the idea that while a crisis could come up at any time, nobody can be wired indefinitely. Off duty personnel and soldiers need to sleep, they need to relax as much as possible on personal time, they need to have as much of a life as is possible within the confines here. That's the only way they can operate at peak capability when they are really needed.

It was perhaps a blessing that the next few days had little other than relative mundane developments. It allowed everyone to get into a little bit of a rhythm. Nobody was foolish enough to believe this would last long however.

March 1

** 1:45 PM -- Stingray missiles have been loaded on two of the Ravens, and all four are once again ready for action.

March 2

** 1:41 AM -- Sawed-off Shotgun(x4) finished. It took just under 24 hours.

March 3

** 7:42 AM -- India has officially requested satellite coverage. This is unlikely to happen since A) we have no satellites, B) we have no satellites being built, and C) we couldn't spare the satellites to make it useful anyway. We have just over a month, 31 days to pull the trigger, and if we change our mind(which we won't), they will send us two engineers.

March 4

** 9 AM -- FO 'Notso' Sharpe is given the fifth fighter, leaving Europe just one short of a full complement.

** 11:12 PM -- A UFO was spotted to the north over the polar region! Our first action, only this thing was huge. Analysis indicated it was flying nap-of-the-earth, but at that size it was still easy to spot.

http://i.imgur.com/mO9jimI.png

This created a problem as well. Nobody thought we had much chance of taking it down, but in order to preserve goodwill with the council we couldn't ignore it. Reluctantly I sent up 'Boss' Bordini's fighter, with strict orders to disengage if it was necessary.

http://i.imgur.com/4ERNysd.png

** 11:46 PM -- Intercept happened just over a half our after it first showed up in our systems. The 'battle' lasted less than two seconds. One hit was all it took to make it clear that we couldn't conted with the firepower of that ship. It was still disturbing though, that Bordini managed to miss a vessel of that size. I could only shake my head at the practical futility of the attempt.

http://i.imgur.com/BBxugGE.png

Bordini withdrew, and the ship will require almost two weeks of repair. 'Chainsaw' Katz's Raven will now load Stingrays to resume the 2/2 balance of weapons in the interim.

March 5

** 12:46 AM -- While the UFO is tracked by nervous souls in Mission Control, another request comes in and I duck into the Situation Room. South Africa also wants satellite coverage and offers the same two engineers. That's nice. They get the same response as India did.

** Approx. 1 AM -- The UFO arrives in Germany and hovers over the country. We don't know what it's doing, but the bet is preparing a diplomatic team to offer terms of surrender isn't on the agenda. We only have to wait a few minutes. At 1:08, we receive a report of abductions in Stuttgart. The national government tells us that despite the size of the enemy ship, it's a relatively small alien contingent involved and a reward of 8 million is on offer for a successful intervention.

They don't need to tell us twice. It will yet be nearly a full day until any of our veterans of the first operation a few days ago are ready, but given such limited resistance this is an opportunity to get some greenhorns experience anyway.

Privates Path Twelve, Ches O'Peake, and Coffee Warlord are among those suiting up for the waiting Skyranger ...

Brian Swartz

03-07-2015, 02:03 PM

OPERATION SPECTRAL SLEEP
Stuttgart, Germany
March 5, 1:21 AM

http://i.imgur.com/bg6GaMc.png

Intelligence indicated that the area of operations would be a large urban structure. Overall, the squad was not an impressive ground. Path Twelve was the only above-average shooter, and will probably need to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Eliana Soares of Brazil has toughness and slightly above-average defense, earning her the role of scout, albeit a slow one.

PFC Thozama Khumalo(ZAF)
PFC Eliana Soares(BRA)
PFC Courtney Mason(UK)
PFC Path Twelve(DEU)
PFC Ches O'Peake(UK)
PFC Coffee Warlord(ISR)

The squad was given laser sights all around to help with accuracy, but even so only Twelve and O'Peake are carrying assault rifles. Most of the others have carbines, and Twelve had to sacrifice the second elective inventory slot to retain a decent movement rate since she's flimsy enough to need full armor. O'Peake has a flashbang and Warlord a medikit, with one of each also carried by Khumalo/Mason. For the most part, this group will need to nibble the enemy to death, and disable them or get out of dodge of things get too hairy.

http://i.imgur.com/zhZWNlD.png

They moved cautiously towards the building, and almost immediately heard to tell-tale sounds. From study of the audio from Hot Dirge, that was unmistakable. Sectoids. Pasty white fiends with bulging eyes and oversized heads. Miserable interlopers that needed to die.

As the squad reached the building, some could be heard a ways insides, but three approached, then ducked out of sight down the alley to the left. No need to alert them all at once. Best firing positions on the alley left of the building were assumed, with Path Twelve and Ches O'Peake featuring on overwatch. Twelve had a shot that was well off target, two of the enemy went on overwatch and another missed well high for Khumalo. Looks like the first firefight of the operation is upon us.

http://i.imgur.com/4rUPo7y.png

We had only a couple of decent shots, and Khumalo and Path Twelve made amends by gunning down their targets in quick succession! That was unexpected, but really gives us the edge now with only one left. The survivor tried to retreat, while we spotted movement inside the building. This could still get troublesome if we have to fight another group at the same time.

O'Peake and Soares led the way as the squad wheeled down the street past the building. We saw nothing, but can still hear them out there. A cornered enemy is a dangerous thing, and that's exactly what we have here. As Mason came around the corner, she was just in range of the sectoids inside ... three of them. They saw us. Well, that's exactly what I wanted to avoid. We weren't careful enough, and now there's potentially four out there.

One moved toward us inside the store, while the survivor of the first group reappeared far down the street. Not worrying about that one, at least for now. The other got itself a faceful of Coffee Warlord's carbine, as he was best positioned for a shot. Three down, at least three to go. Retreating, Mason spotted three more inside a garage of sorts behidn the auto shop. Well, that could have been better. Six of them now. This is what's known as 'light' resistance?

Some sort of mental attack on Mason, and she appears to have been damaged somehow, by one of them inside the store. Twelve misses, they move forward and miss a couple shots, reaction shot off target by Peake ... this is getting crazy and we're getting nowhere. It's an even fight in numbers, but we look out positioned here. A second mental attack on Mason, and she panicks.

The good news is that in their aggressiveness they gave up overwatch coverage, so we can adjust ... and one of them left themselves open. From her position on the corner of the building, Path Twelve slides along the near side for a flanking shot. The fight is no longer even. Khumalo and Soares move inside the building for better cover, allowing them to take a less defensive posture and potentially add to the fight.

http://i.imgur.com/VyKxuTq.png

A third straight attack on Mason succeeds, and she'll burn a medikit. Otherwhise they overwatch, not wanting to compromise good cover positions. Soares wounds the nearest one just behind the doorway, but it's still up and both Ches O'Peake and Path Twelve miss. Twelve is out of ammunition.

The sectoids advance a bit, using that panic attack they seem to love so very much. Mason holds firm this time, but it's O'Peake's turn to babble incoherently from her good defensive position on the street. I mean, now-useless defensive position on the street. She's now screaming randomly to 'get me out of here!'. Um, not till the fight's over dearie.

One has moved close enough to give the Warlord a shot. That's two kills for him, as a Sectoid body falls on a previously-eliminated corpse. He's showing some clutch in that maligned trigger finger of his today!

http://i.imgur.com/36VG5CG.png

Khumalo puts a hole in the wall and that's it.

http://i.imgur.com/i0vnOQD.png

I still spot three. One moves up and misses a fairly close-range shot at Soares. She's pretty well covered, but that was still dangerous. the other two overwatch, preventing us from overrunning their position.

Soares returns fire and misses, and now not only is she out of ammo, but another advance would leave her flanked. We need some of these bastards dead. Mason has regained her composure in the nick of time, but fires high. Twelve breaks only a window. Khumalo looses a flashbang to temporarily knock the near one out of commission, it still shoots again, and misses again, at our Brazilian scout.

http://i.imgur.com/1N8BsyH.png
The blinding light of a flashbang, buying Soares a little time

Meanwhile a fourth comes at us from the back. That has to be all of them that are left. This fight has gone on too long. Warlord tries to plant a third body in the same heap, but it's just a flesh wound that simply bounces off the sectoid's hide. Ches O'Peake wounds, but does not kill, the same enemy with her last burst. At least two of them are hobbled now, that will help. More shots misfire both ways, and they are suppressing Soares as well. That doorway she is using for cover is disintegrating by the second ...

http://i.imgur.com/TX20Hfn.png

Khumalo plants the suppressor, freeing up Soares to take out the second injured sectoid. That was huge. Now we're in business again with two left. Again they move up to take out Soares ... missing, but the wall is gone now! She retreats, Mason gives out only a flesh wound, more reloading, Warlord relocates, but it's mostly just a positioning battle. We're winning it, but it's not over yet.

Another wall explodes, and this one exposes one of them! The second one had retreated, and only Ches O'Peake has a decent shot. Missed. Again. Khumalo takes the other one in a gimme to finish off her magazine, and it looks like we're down to one foe here.

http://i.imgur.com/28yU4TS.png
Probably the best of Ches O'Peake's many failed opportunities to be more than a bystander in this operation.

Faced with little choice, it tries to move forward for a shot ... and there's the Coffee Warlord again, gunning it down just before it reaches a pod in the street! Half an hour later, a sweep reveals that was it for this dust-up.

http://i.imgur.com/jWpXXSN.png
Warlord's mission-ending bullseye, probably the most impressive part of the Stuttgart operation

POST-MORTEM

9 kills, all sectoids, and no soldiers lost. Courtney Mason made an embarassment of herself with her panicking, and she'll get to spend almost a week keeping Dean Hoo company in the medical ward. Special services has termed the attacks on her to be of two types. One was mindfray, which caused her to hallucinate out there along with physically weakening, the other was psi panic, the one that got to Ches O'Peake and made her go nutso.

I hate Sectoids. All in favor?

Fellow goat of the mission is O'Peake, who failed to record a single kill despite several opportunities. Hope you enjoy life as a lowly PFC, because guess what? YOU STILL ARE ONE!! Get your behinds to the practice range and freaking learn to hit something, slackers!

The other four were promoted, with Khumalo and Coffee Warlord bagging three apiece. Warlord is the unquestioned and surprising hero of the day. He was in a rear position almost the whole mission, spending a lot of time at the back of that full-size green van in the street. But the enemy learned that despite that, he was not one to be ignored. Opportunistic and stunningly accurate, he did well for himself out there. After a fast start, Path Twelve couldn't hit much at the end but still had two kills, and Soares finished with the one tally.

Artifacts Recovered

9 Sectoid Corpses
9 Weapon Fragments
Another oz. of the mysterious orangish goo

With the reward money deposited in the treasury, the Air War fund is back up to 11.3m, 14.3m in the General Fund. The team was on site for over an hour and twenty minutes, and returned to base at 2:52 AM.

Brian Swartz

03-07-2015, 02:15 PM

Promotions

Coffee Warlord, you are hereby promoted to Specialist, and the first member of the Scout class. You are still slightly subpar on defense and physically flimsy, so it's not without risk, but elite movers are a pretty rare thing. Compared with the other options of a 61-aim sniper or a random offering, it was a no-brainer and Commander's prerogative was invoked.

Heath: 3(--)
Will: 38(+8)
Aim: 65(+4)

I would have liked to see you toughen up a bit, but let's not kid ourselves -- this is good training work. Your XCOM career is off to a fine start!

http://i.imgur.com/LLgzIvW.png

Path Twelve, the whole compound knew what was going to happen in your case. But it's now official. You are XCOM's first Sniper, and have been duly promoted to Specialist as well.

Health: 3(--)
Will: 34(+7)
Aim: 75(+3)

Not bad, but we need to see a little bit more dedication from you on the firing range as well. As a sniper, that's far more important than anything else you can do.

http://i.imgur.com/4V8ngF9.png

Khumalo became a medic, and Soares is the agency's first, albeit slightly subpar it would seem, rocketeer. All classes are now represented with at least one soldier.

Brian Swartz

03-07-2015, 02:17 PM

The Story Continues ...

March 6 -- SPEC Su-Min Kim returns to duty. Excavation finished on sublevel 2, but we lack the funds to build a workshop as more power is needed first, which is waiting on the thermal generator.

March 7 -- The rest of the Hot Dirge squad returns to duty, including Benton Gale and Didier Keita. Dean Hoo is the lone exception, as he remains in the medical ward for some time yet.

path12

03-07-2015, 03:11 PM

Heading to firing range now!

Brian Swartz

03-07-2015, 05:09 PM

I was remiss is not talking about the new weapon options from our recently promoted specialists.

Coffee Warlord, as a scout you now have access to the Battle Rifle and Shotgun which were previously mentioned. The Shotgun is an interesting choice for a Scout as it signifies a more offensive-minded soldier. Most scouts will take a carbine or even just an SMG so they can do the actually scouting part of the job better, maximizing ability to move over wide distances. There is also this option:

Marksman's Rifle -- Long range, 2-8 dam., 5% crit.(8-13), 5 shots, severe aim penalty when used at short range. This turns the scout into more of a long-range operator. The Commander considers it to be a poor choice since it is rarely useful -- scouts tend to spend more time close to the enemy than any other class, and this weapon is specifically weakened in that circumstance.

The primary choice then of the scout tends to be in taking a carbine/SMG for superior movement, or a shotgun for superior firepower. This choice is often mission-dependent, but usually the former is best.

Path Twelve, you have access to the Markman's Rifle as well, but were pictured with the default full-blown

Sniper Rifle -- Unlimited range, 2-8 dam., 25% crit(8-13), 5 ammo, -1 mobility.

The sniper rifle has greater range(the marksman version is limited to five tiles beyond visual range) and slightly greater overall damage due to a higher critical chance. It does restrict movement a bit though and cannot be fired after moving. When the sniper has a reliable position and can just fire away, the sniper rifle is better, while the marksman's rifle is superior in situations where they have to move quite a bit during a firefight.

Brian Swartz

03-08-2015, 12:16 AM

**The CDB will be seen on a daily basis, and will generally be brief but of course game events will determine this to some degree**

Commander's Daily Briefing(CDB), March 8 2015

Heavy UFO activity noted over South Africa, and Mexico has joined the group of nations requesting a satellite.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Spectral Sleep, here are the latest news headlines:

** Mysterious operatives intervene In Germany's abduction crisis, preventing further alien incursions(*NEW*)
** Successful military incursion by unknown forces in Russia stops alien abduction in progress
** Residents of Mumbai stand behind reports of an unknown 'creature' lurking in the streets; so far no evidence has been presented
** Experts debate as early indications show objects in space are of 'alien' origin
** Alien sightings shock world population as reports continue to climb

Brian Swartz

03-09-2015, 01:08 AM

CDB, March 9

March 8, 4 AM -- Access Lift to Sublevel 3 completed. Excavating the steam vent just to it's right will now commence.

**On Tuesday, I intend to get the updated roster organized and put in the first post of the thread, so that it can be clear where everybody is at 'at a glance' whenever desired**

chesapeake

03-09-2015, 10:51 AM

It definitely wasn't my day. But don't give up on me now, Commander!

Brian Swartz

03-10-2015, 01:43 AM

It definitely wasn't my day. But don't give up on me now, Commander!

I won't. That would not be prudent at this juncture. I can't go around dismissing operatives that screw up, or A) we'd have almost nobody left, and B) we'll be out of money real fast, ya'll are expensive :P. You'll have plenty more chances to screw up worse ... I mean, redeem yourself.

Brian Swartz

03-10-2015, 01:48 AM

CDB, March 10

Council Bulletin

At just past noon, the Council of Nations announced that South Africa has lost all faith in XCOM and withdrawn from the project. Leading the news everywhere was a statement by the UN condemning them for allegedly providing material support to the aliens.

Shocked, the Commander and Bradford discuss the report two days ago of UFO activity in the nation. Clearly this is something we need to pay more attention to, though of course we lack the ability to do anything about it even had we known it was coming. The revised projections without South Africa show Council funding down to 67.6m per month, 42.6m after maintenance costs are paid.

****This is a scripted mod event and will only happen once. It is necessary for reasons relating the main plot of the game, and the country selected is random. It is possible for nations to suddenly leave the council, but rare and more warning will usually accompany it if this happens again in the future. **

Later in the day, three operatives return to active status including Ches O'Peake and Path Twelve.

Brian Swartz

03-10-2015, 03:40 PM

** This roster is accurate as of the end of March 10 and will be updated daily in the first post of the thread. First up, all active soldiers specialist or above are listed by class. The first soldier for each class is generally selected for the next mission that needs one, except in cases of vital priority missions which will take the best available. **

Assault(1)
** This should mostly be self-explanatory. The % listed is progress towards the next promotion. The number in paretheses by each class is the total number of that class currently in XCOM(including those who are recovering and/or injured)**

SPEC Su-Min Kim(KOR, 1 mission, 1 kill, 3%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 44 Will, 66 Aim, 1 Def

Engineer(1)

SPEC Naomi Foster(USA, 1 mission, 1 kill, 1%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 34 Will, 64 Aim, 1 Def

Gunner(1)

SPEC Didier Keita(MEX, 1 mission, 1 kill, 1%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 45 Will, 56 Aim, -2 Def

Infantry(1)

SPEC Benton Gale(JPN, 1 mission, 2 kills, 10%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 48 Will, 60 Aim, -4 Def

Medic(2)

SPEC Lily Brodie(SCO, 1 mission, 5 kills, 43%) -- 3 Health, 13 Mob, 46 Will, 64 Aim, -2 Def
SPEC Thozama Khumalo(ZAF, 1 mission, 3 kills, 22%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 42 Will, 63 Aim, -1 Def

Rocketeer(1)

SPEC Eliana Soares(BRA, 1 mission, 1 kill, 1%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 33 Will, 67 Aim, 1 Def

Scout(1)

SPEC Coffee Warlord(ISR, 1 mission, 3 kills, 22%) -- 3 Health, 15 Mob, 38 Will, 65 Aim, -1 Def

Sniper(1)

SPEC Path Twelve(DEU, 1 mission, 2 kills, 12%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 34 Will, 75 Aim, 3 Def

Private(31)
**Only FOFC volunteers are listed here. The number listed is your spot in the queue, or to put it another way your 'place in line' to be sent out on a mission and get yourself into the game. Those who have already gone out but didn't get promoted are actually at the head of the line, due to the fact that XCOM needs to build critical mass of experienced soldiers and they are closer to getting that first promotion having already gained some experience.**

PFC Ches O'Peake(USA, 1 mission, 0 kills, 83%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 29 Will, 65 Aim, -2 Def -- 1st
PFC Ivan Drago(HON, no missions) -- 3 Health, 15 Mob, 27 Will, 64 Aim, -1 Def -- 9th
PFC Jace Hunter(NLD, no missions) -- 4 Health, 11 Mob, 30 Will, 70 Aim, 3 Def -- 11th
PFC Ace Idol(UK, no missions) -- 3 Health, 14 Mob, 29 Will, 67 Aim, -2 Def -- 12th
PFC Mac Roguru(AUS, no missions) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 26 Will, 68 Aim, 2 Def -- 16th

Recovery
**Those soldiers who are fatigued following a recent operation will be listed here. At the moment there are none as the last several days have been eerily quiet for XCOM.**

Injured
**Injured soldiers are out of action until they recover. The expected time until they are available for active duty is listed here as well.**

PFC Courtney Mason(UK, 1 mission, 0 kills, 83%) -- 4 Health, 14 Mob, 31 Will, 62 Aim, -2 Def -- 16 hours
PFC Dean Hoo(UKR, 1 mission, 0 kills, 83%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 34 Will, 68 Aim, 0 Def -- 9 days

KILLBOARD

SPEC Lily Brodie -- 5
SPEC Thozama Khumalo -- 3
SPEC Coffee Warlord -- 3
SPEC Benton Gale -- 2
SPEC Path Twelve -- 2
SPEC Naomi Foster -- 1
SPEC Didier Keita -- 1
SPEC Su-Min Kim -- 1
SPEC Eliana Soares -- 1

MEMORIAL
**Here are remembered all those missing or killed in action. Thankfully it is blank so far.**

Coffee Warlord

03-11-2015, 08:38 AM

RECON!

Brian Swartz

03-12-2015, 01:52 PM

CDB, March 12

March 10 -- Two more operatives return to duty, including Coffee Warlord.

March 11 -- Courtney Mason returns from injury: it is otherwhise a quiet day.

Too quiet for the likes of many. The natives are getting restless with only the tedious hum of 'routine' activity. Among the complainers is Dr. Vahlen, bemoaning to virtually anyone who will listen the deplorable state of her department. Her consistent argument is 'If we don't address the lack of available scientists in the lab soon, we run the risk of falling behind on our research.'

Falling behind, Dr. Vahlen?!? I become worried that she may not be the right person for this job. It is absurdly self-evident to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that the aliens are light-years ahead of us in technology pretty much across the board. Possibly hopelessly so. Falling behind, you say? Her point is well taken, but it's not as if I can pull extra world-class researchers out of my arse.

The situation is Field Ops is not a lot better. Almost everyone is antsy, especially the privates who are still waiting their first shot in the field. The first two missions have been tense, yet overall the soldiers have performed quite well. The inherent sense of danger during and immediately after missions has had a somewhat perverse positive effect of focusing everyone on the danger and issues at hand. During extended down times -- it has been nearly a week since Spectral Sleep with very little to do -- there is nothing for the mind to focus on except the continued effort to maintain fitness and contemplation of our fate, both individual and collective.

It is not as if we can realistically imagine that we have scared the aliens off. South Africa dropping off the grid was certainly more than proof enough of that, and there are reports daily from all over the world indicating they are far from absent. Having some control over the skies above Germany is a great achievement, and yet that means that the other 7.2 billion people, 98.9% of the world, lives in areas that we have little alien intelligence in and even less ability to interdict. It would be much better to have something to focus on other than that sad fact.

Brian Swartz

03-13-2015, 08:43 PM

**After a couple fun days at work, I've a bit to catch up on here.**

March 12 -- At 1631, after just about exactly one week of quiet, XCOM went back on high alert. The satellite over Germany had detected a UFO, this one much smaller than the one which had led the Stuttgart abduction attempt. It was flying low but not NOE, suggesting a different mission, and of a type not previously seen.

'Blinker' Kamala was launched soon afterwards, and following a tense aerial battle in which their fighter took heavy damage, barely managed to down the UFO before it could get away. Immediate post-flight analysis indicated the enemy weapons were more accurate but that our Avalanche missiles appeared to pack a bigger punch. Thorough dissection of the data will begin immediately.

More importantly, there was much celebration in Mission Control as Bradford demonstrated poise and control in getting images of the crash site immediately. Even he was dumbfounded by the results however:

http://i.imgur.com/RP9ULFN.png

'Still in one piece?!' commented CO Bradford, unable to mask his shock at the impossibility of that fact. Clearly alien technology is every bit as advanced as we've feared if a crash at that velocity from that height didn't cause the ship to break up noticeably at all. Also readily apparent was that this was a crucial opportunity. We've never seen any of the enemy craft up close. Who knows what we might be able to learn? A field operation was urgently required.

It also left me in a quandary. Coming up with a sensible squad to send out was my toughest decision to date by far. Success here was even more essential than in our first two operations, but on the other hand if I sent out our best soldiers we would have little experience left should something even more vital come up in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, continuing to build a broad base of experienced soldiers was still necessary.

There was no time to brood on the choice, time was of the essence. We had to get down there and to the crash site as soon as possible.

Brian Swartz

03-14-2015, 02:02 AM

In the end I decided it was too risky to treat this as a priority mission. As important as it is, nobody doubts there will be more UFOs. In order to give us a better chance to survive whatever is down there, I sent the following strike team:

OPERATION DEVIL'S FIST
Germany, 3.12.2015, 1720

SPEC Lily Brodie(Medic) -- SMG, Medikit(x2)
SPEC Eliana Soares(Rocketeer) -- Carbine, Rocket
PFC Courtney Mason(UK, 1, 0, None, 83%) -- Carbine, medikit
PFC Ches O'Peake(USA, 1, 0, None, 83%) -- Rifle, flashbang
PFC Eman Hodzic(BIH, 0, 0, None, 0%) -- Rifle
PFC Brook Carter(USA, 0, 0, None, 0%) -- Carbine, flashbang

Brodie's medic skills will give the team a better chance of coming back in one peace, and Soares' rockets should prove handy if they find themselves overwhelmed by large numbers of the enemy. Mason and O'Peake are virtually guaranteed to be ready for promotion if they don't get themselves killed, while Hodzic and Carter will get their first opportunities in the field. I'm still not comfortable with it but it seems a reasonable balance between survivability and getting more of our personnel out there. Time will tell if I've made the right choice.

Carter is slow but adept at avoiding hostile fire, so she'll be the scout with this group anyway. Soares is limited due to her low mobility, so she'll only be able to carry one rocket. It will have to be conserved for vital need. With the importance of being mobile enough to get to anyone who is injured, Brodie will be carrying an SMG, making it unlikely she'll add much to her impressive kill tally from the first outing. Hodzic and O'Peake are the squad's best shooters and will need to be relied upon to turn the odds in our favor, while Mason will hopefully just manage to not embarass herself as thoroughly as she did in Spectral Sleep. She's the backup medic should anything happen to Brodie, always an important role.

The AO is designated 'riparian'. Looks like a bunch swampland to me. The squad is aways east of what seems to be the outline of the crashed vessel. Cautiously Carter leads the team that way. They don't hear much but what they do hear is by now a most familiar sound -- sectoids. What a shock.

As we approach, it seems they are just to the right and mostly straight ahead, but the sounds stay at the same distance as we approach. It's as if they are intentionally staying just out of range ... leading us ... smells like a trap. But is there really a choice? We must get to that ship before reinforcements arrive.

Continuing forward, using logs, plants, and whatever else for cover, Carter spots the ship. It's definitely taken serious damage, but is still remarkably intact structurally. And what is that ... thing ... off to the right? That orangish glow is reminiscent of the mysterious goo we have recovered in miniscule amounts from the dead bodies of aliens already. The squad wheels and moves off in that direction.

http://i.imgur.com/sn7aXLc.png

Then we hear movement off to our left. Investigating that ... pillar, or whatever it is ... is risky. It's so close to the ship, who knows what might be hiding in there? It's a risk we have to take though. As Carter moves up to the ship, something -- materializes I guess is the right word. Vahlen pipes in her two cents that the readings we are getting can't be accurate. She describes them as indicating a 'being of almost pure energy'. And what on earth is that glowing green thing? We're off the reservation here, stepping into unknown territory.

http://i.imgur.com/wJFciYN.png

Caution is the word of the day as we slowly advance, the strange new enemy moving up and missing Carter. Brodie advances to the strange orangish pillar, and Dr. Shen notes that the glowing green thing appears to be the primary power source. He's clearly impressed by it, and also says we should watch our fire since it could be 'highly unstable'. Fantastic.

Brodie depresses a panel in the side of the column, and three oz. of the substance is dispensed as it deactivates. Apparently it is a storage unit of some kind. Carter uses her flashbang while the rest of the squad moves up. We're not quite close enough yet. It fires back at her again, missing again. I don't plan on letting it have another chance.

The new alien takes everyone to eliminate, we miss a couple of times, but eventually it is ... Brodie, who just doesn't know how to fail it seems, taking the thing out from point-blank range. It has a really tough exterior, several times more resistant than a sectoid, yet distintegrates into fragments similarly to their weapons when it dies.

http://i.imgur.com/D8WyOD4.png

We can still hear sectoids to the left, and decide to use the good cover the ship provides as we move that way. At first we see nothing, and then we spot three of them, in the rocks. We aren't going to find a better position than where we are right now. We have their ship, let's see them try to take it back.

http://i.imgur.com/EmkGvpH.png

Soares misses high, but Hodzic plants one of them. They aren't feeling adventurous, and just sit there hoping we'll chase. Not likely. We're not about to give them an easier target. We have a few decent shots at the leader as he moves forward behind a log, and miss every last one of them. They fire at Mason on our right, missing badly. Ches O'Peake is the odd one out, unable to find a decent firing position without exposing herself.

She'll switch with Soares who reloads, while the leader advances, dodges reaction fire from Brodie, and misses a good angle on Mason. Nobody can hit a blasted thing, and the second enemy has strangely moved alongside a log on the right in an exposed position. Perhaps borne of desperation, they've made a suicidal error overextending like this.

http://i.imgur.com/TIWNDpE.png

Mason moves up to assassinate the second sectoid, and Ches O'Peake does the same with the leader. They made it easy on us other than the missed shot on Mason a moment ago. O'Peake reports no more alien life signs, and it's only a matter of time before a sweep confirms that. Soon the salvage teams are in place to recover what we can from the alien ship.

http://i.imgur.com/fcr1Rx1.png
It took long enough, but from point-blank range PFC O'Peake gets her first kill, finishing off an important operation

POST MORTEM

Only four enemies out there, but it was as clean as clean can be. We had no injuries, though they had a couple of chances, and we mopped them up without causing any further damage to the enemy ship. Still, it was a walk in the park compared to the previous pair of outings.

At 1904 the Skyranger landed back at HQ, while Dr. Vahlen offered her congratulations on the impressive operation. She was particularly pleased at our efficiency in grabbing the 'canister' with no casualties.

There were promotions all around with the exception of SPEC Soares, who didn't get a chance to use her rocket and misfired consistently with her carbine.

ARTIFACTS

3 Sectoid Corpses
15 lbs. Elerium
10 lbs. Alien Alloys
4 Weapon Fragments
3 oz. meld
1 UFO Power Source
2 UFO Flight Computers(both damaged)

Brian Swartz

03-14-2015, 02:16 AM

The new enemy we encountered during Devil's Fist has been codenamed an 'Outsider'. The damaged flight hardware was sold for three million on the gray market. A financial update following this seemed to be in order.

XCOM FINANCIAL STATUS

Operating Budgets

Air War: 12.2m
General Fund: 14.4m

Excavation for the thermal generator will be finished soon. The generator itself will require 35m to build, so money is certainly very tight with that expense hanging over our heads.

Gray Market Assets

14 Sectoid Corpses @ 200k ea.
1 Drone Wreck @ 100k
15 lbs. Elerium @ 500k
10 lbs. Alien Alloys @ 500k
21 Weapon Fragments @ 100k
5 ozs. MOG(Mysterious Orangish Goo) @ 700k
1 UFO Power Source @ 6m

Total Value: 27m

XCOM's total assets have skyrocketed with the UFO raid. Of the new materials, the tougher alien alloys used in construction of their ship are pretty self-explanatory, but we know little of elerium which is actually not an alloy but an element that is confounding to Vahlen's research teams. We know only right now that we can't reproduce it. What it's use is remains a mystery, as do potential applications.

Meanwhile, Dr. Vahlen seems very troubled by our foes. After Devil's Fist, she had this to say:

"I'm still having trouble grasping what the aliens are attempting to accomplish. Are they studying us? Why abduct humans seemingly at random? There must be a pattern that we haven't established yet."

I suggested she might be better off focusing on the research tasks she has been given. I have a feeling, not an altogether pleasant one, that the enemy plans will be revealed in due time.

Brian Swartz

03-14-2015, 02:31 AM

Promotions

PFC Ches O'Peake, having redeemed yourself a bit, you have been promoted to Specialist! Your choices are Infantry, Assault, or a random class selection.

We presently have two assaults, one infantry since Courtney Mason went the assault route. As a well-rounded soldier, your talents are serviceable for any class choice. You'd make a slightly better assault given your physical toughness and solid mobility, but infantry are more in demand.

Recommendation -- Not an easy selection in my opinion though under the circumstances infantry is an attractive choice especially since it would assure you of continued action -- they are one of the classes that is typically in high demand. Given your 'decent at everything' profile, I don't think a random choice would be particularly useful. But of course the choice is there.

Private O'Peake, you are on the clock -- what training do you select?

Brian Swartz

03-14-2015, 02:45 PM

March 13 -- Lots of UFO activity over South Africa in the morning. Not that we particularly care much. They are traitors to the human cause. At 0630 excavation was finished on Sublevel 3. Now all that we need is the funding for the thermal generator proceed.

March 14 -- 0053. Overnight, another small low-flying UFO is spotted approaching from the polar regions to the north! It's been identified as being of the same class as the last one less than a day and a half ago, designated as a Scout by XCOM Intelligence.

Flight analysis indicates a more aggressive posture will yield better results. 'Notso' Sharpe was sent up and again the alien ship was downed, this time with a bit less damage. Impressive work!

The hangar was busy again as the Skyranger readied for departure. After the minimal resistance experienced during Devil's Fist and the fact that we have limited rested skilled soldiers available, I decided to send an all-private squad out here. If it's anything like the last mission, they should be able to handle it.

PFC Yolanda Pena(ESP, 0, 0, None, 0%)
PFC Sophie Deschamps(FRA, 0, 0, None, 0%)
PFC Alma Demirovic(BIH, 0, 0, None, 0%)
PFC Rebecca Burke(USA, 0, 0, None, 0%)
PFC Geoff Russell(USA, 0, 0, None, 0%)
PFC Ivan Drago(HON, 0, 0, None, 0%) -- Rifle, ceramic plating

Brian Swartz

03-14-2015, 03:07 PM

OPERATION PATIENT KING
Germany, 3.14.2015, 0136

It's another remote area for this. So far a duplicate of the previous raid and hopefully it will end with the same success. This group has a lot of versatile, general-purpose recruits. Pena, the Spaniard, fits best as the scout but really it's a very interchangeable group.

Almost immediately a pair of sectoids were spotted up ahead on the right. They had by far the better terrain, and despite our best efforts to dig in, one of them hit Pena. Fortunately it wasn't much of a wound. They had sacrificed any sort of covering fire to do it though, and one of the Americans, Geoff Russell, managed a flanking shot. The leader was badly hurt, but still up.

http://i.imgur.com/VffTbhk.png

The second soldier from the US, Burke, finished it off while Pena used a flashbang on the second sectoid. Unable to do much of anything, it could not avoid a follow-up burst by Pena which dropped it a minute later. Soon everyone was reloaded, a medikit application made everyone back to full sterngth.

Another storage canister was found to the right, and we got to it with Deschamps making the recovery. Another three ounces. Whatever this stuff is, I have to think it will eventually prove useful or they wouldn't be storing it. We were used to the 'whirring' sound of the canisters by now, and could hear two more out there, one to the right and one to the left of the ship.

Approaching the craft, two more sectoids were spotted just inside it by Pena. We had the high ground on a hill overlooking it, and no intention of ceding that advantadge. Let the come if they would. Pena, Drago, and Demirovic got into good firing positions -- but the last of them spotted another outsider! Now that could be trouble, taking on all three at once. Burke found a flanking shot and took out one sectoid immediately, making things a little better for us. The second advanced, and was drilled by Pena, while for some reason the outsider stayed put. Oh well. You have the right to remain stupid, I guess.

http://i.imgur.com/vjPtoob.png

Soon it became clear though that the goal, successfully executed, had been to stay out of range and force us to make the first move. It assumed a defensive position inside the ship, daring us to come in after it. Russell had the only flashbang and might as well have been a mile away.

http://i.imgur.com/4XPuniT.png

We repositioned, but were fortunate to have it miss a long shot at Demirovic. Deschamps and Burke were close enough to flank it, with the American getting the kill ...

... but this time the scanners didn't read all clear. The canisters, we had noticed, had gone silent. Apparently there's a shutdown or self-destruct on those things. Sectoids to the left. That was the immediate concern.

Again we used the ship as cover, but before we could get in position we spotted a pair of them. Pena's reaction shot was off target, and they found good elevated positions. This could be fun. My plan was a bit speculative. Use shooters to pin them in place, and then if possible, wheel part of the squad out of the ship to the right and attack from two sides. Problem was time, the fight might be over by then, but the second part of the squad couldn't help from where they were, so it was worth a shot.

Russell gave one of them a flesh wound, but the more ironic part is they swung around the ship gradually to our left, the opposite of the way my 'hinge' was going. Pena wounded the second, but we still had to withdraw a bit to avoid getting flanked ourselves.

http://i.imgur.com/mApXUwK.png
They might have have outmaneuvered me here, but we still had them far outgunned.

Pena was able to finish one off as it left itself exposed, but that was a two-way street. The second one, already wounded, missed her and she closed for a pistol-shot execution.

http://i.imgur.com/2y7pIe6.png
Pena finishes off the final enemy as Deschamps looks on

Post-mortem

Again we have to consider ourselves a bit lucky. The cornered outsider had it's chances, and the sectoids had a couple decent chances that missed. We killed seven of them, and have yet to lose a soldier. I wouldn't have taken odds on that two weeks ago. Pena was the clear hero, bagging four of them with Burke taking the other three, but everyone earned a promotion with the clean results.

Artifacts Recovered

6 Sectoid Corpses
2 lbs. Elerium
8 lbs. Alien Alloys
7 weapon fragments
4 oz. MOG
2 UFO Flight computers(damaged)
1 UFO Power Source(damaged)

Another 6m for the damaged UFO parts. This ship took a lot more damage on the way down for some reason, as shown by the reduced haul from scavenging it.

Brian Swartz

03-14-2015, 03:11 PM

Promotions

PFC Ivan Drago, you have been promoted to Specialist! You didn't really have a chance to do much in Patient King, but you didn't screw anything up either. Your choices are Infantry, Assault, or random.

Recommendation -- Given your elite-level mobility and slightly subpar aim, you'd be a little bit more effective as an assault. There's a chance to get the gunner/rocketeer options that are a bit more fitting with your persona, or the engineer/medic options that are a bit more fitting with your skills, if you take the random path. Of course, you could also be stuck as a subpar sniper or a scout that way as well.

Ivan Drago, you are on the clock!

Icy

03-14-2015, 06:43 PM

Ok lets go with assault!

chesapeake

03-16-2015, 08:46 AM

Private O'Peake, you are on the clock -- what training do you select?

I'm happy to go with your recommendation, Commander. Infantry it is.

Brian Swartz

03-16-2015, 11:51 AM

Excellent. I'll get us back up to speed again tomorrow evening if possible -- work drama struck again the last couple days.

Brian Swartz

03-17-2015, 06:50 PM

Not a whole lot happened during the couple of days following Patient King. Canada requested a satellite that we don't have on the 15th, Bordoni's fighter returned to active duty giving us three combat-ready craft at the moment, and in the last 24 hours there was a report of more UFO activity over India. It seems the aliens are concentrating there.

We soon found out that isn't the only place they are operating, as a report of abductions came in at 0410 this morning, the 17th of March. Figures they would have to ruin St. Patrick's Day. There were yet only eight active specialists(the roster will be updated momentarily): the other 11 were still in recovery. Reports were of light resistance and a promised 8m reward. A couple days from now it might have been a different story, but under the circumstances I decided to send out another all-private squad. Among them will be Jace Hunter and Ace Idol. Before we get to that, it's a good time to peruse the latest

News Headlines

** Burning UFO wreckage spotted by local residents in Germany; Military forces reportedly engaged aliens at crash site
** Reports indicate unidentified object shot down after prolonged aerial battle with unknown fighter craft(twice)
** Sightings of advanced military airship approaching 'crashed UFO' in rural Germany spurs talk of government response
** United Nations issues statement condemning South Africa for allegedly providing material support to hostile aliens

At least most of the reports lately are about XCOM's successful operations. Perhaps we are changing the narrative a bit from paranoid negativity to hopefulness.

Promotions

SPEC Ches O'Peake(Infantry)

Health: 6(+1)
Will: 32(+3)
Aim: 67(+2)

Really? Your Commander is not impressed, specialist O'Peake. It's safe to say your XCOM career is off to an underwhelming start. You'll make a good walking tank, but we'd build SHIVs if I was looking for something to make into a target.

http://i.imgur.com/n5c9Emv.png

SPEC Ivan Drago(Assault)

Health: 3(--)
Will: 27(+5)
Aim: 69(+5)

Really would be nice to see you toughen up, but all in all pretty good. The picture below shows you with the standard shotgun loadout.

http://i.imgur.com/OWqdkj0.png

Brian Swartz

03-17-2015, 07:13 PM

The roster has been updated in the OP. Lily Brodie continues to lead the pack in terms of results ...

KILLBOARD

LCPL Lily Brodie -- 6
SPEC Yolanda Pena -- 4
SPEC Rebecca Burke -- 3
SPEC Thozama Khumalo -- 3
SPEC Coffee Warlord -- 3
SPEC Benton Gale -- 2
SPEC Path Twelve -- 2
SPEC Naomi Foster -- 1
SPEC Eman Hodzic -- 1
SPEC Didier Keita -- 1
SPEC Su-Min Kim -- 1
SPEC Courtney Mason -- 1
SPEC Ches O'Peake -- 1
SPEC Eliana Soares -- 1

chesapeake

03-18-2015, 08:52 AM

Everyone's a critic.

Brian Swartz

03-18-2015, 07:25 PM

Nah, it's mostly just me that is :P

Brian Swartz

03-19-2015, 01:51 AM

PFC Steven Garner(UK, 0 missions, 0 kills) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 37 Will, 60 Aim, -1 Def
PFC Jace Hunter(FRA, 0 missions, 0 kills) -- 4 Health, 11 Mob, 30 Will, 70 Aim, 3 Def
PFC Ace Idol(UK, 0 missions, 0 kills) -- 3 Health, 14 Mob, 29 Will, 67 Aim, -2 Def
PFC Amiyah Banerjee(NIG, 0 missions, 0 kills) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 32 Will, 59 Aim, 1 Def
PFC Esperanza Guerrero(ESP, 0 missions, 0 kills) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 20 Will, 66 Aim, 1 Def
PFC Georgia Murdoch(AUS, 0 missions, 0 kills) -- 3 Health, 13 Mob, 38 Will, 62 Aim, -2 Def

Intel indicates that this will be a close-quarters urban site, likely a hot LZ. There won't be a ton of time for maneuvering, but rather the need to shoot in and out ... literally ... is expected. Banerjee will be the scout if we need one, with Hunter, Idol, and the flighty Guerrero needing to provide accuracy as the rest of the squad is quite short on it. Another weakness of the squad is physical: three of them have ceramic plating in order to ensure a basic level of protection, limiting this mission to just a single flashbang grenade. That could potentially be trouble.

While they were en route, a report came in of more UFO activity over China ...

OPERATION DEMON PIPE
Khabarovsk, Russia
0546, 3.17.2015

The team deployed at a construction site. There's a modest-sized building that is probably a headquarters for whoever was working here. There's a sign mounted on top of the roof on the opposite side that could serve as suitable cover if we can safely get up there. It seemed as good a plan as any, seizing the high ground is rarely not a good idea.

http://i.imgur.com/uc911vc.png

There was no time. Three sectoids immediately came at us from ahead on the left behind a green pickup. Looks like intel was right on the money, this is definitely a hot zone. Ace Idol had a chance to distinguish himself, the only soldier in position for a shot behind one of the earthmovers. One of them had picked a poor hiding spot along a building and was nearly flanked. He fired, but was a little off and merely wounded it. Guerrero was able to get a secure flanking position and clean up the mess, and the others prepared for them to advance.

One pushed forward and they both tried to goad us, but weren't really in good positions to do so. Murdoch and Hunter both missed as they moved, but we had good firing positions and kept it up.

http://i.imgur.com/gASE4qa.png
Jace Hunter misses high as the enemy advances

Idol misfired, Guerrero wounded the leader, and this time it was Jace Hunter cleaning up the mess. One left from this group. It simply moved away behind the pickup, and we'd heard the telltale sounds of a storage canister out that way.

Only Banerjee could get a shot, used well to wound it, but we moved forward under good cover eliminating any potential hiding spots of other foes. A careful observer could see a cansiter to the left and behind the next building we approached, while the skulking sectoid ducked behind some sandbags on the right ...

http://i.imgur.com/vSIgZkX.png

Idol had the best shot again, and finished it off. He's been in the right place without fail so far, and this operation is off to a brilliant start. Far from over though I fear. Ace Idol then made his first mistake, getting spotted by a trio ahead and on the right. It's an enclosed area below us, and we can neither seem them nor them us very well.

Murdoch had a shot but missed. A second try wounded one, but when Idol moved in to get a better shot he triggered three more. Six of them out there now. This was turning out a lot like Stuttgart. Idol missed a chance to take out one of them, and was then a victim of three straight psi attacks that ended with him panicking like an incompetent fool. They'd given up defensive fields of fire to make those attacks however.

Banerjee snagged the orange canister and we moved into the best firing positions we could find. Hunter took care of the closest foe, and Guerrero sacrificed a bit of safety to get a medikit to Idol. Murdoch missed again, and there were still five of them out there.

A couple tried low-success shots and thankfully missed, another psi attack worked against Idol, but I still felt our good shooting positions were turning the battle in our favor. Nobody but Hunter could hit a thing though, and they kept pounding away at Idol. The final shot, from below, struck him in the head and he fell dead! Murdoch was stunned but everyone stayed in the fight ... but it was still a hard blow to take. XCOM's first casualty. That sectoid should never even have been alive to take that shot if our shooters were doing their jobs.

http://i.imgur.com/YLkXfWe.png
Ace Idol becomes XCOM's first casualty. I fear there will be many more

Guerrero took one out but that was it, they missed as well including a near-flanking shot on Garner. Murdoch had a great angle on the advanced one ... but somehow missed! A pistol shot wounded it but it stayed up and came at Murdoch from the side ... she's alive but not by much.

http://i.imgur.com/If97JeL.png
Wounded or not, this intrepid sectoid tagged Murdoch, and the Australian was fortunate to live to tell about it

Enough left to move over and execute it though. The rest continue to miss decent chances like it's an Olympic sport. The sectoids, three of them left now, moved to suppress Garner and miss shots against elevated Guerrero in cover. Time to finish the job. Guerrero took out another that had foolishly left itself open, and numbers were pretty much decisive at that point. She took out the one in the pit from close range, and eventually it was Hunter, having missed at least a half-dozen other opportunities, ending the final sectoid that was holed up in the building on the right.

POST MORTEM

During the main firefight we just missed too many good shots and they had a lucky one that took down Idol. It would have been nice if he'd managed to resist a single one of their psi attacks ... or if he'd hit the nearly-unobstructed shot he'd had on the same enemy moments before ... or if Hunter didn't miss five of six 'coin-flip' opportunities at one point ... or if Murdoch didn't blow a chance to take out the enemy who tagger her earlier ... or etc. etc. etc. I'd take the position we had any day, but that's of little comfort when we lose one of our own. The first one we've lost. Grudgingly I must admit that we were fortunate it took this long for it to happen. Perhaps karma was just balancing itself out.

It must also be noted that somewhat forgotten in all of the reflection at the time was the fact that nobody panicked when Idol died(though he panicked earlier) or when Murdoch got shot. They stayed in the fight and did their jobs -- this might have ended much worse otherwhise. There are good things to take away from this, and we did ultimately succeed in the operation -- but many more successes like this we probably cannot survive.

Another nine sectoids bought it with the one death for XCOM and Murdoch will be out over a week as well. Due mostly to the casualty rate there will be only two promotions, for Guerrero(4 kills) and Hunter(3 kills).

Artifacts Recovered

9 Sectoid Corpses
9 Weapon Fragments
4 oz. MOG

Brian Swartz

03-19-2015, 02:23 AM

There was some financial business to deal with while the survivors of Demon Pipe returned to the HQ. The 8m reward was much-needed and allowed for construction on the thermal generator to finally begin. It will take three weeks. Also, with the recent activity(three operations in less than six days) the soldier roster is taking a beating and two more recruits were authorized. 35 million for the generator, another five for the recruits, and the operating budget is now down to a mere 600k. The General Fund has a deficit of eight million, having borrowed from the air campaign due to the need to get the generator online immediately. After all, there can be no more uplinks for our satellites until the power needs are dealt with anyway. Later in the day, several operatives, including Ches O'Peake, returned to active duty.

PFC Ace Idol, your career has come to an inglorious end, as you have the unfortunate distinction to be the first killed in action. The Commander sends his condolences to your next of kin for the tragedy of your fatal traffic accident on I-95. If you have the courage, you may nominate a replacement to carry on the honor of your family name in XCOM Field Ops.

Jace Hunter, you are promoted to Specialist forthwith! Accordingly, you have also been named the third to join the Sniper class. This was a no-brainer given your excellent aim and lack of mobility.

Health: 5(+1)
Will: 33(+3)
Aim: 77(+7)

Good work! Not the greatest will increase but accuracy is the most important thing and you certainly worked hard there.

http://i.imgur.com/B7YWYaI.png

The 18th passed without incident. Two operatives returned to active status, including SPEC Ivan Drago.

Greyfriars Bobby

03-19-2015, 10:28 AM

I've enjoyed reading this story, and I'm wondering if you're still accepting new recruits. If you are, here's my contribution:

First Name: Duncan
Last Name: Ross
Nationality: UK (Scotland)
Focus Attribute: doesn't matter
Neglect Attribute: doesn't matter

Thanks!

MacroGuru

03-19-2015, 10:45 AM

Noo!! Ace!

Mac is going to tip quite a few out for his homie! He also notifies the bartender to keep a nice stock of Whiskey on hand...

Travis

03-19-2015, 10:57 AM

Yikes, not how the first mission was supposed to go. Hopefully the extra time on the range means smoother missions and less fallen comrades.

Brian Swartz

03-19-2015, 02:11 PM

Headlines

** Eyewitness accounts of battle between unidentified military forces and hostile aliens in Russia indicates response to abductions(NEW)
** Reports indicate unidentified object shot down after prolonged aerial battle with unknown fighter craft(twice)
** Burning UFO wreckage spotted by local residents in Germany; Military forces reportedly engaged aliens at crash site
** Sightings of advanced military airship approaching 'crashed UFO' in rural Germany spurs talk of government response

They've stopped talking about South Africa, at least for the time being.

March 19, 0700 -- My first order of business today is a priority consult with Bradford, following a meeting down in research between him and Drs. Shen and Vahlen less than half an hour before. The hastily assembled report in front of me details the results of XCOM's first research project, dubbed Project Mobius. Dr. Vahlen's team claims to have mapped an entire alien genome:

"our success has led to the startling realization that this creature's genetic structure is quite similar to our own. This ... only raises more questions as to the origin of this species. ... key components of the alien's genetic structure are mirrored perfectly across each of the specimens ... I believe it is only logical to assume this alien is the product of aggressive genetic engineering, well beyond anything conceived of on Earth. If the aliens are truly capable of this sort of genetic manipulation at a cellular level, I fear we may have only scratched the surface of their technological advantadges over us. ... further research is imperative ... we may need to acquire a living specimen if we truly hope to find the answers to these questions."

This ... is not good news. It's rather terrifying, in fact. Though I don't intimate as much to Bradford, I am left with the feeling that we may well be fighting a hopeless war here. There is one new blueprint available from Dr. Shen in the findings: a targeting module. This is an addition to the HUD our soldiers use, costing 2m each with an 11-day construction time and allowing for a 7% increase in critical chance due to our improved understanding of weak points in the alien's physical structure. While we need every advantadge in the field, my assessment is that these would be of limited use. Most soldiers would benefit more from a grenade, laser sight, medikit, etc. No expenditures are authorized for this.

After all of this basic information, the trio warmed to the main purpose of their meeting. A bold new strategy has been envisioned by Dr. Vahlen. Bradford included a video, classified naturally at the highest levels, of the most important part of the conversation:

Bradford(incredulously): You're telling me that we should risk the lives of our troops so we can take one of these things ... alive?

Vahlen: Yes! Without a live specimen, I'm afraid we've reached the pinnacle of what my team is able to accomplish.

Bradford(pacing and leaning on a table): And how do you suggest we do this, Doctor?

Vahlen: The autopsy I've just completed confirms that the alien physiology is remarkably similar to our own.

http://i.imgur.com/LNBVMdV.png
Dr. Vahlen outlines the findings of Project Mobius as CO Bradford listens with obvious skepticism

Vahlen(continuing): a highly concentrated electrical current delivered at close range should be able to cause neuromus ...

Bradford(interrupting): Close range?! And what happens if it doesn't work? Do you really think this is worth the risk?

Shen: I do. We do not know our enemy. How can we can hope to stop something that we do not understand. If we can capture one of these things alive, we may be able ... communicate with it.

Bradford(with growing excitement and earnestness): and interrogate it. Figure what they want, where they're operating from!

http://i.imgur.com/ftt3bUq.png
Light finally dawns in Bradford's brain

Shen: Yes. That possibility outweighs all risks in my opinion. My team can build a safe enough facility to house our captive, but I do not know how we could possibly communicate with it.

Vahlen: Not to worry. I'll see to that.

Bradford: All right. I'll speak to the Commander.

The video ends at that point with Bradford walking away. He arrived at my quarters minutes later.

The reports recommends building the specified Alien Containment facility as soon as possible, and also prioritizing Xenoneurology as our next research project. This is a situation where it is one thing to note what we would like to do, but what we can do is another matter entirely. We have 600k in the treasury and Alien Containment requires significant power that we don't have, a 20-million expenditure, and 10 pounds of alien alloys as well. On the research front, that project would take nearly a month. More immediate benefits can be had via a more detailed autopsy of some of our Sectoid corpses. 10 will be required, but we have 29 so that's not an issue. Other options were Alien Materials, Alien Weaponry, and Xenogenetics. Dr. Vahlen's team believes they can finish the autopsies in less than two weeks: speed was the primary factor in this decision. Her comments on the project:

"Our initial scans of the small humanoid aliens recovered so far have revealed something quite remarkable. We're detecting components of non-biological embedded within their internal structure. Could these be implants of some kind?"

Brian Swartz

03-20-2015, 01:45 AM

I've enjoyed reading this story, and I'm wondering if you're still accepting new recruits.

Yes! The more the merrier!! If anyone else is wondering this, know that the sooner you get in, the better chance you have of being a particularly important soldier, but I don't think I'll ever be cutting off new entrants. Also, I'm glad you are enjoying it, and hope you continue to do so.

As for your particular character, nobody from Scotland or even the UK was available, so I chose the first decent male character and PFC Deacon Ross will now, at least officially, hail from France(language changed to English though naturally). Here you are:

http://i.imgur.com/6xsAcr9.png

Health: 3
Mobility: 12
Will: 34
Aim: 67
Defense: 1

Slightly above average in defense and aim, and a little more on the good side in will. As of early on the 20th, you are 10th on the list of privates waiting to go out on their first mission.

Yikes, not how the first mission was supposed to go. Hopefully the extra time on the range means smoother missions and less fallen comrades.

It certainly will if the alien menace is content to just sit idly by and send out nothing but sectoids every time. Who wants to bet on that? :).

Mac is going to tip quite a few out for his homie! He also notifies the bartender to keep a nice stock of Whiskey on hand...

The Commander ensures all soldiers that there will be no lack of such refreshments, though he also thinks killing sectoids by the metric ton might be a better way of honoring Idol.

Later in the day, it is clear that Bradford still isn't on board with Vahlen's plan yet. He mutters to the Commander 'I still can't believe Dr. Vahlen expects us to bring one of those things back here in one piece ... much less alive!'. Though perhaps all now realize it, this is an important moment in XCOM's brief history. We've been at this for just under three weeks, and have reached what historians -- if there are any left around by the end of the war to write a history at all -- will probably call the end of the introduction to the story of the agency.

Our strategic vision to date has pretty much been limited by necessity to killing every alien we can while avoiding the suicide of major engagements. Resist in every way possible, a guerilla campaign. And while that's still the strategy, we now have a series of objectives aimed at getting to a somewhat more even playing field:

** Construct an Alien Containment Facility
** Research Xenoneurology and construct an alien stunning device
** Capture a Live Alien
** Interrogate the Captive Alien

As mentioned, none of these will happen anytime soon, but until they do we will be very unlikely to progress in our knowledge of the aliens' goals, culture(if any), origin, etc. In this environment we are extremely unlikely to defeat them, and are limited to basically delaying the inevitable at best, annoying our eventual conquerors.

Several more soldiers returned to duty, and we also conducted our first trade: 6 Sectoid Corpses to Argentina for one top scientist. Even with the latest research investment, this still leaves us with 13 of the corpses available, and right now it seems that there is no end to the potential supply.

Brian Swartz

03-20-2015, 08:52 PM

CBD, March 21

Literally the only thing that happened on the 20th is that PFC Dean Hoo, injured in the very first mission back on the 1st, returned to active duty. He's expected to be sent back out there soon to get shot at again -- err, have another chance to get promoted. Yeah, that's it.

Brian Swartz

03-22-2015, 01:31 PM

March 21, 2335 -- It had been another quiet day. Within the last hour Jace Hunter returned to duty, but that was the only activity. Then in the last half hour we received a transmission from the Council. The Chairman's briefing was worded as follows:

"One of the scientists serving in a remote observatory used for tracking and monitoring UFO activity in Canada has come under attack. We cannot allow the aliens to threaten any personnel contributing information to the XCOM project. We'll need you to deploy a squad and ensure his safe return."

Aside from the political benefits in Canada, on offer here is 24.1 million euros and four more skilled researchers to add to Dr. Vahlen's team for a successful escort and extraction of the scientist at this observatory. That reward alone makes this an absolutely vital mission. It will be treated as a priority operation, our first, and the best we have will be sent.

XCOM's priority mission profile calls for a scout, a medic, an infantry soldier, and three other classes as needed. The best from each will be selected.

Infantry: SPEC Brooke Carter(USA, 1 mission, 0 kills)
Scout: SPEC Rebecca Burke(USA, 1 mission, 3 kills)
Medic: LCPL Lily Brodie(SCO, 2 missions, 6 kills)
**Revive
Assault: SPEC Su-Min Kim(KOR, 1 mission, 1 kill)
Gunner: SPEC Geoff Russell(USA, 1 mission, 0 kills)
Sniper: SPEC Jace Hunter(FRA, 1 mission, 3 kills)

Coffee Warlord and Ivan Drago were narrowly left off the team in favor of Burke and Kim. Jace Hunter will have to hold down the fort as far as the FOFC contingent is concerned -- he has the most accurate trigger finger in XCOM right now, narrowly ahead of Path Twelve.

Burke and Brodie carry only SMGs, their primary job is to keep the rest of the squad alive. Burke is taking a sawed-off shotgun in place of a pistol in case she gets in a tight spot. Russell has high-capacity mags to allow him a little more ammo for suppression, while the trio of Carter, Hunter, and Kim will be relied on to take down any enemy threats.

Even I am a little nervous as the Skyranger lifts off -- this is a mission that we cannot afford to fail.

Brian Swartz

03-22-2015, 02:07 PM

OPERATION MORBID SWORD
Calgary, Canada
03.22.2015, 0133

We arrive at the observatory, and Bradford informs me that we will need to escort Dr. Marazuki to the other end of the facility for extraction via the Skyranger. We must protect him at all costs. It's a large room with doors on all sides. There are also glass windows 'behind' us, but that's the way we came in. An enemy is unlikely to approach from there.

http://i.imgur.com/DfvQV0Y.png

I'd like to get Hunter and preferably others as well up to the roof, but unfortunately there's no good way to get up there without going towards the center of the compound. The squad splits up to head toward the doors -- there are rooms in other parts of the observatory behind two of them, and if any of the aliens are inside, we need to be ready to pounce on them immediately.

Marazuki says that his time here has been spent studying alien flight paths in an attempt to determine where they came from.

There is the sound of sectoids ... lots of sectoids. And something else, like it was landing off to the left. A strange soft thud. We check the side rooms, but there is nothing there. The observatory itself is clear, but there are many other buildings in the compound.

Dr. Marazuki speaks up again to inform us that it is clear from his research that the aliens have developed a propulsion system that is capable of FTL travel. Superb. I thought that was supposed to be impossible?

Movement off to the left. This is a new enemy we haven't seen before. Dr. Vahlen pipes in that she thinks it might be an infiltration unit, and wants us to capture it. Uh Doctor, we are nowhere near being able to do that yet. She dubs it a 'thin man', which is exactly what it looks like.

http://i.imgur.com/O1C3wV6.png

Brodie and Kim are on the door in that direction. Brodie has a shot, or Kim can move in closer with his shotgun, though that's a bit more risky as there is a window in another direction as well and he could be spotted. Brodie fires and nearly kills it, and we decide caution is the better option here. Windows were heard breaking elsewhere in the compound a moment ago, and I have no intention of trying to take on any more of the enemy at once than I have to.

http://i.imgur.com/vq9DyDd.png
Brodie wounds the 'thin man' as Kim looks on from the other side of the doorway

Marazuki again, this time pondering how far the aliens have traveled to undertake this invasion, noting that 'the resources involved are staggering'. That's a thought best saved for when they aren't shooting at us, wouldn't you say doctor?

We hear a door open on the other side of the compound. Brodie and Kim both miss, breaking the window the thin man is behind. That's sure to have gotten someone's attention, and we gained nothing by it other than burning through ammo.

The thin man moves away along the wall, toward the middle of the compound. Much as it may be risky, we open the door that way guarded by Hunter and Carter. If anything comes that direction, we need to have a field of fire open. We wait, and the thin man returns. This time Kim is able to end it with a pistol shot. That's one down.

More sounds coming from further out that way. Hunter moves outside to a ladder near the door, heading up to the roof. He spots all kinds of 'fun' ... another thin man, four sectoids, and a drone. Carter fires at the drone, taking it down on the second attempt.

http://i.imgur.com/7zMZDlT.png
Target practice for our infantrywoman Carter

We've basically got two sets of enemies now: three on the left, two on the right. They move defensively, one sectoid suppressing Hunter on the roof, and others looking for reaction shots. Suppressing or not, Hunter is in good position and takes out the offending sectoid, while Russell moves to suppress another. The others are not so accurate.

Superb. We spot another pair of sectoids in the large building on the right, and one uses a panic attack on Russell. The thin man suppresses Hunter, but he's got an exposed position and Kim annihilates him. Burke wounds one, and at least we are fighting on one front, but there's still a lot of them out there.

http://i.imgur.com/elQakKp.png
This thin man is the first to learn what a mistake it is to be exposed to a close-range blast from Kim's shotgun

A well-placed flashbang by Burke knocks two of them behind a truck out of the fight for a moment. It takes three shots ... Hunter, Carter, and then finally Brodie to take down the closest sectoid. At least five more remain.

http://i.imgur.com/plT8ylv.png
The glass shatters on this window as well as Brooke injures a sectoid with a burst from her SMG during a pitched battle over the space between the compound's two main observatory buildings.

Another panic attack on Geoff Russell, a second fires at him and misses, and they suppress Burke. They are keeping Russell, our suppressor, out of the fight effectively but not really accomplishing a whole lot else. Carter and Brodie dash up to the roof, but the sectoids are getting too close to the panicked Russell. They continue to go after him, and after they advance again we're fortunate he's only critically wounded. We need to get Brodie down there ...

http://i.imgur.com/BrNm34l.png
The shooters on the roof were not accurate enough, scoring far too many flesh wounds and misses, to keep this sectoid from unloading on Russell from pretty close range. It is only due to good fortune and the skills of Lily Brodie that he lived through this plasma blast

Kim closes in on another sectoid in the middle of the courtyard. Carter and Hunter both hit another, but it refuses to go down. An AP grenade wounds another. Brodie revives Russell, but other than that we can't hit a thing. Fortunately the sectoids are very low on ammo. One moves into the middle, apparently unafraid of Kim. That was not smart. Have a nice death. We have only two more in view. Hunter reloads, Carter misses, but gets the second burst on target. One left. Burke moves into the truck and finishes the job.

http://i.imgur.com/Fb2bMzU.png
Burke's grenade toss injures the sectoid that took out Russell, and shooters cleaned up the mess with most of the sectoids close by injured by this point

Time to reload and get the doctor moving. As soon as we get him near the courtyard, we hear something ... sounds like a thin man ... back toward the observatory. As we head back in, it takes a shot a Russell, missing. Carter makes sure it doesn't get a second chance.

http://i.imgur.com/erZSZrM.png
An attempt to attack from the rear fails as Carter eliminates the lone thin man in the darkened observatory. Sharp ears by the squad prevented this tactic from succeeding.

The squad moves up to the roof of the second building, ready to protect Marazuki from any enemy that might approach. A final thin man drops in ... literally ... as we get close to extraction. Burke does most to the damage, then Carter finishes it off.

http://i.imgur.com/CDfhcag.png

As he reaches the Skyranger, Marazuki says 'Thank you for coming to my aid. I only hope my data is useful to the cause.' It damn well better be given the trouble it took to retrieve it.

POST MORTEM

11 aliens killed, 0 lost, but it was not without cost. Geoff Russell was nearly lost before Brodie got the American gunner back into the fight. The medical teams tell me he is showing signs of PTSD, and will never be the same soldier he once was(37 Will reduced to 22). He will also be out for a month, 31 days to be precise, recovering from his injuries. Burke was the only soldier to be promoted, giving XCOM a second lance corporal in the ranks along with Brodie. All in all a good mission. If we had turned some of those minor wounds into kills, the damage to Russell could have been prevented. A successful outing against our fourth different alien species that we've encountered in the thin man, and a recurring theme with the sectoids: their mental or 'psi' powers seem to be far more effective than their weapons. They find a target and exploit it relentlessly. The combination of panic attacks and overwatch fire they put in Russell's direction made it effectively impossible for me to withdraw him for safety.

Artifacts Recovered

6 Sectoid Corpses
4 Thin Man Corpses
1 Drone Wreck
11 Weapon Fragments
2 oz. MOG

Brian Swartz

03-22-2015, 02:35 PM

The added funding provided a much-needed shot in the arm. The General Fund is back in the black at 3.95m, Air War at 20.75m. It will still be well over three weeks before the thermal generator is finished, and until then there isn't enough power to contemplate any new building. Meanwhile, Dr. Vahlen is downright giddy at having her staff increase by 50% in the last few days.

In The News

** Unknown military operatives in Canada rescue civilian from clutches of hostile aliens(*NEW*)
** Argentinian pharmaceutical company announces breakthrough in new DNA sequencing technology(*NEW*)
** Eyewitness accounts of battle between unidentified military forces and hostile aliens in Russia indicates effort to stop abductions
** Burning UFO wreckage spotted by local residents in Germany; Military forces reportedly engaged aliens at crash site
** Reports indicate unidentified object shot down after prolonged aerial battle with unknown fighter craft

March 22, 1014 -- The new laboratory is in place and operational, and the new equipment will allow for a significant increase in productivity. Research is now proceeding 80% faster that it was just days ago.

A few hours later, Argentina comes back with a request for another half-dozen sectoid corpses. This is granted as well, but it's unlikely we'll be trading any more away anytime soon as we will need to conserve some for our own use. Vahlen's staff is now up to 16 scientists.

Brian Swartz

03-23-2015, 07:43 PM

March 23, 0144 -- A low-flying scout detected on approach to Germany from the polar region, vector north/northeast. We have only three fighters available, and only 'Chainsaw' Katz is equipped with avalanche missiles. He shoots it down, sustaining heavy damage in the process, but managed to cripple the scout with his first missile to gain the upper hand in the dogfight.

He may have done his job a little bit too well, as the alien craft was damaged enough that it broke up on impact and a recovery mission would be pointless. XCOM is awarded a 10m bounty by the Council however, another nice boost for our financial situation.

Brian Swartz

03-24-2015, 01:07 AM

CDB, March 24

A few more soldiers have returned to duty the last couple days. Other than that and the UFO that was destroyed, there's been a whole lotta nuthin' going on.

Brian Swartz

03-24-2015, 11:00 PM

CDB, March 25

Lots of UFO activity reported in the United Kingdom yesterday.

Brian Swartz

03-25-2015, 11:33 PM

CDB, March 26

Germany requests sectoid corpses but we don't have enough to spare, so we will have to do without their scientists. Also, Lt. 'Notso' Sharpe's fighter is back in action, bringing XCOM back up to three operational.

Brian Swartz

03-27-2015, 02:04 AM

CDB, March 27

There was actually something worth writing about at the end of the day yesterday. First up, two new soldiers who aren't anything to write home about arrived at about 0915. Later in the day, Japan became the latest nation to request a satellite that we don't have, and Georgia Murdoch and Brook Carter returned to active duty.

Burning the midnight oil, at 2314 Dr. Vahlen presented her report on the sectoid autopsies, dubbed Project Roswell.

"no discernible genetic variance ... They are perfect genetic copies, each and every one of them. ... brain is quite sizable with respect to it's body, and appears to have been augmented even further with cybernetic implants of some kind. ... Dr. Shen and the engineering team have already developed several theories as to how we might be able to adapt these implants for our own use. ... Cloning, genetic maniuplation, biomedical implants ... the implications of this technology and the alien's motives are not reassuring."

So the news just keeps getting worse the more we know about the aliens. Although there are a couple of projects that could be done a bit faster, the research teams will now proceed with our priority project, Xenoneurology. This will require another 10 sectoid corpses, leaving us with just three remaining, and five weapon fragments as well. The goal is to design a device capable of stunning an alien for capture and eventual interrogation. With the laboratory up and running and the increase in staff, this is expected to be achieved in about two weeks.

Brian Swartz

03-27-2015, 11:26 PM

CDB, March 28

Lt. 'Blinker' Kamala's fighter is back, making it four active. Three soldiers return to active status including Jace Hunter. The UK is now asking for a satellite. That's six nations who want our total of zero available.

It's been another period of uncomfortable down time for XCOM -- nearly six full days since our last mission.

Brian Swartz

03-28-2015, 11:20 PM

CDB March 29

Su-Min Kim is the last soldier to return after recovering from the last mission, and a couple fighters get rearmed to keep the most experienced pilots ready with the Stingray missiles.

Brian Swartz

03-30-2015, 12:26 AM

CDB, March 30

The US wants a satellite now. Join the queue. And that's it, we've now set a record for longest down time.

Brian Swartz

03-30-2015, 11:15 PM

CDB March 31

Another day of nothing. The Council will let us know what they think of us tomorrow.

Brian Swartz

04-02-2015, 01:08 AM

April 1 -- Council Report.

The Council is 'extremely impressed', stating that our results were 'beyond their expectations' in March. On the panic front, India remains at Aqua Status, everyone else as Green except of course for the traitorous South Africans who are gone. Our monthly take from the Council nations is 67.6m(40.8 net after maintenance). We were given 50.1m during the month as rewards for various missions, a total of 117.6m income. Germany also contributed another scientist in exchange for continued satellite coverage. We're up to 17 researchers, but still stuck on 10 engineers.

Grade: A
Council Missions Completed: 1
UFOs Shot Down: 3
Abductions Stopped: 2
Research Projects Completed: 2
UFOs Raided: 2
UFOs Escaped: 1

We had six tactical operations in March, winning all of them and killing 50 of the enemy against only 1 loss for XCOM. If we can keep up that kind of ratio, I have to think we'll make progress in this war eventually. Certainly it's a good start. The number was 3 to 0 in terms of aircraft.

Expenditures

One new fighter(20m), a satellite(14m), and some more work excavating(1m) are our initial expenditures for April. There's more money that could be spent, but right now we are still waiting another week on the thermal generator before we can expand the base. At this point we have just under 12m in the Air War fund, nearly 29m in the general.

Dr. Shen took a moment to wax philosophical recently: 'From what little we've seen of their technology, if the aliens were intent on conquering Earth, there's not much we could do to stop them. I'm guessing they have something else in mind.' I'm not sure what could be worse than a full-on invasion, but I guess that's something we'll find out.

KILLBOARD

LCPL Lily Brodie -- 7
SPEC Su-Min Kim -- 5
SPEC Rebecca Burke -- 4
SPEC Brooke Carter -- 4
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero -- 4
SPEC Jace Hunter -- 4
SPEC Yolanda Pena -- 4
SPEC Thozama Khumalo -- 3
SPEC Coffee Warlord -- 3
SPEC Benton Gale -- 2
SPEC Path Twelve -- 2
SPEC Naomi Foster -- 1
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1
SPEC Eman Hodzic -- 1
SPEC Didier Keita -- 1
SPEC Courtney Mason -- 1
PFC Georgia Murdoch -- 1
SPEC Ches O'Peake -- 1
SPEC Eliana Soares -- 1

Brodie continues to lead the way. We have a few solid soldiers from the FOFC contingent, and also some that have contributed little. Two haven't even had a chance to get out there yet. XCOM overall has two lance corporals, 19 specialists, and nearly half check in as privates(20 of them). So there's been significant progress made in building up a critical mass of vaguely compentent soldiers, but much work remains to be done. Only the one injury to Russell remains. He'll be out another three weeks, but everyone else is ready to go at this point.

Gray Market

3 Sectoid Corpses -- 200k ea.(25 used for research, 12 traded)
4 Thin Man Corpses -- 300k
2 Drone Wrecks -- 200k
17 Elerium -- 500k
22 Alien Alloys -- 500k
43 Weapon Fragments -- 100k(5 used for research)
15 oz. MOG -- 700k
1 UFO Power Source -- 6m

Total Assets: 42.5m

Base Expansion

Here's the latest schematic of how things look down on the lower sublevels ...

http://i.imgur.com/9VijZ2R.png

Brian Swartz

04-02-2015, 01:11 AM

CDB April 2

A whole lot of nothing. The waiting seems interminable at this point.

**It'll be a couple days before I'm able to update this again, a combination of work and a lovely fun bone scan I get to have done on Friday assessing a long-running issue I've had with my right ankle. I should definitely have us caught up again by Saturday. **

path12

04-02-2015, 10:45 AM

Ugh. Good luck with the scan.

Brian Swartz

04-06-2015, 02:06 PM

Thanks. Scan itself went fine, but I won't know any results for a week or so.

April 4, 0112 -- Abduction reports in China! Thus endeth the long peace, which lasted nearly two weeks. Light resistance with a reward of 8m is expected.

Strike Team

SPEC Benton Gale(Infantry) will be joined by five privates here.
PFC Stephen Garner(UK)
PFC Georgia Murdoch(AUS)
PFC Dean Hoo(UKR)
PFC Amiyah Banerjee(NIG)
PFC Mac Roguru(AUS)

Hoo and Roguru are decent shooters but none of the rest are. Banerjee has the sole flashbang and will do most of the scouting.

law90026

04-06-2015, 09:35 PM

Woohoo, a mission for the Hoo.

MacroGuru

04-08-2015, 11:53 AM

Mac is ready to rock and/or roll!

Coffee Warlord

04-08-2015, 12:47 PM

Coffee needs some action!

Brian Swartz

04-08-2015, 04:12 PM

Sounds like a personal problem, Coffee. Not my department.

OPERATION UNCEASING NIGHT
Beijing, China
4.4.2015

We start in a dangerous starting position. Enemies could come from any direction on the street and there is little cover. Using the vehicle as a staging point to get to that pipe and up on to the roof is the goal.

http://i.imgur.com/VXImHUC.png

Sectoids and thin men can be heard out there somewhere. Banerjee makes it up to the roof without incident. The rest of the squad moves down the street towards a canister, some just out in the open as there's nothing available to make crossing the intersection easier. Murdoch reports hearing sectoids out that way.

http://i.imgur.com/WopwqNh.png

Roguru takes the lead and approaches the canister, still spotting nothing. Banerjee comes down off the building on the near side, but a couple minutes later there is intermittent contact with a thin man and a pair of ... well, I don't really know what to call them. Shen is in my ear calling them 'seekers'. They appear to be partly-mechanical flying squid with tentacles. Super. This calls for defensive fire positions, which we really don't have right now.

Roguru snags the canister(5 oz.) and Banerjee heads up top again on the far side. Another canister up here, but there's bigger fish to fry at the moment. The thin man approaches and the seekers just flat-out disappear. That's ... disconcerting, to say the least.

Roguru is close enough to risk an approach ... he executes the thin man but pays for it. The cloud of acid envelops him. We hear nothing from the seekers. Roguru hunkers down and tries to wait out the acid, while the others approach. Three up top and three below.

http://i.imgur.com/oVmEukq.png

Then the seekers strike. One goes for Murdoch down by the van, another for Garner up on the roof. They didn't approach first. They were just upon us all of a sudden. It appears that they have, for lack of a better way of putting it, some type of 'cloaking device'. Things are getting worse all the time. All of our reaction shots are either absorbed or miss. Superb.

http://i.imgur.com/3ksTq34.png
**Things have gone from bad to worse, with a new enemy that appears to have the ability to completely disappear!**

Gale drops the seeker up top with her first burst, which helps. Hoo and Roguru both hit the one down below, but for minimal damage only. The canister expires, and two sectoids move up the street and spot us from the other direction. This is getting real.

http://i.imgur.com/uEdHmEO.png
** For the love of ... We've still got seeker problems, and now another pair of enemies move in to flank!**

Hoo fires and gets his burst absorbed, but Roguru has better luck bagging the second seeker.

http://i.imgur.com/KJCYUmj.png
**The seeker essentially explodes in a shower of sparks, releasing Roguru's strangled comrade. The rookie has saved the life of at least one soldier today, or should we say at least prolonged their pain. PFC Hoo can only look on in the background as his shot was less effective. **

Still on the roof, Garner has a good shot at one of the sectoids but misfires. Banerjee gets back up there and wounds one of them. Gale has a clutch shot in nearly killing the second, and we're looking ok here. That was the leader, and a fairly tough angle for Gale so she did very well in that situation.

They fire at the roof and land a ridiculously tough shot right into Garner's head ... he's gone!! Gale and Banerjee both miss. They seem content to sit back and try to hit us as we advance, but Murdoch ends any thought of that with an accurate burst and the final one retreats. Up top, Banerjee finds it further up the street and uses the height advantadge to end this part of the battle.

Everyone moves up to the roof, where we eventually hear movement back to the right, around where the alley between the two buildings is. Gale moves and spots them ... three thin men, who jump up on top of the other structure. A three-story jump. How do they DO THAT?

He retreats to better cover, they actually have the high ground here. Banerjee is able to wound one of them, and Hoo another.

http://i.imgur.com/dStcdag.png
**The absurd and distressing mobility of the thin men turns a situation in which we had the drop on them into a tense rooftop firefight. Dean Hoo is seen here attempting to improve the odds.**

We can only see two of them now, one misses and another goes into defensive fire.
Another fine shot by Banerjee earns her another kill. Hoo misses high, but Gale ends the other wounded one. The leader is still up there somewhere. He moves forward, bathing Gale and Hoo in acid. Two with one shot. Asstwerp!

http://i.imgur.com/Ue7xxdn.png
[i]**Acid, acid everwhere, but not a drop to drink ... **

We've little choice but to go for broke. All we get with three shooters is a modest wound by Murdoch ... but the thin man jumps down off the building into a defensive position on the street!! What in the world?

Roguru has the best look, and puts an end to resistance here.

http://i.imgur.com/Zc9k4xe.png
** This gratuitous shot shows the business end of the mission's final moments.**

POST-MORTEM

PFC Stephen Garner is the second XCOM soldier to be killed in action. A badly wounded sectoid completely pulled an insane bullseye out of his posterior to make that happen, ruining an otherwhise solid performance. 8 of the enemy killed for one of our own. We have four promotions, and nobody else was even injured.

It could have been a lot worse. We encountered seekers, a new enemy with frightening capabilities, and the thin men showed a harrowing ability to strike with acid cloud attacks and a mobility that truly boggles comprehension. Given these revelations, we probably should be grateful that we won the day without more casualties, but every lost soldier is a body blow.

Artifacts Recovered

2 Sectoid Corpses
4 Thin Man Corpses
2 Seeker Wrecks
1 lb. Elerium
2 lbs. Alien Alloys
6 Weapon Fragments
6 oz. MOG

Brian Swartz

04-08-2015, 04:25 PM

Promotions

XCOM is now up to three in both medics(Murdoch) and engineers(Banerjee). Two of the FOFC contingent also need to make their choices.

SPEC Dean Hoo -- Scout/Sniper path.

We need scouts more, but as an above-average shooter and below-average in mobility, it doesn't suit your skills. You can join the crowded field of snipers -- there are three now, you'd be the fourth -- but you are fairly well-suited for the job. Alternatively, you can choose a random path which might be better or worse.

Recommendation -- The Commander believes you should go sniper.

SPEC Mac Roguru -- Gunner/Rocketeer

Really you could go either way on this. We have three of each and you'd have a shot at being the best of the class no matter which way you go. Having above-average aim is a little more important to a Rocketeer, but having a gunner that could actually hit something in addition to suppressing isn't a bad thing either.

Mostly it's a matter of preference. Do you want to have a really big gun, or would you rather forgo that in lieu of the occasional opportunity to massively blow stuff up?

Recommendation -- A coin flip. The Commander does think you should choose one of the two instead of going random which would likely result in a less suitable class. Gunner or Rocketeer though, not much to choose between them right now. You make the call.

Specialists Roguru & Hoo are on the clock.

Brian Swartz

04-08-2015, 05:02 PM

The next few days were busy, and since I don't need the decisions yet, I'll keep things moving:

April 6, 0125 -- Excavation finished. Work begins on the final section of sublevel 2.

April 6, 1749 -- Small scout detected. 'Mangler' Neale goes up and gets in two shots, the second one leaving it barely operational, but can't finish the job. 'Boss' Bordoni gets his first kill with the first missile, and the UFO splits into pieces. Once again a 10m bounty is awarded by the council.

April 7, 1219 -- Thermal generator is finished. Engineering reports that only half(27 of 55 GW) of our power capability is now being used. It's time to make some decisions about expanding the base.

A workshop is begun(12m) which will take three weeks. The additional resources will improve the efficiency of the engineering teams, allowing them to build equipment, satellites, etc. with a minimal use of vital resources. Another 20 million goes to a new satellite uplink, which will upgrade our potential maximum deployed birds from just one to three. This lowers our air war budget at the moment to just 550k, but once more resources are available, more satellites will be constructed to take advantage of this. The uplink will also require three weeks' time to build.

The general fund has more to spare, but further constructions will wait until we have word from Dr. Vahlen on her latest project regarding alien capture, word which is expected soon.

April 8, 0319 -- A low-flying unidentified UFO has been spotted. It's bigger than the scouts we are now familiar with, but not as big as the huge ship we saw a year ago. We have five available fighters, so this seems to be an appropriate time to send up our experienced pilots in the stingrays and see if we can take this thing down.

'Notso' Sharpe is up first and takes severe damage, forced to break off early. He got in a couple of hits but it appears the ship, of the same saucer-type of shape as the smaller scouts we've seen, is still fully operational. Perhaps it's just a beefed-up version of the same design?

'Blinker' Kamala is up next, the second fighter that has the stingrays. The first shot strikes true, and the UFO is badly damaged. He can't finish the job though.

We can't afford to use all our fighters on this one ship, but Lt. 'Chainsaw' Katz is ready and equipped with avalanches. Given the damage to the UFO, we hope he can finish the job. He takes heavy damage as well but the second shot downs the craft at 0440, almost an hour and a half after initial contact.

This is the first UFO of significant size we have taken down, but we paid a price for it. Four fighters, including three of the four pilots who have at least one kill to their name, are damaged. They will not be flight ready for two weeks, a couple of them a few days longer than that. That leaves us with two operational, both of which are now being equipped with stingrays should the worst happen. We don't have a reserve now to justify going after any scouts that might appear, as that pair of fighters will need to be held for use for any more important targets.

Securing the crash site is a priority mission for XCOM. We must make sure the cost was worth it. Both in terms of potential resources and learning more about this new class of enemy craft, not to mention what other potential discoveries might be made, it's time once again to send our best.

Strike Team

LCPL Rebecca Burke(USA, Scout)
LCPL Lily Brodie(SCO, Medic)
SPEC Brooke Carter(USA, Infantry)
SPEC Su-Min Kim(KOR, Assault)
SPEC Yolanda Pena(ESP, Engineer)
SPEC Sophie Deschamps(FRA, Rocketeer)

This time, FOFC strikes out in getting anyone on the alpha squad. Gonna need to step it up a notch, people.

law90026

04-09-2015, 03:15 AM

Dean Hoo will go random. Too many snipers and all that

MacroGuru

04-10-2015, 09:02 AM

Gunner is good to me..

Brian Swartz

04-10-2015, 02:16 PM

Thanks guys! It happened that you both went gunner! We now have five, three from FOFC, the most of any class and will be unlikely get more anytime soon.

SPEC Dean Hoo

Health: 4(+1)
Will: 38(+4)
Aim: 70(+2)

Fairly meh. You're pretty much in a photo finish for second in the class right now.

SPEC Mac Roguru

Health: 6(+1)
Will: 35(+9)
Aim: 72(+4)

That's how to get it done! Excellent work and you are, for now, the clear #1 in the gunner class!!

After a shift tonight I'll be putting up tomorrow the results of the latest mission and proceeding with the events of the last couple of days.

Brian Swartz

04-13-2015, 03:49 PM

A little more 'fun' this weekend than I bargained for, unfortunately. Past time to get caught up here.

OPERATION DEVIL'S HAMMER
Germany
0454, April 8

Devil's Hammer? I wonder if we are the hammerer, or the one being hammered. Tensions are high. It's a forested area in northern Germany, so at least civilian casualties are not an issue. Coming back alive is.

It isn't light yet, and we approach through the 'crash path'. My goal as always with a crashed UFO is to sweep the perimeter first. I don't want to be 'surprised' by anything once we get inside. At first we hear sectoids ... and something else. Something we've not heard before. It sounds somehow larger and more dangerous than a sectoid or thin man. As if we needed another reason to be shaking in our boots.

http://i.imgur.com/wEudXfi.png

Around the right of the UFO there seems to be more room to maneuver. We head that way, hoping to get a fix on where they are. Soon Deschamps spots them ... flying enemies of a new kind. We call them the 'floater'. They seem ... almost cybernetic ... in appearance.

http://i.imgur.com/GzK9Rdh.png

Naturally, the doctors put in their two cents ...

Vahlen: 'This is a disturbing development to say the least. It's hard to differentitate where the organic entity ends and the machine begins.'

Shen: 'They're not going to win any beauty contests, that's for sure. '

Beauty contests. That's lovely. We have no good place to retreat. It's kill or be killed here. First up is Kim. The one on the right is entrenched behind a tree, but he's got the range to deliver a close-range shotgun execution. One down. The leader is a bit too aggressive and has exposed itself, getting that last one behind the log is going to be the challenge. Pena tosses a HE grenade, and it has no log anymore.

http://i.imgur.com/vcdon4r.png

It's up to the other four now to shoot these bastards.

Deschamps drills the middle one, and now it should be a piece of cake. Carter drops the leader. She had another burst, and Brodie/Burke didn't even have to do anything. Wow. I wish all engagements with new enemies went so well. Nobody missed, but they were all near-gimme shots. The floaters were just way too aggressive and overconfident. Hopefully they all are. A clean three kills, and we've created a bit of space in which to operate now.

Everything we are hearing ... canisters, enemies, movement .... seems to be coming from the far side of the ship. No reason not to keep moving in this direction. Movement inside the ship, and we also hear more floaters out there somewhere as we progress.

We work away around, still hearing movement only from inside the ship. Burke snags a canister(5 oz.) from the edge of it, but we're not going in until I'm sure the perimeter is clear. When we reach the other side, a cliff prevents us from having enough room to safely skirt it though. We've gone around nearly half the ship and found nothing else. It seems there's nothing for it but to raid the craft itself now. It's big enough to have internal doors and compartments, not the one-room scout we are used to.

http://i.imgur.com/qvUEUQM.png

We move through the outer door and nothing. A V-shaped hallway splits right and left, with all the sounds coming from the left for quite a while now. Gradually we move that way to another, smaller door. We approach it, starting to hear thin men ....

Pena reports sectoids behind us, outside of the ship, pretty much exactly where we landed! Damn it!!

We have no sign that the aliens in the ship have spotted us yet. The sectoids retreat out of range. We need to move out that way, I don't want to fight on two fronts if we can avoid it. There's basically no good cover between us and them, so a longer maneuver back outside the main outer door is indicated.

The leader advances, and Pena makes him pay but a pair of telepathic attacks still land on her. She panics. Brodie moves over to heal ... 'rubs some dirt on it you wimp!'. Not sure how you are supposed to rub some dirt on your brain, but ok.

http://i.imgur.com/1aRRVom.png
Pena wounds the advancing sectoid from her position just inside the alien craft

Carter and Deschamps fire high. We continue to hear movement in the ship, but have other problems as we move outside for better firing positions. One of them misses Burke, the others take defensive posture. Two more bursts from Carter, and the second ends one of the support sectoids. Burke draws the fire of the second while Kim moves in for an execution of the leader.

A flashbang keeps the remaining enemy at bay while we try to approach. Meanwhile we see a couple of floaters in the opposite direction, but they don't see us. More footsteps inside the ship. There's a lot more action yet remaining in this one. Burke moves in close to take out the sectoid, not close enough to use her sawed-off shotgun but the SMG takes care of it.

With that front cleared, we reposition to ready for the floaters. Not a moment too soon, as they are aggressive again, upon us almost immediately! It's kill or be killed again.

http://i.imgur.com/MAMiXOK.png
Once again the floaters don't give us time to discuss the situation in committee

Burke flanks the leader ... and misses! A bit of a long-range shot there for an SMG but still a bad, bad miss. Deschamps misses badly with a shredder rocket. Carter drops the exposed one but misses well high and left on the leader. Pena drops an AP grenade behind the wall, and both are injured but still alive. Kim can only take one of them out, so to finish them off we need a clutch shot from who ...

http://i.imgur.com/TpKZgCc.png
Deschamps places the rocket blast precisely where it will do the least damage .

That's right, Lily Brodie. You already know the result. The leader is dead, and soon the Korean shotgun specialist goes execution style on the other. We hear the sound of annoyed thin men inside, but cannot yet see them.

That's nine enemies down. That was tense, there was likely an injured or dead operative upcoming if Brodie didn't land that SMG burst. It was basically a 50-50 shot, but she showed once again why she's XCOM kills leader.

We set to move back in, only hearing thin men now. Seems to be coming through that door, but a ways behind it on the other side of the ship. Hopefully they stay there and give us time to reload and get in position.

Nope. They burst through the door. Pena wounds one, but they scatter and we've got a scramble fight on our hands.

http://i.imgur.com/kgZ9V80.png
After a long game of cat-and-mouse, the thin men show up immediately after the floaters have been dealt with ...

The leader is outside, Burke moves to a safe distance and he's gone in a cloud of acid as her burst is right on the mark. The other two, less bold, retreated inside past the door. Deschamps is too far away, but the other four are close enough. We should be able to finish them off. Carter misses, then hits, and Pena finishes off the last one. She's got an acid problem now but that won't matter unless more show up. That could happen, as we still aren't finished with a full dozen of the enemy down!

We move through after the acid clears ... and hear something just outside the ship. Can't tell what it is, which is strange. Burke moves in and spots them ... outsiders at the edge of the ship! That's right, outsiders. Not one, but two. This is just splendid. We have two flashbangs, both on Kim who will be needed for fun with his shotgun.

http://i.imgur.com/dZsAqMD.png
A new brand of hell -- multiple outsiders bracketing our scout

A well-placed(for once) rocket annihilates the cover for both of them ... and exposes Kim as well. Carter takes out the close one, Kim dashes to take out the second, but that could easily have gone south.

POST-MORTEM

14 of the enemy killed, a new record! Pena, Carter, and Kim are all promoted to lance corporal, giving us five now at that rank. The former is injured for nine days, but that's the only casualty. The key part of this mission was taking out the sectoids and the second group of floaters quickly and efficiently before the thin men showed up. It was tense, but we never had to fight more than a few at a time. The rocket blast against the outsiders was important as well. It reduced our haul, but saved something more valuable -- the lives of our soldiers, which were in serious jeopardy at that point.

Artifacts Recovered

3 Sectoid Corpses
6 Floater Corpses
3 Thin Man Corpses
19 Elerium
13 Alien Alloys
14 Weapon Fragments
9 MOG
1 UFO Power Source
4 Alien Flight Computers(all damaged).
1 UFO Power Source(damaged)

9m is added to the treasury from sale of the damaged components.

Brian Swartz

04-13-2015, 04:38 PM

April 8

It was a busy day even after the important Devil's Hammer mission. The updated totals showed new leaders on our killboard, as not one but two soldiers leapfrogged Brodie into the lead position with nine confirmed ...

KILLBOARD

LCPL Brooke Carter -- 9
LCPL Su-Min Kim -- 9
LCPL Lily Brodie -- 8
LCPL Rebecca Burke -- 6
LCPL Yolanda Pena -- 5
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero -- 4
SPEC Benton Gale -- 4
SPEC Jace Hunter -- 4
SPEC Thozama Khumalo -- 3
SPEC Mac Roguru -- 3
SPEC Coffee Warlord -- 3
SPEC Amiyah Banerjee -- 2
SPEC Georgia Murdoch -- 2
SPEC Path Twelve -- 2
SPEC Sophie Deschamps -- 1
SPEC Naomi Foster -- 1
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1
SPEC Eman Hodzic -- 1
SPEC Didier Keita -- 1
SPEC Courtney Mason -- 1
SPEC Ches O'Peake -- 1
SPEC Eliana Soares -- 1

Dr. Shen asked to see me, and took the opportunity to wax on about the recent developments ...

'That hulk of flesh and metal troubles me. What do we risk by our own investigations into the melding of human and machine? Will we see a line in the sand and refuse to cross it? Or will we move forward, willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of total victory? I have to believe that is not our future, provided of course that the aliens' technology remains in the right hands. '

I think we would all be better served if he kept his overly moralistic philosophical ramblings to himself. The floaters trouble me as well, but only as the latest development in the war. I'll worry about the fallout when it's over -- that's a luxury of victors, not those fighting a possibly futile resistance.

News Headlines

** Reports of a firefight between unidentified soldiers and aliens at UFO crash site in Germany brings hope of a government response to threats
** Pressure mounts in Australia as their inability to monitor alien threats comes into question
** Reports indicate unidentified object shot down after prolonged aerial battle with unknown fighter craft
** Purported alien abduction in China stopped by mysterious military operatives equipped with 'advanced weaponry'
** Pressure mounts in India as their inability to monitor alien threats comes into question

The fact that XCOM has been unable to extend satellite coverage to the many nations requesting it around the world is beginning to have political consequences.

0736 -- About an hour after returning from Devil's Hammer, Dr. Vahlen presented her Xenoneurology report, dubbed Project Spark.

'After examining several alien brains, I believe we have found a weakness in their nervous system. We have designed a prototype new weapon, the Arc Thrower ... functions on the basic premise of neurological disruption, emitting a focused electromagnetic pulse ... it's safe to assume there might be unexpected results in the field ... it might be more effective to weaken the enemy first'

'constrained by our current power supply technology, which limits it's effectiveness to one shot per deployment. Any captives retrieved from the field will have to be housed in an Alien Containment facility. ... We will also need to autopsy members of that species before we can properly interrogate them.'

Certainly this is a more positive report than the first two research projects which gave us mostly just more trepidation about the enemy's capabilities.

Dr. Shen reports that at current capabilities, the Arc Thrower will cost 10m and require a 20-day production time. Meanwhile, the Alien Containment Facility will require only 14 days, but cost 20m and 10 kg of alien alloys will be needed as well. At present, there is nearly enough in the general fund to build the containment facility and one Arc Thrower, but we will certainly need more eventually. Work on both is initiated, borrowing slightly for the moment from the Air War fund, and once again power is becoming an issue. We now have less than 10% surplus, 49 of 55 GW being used.

Construction teams are extremely busy right now, with a satellite uplink and workshop being built in addition, and excavation ongoing as well.

Dr. Vahlen moves on to work on alien weaponry, which will require nine days and five weapon fragments. It is hoped that further developments in our weapon programs will result.

Later in the day, heavy UFO activity was reported over Australia.

Brian Swartz

04-13-2015, 04:57 PM

April 9

In the morning, UFO activity continued, this time over Nigeria. Later, the survivors of Unceasing Night, returned to active duty. Among them were Dean Hoo, Mac Roguru, and Benton Gale.

April 10

All was quiet.

April 11

0344 -- Excavation finished, completing the clearing of Sublevel 2.

1338 -- Scout detected over the north polar region. Unfortunately there was little choice but to let it go. With only two fighters operational for another week and a half, XCOM cannot afford to send them up against a minor threat.

April 12

0134 -- We're back in action again as abductions have been reported in Brazil. The usual 'light' resistance and 8m credit reward is expected.

Strike Team

Coffee Warlord is the only available scout right now, which means the team will need to go without one as we can't risk not having one available should a more pressing need arise.

SPEC Ches O'Peake gets an opportunity to redeem herself, serving as the primary fire soldier for the mission.
SPEC Thozama Khumalo will be the medic.
PFC Katia Rivera(MEX) has the toughness and battlefield instincts to serve as the scout, though she lacks mobility
PFC Seung-yeon Kim(KOR) is highly mobile, fairly accurate, and is a panic waiting to happen
PFC Soledad Sanchez(MEX) can't shoot with a darn and is far too skilled at getting hit, but has outstanding mental fortitude.
PFC Amber Mitchell(ZAF) is similar to Kim. Their mobility should at least provide some tactical possibilities, though Mitchell is not as good of a shot.

An all-female squad for this one.

Brian Swartz

04-14-2015, 09:11 PM

OPERATION BLOODY GOD
0311, 4.12.15
Porto Alegre, Brazil

I really don't want to know the meaning behind this opname. We're in a cemetery here, and spot nothing initially. Two canisters ahead, one on the left and one on the right, but we don't have a visual. I didn't want to give up the high ground, but had little choice after we spread out and still didn't make contact. We hear sectoids and, I think, drones, with the nearest sounds straight ahead. The squad splits slightly into two three-man teams, a bit risky but it beats the heck out of getting flanked or surprised among the gravestones.

Rivera and Kim lead the left trio forward, spotting nothing. On the right we wait a bit, as the distances are longer and good cover harder to find, making it more difficult to get in position safely. Rivera hears sectoid down the left side, we heard drones in the middle earlier and now we hear them again though a specific direction is hard to come by. If all of them are clustered on the other side of the graveyard this could get more interesting than I'd like.

http://i.imgur.com/She7bIV.png
A lot of ground to cover ...

On the right, Mitchell spots three thin men ... but they don't spot her. Sanchez and Ches O'Peake are over there, hurrying to firing positions. The left trio slides right ... and spots drones in the middle building!! Well, this could get real interesting, real fast.

http://i.imgur.com/eQFR9zC.png
Nothing to see here thin men ... these aren't the soldiers you are looking for ...

They retreat as best they can, the drones advance, unable to get a decent shot. The thin men stay where they are, oblivious. I hope that part doesn't change.

http://i.imgur.com/x2DYDnk.png
Flanked up beyond all recognition

Khumalo misses, Rivera's shot is absorbed by the drone's armor, a point-blank miss by Mitchell. Kim comes up aces though, a one-shot kill on the most advanced drone. We're still in a difficult position ... there's little choice but for O'Peake to try a shot from poor cover. She misses, but Sanchez at least damages one of them.

The 'healthy' drone slides right but wants to close in on Mitchell, moving instead of firing. The damaged one closes to point-blank range ... but misses!! We've already had more than our share of good fortune here today, although Sanchez's burst certainly helped the cause. The thin men are still just hanging out discussing the weather apparently.

http://i.imgur.com/Fhj4CFQ.png
Amber Mitchell is one very lucky private

You can call Seong-yung Kim the drone killer. The undamaged one is her second one-shot kill on the mechanical 'marvels' in three attempts. The rest of the trio on the left can't get close enough for a shot. Mitchell takes care of business from basically directly underneath the last drone.

http://i.imgur.com/DBw6rrJ.png
Kim is become death, destroyer of drones!

We're clear, and ready to advance on the thin men. They retreat as Ches O'Peake moves up to join Mitchell. That'll just give us longer to get in position. O'Peake has the sights on one as they advance ... these seem a little bigger and tougher than the thin men we've seen before ... but misses. The other two are still out there somewhere, but the entire right-side trio has shots on him, poorly concealed behind a bench. Mitchell and Sanchez both hit only for minor flesh wounds on the first volley, while O'Peake fires high. Her second attempt is barely in the correct zip code.

The wounded thin man moves to better cover and unleashes an acid spore in Mitchell's direction. The rest of the squad readies for a prolonged firefight. A second thin man moves up behind, dousing Kim in acid while the wounded one misses Sanchez with a shot.

Ches O'Peake finally freaking earns her pay with a nice one-shot kill on the second thin man. Down to one wounded, one more out there somewhere. Sanchez is just a hair too far away for a flashbang, and administers yet another 'flesh wound' to the thin man's head. We've hit the damn thing three times, and it's still nowhere near dead. Rivera and Khumalo can't move into range without risking a flank or cluster acid attack, and we've got two acid-infected soldiers, so this firefight is going nowhere and getting there fast.

Another missed shot at Sanchez, but the final thin man comes up and tags Ches O'Peake. She's still up, but will need medical assistance. Some cover-switching takes place to get Khumalo close with the medikits. The wounded thin man tries to finish the job on O'Peake but misses, while the rear one slides towards the building and out of sight.

http://i.imgur.com/z57cOCm.png
Specialist Ches O'Peake has been awarded the Order of the Purple Target

Thankfully the acid effect has worn off for both Mitchell. Khumalo pronounces O'Peake to be 'good as new'. Erratic as new might be more accurate. Another missed shot at Sanchez, and the other thin man is back to just sit there behind a bench waiting for us to give them a shot.

O'Peake drills it twice, getting the kill on the second! Ok, maybe not so erratic for a change. A couple more misses on the one remaining wounded foe, who proceeds to stand there and whine.

Ok then. Sanchez misses, and Kim finally -- finally!! -- ends him. We've been fighting these stupid thin men for like half an hour!! It's finally over, the canisters are long since expired, and we know there are sectoids out there still and who knows what else might there be.

Khumalo has used half the medikits, and will now use another to finish up O'Peake's patching up. Sectoids seem to still be in the back left of the graveyard, so the squad gradually works in that direction after reloading and taking a breather. The central building looks like a good way to approach.

It's slow going, but Rivera eventually spots them. Three sectoids ... and they look a little more protected than before as well!?. Khumalo gets the first shot, missing, but when they advance Kim has true aim and takes down the most impetous of the trio.

http://i.imgur.com/JxqUd3H.png
Private Kim is doin' work today!

Another miss by Khumalo, Rivera does good damage but can't finish the leader off. Kim remains ready for more covering fire while the other three swing around the building looking for a flanking opportunity. One comes that way and Mitchell nearly kills it but not quite, Kim misses on the other side.

Both of the remaining sectoids are now badly wounded, and waiting for us to be stupid enough to advance. Kim again, she has a good angle and it's down to one. Gradually the net closes, and it's Khumalo who gets the final kill as Mitchell and O'Peake missed better chances.

http://i.imgur.com/NiW70r2.png
The medic finally gets in on the action at the end

Post-Mortem

The mission stats look good, nine killed, nobody lost, only one injury. But as is so often the case, it was tense for nearly an hour. This operation could have gone sideways very easily, and nearly did.

Ches O'Peake is promoted to lance corporal. She'll have a good long while to consider the new rank, as the medbay will be her home for the next three weeks or so. A mixed-result mission for her, she did well during the thick of the battle against the thin men but was a miss-factory the rest of the time.

Mitchell and Kim were promoted as well, doubling XCom's allotment of essential scouts to four with another pair of elite movers. This might be the most important development of Bloody God, a big step forward for the soldier roster. Sanchez and Rivera didn't do horribly but recorded no kills: they'll remain at private.

Artifacts

3 Sectoid Corpses
3 Drone Wrecks
3 Thin Man Corpses
1 kg elerium
1 kg alien alloys
9 Weapon Fragments
1 g MOG

Brian Swartz

04-14-2015, 09:16 PM

PROMOTIONS

LCPL Ches O'Peake, despite your spotty record you are FOFC's first Lance Corporal! Congratulations!!

This is the point at which you will begin to have more control over your soldier's development. Your training choices are as follows:

** Tactical Sense(+5 defense per enemy in sight, to a maximum of +20). Advanced combat tactical training which will make maximum use of the surrounding terrain second nature, allowing you to avoid enemy fire more often.

** Ranger(+1 damage with primary weapons). Your assault rifle burst, the main advantage you have on the battlefield with the infantry training that gives you two salvos each turn, will be further enhanced.

** Aggression(+10% critical chance per enemy in sight, up to a maximum of +30%). Channel your rage into an increased ability to target the enemy's most vulnerable spots.

Commander's Analysis: There are no bad choices here. Any of the three will help significantly. Tactical Defense will help your personal survivability the most, but will help XCOM overall the least since an enemy will usually just be able to pick someone else to shoot at. Ranger is the 'steady' approach, but will become less valuable over time, while Aggression is at it's best when it's most needed(i.e., in a firefight with multiple enemies). The Commander recommends Aggression by the narrowest of margins over Ranger, but emphasizes that the decision is yours.

You now have three kills in as many missions, though you won't be seeing the battlefield again until May. You are on the clock, and are advised to choose wisely ...

Brian Swartz

04-14-2015, 09:48 PM

Commander's Musings

The increase in toughness, or survivability, of the sectoids and thin men encountered in Operation Bloody God is disturbing. As with all such things, though it was unquestionably a successful mission, it revealed another danger. XCOM can no longer view it's goal as a delaying action. The aliens are known to be varied, intelligent, advanced ... and now we must add, adaptive.

**OOC Note: This is one of the coolest and most terrifying features of Long War -- the aliens play back. They research and improve and increase their abilities. In this case, 3-4 HP sectoids are now 5 HP, 5-6 HP thin men are now 7. They also can add abilities etc., advancing in similar fashion to XCOM. A sectoid is not always a sectoid ... their lethality escalates, and humanity must improve as well just to keep pace.**

It is clear that the sectoids are now nearly equal to an XCOM private, and other than drones all the other types known are frankly superior to one. At least there is good news in that two-thirds of the roster has advanced beyond a private's abilities(13 privates, 21 specialists, 6 lance corporals as of the end of Bloody God).

A standing order is issued that all missions will include at least half specialists or above. Majority-private missions will no longer be considered, the danger is simply too great.

April 12 -- Excavation begins on sublevel 3 as space for a new power generator will soon be needed. The cost is 2m this far down.

** 0653 -- Less than an hour after returning to base, Mission Control goes nuts again. A new UFO has been spotted at high altitude ... it's small in size but not a scout. Some sort of strange signal, perhaps a scan of some kind, is coming from it.

http://i.imgur.com/679Nq8A.png

This is the kind of unexpected situation the fighters have been held out of action for. 'Lunchbox' Turnbull goes up first, almost gets shot down, lands three Stingray hits but doesn't down the aircraft. That leaves it up to Boss. He also barely survives the encounter, but does damage to destroy the UFO which doesn't survive the long descent to Earth's surface.

We are now without a single fighter, all six have another week to three weeks of repair time before they are ready. On the other hand, whatever that thing was up to, we stopped it. Another 10m bounty is awarded by the Council for our efforts.

April 13

Two soldiers return to active duty.

** 1823 -- Small scout near Germany. We can do nothing about it. We simply don't have the air power to deal with this volume of activity ...

** 1907 -- It has decided to land in the north, giving us an opportunity to do on the ground what we could not do in the air.

Strike Team

An exception will be made here as there is only one scout and one medic available, but our best will be back to active duty within hours, soon enough to handle any priority mission in the Commander's estimation. As this is a landed ship, not one that was shot down, fairly significant resistance is expected. We are fortunate that it is a small one. Two privates will join four experienced soldiers.

SPEC Coffee Warlord(ISR) -- A more important role on his second mission for the scout.
SPEC Benton Gale(JPN) -- FOFC's co-leader in kills will need to add to her total in order to protect her squadmates
SPEC Georgia Murdoch(AUS) -- Medic. Hopefully her primary demonstrated skill so far ... getting shot ... will not be on display
SPEC Didier Keita(MEX) -- Talk about a long wait ... it's been six weeks since XCOM's first operation, and since then Keita(Gunner) has been stuck in the barracks.
PFC Beth Campbell(AUS) -- Flimsy, mobile, poor aim
PFC Isabelle Mirabeau(FRA) -- Flimsy, reasonably good mental state and aim

It's not every day we get three FOFC soldiers on a mission! Don't screw it up ...

Brian Swartz

04-15-2015, 10:49 AM

There is a depressingly low amount of firepower coming on this mission. Gale and Keita are two of the least-skilled shooters in XCOM, while both privates and Warlord require ceramic plating. He carries the only grenade(flashbang) in the squad, and there are only two assault rifles(Gale and Mirabeau). This group will need to needle the enemy to death, and also rely heavily on Keita's suppression abilities. Tactics will need to be on the money here.

OPERATION UNCEASING NIGHT
Germany
4.13.2015

The UFO could not be seen, a case of the forest hiding the trees, when the squad disembarked. Coffee Warlord moved left looking for high ground ... and found a pair of seekers! One went to stealth, the second advanced.

http://i.imgur.com/lXaRRum.png

This was definitely a 'shoot-your-way-out' situation with no nearby cover to speak of. Mirabeau damaged the visible seeker, and Gale finished it off. The rest of the squad prepared for defensive fire. It came from behind, going for private Mirabeau, and most of the reaction shots missed. One was absorbed, another did a bit of damage, but not enough to slow the seeker down.

A pair of bursts from Gale, emptying her magazine, was enough to make it release it's grip before too much damage had been done, but not enough to put it down. Campbell's rounds just bounced off, but Coffee Warlord picked up where he left off in his first mission, showing better shooting than a scout has a right to and notched another tally.

Murdoch moved in with a medikit to handle the minor wound, and that was that. Two down.

Canister sounds came from ahead and on the left, but investigating Warlord soon found that was where the ship had landed. We'd rather take a look at the perimeter first. Movement, we couldn't tell what, to the left near the edge of the ship. Higher ground was that way as well.

It was slow going over the uneven terrain. The nearest movement seemed to be coming from inside the ship, and the squad continued to circle well clear. Then Coffee Warlord spotted them ... three more seekers! Two went to stealth immediately, another moving toward him but staying behind a ridge. The squad didn't want to invite helpers, retreating into a defensive position. There continued to be no sound at all ... were there ONLY seekers here? A seeker scout?! For what possible purpose? Two were spotted at the ship, possibly two more. If so, there could be five of them upon us at once. Nobody wants any part of that with the amount of firepower those things can absorb. The two stealthed ones showed up, Mirabeau damaged one but they got strangleholds on Campbell and on Gale.

http://i.imgur.com/D5cw9Sd.png
The seeker swarm continues. Mirabeau fires here as Campbell is targeted

Mirabeau's burst into the second one was absorbed. This was not looking good. Warlord gave it a try, now both were damaged. Keita moved in on the first one with her SAW ... and was hit by reaction fire from a seeker near the ship, must be the third of that initial group. Nobody saw that one ... Despite that though, she managed to take out Campbell's attacker.

http://i.imgur.com/o8Ejbp5.png
Keita notches the first-ever kill with the SAW, lighting up the surrounding rocks with the exploding rounds

Only Murdoch's SMG was left, and the bullets simply bounced off. The one near the ship went to stealth, and Gale had half the life choked out of her ... literally ... by now. Mirabeau missed a nigh-unmissable shot from close range, unfreaking believable and her magazine is empty. Coffee Warlord finished the job, and it was time to heal, reload, all that fun stuff.

Murdoch: 'Medkits fix everything. Calm down!' as she applied one to Gale's neck. Yeah, get yourself in a stranglehold by a gray metallic flying mechanical tentacled terror for a few minutes and see how 'calm' you are, doc!

Soon the third one came. Campbell damaged it, but again we couldn't interrupt the attack and Keita was soon in it's clutches. Campbell hit it again, Mirabeau followed, and the grip released but still it was up. Gale finished the job.

Ok. Five seekers down. At least two more out there, we think. Hopefully the ridge would allow time to get everyone ready before they came for us. A couple of more applications and we were down to two of the initial five med-kits, but everyone was more or less fully combat capable. That's a win.

Movement near the edge of the ship. This time Warlord spotted nothing as he approached. Perhaps they'd moved? Or maybe they were just sneaky bastards. Now we could hear them inside ... but this ridge also provided tactical options by moving on top of the scout ship. Risky.

Much as I hated it, there was nothing for it here. We couldn't hear the seekers, and there was sure to be an outsider here. From our position on this ridge we could retreat for defense or attack through both sides. We weren't going to find a better option. Warlord moved up ... and there it was, an outsider inside the ship. The seekers would likely not be close behind. He retreated, Keita moving right to cover the other doorway. We invited it out to play with maximum overwatch coverage, but the outsider didn't bite.

Warlord worked his way around, got an angle as the outsider moved ... and missed. We'd heard movement on the other side of the ship at the same time -- that had to be the seekers. This was about to get real.

The outsider moved again, and this time Murdoch and Gale both had a shot, and both tagged him! Those things are overwatch demons though, so we couldn't just run in. A moment later, the seekers figured out what was going on and decided to join the party. Ketia damaged one of them. Warlord triggered the side door ... and the outsider was nowhere to be found. Where did it go??

http://i.imgur.com/ZJE2ixf.png

One of the seekers ambushed Ketia, who returned fire and killed it, while the other one stealthed and Coffee moved into the ship. The outsider was skulking in a corner, and Gale finished it off. So far as we know, only one seeker left and it's just a matter of getting coverage everywhere. It decloaked in the ship, too damaged for a strangle maneuver, and missed Gale.

http://i.imgur.com/uhzEsMA.png
[i]Last gasp of the wounded seeker ... [i]

That was the last mistake it would ever make. Campbell finished the job.

http://i.imgur.com/LQ923s0.png
[i]An easy kill for PFC Campbell with Gale(background left) and Warlord(right) ready in case something went wrong**

Post-Mortem

Seeker hell is what this was. Eight enemies, seven of the flying bastards and the one outsider. Almost everybody got hit at one point or another. We lost no-one, and for the first time in I can't remember when everyone got promoted!

Gale will miss a couple of weeks after a 3-kill effort, Keita will miss three weeks after bagging two. Warlord had two more, with Campbell getting the last one.

A successful, and nervy, operation.

Artifacts

20 kg elerium
31 kg alien alloys
1 Weapon Fragment
2 UFO Flight Computers
1 UFO Power Source
7 Seeker Wrecks

The electronics alone are worth the effort, a very nice haul.

Brian Swartz

04-15-2015, 10:53 AM

April 14 -- Three more soldiers return to duty, giving XCOM a full range of classes to choose from if the need arises to go out again.

April 15 -- Early-morning reports have come in of a UFO bombing civilian settlements in Nigeria. Apparently the alien collective has no regard for the Geneva Convention. The threat/panic level there has been raised to the second level(Aqua)

In The News

** Unusual activity outside the Nigerian capital of Abuja has been blamed on migratory birds, negating rumors of alien activity
** Stock prices continue slow decline in German pharmaceutical industry
** Heavily armed military forces seen converging on the site of reported UFO landing in Germany
** Reports indicate unidentified object shot down after prolonged aerial battle with unknown fighter craft
** Daring intervention by unknown military forces in Brazil prevents alien abductions

Brian Swartz

04-15-2015, 11:30 AM

Promotions

Campbell joined the assault class, while Mirabeau went random and ended up as a gunner, swelling the already crowded ranks there. XCOM now has six of them, three or four in the other classes. Meanwhile, three freshly promoted FOFC lance corporals have choices to make:

Coffee Warlord(Scout)

** Rapid Reaction: a bonus reaction shot is given, up to three total, every time one scores a hit.
** HEAT Warheads: Robotic enemies take additional damage from grenades and rockets.
** Will to Survive: Confers 1-2 bonus damage reduction if in cover and not flanked.

Commander's Analysis: This is one of those situations where none of the offered training is frankly very good. We can cross off HEAT Warheads right away since scouts don't use rockets and almost never use offensive grenades. Rapid Reaction is useful in some situations, but scouts aren't often on overwatch(exceptions like the last operation against seekers). Will to Survive is nicer for almost any other class, as scouts are most often in danger when they are on the move(i.e., not in cover).

Will to Survive is recommended, but Rapid Reaction is also worth considering. Hopefully you'll get better options in your next promotion ... if you live that long.

Benton Gale(Infantry)

This might be a good place to note that you are now FOFC's kills leader with 7, good for fourth in all of XCOM! Not bad for somebody who can't aim for crap.

** Ranger: +1 damage with all primary weapons
** HEAT Warheads: Rockets/grenades do additional damage against robotics
** Will to Survive: 1-2 points damage reduction when in cover and not flanked

Commander's Analysis: Once again, HEAT Warheads don't really make sense for an infantry soldier. Ranger will increase the amount of damage you do, Will to Survive will increase your survivability.

Ranger is advised though either would be useful.

Didier Keita(Gunner)

** Close Combat Specialist: Automatic reaction shot when an enemy closes to short range.
** Vital Point Targeting: +2 damage with primary weapons, +1 with pistols, against human enemies or aliens that have been autopsied.
** Opportunist: Eliminates aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows critical hits on reaction fire as well.

Commander's Analysis: While your primary role is as a suppressor, there are a number of times as against the seekers last time out when the enemy just need to be killed quickly. All of these work on that front. Close Combat Specialist is the weakest of the three for a gunner. Both of the others are significant fire effectiveness upgrades.

The Commander recommends Opportunist, which would make your reaction fire much more accurate and deadly, particularly beneficial in your case given your low-end aim. The combination of suppression during the offensive phase and opportunist during the defensive phase is potentially quite potent.

Coffee Warlord, Benton Gale, and Didier Keita, you are now on the clock.

Breeze

04-15-2015, 12:40 PM

Gale will take the commander's recommendation of Ranger...

Brian Swartz

04-15-2015, 12:58 PM

Benton Gale

Ranger it is!

Health: 4(--)
Will: 57(+9!)
Aim: 62(+2)

You almost have to try not to get better aim improvement than this. On the other hand, looking good as a potential officer with a major mental boost.

chesapeake

04-15-2015, 02:17 PM

Be aggressive. Maybe I don't hit much, but when I do, let's max out the chance that it is a big one.

Brian Swartz

04-15-2015, 04:55 PM

Ches O'Peake

Aggression selected.

Health: 6(--)
Will: 37(+5)
Aim: 71(+4)

Solid if not spectacular. At the moment a solid #2 choice in the infantry class.

**Roster updated in the OP, was having problems with the 'edit' button lately.**

chesapeake

04-16-2015, 09:33 AM

Unless my will improves substantially, I suspect I will be a danger to myself and others when the aliens start using more mind control.

Brian Swartz

04-16-2015, 12:39 PM

That's making a rather large assumption that we survive long enough for that to be a problem :).

Brian Swartz

04-17-2015, 02:03 AM

April 16 0516 -- France requests 6 Sectoid Corpses in exchange for a scientist. Rejected, as we only have 11 right now. Two more operatives are back on active duty by the end of the day

April 17 0253 -- Shortly after a report of UFO activity in Canada, an abduction alert is sent! Light resistance again, with an 8m reward on offer.

There is only one infantry soldier available -- XCOM really needs more than three at this point. The other two are injured, namely Gale and O'Peake. It's too much of a risk to send the remaining one, so an extra experienced hand will make it two privates and four promoted soldiers for this mission.

LCPL Rebecca Burke(USA, Scout)
** Low Profile
LCPL Lily Brodie(SCO, Medic)
** Revive
SPEC Courtney Mason(UK, Assault)
SPEC Eman Hodzic(BIH, Gunner)
PFC Shigeru Endo(JPN)
PFC Carl Tanner(USA)

No FOFC representatives this time out. Not a lot of firepower here. We're headed to an urban setting with a number of buildings, or so intel says. This team is mobile, with an emphasis on disabling via Hodzic's suppression or flashbang grenades. Endo's rifle and Mason's shotgun will need to do a disproportionate amount of the damage if we get locked into an extended firefight, so let's hope that doesn't happen. If the squad gets swarmed this could get ugly, but a few at a time should be a walk in the park. Burke and Brodie are the best we have in their classes.

Brian Swartz

04-17-2015, 12:14 PM

OPERATION MORBID BELL
0417, 4.17.2015
Toronto, Canada

The squad deploys on a street intersection, with serious obvious bomb damage to the buildings nearby. It's a wonder anyone is still alive to abduct here. Burke moves forward behind a red sedan and spots a canister on the roof of the nearest building. Taking the high ground isn't a half-bad idea anyway.

Thin men and sectoids can be heard. Burke moves up to the roof, spotting no resistance, and continues to the canister. Tanner moves up there with her, the rest are too far away to follow immediately. Mason spots a trio of sectoids, hiding behind vehicles on the opposite side of the structure. Here we go! Most of the squad just hunkers down as we've just got burned-out vehicles here which won't help much.

Burke grabs the canister. It seems the sectoids had the same idea as one hunkers down, another looks for reaction fire, and the third we can't really spot. Burke drops in on the one inside the building, almost literally, dodging it's fire, and executes it at close range. Still on the roof, Tanner can't spot the third enemy ... not sure where it might be, but Mason moves in for an easy shotgun blast.

http://i.imgur.com/AMK0ZY8.png

Maybe there were only two? Either way, Brodie and Hodzic move up top to give us more options in case there are more nearby. We can still hear more of them out there somewhere, along with the thin men. We'll move carefully, three up top and three below, spread out to cover any possible approaches as we sweep the AO. There's an alley beyond this building, and another canister on the next roof. That seems to be where more of them are at by the sounds of things.

Moving forward, the noises keep coming but we can't see anything. Moment of truth as the squad reaches the far side of the building. Can we cross the alley safely? There's no choice but to try. Naturally it's Burke first. She spots nothing, the others cautiously join her. They pause to listen .... thin man and a seeker just outside the left of the building! Reaction shots miss except one which bounces off the seeker's hide. The canister on the roof has expired, unfortunate but one must be careful.

Mason uses a flashbang on the thin man, Hodzic gets a pretty good shot off at the seeker but misses. The others move in and shift that direction, setting up defensive fire in case they advance. The thin man misses a shot, seeker snags Burke up on the roof while our fire is just absorbed, and three sectoids are set to join the fight from the rear. This is not good. Mason shows off her skills, dashing up to the roof and explaining to the seeker why that wasn't a real good idea. Execution.

http://i.imgur.com/RgYjxbs.png

Endo maneuvers for a good shot at the thin man and nails it, but it's still alive. Hodzic can't finish the job, so Tanner is forced to with his high-explosive charge. Unfortunate that it had to come to that, but that thing had to die so we could focus on the sectoids, and it was far too close for comfort.

http://i.imgur.com/8c62n6x.png

One of the sectoids supplied mind-meld support while the others moved in for psi panic attacks on Endo. Those worked, but this made them vulnerable to a counterattack. Even at a fair distance, Mason was able to drop one from the roof with a shotgun blast. Brodie was able to get just in range, also up top, and dropped the melder who was exposed, injuring the final sectoid. Burke dropped her flashbang on that last injured foe to make sure it couldn't do much. It fired at Brodie on the roof, missing -- that might have saved her.

Endo was too shaken to go for revenge, so he just healed up. The other newbie, Carl Tanner, moved into position to flank but didn't get quite enough and only left the sectoid badly wounded. Hodzic missed as well, and so it was left to Mason's shotgun to notch another.

Post-Mortem

Even Endo suffered no long-term effects, not a single injury and seven aliens killed. He wasn't promoted though, but three were including fellow private Tanner and Lily Brodie who becomes XCOM's first full Corporal, taking the moniker 'Axle'.

Artifacts

5 Sectoid Corpses
1 kg. Alien Alloys
5 Weapon Fragments
6 g MOG
1 Seeker Wreck

Brian Swartz

04-17-2015, 12:19 PM

Time has run out for the following:

Coffee Warlord

Will to Survive training selected.

Health: 3(--)
Will: 44(+6)
Aim: 70(+5)

Pretty good, though you'll need more than 'will' to survive if you don't toughen up physically a bit.

Didier Keita

Opportunist selected.

Health: 5(--)
Will: 50(+5)
Aim: 57(+1)

Not impressive. Keita seems almost determined to never be able to hit anything.

Brian Swartz

04-17-2015, 12:36 PM

It was a busy morning after everyone returned to HQ. With XCOM having it's first official Corporal, Bradford announced that we should consider building an Officer Training School. This is of vital importance in ensuring proper leadership for our soldiers and improved logistics. After careful consultation, it is agreed that it should be built as soon as there is room from the current excavations next to the thermal generator. Though it costs 20m, the OTS will require only 1 GW of power, leaving enough spare to built an access lift down to sublevel 4 for additional power plants. The potential gain from the new facility is considered to be worth almost any expense.

Three more soldiers returned to active duty as that constant cycle continues. With five missions already in April and still two weeks left in the month, there are almost always several in recovery. One, Yolanda Pena, was actually coming off an injury and there are still four more in that category.

Later in the morning the excavation teams gave the all-clear, and work on the Officer Training School began. It will take a week to build. Less than an hour afterwards, while it is not yet noon, Dr. Vahlen puts in her two cents again. It seems that Project Sagaris has been completed, the investigation into Alien Weaponry. This report has only a limited amount of technobabble in the intro:

"we've seen enough to confirm my worst suspicions about their technology ... that it is vastly superior to our own. However, I have been encouraged by the rapid developments the research team has made ... new integrated sighting module ... was heavily influenced by the aliens own targeting system"

There's always more bad news it seems, but Dr. Shen has three more schematics available based on the findings.

** Weapon Gyros will be of no use to us unless the policy against building SHIVs were to be revoked. They help with steadying the weapons on those units.
** Marksman's Scopes can be used only by Scouts, for extending the range on Marksman Rifles and Strike Rifles. Since our scouts operate close to the enemy and don't use such long-range weapons as a matter of course, these will be of no use either.
** Standard Scopes are far more useful to us. They provide a +10% aim bonus for primary weapons and rocket launchers, double the +5% currently possible with our laser sights. Unfortunately the cost is also significant. At 8m each, with more and more priorities being added to the queue for our very limited funds each week it seems, it may be a while before we can build any of these. The impact on combat effectiveness for our soldiers would be significant however.

Dr. Vahlen's team will next research Alien Materials, an investigation that aims to glean possible advances in body armor. With the number of injuries soldiers are racking up recently despite fairly liberal use of extra ceramic plating, any improvements here would be very well received. This will take a little over a week to complete. Materials required:

** 2 kg Elerium
** 2 kg Alien Alloys
** 5 Weapon Fragments
** 1 g MOG

There are currently 5 other potential research projects pending, four of which we currently have the resources for(the fifth, Alien Computers, requires double the current 2 intact UFO Nav Computers we have managed to recover so far). Like everything else, the needs of the war in terms of research and development are outstripping our capabilities.

Brian Swartz

04-18-2015, 04:32 AM

Another soldier returns to duty later in the day, and the US desires a trade: 8 Weapon Fragments in exchange for a skilled engineer. We have not yet been able to add to Shen's staff at all, and we have enough to spare, 68 of them. The trade is approved.

The 17th was a very busy day.

In The News

** Images of American soldiers going into battle with advanced alien weaponry posted on Internet
** Pressure mounts in Canada as their inability to monitor alien threats comes into question
** Local media report indicates aggressive military response to ongoing threat of alien abductions in Canada
** Unusual activity outside the Nigerian capital of Abuja has been blamed on migratory birds, negating rumors of alien activity
** Stock prices continue slow decline in German pharmaceutical industry

A mix of good and bad lately. XCOM continues to succeed where we can, but is woefully incapable of doing everything that is needed to combat the alien threat.

Brian Swartz

04-18-2015, 10:05 PM

CDB, April 19

Not nearly as much happened on the 18th, a few more soldiers are back to active status and that's it.

Brian Swartz

04-20-2015, 04:29 AM

CDB, April 20

At about 0230 on the 19th Mexico requests 8 fragments for an engineer, just like the US did less than 36 hours ago. Again the answer is yes. We've got 52 left, and would probably approve one more such trade if it came up but that's it.

Quiet otherwhise.

Kodos

04-21-2015, 12:17 PM

Reporting for duty, sir.

First Name: Chris
Last Name: Kodos
Nationality(optional): Whatever
Focus Attribute(optional, will try to pick a character strong in this): Aim
Neglect Attribute(Optional, will try to pick a character weak in this): Defense
Special Requests: Male, blond hair

Basically, I'd like to be a sniper.

Brian Swartz

04-21-2015, 03:37 PM

Excellent! We have a Frenchman near the bottom of the list(although that doesn't mean all that much anymore, most of the privates have been in action) who has by far the best aim of anyone left. He also looks a lot like Roguru and Drago, square jaw with a flat-top blond cut. So Chris Kodos has been added, 11 FOFC soldiers now(+1 dead :().

Health: 5
Mobility: 12
Will: 30
Aim: 69
Defense: -3

Low defense and mobility, average will, high aim and health. Pretty good odds for a successful soldier here. As of the morning of the 21st, you are 7th on the roll of privates waiting to go out.

Brian Swartz

04-21-2015, 03:44 PM

CDB, April 21

The first couple of fighters are back in action, and another trade of weapons fragments for engineering support is approved, this one with our host nation of Germany.

Brian Swartz

04-22-2015, 02:08 AM

CDB, April 22

A evening request from Mexico for weapons fragments was rejected. They are too late unless we come up with a bunch more, for now we can't afford to ship any more out.

Coffee Warlord

04-22-2015, 10:32 AM

Oh shit, we've got an alien on the squad.

Kodos

04-22-2015, 01:17 PM

Brian Swartz

04-22-2015, 01:27 PM

Will do, I only have so much control of it and infantry is really needed right now(similar skillset required as well). Sniper is actually not that populated though, with three of them(we have at least three of everything and will need at least five) and they will be gradually needed more as time goes on. We'll see what happens, right now we're in another cycle of down time.

Brian Swartz

04-24-2015, 01:59 AM

Your regularly scheduled absolutely nothing at all dominated the news at XCOM over the last couple of days. Yesterday on the 23rd, literally nothing worth mentioning happened.

The day before though, at 28 minutes past noon local time, Alien Containment went on-line. The first Arc Thrower is not yet finished, but with the holding facility up and running XCOM has passed a major milestone in the attempt to capture and interrogate aliens species.

http://i.imgur.com/O4Ggi5x.png

As this photograph shows, it's basically a large holding cell with a notably reinforced office to the left. Given the location of the facility just to the right of the access lift on Sublevel 2, we can only hope that Dr. Shen has properly seen to all possible security precautions.

All of the remaining soldiers in recovery are back on active duty, as well as Geoff Russell. The long-term injured list has only three left on it. Gale, O'Peake, and Keita, FOFC soldiers all, remain in the medbay for treatment.

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 02:00 AM

April 24th, unlike the several days preceding it, was in fact a momentous day in XCOM's desperate journey. At 1328, the doors of the Officer Training School were opened. Located on Sublevel 3, just past the thermal generator, it is a place where the best of XCOM's soldiers are to be admitted for the purpose of studying squad command, leadership, and advanced tactical & logistical concepts.

http://i.imgur.com/AXTZOmO.png

Surrounded by banners symbolizing in the agency, it is this traditionally-designed lecture/debate hall where the first officers corps to represent all of humanity will be formed.

The completion of the structure was only the beginning. Two different paths of techniques were made available. The first was logistical in nature, involving expanding the number of soldiers that can effectively be included in each squad. The second was the officer commissioning itself. The equipment and training materials involved in both require a significant financial investment, and a threshold test has been established as well for ensuring that XCOM's soldiers have enough critical mass of experience to be prepared to use these advances properly. That experience is specified by the number of ranks required(specialist = 1 rank, lance corporal = 2 ranks, etc.). XCOM's soldiers presently possess a total of 42 ranks, enough to allow for the first stage of each path to be achieved immediately. The financial consideration though, was another matter.

Increasing squad size from the current six to a seventh soldier for most missions requires 12 million, while the treasury presently has just 8.5 million available. Tactical officers training, allowing the commissioning of lieutenants, requires another 6 million. This put the Commander in the position of making an important decision. The only way to bring in the additional 9.5 million immediately would be authorizing emergency sales from the reserves of alien artifacts on the gray market. XCOM has not yet taken this step, preferring a long-term approach to any financial needs and the preservation of limited resources, though bylaws do still allow for trades, a few of which have already been done and announced, and sales of up to 30% of all total artifacts with the rest reserved for internal use.

After consulting with Bradford, Shen, Vahlen, and others of note, the Commander decided that this was a necessary if unprecedented step. The importance in both the short and long-term of the OTS investment cannot be overstated. Increasing squad size improves not only mission viability and survivability, but also in the longer term will accelerate development of more soldiers. It is hard to quantify the significance of this. Officer development was also a priority. Plans are in place, when we have sufficiently experienced officers, for investing in several higher levels of command beyond the tactical/lieutenant level. These plans cannot even be considered without having officers with experience in the field at the lower level.

After a careful inventory was taken place, it was discovered that over 27 million could be generated from the sale of eligible artifacts, nearly three times the required amount. Although this is a notable reduction in inventory, it certainly would not cripple the agency. A proportional sale across all categories resulted in 9.4m being raised from the following:

2 Thin Man Corpses
6 kg Elerium
6 kg Alien Alloys
4 oz. MOG
1 Seeker Wreck

The general fund is now deep in the hole and will nothing available other than the case of the most dire emergencies for some time. Nobody has come up with a compelling argument that it was not necessary, however. These contingencies exist for a reason.

Further increasing squad size to a maximum of eight will require 115 ranks, nearly three times the current number. Obviously that will not happen for a long time. The next level of officer training, the Company-level officer or Captain, will require 45 which XCOM has nearly reached. The limiting factor here will be in training up lieutenants to reach that level. The cost for both is 12m each.

Officers Briefing

A few notes, highly classified naturally, may be useful at this point detailing the role of officers. Those selected must meet the following criteria:

** Veterans of five operations. An additional five must be completed as the commander for a squad in order to merit the next level of officer training.
** Corporal rank is required to become a lieutenant, the next level up for Captain, and so on.
** Officers continue to receive the same enlisted training as anyone else when they are promoted, but they receive officer training as well.
** Should other specialized types of training become available as XCOM's capabilities grow, being an officer may preclude a soldier from pursuing those opportunities(I can't be more specific without being spoilerish :))

At the present time, XCOM has only one soldier of corporal rank, though there are three open lieutenant billets. Lieutenant training involves two additional abilities. The first is common to all. Newly commissioned officers are taught to Lead By Example. As a result, they are able to substituted their will for the will of any soldier near them on the battlefield. An important implication of this is that strong-willed soldiers and those whose responsibilities tend to put them near the center of the squad make the best officer candidates. Conversely, the mentally weak or classes such as snipers or scouts who tend to stray from the pack are less useful. The second training is elective, as are all that follow with future promotions. A lieutenant may choose Legio Patra Nostra, granting a +1 will bonus to every soldier in the squad for each unique nationality represented, or Stay Frosty, which will reduce recovery time by 24 hours after their missions. Like enlisted training, these are permanent once selected.

http://i.imgur.com/wAsctve.png
A historic moment. Cpl. Lily 'Axle' Brodie, the only available candidate but a fine one nonetheless, is the first commissioned officer in XCOM. She is no longer Cpl Axle, but now Lt. Axle!

In unrelated news, 'Blinker' Kamala's fighter returned to active duty later in the day, giving us three total.

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 02:34 PM

April 25 -- In the morning hours, both Egypt and Brazil reported significant UFO activity. At 0217, the first reports of abductions came in. They are from Egypt, with the usual 8m reward, light activity reported nonsense.

LT Axle is an automatic choice here, as getting the officers experience is a priority. With the addition of a seventh soldier, there will be three privates going out along with the four experienced squad members. Her first command is as follows:

SPEC Amber Mitchell(ZAF, Scout)
SPEC Ivan Drago(HON, Assault)
SPEC Naomi Foster(USA, Engineer)
PFC Katia Rivera(MEX)
PFC Soledad Sanchez(MEX)
PFC Shigeru Endo(JPN)

Drago will represent FOFC on this abduction, while Duncan Ross for the second time is the first person on the private queue not to make the cutoff. His time will come soon. The three privates here have all been out before, and should be promoted assuming they survive.

Overall, the squad is a high-mobility, low-firepower group, but Drago's shotgun and Foster's grenades add some punch and of course the seventh member will increase the odds.

OPERATION BANISHED PARAMOUR
Giza, Egypt
4.25.2015, 0241

We'll just pretend we didn't hear that opname and move on. We're on a suspension bridge of all things, with the Skyranger awaiting us on the far end. A sharp eye picks out a spinning canister through the darkness. The one thing Axle wants to avoid here is getting flanked. The squad spreads out, preparing to sweep the area end-to-end.

http://i.imgur.com/VxNP6Wi.png

All we hear initially is sectoids, which is strange. Does that mean seekers are about? Mitchell has a scanner if we do, that possibility was anticipated. She spots a pair of the pasty white crawly jerks as she moves forward, and it's time for everyone to seek firing positions.

They move forward towards us behind a blue vehicle. The leader is used to using such imperfect positions, but the second one on overwatch is not. Foster wounds it and Rivera finishes it off. Mitchell moves up and snags a canister, which yields seven ounces -- they've been five apiece lately, it looks like the aliens are continuing to ramp up their operations. That's unfortunate.

The leader sectoid decides it doesn't want to take on seven of us at once, and retreats back down the right side of the bridge. That's our cue to move forward, hoping to snag that second canister. Mitchell spots it ... and a pair of drones. Annoying twits, those things. The sectoid is just hiding along the right railing ... so far we've taken almost half the bridge and not so much as been shot at.

http://i.imgur.com/1TqiHTM.png

All of the good cover is on the left, which means we're going after the drones and leaving that sectoid alone for now. We're too far away to get in good shooting positions. The sectoid retreats further which is fine by us, and both of the drones miss us. Time to make them dead. Endo, best shooter of the rookies, bullseye's one on the first try! Rivera does the same to the second! Well that was ridiculously simple.

http://i.imgur.com/1BNNxk2.png
The drones attack, but accomplish nothing

Three enemies down, one sectoid and who knows what else back there. Forward again, seeking out that canister. Mitchell spots the lone sectoid, wounds it but doesn't quite take it down. Three more of them show up on the left though, and we're in a fight again. A reaction by Foster misses, about the only thing that hasn't gone right today.

http://i.imgur.com/v3ivEiX.png
Mitchell's SMG doesn't pack quite enough punch to send this interloper to it's grave

There's no good way to advance, so we withdraw hoping they'll come to us. Some of us needs to reload anyway. One approaches and Sanchez wounds it. A pistol shot by Drago trying to finish it off fails. We have no good shots, but the sectoid doesn't want to press it's luck either. Sanchez fires again, wounds it again, still can't take it down. Endo hits it a third time, just a flesh wound. Still not dead. Unbelievable. We can't just rush forward because there are three more out there, it would be far too risky.

http://i.imgur.com/6S4afTh.png
This sectoid simply refused to die

It slides along a vehicle on the right, exposed to Drago ... but a panic attack lands on him. Fantastic. A second, healthy sectoid moves up to take it's place on defensive watch. This is not going great. Sanchez and Endo fire again. The Japanese is out of ammo but we now have three badly wounded enemies. And one healthy, supporting them with mind-meld. We redeploy a bit, Foster takes Drago's position and a good angle ... flesh wound. Sigh.

They continue to move forward on the right in defensive fire. We can't flank them up the left because there are two still out there ... this is getting silly. Definitely Axle is outmaneuvered here, we aren't getting most of our guns into the fight. Foster tries to weaken one of them with a grenade but it's too far away and the blast does no permanent damage. Brodie uses a medikit to get Drago going again.

http://i.imgur.com/QELBh53.png
A dangerous moment as Foster just avoids getting a face-full of plasma

They advance and shots are missed both directions. This is getting ridiculous. Drago ends the closest one on the left with a shotgun blast. There's no particularly safe way to end the threat on the right though. Another grenade from Foster does most of the work, then Sanchez moves around the vehicle for a flanking shot. Another one down, though she'll be a bit exposed there if the supporting sectoid moves forward.

http://i.imgur.com/0BOIq4m.png
Private Soledad Sanchez secures the right flank, though at an unfortunate amount of risk to herself

There's one on each side, the one on the left looking for defensive fire on us. Rivera has a good flanking chance ... um no rook, that's not how it's done. Mitchell? Wounded and still up. Axle tries some of that leading by example stuff ... a mile high. Facepalm. That was a great chance to take out another one.

http://i.imgur.com/rkInwdj.png
Katia Rivera misses a golden opportunity, proving why she's on her second mission and still just a private

So they do ... nothing. The wounded sectoid on the left retreats, nothing from the one on the right. Unexpected. Mitchell probes forward, spots an exposed enemy, and a healthy Drago gets another shotgun kill. One more left, but it proved slippery. Eventually, a mid-range blast from Drago finished it off. He sure finished well, though the start was iffy.

http://i.imgur.com/vyyLwRS.png
The second of Ivan Drago's three kills to end off the mission. A cloud of dust from his shotgun and the enemy is no more.

Post Mortem

Seven kills, but a very uneven operation. We need more work in the tactical simulator. At the end, the squad got badly outmaneuvered after a great start and was lucky we weren't tagged in the final firefight. There were no injuries, including Drago even with the panic attacks. All three privates earned promotions, but nobody else.

Artifacts Recovered

5 Sectoid Corpses
2 Drone Wrecks
1 kg Alien Alloys
7 Weapon Fragments
8 oz. MOG

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 03:22 PM

The Banished Paramour team returned to XCOM around 0430, and everyone tried to get some sleep. Few succeeded. Less than five hours later, the morning routine was shattered by reports of massive attacks in metropolitan areas coming in from all over the globe. The principals assembled in the Situation Room. Soon all the major networks were picking up the images:

http://i.imgur.com/Q7juCsf.png

The video broadcast shows panic in the streets, private recordings of bomb explosions, people running and screaming, all categories of chaos. In the US capital, one showed what seemed clearly to be an alien craft flying low over the city delivering it's payload of bombs:

http://i.imgur.com/SLZxNFj.png

Special Report Voiceover: "Breaking news at this hour, reports from around the globe indicate a shift in the alien phenomena now affecting cities worldwide. We are now receiving word of outright attacks ... densely populated areas ... some viewers may find these images disturbing ... we will keep reporting updates as this story unfolds ... "

He trails off. In the situation room CO Bradford, Dr. Shen, and Dr. Vahlen are glued to the main screen watching feeds come in from a myriad of sources. They didn't have much to say, mostly just standing there attempting to in some force process the horror of this. To call what was happening 'disturbing' was an understatement of criminal proportions.

http://i.imgur.com/l6pqdSR.png

Shen: "Looks like they're changing their tactics. But why? Why do this?"

Bradord(with depressed resignation): "It's a message ... to the entire world...that nothing can stop them."

There was no safe place in the cities under attack from the onslaught. The bombing runs turned even parts of buildings and vehicles into massive flaming projectiles, adding to the chaos and destruction.

http://i.imgur.com/kQiXKP4.png

This was bad enough, but one particular set of reports detailed a follow-on reign of terror on the streets. For some reason, the alien attacks in Melbourne, Australia were followed up by a ground invasion. Bands of the enemy roved the streets, killing any civilians fortunate to survive the air wave. Even when stories of heroism came in, they didn't have a happy ending. This man stopped running to help another who was hit in the leg and unable to move.

http://i.imgur.com/QKLkzrI.png

He found a relatively safe alleyway, then was startled by something behind him ...

http://i.imgur.com/5eZC7MC.png

The camera only caught a few seconds of what was left. A brief image of a new type of spider-like alien before it ripped the would-be hero apart.

http://i.imgur.com/Rc3pmQe.png

There are some moments for which few orders are necessary. Everyone knew what needed to be done. The alpha squad, those on standby for an impending priority mission, didn't need to be told to outfit in the armory and head to the Skyranger. All that needed to be given was the destination. Once it became clear the aliens on the street were terrorizing Melbourne, they were headed to the land down under. The mission was simple: stop the violence. Kill any aliens encountered. Save as many innocent lives as possible. And perhaps even more importantly, show humanity that as horrible as it was, as many millions as were already dead and would continue to die this day, that we would not go down without a fight. However meager it might be relatively speaking, XCOM will continue to resist whenever and wherever we can.

This war is no longer being fought in the shadows. It is now front-page news, a sign tha the aliens do not fear us. As the Skyranger lifts off, I wonder if it will ever be possible for us to turn the tide.

Greyfriars Bobby

04-25-2015, 03:48 PM

Icy

04-25-2015, 05:02 PM

Bad start from Drago getting in panic, but he finished well, hope he will become more valerous after this.

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 05:28 PM

It's good to see Dunc is up at the top of the queue, because he's ready to see his first action. But...since the Melbourne mission is a job for the alpha squad, this probably means the inexperienced soldiers will be waiting back at XCOM, preparing for the next mission that suits their abilities...right?

Correct. It would take a special kind of stupid, a kind I claim not to possess, to send a raw rookie out on this kind of operation. Light-resistance abductions, small downed UFOs, those are the droids you're looking for.

Edit: I'm off to see my brother in Death of A Salesman, after which I will report on the Melbourne operation.

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 10:13 PM

Bradford classified this is a 'terror mission'. Seemed appropriate enough to everyone involved. Other than LT 'Axle' Brodie, the best of everything was available.

LCPL Georgia Murdoch(AUS, Medic)
LCPL Coffee Warlord(ISR, Scout)
LCPL Brooke Carter(USA, Infantry)
LCPL Courtney Mason(UK, Assault)
LCPL Yolanda Pena(ESP, Engineer)
SPEC Mac Roguru(AUS, Gunner)
SPEC Sophie Deschamps(FRA, Rocketeer)

Two FOFC soldiers are tapped here. Sniper was the odd class out(again), or else there would have been another. The loadouts emphasized firepower. We need to hit the aliens hard, though self-preservation will still be the top tactical priority. If we are overwhelmed by the enemy, it will do nobody any good to throw away the finest soldiers in the world.

OPERATION DRIVING SHIELD
Melbourne Australia
4.25.2015, 1143

By the time we arrived, it was estimated the aliens had been on the ground for two hours. They had targeted specific sectors of the city, and in some of them pretty much nothing moved anymore. But there were still some who might be able to be saved. We deployed near the rear of what used to be a paper company warehouse. Screams filled the air, and there were fires everywhere. I tried to remember that the former was a good thing -- it means we've gotten here in time to potentially make a difference.

http://i.imgur.com/DPma9hd.png

There were three possible avenues of approach to us, we moved out and covered all of them but saw nothing. Most of the noise was coming around the back of the warehouse towards the opposite end, not to the left along the side where the semi is, so we'd head that way. At least one scream of a dying civilian had been heard that way. A pipe provided access to the roof, and Mason scrambled up there, seeing nothing. Whatever we were up against, that seemed the best avenue of approach and our more mobile soldiers would join her up top while the others entered the building itself.

More screams, more dying, and we spotted three of those ... spidery things from the footage.

http://i.imgur.com/4YCRsOp.png

They have been dubbed 'Chryssalids' and are frighteningly fast. We had few shots at them, and Deschamps couldn't find a decent angle. They hadn't seen us yet, but soon spotted Coffee Warlord as he dropped down to check out the front parking lot. He had to quickly dash in retreat, but it might not be far enough. Deschamps had a better angle on them now ... a shredder rocket hit it's target. Taking out the closest one was imperative. Roguru ducked outside around the corner of the building, and his SAW did the job! That was probably good enough to save CW, but not necessarily. Pena treated the other three! to a HE grenade. So there were four of them, not just the three we initially spotted. How lovely. Mason lobbed another grenade. Three for the price of one explosion. Time, not artifact recovery, was of the essence here.

http://i.imgur.com/lHYeARN.png
Deschamps' shredder was flawlessly executed, and it needed to be here

http://i.imgur.com/ZgBHAAR.png
An up-close-and-personal look at the general ugliness of a Chryssalid, this one the first to die as it crumples in the face of fire from Mac Roguru's SAW

http://i.imgur.com/78JwWrZ.png
After not one, not two, but three explosions in their midst, pieces of Chryssalid ... and building .. are everwhere. That corner is just falling apart. What crappy construction :P

Behind us! In the alleyway we had left, four floaters decided to show up and make their presence felt. Well, wasn't that just fantastic. Good firing positions over here were basically nil. I had few options and none of them great, but if we could get up to the roof into vaguely defensible positions, we might at least be able to beat them with numbers, getting most of our guns into the fight. Roguru was again a key player, ducking around the corner to suppress the lead and most dangerous floater to buy us some time. Warlord used a flashbang to provide further cover. This was made unnecessary when Carter managed to drop the enemy with the first shot, but better safe than sorry. Three of them left. Mason remained on ground level out of sight, ready to dash forward for a shotgun blast if we could reduce their numbers further.

A ... well, it's hard to call it anything but a zombie ... ambled toward us through the building while Roguru was nearly flanked by a floater that thankfully missed. The other two moved into overwatch. It's kill or be killed here, no way we can avoid flanking shots if they survive. Deschamps used her second rocket to take out one of them. Clearly we weren't excessive in the number of explosives!

http://i.imgur.com/LHYKgQS.png
Apparently we are firmly in the world of what-in-the-crap now, contending with zombies along with everything else

That freed up Mason for a close-range shot at the zombie, who took a point-blank barrage from here and Roguru but still didn't go down. Carter wounded a floater and missed with her two shots. Murdoch missed the other floater, Warlord moved in and wounded it.

http://i.imgur.com/M6Pi167.png
Coffee Warlord didn't take this floater down, but he did manage to at least weaken it

Then we got just plain silly lucky. Pena finished off the zombie with a AP grenade, managing to perfectly place it so that her comrades won't hurt. the leader floater panicked and retreated, while the second one, injured, missed an exposed Murdoch whose rootop cover had exploded due to the deterioration of the structure. Remarkably, we remained unharmed!!

Roguru moved directly under the leader floater ... and managed to miss it anyway. Just how hard is it to shoot a gun, even a heavy SAW, straight up into the air when the enemy is close enough that it occupies nearly half your firing arc? Apparently, too hard for Mac to pull off. Thankfully, Mason fared better. One floater left. Murdoch went for the first shot on it, and her aim was true, leaving it's crumbled and lifeless body dangling over the rooftop edge.

http://i.imgur.com/eNpeFTJ.png
An amusing final resting place, though gravity or cleanup crews won't allow it to stay there forever

The rest variously reloaded or dashed forward through, around, and on top of the building. We could hear more floaters out there. Soon another four appeared in the parking lot. Our formation was broken up, but with them focused on us we could afford to retreat into a better position. Civilians had stopped dying. 11 remained alive, while we'd saved 1 and 6 had been killed since we showed up. If we could save the rest and take out these guys without any soldiers joining the dead, I'd be elated with this operation. Big if.

While we carried out the tactical retreat and prepared to engage them from any direction, three of the floaters readied for defensive fire while a fourth slaughtered another civilian. So much for that assumption, but we were so spread out from the previous group that we'd been in no position to stop it anyway.

Out of rockets, Deschamps fired a carbine shot that was simply absorbed. Pena, too far away for a grenade, could merely try to discourage an advance. Warlord used his reflexes to dodge some fire and badly wound the closest of them, and the rest of the squad continued to move into position.

http://i.imgur.com/saTLSsD.png
Another floater finds out that CW does not often miss

In the warehouse, Deschamps was nearly flanked by a dangerous floater but the defensive fire continued for all of them. Again Coffee, the only one getting anything done here, drew a bit of fire and got a flanking shot. Again a wound, not a kill, and he's out of ammo now. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Deschamps landed a crucial blow, wounding the flanking floater. She's still far from safe, but has definitely improved her chances of it missing her. Most of the others continued to move through the building, while Mason is stuck on the roof, awaiting a reasonably safe time to enter the fray.

http://i.imgur.com/xMwX5o9.png
Out of rockets and nowhere to safely go, Deschamps literally saved her own hide on a coin-flip burst

The floaters literally did the dumbest thing I've ever seen next. Three of them just moved around and did nothing, while one remained ready for reaction fire. Finally in position, Carter missed twice. Deschamps moved to a more secure position and fired, but couldn't finish off her target.

One of the floaters essentially did nothing, while two missed Murdoch inside the warehouse and the final one remaining in defensive mode. Carter finally finished one off, while Warlord's job of pressing his luck got him a decent shot which he missed after nearly getting himself killed.

http://i.imgur.com/cIxDg7W.png
Having taken a near-mortal wound, CW proceeded to shoot like it. What has that semi trailer ever done to him?!>?

Pena tossed a grenade to finish off another, leaving just the two retreating floaters in the parking lot. Mason, finally in the fight, moved up for a flanking shot on the floater that had blasted Warlord ... it was too far for a shotgun, but she landed the bullseye of all bullseyes and dropped it with a pistol shot! Incredible.

Warlord was potentially vulnerable, but cornered and alone the floater wanted no piece of that. We were in no hurry either. Pena made her way around the exterior fence, while everyone else just tried to stay safe.

http://i.imgur.com/fnSjF5c.png
The floater is holed up between the squad care with the flashing sirens and the fence, which Yolanda Pena worked her way around

Or not. The floater got it's courage up all of a sudden, darting over the wall and injuring Deschamps at close range. She panicked, but was still alive. Roguru, close by, ended that nonsense with his SAW.

http://i.imgur.com/DO9XWPw.png
The floater's last hurrah. Deschamps would live, and Mac Roguru would make sure the enemy didn't.

Post-Mortem

Driving Shield, a very well-named operation if I may say so, was a tense success. 13 enemies dispatched, 8 of them floaters and the remainder four of the new Chryssalids and a zombie, also new. 11 of 18 civilians were saved, and no soldiers were lost. In reality this is a rousing success considering the expectations, but it's hard to be happy considering how many died today. Not just here, but around the world. XCOM probably expended as many explosives on this as we did in all previous missions combined, and every last one of them was needed.

We won't be seeing Warlord(out three weeks) or Deschamps(four weeks) around anytime soon. Fortunately, Coffee Warlord is proving to be one tough SOB, and no signs of permanent PTSD damage have been noticed. He should make a full recovery. Deschamps can at least console herself with a promotion. Brooke Carter became the second XCOM corporal, now referring to herself as 'Twitch', and a third is Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason.

Artifacts Recovered

6 Floater Corpses
1 Chryssalid Carcass
3 kg Elerium
3 kg Alien Alloys
6 Weapon Fragments
2 oz. MOG

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 10:36 PM

Panic increased across Asia in the aftermath of the so-called 'terror attacks'. Japan is the only nation that didn't raise it's alert level, and they considered it. Australia is at Yellow(level 3 or medium), the first nation to reach that, while China and India are at Aqua(level 2/low). Those two are promoted forthwith to fill the two open lieutenant spots. They're both solid candidates. There are probably three or four soldiers better suited out there at most, and who knows how long it might be until they reach the proper rank? Getting them out there commanding, gaining experience, and helping our lower-ranked members survive missions is deemed most important. Spitfire has also taken over the top spot on the killboard at 11.

There are only 23 available soldiers now, requiring five more to be recruited(12.5m cost). That meant another sell-off in the gray market:

2 Floater Corpses
1 Drone Wreck
2 kg Elerium
3 kg Alien Alloys
2 oz. MOG

Another 4.7m was raised, and the needed personnel brought in. That brings the total soldier count from 40 to 45. About half of the 'expendable' artifacts have now been sold off or traded, a situation that will merit increased concern if needs continue to exceed funding as expected.

In The News

** Successful incursion by mysterious operatives in Australia bolsters public confidence in government response to alien threat
** Eyewitness accounts of battle between unidentified military forces and hostile aliens in Egypt indicates effort to stop abductions
** Brazilian officials offer no response to increasing reports of alien UFOs streaking across the night sky
** Images of German soldiers going into battle with advanced alien
weaponry posted on Internet
** Australian Prime Minister offers no official statement on repeated sightings of strange lights over several major cities

At least we can take comfort in the fact that major heads of state are even more clueless in the present crisis than we are/I am ...

Greyfriars Bobby

04-25-2015, 11:13 PM

Correct. It would take a special kind of stupid, a kind I claim not to possess, to send a raw rookie out on this kind of operation. Light-resistance abductions, small downed UFOs, those are the droids you're looking for.

Edit: I'm off to see my brother in Death of A Salesman, after which I will report on the Melbourne operation.

This raw rookie appreciates, it, and hopes you don't think I was implying you were that kind of stupid. Nothing of the kind was intended.

Brian Swartz

04-25-2015, 11:17 PM

No, I was just being sarcastic. I do that from time to time.

Brian Swartz

04-27-2015, 02:37 AM

April 26, 0756 -- Satellite finished! 'Notso' Sharpe's fighter is also back in action. We must still await the completion of a new uplink in a few days time before launching the satellite however.

1156 -- The first Arc Thrower is completed! Another milestone in XCOM's strategic vision, this allows for the possibility of capturing aliens for interrogation. We have both the device to stun them, and the facility to contain them. We have everything we need ... maybe. Possibly. We think so. Everything we need to make an attempt, at least.

1356 -- Yet another notable development, just six hours after the first one of the day. On the heels of two missions in a brief period yesterday, the past 36 hours have produced a rather dizzying amount of activity, especially after it was quiet for nearly a week previous to that.

Dr. Vahlen has announced the results of research into alien materials, codenamed Project Looking Glass. Fortunately, I am not greeted by the mad hatter -- though she does a good impersonation on occasion -- or the white rabbit. The report begins with the usual obtuse Vahlenspeak:

"we could spend years deciphering the complex manufacturing processes required to produce and manipulate these substances ... "

Yes, yes doctor, we know that if we weren't at war with the aliens we would all do well to worship the ground they walk on -- or the air they fly in, in some cases. But on the point if you please:

"we have managed to crudely adapt some of the observed techniques ... our first development, a multi-walled carbon nanotube weave ... "

English, if you don't mind?

"has proven to possess a greater tensile strength than any material previously recorded in known science. Adapting this armor into an armor reinforcing vest will surely afford our soldiers increased protection on the battlefield."

Saying that ten minutes ago would have sufficed. She's speaking my language now. The good doctor also notes that in terms of capturing a live alien, 'the rest is up to our forces on the ground' -- get moving Commander, in other words. She also ponders that 'I just dont understand! Why use such advanced technology against innocent civilians?!'

Oh do grow up Doctor. The world is larger than and not as innocent as your test tubes.

Dr. Shen has schematics for the new Alloy Vest. They are similar in concept to our plenteous Ceramic Vests which we have used on many an occasion as a layer of reinforcement underneath the main armor for our soldiers. Making use of the alien materials, each requires 5 kg of Alien Alloys and costs 5m. Not cheap, but twice as effective as the ceramic variant. At this point in time, had we the money to invest in better field equipment, and we don't, I would probably put most of it towards scopes and not these new vests. They are definitely a useful improvement though, it's just a casualty of the fact that we have only a fraction of the money needed to do everything we'd like to do.

There are now nine distinct research projects available. It seems the possibilities are multiplying, and we cannot possibly keep up with them all. The war in the skies will take precedence next with a quick analysis of the Scout-class UFOs we've come in contact with.

Brian Swartz

04-27-2015, 04:54 PM

April 27 -- Benton Gale was cleared for duty by the medical staff in the mid-morning. At 1256, the aliens decided to show themselves again. A medium Raider-class ship, at low trajectory, inbound to Germany from the north polar region.

Of the two kinds of UFOs that we are reasonably familiar with(raider and scout), the raider are the tougher and more versatile combat vessel. This won't be an easy takedown. I send up our best('Chainsaw' Katz) to see what he can do. Whether we pursue the target further will depend on his success.

It goes decently. They trade shots at about an equal rate, with Chainsaw getting in three confirmed hits with his Stingrays. 'Mangler' Neale, still looking for his first kill, goes up next. If he can down it or nearly so, we'll send up a third to finish it off. If not, I'll hope to have disuaded it. I don't want to use the entire contingent of fighters on this thing.

Mangler takes heavy damage as well, but about halfway through the dogfight the raider started listing. A couple more hits and it went down, just seconds before he would have had to break off. Hard to complain about those results.

So, we've got a medium UFO to go after. We've only done one of these before and a significant number of enemies is expected. This is kind of a 'tweener' mission, maybe the first of it's kind. It's not a priority mission but not one we want a bunch of greenhorns going out on either.

I have Bradford consult the archives, since I don't really remember how the last one went. It was Devil's Hammer, less than three weeks ago on the 8th. We faced what I think is still a record of 14 enemies, but two lance corporals and four specialists were able to handle it. We can now take an extra soldier with us, but can't really improve on that squad in terms of ranks and experience. The decision on who to take is a difficult one. We've got four still on the injured list and another dozen in recovery, most of them with around 48 hours left before they'll be ready to go. In the end I decided we need a standard squad here. It's a risky decision. If we get a priority mission before some of the others recover, we could find ourselves starting down a dangerous path in terms of readiness and fatigue.

Strike Squad

SPEC Seung-yeon Kim(KOR, Scout)
SPEC Thozama Khumalo(ZAF, Medic)
LCPL Benton Gale(JPN, Infantry)
** Ranger
LCPL Su-Min Kim(KOR, Assault)
** Resilience
SPEC Dean Hoo(UKR, Gunner)
SPEC Eliana Soares(BRA, Rocketeer)
SPEC Path Twelve(DEU, Sniper)

Three FOFC soldiers will be going out this time. Dean Hoo will be looking for his first kill, and probably put on suppression duty a lot so it may not be that likely. Path Twelve is the first sniper to see action in weeks, and Benton Gale, fresh out of the medical bay literally four hours ago, will have no time to rest. Seung-yeon Kim will be the first to take out an arc thrower. We may not have an occasion to use it, and it has but a single charge, but if the opportunity presents itself it will be taken.

Brian Swartz

04-27-2015, 05:33 PM

OPERATION FIRST ENGINE
4.27.2015, 1336
Germany

The squad deploys in a wooded area, but it's a canyon of some sort. We've got to get out of this onto higher ground, it's an ambush waiting to happen. There are better fields of fire to the right, so Kim heads that way. Initial sounds appear to be mostly sectoids, but also something that sounds ... massive. A deep guttural growl. Not appetizing.

http://i.imgur.com/giwAdC9.png

We seem to hear the enemy first just up an incline in the direction Kim has chosen to find higher ground -- figures. This is our beachhead, so to speak. It seems to move away from us though as we slowly advance ... perhaps drawing us into a trap? Or am I just paranoid? The trees ahead of us burn, and beyond that, a devastated clearing. It's not hard to figure what's there.

http://i.imgur.com/Q6RHZKJ.png

Finally, in the desolate clearing, Kim spots a trio of sectoids. Not a bad way to start, they've got to cross a stretch with no good cover to reach us. Defensive positions are not plentiful but we've got the advantadge of terrain here if they want a fight. Kim wounds one that is fairly exposed by a log, but Path Twelve has to finish it off. The other two move forward, one looking for us to advance and the other landing an unlikely shot against Kim ... but it's just a flesh wound. Khumalo returns the favor, but Dean Hoo is not content with that. A fine shot gives him his first kill! We probably aren't going to get a better chance to deploy the arc thrower, so we try to move in for that, but the sectoid just retreats. So begins a slow chase across the clearing, both Kims moving in and the big guns staying back in the trees for fire support.

http://i.imgur.com/HGfJPtP.png

Finally presented with a chance, Seung-yeon Kim checked the readout. About two chances in five of success. And to think these things were state of the art. She closed the distance, with her countryman ready with the flashbang in case it failed. It worked! Oh my goodness, it worked!! Numbed by the electric shock, the sectoid fell to the ground, immobile but still alive. Dr. Vahlen was gleefull -- 'Now we can begin the interrogation!' Um, not yet doctor. Need I remind you the aliens still control this area? Still, it was a great moment.

http://i.imgur.com/XDR1Ouj.png
A historic moment in time is captured here. The first deployment of the arc thrower meets with success and an incapacitated sectoid!

The team retreated to the tree line and wheeled left towards the canyon. Spending more time in that clearing was not on our happy fun list. Unfortunately, the sounds came from that way. Further left, but back in the open. Khumalo took care of SY Kim's wound, and back that way the squad angled. This was slow going, but slow and safe sure beats the alternative. She spotted the ship, and we purposed to go no further in that direction. I sure wasn't going to approach that thing from here, not without checking out the perimeter. The last sounds had thankfully been some distance from the vessel.

What happened next was bizarre. Two seekers arriving from the clearing wasn't a big surprise. One advanced, and one went to stealth. Hoo's reaction shot missed wide. But a drone also appeared to the rear. A single drone apparently. I'm not sure if it saw us, but Path Twelve saw it. She had a crucial shot here -- she needed to take it down or we would have to fight on two fronts. Missed.

http://i.imgur.com/Rbbcblu.png
It's never a good idea to fight on two fronts, even when one is just a lowly, solitary drone

That one hurts. It's only a drone, but I don't like getting flanked by anything. Practically underneath it, the 'other' Kim damaged the first seeker. Gale showed off her skills in the incinerating-the-air department, but got the job done on a second try. Time to try out this battle scanner -- it worked! The second seeker 'appeared'. Khumalo's burst just bounced off it though. Soares' did the same. Hoo took a big chunk out of it as it advanced, but that didn't stop it from landing a significant blow against our brazilian rocketeer, who immediately panicked. Meanwhile the drone advanced but couldn't get into range.

http://i.imgur.com/FRriTBo.png
There you are! Kim is 2-for-2 on experimental XCom technology already on this operation. The seeker can no longer hide from us.

http://i.imgur.com/PX4hvzI.png
Dean Hoo takes aim at the mechanical menace. His aim was true, but it just kept coming.

The Kims took over at that point. Seung-yeon closed to point-blank range and finished off the seeker, while Su-Min dashed the other way and handled the drone, with Path Twelve's sniper rifle actually too close to it now. A bit of a strange and unorthodox fight, but we survived it. Khumalo burned another medkit to get Soares close to operational again, and it was time to resume the sweep. So far we've learned that the arc thrower and battle scanner do work, thank you very much. But the sounds of the forest indicate this fight is far from over.

Soon we hear more of them, back into the forest the way the drone came from. Perhaps it has 'friends' out there. Err, had friends. There's only one narrow path up the hill, and the approach is cautious -- particularly since the ship is not far away. It's a very dangerous way to approach but we see no other option.

Moving up the hill, Kim sees it ... that must the big one we were hearing. Vahlen refers to it as an obvious front-line unit. Just a massive green hulking thing. Shen -- "I don't envy anyone who has to go up against that thing". It doesn't see us yet, so Kim takes advantadge of that and fires. It's wounded, but still alive -- and there'a another, even larger one and a floater with it. Stupendous. Soares tries a rocket, which is off-target and only manages to finish off the wounded muton. The other two are still alive, and she's exposed if they advance. Fabulous. This could go bad quickly. If that thing charges ...

http://i.imgur.com/fbQro4R.png
Seung-yeon Kim gets our first glimpse of a new kind of enemy, the massive muton. Barely visible in the shadows, it is greeted with her assault rifle and soon exterminated by a Soares rocket.

We scramble to get into the best firing positions we can. Khumalo and Hoo can only find overwatch, others firing positions are too far away to allow an immediate shot. Su-Min Kim dashes forward and gets a mid-range shotgun blast on the flanked floater, taking it out. We can do nothing to that muton though ...

And it retreats to the rear and right, over near the ship. Ok. We've got a massive rogue tank called a muton wandering around over there now. That sounds great. We gradually move forward to pursue it, and Seung-young Kim spots the muton again. She fires off-target, and the trees block Path Twelve who doesn't have a shot. Dashing into better cover position, Su-min Kim spots a trio of sectoids. Most of them dart into the blackness ahead and on the left. This is getting way too interesting here. However, at least Twelve has line-of-sight on one of them. It's still up, but wounded.

http://i.imgur.com/RnYIniJ.png
From her setup behind a tree well back from the heat of the action, sniper Path Twelve missed an absurd number of times in this firefight. She doesn't get the kill here, but at least managed to hit the target

One of them wanders around the corner ... fires ... and Kim is gone! Oh, that was some serious horsecrap! Twelve takes out one sectoid, then Su-min Kim moves up and executes the one who took out his comrade, but that really hurts. Our scout is dead!!

http://i.imgur.com/L9ZtcOi.png
In case you've ever wondered, this is what happens when a melded sectoid is killed. They do not go gently ...

The muton fires for Gale, and misses. That should be it's last chance to do a damn thing. From roughly a half-mile away, Path Twelve misses but we've got plenty of guns in the area. Dean Hoo's SAW cuts it down to about half-size. Gale misses, then hits and that's all for the leader muton. We advance looking for the final sectoid ... and Kim finds it. Or rather, it finds him. Cleverly hiding behind a crevace in the rock and without a scout to search, it tags him hard, nearly killing him! Through the pain-induced haze he sees well enough to send the evil bastard to it's grave, but this definitely hasn't gone as planned.

http://i.imgur.com/rxtyp0S.png
Su-min Kim is fortunate to live through this dastardly ambush

We've now taken down a dozen of them, including two new massive enemies. On the other hand, we've taken multiple injuries and lost our talented scout. It's time to regroup. Path Twelve hears movement inside the ship now. Looks like it's time to breach. She keeps watch with Hoo and Gale, it's the FOFC on guard duty while the others heal, reload, and prepare to join them for the assault. We are down to one of the original six medkit applications by the time Kim is nursed back to full strength.

There's no real need for a 'door', half of this side of the ship was blasted open by the impact. Hoo spots them as we move in, sort of in no-man's land here as we can't get to good cover in the ship but must leave the trees. Two outsiders, one of which dashes out of view. The only real option here is to retreat, hoping to draw them out. One comes, the other does not. We only get one shot at it, a pistol from Kim, who misses. There's no choice but to risk it now. He dashes up with a shotgun, one-shot kill!

One left now, and we need to cover our brave assault trooper. There's no safe way to do it, we just find the best cover we can and hope for the best. The other outsider was sneaky, and it got off a good shot at Hoo. We are lucky as hell he wasn't hit and lying dead on the ground there.

http://i.imgur.com/zG7DxKq.png
Dean Hoo could well have bought it here

It just missed, and now having exposed it's position, that outsider is as good as gone. Gale gets in the first blow, Twelve misses a pistol shot and Khumalo misses as well. Soares only does a flesh wound. Hoo gets a chance and incredibly manages to miss from practically on top of the damn thing. Seriously dude. It's right the hell in front of you! It's up to Kim's shotgun ... which glances off and does minimal damage. The outsider fires back at Kim, who is injured again and panics, but he'll live.

Unbelievable horsecrap. We should have been able to kill that thing damn near twice. Hoo tries again ... and finally ends this mission.

Post-Mortem

Well, First Engine will definitely go into the books as a costly success. We lost our first experienced soldier, scout Seung-yeung Kim, on what was ironically one of the least dangerous incoming fire situations on the entire operation. Often it has not been the case, but the alien tactics were frankly impressive at several points. Unfortunately, they may be learning tactically as well as the other improvements. But in this case, it was just a 'stuff happens' moment. A bloody sectoid, while she was in good cover behind the cliff rock. Su-Min Kim could easily have been killed twice, and wasn't. Hoo never had a chance to use his suppression abilities, though I sure would have if I knew he couldn't hit an outsider standing five feet in front of him. We get our first capture of a sectoid, but it will be our last for a while.

Another 14 enemies killed, one of our lost. We have five promotions, with Su-Min Kim now out a record five weeks. Soares will miss three weeks. The main question was on Su-Min's mental state, and he appears to be fine though he's not the best in that department to begin with.

Seung-yeon Kim had 6 kills to her credit, and will be remembed as the first to successfully deploy the arc thrower and battle scanner. Her day started so well ... until it was over. For all the varied and advanced enemies we've encountered, all three soldiers that have been lost were killed by sectoid pistols.

Dr. Vahlen was breathless in her excitement -- 'I know it wasn't easy, but bringing an alien back alive could lead to great advances in our research!'. Yeah, how about you mourn the lost for a good five seconds before you concern yourself with that?

Artifacts Recovered

1 Alien Pistol
5 Sectoid Corpses
1 Floater Corpse
1 Muton Corpse
1 Drone Wreck
1 Sectoid Captive
21 kg Elerium
17 kg Alien Alloys
11 Weapon Fragments
2 oz. MOG
4 UFO Flight Computers(3 damaged)
2 UFO Power Sources(1 damaged)
2 Seeker Wrecks

Brian Swartz

04-27-2015, 05:46 PM

Promotions

Dean Hoo and Benton Gale, congratulations are in order! You have both been promoted and may now select your next training option.

Dean Hoo is now a lance corporal of the gunner class.

** Close Combat: automatic reaction shot against any enemy that closes to within four tiles
** Low Profile: ability to use partial cover as if it was full cover.
** Executioner: +10 Aim and critical chance against enemies with half or less health

Commander's Recommendation -- None of these are fantastic for a gunner, all are of some use. I'd go with Low Profile. Gunners operate at a moderate distance from the enemy typically so close combat is of limited use, ditto with executioner for a suppression soldier who will not often be targeting such enemies.

Benton Gale, you are the first FOFC soldier to reach full corporal! Accordingly, you have been given the provisionary callsign of 'Sheriff'. You may change this is if you would like. Your training options:

** Extra Conditioning: Bonus health based on the armor being worn. The heavier the armor, the better the bonus.
** Low Profile: Use partial cover as full cover
** Battle Scanner: In addition to your normal item choices, you will bring a pair of battle scanners on any mission.

Commander's Recommendation: Battle scanners are a waste of your ability to fill the air with lead. There are no options here to increase your lethality. I think it is better to not get hit in the first place than it is to be able to take more punishment, though certainly there's something to be said for both. I recommend Low Profile, which will allow you to more often operate in relative safety and get your gun into the fight in situations like the clearings experienced in the last mission.

Dean Hoo and Benton Gale, you are on the clock. The Commander urgently requests a rapid decision if possible from Cpl. Gale. XCOM faces a high-priority mission, and due to the quick turnaround your services are desired despite having just returned from your last mission.

law90026

04-28-2015, 10:27 PM

Low profile for dean Hoo!

Brian Swartz

04-28-2015, 11:09 PM

LCPL Dean Hoo

Health: 5(+1)
Will: 43(+5)
Aim: 72(+2)

Decent improvements. Hoo is one of the better gunners in XCOM, probably second in the class at the moment.

Breeze

04-29-2015, 08:57 AM

Gale will go low profile as well...

Brian Swartz

04-29-2015, 02:22 PM

CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale

Health: 4(--)
Will: 63(+6)
Aim: 68(+6)

It's about freaking time! Nice aim improvement there.

Brian Swartz

04-29-2015, 02:24 PM

Dr. Shen took one look at the remains of Seung-yeon's equipment and declared the Arc Thrower would never be used again. It was damaged beyond repair by the sectoid's plasma blast. We need a new one. Funding won't be available for quite some time, and in addition we need to recruit another six soldiers now. We have five privates incoming in about a week, but only 17 ready for active duty for the next 36 hours or so. part of the cost, 7.5m, is gained from sale of the damaged UFO parts.

Vahlen -- 'We should begin interrogating the alien subject immediately. I'm confident we can safely house it within the containment facility, but I can't say for how long'. In this case she is not going to get her wish. Estimates are that it will take two weeks, and the research team has other vital projects. Dr. Shen doesn't share her pessimism, and believes we can hold the sectoid indefinitely with no ill affects.

We still need a hair over seven million in order to bring in the required recruits. The latest sell-off figures?

7.1m needed

1 Thin Man Corpse
1 Drone Wreck
5 kg Elerium
5 kg Alien Alloys
2 oz. MOG
1 Seeker Wreck

Everyone was pretty much in agreement that while we definitely need to replace the arc thrower, and in fact need to really have at least two or three of them, it is a somewhat less vital manner with a sectoid in custody. Still, having it destroyed was a significant financial hit. The expense of replacing it should be lessened somewhat when the new workshop comes on-line in a couple of days, but right now it is not considered prudent to sell any more artifacts to get a new one. As it is, over half of the available items for emergency sale have been sold.

Brian Swartz

04-29-2015, 02:56 PM

April 28 -- 0034. Early in the morning, the Council requests our presence. Apparently they've been getting unusual reports about a hijacking of an unauthorized French military convoy. Allegedly the perpetrators were human but there were also reports of aliens in the area. The situation seems quite confused and uncertain. They want us to investigate immediately. The reward for this mission is a pair of scientists and engineers each, as well as a modest financial boost of 7.5 million. The Council has given this operation their own codename: 'Portent'. That's ominous.

We have yet another priority mission, but unfortunately don't have the personnel for it. There are a half-dozen on the injured list, another 16 in recovery!! It's just been a crazy finish to the month. We have no choice but to bring the best squad we can, however.

There are no active infantry or medics, so somebody will have to go on short rest from those two classes. This means an extended stay in medical when they return, but its either that or risk total failure with an inadequate squad. 'Axle' Brodie and 'Sheriff' Gale are selected for this duty. The remaining five positions were able to be filled in the typical fashion from active soldiers.

LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie(SCO, Medic)
** Revive, Paramedic
CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale(JPN, Infantry)
** Ranger, Low Profile
LCPL Rebecca Burke(USA, Scout)
** Low Profile
SPEC Amiyah Banerjee(NIG, Engineer)
SPEC Eman Hodzic(BIH, Gunner)
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero(ESP, Rocketeer)
SPEC Jace Hunter(FRA, Sniper)

Another pair of FOFC participants here. This is a solid team but not great by any stretch, with most of the more experienced soldiers not available for duty at the moment. We'll have to hope it will be good enough to get us through. Updated kills going into the mission:

KILLBOARD

CPL Su-Min 'DJ' Kim -- 14
CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Carter -- 11
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason -- 10
LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie -- 9
CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale -- 9
LCPL Rebecca Burke -- 7
LCPL Yolanda Pena -- 7
SPEC Seung-yeon Kim -- 6
SPEC Mac Roguru -- 5
LCPL Coffee Warlord -- 5
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero -- 4
SPEC Jace Hunter -- 4
LCPL Thozama Khumalo -- 4
SPEC Path Twelve -- 4
SPEC Ivan Drago -- 3
LCPL Didier Keita -- 3
LCPL Georgia Murdoch -- 3
SPEC Ches O'Peake -- 3
SPEC Amiyah Banerjee -- 2
LCPL Sophie Deschamps -- 2
LCPL Dean Hoo -- 2
SPEC Katia Rivera -- 2
LCPL Eliana Soares -- 2
SPEC Beth Campbell -- 1
SPEC Shigeru Endo -- 1
SPEC Naomi Foster -- 1
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1(KIA)
SPEC Eman Hodzic -- 1
SPEC Amber Mitchell -- 1
SPEC Soledad Sanchez -- 1

Brian Swartz

04-29-2015, 07:45 PM

Guerrero is very mobile, unusual for a rocketeer. I loaded her down with the maximum of three rockets, two standard and a shredder. This team is built to end encounters quickly. If we get into an extended firefight, it could go sideways quickly -- there's only one flashbang in the group.

OPERATION CURSED STROKE
Bordeaux, France
4.28.2015, 0057

Bradford gives me the latest as we touch down less than a half-hour later. Despite 'widespread speculation' we don't have much to go on. The primary concern is the reports of alien activity. Mission parameters are to secure the site, and search for any evidence of what happened.

It looks this place was bombed to hell and back, but there is a mostly intact building we can use initially and explore a bit. Burke will take the shooters, Hunter and Gale, up to the roof while the rest move through the structure. We hear thin men, haven't seen those jerks in a while. Lots of them out there. This isn't going to be a social call.

http://i.imgur.com/oAQnFW9.png

We continue to hear them as we move through the building ... and then a thin man bursts through the far doors! It has a sectoid and a second thin man with it. It's go time.

Banerjee moves to a good flanking position on the leader, wounded but still up. Up top, Gale breaks the skylight and finds a good angle on the sectoid down in the street -- toast! Hunter is not yet in position for any kind of shot, but Burke drops a flashbang down on the second thin man, who we can't get any kind of angle on yet. Guerrero moves up and finishes off the leader, and we have a good overwatch net set up in case the one remaning enemy advances. Good shooting there.

http://i.imgur.com/TTErMT7.png

It fires at Burke on the roof, missing -- somehow able to see her while she can't see it. The acid cloud from the dead thin man makes some approaches hazardous, but Banerjee opens a delivery door and ducks outside. An AP grenade finishes the job. Didn't think it would take him out completely, but oh well. Better to be safe. .

http://i.imgur.com/8gvcWMT.png
Sometimes a grenade works better than you want it to ...

We can hear more of them out there. The shooters find good perches on the rooftop. We hear more thin men out there -- a lot of them, apparently straight ahead in the next building. We move across the street and spot them ... one thin man, and a seeker! Ah, so they brought more friends ... Hunter time. He unloads at the seeker, has a great look ... and barely scratches it. Gale finishes it off, she's been a stone-cold assassin so far! Burke misses it high, and it retreats into the building, not wanting to take us all on yet.

Meanwhile, Bradford has noticed something in the street ... 'those bodies don't look like they were killed by alien weapons fire. Those men were killed by conventional bullets'.

http://i.imgur.com/0v4YcDR.png
The plot stinkens

But we've got other issues at the moment. Moving across, Burke spots the thin man near the other side of the second building, which is largely on fire but appeared to be a couple of shops of some kind, the first one relating to music and the second too damaged to really tell. Banerjee considers an explosive grenade to create a better field of fire, but that could work against us as well if there are more out there. We should be able to handle one thin man. Burke takes another crack ... even worse aim this time and her SMG is out now. Gale is down off the roof and across to the second building, while Hunter remains to cover the crossing.

The thin man retreats out the back, Banerjee taking a shot but only killing a window. That was ok with me because two thin men and a seeker showed up. We've now got four out there and need to do some damage here fast. All of them are concealed by walls from Hunter's view though. Gale continues to be a markswoman and knocks the seeker out of the aim, then finally misses at one of the thin men. Banerjee is on target, but the burst just bounces off. Freaking carbines! Brodie has a pretty good angle but misses high. Everyone else is across the street.

http://i.imgur.com/vVUNPS0.png
Our fearless leader shows us how it's not done

The leader moves up and takes aim at Hodzic, missing. The second thin man just tries for defensive fire. Instead of a rocket, Guerrero just plants the second one with her carbine, leaving just two left, but only one in view. Banerjee looses a HE grenade to deteriorate it's cover over there, and Hodzic finishes the job.

http://i.imgur.com/ZBAwzpB.png
The most dangerous moment yet, but thankfully they miss

Bradford has an update ... 'sensors still indicate life signs in the area'. At first I think he's talking about that thin man who ran, but then we spot a human hiding behind the building! Then the thin man is back, dispensing a cloud of acid at Burke. Brodie moves in and wounds it. Gale is over there as well, and needs both bursts but finishes it off.

http://i.imgur.com/4M8WQvk.png
Look who's back ...

Bradford: 'Commander, it looks like there's still someone alive over there. If we can bring them in for questioning, maybe we can figure out what happened here.' Works for me. First, Brodie tells Burke to 'rub some dirt on it, you wimp!'. Um, dirt won't fix acid burns. She has the proper chemicals to handle the job though.

The survivor isn't particularly welcoming when we reach him. 'You might as well leave me here, I've got nothing to say to you people'. He's coughing and obviously hurt. Bradford concludes he's the only witness. We're bringing him in whether he likes it or not. Back to the Skyranger.

http://i.imgur.com/LTAU83v.png
The ungracious, ungrateful whelp here is our only lead ...

It appears we aren't getting out of here that easily though. A pair of thin men drop in, but Gale and Hodzic take them out before they have a chance to do anything.

Survivor: 'This is only the beginning. It's only a matter of ... *cough* *cough* cough*'. Only a matter of what? Asthma?! This guy is already annoying me.

Survivor: 'You're nothin' but a *cough* *cough* ... a bunch of puppets'

Cool story 'bro. Feel free to shut the hell up whenever you feel like it. We continue to surround him on the ground, while Hunter and Gale each take a side of the rooftop.

Survivor: 'This is a waste of time' -- Hey buddy, you're welcome ... asshat.

Survivor: '*cough* *cough* *hack* What are you trying to prove?'

Sigh. At least at this point he finally shut up.

As we reached the end of what was a music store and now is more a pile of rubble, ready to cross the street, four more dropped in! Way behind us a sectoid, and three thin men closer by. Two of them were wounded with our reaction fire on the way in but all three were still up. Gale and Hunter finished off two of them, Brodie went back for the third ... and completely missed! She's now pretty exposed over there. Burke drew it's fire, while Hodzic moved into position and took care of business.

http://i.imgur.com/jHm52TX.png
Eman Hodzic saving the day, and quite possibly the life of our lieutenant

Ok, one sectoid. We can handle one sectoid. Can't we? It hit Lieutenant Brodie, but fortunately was just a flesh wound. She finished the job personally, an appropriate end to it's miserable life. It was time to regroup. The squad moved across the street once we were back in position and Axle was healed up. Once again Hunter and Sheriff moved up to the rooftop, but we spotted nothing. Had they given up?

http://i.imgur.com/7h8xQkO.png
Rub some dirt on this, Axle!

Nope, not done yet. One thin man on each side. Brodie and Hunter both missed, swore, and fired again. The good lieutenant missed a second time, while Jace got his man. Burke moved in, barely dodging the plasma, and wounded the second. Would it never die? Once again Gale needed to clean up, dropping down from the roof and finishing it off. That was it, and we reached the extraction zone.

http://i.imgur.com/S06hJ4W.png
Jace Hunter bringing death from above. On the second attempt, but still

Survivor: 'Eh ... *cough* cough*. You're still not gettin anything from me!'

CO Bradford was less convinced: 'Our friend here might not be feeling very cooperative at the moment, but I have a feeling a chat with Dr. Vahlen might change his tune.'

A 'chat'. Nice euphemism there.

Post-Mortem

Cursed Stroke, Portent, whatever you chooose to call it, it was an unvarnished success. Gale will be spending a week and a half in medical, and LT Axle a week, making sure they are ok after a couple of missions in close succession for each. Nobody was hurt by enemy fire though. The VIP was secured, a record 16 enemies eliminated, and we have three more promotions to celebrate. All in all, this was one of XCOM's finest moments, and should help our relations with the Council.

Artifacts

2 Sectoid Corpses
11 Thin Man Corpses
1 kg Elerium
2 kg Alien Alloys
13 Weapon Fragments
2 oz. MOG
2 Seeker Wrecks

Brian Swartz

04-29-2015, 07:54 PM

Promotions

Jace Hunter, you have been promoted to lance corporal!

** Close Combat: Automatic reaction shot on any enemy to close within four tiles
** Bring 'Em On: +1 damage critical hits per enemy you can see.
** Damn Good Ground: +10 Aim and +10 Defense in addition to usual elevation bonuses when shooting at enemies below you.

Commander's Recommendation: Close Combat is useless for a sniper, who can't hit a thing a short range. Damn Good Ground is excellent for a sniper on missions like the last one where you can operate on rooftops. Bring 'Em On is always active and doesn't depend on elevation, but snipers don't tend to get a ton of critical hits due to the fact that they are rarely in a flanking position. This one isn't really a choice, and Commander's prerogative is invoked for Damn Good Ground.

Health: 5(--)
Will: 42(+9)
Aim: 83(+6)

Bravo, Hunter! At the moment you have the most accurate trigger finger in XCOM, and are the clear #1 among snipers. You've got a respectable six kills to date as well, having added two more on this operation.

Travis

04-30-2015, 12:26 AM

Nice! Hopefully that stat boost will translate into doing more consistent damage for you in future missions.

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 03:13 AM

The available soldiers crisis has now escalated. With over a day yet remaining before anybody returns, there are only 12 ready-for-duty with the majority of those untested privates! Another five need to be recruited in addition to the 11 already incoming, and even with the reward from this last mission that means yet another artifact sale, with nearly five million to be raised.

1 Sectoid Corpse
1 Floater Corpse
2 Thin Man Corpses
3 kg Elerium
2 kg Alien Alloys
2 oz. MOG
1 Seeker Wreck

XCOM is now down to about a third of the available stockpile for such emergencies.

April 29, 0015

Workshop finished early in the morning. An hour later, the satellite uplink was completed. The spare satellite was launched over the UK. Anywhere outside of Europe made no sense as we don't have enough to interceptors to manage that. All three European countries are at the peaceful Green Alert Level and the UK's funding is much higher than France or Russia's so it was a no-brainer where to put it. A pair of engineers are provided as reward.

Egypt requested 8 kg of Elerium in exchange for a pair of scientists. We have enough to swing the deal, and it was approved.

1215 -- Dr. Vahlen again, reporting that UFO Analysis: Scout has been completed, aka Project Foxhound.

Analysis of the scout class indicates they have low durability and no exterior armor. The aliens appear to use them for recon, resource-gathering, and research missions so it's definitely a multi-use craft despite the name we've given it. Pilot training and weapons systems have seen minor changes to take advantage of what we've learned. With no armor, the higher-yield Avalanche missile is our best current weapon system against them, and improved targeting information based on this project will allow us to have slightly more effective salvos against it.

UFO Analysis: Raider will be up next, which is expected to garner similar information on this more advanced class of alien ship. It's another quick one, expected to take just four days.

April 30, 2317 -- Literally in the final hour of the month, Japan pipes in with a request for another elerium-for-scientists trade. We do not have enough to spare now, and have to say 'no for now'.

With that, XCOM has survived a second month! Nearly a dozen soldiers have returned from recovery these last couple of days, so the roster is looking much better. FOFC representatives Ivan Drago and Mac Roguru were among them. It's time now to step back and take a look at how we are doing in the war for humanity's survival as a whole, including what the council thinks of our performance in April.

(mostly) Brave soldiers of FOFC, your Commander thanks you for your service to your species and to XCOM. There are certainly many trying times ahead, but collectively we will continue to resist however, wherever, whenever we can.

Icy

05-01-2015, 04:42 AM

Rally enjoying this dynasty, and at the same time every time i read it i really want to start playing myself but I have two issues, main one is lack of free time and second one is that the Long war mod for OSX is still a bit behind the windows version with some bugs last time i read about it (like training roulette unusable), so I might just start a vanilla game as I never finished it and try the long war mod in the future.

Anyway, keep it going!

Kodos

05-01-2015, 08:15 PM

Ditto. I'm enjoying this dynasty, and am filling the hall of heroes in my first adventure with the PS3 version

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 09:28 PM

Thanks guys! I'm definitely committed to keeping it going. Looks like a vanilla game might be the best thing for you Icy while they work the other issues out. Other than what passes as the plot, there's so much that changes it's almost like playing a different game between vanilla and LW so I would think the replay value would be quite high.

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 09:30 PM

Council Report
April, 2015

The Council is extremely impressed with us still, giving us an overall grade of A!

** 1 Council Mission Completed
** 4 UFOs Shot Down
** 1 Terror Mission Stopped
** 4 Abductions Stopped
** 1 Satellite launched
** 4 Research Projects Completed
** 3 UFOs Raided
** 1 UFO Escaped

The lone escaped UFO is literally the only negative on the report.

Tactical Operations: 9
Aliens Killed: 92
Soldiers Killed: 2

Panic Summary

** Australia remains just into the medium level, or Yellow Alert.
** China, India, Nigeria, and Brazil area at Low, or Aqua Alert. Four nations on three different continents.
** The other 10 members of the council remain at Very Low(Green Alert).

In The News

** Pressure mounts in Japan as their inability to monitor alien threats comes into question
** Southern France site of clash between aliens and multiple unidentified human squads
** Witness claims to have seen unidentified military operatives capturing hostile alien alien, raising specter of government involvement
** Civilian panic slows in the United Kingdom as new satellite monitoring allows alien UFO tracking
** Egyptian military procurement records indicate unknown power source supplied by unknown agency

Finances

Council Funding: 71.6m
Aircraft Maintenance: 26m
Facility Maintenance: 16.1m

Net: 29.5m
UFO Bounties: 20m
Mission Rewards: 39.5m

This does not include about 20m in artifact sales. Maintenance was about a third of April's costs with all of the new construction, and direct Council funding just under half of the total income.

Air War Fund: 38.25m
General Fund: -35.35m

This is after initial spending for May, which consisted of the usual fighter addition and a replacement arc thrower(20m and 9m respectively). Bringing the two sides of XCOM into balance is vital, but with all the emergency funding needed the General Fund shortage approached 50 million at one point. With seven fighters now in the arsenal, at any one time one will need to be kept in the smaller aircraft bases on other continents. In this case North America will be used to base them. The maximum of six in Europe has now been exceeded, but the transfer only takes 36 hours and given how many are often damaged at any one time, simply swapping out the fighters with the longest repair time will help XCOM keep them ready to launch. Of the current six, two are currently ready for sorties, two more will finish their current repairs within a couple days, and a final two are in long-term repair at two weeks or more.

Artifacts in Storage

1 Alien Pistol: 2m
27(65) Sectoid Corpses: 200k -- 13(20%) traded/sold
10(13) Floater Corpses: 300k -- 3(23%) traded/sold
20(25) Thin Man Corpses: 300k -- 5(20%) traded/sold
1 Muton Corpse: 400k
1 Chryssalid Carcass: 700k
6(8) Drone Wrecks: 200k -- 2(25%) traded/sold
57(81) kg Elerium: 500k -- 24(28%) traded/sold
69(85) kg Alien Alloys: 500k -- 16(19%) traded/sold
81(115) Weapon Fragments: 100k -- 24(21%) traded/sold
40(50) oz. MOG: 700k -- 10(20%) traded/sold
3 UFO Flight Computers: 3m
4 UFO Power Sources: 6m
11(14) Seeker Wrecks: 300k -- 3(21%) traded/sold

Total Asset Value: 154 million

Even with the sell-offs, artifact value more than tripled from the March holdings of 42.5 million.

** The number in parentheses for those that have it is the total gathered by XCOM, the lower first number indicates what we have left of that original total**

Personnel

Researchers: 23
Engineers: 17
Soldiers: 39(+16 being recruited)

We came a little closer to balance between the two civilian branches, with six scientists and seven engineers added. The increased stress on the military branch is best seen not through the two soldiers lost, but the eight currently on the injured list following the flurry of important missions at the end of the month. Only three will heal in less than a week, half of them will be more than two. DJ will spend the entire month of May healing up. The current seven privates will swell to 23 when the new recruits arrive about a week from now and getting them experience in the field will be a challenge with the increased risk of sending untrained men and women out there.

**OOC Note: If there's anyone out there reading this that wants in, that makes this an ideal point to sign up. I'm content to go with the solid FOFC roster we have but there's plenty of spots that I'll open it up to a second soldier for anyone interested as well. With this many incoming recruits there's likely to be some talented ones ... I hope.**

Available Research Projects

Interrogate Sectoid(**Priority**) -- 10 days, 1 Sectoid Captive required
Experimental Warfare -- 9 days, 10 Weapon Fragments
Beam Lasers -- 9 days, 10 kg Alien Alloys, 25 Weapon Fragments
Improved Body Armor -- 9 days, 8 kg Alien Alloys
Xenogenetics -- 12 days, 10 oz. MOG
Alien Computers -- 12 days, 4 UFO Flight Computers(we only have 3, needing 1 more here)
Elerium -- 34 days(35 kg Elerium)
Thin Man Autopsy -- 7 days, 10 Thin Man Corpses
Muton Autopsy -- 9 days, 10 Muton Corpses(we're a long way from this, possessing only 1

The number of available research projects continues to grow. Other than the elerium study all of these can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. The current plan is to find our what Dr. Vahlen can learn from our captive next, then move on to the thin man autopsy and probably re-evaluate at that point. Those two and finishing up the current UFO study will take the majority of May, and the situation will certainly have changed somewhat by that point.

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 09:58 PM

Summary/Outlook

Any way you slice it, the aliens really upped the ante in April. We had three more operations than March and it would have been more than that without a pair of UFOs being destroyed instead of just shot down. After killing 50 for the loss of 1 soldier last month, we nearly doubled those numbers this month. Right now the total is 142 killed(well, 141 killed, 1 captured to be technical) and 3 lost for a 47.3:1 kill ratio.

By any normal standard that is an obscenely successful count, but we have no idea really if it will be good enough, even assuming that it is sustainable. There were many tense moments in April. To your not-so-humble Commander, too many. The one-group-after-another survival of Devil's Hammer, occasioned by the debut of the floaters, was one of them. Shortly afterwards, the extended firefight with thin men in Bloody God could easily have gone worse. The revelation that the aliens are developing better techniques and equipment for their troops just as we are threw a major sense of urgency into things and was generally terrifying given their technological advantage.

Unceasing Night brought with it a series of seeker swarms that injured almost the entire squad, and it was very fortunate that nothing worse happened while we were outmaneuvered during Banished Paramour. All of that paled in comparison to the massive urban bombings and terror campaign during Driving Shield. Aside from the nearly inconceivable damage and loss of life, we met a new enemy to hate and fear: the chryssalid. First Engine brought the first loss of an experienced soldier, and the hulking shock troops known as mutons, though we were fortunate enough to dispatch them with relative ease. As if things weren't bad enough, Cursed Stroke raised the specter of elements among humanity that might not be completely friendly to the cause.

Of course not all was negative. The research and engineering teams have been significantly expanded, we put up a second satellite, fighter coverage capability continues to grow, and major expansions were made in the lower reaches of XCOM HQ. Chief among these were the OTS(Officer Training School), allowing a better command structure and advanced training to enhance our tactical operations, and Alien Containment to house aliens captured in the field. The research teams have developed more applications than we can invest in, but they improved their knowledge of UFOs and most importantly, came up with a design for capturing aliens that was proven to work during First Engine. The increasing intensity of alien attacks is, in a perverse way, proof that we are causing them at least a small amount of concern.

In the grand scheme of things, we still can only fight for control of the skies over 2 of 15 Council Nations, with South Africa in the enemies' pocket already. Panic across the world is growing slowly, but it is still growing. Over most of the globe, our involvement is restricted to sparse intelligent reports and responding to abductions or more serious attacks. We can react to hotspots, but for the most part the alien collective has a free hand to do what it likes.

Air War Overview

With satellites up over Germany and the UK we have half of Europe covered. The current flight roster has two pilots at two kills each, three more at one each, and two with none. Seven total UFOs have been downed by our fledling air force.

The cost of enough aircraft to cover a significant fraction of the globe is a continually growing concern. It is an absolute necessity to build toward, yet astronomically expensive. A new strategy has been formed to mitigate this expense. If we can get satellite coverage up over the three Council nations in North America, the aviation giants there in combination with those governments have agreed to grant us facility access, maintenance expertise, etc. which will allow a 30% reduction in maintenance and construction costs for our aircraft. Right now that would mean a monthly savings of 6m on our typical fighter purchase and 18.2m in maintenance, a total of over 24 million per month! And that number will only grow.

The process of achieving this will take over a month, two is probably more realistic. The Commander has set a goal of getting it done by the end of June. At least three more satellites will need to be built, and by early July at the rate of one per month we will have nine aircraft up. Four in one continent, five in another -- that would be enough for barebones coverage but definitely a good number of UFOs might have to be let go. In the long run, the savings XCOM can get from this should be more than worth it. Another satellite uplink will be needed and right now we couldn't build it even if we wanted to -- we need more engineers. But that is the direction we are aiming for, meaning that no new satellites will be put up in Europe for the time being. France and Russia won't like it, but they'll have to deal with it.

Flight Roster

Lt. 'Blinker' Kamala -- 1 kill(Stingray Missiles)
Lt. 'Notso' Sharpe -- 1 kill(Stingray Missiles)

F.O. 'Lunchbox' Turnbull -- 0 kills(2 days repair)
Lt. 'Boss' Bordoni -- 2 kills(4 days repair)
Lt. 'Mangler' Neale -- 1 kill(14 days repair)
Lt. 'Chainsaw' Katz -- 2 kill(18 days repair)

In approximately three days time, the latest fighter with a new green flight officer will be available.

Sublevel View

Power Supply: 50 of 55 GW used

http://i.imgur.com/wi4XAJu.png

The financial pinch is really hitting hard here. A lot of expansion was done in April as has been discussed and can be seen here. The General Fund is deep in the red and there is so much that needs to be done.

** XCOM would like to build another laboratory, but it would take 6m and 15 days just to do the excavating to get the space opened up(far left of Sublevel 3).
** Field equipment is woefully behind. We will be constructing a second arc thrower as a backup, particularly given their low success rate, when the money becomes available but that may be the only thing Tactical Ops gets in May. Scopes in particular are needed, Alloy Plating would be nice, etc.
** No major construction can happen until we dig down further and expand power capabilities.
** We'll need a foundry at some point in the not-to-distant future, and building another workshop would help us save much-needed resources.
** OTS Update: Tactical Ops is at 55 ranks, more than enough for the Company Officers upgrade but Lt. Axle is only at two missions commanded and nobody else has any yet so it shouldn't be needed for another month. Expanding the squad size again requires 115 ranks, more than double the current amount. There's nothing we can do there for some time.

There isn't money for any of this. If it isn't necessary to dump another 40 million into recruiting new soldiers like it was in April, and Tactical Ops can maintain it's record of success, things might look better a month from now. Those are two ginormous IFs though.

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 10:25 PM

Interlude here: the roster update is coming next, but a couple of things to mention. First of all, I somehow managed to delete the original post fairly recently during one of my edit attempts. I've got the roster info but not all the other explanatory blather so if anyone has any questions fire away. I think we're all more or less on board with the routine by now.

Also, I noticed something on the officers. I actually have only officially promoted Lt. Lily 'Axle' Brodie. I thought I couldn't promote the other two yet since they were in recovery, so I was just waiting to do so. It turns out that was incorrect. I couldn't promote them because they are a mission shy of the minimum -- they've only been out on four operations instead of five.

The Commander is not infallible, after all.

This is particularly important because our new kills leader(despite the fact that she can't hit crap), CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale, is one of two who actually do qualify right now for the other two positions. It should be mentioned here that the seven kills on the Portent mission just completed are a new XCOM single-operation record! We'll get more candidates soon, so the Commander will not force you into it. American scout Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke has just been commissioned at the start of the month, but Gale has a decision to make as to whether to accept the same honor.

Remember that being an officer does have the potential drawback of making other career paths impossible down the line(I honestly don't know how far down the line, so I can't say much more here). On the other hand, it is a great opportunity. Gale does have 63 will, the best in XCOM, and so she would be one heck of an asset in terms of helping the more inexperienced soldiers develop.

Two decisions here: accept or reject the officer commission. If you accept, you will get Lead by Example automatically and will need to choose between:

** Legio Patra Nostra: +1 will for all squad members per each different nationality on operations you lead(will increase only lasts for that mission). Best for leading inexperienced squads, less important for more experienced ones.
** Stay Frosty: 24-hour reduction in fatigue recovery time. This is more important for officers leading priority missions, allowing the best soldiers to get back into the fight sooner.

CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale, you are now on the clock.

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 10:40 PM

The biggest current need is definitely infantry, which is strange -- usually I have plenty of them but we have only three. I would like at least two more of those, another scout or two, and another sniper. There are a couple spots where we still only have one active soldier but if things stay quite another couple days or so that will improve a lot.

XCOM ROSTER -- as of May 1

Assault(4)
** This should mostly be self-explanatory. The % listed is progress towards the next promotion. The number in paretheses by each class is the total number of that class currently in XCOM(including those who are recovering and/or injured)**

SPEC Beth Campbell(AUS, 1 mission, 1 kill, 44%) -- 3 Health, 14 Mob, 31 Will, 63 Aim, 3 Def
SPEC Ivan Drago(HON, 2 missions, 3 kills, 78%) -- 3 Health, 15 Mob, 32 Will, 69 Aim, -1 Def
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason(UK, 4 missions, 10 kills, 0%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 45 Will, 68 Aim, - 2 Def
** Bring 'Em On, Sprinter

Engineer(4)
SPEC Naomi Foster(USA, 2 missions, 1 kill, 44%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 34 Will, 64 Aim, 1 Def
LCPL Yolanda Pena(ESP, 3 missions, 7 kills, 58%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 39 Will, 67 Aim, 3 Def
** Sapper
SPEC Katia Rivera(MEX, 2 missions, 2 kills, 56%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 32 Will, 65 Aim, 5 Def

Gunner(6)

SPEC Isabelle Mirabeau(FRA, 1 mission, 0 kills, 35%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 40 Will, 70 Aim, -3 Def
SPEC Geoff Russell(USA, 2 missions, 0 kills, 48%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 22 Will, 68 Aim, 0 Def
SPEC Mac Roguru(AUS, 2 missions, 5 kills, 94%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 35 Will, 72 Aim, 2 Def

Infantry(3)

CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Carter(USA, 4 missions, 11 kills, 12%) -- 6 Health, 11 Mob, 54 Will, 79 Aim, 5 Def
** Opportunist, Executioner

Medic(4)
SPEC Soledad Sanchez(MEX, 2 missions, 1 kill, 46%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 41 Will, 61 Aim, -4 Def

Rocketeer(4)
SPEC Shigeru Endo(JPN, 2 missions, 1 kill, 44%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 34 Will, 75 Aim, 1 Def

Scout(4)

SPEC Carl Tanner(USA, 1 mission, 1 kill, 2%) -- 4 Health, 14 Mob, 31 Will, 69 Aim, -2 Def
SPEC Amber Mitchell(ZAF, 2 missions, 1 kill, 1%) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 28 Will, 63 Aim, 2 Def

Sniper(3)

SPEC Alma Demirovic(BIH, 1 mission, 0 kills, 4%) -- 3 Health, 13 Mob, 41 Will, 73 Aim, 1 Def

Private(7)
PFC Duncan Ross(FRA, no missions) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 34 Will, 67 Aim, 1 Def -- 1st
PFC Chris Kodos(FRA, no missions) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 30 Will, 69 Aim, -3 Def -- 5th

Recovery
LCPL Georgia Murdoch(AUS, 4 missions, 3 kills, 62%) -- 3 Health, 13 Mob, 55 Will, 68 Aim, -2 Def -- 16 hours
** Revive
LCPL Thozama Khumalo(ZAF, 3 missions, 4 kills, 16%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 51 Will, 65 Aim, -1 Def -- 22 hours
** Revive
SPEC Amiyah Banerjee(NIG, 3 missions, 3 kills, 36%) -- 6 Health, 13 Mob, 41 Will, 61 Aim, 1 Def -- 1 day
LCPL Jace Hunter(FRA, 3 missions, 6 kills, 19%) -- 5 Health, 11 Mob, 42 Will, 83 Aim, 3 Def -- 1 day
LCPL Dean Hoo(UKR, 3 missions, 2 kills, 4%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 43 Will, 72 Aim, 0 Def -- 2 days
** Low Profile
SPEC Path Twelve(DEU, 2 missions, 4 kills, 81%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 34 Will, 75 Aim, 3 Def -- 2 days
LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke(USA, 5 missions, 7 kills, 11%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 45 Will, 79 Aim, -1 Def -- 2 days
** Low Profile
LCPL Eman Hodzic(BIH, 3 missions, 4 kills, 19%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 39 Will, 71 Aim, 1 Def -- 2 days
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero(ESP, 2 missions, 6 kills, 85%) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 20 Will, 66 Aim, 1 Def -- 2 days

Injured
**Injured soldiers are out of action until they recover. The expected time until they are available for active duty is listed here as well.**

LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie(SCO, 7 missions, 10 kills, 64%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 50 Will, 67 Aim, -2 Def -- 4 days
** Revive, Paramedic
LCPL Ches O'Peake(USA, 3 missions, 3 kills, 13%) -- 6 Health, 13 Mob, 37 Will, 71 Aim, -2 Def -- 5 days
** Aggression
LCPL Didier Keita(MEX, 2 missions, 3 kills, 6%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 45 Will, 56 Aim, -2 Def -- 6 days
** Opportunist
CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale(JPN, 5 missions, 16 kills, 54%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 63 Will, 68 Aim, -4 Def -- 8 days
** Ranger, Low Profile
LCPL Coffee Warlord(ISR, 3 missions, 5 kills, 59%) -- 3 Health, 15 Mob, 44 Will, 70 Aim, -1 Def -- 16 days
** Will to Survive
LCPL Eliana Soares(BRA, 3 missions, 2 kills, 9%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 40 Will, 71 Aim, 1 Def -- 19 days
** Steadfast
LCPL Sophie Deschamps(FRA, 3 missions, 2 kills, 26%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 36 Will, 73 Aim, 2 Def -- 22 days
** Holo-Targeting
CPL Su-Min 'DJ' Kim(KOR, 4 missions, 14 kills, 22%) -- 7 Health, 14 Mob, 42 Will, 72 Aim, 1 Def -- 32 days
** Resilience, Tactical Sense

KILLBOARD

CPL Benton 'Sheriff' Gale -- 16
CPL Su-Min 'DJ' Kim -- 14
CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Carter -- 11
LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie -- 10
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason -- 10
LT Rebecca Burke -- 7
LCPL Yolanda Pena -- 7
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero -- 6
LCPL Jace Hunter -- 6
SPEC Seung-yeon Kim -- 6(KIA)
SPEC Mac Roguru -- 5
LCPL Coffee Warlord -- 5
LCPL Eman Hodzic -- 4
LCPL Thozama Khumalo -- 4
SPEC Path Twelve -- 4
SPEC Amiyah Banerjee -- 3
SPEC Ivan Drago -- 3
LCPL Didier Keita -- 3
LCPL Georgia Murdoch -- 3
SPEC Ches O'Peake -- 3
LCPL Sophie Deschamps -- 2
LCPL Dean Hoo -- 2
SPEC Katia Rivera -- 2
LCPL Eliana Soares -- 2
SPEC Beth Campbell -- 1
SPEC Shigeru Endo -- 1
SPEC Naomi Foster -- 1
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1(KIA)
SPEC Amber Mitchell -- 1
SPEC Soledad Sanchez -- 1

MEMORIAL
**Here are remembered all those missing or killed in action.**

PFC Ace Idol -- 0 kills in 1 mission. KIA during Operation Demon Pipe by a sectoid plasma pistol, March 17, 2015.
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1 kill in 2 missions. KIA during Operation Unceasing Night by a sectoid plasma pistol, April 4, 2015
SPEC Seung-yeon Kim -- 6 kills in 2 missions. KIA during Operation First Engine by a sectoid plasma pistol, April 27, 2015.

Brian Swartz

05-01-2015, 10:55 PM

May 1, 0231 -- That 'quiet' thing barely lasted two hours! Abduction alerts went off in France. Light resistance, 8m reward. We do need the money ...

Strike Team

We'll stick with the standard 4-5 experienced, 2-3 privates for this kind of operation. It'll be 5 & 2 for this one as we can't spare an infantry soldier.

SPEC Soledad Sanchez(MEX, Medic)
SPEC Carl Tanner(USA, Scout)
SPEC Beth Campbell(AUS, Assault)
SPEC Naomi Foster(USA, Engineer)
SPEC Isabelle Mirabeau(FRA, Gunner)
PFC Duncan Ross(FRA)
PFC Lakshmi Pilaj(NIG)

Duncan Ross finally gets a chance to earn his spurs. The class choices here were pretty basic, next-up in those classes that have spare soldiers ready to go. With no infantry and nobody above specialist rank, this will be the weakest group overall that XCOM has taken out in a while. Let's hope the enemy doesn't spring any particularly nasty surprises ...

Brian Swartz

05-03-2015, 02:30 AM

OPERATION LONE FLAME
5.1.2015, 0249
Paris, France

We didn't have to wait long for the action to start. An electronics store was our first objective and two seekers immediately went to stealth while a thin man complicated matters. Tanner brought a battle scanner with him, but he had to get safety first once we spotted them. Ross got the first shot at the thin man, well high. Sanchez did no better. Foster gave the red vehicle the thin man was hiding behind the HE treatment. It did not appear either seeker was in the blast radius, but he wasn't looking too healthy after the explosion so it was a worthwhile grenade.

The thin man sought better cover behind the building and we saw nothing of the seekers. Tanner tossed out the scanner to see what he could find ... jack diddly squat. Wherever they were wasn't in the bulk of that store. Superb. Ross would next play a key part in a two-man game. He slid up along the yellow SUV and tossed out a flashbang, just getting it close enough to disorient the thin man. That allowed Campbell to safely dash up there and take care of the thin man, getting a visual on a canister and a facefull of acid in the process. But it was worth it to eliminate the threat.

The rest of the squad moved that direction to try and claim the canister while keeping reaction fire up. Those seekers will be coming, probably soon. We heard floaters, and then the seekers came behind us! Pilaj and Mirabeau, the latter our best weapon against them right now, were strangled with two of three reaction shots missing and the third causing minimal damage. Ross was the closest, but couldn't do enough damage to release the grip on Pilaj. Tanner's SMG just bounced off the armor. Foster finally took out the first one, but there was one left on Mirabeau and I was running out of guns. Sanchez took care of Campbell's acid problem, but she couldn't get close enough for a shot and Mirabeau's injuries became more serious.

http://i.imgur.com/pvqahAu.png
The seekers outsmarted us this time. Battle scanners don't work as well when they've already left the area ...

Thankfully nobody else came to the party, and a shotun blast finally released the grip. Tanner was able to snag the canister in time -- they are up to eight ounces, another poor omen -- and medkits were dispensed along with the needed reloads. By the time it was done, half of the medkits were gone. Hopefully additional encounters would go smoother. It seemed the rest of them were in a larger building across an alley to the rear of the electronics store, so we'd head that way after regrouping.

I doubted we could get there in time, but might as well try for that second canister along the 'north' side, the same side Tanner and Ross were on by the first one. We heard movement inside the grocery store on the north side of the block, and the other canister went silent. Figured as much. Up on the roof, Tanner could see nothing so they must be on the ground floor. There was roof access across the alley as well, and a combined approach high and low seemed as good as anything.

Tanner, Ross, and Duncan ventured up top. Still nothing. Then they spotted a pair of floaters along the far side of the building ... they hadn't seen us yet. Pilaj and Sanchez made it five on the roof -- perhaps we could take them out with a massed strike. Still they patrolled below the rooftop, we could make out their location only with audio. TAnner still couldn't see them at the very edge, but this time their route took them around the corner and into Mirabeau's sight range. She missed, but we had a fix on them now and should just be able to drop over and clean em out.

http://i.imgur.com/hF43jej.png
The strange cat-and-mouse game with the floaters finally ends

Mirabeau missed again. Tanner wounded one of them, but not badly. Ross dropped in, injured the other. They were too close to let them live ... Pilaj dropped one, Sanchez got in a decent shot but the leader wouldn't go down. It was left to Campbell to finish it off again.

http://i.imgur.com/wmPMU0i.png
Duncan Ross gets a good shot in here, but not enough to take down the enemy.

Five down, and we spotted the other group. Three drones, in the adjacent store, just enough light for us to get a visual. With the dividing wall the roof seemed the best approach again. Potentially we could drop in from either side, or both, and give them a nasty surprise. Their sensors picked up Pilaj heading up though, complicating matters. So much for surprise.

We readied for their assault, but it didn't come. The longer they waited for us to prepare the worse it was going to be for them, but I wasn't about to argue. Mirabeau and Foster came in from the 'back' way by the alley, and they were still clustered up hiding in the corner of the building. Incredibly, both of them missed. That wasn't the idea.

http://i.imgur.com/f9xuWpz.png
Not the boldest of foes ...

They moved to meet the incursion and all fired at Foster. The first blast ended in a minor wound, and Foster panicked like an idiotic fool. The other two missed. By moving away from the window though they'd exposed themselves to our waiting soldiers on the other side. Mirabeau finally hit something and dropped one of them at close range. Ross did his usual light damage and Tanner had an SMG burst simply bounce off. Sanchez took out the second one, Pillaj had a shot bounce off, so Campbell moved in to finish the job. Except she didn't. Somehow the stupid little drone absorbed enough of the blast to stay aloft. Super. We're all exposed here.

The drone moved back towards the alley, but apparently was too damaged to fire. As good as dead anyway. Another chance for Ross ... nope, he was too far away to get a shot. Foster missed a chance at revenge, knocking the green paint off the wall and doing little else. Mirabeau finally put the stupid flying pile of junk out of it's misery, and we were all clear.

Post-Mortem

Bit of a tense start with the seekers but otherwhise it was a very clean sweep. 8 more aliens killed, nobody was lost or really even close to it. Foster will miss a little over a week, Mirabeau two weeks as the population of the medical ward continues to grow. Campbell and Pillai are promoted. Ross remains a private -- he performed well overall and was in the middle of the action, but only managed to get in a couple of damaging shots on the enemy, no kills.

Artifacts Recovered

2 Floater Corpses
1 Thin Man Corpse
3 Drone Wrecks
4 kg Elerium
4 kg Alien Alloys
6 Weapon Fragments
9 oz. MOG
2 Seeker Wrecks

Brian Swartz

05-03-2015, 02:39 AM

With the reward money a second arc thrower was ordered, the last of the emergency projects waiting. Pillai joined the scout class where she figures to be a solid addition.

A couple more soldiers returned to active duty later in the day, and two more followed on May 2nd. Jace Hunter was among them.

Brian Swartz

05-03-2015, 01:26 PM

May 3, 0046 -- UFO Analysis: Raider finished. As we have noted, they are tougher than scouts are. Durability has been classified as moderate, with a very light amount of exterior armor. They are similarly multi-role craft and Dr. Vahlen believes that is why they are not more dangerous combatants. Recon, resource-gathering, and research roles have been noted, as in the case of the scout. Similar improvements in training and weapons systems have been devised as before, and the current prevailing wisdom is that avalanche missiles will be best for these as well given the light armor.

Dr. Vahlen now gets to work on her most important assignment yet. We will soon find out if she can crack communication barriers and learn anything useful from interrogating our sectoid captive.

0051 -- Before I could even finish the summary of the Raider research project, Project Fisher, Bradford broke in with the report of more abductions. Again light resistance and 8m reward, this time in Japan.

Strike Team

This was an interesting group to try to assemble because we cannot spare a scout or infantry.

LCPL Georgia Murdoch(AUS, Medic)
** Revive
SPEC Ivan Drago(HON, Assault)
LCPL Yolanda Pena(ESP, Engineer)
** Sapper
SPEC Geoff Russell(USA, Gunner)
SPEC Alma Demirovic(BIH, Sniper)
PFC Takumi Fujita(JPN)
PFC Hannah Cullen(CAN)

Fujita can fill the role of scout best, he has elite mobility and good instincts. The squad has a good medic and a bit more experience than the last mission went out with, so they should be ok. Ivan Drago is the lone FOFC representative.

Brian Swartz

05-04-2015, 02:34 AM

OPERATION SILENT EMPIRE
5.3.2015, 0229
Kobe, Japan

A small remote settlement is the site for this mission. It was slow through a parking lot without much in the way of good cover or approaches, and then in an outdoor dining area we are greeted by a muton and a floater. Private Hannah Cullen found a perfect time to utilize her explosive grenade, and the muton's cover, formerly a table, was reduced to ashes.

http://i.imgur.com/V5eAvGf.png

It was eventually the other private, Fujita, who would finish it off. Demirovic and Drago both missed the floater, which escaped into the diner ... where it had friends, a drone and a pair of sectoids.

http://i.imgur.com/FkHdMxZ.png
Reinforcements

Demirovic and Pena combined to take out the exposed floater, while most of the rest moved to form a better position. Not a lot of good cover here away from the building, so hunkering down was better than exposing oneself as a target. Fujita and Drago were the closest -- one sectoid suppressed the rookie while the other two missed shots at our Honduran assault trooper. That was basically their one chance.

http://i.imgur.com/GCLEpH2.png
Sniper Demirovic didn't move for quite some while, firing away from behind a construction barrell. Various other members of the squad can be seen in other foreground positions, moving in on the building.

http://i.imgur.com/k7gB6Le.png
The corner of the restaurant takes a beating here, but Drago took no damage

Demirovic, who hasn't moved for quite some while, finished off the drone. Drago used a flashbang on the suppressor, freeing up Takumi for a flank shot on the other sectoid .. .which he completely missed. Nothing a Pena grenade and an easy mop-up for Murdoch couldn't fix.

http://i.imgur.com/RWOoLgF.png
The rookie shows how it's not done ...

http://i.imgur.com/HycWEPt.png
Pena has a more effective way here. A good part of the inside of the building is incinerated, including the walls between the businesses

After an ineffective shot by the disabled sectoid, Drago snagged an 8-oz. canister and dashed back to the building to finish it off. We heard more movement, sounded like floaters, at the opposite end by the gas pumps. There was no reason not to slow down and use the roof approach at this point. Unfortunately, they didn't wait for everyone to get into position ...

http://i.imgur.com/J0MupJW.png

A flashbang from Takumi made sure they wouldn't cause too much trouble, while Drago used his speed to get behind and take out the leader on the roof. Cullen wounded the other one, but it was in a tricky corner inside in the building and Drago was forced to finish it off himself.

http://i.imgur.com/Qihq2I9.png
The rest of the squad didn't have the best round of shooting, but Ivan Drago took out the last two floaters to end resistance

Post-Mortem

7 aliens killed, another canister recovered, no casualties. A lot of property damage as well from the grenades ... the squad did get shot at several times and that's never safe, but always in good defensive position. This operation really showcased how vulnerable cover that is made of combustible materials like wood can be. This is one reason that, while they do a bit less damage, the Commander prefers high-explosive(HE) grenades to their anti-personnel(AP) counterparts.

Vahlen voiced that she was impressed with the results. Drago and Fujita were the only promotions, not a lot of resistance or a lot of kills to go around.

Artifacts

2 Sectoid Corpses
3 Floater Corpses
1 Muton Corpse
1 Drone Wreck
2 kg Elerium
2 kg Alien Alloys
8 Weapon Fragments
9 oz MOG

Brian Swartz

05-04-2015, 02:42 AM

Ivan Drago come on down! You doubled your kill tally from 3 to 6, gaining a promotion to lance corporal in the process. Training options:

** Tactical Sense: +5 Defense per visible enemy(max. of +20)
** Opportunist: No aim penalty on reaction shots, allows critical hits on reaction shots as well
** Low Profile: Partial cover offers the benefits of full cover.

Commander's Recommendation: None of these really help your main role which is to cause massive damage at close range. Opportunist is useless since you don't have a decent reaction fire weapon -- unless you want to go with an assault rifle instead of shotgun, I could do that it just doesn't take advantage of your core 'Run N Gun' assault ability, the point of which is to allow you to dash up close with the shotgun. Tactical sense helps most in tense firefight/ambush situations, while low profile is of more use on open terrain. Both of those would be helpful but the top recommendation is Tactical Sense. Assault troopers invariably get themselves into the middle of hairy situations, and that will help you stay alive in the midst of them.

LCPL Ivan Drago, you are now on the clock.

Brian Swartz

05-04-2015, 03:08 AM

Dean Hoo returned to active duty while the Skyranger was on it's way back. Even with that, there were only 13 soldiers ready for duty. Fujita has gone sniper, a strange choice, but perhaps somebody knows something I don't. He saw a major gain in his shooting skill and perhaps there'll be a time we need a more mobile sniper. Seems a contradiction in terms to me really, but whatever.

A couple hours late, Egypt wants 8 fragments in exchange for an engineer. We've got enough for one more trade, and it is approved. The cycle continues with another four soldiers back on active status by the days end, including Path Twelve.

Brian Swartz

05-04-2015, 03:17 AM

May 4, 0359 -- Medium raider spotted on approach to the UK. We have four fighters ready, with another set to be back in action by the end of the day. Too bad they couldn't wait. Just out of the training program with his new craft, 'Eightball' Lucero headed up to try and soften the target. He didn't so much as land a shot. Well, that wasn't encouraging.

'Lunchbox' Turnbull was up next, but the raider had landed before he could launch. It hadn't wasted any time, clearly having a destination set before setting out on it's flight path. An intact medium-sized UFO means significant resources and resistance. It also left me thinking whether we would ever get through this parade of non-stop action. There would be no privates on this mission.

Strike Team

With two of our three infantry soldiers still injured for a couple more days I couldn't afford to send one out. All the other classes at least had a spare in recovery that could go out if we got a priority mission close on the heels of this. The way things have been going lately, it wouldn't shock me if that happened.

SPEC Amber Mitchell(ZAF, Scout)
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason(UK, Assault)
** Bring 'Em On, Sprinter
SPEC Katia Rivera(MEX, Engineer)
SPEC Mac Roguru(AUS, Gunner)
LCPL Thozama Khumalo(ZAF, Medic)
** Revive
SPEC Shigeru Endo(JPN, Rocketeer)
LCPL Jace Hunter(FRA, Sniper)

Roguru and Hunter go back out there with an opportunity to do some damage. One thing's for sure, this will be a target-rich environment ... hopefully we're not the targets.

Breeze

05-04-2015, 08:30 AM

Gale is a team player...I'm planning on taking the promotion, but I'm not sure which of the skills to take. Which serves the team better at this point, helping with the high priority missions, or training the inexperienced?

Brian Swartz

05-04-2015, 04:10 PM

I don't know. Right now the other two lieutenants are one of each, mostly for balance. It really depends on what kind of missions we get, what kind of enemies we face, etc. Might be a toss-up.

If you like, I'll flip a coin and just pick whatever wins the flip :).

Breeze

05-05-2015, 08:23 AM

go with the coin flip then...sounds like there is no wrong answer...

Brian Swartz

05-05-2015, 01:42 PM

Ok, sounds like a plan.

OPERATION DYING DRUID
5.4.2015, 0535
United Kingdom

Uneven terrain in a remote location. Relocating could be tricky here. We got in trouble right away. A quartet of floaters on our right, and not a whole lot of anything we could do in terms of finding cover. A lot of hunkering down with only one errant pistol shot by Mason -- we just tried to find a decent position behind a burned-out jeep that we could move from and do some damage in a bit.

http://i.imgur.com/kpKAgz6.png

Interestingly, they didn't actually shoot at us. One teleported behind, a second suppressed our scout Mitchell, and the other two went on overwatch. Mason damaged the suppressor, couldn't take it out but that freed Mitchell to go to the rear and kill off the teleported floater. One flank is pretty much always better than two. Rivera finished off the wounded one, but Hunter really failed when he was needed to land a sniper shot. Khumalo pleasantly suprised by taking out a third one, and the final floater was wounded by Endo and suppressed by Roguru.

http://i.imgur.com/f7q2sJC.png
You had one job, Mr. Hunter

That was just basically lucky as hell. We could easily have had a dead soldier or two already the way they ambushed us there. Endo finished the job, and we reloaded to see what else awaited ...

More floaters, sounds like maybe mutons, and a canister somewhere off in the woods. Plenty of more fun. It was soon clear that the closest sounds were coming from inside the ship. The squad moved off to the right, aiming to sweep the perimeter. There was something near the edge of the ship as we moved around it, but we couldn't tell what, keeping our distance to make sure we weren't flanked from the forest side. Soon a denser portion of the forest forced us to pass quite close to the ship in order to pass ... things could get very interesting here if they spotted us.

http://i.imgur.com/TXudYyU.png
From right to left, Spitfire, Mitchell, and Rivera are the lead element attempting to sneak past the alien ship

We were close enough to hear the impacts of their passing in the UFO's passageways, and far too spread out ... but this was the only way around. It was tense, nervewracking, and I did not like it one bit. And then they saw us. Two mutons and a sectoid. Behind a narrow doorway the mutons were nearly impregnable. As much as I hate using explosives on an alien ship, there was no choice here. A rocket blast by Endo gave us a clearer path to take them out. A very impressive shot by Hunter took out the largest of the mutons, presumably the leader of this squad. Roguru hit the second but couldn't finish it off, so Khumalo took care of it, and Rivera knocked off the sectoid.

http://i.imgur.com/CN4cliX.png
Endo's rocket had to be on target, and it was. When the blast subsided, the entryway was much larger ...

Shigeru Endo's rocket was the key there, it turned a losing engagement into an open field of fire. The damage to the ship was more than an acceptable trade. We could still hear more floaters and mutons afterwards. This was far from over. We hadn't gotten far when in the same area of the ship, three floaters showed up to investigate the noise. This time we didn't have many options. We decided to make a run for it, hoping to force them out into the open. Roguru suppressed the closest one, which fired back and missed. None of others were willing to chase and expose themselves.

The procession around the ship continued, seeming to take forever. The floaters did not pursue, but they'd have to be dealt with eventually. When they finally broke into the open again, Mitchell thought she heard mutons away from the ship. Just when the squad was about ready to pursue the sound, one of the floaters showed up. Almost everyone shot, and only one wound was managed. It simply shifted looking for defensive fire ...

but then three more with a muton showed up. Superb.

http://i.imgur.com/2LNh2mS.png
Enemies on two sides again. Problematic

Roguru finished off the first floater, allowing the rest of the squad to focus on the new group. Endo used his second rocket, a little off target but good enough. He would still be exposed now, but there was a chance of survival with the enemy weakened. Khumalo moved in and finished off the muton, Hunter bagged a floater, and Mitchell tried to get another but didn't quite kill it. Spitfire made it only one badly wounded enemy left ...

http://i.imgur.com/k3cXpmx.png
The sharp eye can see Mac Roguru behind a tree in the right background, here with a much-needed elimination of a pesky floater

http://i.imgur.com/FFPl9JP.png

And then the other two showed up again. Too far away to attack but they were waiting back by the ship, while the survivor out in the forest simply moved away and took a suppression shot. Amazingly we haven't actually been directly shot at by this group, but the danger was still far from over.

http://i.imgur.com/vFQnc7G.png

Spitfire Mason in the best position to clear out one flank. Two healthy floaters left for the others to deal with. Another easy shot for Hunter ... missed! He's finding a way to miss far too many today. A couple of good shots by Rivera and Roguru badly wounded them, but neither went down completely. Khumalo and Endo took care of the rest ... What a chaotic mess. Somehow, we have still not gotten anyone injured on this raid!

http://i.imgur.com/tzhxfzt.png
Mac didn't get the kill here, but acquitted himself quite well in this firefight with another on-target burst here. That's more than we can say for his comrade Jace Hunter

It was quiet as we entered the ship. Somewhere deep in here the outsiders waited for us, but it looked like everything else was dead. Dr. Vahlen put in her two cents about not destroying the flight computers once we got sight of them. It would be nice if she stopped acting as if I was an idiot. Then we found them -- two, in the center of the ship, as one might expect.

http://i.imgur.com/wC3kn0E.png

One shot, one kill for Spitfire with a fine shotgun blast. It took three(Roguru, Rivera, Khumalo) to finish off the second one.

Post-Mortem

16 dead aliens, 5 promotions, not a single casualty. Nobody took any damage. There were a couple of times when it didn't look like things would turn out nearly that well. Frankly we probably should have lost a soldier or two out there, but the fates smiled on us.

Artifacts Recovered

1 Sectoid Corpse
10 Floater Corpses
3 Muton Corpses
36 kg Elerium
42 kg Alien Alloys
19 Weapon Fragments
5 oz. MOG
4 UFO Flight Computers
2 UFO Power Sources

XCOM's best haul yet in terms of resources. The electronics alone are worth 24 million, and we now have more than enough flight computers to open up another potential research path down the road.

Brian Swartz

05-05-2015, 01:58 PM

Promotions

Mac Roguru, you are now a lance corporal, having added a kill and a number of other good moments during Dying Druid.

** Vital Point Targeting: +2 damage against aliens that have been autopsied or humans
** Aggression: +10% critical chance(max. 30%) per enemy in sight
** Sprinter: +4 mobility

Commander's Recommendation -- This is an interesting group of training choices. All would be useful. Sprinter would allow to wear heavier armor and/or have the option to use the massive LMG rather than the typical SAW. Vital Point Targeting will become more useful as we do more autopsies, currently only the sectoids have been done so it's limited but will grow in it's effect. Aggression has the advantage of always being in effect, i.e. it will help against mechanical enemies that don't have 'vital points' such as the seekers or drones and whatever else might be out there in the future.

This could go any direction. I don't think there is a right or wrong choice. Forced to choose, I would probably go with Sprinter for the flexibility but I would definitely emphasize here that there is no bad call.

LCPL Mac Roguru, you are on the clock.

Travis

05-05-2015, 02:18 PM

Sounds like Jace needs to spend a few days at the range. Yeesh. Glad his inaccuracies didn't end up being too costly.

Brian Swartz

05-05-2015, 02:35 PM

On return, we were down to 10 soldiers with 16 incoming, so two more recruits were authorized. I also took a moment to peruse the latest headlines ...

In The News

** Images of Egyptian soldiers going into battle with advanced alien weaponry posted on Internet
** Purported alien abduction in Japan stopped by mysterious military operatives equipped with 'advanced weaponry'
** Alleged alien abduction in downtown Tokyo has been blamed on costumed anime enthusiasts
** Pressure mounts in the United States as their inability to monitor alien threats comes into question
** UFO landing site in the United Kingdom reportedly secured by military forces of unknown affiliation

May 5, 0018 -- The Council rang barely into the next morning. The encrypted message read as follows:

"A member of the Triad criminal organization has reached out to one of our contacts. Although we have little interest in the man himself, he allegedly has in his possession a piece of 'unique' technology."

Naturally they want us to investigate, with our reward stipulated as a scientist, an engineer, and an additional 5 million in funds. A Council request, even strange and shady as this one appears to be, means this will be a priority mission. But who is left?

Squad

LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke(USA, Scout)
** Low Profile, Close Combat Specialist, Stay Frosty
CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Carter(USA, Infantry)
** Opportunist, Executioner
CPL Thozama 'Whiskey' Khumalo(ZAF, Medic)
** Revive, Paramedic
LCPL Dean Hoo(UKR, Gunner)
** Low Profile
SPEC Esperanza Guerrero(ESP, Rocketeer)
SPEC Amiyah Banerjee(NIG, Engineer)
SPEC Path Twelve(DEU, Sniper)

There is literally now just a single non-private on active duty waiting in the barracks as this squad readies to load up the Skyranger. As it is, Whiskey just came back from Dying Druid and will have to go back out again, followed by a mandatory stay in medical. Snake Eyes gets her first command mission here, and we are reaching the point where I may have to seriously consider ignoring the next request for assistance that comes in if we don't get a break soon.

But first things first. Time to meet this Triad member and find out what is really going on ... It is also a career opportunity for Dean Hoo and Path Twelve. It's not every day a specialist gets a chance to impress the Council.

Icy

05-05-2015, 04:58 PM

Drago goes with tactical sense. The more enemies around, the more his top reflexes get into action becoming harder to get hit.

Brian Swartz

05-05-2015, 05:11 PM

Tactical Sense it is.

Health: 3(--)
Will: 39(+7)
Aim: 70(+1)

That ... could have been better. It'd be nice to see Drago's flimsy frame toughen up a bit. A good will increase gets you a little closer to average for a lance corporal though.

MacroGuru

05-05-2015, 06:03 PM

Brian Swartz

05-05-2015, 08:36 PM

LCPL Mac Roguru

Sprinter training added.

Health: 7(+1)
Will: 38(+3)
Aim: 73(+1)

You appear to be 'thick' in more ways than one :P. Hard to kill, but otherwhise disappointing progress here.

Brian Swartz

05-06-2015, 02:42 AM

OPERATION CRYSTAL SWORD
5.5.2015, 0140
Wuhan, China

Zhang, our contact is waiting for us dressed in all black.

"Hmph. You must be my contacts. No-one who fears reprisal would make an entrance like that."

He calmly takes out a pistol and kills a nearby sectoid.

"Not so different from killing a man. It won't take long for them to realize I'm missing, especially now that I've got this thing with me. If you take me with you, it's all yours. "

Zhang has a disturbing calculated coldness in his manner and tone. The Council name for the mission, Friends in Low Places, is now better understood. We're here now, and might as well get to it. The extraction point is across a graveyard.

'I'm not sure where my boss got this thing, but he was taking offers from a variety of bidders ... regardless of their intentions.'

http://i.imgur.com/jGhkBXZ.png
Zhang shows himself to be a man of action immediately

Things got real in a big hurry. A pair of thin men and a sectoid up ahead on the left, a pair of seekers and a thin man on the right, and flanking us to the left, two more thin men dropped in. Eight of them! Two were wounded by reaction fire. Twelve fired at the flanking thin man on the left, badly injuring but not killing it. A rocket blast by Guerrero completely missed the seekers, and we were in trouble. Hoo added to the miss festival before 'Twitch' Carter dropped one seeker and damaged the second a bit. Whiskey somehow finished it off with her SMG -- she's been shooting crazy accurate lately.

Zhang: 'The job itself seemed trivial. Delivering equipment to a predetermined drop point.'

Burke dashed across drawing fire, but somehow managed to miss the exposed thin man on the left. Even more of them came up, most of the enemies suppressing, but I had no idea how we were going to get out of this. Banerjee was caught in a cloud of acid as well.

http://i.imgur.com/NtjnB8e.png
Apparently we aren't welcome here ...

http://i.imgur.com/0N4O0t2.png
Guerrero's rocket made a big mess and a pile of rubble ... and that's about it

Burke dashed to the side through the haze of fire and managed to drop one thin man with a pistol shot. That was fortunate, I was just hoping to get some decent damage on him to break the suppression on Path Twelve. Twitch dropped the newly arrived seeker, and Twelve pulled out her pistol to finally end the threat from the wounded thin man on the left.

That was three more down, and still by my count five left out there. Since Hoo was suppressed, he simply suppressed back on the leader of the entrenched thin men on the left side. Another rocket by Guerrero was nowhere near the target, but did manage to take out a thin man.

http://i.imgur.com/lHVnRkK.png
Engineer Banerjee is the target here, suppressed and doused in acid and generally unable to do anything useful except hope the others can get her out of this mess.

http://i.imgur.com/KAncfL7.png
This bullseye by LT Snake Eyes was highly improbable, to put it mildly, and it freed sniper Path Twelve up to do her thing.

They didn't do much to attack now, the suppressed thin man hunkered down, a second took a shot at Hoo that missed, a sectoid scrambled for cover and the injured thin man on the right simply looked for reaction fire chances. Another thin man dropped in, upping the enemy count to five again. Will they never stop coming?!

Path Twelve didn't have any good angles, but took aim at one of the thin men ... and dropped it! She pulled that shot out of I have no clue where, but I'll take it! Carter's executioner training came in handy as she dropped the injured guy on the right, and all of a sudden this wasn't looking bad with only three of them left.

Zhang: "I've crossed many lines during my life, but now we all face a common enemy"

Hoo kept up the suppression fire, Guerrero retreated to a safer overwatch position, a couple others reloaded. The suppressed thin man fired back at Hoo, missing, the sectoid retreated a bit, and the other thin man that had dropped in on the right? Nowhere to be found at the moment. Time to clean this out now. A series of shots at the leader thin man resulted in a significant injury, but no kills.

A renewed acid attack on Banerjee kept her still, the sectoid remains in defensive fire, and the other thin man joined a fray with a missed shot at Burke. At this point it's basically a long-distance pot-shot contest, we have numbers and elevation on our side. The aliens have missed their chance to overrun us unless they have a lot more out there. But this could take a while to finish off and you never know when one lucky shot might ...

http://i.imgur.com/I8jmMTd.png
An extended firefight against the remaining enemies consisted mostly of a lot of missed shots, both sides taking any chance to damage the other. Here Path Twelve's round goes sailing high.

Carter wounded the second thin man, everyone else missed, another thin man dropped in on the right. This may never end. Twelve, finally with a decent angle, took out the newcomer before it could find cover. Back to three it was. Another shot at Hoo, another miss. We could still hit nothing, and again they missed the Ukranian gunner. At this point, it almost seems the greatest danger here is boring each other to death.

http://i.imgur.com/nsu6n8P.png
Dean Hoo's suppression fire limited the aliens' chances to shoot back ... and also made him their most frequent target. His recent Low Profile training was invaluable here, allowing him to stay in the front line of the firefight with relative safety.

An SMG burst from Snake Eyes took the leader down to near death, but not quite there. The only significant threat right now is that sectoid. Was. Twelve with another fine shot was able to catch it sticking it's head out. Twitch finally got one of the others, and there was just a single thin man left now. More misses, more suppression, more missed shots back at Hoo nailing that stupid lamppost. It was Whiskey who finally finished it off.

http://i.imgur.com/t7CP5dl.png
The medic of all people, Thozama 'Whiskey' Zhumalo, ends the longest and most dangerous firefight XCOM has yet seen.

We've been here probably over an hour, constantly fighting for our lives. But now it's clear. At the moment. That could easily have ended with every last one of us dead, somehow once again nobody is even hurt!! Two more thin men dropped in, one of them ducking out of sight. Guerrero and Banerjee got the kills this time, spreading the wealth around.

Nearly halfway across the graveyard, a thin man dropped in at the far end. That wasn't an immediate concern ... but one of those stupid purple chryssalids was another matter and close by. That thing needed to die as in now. It took four tries, but it finally was dropped by Carter who is racking up the kills here.

http://i.imgur.com/jiQmBo8.png
It's not a real party until the purple nightmarish spider shows up ...

Burke led the way down the right side as the squad looked for that lone thin man out there somewhere. Eventually we spotted it past the graveyard in the street beyond, right between us and the extraction point. Hoo had a decent try at it but missed. Guerrero was the only one close enough and able to hit it, just a flesh wound. The thin man advanced, one-on-seven here, and missed a shot at the LT. A wall shielded it from view, so after Burke failed to hit the target, Banerjee took a grenade to the wall. Hoo turned what remained of it into rubble, and also ended the threat.

http://i.imgur.com/FhiM86h.png
Any problem on earth can be solved by the proper application of high explosives.

http://i.imgur.com/cr0eI1z.png
I think most of the rounds hit the wall here, but there was no chance for the thin man to survive the hail of bullets from this range.

Unbelievably, they still weren't done. A thin man on each side. The one behind was a flanking threat, and only Twitch could see it. With that one gone, Twelve sighted in ... and somehow managed to miss a perfect setup on the second one. There's just no excuse for that. Whiskey blew it as well, before Guerrero finally stopped the stupidity. One last thin man dropped in as we neared the extraction with Zhang, but didn't have a chance to move a muscle as three shooters combined to mow him down.

http://i.imgur.com/LJzm4FA.png
They tell me a sniper should make this shot 19 out of 20 times. Path Twelve had some good moments today and multiple kills tallied, but this is a miss to put on the wall of shame.

Finally Zhang reached the Skyranger.

"I am alive! But the life I had is gone now. ... Funny, that my life should take such an unexpected turn. Turning my back on old friends to embrace a common enemy."

http://i.imgur.com/uNQ4dW9.png
The package is secured, and wistfully philosophical. A near-death experience can do that.

With that, it was finally over.

Post-Mortem

I still can't believe we got through the initial rush without a scratch. Whatever that thing is Zhang has, it must be darn important. A total of 19 enemies were dispatched. Aside from the stated mission rewards, we also have a new soldier. Zhang, or CPL Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang as he is now to be known, has joined Tactical Ops! Not everyone got promoted, but several did.

**OOC Note: I have literally never had an operation start that badly and end that well. The pessimist in me is concerned, because I feel that we are due for a bad mission of squad-wipe scale. For a while I thought this could be it. The aliens were suprisingly passive, relying on suppression and acid, and we bought just enough time by injuring a few of them as they came in. It still shouldn't have been enough though ... not that I'm complaining :)**

Artifacts

1 Sectoid Corpse
13 Thin Man Corpses
1 Chryssalid Carcass
2 kg Elerium
3 kg Alien Alloys
14 Weapon Fragments
3 oz. MOG
3 Seeker Wrecks

The Council had a few more words to say:

'Dr. Vahlen has confirmed that the device is genuine, although the aliens' presence at the extraction site was perhaps evidence enough. Dr. Shen has several theories as to the purpose of this equipment, and will notify you immediately when his team has reached a conclusion.'

Brian Swartz

05-06-2015, 02:59 AM

Promotions

Path Twelve, you doubled your kill total from 4 to 8 in Crystal Sword, and have been duly promoted to lance corporal!

** Packmaster: Limited-use small items(i.e., medkits, grenades, etc.) receive additional uses.
** Executioner: +10 Aim, +10 Critical Chance against enemies with 50% or less health.
** Steadfast: Never panic as a result of injury, allies injury or intimidation.

Commander's Recommendation -- None are particularly fantastic choices, but Executioner just has a sniper ring to it :). The others are of far more use to soldiers that deploy closer to the enemy more often.

LCPL Path Twelve, you are on the clock.

Brian Swartz

05-06-2015, 03:03 AM

Zhang is set up the with infantry training, filling a much-needed hole. It looks like he'll be a decent one. He comes in at Corporal rank due to his previous experience, questionable though it is. Even with him, the continued drain on manpower required yet another five soldiers to be recruited. A minor sell-off of at least 2.6m was needed for this. Untill the new recruits come in, we have 40 still actually on-site. 24 are in recovery, 11 more injured! A single UFO flight computer brought in 3m, more than was needed.

CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Gale of the USA tied the single-operation kills mark with 7 confirmed during Crystal Sword. As a result, she now sets the high spot on the board with 18 total enemy deaths accounted for personally.

1123 -- The first five privates have finally arrived. Canada's Kim Fraser has elite shooting ability, Belgium's Kobe Cuvelier could be a fine scout down the road, while Italian Luca Basso is probably the best officer candidate of the group.

LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie was cleared by medical to return to duty later in the day. With her back, XCOM was up to 11 active soldiers, though eight are privates, with 18 more recruits still in the pipeline. Each day of quiet, assuming we get any, will see a significant jump in readiness. I also decided to complete a nearly-expired elerium trade offer with Japan. It was originally rejected, but with yesterday's UFO raid we now have enough to spare. With the two new engineers received we are now up to 21, enough to manage a third satellite uplink. Now all we need is the money for it :).

Brian Swartz

05-06-2015, 11:44 PM

CDB, May 7

Ah, a day of quiet. We finally got one on the sixth. A half-dozen soldiers are now back on active status, giving us enough to actually do another operation if one came up now. FOFC representatives PFC Duncan Ross and LCPL Ches O'Peake were among those released.

chesapeake

05-07-2015, 08:24 AM

Back in the saddle! It's about time!

Brian Swartz

05-08-2015, 02:41 AM

Well if you'd stop getting yourself shot ... :P

Brian Swartz

05-08-2015, 02:46 AM

CDB, May 8

Didier Keita returned to active status, and 11 more privates came in, the bulk of the recruits. Overall they seem solid, a hair better than the initial group with I think three elite shooters and a couple more prime officer candidates. Looking forward on the calendar, we've got some important stuff coming up in a few days. Around the 12th it will start, a couple of arc throwers, interrogation results from the sectoid, seven more privates to be screened and transported to headquarters -- pretty much all of that is expected to go down in a 2-3 day window. Until then, all we're doing is hoping the aliens are relatively nice and let everyone heal up a bit.

Brian Swartz

05-08-2015, 11:30 PM

CDB, May 9 -- A bombing run has been reported in Argentina. They are one of the countries that we've been the most active in trading with, so the populace is firmly on our side but they are considering upping the alert evel from Green to Aqua with this latest attack. Another six soldiers are healed up.

Brian Swartz

05-10-2015, 01:36 AM

CDB, May 10

Another day of quiet passes. It was still an important day, with ten more soldiers back and ready. Path Twelve, Dean Hoo, Jace Hunter, and Ivan Drago are once again ready for hostile action.

Brian Swartz

05-10-2015, 02:06 AM

LCPL Path Twelve was given the Executioner training.

Health: 3(--)
Will: 36(+2)
Aim: 80(+5)

Not great, but enough of a shooting increase to keep her among the elite.

Brian Swartz

05-11-2015, 01:43 AM

CDB, May 11

Another quiet day. Four more soldiers are now ready to go, including LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale and Mac Roguru. Just after midnight though, the quiet ended with a spotting of a large, low-flying UFO in eastern Russia by a random fighter patrol ...

Brian Swartz

05-11-2015, 12:33 PM

While the UFO situation was dealt with, Gale's commissioning ceremony was underway. The coin flip resulted in Stay Frosty training.

http://i.imgur.com/0LjALe3.png

'Blinker' Kamala is sent up to deal with the UFO. We have no expectation of being able to take it down, but with four active fighters one can be spared to damage/dissuade it. They got it one hit, the UFO two, at which point the frame was very unstable. Another hit would almost certainly have been fatal.

At 0443, within an hour of returning, we got reports of abductions taking place in Murmansk, not far from the last sighting. It was a worth a try, but we did not manage to stop the alien mission and will now need to do so on the ground. As always, light resistance, 8m reward.

Tactical Ops is as healthy as it's ever been. Recovery is empty and there are only six injured. Three will back in less than a week, two more in a week after that. It's a great time to get more privates some experience so three will go out on this.

Strike Team

LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie(SCO, Medic, CO)
CPL Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang(CHN, Infantry)
SPEC Lakshmi Pillai(NIG, Scout)
LCPL Amiyah Banerjee(NIG, Engineer)
PFC Duncan Ross(FRA)
PFC Hannah Cullen(CAN)
PFC Chris Kodos(FRA)

Both remaining FOFC privates will be going on this one, and for Kodos it's his first time out.

Kodos

05-11-2015, 12:47 PM

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, I'm good at killin' aliens."

chesapeake

05-11-2015, 03:00 PM

Watch your back, Ross. Something suspicious about that Kodos guy.

Brian Swartz

05-12-2015, 01:17 AM

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, I'm good at killin' aliens."

Yeah, about that ...

OPERATION HOT LINE
5.11.2015, 0503
Murmansk, Russia

http://i.imgur.com/8zYie5B.png

No sooner was the squad dropped off -- literally -- than they spotted a pair of seekers. They didn't see us yet. Duncan Ross was the first to get into good position for a shot at them. He missed, and both of them went to stealth. Pillai moved in to toss a scanner ... they'd moved toward us, there was a canister on the other side of the plaza, and no other enemies apparent nearby.

Four shot at the leader, three hit it, two managed to get through it's armor. It was badly damaged but still up. Chilong's first shot on an XCOM mission took out the second. The leader missed a shot at private Cullen, but two more seekers showed up at the left end of the plaza, apparently intent on flanking us.

Chilong Zhang managed to miss the damaged seeker twice. Ross did as well. This was not the way to start. Pillai finished it off but had to leave herself a bit exposed to fire from the other two in order to do it. Kodos missed the leader, and the rest looked for good cover.

It went from suck to blow at that point. Three thin men appeared at the other end, one shooting and other others going to defensive positions. Both seekers advanced, only one hitting for a flesh wound on LT Brodie. We were fortunate they didn't do more damage, but we were really up against it here.

http://i.imgur.com/Xi8WMSn.png
Axle gets hit first, thankfully nothing vital was impacted

Pillai dashed back that way, drawing their fire, then tossed a flashbang that just barely managed to catch all three thin men in the blast radius. That would only work if we could take out the seekers, because she was going to be a sitting duck to them now. We couldn't shoot worth a crap unforunately. The leader seeker was hit three times, damaging it but still up. Nothing happened to the second one. The seekers tag-teamed Kodos, and there was nothing I could do. He was gone. Pillai panicked, one thin man suppressed her, one shot at her, one shot at Zhang ... both missed.

http://i.imgur.com/9OtptBq.png
The story of today's action in a nutshell. Banerjee fires at one of two big, close targets, and can't hit them.

http://i.imgur.com/8MHeesV.png
The others can only watch in horror as Chris Kodos is obliterated. We hardly knew ye.

Brodie took out one seeker, but everyone else was either panicked, out of ammo, or barely able to scratch the second. It missed Brodie, but two of the thin man hit Zhang and he was critically wounded.

http://i.imgur.com/C9SQa39.png
Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang was next on the aliens' hit parade. He was one of the few effective against the seekers, but paid a price for it

Pillai moved in to take out one thin man, while Ross flash-banged the remaining pair. Everyone else was out of ammo and had to just reload. The seeker, nearly 'dead', went to stealth. An acid attack on Pillai did little.

http://i.imgur.com/KOkMGJ5.png
Duncan Ross buys time, especially for scout Pillai, with our last flashbang

Ross moved in to take out a second thin man. Banerjee knocked out the last one's cover and badly damaged it, while Cullen finished the job. Brodie did her medic thing, stabilizing Zhang, saying 'Walk it off'. Yeah, you try to 'walk off' a pair of plasma blasts to the face, Axle!

http://i.imgur.com/dEr1Abj.png
Banerjee's 'renovation' of the plaza ensured the final thin man would be easy pickings

Then the seeker was back, shooting Cullen in the back. Fortunately she was ok, and finished the enemy off herself.

Post-Mortem

Well, that pretty much sucked. The moral of this story is ... when you get ambushed, take advantage of any opportunity to thin their numbers. Normally we have, but there were way too many good shots missed on this operation. When you do that, and you don't have any room to maneuver, people die. 7 aliens killed, and private Chris Kodos light was extinguished. We'd been tempting fate a lot lately and what goes around comes around, unfortunately this was one of those days.

Ross and Cullen(1-week injury) were promoted, while Zhang, fortunate to be alive, was gravely wounded and will be gone about six weeks. I'm told there is a very real risk of PTSD in his case.

Artifacts Recovered

3 Thin Man Corpses
3 kg Elerium
4 kg Alien Alloys
3 Weapon Fragments
4 Seeker Wrecks

Brian Swartz

05-12-2015, 01:24 AM

Unfortunately Private Chris Kodos ended up being far better at being shot by aliens than shooting them. He had one burst bounce off a seeker and another completely miss before getting killed faster than any XCOM soldier has been killed before.

Should you choose to re-enlist/re-spawn/reincarnate/etc. the good news is there are enough privates right now that you would be able to get a talented one in the area of your choice.

Duncan Ross, you did better on your second mission than your first, which was decent. You have been promoted to Specialist! The choices given were Rocketeer or Gunner.

Commander's Recommendation: We have six gunners right now, more than any other class and they aren't in particularly high demand. I recommend against that strongly. You'd make a fair Rocketeer, low mobility means it would be hard to carry multiple rockets but you have solid aim so accuracy shouldn't be a major issue in general. We've currently got four of those, which is the amount we have of most classes, none have less, so it would be a decent opportunity. Going random could either be better or worse, probably in equal probabilities. It's a tough call but given that we have two of our rocketeers currently out on fairly long-term injuries, I'd say rocketeer by a nose.

Specialist Duncan Ross, you are on the clock.

Greyfriars Bobby

05-12-2015, 07:33 AM

Commander, I'll follow your recommendation and choose Rocketeer.

Brian Swartz

05-12-2015, 11:31 AM

Rocketeer it is.

Health: 3(--)
Will: 41(+7)
Aim: 72(+5)

Solid work, that. I'd say you're off to a good start. As it happened, Cullen went Rocketeer as well.

Kodos

05-12-2015, 03:48 PM

That was... brief. Although fairly reminiscent of how fights go when I play X-com on my PS3.

Pick out a promising recruit for me. Son of Kodos shall avenge me!

Brian Swartz

05-12-2015, 04:21 PM

Will do. I have a few questions though to nail down your next avatar, as it were.

What name should I use? Chris Kodos II? SonOf Kodos? Something completely different?

Assuming you have the same preferences as before(high Aim, low defense, male and blonde) I have a Canadian who would fit the bill only 4th on the current list of privates. Problem is that its a she, so maybe a Christy or Kristina Kodos? :P Otherwhise, I have males that fit as well but much further down the list. 8th is a 70-aim Korean with very poor will so not that far down, but after that we've got to go almost all the way to the bottom for a Brazilian and a Scot(71 and 72 aim, as good as we've seen so far)

Let me know what you'd like, I figure since we got you killed so quickly the least I can do is fix you up with the next character :).

Kodos

05-12-2015, 05:12 PM

Christy Kodos works.

Brian Swartz

05-13-2015, 04:10 AM

Private Christy Kodos, currently 4th out of 18 privates with the last 7 more due to arrive in the next 48 hours or so.

Health: 3
Mobility: 13
Will: 28
Aim: 72
Defense: -1

http://i.imgur.com/wl5nxDs.png

May 11, 2045 -- The first of the new arc throwers is finished.

May 12 -- Whiskey Khumalo is back. Around 0745 Germany came in with a request for 6oz. of MOG. Expensive, but it was given in exchange for a pair of scientists.

At 1915, a small scout was detected over the Atlantic, well west of the UK. 'Lunchbox' Turnbull took heavy damage in getting his first confirmed kill, but that was better than the scout fared. It broke up in mid-air, and we received only the Council bounty. It was enough to mostly pay for a new satellite(12.6m).

2245 -- Report complete on sectoid interrogation ...

http://i.imgur.com/H9BwTS2.png
Bradford arrives in the primary research complex to discuss the findings with Dr. Vahlen

Bradford: So, how'd it go Doctor?

Vahlen: Better than expected. Before the creature expired, I was able to extract some new information from it.

Bradford: You're saying that thing spoke to you?

Vahlen: Not precisely. But when you have access to a creature's brain, certain patterns can be discerned -- recent images and thoughts.

Bradford: And what exactly was our late friend thinking about?

Vahlen: This particular image occurred in the creature's thought patterns several times throughout the procedure.

http://i.imgur.com/fv0V8hI.png

Bradford(mildly frustrated): We've already met that thing, Doctor! This is hardly the kind of breakthrough we're ...

Vahlen(interrupting): And ... there was a neural link in the creature's mind between that image, and this one.

http://i.imgur.com/2jj3vjp.png
Bradford's latest 'Eureka' moment. We have a new target, a new directive

Bradford(with recognition and a little excitement): That's the thing that pulled a disappearing act when we shot down our first UFO. And let me guess -- you want to poke around in it's head too.

Vahlen: It is the next piece of the puzzle. And this time, instead of shooting it, I suggest we attempt to capture it alive.

The interrogation report was filed under Project Roanoke.

"... a learning experience for all parties involved. ... traditionally an interrogation would involve a discussion or sorts ... We were instead forced to undertake a more aggressive approach, namely, through a series of cranial probes inserted into the subject's prefrontal cortex."

I'm guessing this was not a pleasant experience.

"we were able to discern a great deal of information ... seemed to have little understanding of the various modifications it had been subjected to at some point ... we did garner some information relating to the aliens miniaturized implants and power cells"

The unoffical triumvirate(Bradford/Shen/Vahlen) has recommended twin goals for our next strategic step. Capturing an outsider per their conversation in the first, researching the alien genome is the second. Learning more about our enemy continues to be the focus of XCOM's efforts.

Dr. Vahlen believes we will be able to apply the knowledge of Project Roanoke to investigations into the field of cybernetics. It was the plan to do an autopsy of thin man corpses at this point, but only slightly slower and more vital given what we have learned is the field of xenogenetics. Dr. Vahlen states that the aliens cells have been found to be 'rife with' the mysterious orangish stuff we have been finding, and that potential applications on our soldiers may result. With the information gleaned from the sectoid, this study can now be completed in just over a week. The go-ahead was given, and the required 10 oz. of the goo as requested for the work.

Vahlen: We should be focused on capturing this strange alien creature, the one that formed around the crystal when we downed the first UFO. It's all we have to go on at the moment!

Shen: In times of war there's always a general, a leader. These aliens can be no different. The real question is, what kind of power or authority does it take to command such a vast array of alien species? What incentive do they have to follow through with this plan?

I'm more interested in the 'real question' of where is King Tut of the alien collective so we can blow it to kingdom come. I'll worry about the philosophical horsehockey afterwards.

Bradford: Dr. Vahlen's interrogation technique certainly is .... efficient. You'd never know it by looking at her, but that woman is an alien's worst nightmare.

Brian Swartz

05-14-2015, 06:25 AM

May 13, 0950 -- A couple new soldiers arrive, and a pair of new trade requests. We can fulfill one, shipping 8 weapons fragments to the US in exchange for another engineer.

1345 -- Second arc thrower is finished.

Brian Swartz

05-15-2015, 12:48 AM

May 14, 0245 -- Small, unidentified class of UFO spotted over the eastern Atlantic. It's on a high trajectory with that 'scanning' signal emittion again. Hopefully our two remaining fighters are enough to handle this. 'Boss' Bordoni is up first. He did considerable damage to it, but 'Notso' Sharpe was not so fortunate(pun intended), unable to finish it off before the UFO broke contact.

0553 -- That UFO is still out there but we have no more fighters available to send up, all of them are in repair for the second time. The last of the soldiers are now on site. We have 62 total, 25 of them privates. There is much training work to be done.

0950 -- Still the UFO flits about near the UK. 8 Weapon Fragments are traded to the country for an engineer. Soon afterwards the ship disappears. Whatever it was doing, it appears we once again dissuaded it from it's mission.

1615 -- We now have one fighter back in service, and a low-flying scout is spotted to the north. This is not an important enough task for a lone interceptor to deal with, and we let it go. It will be over a week until we have another one back, and for that time we're back in a situation where we can only afford to go after the most dangerous and vital contacts. Eventually the scout flies out of satellite scanner range, having finished whatever it was up to.

Brian Swartz

05-15-2015, 01:40 AM

Strategic Update
From the Desk of the Commander

As mentioned, the last few days have wrapped up a few issues at XCOM. We have a lot of new soldiers, and now two of every five are privates. There's a lot of training to do but we have little control over that other than waiting to see what missions come up. All three officers available have been commissioned, and it will yet be a while until any are ready to be promoted again. We also have two arc throwers built and ready to be used when needed. The only real short-term project right now is the latest research into xenogenetics, which is expected to last another few days and be completed on or around May 20th.

In the bigger picture, getting satellite coverage over all of North America by the end of June is still the focus of our efforts. Time is becoming an issue. We have a month and a half left, but there are many steps needed. We need an access lift first, followed by excavation so we can build another power generator. That group of projects will take a few weeks, and then afterwards another three weeks to build the satellite uplink. We cannot afford to wait any longer: if we do, we will miss the target on this and the savings are expected to be about 15 million in the first month and more as time goes on. The vital importance of the air war has been shown once again recently in the fact that we have no active fighters ready to go up for the second time.

Unfortunately, we don't have the funds to start on the access lift: there is 5.8m of the 10 million needed in the treasury. That meant yet another artifact sell-off was needed. A single one of the valuable UFO Power Sources brought in six million. We still have five more of them remaining, and they are of no current use. One wonders if there will be a price for this down the road, but all I can do is what seems best at the moment. Soon our first new construction in weeks was begun, the access lift down to Sublevel 4.

Meanwhile, it's a good time to take a look at the latest headlines ...

In The News

** Reports indicate unidentified object shot down after prolonged aerial battle with unknown fighter craft
** German government issues small laser weapons to civilians, citing 'civil defense'
** Australian Navy seen conducting unusual patrols along the coast following sightings of 'alien craft'
** Images of British soldiers going into battle with advanced alien weaponry posted on Internet
** Images of American soldiers going into battle with advanced alien weaponry posted on Internet

Meanwhile, overheard in Mission Control ...

Bradford, to a technician: 'Are you really using our tracking terminal to play Civilization? I at least hope you're going for a military victory'

Do shut up. Both of you. NOW. '

Shen: 'I can only imagine what the brave new world will face if the aliens succeed in their efforts'

Focus, doctor. We can only control what we can control. Fearful hypotheticals are not useful here.

path12

05-15-2015, 01:01 PM

LCPL Path Twelve was given the Executioner training.

Health: 3(--)
Will: 36(+2)
Aim: 80(+5)

Not great, but enough of a shooting increase to keep her among the elite.

Sorry, I've been swamped the past few weeks and wasn't around. Back now though!

Brian Swartz

05-15-2015, 10:53 PM

No problem, I expect some in and out stuff like that with a project this long.

CDB, May 16 -- Heavy UFO activity reported in Australia during the morning hours on the 15th.

Brian Swartz

05-16-2015, 03:11 AM

May 16, 0224 -- Abduction alert reported in China! This one looks like a little tougher than usual, moderate resistance and because of it another million in reward money for a total of 9m. The squad will take two privates along instead of the usual three for a light mission.

Strike Team

LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale(JPN, Infantry, CO)
SPEC Carl Tanner(USA, Scout)
SPEC Soledad Sanchez(MEX, Medic)
LCPL Yolanda Pena(ESP, Engineer)
SPEC Takumi Fujita(JPN, Sniper)
PFC Rin Mori(JPN)
PFC Elfriede Fischer(DEU)

Sheriff gets her first mission command here, and other than Pena it's a relatively inexperienced group. The privates are fairly balanced soldiers, nothing all that special about them one way or another. She is warned before liftoff that the LZ is expected to be hot, there won't be a lot of time to get organized if that report is accurate. Tanner and Mori are packing arc throwers, in the event we have a decent opportunity to use them. Dr. Vahlen advises that it would be especially useful to interrogate a different species of alien other than the already captured and disposed of sectoid ...

Brian Swartz

05-17-2015, 08:14 PM

OPERATION ENDURING SCEPTER
5.16.2015, 0348
Qinqdao, China

The team deploys in a parking lot outside a bank. No immediate contacts but there is a nearby canister visible.

http://i.imgur.com/VNl3pTP.png

Tanner moves up and almost immediately spots three seekers out that way, with two going to stealth immediately. A pair of floaters are soon spotted in the other direction. Gotta shoot our way out, there's no safe place here. A grenade sets fire to the car the floaters are hiding behind, and a pair of shooters, ending with Sanchez, takes out the leader. The second retreats, but we weren't able to do anything to the seekers with a couple misses. The visible one shoots private Mori, who is then further strangled by one of the stealthers.

http://i.imgur.com/LKMSxfg.png

So we've got to rescue Mori, and additionally have another seeker and a floater out there, along with somewhere another stealthed bastard. Pena moves to give herself cover from the floater, but misses. Two on-target bursts from Sheriff mostly bounce off, and Mori is still in the enemy's grip. Fischer manages to miss as well. This wasn't the idea, people. Sanchez of all people takes care of it with a SMG burst, and Fujita moves in with a medkit to try and keep Mori alive.

http://i.imgur.com/2yUZZ6L.png
Sheriff Gale can't break the grip of this seeker, and we're under attack, exposed and/or flanked right off the bat with no chance for a defensible position

The remaining seeker shows up and strangles Tanner. We're in basically the same situation with less ammo, but at least all of the enemies have showed up. They miss a pair of shots which was silly fortunate. Another grenade by Pena is surprisingly effective, dismissing the floater. That's one threat down. A shot is missed at Fujita, but the rest of the shooters were unable to loosen the grip on Tanner so he's in serious trouble now.

http://i.imgur.com/qj8PhYy.png
Scout specialist Carl Tanner learns that being strangled by a seeker is ... unpleasant. Especially when your squadmates don't shoot for crap and can't break the hold in a timely manner

Another round of firing and we loosen the grip of the strangling seeker, almost killing it, and Mori is able to damage the second one. The first goes to stealth, who knows where it is, while the second learns how to shoot and Fujita takes a plasma wound. We miss the exposed one six times. Six. Nobody could hit it. It reloads, while the strangler is back going after Tanner again.

http://i.imgur.com/Nrjtkb8.png
A wonderful game of Miss The Exposed Target was played here. Actually not wonderful at all. It's a wonder everyone didn't end up dead.

http://i.imgur.com/jTWvC8x.png
The only reason they didn't is our foe was just as hilariously inept much of the time.

Fischer finishes the job on that one. Then Sheriff takes out the other. Finally. Five enemies down, half the squad got injured, and it could have been worse. They've barely moved since dropping in. The raspy sounds of thin men can be heard, but first it's time to expend nearly all our medikits healing up and get set to move out.

They don't give us enough time to be fully ready. A thin man and a seeker, but we're ready enough to get a couple of reaction shots . Fujita's sniper rifle takes a moderate bite out of the thin man. I'm sick of seekers. Really sick of them. Fujita fires again, and downs the latest flying monstrosity. Sheriff Gale does the whole lead by example thing, finishing off the thin man. Seven, and we aren't done yet. The squad tries again to get ammo'd up.

http://i.imgur.com/5MCoPT3.png

More thin men are heard. Superb. It sounded like they might be on the roof, but Tanner moved up there and ... nothing. Still was a better place to maneuver from. It would be nice to capture one of them ...

Then a sectoid burst through the building and two thin men did those impossible jumps up to the roof. From what we've been hearing, this was probably the last of them. A pinpoint shot by Pena ended the sectoid. Fischer got herself a facefull of acid to take out one of the thin men. The leader is all that was left. We weren't likely to get a better chance than this, but it was holed up pretty good. An AP grenade from Pena helped, but we still needed to weaken it more.

http://i.imgur.com/1g510Ii.png

The thin man spewed an acid cloud at Fischer and Tanner. That would complicate matters. Another grenade by Pena would probably just kill it. A pistol shot added a further wound, and it was time to take the chance. About a coin flip chance, but Tanner's arc thrower failed. Mori was too far away to get there in time. The thin man made a run for it, jumping off the roof. Fujita's pistol shot could have killed it, but just wounded it further. It was almost dead now.

After Tanner revealed it's position -- and dodged some point-blank fire -- Mori hopped down to give the other one a try. Thankfully, it worked.

http://i.imgur.com/sPGjGxw.png

Post-Mortem

A very dangerous operation, but ultimately successful. We have now captured a thin man and all told ten of the enemy were dispatched. No soldier deaths, but Tanner will be out a few days and Mori three weeks. Three promotions. Though Mori stunned the thin man, she didn't get one which surprised me. Surviving the attack on all sides at the start was quite tense, and a little surprising. I was also surprised to have only two lost to injury by the end of it.

Artifacts Recovered

1 Alien Carbine
1 Sectoid Corpse
1 Floater Corpse
2 Thin Man Corpses
1 Thin Man Captive
3 Elerium
4 Alien Alloys
4 Weapon Fragments
1 oz. MOG
4 Seeker Wrecks

The reward money will be held in the treasury, for use in excavation once the access lift is finished.

Brian Swartz

05-17-2015, 08:16 PM

Nigeria traded two engineers for a sample of the orangish stuff later in the day, putting us near our limit on that with another 6 oz. going out. Three more soldiers were back by the end of the day as well.

May 17 -- Two more including LT Axle were back in the morning. Another small, unidentified class, high-orbit UFO emitting that 'scanning' signal arrived. I have only one ship to send up. 'Mangler' Neale is launched. He's nearly shot down, lands only one stingray hit but it's enough to do major damage. Too bad we didn't have anyone else left to go finish the job.

That will leave XCOM once again without fighter coverage for several more days. The UFO eventually left with no real clue to what it's mission really was.

2155 -- Another one showed up, same deal. Small, unknown class, high trajectory, scanning signal, but this time there was nothing I could do but wait and see what would happen. At the same time, the UK requested a weapon fragments for engineer trade. We don't have enough to spare, so it was rejected.

Brian Swartz

05-19-2015, 02:41 PM

May 18, 0602 -- We finally found out what those 'scanner' UFOs are up to, and it's not good. The ship shot down our satellite over the United Kingdom! The British are understandably not pleased. Next month's funding from the islands will be considerably reduced, and the alert level both there and in France has been raised from Green to Aqua. This is a major blow to our efforts against the aliens here in Europe.

Coffee Warlord returned to active duty in the morning as well after an extended injury recovery period .

Brian Swartz

05-21-2015, 12:34 PM

CDB, May 20

Australia wants to trade cash for 8 kg alien alloys. Another 12m is added to the treasury ,and is much needed. Later our injured list is reduced by one as well.

Brian Swartz

05-22-2015, 12:46 AM

This is a completely out-of-character post as a heads-up on some personal stuff. Crazy weekend at work but I should have the thread back up to date by Saturday mid-afternoon at the latest. Also, my ankle issue which I mentioned once before I think in this thread is going to cause a bit of adjustment.

The diagnosis basically is that some time last fall I twisted my ankle and broke off a ligament from the talus(and a very small piece of bone, but that's not causing any problems). The ligament is bunched up and causing all manner of problems, including rather massive inflammation throughout the joint. Having exhausted all other possible options, I am having 'minor' surgery on June 3rd. For at least two weeks afterwards I will be in a cast, hopefully able to start using it some after that if everything goes well.

As of right now I'm planning on 'playing ahead' a few days prior to going in for the operation and then I'll resume updating the thread whenever.

Brian Swartz

05-23-2015, 12:44 PM

May 20, 0155 -- After spending ten minutes in an emergency conference with the Council, Bradford informs me of a disturbing new threat. A quasi-terrorist organization known as EXALT has been uncovered by intelligence agencies. To call them misguided is an understatement -- apparently they are attempting to undermine XCOM's field operations, intent on acquiring alien technology and artifacts. It's hard to believe, but they seem to share more sympathy for the alien cause than their fellow humans. Their first strike was in Russia, where a propaganda campaign has increased panic to the previously unseen Orange status. There is considerable instability in the nation right now. We must stop these activities as soon as possible: it's hard enough to combat the aliens without being sabotaged by our own species!

As this new enemy specializes in striking from the shadows, as it were, the only way we can combat them is to first send in a covert operative. Emphasizing disguise and mobility, covert operatives cannot be a gunner or rocketeer, and they carry no primary weapons, only a pistol. They are trained in various skills for data gathering and disrupting EXALT communications however. LCPL Amber Mitchell(ZAF, Scout) is selected to infiltrate/disrupt/destroy the cell in Australia. According to Bradford, it is expected to take her about a week to investigate the situation.

0655 -- As the latest priority research is completed, another meeting is recorded between Bradford and the two doctors ...

http://i.imgur.com/EZyZl80.png

Bradford: So ... what is it, Doctor?

Vahlen: It's ... ... remarkable!

Commander: *Facepalm* **Double Facepalm** ... (thinking) you didn't answer the question . ..

Vahlen: The crystalline structure housed within the canister is actually a suspension, containing billions of cybernetic nanomachines, each made up of both organic and mechanical components.

http://i.imgur.com/ka8cGvE.png

Shen(walking to another monitor, Bradford follows and Vahlen looks on from her station): My team's analysis indicates these microscopic robots are capable of assembling mechanical structures with unprecedented facilities. With further study, and some specialized facilities, we may be able to engineer a sort of cybersuit that interfaces with the human body.

http://i.imgur.com/DEC73wD.png

Vahlen(speaking over him): MY team is more interested in the possibility of physically altering the tissue itself; incorporating aspects of the aliens own adaptations by using the nanites to fuse the foreign material.

http://i.imgur.com/y0aeAoA.png
One does not simply get the last word in over Dr. Vahlen. She won't allow it

Bradford: The Commander will have to decide where the greatest advantage lies. Is there anything you agree on?

Shen graps his chin, deep in thought.

Vahlen: Given the apparent purpose of the nanites, they allow combining organic materials with one another, or with machines. We have at least agree to call them ...

Shen(decisively): Meld.

After all that, they've definitely announced that ... the mysterious orangish goo has a name. Meld. That's fantastic. The xenogenetics research has been codenamed Project Purity.

'the amazing Meld subtance ... appears capable of rewriting the genome to a specific design in a way similar to how we install computer software. ... we were able to devise several methods that allow for direct manipulation of the Meld substance and it's physical properties. ... should allow for a wide range of applications in the field of genetic modification, although we will need to build a dedicated research facility to enable these potential research pathways. It is probable that the invaders are already more familiar with Meld than we are'

Essentially a denser version of the meeting transcript. Dr. Shen reports that a Genetics Lab for this purpose will require a relatively modest amount of power, and cost 20 million to construct. After we get satellites up over North America, this may well become a top priority, but we will not be able to divery resources to it anytime soon.

Vahlen has also noted that as a result of this discovery, we have the potential to research ways of duplicating the mental powers of enemies such as the sectoids. While this is definitely an exciting possibility, we don't have quite enough staff right now to pursue it efficiently. The planned Thin Man Autopsies will proceed next, with an expected time of just under a week.

Later in the day, a few more soldiers returned to duty, and the UK officially requested a replacement satellite.

Brian Swartz

05-23-2015, 12:54 PM

May 21, 1655 -- The Council sends an urgent burst transmission, requiring my presence in the Situation Room. They report that there is a developing situation in Newfoundland. Apparently a fishing village on the coast has gone completely dark. While this would not ordinarily be a particularly large concern in the grand scheme of things, they claim to have intel pointing to alien involvement. They want an investigation and are willing to pay 22.5 million to get it.

This is a big opportunity to solve the mystery and get a considerable amount of much-needed cash. Three more soldiers have returned to active duty, leaving only Mitchell out on her mission in Russia and four on the injured list, the lowest unavailability we've had in a long time. As with all Council requests, this has been classified as a Priority Mission.

Strike Team

LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke(USA, Scout, CO)
CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Carter(USA, Infantry)
CPL Thozama 'Whiskey' Khumalo(ZAF, Medic)
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason(UK, Assault)
CPL Yolanda 'Angel' Pena(ESP, Engineer)
LCPL Shigeru Endo(JPN, Rocketeer)
LCPL Jace Hunter(FRA, Sniper)

The best of the best here, with Jace Hunter the lone FOFC representative on the squad.

Brian Swartz

05-24-2015, 02:51 PM

OPERATION BURNING ENGINE
5.21.2015, 1801
St. John's, Canada

Bradford gives me the latest as we touch down. Apparently locals were investigating a mayday signal from a ship docking at the village when all contact was lost. Not just the village, but a rescue team and the ship itself, everything went dark at apparently the same time. Something fishy(pun intended) is definitely going on here. Maximum caution is the order of the day until we find out what it is.

It doesn't take long for us to hear them ... chryssalids. Lots of chrysallids. They seem to coming from up on a right, where there's a truck parked by some buildings. We focus in that direction ... slowly. Those things are fast, and we don't want to be caught by surprise.

http://i.imgur.com/ODYomnR.png

Burke spots a zombie briefly on the flatbed of the truck. Bradford, ever filling his role as captain obvious, says that this means chrysallids won't be far behind. No kidding?! Spitfire Mason stays at a safe distance, and is still able to drop the zombie with a shotgun blast. That was a bit fortunate, but I'll take it. We hear more noise further out to the right, the squad will need to keep shifting in that direction. Meanwhile another zombie approaches. Hunter sends it flying with another one-shot kill. Well done sir!

http://i.imgur.com/8n4QHv0.png

We move up, and several chrysallids, I think four of them, come at us from ahead and some from the left by the docks. This is about to get real. Carter and Endo combine to take out the closest one. Two more scamper into view, and Whiskey Khumalo injures one of them. Hunter finishes off the wounded one, while Pena and Carter take out the third. We'll stay right here for the moment and see if anything else is coming this way.

Nothing. At least we've taken down a few of them, hopefully that will improve the odds. Pena hears more straight to the left out by the docks, but from a tactical point of view I want to clear the area straight ahead. If we head left now we could easily be fighting them in two directions. No thank you. And unless my eyes deceived me, there's still one out there that we saw but retreated. I don't want to walk into an ambush.

http://i.imgur.com/mbAPLDi.png

There's lots of high ground available in the more open area ahead, positions that I would like to gradually acquire as we sweep the village. Burke moves on top of one of the platforms, and then that remaining purple menace decides to attack ... by using the roof. We wound it on the way in, and then Carter is the closest and finishes the job. Six down.

http://i.imgur.com/M0ymAWH.png
Chryssalids are fast enough without lightning reflexes, the lastest improvement we've noticed. Whiskey gets in a shot here anyway though, but we missed a couple other tries

Pena reports more sounds further ahead, another sizable building past these towers or whatever they are. We approach from the front and right side, and soon a zombie emerges. Pena and Burke are the closest and they eliminate it.

A zombie comes at us from the docks, wounded by Carter ... and then a chryssalid hops out of a shark hanging down by the docks. Bradford, ever the master of understatement: 'that's new'. Endo gets a better look at the large ship docked here, and it appears to have been overrrun by something. It seems probable it's the source of the problem here, and Bradford again: 'I guess we should be thankful it wasn't a cruise liner'. We maintain our distance, and Hunter continues his good shooting by finishing off the chryssalid after Endo wounds it. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Oh, perhaps too soon?

http://i.imgur.com/Mww3xUd.png

We can't see the zombie from here due to the angle down on the docks, so we'll just wait for it. Except this time it doesn't come. The only thing left is to move towards that ship. Slowly. We can still hear more of them. Mason sees the zombie down some stairs, and ends that threat.

Then suddenly we have more of them. A lot more of them. Two groups of three chrysallids each, one the largest I have ever seen, and a zombie back there as well. They scamper across the ruined deck of the ship towards us. Time for a fighting retreat here. Endo looses a rocket, he was a little too close and is injured by the blast, but takes a couple of them out. Khumalo takes out the third close one.

Burke misses a longer-range try, but Hunter gets yet another tally while Mason wounds a big one. There's still two plus that zombie, which is further back. The chryssalids jump up from the docks but can't reach us in time. They are right on top of Endo when he finishes one off and multiple shooters end the second one. Hunter and Khumalo combine to take out the zombie, and I have no clue how many of these things we've killed now but once again we are clear for the moment.

http://i.imgur.com/wnL1Cfu.png
or not

Only for the moment. Three more, out by the docks but closer to where we landed. Whiskey gets Endo healed up and he treats them to a shredder rocket. Carter and Hunter each finish one off, but Burke misses the third and Pena's burst leaves it barely still up. Mason was the last person with a chance, moving in for an easy shotgun execution. That was fairly close, down to our last gun but we don't hear any more of them.

http://i.imgur.com/KkNsFhQ.png
This rocket worked a little better

Then there's the sound of more out inside that ship. There's nothing for it now, to investigate further we have to go down onto the docks. Mason and Endo cross a makeshift wooden 'bridge' onto the upper deck of the ship itself. They see nothing, it appears to be coming from down below.

Burke moves in and all becomes clear. There is a whale in the hold of that ship. Bradford reports that sensors indicate a lot of activity inside it ... we could soon have dozens of chryssalids upon us. More than we can handle. The only option is an air strike, which will require activating the transponder up on the top deck. Mason is already up there and is the fastest that we have. The others will look for good firing positions to cover her while she moves in.

http://i.imgur.com/chnkwem.png
Some things are just too wrong for words

Another chryssalid pops out of the whale before she can reach the transponder, but we have no shots. Spitfire is up to the bridge and activates the transponder. Bradford reports that the air strike is incoming, and we've got only a few minutes to get back to extraction or we'll be caught in the blast. Mason climbs over the side of the ship. It's time to make a run for it.

It isn't long before the chryssalids start 'hatching', or whatever it is they are doing, at a rate of one every 15 seconds or so. They give chase, but we've got more than enough of a head start and everyone makes it back with plenty of time to spare. The Skyranger takes off, and the team is glad just to have made it out of that hellhole.

http://i.imgur.com/5sBupuS.png
A nice, peaceful village ...

http://i.imgur.com/0ijKMhm.png
So much for that

Post-Mortem

26 aliens were killed by the ground team, and goodness knows how many more by the bombing raid. The only injury is that of Endo, inflicted by his own rocket blast. Jace Hunter takes the moniker of 'Walker', at least temporarily, and is the only promotion despite the success. The Council promises a full assessment of the risk to the world's oceans, and suggests that we just got a glimpse of how the Earth would be transformed if the aliens win. It wasn't a pretty picture.

Overall, a fantastic mission.

Brian Swartz

05-24-2015, 03:04 PM

Promotions

Jace Hunter, you are now the first sniper corporal! If you don't like the callsign 'Walker', pick another one. Also,

** Disabling Shot: A sniper skill that allows a shot which causes the main weapon of the target enemy to malfunction. They can use reload to fix the weapon. This does very little damage but is an effective way to take a powerful enemy out of the fight.
** Precision Shot: A sniper-only shot that ignores long-range critical chance penalties, gets an extra +30% to critical chance, and extra damage on critical hits based on the quality of the weapon.
** Snap Shot: Allows firing or overwatch after moving, at a modest -10 penalty to aim

Commander's Recommendation: This is more a stylistic choice than anything else. Snap Shot is beneficial when you aren't quite in the right position to fire on an enemy. Disabling shot can take a powerful enemy out of the fight for a moment, helping the rest of the squad have time to take out some foes. Precision Shot is the choice for a real heavy-hitting sniper. I think either Disabling Shot or Precision Shot is best. It's probably a coin-flip as to which is better and really depends on the situation.

CPL Jace Hunter, you are on the clock.

Travis

05-24-2015, 08:03 PM

Nice mission! I'll stick with the assigned call sign and I'll take the Precision Shot upgrade please.

Brian Swartz

05-25-2015, 03:56 AM

So be it. CPL Jace 'Walker' Hunter, you had 5 kills by the way raising your total to 13. That's not at the top of the list, but it definitely puts you in the elite of XCOM soldiers.

I'll do your promotion as soon as I'm done with the current mission. Speaking of which ...

After the Newfoundland chryssalid-fest, 6 Sectoid Corpses were dealt to Egypt for another scientist. And then the next day ...

May 22, 1025 -- Access lift finished. Excavating the space for the power generator will take another five days, and cost 4m. At least we have plenty of cash at the moment.

1833 -- It never rains, but it pours. Just over 24 hours after the Newfoundland crisis, there is another one brewing. Apparently the terror attack last month in Melbourne was not a one-off: Nigeria is now receiving the brunt of the alien wrath.

Strike Squad

LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale(JPN, Infantry, CO)
LCPL Coffee Warlord(ISR, Scout)
LCPL Georgia Murdoch(AUS, Medic)
LCPL Ivan Drago(HON, Assault)
LCPL Amiyah Banerjee(NIG, Engineer)
LCPL Dean Hoo(UKR, Gunner)
LCPL Esperanza Guerrero(ESP, Rocketeer)

This is not as good a group as just went out on Burning Engine, but it's pretty darn good. Sheriff Gale gets her second mission as squad commander, and will have plenty of FOFC help in lance corporals Coffee Warlord, Ivan Drago, and Dean Hoo. Meanwhile, it's an interesting choice emotionally to send out engineer Amiyah Banerjee here, as she'll be attempting to defend her home country. It seems clear the aliens are out for revenge on this one, and these seven soldiers are all that stands between them and the innocent Nigerian civilians.

Brian Swartz

05-27-2015, 04:03 AM

OPERATION BLOODY SHROUD
5.22.2015, 1918
Benin City, Nigeria

The squad touches down in a miserable downpour on a bombed-out highway. A large bus separates us from the other side, an area that must be secured if we wish to avoid a large-scale flank which I certainly do.

http://i.imgur.com/jM87fXa.png

They spot nothing initially, but among the sounds are a trio of seekers popping in to say hello. Surprisingly, none of them go to stealth, they simply fly toward us in a group. We've got enough to guns to take them all down, with Drago, Hoo, and someone else that I forgot getting the kills.

http://i.imgur.com/sjCqZsA.png

Soon both sides of the thoroughfare are secured, though we've heard the dying screams of a couple of civilians as well. Coffee Warlord moves forward past the end of the bus a bit ... and spots a trio of purple spidery fiends. Superb. he retreats immediately. Our best chance here is a grenade or rocket and he'd be caught in the blast. Guerrero unleashes a shredder, Drago is unfortunately caught in the edge of the blast but it was necessary to thin the herd here. It takes everyone, but Gale, Hoo, and Murdoch get the kills and we surivive the ambush. Meanwhile, a zombie is headed toward us but we are encouraged by the fact that no more civilians have bought it in the meantime.

http://i.imgur.com/hubZIE7.png

We're running low on ammo, a situation exacerbated by Hoo and Warlord both missing open shots at the approaching undead. Banerjee uses an AP grenade to help that a bit, Drago gets the kill and a heal from Murdoch. A couple more seekers are spotted further up, but they don't see us yet it doesn't appear. Two more civilians die: 14 left.

Warlord moves up and gets a better look -- yep, two seekers and they brought a drone with them as well. Two advance, one of the seekers goes to stealth. Drago moves in ... and three more chryssalids show up. He'll have to pull back as well, it's rocket time. Guerrero's offering is a little off-target but damages four of them. Banerjee's second grenade does more damage. Gale drops the closest chryssalid, but the second burst just bounces off the seeker. Hoo takes it out, and I can only hope that's enough to survive this wave.

http://i.imgur.com/p81SZdr.png
Juuuust a bit outside ...

http://i.imgur.com/2sM6nse.png
A rare look from the perspective of a seeker, moments before destruction

Another civilian dies, the two wounded chryssalids dash off in search of civilians to kill, and the drone fires at and wounds one without killing it. 13 left. We must push forward. Warlord moves up, spots another zombie, and finishes off one of the spiders. Drago spots two more seekers and another drone. This is getting ridiculous. After a number of missed shots, Guerrero takes out one the first, wounded drone, but we've got a lot of work to do and low on ammunition.

Two of the seekers go back to stealth. More civilians are dying, but it's all we can do to hang on here. Drago takes out the closest zombie, Banerjee the other drone. We miss a couple of other shots. One of the stealthed seekers shows up and attacks Drago, we damage it but can't prevent the stranglehold. Meanwhile almost half of the civilians are gone ...

http://i.imgur.com/XhSoNkK.png
Call him the Zombie-Killer. This is one of many occasions today where Drago sent what used to be a human being to it's grave. Err, second grave.

http://i.imgur.com/HnZ52TW.png
Good shooting here by our Australian medic, but it doesn't dissuade the seeker

Dean Hoo gets a one-burst kill on another zombie, freeing the rest of the team up to rescue Drago. It only takes Gale one shot to do so. We dash down the hill ... which may have been a mistake. A chrysallid comes around a corner and attacks Murdoch, who is very lucky not to be dead. The other stealthed seeker goes after Hoo, another zombie shows up, another chryssalid further down ... there seems to be no end to them here.

http://i.imgur.com/oDHktpR.png
Somehow this purple menace missed most of the vital organs, probably because we had previously wounded it with one of the rockets. It's the first time I've seen anything attacked by one of those things and live to tell about it

Drago dashes over to take out the seeker attacking Hoo, while Guerrero fires a rocket that damages both chryssalids and the zombie over on the left. Banerjee moves in with a grenade, and it's down to a chryssalid and zombie on top of us now, one of the spiders is dead. Time for the Sheriff to lay down the law. He wounds both of them, but can't take either out. Warlord finishes the chryssalid, leaving badly wounded Murdoch to go for the badly wounded zombie ... missed, but it's damaged enough that it can't quite reach Guerrero. We see at least one seeker out there still, but it flies off to shot at a civilian.

http://i.imgur.com/nnHyfX8.png
This wreckage was the major battleground of this mission. Here Gale wounds a chryssalid, with endangered soldiers and dead aliens of every kind strewn all around.

Drago takes care of business on the zombie and it's once again time to move forward. It's soon apparent that the lone seeker is all that's left. Warlord wounds it, Banerjee misses, and Guerrero finishes it off.

It is over.

Post-Mortem

That was just pretty much insane. 21 aliens killed, no operatives lost though Murdoch at the least probably should have been, and 10 of 18 civilians rescued. We were on the edge of being overrun for much of it and needed every last bit of ordnance to survive. I'm very pleased to have gotten through that with no permanant casualties.

Other than rocketeer Guerrero, everyone gets promoted! Six of them, all to corporal or higher! Only Murdoch has to spend any significant time in medical, three weeks after that chryssalid attack. She appears to be no worse for the wear mentally. Benton 'Sheriff' Gale is now the highest-ranking soldier in XCOM, officially now a Second Lieutenant, and is back at the top of the killboard with 21.

Artifacts Recovered

6 Chryssalid Carcasses
2 Drone Wrecks
6 kg Elerium
8 kg Alien Alloys
2 Weapon Fragments
2 oz. Meld
7 Seeker Wrecks

Nigeria is up to Yellow Alert, while Egypt remains at Green.

Brian Swartz

05-27-2015, 04:23 AM

PROMOTIONS

There is a lot of business to take care of here. Five of them to be exact.

CPL Jace 'Walker' Hunter, your choice was already made and here's how you did:

Health: 5(--)
Will: 43(+1)
Aim: 91(+8)

A deadly shooter to be sure, nobody in the agency is even close right now on that score.

LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale, you are now the highest-ranking soldier in XCOM at the moment, up to Second Lieutenant(LT2). 21 kills in 7 missions. Not bad for someone who can't shoot straight.

** Lock N' Load -- One additional burst of ammo capacity before reloading, and you can perform one minor action after reloading.
** Close Combat Specialist -- Automatic reaction shot against any enemy that closes to within 4 tiles.
** Suppression -- Same as the Gunner version of the ability, penalties to aim and mobility on the enemy and a reaction shot if they move.

Commander's Recommendation: A fairly close call between Lock N' Load and Suppression in my view, close combat isn't as useful for infantry. Both are decent, and allow for more tactical flexibility. You make the call.

LCPL Coffee Warlord(7 kills in 4 missions), you are now up to Corporal and have been dubbed 'Slim' unless you'd like a different name.

** Lock N' Load -- As noted above.
** Battle Scanner -- 2 uses per mission.
** Low Profile -- Partial cover acts as full cover.

Commander's Recommendation -- This is a no-brainer. Battle scanner is nice and allows the use of equipment slots for something else, but given the amount of danger scouts face, low profile is the only choice. Commander's prerogative is exercised here and the training is assigned.

Health: 4(+1)
Will: 45(+1)
Aim: 76(+6)

A darn good shot for a scout, and finally not quite as fragile.

LCPL Ivan Drago went on a killing spree and is promoted as well(11 kills in 4 missions). The nickname 'Vandal' has been provisionally assigned, Corporal!

** Battle Scanner -- as above
** Extra Conditioning -- extra health based on the type of armor. Heavier armor increases the bonus.
** Lone Wolf -- +10 aim and critical chance when 7 tiles or more away from all other soldiers in the squad.

Commander's Recommendation -- This is another example of their being only one good choice. Extra Conditioning is by far the best choice, particularly for an assault soldier who is low on physical survivability.

Health: 4(+1)
Will: 40(+8)
Aim: 74(+5)

Good work, this training session went a long way toward correcting the mental vulnerabilities and solid improvement in the other areas.

LCPL Dean Hoo is now a corporal as well after 7 kills in 5 missions. The nickname 'Strobe' has been selected.

** Shredder Ammo -- Any enemy hit takes additional damage from all sources for the next several minutes(4 turns).
** HEAT Ammo -- Additional damage against robotic enemies.
** Sharpshooter -- +10 critical chance always, +10 aim against enemies in full cover.

Commander's Recommendation -- Tough call here. All three are good. I would lean, barely, towards HEAT Ammo. The number of seekers we are facing indicates they are a major part of the alien arsenal and often smaller weapons just have their bullets bounce off the armor. A dedicated seeker-killer would be very valuable. Having said that, any of the choices would prove quite useful. The choice is yours.

CPL Dean 'Strobe' Hoo and LT2 Benton 'Sheriff' Gale, you are on the clock. As ever, if any of the others which to change your nickname/callsign, you may do that as well.

Brian Swartz

05-27-2015, 04:32 AM

Then it was time to relax, heal up, and for the Commander to finally get the timeline up to the current ...

May 23, 0219 -- Abduction alert in Egypt! Heavy resistance for the first time, with a slightly higher 10m reward offered.

So much for that thought. It's been nearly five hours since the terror mission squad came back. Axle is the only officer ready to go and she'll be held back for any possible priority mission that might come up. Given that limitation and the more numerous resistance expected, the squad was limited to only one private. As usual for non-priority missions, the 'next-up' protocol was used for each class.

Strike Squad

SPEC Lakshmi Pillai(NIG, Scout)
LCPL Soledad Sanchez(MEX, Medic)
LCPL Ches O'Peake(USA, Infantry)
LCPL Katia Rivera(MEX, Engineer)
SPEC Duncan Ross(FRA, Rocketeer)
SPEC Alma Demirovic(BIH, Sniper)
PFC Luca Basso(ITA)

O'Peake and Ross will represent FOFC on this op, and provide a considerable amount of the squad's firepower. By way of update, as of this moment Christy Kodos is now the next private slated to go out when the opportunity arises.

Brian Swartz

05-28-2015, 04:02 AM

OPERATION GLASS HEART
5.23.2015, 0243
Cairo, Egypt

I tried to ignore the ominous operation name as they landed in what appeared to be an old military storage yard. Crates, shipping containers, destroyed tanks, there was a little bit of every kind of scrap you can imagine here. It's time to get the drop on the alien scum.

http://i.imgur.com/v85afFr.png

They didn't hear much at first, and saw nothing. There was the sound of possibly floaters, faintly towards a tall building across the yard, but nobody could be sure they weren't imagining it. It was as good a direction as any to work towards though. No canisters in sight either, just a whole lot of nothing. Scout Pillai moved that way and spotted a trio of mutons. Superb. Two of them were clustered together, but crates in the middle blocked any attempt by Ross at a rocket blast and it was way too far for a grenade. We'd have to hole up.

http://i.imgur.com/IPU7QSZ.png

Demirovic had a look at one but missed. Ross could move forward and ready a rocket, but it seemed better to just retreat and see if we could goad them forward, hitting them as they came.

One moved out, O'Peake missing as it did so. They were more spread out now, mostly in defensive positions, but also had left the best cover. This was the time to hit them, if we could. Ross fired his lone rocket at the middle one. That was the leader, and if he missed it might hit one of the others. He didn't miss, and the most dangerous of the three was badly wounded. Another miss by Demirovic, but a fantastic difficult shot by famed screw-up Ches O'Peake impressively took out the enemy on the right. She missed the second burst but it was still a job well done. Katia Rivera's cover wasn't great, but she was just close enough lob an explosive grenade at the crate being used by the one healthy muton. That kind of backfired though when Sanchez completely missed. Pillai had to dodge the angry muton's fire, and did so, wounding it afterwards. Well done, newbie scout! Private Basso nearly finished it off, but couldn't.

http://i.imgur.com/u9ziSVr.png
I know you're just a medic Soledad, but he's just standing there in the open. Seriously.

At that point the mutons turned up the stupid. Both wounded, one suppressed Pillai while the other moved up to the opposite side of her crate. Basso moves up for the point-blank gimme kill. Everyone else just stayed safe, reloaded, and waited for the wounded leader to give us an opening. It turned and ran, and sectoids were heard out there.

Pillai moved up to the roof of the three-story building, and still saw nothing. Strange. Everything she could hear was coming from past the other end of the structure as the rest of the squad moved that direction. She was joined by three others, and then they were spotted. The muton, still moving, was on one side, four sectoids spotted on the other side, both at the far end of the structure. Ross got a shot at one of the scrambling sectoids and almost took it out.

http://i.imgur.com/933i6ZO.png
Haven't seen these guys in a while ...

That muton was just asking for Pillai to drop down over there ... and she spotted four more drones. Ok. This was about to get real. Nine enemies. She missed the muton, just to add to the fun. Basso moved over there ... and also missed. Up top they couldn't see anything. Ross finally ended the muton's participation in this fight.

http://i.imgur.com/15IPRLC.png
Crap on a stick. Nothing wrong with a target-rich environment ... unless we are the targets

The next couple of minutes were crazy. We spotted a couple of floaters on what was now our 'right flank' where the sectoids were, but they didn't see us yet. The sectoids advanced over there but couldn't get a shot. Meanwhile, all four drones missed Pillai, while the only hit we got was Ches O'Peake damaging one of them. We retreated and missed as a rule, with no semblance of a real plan other than staying away from what was now four floaters out there by the sectoids.

http://i.imgur.com/7focbhi.png
When outnumbered, it is critical to thin the herd so to speak. Instead, we got way, way too much of this ...

Finally, Basso planted the damaged drone. Ok, only seven enemies left. Plus another now-four floaters who didn't know we were here yet. Pillai got another one, but then the floaters joined the party and all hell broke loose. Two sectoids hit Sanchez up on the roof somehow, nearly killing her.

O'Peake almost took out one of the floaters, Ross damaged a drone, but there were just too many of them. Rivera had panicked, multiple soldiers were hurt, and the enemy was all over the place. Pillai damaged another drone.

http://i.imgur.com/F77NoIO.png
One of many moments, this one featuring Duncan Ross, in which outnumbered and nearly surrounded, we were fortunate not to have somebody die

Mostly they missed, but one of the floaters went up the roof and flanked Sanchez. She's as good as gone, because nobody is going to get up there to revive her. A floater(O'Peake) and a drone(Ross) were quickly taken out as we just tried to knock out the closest foes and somehow survive this.

http://i.imgur.com/ekrSvlN.png
When this floater knocked our medic out, it looked like this might be Tactical Ops' first failed mission

A combo kill(Rivera grenade and Basso shot) took out one sectoid, while a nice sniper shot by Demirovic got another. The enemy was starting to thin out. They advanced, but only got off one try, a miss at Rivera. The closest drone and floater were taken out, but another floater advanced, flanking and critically wounding Basso. Demirovic panicked. It just would not stop.

Two of us tag-teamed the floater, didn't quite kill it but made it miss. There's not much left on either side. Sanchez bled out, but nobody seems to care anymore. O'Peake finished off the floater, Rivera's last grenade took out the closest sectoid ... who else is even left?

http://i.imgur.com/vutd3Mj.png
Injured engineer Katia Rivera managed to find targets for all of her grenades, and every last one was needed. She managed to keep the sectoids and floaters at bay inside the building for quite a while, saving the rest of the soldiers for handling any penetrations

Looks like just the one sectoid as Pillai moved in. We can still save Basso if we can get him in time ... what the heck, she has an arc thrower and it's almost dead. Why not.

It worked. It's about the only thing that worked today, but it was finally over.

Post-Mortem

14 aliens dead, and one soldier lost. It was an important one, a solid medic in Soledad Sanchez who had 5 kills in as many missions during her career. Today they used our philosphy against us and overwhelmed us with numbers. There were a dozen of them clustered in one sector of the map and they didn't expose themselves to much fire from the rooftop. There are things I could have done better, but for the most part they just ambushed us for once instead of the other way around.

Three others were wounded, all for at least half a month. Two were promoted, sniper Demirovic and private Basso. The latter won't be seen until July though, and is showing early signs of PTSD. It's not surprising. Also injured were Ches O'Peake(again, 2-3 weeks) and engineer Rivera(three weeks). I've been telling myself one of these times we're going to get railroaded and the squad isn't going to come back at all. That almost happened on this mission. Unbelievable nonsense that we got through everything that happened the last couple of days, the Newfoundland crisis and the terror attack in Nigeria, and then this on a freaking abduction mission. It didn't help that almost all of our best were in recovery ...

A wake-up call to be sure. I, and we, cannot afford to be complacement. The enemy is ever-dangerous and growing more irritated with our continued resistance. We must be ever-vigilant.

We have only three medics left, two less than I'd like to have as a minimum. Basso isn't as mobile as I'd like but he's not going to be great at anything else either, particularly now that he's basically afraid of his own shadow. He becomes our fourth. With Murdoch also injured for the next three weeks, over that timeframe we have only two available. That could be big trouble. We have plenty of active soldiers with all the privates, but currently only a dozen experienced ready to go.

Meanwhile, France has been asking for a captive alien for a while now. It's decided it's best to keep it around in case we need it.

Artifacts Recovered

1 Alien Pistol
2 Sectoid Corpses
3 Floater Corpses
3 Muton Corpses
4 Drone Wrecks
1 Sectoid Captive
3 kg Elerium
3 kg Alien Alloys
15 Weapon Fragments
2 oz. Meld

Brian Swartz

05-28-2015, 04:20 AM

May 23, 1438 -- Canada turned down for more sectoid corpses.

1806 -- Large UFO over Germany flying NOE. Best we can hope for is that the only available fighter, piloted by 'Chainsaw' Katz, can dissuade it. Nope.

1905 -- It's landed in Germany. With the soldiers we have out, and as much difficulty as we've had with even medium-sized UFOs, we have no chance at a successful raid. There's no choice but to let the aliens go about their business.

May 24 -- One soldier is back from injury, one of the rocketeers.

May 25 -- 0130, Civilian targets in Australia are bombed. A couple of more experienced soldiers are back including LT Burke.

Germany trades for 8 kg alien alloys(12m). Considering the raid we couldn't stop a couple days ago, it's the least we can do.

[u]May 26 -- Notso Sharpe's fighter is back, given us at least one again. At 0200, we receive word from Mitchell that she is ready for extraction. Due to the need for a stealth approach, the Skyranger can only hold equipment for four operatives on this mission. I've designated it a priority operation given the need to combat EXALT's operations and the uncertainty of the situation. With a smaller team, the goal will be a quick hit-and-run approach, with an emphasis on firepower and mobility.

Extraction Squad

LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke(USA, Scout)
CPL Brooke 'Twitch' Carter(USA, Infantry)
LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie(SCO, Medic, CO)
LCPL Beth Campbell(AUS, Assault)

It's the first time two officers will be sent out on the same mission, but they are the only quality soldiers available at their vital positions. As the more experienced of the two, Brodie will have command of this operation.

Breeze

05-28-2015, 07:27 AM

So help me out...let's see if I am understanding the skills correctly...

Suppression is a skill designed to hinder the enemies aim and movement, and Lock and Load provides me with extra rounds (so assuming extra attacks) before reloading.

Brian Swartz

05-28-2015, 02:34 PM

Both correct

Breeze

05-28-2015, 02:36 PM

So I'll take Supression then...let's help the group as much as possible.

chesapeake

05-28-2015, 02:39 PM

"Famed screw-up" Ches O'Peake had a pretty solid mission. Sucks to be back on the shelf for the better part of another month, though.

Brian Swartz

05-28-2015, 02:40 PM

Indeed she did. You're getting better, but unfortunately not in the area of avoiding getting shot :).

Brian Swartz

05-28-2015, 02:49 PM

Suppression it is for LT2 Benton 'Sheriff' Gale

Health: 4(--)
Will: 64(+1)
Aim: 74(+6)

A bit subpar overall but quite a solid bump to your shooting accuracy.

chesapeake

05-29-2015, 08:37 AM

Indeed she did. You're getting better, but unfortunately not in the area of avoiding getting shot :).

Tell the doc to put a little butter on it and get me back on duty!

law90026

05-31-2015, 05:15 AM

HEAT for Strobe Hoo!

Brian Swartz

06-01-2015, 03:55 AM

Health: 6(+1)
Will: 48(+5)
Aim: 73(+1)

Could be worse, but could have been a lot better too. Either way, a corporal gunner is nothing to sneeze at.

Brian Swartz

06-01-2015, 07:36 PM

It's a new month, and time to get this back up to date. The aliens have kept coming and coming, which didn't make it easy. First up, the EXALT mission ...

OPERATION BLACK HEAT
5.26.2015, 0305
Russia

The drop is some distance away from Amber Mitchell, who was detected by EXALT before her mission was complete. We've got to cover here while she finishes downloading encrypted data, but she's two buildings and an alley away. Time is of the essence.

The team moves up to a rooftop to approach the alley where the comm relays are, while Mitchell approaches from the other direction. It sounds like they have operatives on top of the roof across the alley. She moves into the alley, but then spots no less than five of them and has to beat a hasty retreat. Campbell finds an angle on one from the rooftop and takes it out with a shotgun blast. Four more of them out there. The others move across the roof, still too far away to be of any real use.

http://i.imgur.com/P5jVSdV.png
The first EXALT casualty

One moves into the store where Mitchell is hiding, tossing a grenade. She's alive, but barely and will need medical attention if this operation is to succeed. Things just got a lot more dicey. Burke drops down into the alley, dodging fire as she goes. Carter wounds one and Burke uses a flashbang on another. One soldier misses Carter, another hits her with a grenade, but the resulting explosion also kills him. A second has an open shot to finish her off but misses. This has already been a very hazardous operation with two seriously injured soldiers. These guys aren't playing around. Another grenade tags Burke, and they miss Carter on the roof again.

http://i.imgur.com/BhYZLVx.png

http://i.imgur.com/paVHHx2.png
Suicide by grenade

Burke, Carter, and Campbell each finish one an operative each, but three more are spotted in the store. There's no time, Brodie has to get to Mitchell and get her moving. A couple medikits later and she's on her way again. Two of three new contacts move forward, one using a smoke grenade to cover the other. EXALT's combat doctrine seems to be grenades and plenty of them.

Mitchell hacks the first relay ... and four more of them show up. That's ... not good. She hacks the second, and the play here is to get the freak out of dodge. The biggest problem is that injured soldiers don't move that fast, and we can't stop to heal them ...

http://i.imgur.com/soJwiQw.png

More operatives show up near the extraction point. I don't see everyone getting out of this after the comm disruption is over. A grenade by Mitchell and a burst from Carter take out the enemy closest to the extraction point, while Campbell moves back behind a green van and takes out the closest enemy to her. We see a couple of them close in, but they aren't yet in position to fire ...

http://i.imgur.com/OLADnLm.png

Another Mitchell grenade, Carter is down off the roof, Brodie administers a couple of medikits, but there's one guy in a position to flank coming the opposite way that we can't do anything about. He waits and goes on overwatch, a gift. They're closing in, more reinforcements coming ... but Campbell isn't close enough yet.

They missed all of their shots but only took three as more and more came in. We took a couple more out which helped, and nearly a third who was near death as he tried to finish off Mitchell. Burke took out one more, and we got the heck out of there.

http://i.imgur.com/Tcy3RQf.png
Overrun, we somehow got everyone out alive

Post-Mortem

This operation confirms that exalt is going to be a real problem. We took down ten of them and got some intel in the process(not in Japan) along with 20m in funds seized, but Carter, who has been promoted to sergeant will be gone a month. LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke will miss two weeks, but even worse is that Amber Mitchell died of injuries sustained on the way back to base. She was an solid scout and excellent fit for covert ops, probably the best that we had. It's a tough loss to take.

Brian Swartz

06-01-2015, 07:51 PM

May 26, 0617 -- Less than a half-hour after touchdown, the thin man autopsies were complete. The good doctor dubbed this Project Viperus.

'specimen is roughly two meters in height, and weights just over 80 kilograms ... bones are segmented, rather like the vertebrae of a serpent. This segmented structure appears to give the creature a rather spectacular range of motion in combat. ... we may be able replicate the unique connective tissues ... '

'thoracic cavity is devoted to enormous glands capable of producing a toxin that is then expelled ... we've theorized that it could be used to produce a powerful disinfectant to treat our soldier's injuries in the field. Dr. Shen is working to develop a means to integrate this substance into our existing medikits.'

Although there are other quicker possibilities, studying the telepatchic abilities of the enemy via xenopsionics will occupy the next couple of weeks, requiring nearly a pound of Meld for the effort.

1510 -- Low-flying medium raider spotted over Germany. With only one fighter, we have no real chance against this kind of ship and let it go. Meanwhile several more soldiers are back on the line.

May 27 -- Four soldiers return to duty, including Coffee Warlord and Dean Hoo[/u]

2200 -- Excavation is finished and construction begins on the new fission generator to expand our power grid, which will take about 12m. Another 2m is spent on excavation up on Sublevel 3 to make space for another satellite uplink, though the generator will take several days longer.

May 28 -- [b]Benton Gale is back on duty.

0235 -- Abduction Alarm from from Australia! Heavy activity has been reported, with a 10m reward on offer. Given what happened last time we'll want to be careful here, but once again don't have an available officer to lead the mission. Again only one private will go out. With ten soldiers on the injured list, most of them there for two weeks or longer, we really need a clean sweep here with no more major casualties. After the last couple of missions, confidence down in Tactical Ops is beginning to waver, though there's no lack of commitment to the cause.

Strike Squad

SPEC Carl Tanner(USA, Scout)
SPEC Elfriede Fischer(DEU, Infantry)
CPL Ivan 'Vandal' Drago(HON, Assault)
SPEC Naomi Foster(USA, Engineer)
LCPL Eman Hodzic(BIH, Gunner)
SPEC Hannah Cullen(CAN, Rocketeer)
PFC Christy Kodos(CAN)

With no medic available for this mission and a number of relatively inexperienced soldiers, the level of danger for this squad is very high. It's one of those times where everyone needs to step up and more than pull their weight.

Brian Swartz

06-02-2015, 10:38 PM

OPERATION LAZY PALACE
5.28.2015, 0450
Melbourne, Australia

I noted quickly that we were landing on a highway, and didn't have time to consider much else. We spotted three floaters and a muton immediately. Without knowing what else was out there, I couldn't safely order the squad forward and there was almost no decent cover close-by. This is just what I hoped to avoid, there were few options and none of them safe.

Cullen launched a long-range rocket, hoping to catch them by surprise. If it didn't, she would be completely exposed ...

Fortunately, it was only a little off. As best I could tell, there were four of them. One floater and a muton survived the blast. Eventually we discovered that both were badly damaged. Hodzic took out the floater, while the rest set up in overwatch positions.

http://i.imgur.com/Geb7BEN.png

The muton didn't risk it, simply firing and thankfully missing. With only one of them, we took a chance on moving up to better cover. Although nothing happened immediately, soon four sectoids came out from behind the bus on the right. Hodzic mowed one down on the move, and the muton did a suicide charge, missing Tanner.

It was tempting to try and capture it, he did have an arc thrower handy. At first I decided against it, then figured why not since we wanted to push forward some anyway to get all of our guns in the fight. Drago got a little too much oomph on his pistol shot though, and ended up with the outright kill. That worked too. After it was wounded by Tanner, Kodos got a kill on her first shot. Two sectoids left, six enemies down, pretty good tactical position -- feeling pretty good about things.

http://i.imgur.com/Ig1EoP8.png
Annoying little twerps

The sectoids decided to run away, straight up the highway. There was a canister out that way, so what the heck, I'd follow. Slowly, that is. One left itself exposed, and Tanner got a good look, emptying his SMG to wound it. It was too risky for anyone else to get close enough.

One stayed while the other retreated, we moved up again to pursue -- and a swarm of none less than five seekers awaited. Um yeah, time to back up again. Drago took out the closest sectoid, and the rest once again moved up to firing positions. The sectoid retreated, and all but one went to stealth, choosing to stay on overwatch. When one of the cloaked ones went after our scout Tanner, that effectively made everyone else immobile. A smart play, bastards. Drago was close by though, and poof went the seeker.

http://i.imgur.com/A7c2zIo.png
It's a party now

Ok, four seekers left and one sectoid. Three of the bastards were invisible. Foster was able to do a small bit of damage to the visible one, but everyone else either went into defensive fire or reloaded. They were coming for us, it was just a question of when and where.

One went for Kodos, which was a mistake. Fisher and Hodzic took care of business. Emil Hodzic is an overwatch specialist and obliterated the seeker. A second put a stranglehold on Drago. Fischer somehow managed to miss two near-gimme shots at it. Ahem. Hodzic blasted away again, he is just mowing them down here and basically single-handedly winning this op for us.

http://i.imgur.com/0UPYWvO.png
Emil Hodzic, a virtual one-man alien wrecking crew. By this point I'd lost count of how many kills he racked up

http://i.imgur.com/WP8m1uP.png
On the other hand, while she was solid the rest of the mission, this was some of the worst shooting I've ever seen by Elfriede Fischer. Not once, but twice

Then they made their final surge. The final stealther went for engineer Naomi Foster, while the visible one moved up and flanked Drago, who had just used his medkit to get healthy. It did minimal damage, but any plasma burst still hurts like hell. Fischer hit the one strangling Foster, but couldn't release the grip. It was a big sucker. Hodzic again, moving in close to be sure, and ended that threat. Kodos maneuvered for a good look at the other one ... and missed. Would have been nice to hit that shot, private. Wounded or not, Drago ended that nonsense himself.

http://i.imgur.com/hd7kh1U.png
You've got talent Christy, but this wasn't your best moment

There was still the one sectoid out there at least, but we had some healing and organizing to do first. Once again it was Cullen who spotted them, a trio of floaters up ahead on the right side. Sigh. She had a good look at one, though no rockets left. Wounded, but ...

There was also a muton involved, and the sectoid came back to play. Five of them, and the muton flanked and badly wounded Tanner. On the other hand, they'd exposed themselves ... A couple of big shots by Fischer knocked out the closest floater, and Cullen/Kodos/Drago combined with flanking shots on the muton, the rookie getting the kill. Hodzic planted the previously wounded one, leaving only two left. They both missed, and it was just a mop-up operation left.

http://i.imgur.com/2lbWSzW.png
Carl Tanner has displayed an ability to survive dangerous situations, and somehow lived through one of the most fearsome sights there is: a flanking muton with a clear line of sight

Foster eventually finished off a combo effort on the floater, and Drago, limping along, still had the range to dash forward and take out that pesky sectoid.

Post-Mortem

Even more here than the last time: 17 aliens were taken out on this trip. Carl Tanner out for a very long time, over a month, so it wasn't the clean sweep I'd hoped for but as good as can be expected given the resistance. It really all came down to that rocket launch by Cullen at the beginning. If that had missed any further to the left, this could have gone very badly. Four promotions were gained as well, indluding the injured Tanner.

Artifacts

4 Sectoid Corpses
4 Floater Corpses
2 Muton Corpses
6 kg Elerium
7 kg Alien Alloys
12 Weapon Fragments
11 oz. Meld
5 Seeker Wrecks

Brian Swartz

06-02-2015, 10:47 PM

Promotions

PFC Christy Kodos, you are now a lance corporal after notching two kills on your first sortie. That's the good news. The bad news is you have been recommended for gunner/rocketeer duty. You'd be good there, but it's bad news because they are the most stocked classes with six each already trained. We've got five infantry by comparison, and four everywhere else except medic(just three).

Commander's Recommendation: I don't like doing it on a major thing like class choice, but I exercised my prerogative here and went with the random option. There's just no use for any more gunners or rocketeers right now and too many other places where we just need warm bodies. A soldier with your shooting skill is pretty much useful almost anywhere. So the survey says ....

Sniper! Well that could not have gone better. FOFC is loading up the sniper talent -- and for some reason lately they've gotten gipped in mission frequency -- but you're the fifth in the class. On the other hand ...

Health: 3(--)
Will: 31(+3)
Aim: 75(+3)

Disappointing, but you still have a promising career ahead of you.

Brian Swartz

06-02-2015, 10:51 PM

Later in the day, 10kg Elerium shipped to Brazil in exchange for a pair of scientists. A couple soldiers return to duty, including Duncan Ross.

May 29 -- Argentina requests a satellite.

May 30 -- A second fighter is back in operation, with three more expected within days.

May 31, 0002 -- A low-flying scout over Germany. A tough call here, but we decided to send a ship up after it for two reasons. One, we still need to capture an outsider and this is the optimal scenario in which to do it, and secondly we have another fighter expected back by the end of the day which would restore the two-craft minimum. 'Notso' Sharpe gets the call.

Unfortunately it did not go well. He only got one hit in and was forced to break off. I'm disappointed, but simply can't afford to send up another fighter. Sharpe's fighter will be out of action for over two weeks now. That was a bad break.

The UK requests 10kg of alien alloys in the evening, and we make the trade for a pair of engineers. Two more return including LT Axle.

That's it and that's all for May. Three months in the books, and the usual monthly report including overdue roster update, killboard, and all that jazz will be up next. When is an open question though, since I go in for surgery in about 12 hours.

path12

06-03-2015, 05:34 PM

Good luck with the surgery!

Brian Swartz

06-03-2015, 05:41 PM

Thanks -- all appears to have gone well. I've got the ligament back in place and lost a piece of bone from the back of my heel that was floating around there and causing problems. About had a heart attack when I saw the XRay, it was like two inches long, a lot bigger than I thought. But anyway, I'm on good drugs and doing well, full recovery is expected and all that. The hard part now is waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting some more :)

Brian Swartz

06-04-2015, 01:00 AM

COUNCIL REPORT
May 2015

Overall Grade: B(pleased) -- down from an A the last two months.

2 Council Missions Completed
1 UFO Shot Down
1 Terror Mission Stopped
6 Abductions Stopped
4 Research Projects Completed
1 UFO Raided
1 Satellite Shot Down
8 UFOs Escaped

Clearly the main development of May was in the Air War: we are simply getting overwhelmed by the attrition. 1 UFO escaped in the first two months combined, and it was the first time we had a satellite get shot down. XCOM theoreticians believe the two might be related: i.e., the aliens used some of the escaped UFOs to scout for satellites before sending another ship to take them down. Regardless, the strategic direction of getting coverage over North America so we can snag their aerospace expertise appears more vital than ever now.

Panic Overview

Yellow Alert: Russia, Australia, Nigeria
Aqua Alert: Brazil, UK**, France, China, India
Green Alert: USA*, Canada, Mexico, Argentina*, Germany**, Japan, Egypt**
Alien Collaborators: South Africa

** Indicates a nation with significant panic resistance due to trades for alien technology & artifacts with XCOM. At this point there are three, none of them yet up to half of the maximum.
* Nations with a minor, but notable amount of panic resistance. All nations not denoted at all have received little to no such assistance. Those with significant panic will now be prioritized for potential future deals.

That's two more nations added to the Yellow list and one more on the Aqua than we had at the end of April. It's getting worse, but not by leaps and bounds and nobody else is in imminent danger of leaving the Council -- yet. Another month and that situation may change.

Latest Headlines

** United Kingdom reinforces critical infrastructure using advanced materials and building techniques
** Brazilian military procurement records indicate new power source supplied by unknown agency
** Local media report indicates aggressive military response to ongoing threat of alien abductions taking place in Australia
** Major newspaper in Sydney claims to have undeniable evidence of alien life on Earth as fear among residents grows
** British troops continually outgunned by invading alien forces

The last couple here are seriously in the Captain Obvious category at this point. Media reporting non-news with breathtakingly fake urgency is not a new phenomenon, of course.

Finances

Council Funding: 59.8m(-11.8m)
Aircraft Maintenance: 30m(+4m)
Facility Maintenance: 16.6m(+600k)
Net Council Income: 13.2m(-16.3m)

UFO Bounties: none
Mission Rewards: 73.5m(+14.5m)

Gross Income: 133.3m (+2.2m)
Net Income: 86.7m(-2.3m)

For the first time, reward money from missions outstripped the direct contributions of Council nations. The Newfoundland operation was the biggest change here, and allowed XCOM to see only a marginal drop in funding.

Air War: 98.9m
General Fund: 200k

It's almost certainly temporary, but the General Fund is back in the black while most of the current balance will soon disappear in building the necessary infrastructure to get the North American satellites up. There's a lot yet to go on, but perhaps, just perhaps, we might finally be able to invest in some better equipment for Tactical Ops in the near future.

Artifacts in Storage

2 Alien Pistols: 2m
1 Alien Carbine: 3m
33(77) Sectoid Corpses: 200k -- 19(25%) traded/sold
33(36) Floater Corpses: 300k -- 3(8%) traded/sold
29(44) Thin Man Corpses: 300k -- 5(11%) traded/sold
10 Muton Corpses: 400k
8 Chryssalid Carcasses: 700k
16(18) Drone Wrecks: 200k -- 2(11%) traded/sold
1 Sectoid Captive: 1m
1 Thin Man Captive: 1m
104(146) kg Elerium: 500k -- 42(29%) traded/sold
123(173) kg Alien Alloys: 500k -- 50(29%) traded/sold
140(190) Weapon Fragments: 100k -- 40(21%) traded/sold
46(93) oz. Meld: 700k -- 16(17%) traded/sold
6(7) UFO Flight Computers: 3m -- 1(14%) traded/sold
5(6) UFO Power Sources: 6m -- 1(17%) traded/sold
36(39) Seeker Wrecks: 300k -- 3(8%) traded/sold

Total Asset Value: 266m(+112m)

We didn't sell anything off, but also only had the one UFO raid which are the real cash cows so the gain was about as much as last month. Over a quarter of a million Euros there if desperate situations should arise needing cash. There are seven open requests right now. Two of the five for satellites(Mexico and the UK) may be filled this month before they expire when new birds make themselves available. The others are for sectoid corpses(we don't have enough to justify it with the reward a single scientist) and a sectoid captive(which we may still need for some purpose of Dr. Vahlen's).

Personnel

Researchers: 30(+7)
Engineers: 27(+10)
Soldiers: 60(+21)

Available Research Projects

Xenopsionics(**Priority**) -- In Progress, 7 days remaining
Expiremental Warfare -- 7 days, 10 Weapon Fragments required
Beam Lasers -- 7 days, 10 kg alien alloys, 25 Weapon Fragments
Improved Body Armor -- 7 days, 8 kg alien alloys
Muton Autopsy -- 7 days, 10 muton corpses
Chryssalid Autopsy -- 8 days, 5 Chryssalid Carcasses
Alien Computers -- 9 days, 4 flight computers
Thin Man Interrogation -- 9 days, 1 Thin Man Captive
Elerium -- 25 days, 35 kg elerium

Other than the elerium project which won't be seen anytime soon, we've got a bevy of long-standing possibilities that are all in the week-to-ten days range. Unless xenopsionics reveals a particularly interesting new possibility, we will hopefully knock a few of them out in June. The number of projects has stayed pretty consistent the last month or so -- we definitely still have plenty to keep Vahlen busy.

Finally, a couple of recent comments from the senior staff:

Bradford: 'This new technology is incredible, weapons in particular. I don't know what we're going to do with this stuff once the aliens are gone.'

Shen: 'Men have fought for gods and kings alike. But now we fight for the very survival of our species.'

Bradford's curiosity is natural, but it's also kind of like worrying about dinner when you haven't had breakfast yet. If we survive this war, we'll worry about such possibilities then.

Brian Swartz

06-04-2015, 04:23 AM

May Review

UFO sightings increased significantly, and to a degree Tactical Ops can be thankful that we weren't able to handle most of them. Between the chryssalid attack in Newfoundland, another terrock attack, and larger abduction attempts, they were kept quite busy.

Kills: 145(287 total)
Soldiers Lost: 3(6 total)
Operations: 11(26 total)

Once again the aliens upped the ante, and it's open question how much more acceleration and attrition XCOM can take. Despite doubling the total soldiers lost, including a couple of veterans, we actually increased our kill ratio by a hair(47.3 to 47.8 aliens for each soldier lost). They just came at us in larger groups, and there are more and more situations where we need to take them out quickly or get overrun. We faced and killed more of them in May than in March and April combined. On the ground and in the air, the pressure continues to increase.

Air War Overview

We have seven fighters, two of them flight-ready. Two more will be back on the roster within the next 24 hours, another several days later, so we're finally getting a handle on that again at least temporarily. There is only one satellite up(over Germany), with another to be ready in about three days time.

Tactical Ops Overview

Officer Training School -- We are at 86 total ranks, a sizable increase of 31 over last month despite the losses.. Another increase of that amount will be required to expand to an 8th squad member in the OTS(115 required), so that's unlikely to happen until next month. Company Officers will probably happen sooner with LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie needing only one more operational command to qualify. The other two need 2-3, so they have a little more time before they are ready.

Sergeant/Second Lieutenant -- 3
Corporal/Lieutenant -- 12
Lance Corporal -- 15
Specialist -- 8
Private -- 22

The rank breakdown here shows that we are progressing upwards in terms of overall training and skills, with Corporals about to become the most numerous rank soon. The current challenge is getting privates promoted up through the chain, as the number of specialists is dwindling and lately there haven't been many chances to get the greenhorns out there. I'd like to get at least another 8-12 privates moving upwards as soon as possible, we still need more bodies in most classes. We have enough gunners, rocketeers, and probably snipers, but scouts/infantry/medics are still significant need areas and assault/engineer are ok at four apiece but I'd like to see more depth there also.

There are six currently in recovery and due to be back soon, with a whopping 11, many of them highly capable, injured. Only one will be back soon, four of them have three weeks or more yet to heal, putting a lot of stress on the healthy soldiers to not add to the problem.

Current Priorities

** Research Xenopsionics(one week left)
** Capture an Outsider -- in the few weeks since this directive was activated, we've yet to have a single chance due to the struggles in the air.
** Narrow down EXALT's base of operations -- we've eliminated only Japan so far from the possibilities.
** Satellite coverage in North America -- Excavation for the next satellite uplink will be finished in a day or two, and the fission generator to power it in less than a week. After that, the new uplink is expected to take another three weeks to build, and meanwhile more satellites will be needed. At least we have the money for them now.
** Getting more privates promoted
** Upgrade field equipment. This can only be put off for so long. It might not happen this month, but as the alien challenge continues to grow, the only way we are going to continue to be able to handle it is with improved gear for Tactical Ops.

We've definitely got our work cut out for us, but so far we're still hanging in there.

Brian Swartz

06-04-2015, 04:27 AM

XCOM ROSTER -- as of June 1

Assault(4)
** This should mostly be self-explanatory. The % listed is progress towards the next promotion. The number in paretheses by each class is the total number of that class currently in XCOM(including those who are recovering and/or injured)**

CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason(UK, 6 missions, 17 kills, 95%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 47 Will, 69 Aim, - 2 Def
** Bring 'Em On, Sprinter
LCPL Beth Campbell(AUS, 3 missions, 7 kills, 53%) -- 3 Health, 14 Mob, 35 Will, 68 Aim, 3 Def
** Tactical Sense

Engineer(4)
CPL Yolanda 'Angel' Pena(ESP, 6 missions, 10 kills, 43%) -- 7 Health, 12 Mob, 44 Will, 69 Aim, 3 Def
** Sapper, Smoke and Mirrors
CPL Amiyah 'Cargo' Banerjee(NIG, 6 missions, 6 kills, 2%) -- 6 Health, 13 Mob, 50 Will, 67 Aim, 1 Def
** Sapper, Sharpshooter

Gunner(6)
LCPL Didier Keita(MEX, 2 missions, 3 kills, 6%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 50 Will, 57 Aim, -2 Def
** Opportunist
SPEC Geoff Russell(USA, 3 missions, 0 kills, 91%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 22 Will, 68 Aim, 0 Def
LCPL Mac Roguru(AUS, 3 missions, 6 kills, 59%) -- 7 Health, 12 Mob, 38 Will, 73 Aim, 2 Def
** Sprinter
SPEC Isabelle Mirabeau(FRA, 2 missions, 2 kills, 99%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 40 Will, 70 Aim, -3 Def
CPL Dean 'Strobe' Hoo(UKR, 5 missions, 7 kills, 2%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 48 Will, 73 Aim, 0 Def
** Low Profile, HEAT Ammo

Infantry(5)
LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale(JPN, 7 missions, 21 kills, 19%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 64 Will, 74 Aim, -4 Def
** Ranger, Low Profile, Stay Frosty, Suppression

Medic(4)
CPL Thozama 'Whiskey' Khumalo(ZAF, 6 missions, 13 kills, 66%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 54 Will, 68 Aim, -1 Def
** Revive, Paramedic
LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie(SCO, 9 missions, 12 kills, 3%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 51 Will, 70 Aim, -2 Def
** Revive, Paramedic, Lead By Example, Field Surgeon

Rocketeer(6)
LCPL Eliana Soares(BRA, 3 missions, 2 kills, 9%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 40 Will, 71 Aim, 1 Def
** Steadfast
LCPL Sophie Deschamps(FRA, 3 missions, 2 kills, 26%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 36 Will, 73 Aim, 2 Def
** Holo-Targeting
LCPL Esperanza Guerrero(ESP, 4 missions, 12 kills, 95%) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 31 Will, 73 Aim, 1 Def
** Will to Survive
SPEC Duncan Ross(FRA, 3 missions, 3 kills, 90%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 41 Will, 72 Aim, 1 Def

Scout(4)
CPL Coffee 'Slim' Warlord(ISR, 4 missions, 7 kills, 8%) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 45 Will, 76 Aim, -1 Def
** Will to Survive, Low Profile
SPEC Lakshmi Pillai(NIG, 3 missions, 4 kills, 99%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 35 Will, 64 Aim, 3 Def

Sniper(5)
LCPL Path Twelve(DEU, 3 missions, 8 kills, 81%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 36 Will, 80 Aim, 3 Def
** Executioner
SPEC Takumi Fujita(JPN, 2 missions, 2 kills, 55%) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 25 Will, 69 Aim, 3 Def
CPL Jace 'Walker' Hunter(FRA, 5 missions, 13 kills, 33%) -- 5 Health, 11 Mob, 43 Will, 91 Aim, 3 Def
** Damn Good Ground, Precision Shot
LCPL Alma Demirovic(BIH, 3 missions, 3 kills, 8%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 46 Will, 81 Aim, 1 Def
** Packmaster

Private(22)

Covert Operations

Recovery

SPEC Elfriede Fischer(DEU, 2 missions, 3 kills, 63%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 34 Will, 70 Aim, 2 Def -- 11 hours
CPL Ivan 'Vandal' Drago(HON, 5 missions, 16 kills, 33%) -- 4 Health, 15 Mob, 40 Will, 70 Aim, -1 Def -- 19 hours
** Extra Conditioning, Tactical Sense
LCPL Eman Hodzic(BIH, 4 missions, 10 kills, 85%) -- 3 Health, 12 Mob, 41 Will, 74 Aim, 1 Def -- 1 day
** Opportunist
LCPL Hannah Cullen(CAN, 3 missions, 4 kills, 6%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 47 Will, 73 Aim, - 1 Def -- 1 day
** Holo-Targeting
LCPL Naomi Foster(USA, 4 missions, 3 kills, 33%) -- 6 Health, 12 Mob, 43 Will, 65 Aim, 1 Def -- 2 days
** Sapper
SPEC Christy Kodos(CAN, 1 mission, 2 kills, 11%) -- 3 Health, 13 Mob, 31 Will, 75 Aim, -2 Def -- 2 days

Injured
**Injured soldiers are out of action until they recover. The expected time until they are available for active duty is listed here as well.**

CPL Su-Min 'DJ' Kim(KOR, 4 missions, 14 kills, 22%) -- 7 Health, 14 Mob, 42 Will, 72 Aim, 1 Def -- 2 days
** Resilience, Tactical Sense
PFC Rin Mori(JPN, 1 mission, 0 kills, 83%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 34 Will, 62 Aim, -1 Def -- 6 days
LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke(USA, 8 missions, 12 kills, 88%) -- 5 Health, 13 Mob, 45 Will, 79 Aim, -1 Def -- 8 days
** Low Profile, Close Combat Specialist, Stay Frosty
LCPL Ches O'Peake(USA, 4 missions, 6 kills, 54%) -- 6 Health, 13 Mob, 37 Will, 71 Aim, -2 Def -- 10 days
** Aggression
CPL Georgia 'Strings' Murdoch(AUS, 6 missions, 5 kills, 31%) -- 3 Health, 13 Mob, 61 Will, 69 Aim, -2 Def -- 12 days
** Revive, Paramedic
LCPL Shigeru Endo(JPN, 4 missions, 7 kills, 87%) -- 4 Health, 13 Mob, 40 Will, 77 Aim, 1 Def -- 12 days
** Battle Scanner
LCPL Katia Rivera(MEX, 4 missions, 6 kills, 77%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 39 Will, 66 Aim, 5 Def -- 13 days
** Sapper
CPL Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang(CHN, 1 mission, 1 kill, 20%) -- 7 Health, 13 Mob, 39 Will, 75 Aim, 0 Def -- 21 days
** Opportunist, Sharpshooter
SGT Brooke 'Twitch' Carter(USA, 7 missions, 23 kills, 14%) -- 7 Health, 11 Mob, 56 Will, 84 Aim, 5 Def -- 24 days
** Opportunist, Executioner
SPEC Luca Basso(ITA, 1 mission, 3 kills, 10%) -- 5 Health, 12 Mob, 28 Will, 67 Aim, -1 Def -- 29 days
LCPL Carl Tanner(USA, 4 missions, 1 kill, 119%) -- 5 Health, 14 Mob, 24 Will, 72 Aim, -2 Def -- 34 days
** Rapid Reaction

KILLBOARD

SGT Brooke 'Twitch' Carter -- 23
LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale -- 21
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason -- 17
CPL Ivan 'Vandal' Drago -- 16
CPL Su-Min 'DJ' Kim -- 14
CPL Jace 'Walker' Hunter -- 13
CPL Thozama 'Whiskey' Khumalo -- 13
LT Lily 'Axle' Brodie -- 12
LT Rebecca 'Snake Eyes' Burke -- 12
LCPL Esperanza Guerrero -- 12
LCPL Eman Hodzic -- 10
CPL Yolanda 'Angel' Pena -- 10
LCPL Path Twelve -- 8
LCPL Beth Campbell -- 7
LCPL Shigeru Endo -- 7
CPL Dean 'Strobe' Hoo -- 7
CPL Coffee 'Slim' Warlord -- 7
CPL Amiyah 'Cargo' Banerjee -- 6
SPEC Seung-yeon Kim -- 6(KIA)
LCPL Ches O'Peake -- 6
LCPL Mac Roguru -- 6
CPL Georgia 'Strings' Murdoch -- 5
LCPL Soledad Sanchez -- 5(KIA)
LCPL Hannah Cullen -- 4
SPEC Lakshmi Pillai -- 4
LCPL Katia Rivera -- 4
SPEC Luca Basso -- 3
LCPL Alma Demirovic -- 3
SPEC Elfriede Fischer -- 3
LCPL Naomi Foster -- 3
LCPL Didier Keita -- 3
SPEC Duncan Ross -- 3
LCPL Sophie Deschamps -- 2
SPEC Takumi Fujita -- 2
SPEC Christy Kodos -- 2
SPEC Isabelle Mirabeau -- 2
LCPL Amber Mitchell -- 2
LCPL Eliana Soares -- 2
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1(KIA)
LCPL Carl Tanner -- 1
CPL Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang -- 1

Carter will almost certainly lose the top spot here soon as she's out for a few weeks. FOFC has a few among the elite in alien-killing(Gale, Drago, Hunter) and several more in the middle of the pack. The contingent here is gradually moving up in the ranks as a whole.

MEMORIAL
**Here are remembered all those missing or killed in action.**

PFC Ace Idol -- 0 kills in 1 mission. KIA during Operation Demon Pipe by a sectoid plasma pistol, March 17, 2015.
PFC Stephen Garner -- 1 kill in 2 missions. KIA during Operation Unceasing Night by a sectoid plasma pistol, April 4, 2015
SPEC Seung-yeon Kim -- 6 kills in 2 missions. KIA during Operation First Engine by a sectoid plasma pistol, April 27, 2015.
PFC Chris Kodos -- 0 kills in 1 mission. KIA during Operation Hot Line by a seeker alien pistol, May 11, 2015
LCPL Soledad Sanchez -- 5 kills in 5 missions. KIA during Operation Glass Heart by floater light plasma rifle, May 23, 2015
LCPL Amber Mitchell -- 2 kills in 4 missions. KIA after Operation Black Heat due to injuries suffered by an EXALT frag grenade, May 27, 2015

Brian Swartz

06-04-2015, 04:37 AM

June 1

In terms of initial expenditures, there was a lot to do. 20m goes to the usual fighter purchase bringing us up to 8, the minimum we need to have four on each continent, and three more satellites are also purchased at a cost of 37.8m. That will give us a total of five, the maximum we can support once the planned satellite uplink is built after the power generator is finished.

I also order a monthly intel sweep to help combat the spread and influence of EXALT at a cost of 5m. Evidence of a cell in Australia is uncovered by this, and mobile sniper SPEC Takumi Fujita is deemed best for the job. It's one of our three priority nations that are at Yellow Alert, making it even more important to disrupt operations there before they can cause havoc.

Ivan Drago is one of two soldiers back to active by the end of the first day of June, and two fighters are back on the flight line as well. With no major alien activity, it was definitely a good start to the new month.

Brian Swartz

06-04-2015, 05:10 AM

June 2 -- A request from India for 15 kg elerium is turned down, we're near the trading max right now. Two more soldiers are ready to go.

June 3 -- The new satellite is ready to launch, and we send it to Mexico with a pair of fighters headed over there as well. They are willing to be a significant financial contributor, increasing their commitment from 6.1 to 13m, and they send us a pair of engineers as well which was the clincher.

A small UFO flying NOE is seen on Germany approach at 0402. We let it go, having just two fighters with the other pair having been dispatched to the interceptor base in North America to support the Mexico satellite. 40 minutes later it lands, and we've got our first mission of June. Not only that, but our first chance to capture an outsider and unravel the next part of the alien mystery. It's only a small scout, landing or not, so we'll take the opportunity to send out a pair of privates as well. This is a good opportunity to really move forward on multiple fronts.

Strike Squad
CPL Coffee 'Slim' Warlord(ISR, Scout)
** Will to Survive, Low Profile
CPL Thozama 'Whiskey' Khumalo(ZAF, Medic)
** Revive, Paramedic
LT Benton 'Sheriff' Gale(JPN, Infantry, CO)
** Ranger, Low Profile, Stay Frosty, Suppression
CPL Courtney 'Spitfire' Mason(UK, Assault)
** Bring 'Em On, Sprinter
LCPL Didier Keita(MEX, Gunner)
** Opportunist
PFC Antonio Santos(BRA)
PFC Kobe Cuvelier(BEL)

Keita, Warlord, and Gale are the FOFC headliners in a strong lineup, a lot of top soldiers were due up for this one.

Brian Swartz

06-05-2015, 08:11 PM

OPERATION DEMON THORN
6.3.2015, 0455
Germany

The squad deploys with the right flank secured, so Warlord moves a bit forward and left to secure high ground. Directly ahead he spots the faint outline of the ship. We hear nothing, but canisters are in three directions. Two by the ship, one sweeping around to the left which we are headed towards. Seekers perhaps? Quiet is usually a sign of them.

Then there's something else nearly straight left ... sounds like mutons. We have to be close. Yep, Warlord soon spots them, but it's just a floater and a single muton, two enemies with a canister to the right of them. We should be able to handle this. Warlord misses the muton, Cuvelier can't get close enough for a flashbang so he misses the floater. Ahem. Santos uses a flashbang on the big guy while Keita suppresses. Spitfire Mason has the range to dash up for a shotgun blast that fells the floater. The muton just fires back at Keita, missing badly.

http://i.imgur.com/CpRDwD8.png

Gale and Cuvelier both hit the muton, a couple others miss. Once again it's Mason finishing the job. Two clean kills, a nice start for us in clearing out the perimeter. We hear movement inside the ship next though it's a ways off, and the distinctive wheezing of thin men. Warlord moves up to the canister, and secures 10 oz. Meld. Alien resources continue to grow, a bad sign.

http://i.imgur.com/veI7NHw.png
Tucked in behind some rocks alongside Khumalo, private Cuvelier manages to hit something for the first time

Nearby, Mason spots a trio of drones near the ship. Certainly could be worse. One of them takes a shot but she's in good behind a tree and nothing. Coffee Warlord shows off his best-among-scouts trigger finger and knocks the closest one out of the sky. Sherirf Gale plants the second one, and we've got no worries.

Well maybe another one now. The remaining drone slides over, then advances as Keita misses. We can take it out fine, but three thin men come out of the ship to join the fray. Warlord empties his gun ... and his bullets just bounce off the drone. One of the thin men decided to advance and is a flanking threat. This is a job for ... yep, Spitfire Mason again. She closes in and executes for her third kill already, and we've got decent cover now against the two thin men remaining. Keita wounds the leader, then Gale really puts us in a good position by dropping him and the drone to leave only one thin man left. It tries a long-range, ineffectual shot against Keita.

http://i.imgur.com/5VdoZAH.png

The last thin man was set up pretty well defensively behind the side of a doorway, and as we tried to move in it set up for reaction fire. Time for a shootout, but this was a very one-sided situation. We spotted another active canister further up that way, if we could finish this quick there was a chance to snag a second one. Private Cuvelier wounded it, but we only had a few in range and couldn't finish the job. It just stayed there though. Warlord finished it off, and we made for the canister. That doorway was our probable entrance to the ship, and it was now filled with toxin anyway.

http://i.imgur.com/N2ib4os.png
It held us off for a bit, but the lone thin man was hopelessly outnumbered, and Coffee Warlord finally ended him

It was too late. The canister shut down before we could get close. Oh well. With eight enemies down we had to be near the end here. It was time to get inside and get the outsider. Warlord was still some way from the ship when we spotted it. Crap. Not really ready yet. Keita found a good perch from which to suppress. It fired back at Keita, missing, as the toxic cloud dispersed.

It was time now to go for this. Capturing this bastard would be a little tricky. A low-percentage shot by Gale helped, taking it halfway down. Hitting it again might kill it. Warlord weakened it a bit more, and Mason moved in with the arc thrower. It failed! Cuvelier loosed our second flashbang, while Keita kept up the suppression. Hopefully those would save her.

http://i.imgur.com/mHTKYLA.png
Doh!

It simply moved away to better cover, Keita missing which was all for the better since she probably would have killed it. That was surprising though -- a big risk. Mason moved in with a pistol shot to weaken it .. and accidentally killed it instead. I've never seen a pistol shot do that much damage. Tough break there, we were set up perfectly and Warlord had another arc charge to use.

Post-Mortem

Nine enemies killed with no damage taken, a good clean mission and other than failing to capture the outsider it was perfect. Four promotions including both privates were earned, and Gale moved back up to #1 on the XCOM kills list with three more for a total of 24 confirmed. Santos is now our sixth infantry soldier, Cuvelier our fifth assault. Both classes are pretty close to what we need now, medics and scouts are the top needs at the moment with these additions. Another engineer wouldn't hurt either.

Artifacts Recovered

1 Floater Corpse
3 Thin Man Corpses
1 Muton Corpse
3 Drone Wrecks
16 kg Elerium
26 kg Alien Alloys
10 Weapon Fragments
11 oz. Meld
2 UFO Flight Computers
1 UFO Power Source