X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a go! (Mission 17 complete and posted!)

[Tasan]

Interlude 14

As Triton 1 speeds home, the troops are antsy in the hold. They know that the enemy is stronger than initially anticipated. They also know that the odds of surviving with some kind of armor are very low. Of the three that went out without armor, one died. The troops unload the ship upon arrival, and hope that the short straw isn't theirs next time.

Sales from the small ship only pull in a paltry $350,000. I also begin stockpiling extra Sonic Rifles and other equipment at North Pacific for when we open there for business.

Early on the morning of the 2^nd, hoopsguy II wakes me up with good news. His team has cracked the secret of the large sonic weapon, called effectively the Sonic Cannon. As soon as they finish work on the ammo clip, we can put them into use. They are heavier than the Rifles, but should pack a larger punch and we have a LOT of the clips for them in storage. Very good news.

The new engineering bay is also now ready. Unfortunately, we don't have the funds to pay more engineers, so we can't really put it to use. As soon as we have more money, we'll get to cranking out rifle clips and more armor.

On the 3^rd, we welcome the clones of Travis, path12, and Greyroofoo. The X-COM cloning facility is really in overdrive right now.

Travis IV
Rank: Seaman
Base: Atlantic
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

path12 III
Rank: Seaman
Base: South China Sea
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

Greyroofoo III
Rank: Seaman
Base: Atlantic
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

The new recruits at Atlantic go immediately into the fighting rotation. We currently have 3 wounded (Caesar is out from the last mission), so the two new clones fill out Triton 1's allotment. The good news is that we've finished a production run of armor and now everyone at Atlantic has a suit. I order another run of 20 to finish out the needs for South China Sea and to have spares on hand when needed. Next we'll do a run of 40 or so rifle clips that are badly needed.

The days begin to drag again. On the 9^th, I get a call from hoopsguy II. The eggheads have figured out the inner workings of the alien torpedo system, which they are calling a Disruptor Pulse Launcher. Its an extremely powerful weapon that will allow us to pre-program a flight plan for the shot to follow. Kinda like an underwater cruise missile. This should really be helpful. It will only be useful underwater though, so we won't be bringing it to terror sites. Thats probably good, though, seeing as they project the destructive capabilities of this weapon to be off the charts. As soon as they completely figure out the actual missile part, we can start using them.

The next day the sonar comes online at North Pacific. We don't have the money to bring the base up for operations, so we'll use it as a remote listening station for the time being. It should give us some sonar coverage in an area we haven't had before. Later in the day, hoopsguy II calls me again. They are done with the Sonic Cannon clip. We can start fielding them, and I immediately order them loaded onto our Tritons. hoopsguy II suggests we figure out how the alien ships work by researching the large generators found in the alien vessels. I give the go-ahead on them.

We have enough armor ready now to fully equip South China Sea. I send a shipment with the armor and some other supplies to them so they can be ready when needed.

On the 12^th, the sonar room at Atlantic reports a contact. A small sub has been spotted off the coast of Brazil. I send 'Cuda 1 to intercept. It gives chase through the Carribean and then back over the northern tip of South America, then into the Pacific Ocean. It intercepts there and splashes the bogey. It'll be a long trip, but I need to get the South China Sea guys into the fight. I dispatch Triton 2 for the first time, and say a short prayer for the new troops going into combat for the first time.

[Abe Sargent]

Woot!

[MrBug708]

Good luck Chief and Co!

[hoopsguy]

Journal Entry #7 (mid-March) - the pace of scientific discovery over the past month is unprecedented. Although the toll in human life is astronomical, the dividend has been stunning technological development. So why am I not more excited about my work? Why can't I find joy in these breakthroughs?

I'm glad that the men will have weapons that are capable of standing up to the latest batch of aliens. But I just can't shake this ... what is it? A malaise? A sense of doom? I can't share this with General Tasan, as he has enough on his plate without having to deal with my moodiness.

[Coffee Warlord]

I think hoops should have a lab accident and his clone should take up a rifle and come back into the fold!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Good luck Chief and Co!

Thanks, Cap. We're working to make this the best trained and manned base in X-Com. And make this the safest sector in the world.

Hooah South China! Let's go kick same alien ass!

[Poli]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

I can't share this with General Tasan, as he has enough on his plate without having to deal with my moodiness.

Admiral.

Cough.

Admiral.

[SirFozzie]

Uh oh. Base invasion time?

[fantastic flying froggies]

fff III: "damn damn damn, this could be my first mission! I don't wanna diiiiiiiiiiieeeee just yet!"

[Tasan]

Sorry about the delay folks. DLS was down and I'm just now back up. I'll have the mission posted real soon.

[Tasan]

Mission 14
April 12, 2040

Triton 2 settles into the silt for the first time. The troops are nervous, but Chief Rum II and illinifan999 III try to keep them focused. The list of troops:

Kodos III
Chief Rum II
Icy II
PilotMan – Shok Launcher
JonInMiddleGA II – Shok Launcher
wahoomac – Cannon
The Jackal II
DataKing II – Cannon
RendeR II
chesapeake II – Cannon
Barkeep49 III
mrkilla22 II – Cannon
law90026 II

Chief Rum II slaps Kodos III on the back and hits the door switch. Kodos III steps out and heads to the front of the Triton. Chief Rum II exits and heads to the tail. The ship is positioned in the south east corner of the combat grid.

Illinifan999 III, Icy II, mrkilla22 II, and law90026 II all make their way out before Chief Rum II tells the rest to wait so they don't get bunched up.

Kodos III and illinifan999 III draw southern edge sweep. They'll move west along that border. Icy II and mrkilla22 II will do the eastern edge sweep, moving north along that side.

The area is thick with rock and coral formations. The going is slow and dangerous, as the formations provide innumerable blind spots and hidey holes.

Chief Rum II makes his way around a particularly large formation and spots the alien sub. Its the larger of the two small variants. “Eyes on target here, troops,” he reports.

The team begins working its way towards the sub. Its still a ways off, and the going continues to be slow due to the underwater objects. PilotMan and law90026 are the first to get clear lines on the door to the ship. As they do, a lobsterman comes out. PilotMan fires first and misses badly, nearly knocking himself out with his Shok bomb. law90026 fires with his rifle, but he only hits the back wall of the ship. The alien ducks back inside under cover.

The Jackal II takes up position on top of a large rock formation. The lobsterman comes out again and fires at him. The shot hits short, and PilotMan takes another shot with his Shok launchers, this time getting close enough to knock the big alien cold.

Things go quiet again. The team makes its way towards the ship entrance. Chief Rum II leads a small group to the rear of the ship, where a hole has blown out making it possible to enter the ship. His team consists of DataKing II and Barkeep49 III. They set up and get a line of sight into the ship. They spot at least two more aliens inside. Barkeep49 III takes a shot at one but misses. DataKing II moves up and fires, scoring a hit but not killing the alien. Chief Rum II fires as well, but misses by a mile, hitting the sub frame in front of him.

All hell breaks loose. The alien the three aquanauts fired out runs around in panic, then tosses something at them. Its a Pulser. As its flies through the water, another alien comes around the corner and tosses one as well. Both land at Chief Rum II's feet and explode, vaporizing both him and DataKing II. Barkeep49 III is hit but still standing. He fires at the alien twice, hitting it once. Its still on its feet though. At the front of the ship, chesapeake II enters and sees the beast, but can't get a shot. He ducks back outside. The Jackal II enters next to him and shoots, but misses. He too takes cover back outside.
Over in the far south west corner, illinifan999 III and kodos III have finished their sweep of that area. The move north to investigate the western edge now. illinifan999 III spots an alien in the rocks near the ship. He fires on it and hits, only to draw return fire. The alien's shot misses in front of him, kicking up sand. It fires again with similar results. Illinifan999 III regains his composure and fires twice, hitting the creature square both times. It roars and falls to the ground dead.

Back inside the ship, the two aliens move. The far alien everyone is shooting at takes cover behind a still-standing wall. The other alien, apparently unarmed except for that lone grenade, panics and runs out near Barkeep49 III. He fires twice and hits once. Its still on its feet.

At the door, The Jackal II enters and takes up position looking for the hiding alien. chesapeake II has a shot through the open door on the unarmed alien and takes it, hitting the creature in its back but not dropping it.

Outside near Barkeep49 III, mrkilla22 II breaks off of his sweep to lend support. He fires at the unarmed alien and hits it, sending it to the sand dead. The far alien pokes his head out and fires at Barkeep49 III, but misses, hitting the side of the ship.

On the western edge, illinifan999 III spots another alien outside. He decides to wait for Kodos III to catch up instead of pursuing by himself. Kodos III moves up towards him, but he's still a ways back.

Inside the ship, The Jackal II moves to see around the wall. He spots the alien cowering behind it and shoots, almost point blank. He scores a hit a kills the lobsterman where it hides.

Back on the western edge, illinifan999 III spots the alien again. He fires but misses high. Kodos III sees it and fires as well, but misses as bad. They each fire twice more but can't seem to hit the target behind all that cover. It fires back once and moves for cover, hidden from sight. Kodos III and illinifan999 III both do the same and also try to flank it. Help is coming from Icy II and others who are moving over from the ship.

The alien moves again and Icy II spots him this time. He fires but misses it. Something explodes over near it, but nobody is quite sure what happened. Icy II takes a cue from this and throws a Pulser near where he saw the alien. It explodes, but the alien pokes it head out again to see what is going on. It fires at chesapeake II, who is moving up to support. illinifan999 III moves up some more in a flanking move. The alien pops up over a ridge and fires at Kodos III in the distance. It scores a hit, and with its Sonic Cannon, kills Kodos III where he stands.

wahoomac, having helped sweep the sub for further aliens, exits through a blown out rear wall and sees the alien sneaking up behind chesapeake II, who was trying to get the drop in it. He fires from long distance with his Sonic Cannon and hits it squarely. The alien screams and falls down dead.

Further searching turns up no more aliens. Four aliens were killed, one taken alive. Three aquanauts lost their lives. The ship was a mess and not much was recovered from it. A costly mission any way you look at it, but these lobstermen are tough.

After the mission, Izulde is promoted to lieutenant to replace Chief Rum II, and mrkilla22 II is promoted to Ensign.

[Izulde]

Damn bastards didn't want to go down, kind of like some girls I know, but persistence pays off, boys! Bagged a slate of kills in my first mission and now I'm rocking the officer stripes.

So let's drink to our fallen comrades and snipe some more alien ass in revenge.

[Coffee Warlord]

And the aliens kill one of their own for the third time. Poor Kodos. The tentacles do nothing!

[DataKing]

Hi there...I'm DataKing II...nice to m...BOOM!...glubglubglub.

[illinifan999]

Another kill and I didn't die again. This guy might just be a keeper. Now that I said that, I'm sure IV will be coming shortly.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

Another kill and I didn't die again. This guy might just be a keeper. Now that I said that, I'm sure IV will be coming shortly.

Hanging out in the infirmary doped up on painkillers is the best way to stay alive, I'm learning.

[kingfc22]

Tough mission with the aliens getting a double kill.

[Chief Rum]

Well, crap.

Chief Rum III signing up!

Hopefully I will be a better shot this time (and also not craven).

[JonInMiddleGA]

On the bright side, I had time to not only vacuum the Triton 2 interior but also got it waxed by the time you guys got back.

[PilotMan]

I'm gonna torture the shit outta that alien scum for what his kin did to our boys.

[DataKing]

Just in case I need to say it...go ahead and scoop DataKing III out of the cloning vats and sign him up.

[MrBug708]

Sorry Chiefy

[Tasan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

On the bright side, I had time to not only vacuum the Triton 2 interior but also got it waxed by the time you guys got back.

Good job, rook! Don't worry, I'll make sure you get some action soon.

[Abe Sargent]

Action = fun

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Good job, rook! Don't worry, I'll make sure you get some action soon.

I'm not particularly worried about it although the next smart ass who puts an apron in my locker better watch himself if I figure out who did it.

(And if a french maid outfit appears I'm asking for a transfer)

[Greyroofoo]

3rd time's the charm!

Maybe I'll actually get a kill!

[path12]

I feel good about path12 III.

That is likely to be a wrong feeling.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm not particularly worried about it although the next smart ass who puts an apron in my locker better watch himself if I figure out who did it.

(And if a french maid outfit appears I'm asking for a transfer)

Don't mind the schoolgirl outfit.

[wahoomac]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm not particularly worried about it although the next smart ass who puts an apron in my locker better watch himself if I figure out who did it.

(And if a french maid outfit appears I'm asking for a transfer)

If someone was being mean...they could just put this inflatable swim ring in your locker...

[Poli]

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

[gi]

Sign me up, just caught up on all the Missions.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm not particularly worried about it although the next smart ass who puts an apron in my locker better watch himself if I figure out who did it.

(And if a french maid outfit appears I'm asking for a transfer)

Bwahahahaaha...

Reminds me of an "All X-Com" bit of insanity I participated in over on RPG.NET.. I reproduce it in all of it's insanity..

[X-Com-UFO] Bwahaha! That'll put a kink in their budget cycle! - RPGnet Forums

[Tasan]

Interlude 15

Triton 2 makes it's way back home. Aboard, eleven aquanauts sit in reflective silence. For most it was their first mission, and their commander did not make it back with them. They've quickly learned that while rank may get to yell at you, it doesn't matter one bit when the sonic pulses start flying. The group returns home and unloads the few bits of salvage from the mission. As I'm receiving the report from illinifan999 III, hoopsguy II comes in with some more good news. His guys in South China Sea have finished researching the alien torpedo, and we can now use them in the field. As expected, these things carry a huge punch and should help level the playing field against the Lobstermen, as the eggheads are calling the new brutes. hoopsguy II thinks we can develop a ship based weapon from the alien torpedo technology, so I order them to work on it.

Proceeds from the sale of recovered alien items doesn't even top $500,000 this time. We are in desperate need of funds.

On the 15^th, four new aquanauts report, one for South China Sea and three for Atlantic:

Kodos IV
Rank: Seaman
Base: Atlantic
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

DataKing III
Rank: Seaman
Base: Atlantic
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

Chief Rum III
Rank: Seaman
Base: Atlantic
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

gi
Rank: Seaman
Base: South China Sea
Missions: 0
Kills: 0

Our gene pool is getting pretty thin. I wonder who'll be the fourth copy of an original, then stop myself because I just don't want to think about losing more troops. How do you write a letter home saying that the third copy of your son has died in battle? I still have letters to write...

On the 19^th, hoopsguy II informs me we have plans to build alien based cannons for the ships now. The PWT Launchers and torpedoes can now be made by the engineers. We'll start work on some when the armor run is finished. He also tells me he could put together plans for a base defense weapon based on the same technology. I give the go ahead, although we've seen nothing to indicate the aliens would actually attack one of our bases.

On the 21^st, South China Sea sonar operators report a small contact just south of Japan. I dispatch Barracuda 3 to pursue, but the ship lands before the 'Cuda can barely clear its bay. With a final roster adjustment, I order Triton 2 out to investigate.

[Tasan]

Mission 15
April 21^st, 2040

The Triton lands towards the easter grid edge, roughly centered north and south. The troops, all armored, prepare for battle:

PurdueBrad IV – Sonic Cannon
path12 III – Disruptor Pulse Launcher
mrkilla22 II – Sonic Cannon
gi
Icy II – Sonic Cannon
Qwikshot II – Sonic Cannon
JonInMiddleGA II
PilotMan
RendeR II
wahoomac – Sonic Cannon
fff III
TonyR II – Shok Launcher
law90026 II – Shok Launcher
chesapeake II – Sonic Cannon

mrkilla22 II, newly promoted to Ensign, is the leader on the mission. He kicks PurdueBrad IV in the butt and shoves him out the door first. PurdueBrad IV makes his way to the nose of the Triton and sees a magnificant sight. An old wrecked galleon lies on the bottom of the sea floor. Qwikshot II is next out and heads towards the end of the ship.

“path12 II, take up watch outside the ship on the eastern edge and wait for fire missions. No need for you to go out and about with that firing system,” orders mrkilla22 II as he steps out of the sub and heads south with PurdueBrad IV. PilotMan goes with him.

Icy II and JonInMiddleGA II go north with Qwikshot II. The rest get ready to file out once the first group gets some distance.

PilotMan makes it around the nose of the ship first. “Aquatoid spotted! Taking a shot.” Unfortunately, his shot hits well short of the target. mrkilla22 II steps up beside him and gets off a quick shot. It hits the little alien hard, blasting it to pieces.

“Uh, Triton pilot, I know we complain about long walks to the alien subs sometimes, but this is ridiculous,” reports mrkilla22 II. The Triton is parked about 50 feet from the alien vessel. Qwikshot II rounds the tail of the Triton and confirms it, seeing the rest of the long form of the small alien sub.

The majority of the team heads around the nose of the Triton and makes for the door of the alien ship. Qwikshot II and his two men will scout out the back of the ship. RendeR II and fff III draw short straws and will each head out to scout the outside area.


Nothing subtle about this landing spot. Right in the action.

Things are extremely quiet as the team moves into position for assault. Nobody sees any further movement. JonInMiddleGA II and chesapeake II get in position to enter the ship. Icy II, mrkilla22 II and Qwikshot II set up to provide cover fire and a second wave into the ship. PilotMan and gi provide cover over unexplored areas in the rear, so the team isn't flanked.

“Go Go Go!” orders mrkilla22 II and the first two rush in. Nothing in the first chamber. mrkilla22 II and Icy II move up to go in next. Qwikshot II and PurdueBrad IV are behind them. Icy II taps JonInMiddleGA II on the shoulder and he rushes in through the left door. Icy II goes in behind
him and covers the other door inside the little room.

On the right side, chesapeake II opens his door to find an alien on the other side. He fires at it and sends the thing to the floor dead. He clears out of the way and mrkilla22 II comes up to watch the doorway. Qwikshot II comes in next to him. wahoomac and PurdueBrad IV get ready to enter.

Back on the left side of the ship, the door Icy II is watching opens, and an Aquatoid comes through. It darts back and forth in front of Icy II, who finally gets a line on it and fires. The alien screams and falls clutching its side as its insides start coming out. Icy II races up to the door the alien came from and opens it. He spots another alien down the hallway of the ship and fires, hitting it too. It dies. Behind him, an alien comes out from the little nook. JonInMiddleGA II is watching his back, but can't get off a shot before the alien does. Its shot slams into JonInMiddleGA II's chest plate, putting a 5 inch hole where his heart used to be. Icy II runs to the corner and fires at the alien. His shot takes the creature's head off.

The rest of the ship is empty, as well as the combat grid. The battle is over. Five small alien bodies are lined up outside the ship, along with one human body bag. The alien sub is fully intact, and will fetch a good price in scrap. All told, the mission was a success.

For his work on this mission, Icy II is promoted to Ensign.

[Tasan]

I'm open to ideas for making this thing more fun. I feel like I'm starting to repeat myself an awful lot in the mission reports. Any ideas are very welcome.

[Poli]

I'm guessing Caesar's on the mend.

FWIW, I love it.

[Travis]

It's been a great read so far. The tension has been pretty high so far especially when it seemed next to impossible to take the Lobstermen down and now that you're getting a little deeper into the development chain (especially with weapons) it's going to be nice reading more and more about mowing them down (hopefully) and less often (again, hopefully) about us getting mind controlled and going after one and other

That said, if you're feeling like you're in a bit of a rut, I certainly won't be complaining about any changes you make to improve your own enjoyment of the dynasty so that we can continue to read updates and keep this thread going.

[DataKing]

How about some friendly kill-number-rivalries between the troops to keep things interesting, a-la Gimli/Legolas? Just a thought.

[Tasan]

Originally Posted by DataKing

How about some friendly kill-number-rivalries between the troops to keep things interesting, a-la Gimli/Legolas? Just a thought.

Not a bad idea at all. Now that we seem to be able to keep people around a bit longer, this might become possible. I'm hoping to get more interaction as folks stay alive longer.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Not a bad idea at all. Now that we seem to be able to keep people around a bit longer, this might become possible. I'm hoping to get more interaction as folks stay alive longer.

So wait a minute, PB IV lived through a mission?


I thought it was a rule that PB and Kodos died every time they went on a mission? You are messing with tradition here ...

[law90026]

It's a good read (for me) still but feel free to change it up if you need to keep it fresh for yourself.

[ntndeacon]

or friendly what number clone we are on for Kodos and PB.

[PurdueBrad]

You bastards! If it weren't for me wearing down the aliens, who knows what danger you would be in.

[Tasan]

Sorry about the delay again over the weekend. They've been pretty busy for me lately. We'll get back to conquering the alien horde on Monday! (or tonight if I stay up)

[Tasan]

Interlude 16

Triton 2 makes it's way back to base from its second mission. The troops try hard not to think about JonInMiddleGA II, and instead discuss human and alien tactics. The ship docks and they unload the spoils of the battle. From the unneeded bounty, we get almost a million dollars.

Late on the 21^st, sonar in Atlantic picks up a large alien vessel heading north towards the Arctic Sea. There's no way we can intercept it, so we track it for a while and then lose the contact somewhere near Siberia. This is troubling, but there's really not much we can do about it until we have new weapons for the Barracudas. To that end, the manufacturing is done at Atlantic. We're short on clips again, so before we make the PTW Launchers for the 'Cudas, we'll run off 30 more clips.

Hoopsguy II informs me of the research progress on the Ion Beam Accelerators, the generators in the alien ships. They've found some interesting links to the inner workings of the Deep Ones and want to take a look at the living one we have in holding. I tell him to go for it. This will be our first alien autopsy, I feel like Mulder or something.

The next day hoopsguy II excitedly runs into my office. It turns out the Deep Ones are manufactured creatures, using some captured human DNA along with alien DNA. Deep inside, they have small devices that work much like the Ion Beam Accelerators. Also, they seem to be controlled in the same manner our aquanauts fall under alien control. hoopsguy II thinks that from this research, we can unlock the secret of the aliens' origins, the mind control they are doing, and a new form of armor based on the Ion Beam Accelerators. I order the Atlantic base scientists to start work on the new armor. I order the South China Sea guys to cut way back on the PWT Defenses and start work on the mind control stuff. Things are getting better every day around here.

On the 23^rd, the PWT Launcher is built and ready for fitting on a Barracuda. We wait another day til we have some ammo for it before mounting it. It fits on Barracuda 1 nicely, and the driver can't wait to get a chance to use it.

On the 27^th, plans are complete for the new armor, and it looks amazing. First estimates are that it will offer at least twice the protection of the aqua plastic armor. This is from infusing Zrbite directly into the aqua plastics. We'll start production as soon as we get done with the ammo for the new PWT Launchers. The eggheads are eager to figure out how to build an alien-based vessel for us to use, so I give them the go ahead to work out the alien navigation system.

Around noon on the 28^th, Atlantic sonar picks up a large contact heading for the United States. I dispatch the two 'Cudas to attack, hoping the new cannon can be enough to do the job. Unfortunately, before we can intercept my hotline rings. The mayor of Miami is reporting aliens at a resort on South Beach. I order Triton 1 out to investigate.

[kingfc22]

Can we check out the night life prior to shootin aliens?

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Can we check out the night life prior to shootin aliens?

We in the bidness of killin' aliens.

And bidness is booming.

[Tasan]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Can we check out the night life prior to shootin aliens?

There's a fairly large stack of one dollar bills for the one who kills the last alien. That's all I'm sayin'.

[Tasan]

Here's the roster for the Terror mission, so you can start worrying about yourself (or your clone).

KWhit
SirFozzie II
BYU 14 II
JeeberD II
Roberto II
kingfc22 III
MrBug708 II
gkb
RealDeal II
ntndeacon III
Izulde
Abe Sargent II
Travis IV
Greyroofoo III

[Coffee Warlord]

I still sucking down morphine?