X-COM II: The Earth's Revenge (Part VIII)

[Swaggs]

Man, Marmel and I were rookies together... Tough to see him go out like that.

[Godzilla Blitz]

68th Mission: Spanish Scout Assault

The ASIA COM Skyranger arrives on the Iberian Peninsula as the sun is beginning to make its way over the eastern horizon. The ten men inside the craft have been flying with the edge of the night for over ten hours, and they are restless to get out and get some action. Many of the men aboard are USA vets or agents coming off wounds; let’s hope they’re not rusty.

An equipment glitch resulted in only 7 Power Suits getting loaded onto the Skyranger. Jeff Nights II, Patman II, and Fonzie II will go without any armor on today’s mission. We’ll do our best to keep them out of harm’s way.

The Skyranger begins its descent…

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Render II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich 1033 (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Danny Van Halen (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Thomkal II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Jeff Nights II (Blaster Launcher)
3. Patman II (Heavy Plasma)
4. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Fonzie II Warlord II (Heavy Plasma)

The Skyranger drops the last few hundred meters to the dimly lit battlefield below. The men aboard scan the terrain. We’ll touch down in the northwest corner of what looks like a small village: we can see a row of buildings starting from the right side of our Skyranger and running parallel with our craft. There also appear to be more buildings set back behind these. More importantly, we won’t have far to go to get to the UFO remains: it lies about 5 yards to the right of our exit. It’s a small, one-room craft, and it looks like Superman’s missile hit and the crash landing ripped it apart badly. The UFO lies to the immediate left of the village’s first buildings, a two-story house. The areas to the left of our exit and stretching out to the rear of the exit are secure terrain. With the UFO so close, we won’t have long to wait to get into some action.

The Skyranger lands, the gate falls away, and we are greeted by early morning silence. Our tank rumbles down the ramp, spins, and searches…

Nothing. Render II and Thomkal II quickly exit the Skyranger and take up positions behind the tank. The UFO, only five feet away, has its roof caved it, but the outer wall, at least on this side, is intact. Render preps a grenade and lobs it into the UFO. It goes off with a resounding crash, but we hear no alien screams.

Suddenly, shots pour down on Thomkal and Render from somewhere up high in the village! Sniper! Plasma blasts pepper the ground as Render and Thomkal frantically search for the alien. There! A flash of a plasma rifle gives him away: a Muton on top of a two-story building, about 50 yards inside the village! Render and Thomkal return fire. Shots fly back and forth. Render is the first to hit, but the Muton stays up and continues firing. Finally Thomkal II lands two hits that kill the Muton. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.


A Muton sniper lays in wait for X-COM forces.September, 2003. X-COM Photo Archives.

Render preps another grenade and tosses it into the UFO as our tank and Thomkal advance to right between the UFO and the two-story building beside it. Qwikshot II exits the Skyranger and joins Thomkal. Render’s grenade goes off with a crash, but once again we hear no alien screams. Maybe there is nothing in the UFO?

Danny Van Halen exits the Skyranger and loops up under the belly of the craft. He then heads for the side of the first two-story building. Our tank edges down the lane between the UFO and the building. Bingo! Muton still alive inside the UFO! We slide our tank back. Qwikshot II preps yet another grenade and tosses it into the UFO. Crash! The thing goes off with a roar, and this time we hear an alien scream! Qwikshot II got one!


X-COM agents close in on a Muton holed up in a demolished UFO.September, 2003. X-COM Photo Archives.

And that was the last alien? Damn. Fly ten hours, kill two Mutons, then fly ten hours back. Lots of flying for three minutes of action.

Kills: Qwikshot II, 1; Thomkal II, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Render II, Thomkal II, Qwikshot II.
Final score: 38
Mission Notes:
Wimpy mission.

[3ric]

Got the frequent flier miles at least, I guess.

[JeeberD]

Man, I didn't even get a chance to stretch my legs after that long flight...

[Fonzie]

I'd like to second (third? fourth?) the others: the screenshots are a very nice addition to the dynasty.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

Once again things go quiet for a short stretch...

We bring Patman II and Naiwf from ASIA COM to EU COM. We also send Zippy II from EU COM to ASIA COM.

Crappy's researchers in the USA crack the secrets of UFO Navigation, and immediately set to work on designing a prototype fighter that should be a vast improvement over our current Interceptor technology. European researchers complete work on the Mind Probe techonolgy (not sure what this does yet, but it sounds cool), and set to work on understanding the Martian origins of our enemies.

Finally, on the 25th, EU COM radar picks up a medium size Muton scout UFO over the Atlantic and heading for Europe. Both CapnMorgan and Superman scramble, but Superman is first to the enemy craft. In a fierce dogfight over southeaster England, Superman downs the enemy craft for his fifth kill, which makes him an "ace" pilot. He now gets free peanut butter.

Late on the 24th of September, we launch the ASIA COM Skyranger to investigate the crash site. This fight should prove to be a bit more lively, as the UFO is quite a bit bigger. They'll strike during the morning of the 25th.

On board are the following men:

Rich, Jeff Nights II, Danny Van Halen, Fonzie II, Split Personality III, Jeeber D, Illinifan V, Condors II, Travis III, and Zippy II.

This time everyone has Power Suits! Thanks, Sterling!

Good luck, men!

[Godzilla Blitz]

3ric: Yeah, that's about all we can say for that trip. Lots of frequent flyer miles, and I get to practice my typing.

Swaggs: It's tough when a classmate goes over to the other side. Now that PsychoCop reminded me why this happens, I might be able to avoid it in the future. Live and you learn. Or the in the case of Marmel: die and we learn.

Everyone: Thanks again for the comments on the screen shots. I've got a system down now so it doesn't take long to do them.

Vince: Welcome back! Of course we'll add your name to the list! For anyone who doesn't know, the X-COM dynasty is Vince's idea. He is the father of the whole thing!

MikeVic: Welcome! I'll add your name to the waiting list!

Am about half done with the next mission, but this week might get busy. I'll do my best. You may have noticed, but I'm picking the pace up a bit. I've decided to try to finish this thing in my lifetime, and once a week was just a bit too slow. However, I most likely will need to stop for a couple of weeks pretty soon (wife is 8.5 months pregnant), and things might slow a bit right after the baby is born, but we'll see what I can do.

[Superman=#54]

Finally, on the 25th, EU COM radar picks up a medium size Muton scout UFO over the Atlantic and heading for Europe. Both CapnMorgan and Superman scramble, but Superman is first to the enemy craft. In a fierce dogfight over southeaster England, Superman downs the enemy craft for his fifth kill, which makes him an "ace" pilot. He now gets free peanut butter.

I was born an ace.

[The Afoci]

Nice picture. The really scary thing is that you have access to such things.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Superman=#54
I was born an ace.

I thought that's what Crappy and I supposedly look like. Not that any of you have ever seen us.

On an unrelated note, it's amazing what you can do with hologram technology these days. Especially when you want no one to know who you are and you are stockpiling alien technology.

SI

[DeToxRox]

So, Can I just be the Prime Minister of X-Com yet, or what?

My Cal Ripken-esque Iron Man Streak is showing no signs of ever stopping, and my legions of fans all echo their sentiments for the bastard of ballads to commence as X-Com GOD.

[NAIWF]

I think GB opts to put me on the crap missions.

I got lost in the shuffle after the scouting mission last month, missed a ton of cool opportunities and then get a 2 alien mission when I return. My reward? Yet ANOTHER transfer, forcing me to miss out on a mission I'd have been on had I just stayed put. *sigh*

Off topic, I hope the birth goes well GB.

[Tasan]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
(wife is 8.5 months pregnant

Have you checked to make sure its not a sectoid?



Enjoy and don't spend too much time playing this silly game instead of spending time with the new kid.

[illinifan999]

GB love the screenies. If my uhhhhh fifth character dies a picture will need to be taken of the corpse. And I have a question, why not just equip the reporters that are taking all these pictures with guns and let them do the work?

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by sterlingice
I thought that's what Crappy and I supposedly look like.

Close, but I still have more hair than that guy. Not much, but a little.

[Thomkal]

Just the way I like my missions-quick, easy, and only slightly life threatening. And a kill and attribute rise to boot. Life is good.

[PsychoCop]

I'm already at UFO Crash #245... lol, and I just keep on kicking ass with my veterans.

I don't want to go to Mars just yet, as I'm still completing my PsyWarriors Plan to take on those damn sectoids and etherials!

[Godzilla Blitz]

69th Mission: Making Mutton of Mutons

The ASIA COM Skyranger makes its way westward for the second time in less than a week. Today’s destination is southeast England, where we’ll go up against a Muton scout that has crash-landed in the countryside. This time there should be more action for our men, as the enemy UFO is a large scout, which usually holds quite a few more aliens than the small one that we faced last time.

This time Sterling Ice got the equipment loading correct, so everyone has Power Armor on for today’s battle.

The Skyranger begins its descent…

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Travis III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich 1033 (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Danny Van Halen (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Illinifan V (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Zippy II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Jeff Nights II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Split Personality II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Condors II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Fonzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger will be coming down on the east side of the combat zone today. We can’t make out the UFO as we descend, but we can make out a number of buildings on the battlefield. To the immediate left of our Skyranger exit, about 5 yards away, are a couple of small shacks. About 40 yards away, at a 45-degree angle to the left from our exit, are a series of small shanties. Just behind them we can make out a two-story building. In the opposite direction, about 30 yards from the nose of the Skyranger, we can see another two-story building. Other than that, we’ve got the fields, fences, and walls that are the standard fare of British battlefields.

The Skyranger lands on the soft soil with a thunk. The gate falls open. Cool fall air drifts in to our Skyranger bay. Silence greets us.

Our tank rumbles onto the ramp. Incoming plasma from the left! Ambush! Our tank is drilled by quick, consecutive plasma hits and erupts in a ball of flame! Shrapnel and smoke pour into the Skyranger bay from the explosion. Shit. Zippy II and Travis III run for the edge of the ramp. Both men scan left and start to go to their knees. There! Two Mutons! At the shacks about 40 yards away to our left. One is firing through a window from inside the first shack; the other is kneeing in front of the first shack. Plasma comes streaking at our Skyranger before either man can get a shot off. Zippy II is nailed in the chest by a direct hit that cuts through his armor. Blood comes gushing out of his chest as he topples face down on the ramp. Qwikshot II, Rich, and Danny Van Halen sprint for the exit as Travis III opens fire. Travis catches the Muton in front of the shack with a plasma blast that sends it spinning to the ground, but we hear no scream: this alien is still alive. Split Personality III, Danny Van Halen, and Rich exit the Skyranger. Split and Rich open fire on the alien inside the shack while Danny checks Zippy II: he’s unconscious but alive! As plasma blasts whiz over his head, Danny pulls out a Medikit and starts to slap patches on the hole in Zippy’s chest. Neither Split nor Rich can hit the alien inside the shack, but Jeff Nights II reaches the top of the ramp and adds his firepower. Plasma blasts tear into the shack, and finally Jeff hits the Muton in the head. The creature drops back into the shack with a scream! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Danny drags Zippy II’s unconscious body back into the Skyranger bay as we try to clear the congested exit ramp. Travis III jumps off the ramp to the right to take cover behind the Skyranger landing gear. Incoming fire! A plasma blast comes tearing at Travis from the left of the shack that lies right beside our Skyranger. The blast cracks into the landing strut, mere inches from Travis’ head. Travis looks right and spots the Muton about 20 yards away, behind a stone wall to the left of the shack. He returns fire, and clips the alien’s head on his first shot. The alien screams and slumps over! Yes! What a shot! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Off at the more distant shacks, the alien that Travis stunned gets up and starts to bolt. Rich spots the movement and we open fire again. Green plasma streaks towards the target. The Muton tries to get into the shacks, but Rich lands a plasma blast on the creature’s back that knocks it to the ground screaming. This time it’s down for good! Jeff Nights II steps back into the Skyranger for a moment to let us clear the exit, as right now we’ve got five men bunched up in a grenade’s fantasy. X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

We try to move away from the Skyranger. Split takes two steps forward, but comes under fire. Plasma blasts clang into the side of the Skyranger. Another Muton is huddled behind a low wooden fence about 40 yards away, just to the left of shacks from which the Mutons ambushed us. Danny Van Halen, who just put Zippy down at the edge of the Skyranger bay, joins Rich and Split in opening fire on the Muton. Plasma slams into the fence, but Danny slips two shots through the gaps in the planking that slam into the Muton’s torso. It clutches its midsection, screams, and topples left to die. X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

Meanwhile, Travis makes a dash for the front landing strut of the Skyranger. He gets there safely, and searches for Mutons. Illinifan V steps out of the smoky Skyranger bay, jumps to the ground to the right of the exit bay, and takes up a position at the landing gear that Travis just left. Suddenly, plasma blasts come flying at Travis again, this time from a Muton advancing through a wooded field about 30 yards off the nose of the Skyranger. The blasts punch up clumps of dirt by Travis’ feet. Before Travis can return fire, the Muton retreats into the trees. Travis crawls forward from the landing strut to try to spot the alien, as we get Jeff and Jeeber D out of the Skyranger on the right side to lend a hand.

There! Behind a tree about 35 yards from Travis! Travis ducks down while Illinifan, Jeff, and Jeeber open fire. A torrent of plasma streaks for the Muton, but our aim is off: most of the shots sail well wide. The ones that don’t blow chunks of the small tree away, but don’t hit the Muton behind it. Danny Van Halen and Split Personality, in line with the enemy from the left side of the Skyranger, try some long distance shots, and Travis adds his firepower as well. The Muton is cowering under this impressive array of firepower. Finally, Jeff Nights II gets off a great shot from afar that nicks the tree trunk and slams into the Muto’s hip. The creature’s hip explodes, and the Muton falls to the ground screaming! Within seconds it is dead! X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

Things finally go quiet for a bit. We get a moment to plan our advance. We’ve got three areas of buildings to search: the shacks and house from which the ambush took place; the shacks to our immediate left; and the two-story barn that lies about 30 yards from our Skyranger nose. Rich, Split, and Danny head for the ambush shacks and house. Condors II exits the Skyranger and joins Illinifan. They head for the shacks right beside us. Travis III and Jeeber D head for the barn off the nose of the Skyranger. Fonzie II heads out of the Skyranger and into the now secure field near the exit. Once there, he sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Jeff Nights II stays back as a reserve.

We’ll use Fonzie II to soften up some of this danger of searching buildings. He fires two blaster missiles at the barn by Travis III and Jeeber D. The structure is torn apart by the missiles, but we hear no alien screams from inside. Jeeber D and Travis head for the remains to confirm that there are no aliens left alive there.


X-COM agents clear a Muton-held village. September, 2003. X-COM Archive Photos.

Meanwhile, Illinifan V and Condors II clear the two shacks right next to our Skyranger. As they do this, they spot the UFO, about 40 yards away, sitting in a field right behind a low stone wall. The door is facing us, so we should have a good shot at anything that comes out if we can move fast enough and get in a firing position. The two men take up some temporaty positions at the shacks overlooking the door.

At the ambush area, Rich clears the first two shacks, and the team starts to advance on the two-story house that lies further on. We’ll need to clear this before we can set up a good firing position on the UFO, as the house overlooks the stone wall that we’d like to use for cover.


X-COM forces work through a destroyed British barn. September, 2003. X-COM Archive Photos.

Back on the other side of the battlefield, as Travis and Jeeber are heading for the destroyed barn, Jeeber spots a Muton heading towards the UFO through a field that lies behind it. Jeeber D drops to a knee as Illinifan, at the left side of the central shacks, picks up the movement as well. Both men open fire. Plasma blasts tear up the field, and the Muton makes a mad dash for the safety of the UFO. It gets to within 20 yards when a plasma blast from Illinifan catches it in the knee. The shot dismembers the alien and sends it rolling to the ground. It frantically tries to crawl the remaining distance to the UFO, but Illinifan catches it in the side with another blast that stops it for good. X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet again as we continue our searches. Travis and Jeeber work their way through the remains of the barn without further incident, and head for the area to the left of the UFO. Once there, Jeeber D sets up a firing position on the door from behind a hedgewall, while Travis continues working his way around the cross-shaped UFO.

On the north side of the battlefield, Rich and Split Personality clear the two-story house. Rich goes up to the roof and sets up a sniping position that overlooks the battlefield and UFO. Split continues past the house with Danny Van Halen. The two of them clear the area to the right of the UFO and start behind the craft.


An X-COM sniper hunts for enemy troops. September, 2003. X-COM Archive Photos.

Back at our central area, with the house to the north cleared, we now control the wall that lies to the right of the UFO exit. Jeff Nights II, Zippy II—who has snapped back awake—, and Condors II make their way to the wall and set up great firing positions on the UFO door. Illinifan breaks left and works his way to some rubble near the destroyed barn. We’ve now got six men—Jeeber, Illinifan, Condors, Zippy, Jeff Nights, and Rich—all in position to blast anything that comes out the door.

At the rear of the UFO, Danny Van Halen, Travis, and Split finish their search and converge at the back of the UFO. We’ll wait a bit to see if aliens exit the front, then we’ll have Fonzie II blow open a hole in the back so these three men can lead our assault.

We don’t have long to wait, however. Within a couple of minutes, a Muton steps through the UFO door. Six agents open fire at once. The front of the UFO is ravaged with plasma blasts. The Muton has no chance. Hit multiple times, it turns to reenter the UFO, but Jeeber D puts on the coup de grace: a head shot that blows away the left side of the creature’s head. The thing drops to the ground, dead. X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

Suddenly, another Muton steps through the door! This time Condors II is fastest to the draw. His first shot hits the Muton in the face and blows it backwards into the UFO screaming. Right on this ones heels, a third Muton bursts through the exit. Once again it is Condors II that lands the killing blow, as a stomach shot doubles the enemy up and drives it to the ground, where it dies seconds later. X-COM 9, Aliens 0.

And that’s all she wrote! That was the last alien! Well done! Tough start, but we rallied nicely.

Kills: Jeff Nights II, 2; Travis III, 1; Condors II, 2; Rich 1033, 1; Danny Van Halen, 1; Jeeber D, 1; Illinifan V, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: Zippy II (19 days).
Attribute Improvements: Zippy II, Jeff Nights II, Travis III, Condors II, Rich 1033, Danny Van Halen, Jeeber D, Illinifan V, Fonzie II.
Final score: 260
Mission Notes:
Zippy II is extremely lucky to be alive. He came as close as one can to dying from that chest shot, and would have died if Danny Van Halen had arrived a minute later.

[zippy256]

Thank you DVH.
I owe you my life.

[Godzilla Blitz]

PsychoCop: We do seem to be on a roll now. Three missions in a row without a death. I'm not sure what our longest streak is, but I don't think it could be much beyond four.

Superman: Nice photo. Are you sure that's not one of our Skyranger pilots?

DVH: Your stock continues to rise! As long as you're not up against PSI-attacks, you seem to be a force to contend with.

Naiwf: Thanks! We'll have to put you in with Real Deal III and Tasan in the "Let's get these men a kill" party. Next EU COM mission. I promise.

Tasan: Good point. We know it's a female, but the tests don't mention anything about planetary origin. I'd ask my wife, but she'd just give me one of those "Terminator 3 tilt stares" that she always gives me when I start babbling about something insane. And don't worry, I'll only play games when my kids are asleep. As much fun as these games are, kids are more fun. Plus, they need careful training should I fall in battle against the Sectoids.

Illinifan: Will do on that death shot. By the way, these aren't real photographers taking the photos. We're using one of those MAV (Micro Air Vehicles) to take photos.

PsychoCop: UFO #249!?!?! Aaargh! We're only on #109!

Breeze: Got it. I'll put you back on "active". Just to let you know, to get in the action, when I "make the call", make a post saying that you're ready to report. That lets me know that you're still around and reading regularly. I wait at least 24 hours for an answer, then call the next person on the list if the first person called hasn't posted.

__________

Should have an game update posted sometime later today.

[DeToxRox]

My shot is superb; Move over Billy the Kid
My stealth is glorious; Move over Ninja man
My doctor skills are sexy; Dr. Quinn, get out of here.
Next up? I think you know.

I WANT LEWIS! GIVE ME THE BELT SLUT!

[JeeberD]

Oh yeah, I got another kill. Rock on....

[Godzilla Blitz]

September 26, 2003

In the wee hours of the night, a large UFO appears over the Indian Ocean and begins a long beeline to the European continent. Helpless while the craft is in the air, we begin the wait to see if the craft touches down so we can launch an attack. Our resignation turns to concern when the UFO begins a zigzag course over southern Europe that gradually brings the large ship closer and closer to our EU COM base.

Our base quickly sounds the alert, and all agents go on full combat status as the UFO nears to within 50 miles. An eastward zig takes it away from our base, but a westward zag brings it right on line to pass over the top of our base. At 20 miles out, we hear the pinging, and we say our prayers to the gods above that they don’t find us.

10 miles out and the pings are coming faster and louder. 5 miles. 3 miles. 1 mile. And then the large UFO is right over our base. And stops. The pings become one long ringing. We brace for combat. All systems are on full alert. But one minute goes by and nothing happens. Two minutes later and still nothing. Five minutes go by and still no attack, and still the UFO is right over our base burning our eardrums with that infernal pinging. Then suddenly it roars off to the northeast at full speed. It continues that course for an hour and then disappears from our radar. We all breathe a long sigh of relief, but the look of concern remains: Did they find us?

The next morning, service personnel, bringing up the garbage from our subterranean base, find a human body right beside the main entrance shaft to our base. The corpse has been horribly tortured: the eyes gouged out; the finger and toe-nails ripped off; the body peppered with burn marks; much of the skin peeled off; and the genitals hacked off and stuffed in other orifices.

Crudely nailed to the body’s chest is a simple, blood-speckled note: “WEE NO WARE YU SLEAP.”

The body is Marmel’s.

[SirFozzie]

Poor Marm. Just when he saw the light about the RedSox, too.

[NAIWF]

Sucks to be Marmel

Looks like I got my wish, I'll be involved in a bloody mission soon.

[JeeberD]

Ouch. Poor Marm, and not good news for EU COM either....

[tucker342]

ouch.... thats gotta hurt

[sterlingice]

Hey, GB, where do Crappy and I work? USA COM? If not, I'd like to get a transfer over to USA COM pretty soon

SI

[AStott]

Oh boy... I think I'm hoping to get transferred to Asia Com when I'm healed up... Of course, I'll go where I'm sent, and serve with distinction, but... Doesn't sound good.

[Swaggs]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
September 26, 2003
The next morning, service personnel, bringing up the garbage from our subterranean base, find a human body right beside the main entrance shaft to our base. The corpse has been horribly tortured: the eyes gouged out; the finger and toe-nails ripped off; the body peppered with burn marks; much of the skin peeled off; and the genitals hacked off and stuffed in other orifices.

Crudely nailed to the body’s chest is a simple, blood-speckled note: “WEE NO WARE YU SLEAP.”

The body is Marmel’s.

Let me at 'em!!!

[Coffee Warlord]

Wimps.

I will defend the honor of X-Com Europe! Where's my blaster launcher! I'll take the entire base down with me if I have to, but those aliens will never enter!

[PsychoCop]

One nice tactic I used to use once I get flying suits is going into the ships from up top. Blow a hole on the roof with a blaster launcher and send in around 5 troops to clear the ship from top to bottom. Lol.

[Tasan]

a little out of character here....GB if you're afraid of a base attack, make sure you have a suit of armor for each agent at the base. It really sucks to be down to your last handful of guys in a base and only have 2 with armor on. I think the stuff loaded on a skyranger leaves the base with the 'ranger too, so make sure you have more than enough. Sometimes when I think an attack is about to happen, I just keep the 'ranger unloaded so I have that stuff available.

[MrBug708]

Scorned Lover Swaggs?

[Chief Rum]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
Crudely nailed to the body’s chest is a simple, blood-speckled note: “WEE NO WARE YU SLEAP.”

The body is Marmel’s.

I can see it already.

After having extracted the base's location from Marmel after days of endless torture, the aliens are now trying to determine the correct spelling for their message. It's good to see Marmel didn't give in and tell them.

Oh what?...Not the greatest speller, either, eh?...Oh well...

CR

[Godzilla Blitz]

Sterling: You and Crappy fly all over the place, but we're going to make sure we clear out all nonessential personnel in the next couple of days. The base is going to get hit. Unfortunately, I knocked out the old radar and am replacing it with storage spaces, but until that's done (8 days) the base will have a less desirable defense layout. I'm hoping they don't attack until we get the redesign finished.

AStott: You and Alf and Glengoyne were transferred to ASIA COM on the 25th.

Tasan: Thanks! I remember from out first game that the equipment I got for the base defense was all screwy because I had all our good stuff on the Skyranger. I'll allow myself to rearrange this to our advantage. This is one of those stupid game quirks where I'll allow myself to revert to a saved game to get ready.

Psycho Cop: Yeah, the unofficial recommends that too. Flying suits is something we could research, but I'm putting a priority on new aircraft and alien origins research for now.

Update

Early on the 27th, Superman knocks a small scout down over Europe, and we send our USA COM contingent over for some exercise. Later in the day, a medium scout appears, and Superman launches again. This time he has a more difficult time of things (we had no large missiles at the base, whoops), but he managed to knock the craft down after a long dogfight in which the Interceptor suffered damage as well. We launch the EU COM Skyranger for this target.

Our USA COM Skyranger assault will go first, followed by EU COM. I'll just do a brief writeup for the USA attack, and so that should go up soon. The EU COM assault will follow sometime after that.

Our EU COM troops on board:
Revrew, Blade III, Lokugh II, Japherwaki II, Real Deal III, Patman II, Afoci, Tasan, Naiwf, Mr. Bug IV.

The EU COM mission will be taking some pains to make sure that Real Deal, Tasan, and Naiwf get a chance to pick up kills.

Humm, maybe "taking some pains" is not the best way to word this...

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
Sterling: You and Crappy fly all over the place, but we're going to make sure we clear out all nonessential personnel in the next couple of days. The base is going to get hit. Unfortunately, I knocked out the old radar and am replacing it with storage spaces, but until that's done (8 days) the base will have a less desirable defense layout. I'm hoping they don't attack until we get the redesign finished.

...


Humm, maybe "taking some pains" is not the best way to word this...

Actually, I think "taking some pains" might be the appropriate wording. Back to speaking in character...

Anyways... nnnnnnon essential? I'll nonessential you, you administrative desk jockey! I don't see you doing much but fouling up equipment orders and keeping my funding low!

SI

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by sterlingice
Anyways... nnnnnnon essential? I'll nonessential you, you administrative desk jockey! I don't see you doing much but fouling up equipment orders and keeping my funding low!

If being nonessential means I stay alive, I'll take it!

[Godzilla Blitz]

70th Mission: USA COM vs. Mutons in France

All these agents are the inactive readers (missed roll call), so this will be a simple mision summary.

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Daimyo II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Wade Moore (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. BYU (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. The Time (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Wignasty (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Achilles (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. CT Homer (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Data King III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Sublime II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Rawisdan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Another short mission against a tiny UFO scout. Most of our agents never got off the Skyranger.

Data King III kills a sniper on a barn rooftop with some nice long range shooting.

Sublime II kills a Muton in a field from behind our tank.

No casualties, but our tank takes a beating.

Kills: Data King III, 1; Sublime II, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Data King III, Sublime II, BYU.
Final score: 54
Mission Notes:
Wade Moore becomes our second agent to survive 20 missions. The mission ended before he even got out of the Skyranger.

Man, doing these things without a full writeup is cake. Takes no time at all.

[Godzilla Blitz]

71st Mission: More Muton Madness

The EU COM hurtles east, to the Russian border, where Superman’s latest kill awaits cleanup. This time we’ll be up against a large scout, which should contain a fair number of aliens.

Our goal today is to help foster the development of some of our agents that have been on a number of missions without getting much action. We’re going to try, if possible, to set up Real Deal III, Tasan, and Naiwf for kills. We won’t take any unnecessary risks, but we will do our best to maneuver them into position to move up on the kill board.

The Skyranger begins its descent to the Russian countryside on this beautiful late September morning…

Left Side:
1. Blade III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Revrew (Blaster Launcher, Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Real Deal III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Afoci (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Lokugh II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Japherwaki II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Patman II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Tasan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Mr. Bug IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

As we descend, we scan the battlefield. We are coming down on the west side of the combat zone, so the action should lie to the right of our Skyranger exit. We can just pick out the outline of the cross-shaped UFO, sitting in a field about 50 yards directly to the right of our exit. The door, most likely, will be facing away from us. The only other structure we can make out is a large, two-story barn that our Skyranger will nose up against. Elsewhere, it’s just the stuff we know and love: stone walls, hedgewalls, and fences.

The Skyranger hits the ground with a soft thud. The gate falls open…

Silence. We send our tank out onto the ramp. Whoosh! Incoming fire! A missile comes from a small grove about 50 yards straight out from the Skyranger exit. Oh crap! The missile soars right for our exit, and slams into the left edge of the landing bay. It goes off with a small crash, and stun gas fills the air near the exit. Whew! I thought that was a blaster missile! Our tank continues straight down the ramp and spots the Muton that just fired on us, lying on the ground at the edge of the grove. Real Deal III runs to the edge of the Skyranger exit, drops to a knee, and opens fire…

Bingo! Real hits the Muton in the shoulder and blows a large chunk of the creature’s upper chest away. The thing howls and dies within seconds! Well, that was easy! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Our tank reaches the bottom of the ramp, spins, and searches the nearby terrain…

Nothing. Quiet. We disembark. Lokugh II, Blade III, and Afoci head straight out of the Skyranger and continue on into the fields in front of the exit. Japherwaki II and Mr. Bug IV exit and get behind our tank, which leads the way towards the barn off the nose of the Skyranger. Tasan and Naiwf exit, turn right, cut over a stone wall, and head straight for the UFO. The door is on the far side of the craft, and we can see a large hole in the middle of the roof. We’ll try to get Tasan and Naiwf up against the UFO so they can pour some grenades in the hole. Revrew exits the Skyranger, breaks left, and sets up a position with the Blaster Launcher. Patman II and Real Deal III play rock, paper, and scissors inside the Skyranger bay.


X-COM forces disembark from a Skyranger in Russia.September, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

For the first few minutes, we encounter no resistance. Lokugh, Blade, and Afoci clear the fields straight out from our Skyranger exit, then break right. They’ll sweep the left side of the UFO, which we can now see consists of a small collection of buildings and shacks. Japh and Mr. Bug advance to the barn off the nose of our Skyranger, which appears quiet. They prepare to rush inside.

Naiwf and Tasan make the slow advance on the UFO. Suddenly, Naiwf spots a Muton cutting through a field to the right of the UFO. Patman, Mr. Bug IV, Japh, and Naiwf all have shots at the thing, and we send out a ferocious volley of fire at the lone enemy. Plasma blasts tear up the field, and the startled Muton tries to flee. Naiwf is the first to hit: he drops the Muton with a shot to the calf. The Muton gets up, though, and keeps trying to get away, this time dragging its left leg behind it. Japh, with a long shot from 70 yards plus, drills the thing in the back, though, and it falls to the ground one final time. Nice shot! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

After that, things go quite once more. Our men continue their advances. We bring Patman II and Real Deal III out of the Skyranger to get ready to move if any of our teams in the field need help. Japh and Mr. Bug break inside the barn, but the structure is empty on both floors. Lokugh, Blade, and Afoci start drawing nearer to the small village at the left of the UFO, but the place is silent, so we don’t expect much resistance there.

Tasan and Naiwf make it to the side of the UFO, and prep grenades to toss through the hole in the roof. Tasan makes two throws, and both grenades go off with a roar that send plumes of smoke up through the hole in the roof, but we draw no alien screams. Naiwf follows with a grenade as well, but he gets no scream either. We try one more grenade for luck, and this time Tasan hits pay dirt: we hear the muffled scream of a Muton dying inside! Yes, Tasan got one! Ducks in a barrel! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.


X-COM forces assault an alien UFO with grenades.September, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

The tank, Mr. Bug, and Japh exit the barn and start out for the fields that lie on the right of the UFO. Afoci, Blade, and Lokugh reach the small village and start clearing the first few buildings.

At the UFO, we decide to give up throwing expensive grenades inside the craft. We pull our tank away from Japh and Mr. Bug and send it over to Naiwf at the UFO. Naiwf gets behind the thing and the two of them start to loop around the right side of the UFO. Meanwhile, Patman II leaves the vicinity of the Skyranger and starts to jog to Naiwf’s position as well. We’ll set up a firing position on the UFO door with the two of them.

As Naiwf and the tank roll around the UFO, a Muton comes around the corner right at them! Naiwf opens fire first, and blows a large hole in the creature’s stomach that drops it to the ground screaming! Wow! Naiwf got his kill! X-COM 4, Aliens 0.


An X-COM agent advances on a UFO door.September, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Patman II reaches the tank and Naiwf a couple of minutes later, and together they resume an advance on the UFO door. Once again, a Muton comes around in front of them, but this time the tank is first two react. It fires a missile that clips the corner of the UFO and explodes. The force of the explosion sends the Muton flying to the ground, where it cracks its head on a fallen log and falls unconscious.

And that is the last alien! Only five? Man, are they running out?

Kills: Real Deal III, 1; Japherwaki II, 1; Tasan, 1; Naiwf, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Real Deal III, Japherwaki II, Tasan, Naiwf.
Final score: 127.
Mission Notes:
Real Deal, Tasan, and Naiwf get their alien kills!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Craptacular
If being nonessential means I stay alive, I'll take it!

You know... I like that thinking. Good plan

SI

[Swaggs]

This just keeps getting better and better...

[Godzilla Blitz]

Dear Captain Sterling Ice:

No, no, no. No takes back. And no need to back off your stance that you are indeed an "essential" member of our defense team. I really should apologize. In no way are you nonessential, and I just couldn't sleep well knowing that I've hurt your feelings. To make you feel better, I've got you on a Concorde that'll take you right to EU COM, where you can be with all the other essential personnel for October.

Again, please accept my humble apologies and I hope this small action will go a long way to making you feel much better!

Sincerely,
Godzilla Blitz

P.S. We're a little short of Heavy Plasmas there, though, so you might have to fight with a broomstick if things get ugly. I hear poking them in the eyes works really well.

[NAIWF]

What? No assist on that kill by Japh?

No complaints today, a kill, another survived mission and some skill improvements.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Next up...

1. Stats Update
2. General Update
3. Next mission.

Might not have much time to play tomorrow. Probably will get #1 and #2 done though. Next mission probably should be up on Friday late, barring babies being born and an unusually large mission.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Did the stats tonight...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 71)

USA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
14.  Wade Moore        Active     Colonel   20     21     D-2B; F-1B; G-1
31.  BYU 14            Active     Captain   17     10     -
37.  The Time          Active     Sergeant  14      3     -
41.  Fat Football II   Active     Sergeant  12      6     -
43.  Achilles          Active     Sergeant  13     11     -
55.  Sublime II        Active     Squaddie  12      7     -
59.  Daimyo II         Active     Squaddie   6      5     -
61.  Rawisdan          Active     Squaddie  11      6     -
71.  Wignasty          Active     Squaddie   5      3     - 
73.  CTHomer           Active     Squaddie   6      6     -
94.  Data King III     Active     Squaddie   2      2     -

EU COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
2.   jfbbis            Active     Colonel   17     14     D-2B;G-1
10.  Kodos             Active     Commander 20     19     D-1S;H-1
19.  Revrew            Active     Sergeant  17     13     -
46.  Patman II         Active     Captain   17      9     -
66.  Tasan             Active     Squaddie  12      5     -
70.  Naiwf             Active     Sergeant  11      5     -
89.  RealDeal III      Active     Squaddie   6      2     -
90.  Coffee Warlord II Active     Squaddie   7      6     -
93.  Afoci             Active     Squaddie   5      3     -
97.  Blade III         Active     Squaddie   3      2     -
98.  MrBug IV          Active     Squaddie   4      3     -
99.  Lokugh II         Active     Squaddie   4      1     -
100. Sir Fozzie        Active     Squaddie   3      5     -
101. Wolfpack          Active     Squaddie   4      2     -
102. Japherwaki II     Active     Squaddie   5      4     -
105. Swaggs            Active     Squaddie   3      3     -
107. Chief Rum III     Active     Squaddie   1      1     -

ASIA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
15.  Rich 1033         Active     Squaddie  16     13     K-1Y
35.  Jeff Nights II    Active     Captain   19     10     -
39.  Thomkal II        Active     Sergeant  14     13     -
45.  Danny VanHalen    Active     Squaddie  15     12     -
52.  Qwikshot II       Active     Sergeant  14     10     -
74.  AStott            Active     Captain   11     16     -
75.  Alf III           Active     Squaddie   4      2     - 
76.  Fonzie II         Active     Squaddie   7      7     -
78.  Render II         Active     Squaddie   8      5     -
84.  Split Pers III    Active     Squaddie   4      5     -
92.  Jeeber D          Active     Squaddie   3      4     -
96.  Illinifan V       Active     Squaddie   3      3     -
103. Condors II        Active     Squaddie   4      6     -
106. Travis III        Active     Squaddie   4      4     -
109. Glengoyne         Active     Rookie     0      0     -

 

SAM COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
107. Zippy II          WND (12)   Squaddie   2      1     -

Medals Key: Medals listed by letter code then number of times received.
            A = Order of Mega Mighty Mojo; B = Order of Mighty Mojo;
            C = Order of Mojo; D = Star of Terra;
            E = Badge of Kahunas; F = Angel Wings;
            G = Purple Heart; H = Kodos Doh Award;
            J = Cam Edwards Pin; K = Pin of Cowardice.
Following Number: G = Gold; S = Silver; B = Bronze; Y = Yellow; Bl = Black

X-COM II Troop Attributes

      
     Name              TU’s  Stam  Hlth  Brav  Reac  Fire  Thrw  Str.
2.   jfbbis            74    77    57    30    35    82    58    51
10.  Kodos             76    87    57    50    61    78    73    49
14.  Wade Moore        76    79    56    30    59    87    70    66
15.  Rich 1033         75    68    44    20    55    54    70    62
19.  Revrew            73    60    51    30    36    62    59    55
31.  BYU 14            70    79    53    50    44    56    55    50
35.  Jeff Nights II    66    73    53    60    32    64    59    50
37.  The Time          68    72    47    40    62    49    56    47
39.  Thomkal II        68    88    57    30    56    49    61    44
41.  Fat Football II   69    68    41    50    38    68    73    50
43.  Achilles          64    68    52    10    45    77    79    50
45.  Danny VanHalen    73    77    45    10    41    62    78    51
46.  Patman II         74    67    50    60    47    52    79    51
52.  Qwikshot II       70    80    45    10    58    77    65    48
55.  Sublime II        69    70    43    10    40    70    75    52
59.  Daimyo II         61    60    43    30    47    69    64    42
61.  RawisDan          67    49    33    60    37    67    74    44
66.  Tasan             62    60    45    50    39    64    58    52
70.  Naiwf             71    68    48    50    40    61    69    45
71.  Wignasty          64    45    37    20    38    61    72    44
73.  CTHomer           68    67    38    10    58    45    62    46
74.  AStott            73    55    51    50    55    71    62    55
75.  Alf III           58    47    34    40    52    48    55    42
76.  Fonzie II         65    74    49    20    42    62    79    42
78.  Render II         66    53    40    50    57    72    69    41
84.  Split Pers III    61    61    37    30    40    64    67    38
89.  RealDeal III      65    70    32    60    47    63    68    48
90.  Coffee Warlord II 69    76    42    60    38    71    69    42
92.  Jeeber D          61    57    38    20    30    59    75    36
93.  Afoci             60    59    37    30    40    45    54    43
94.  Data King III     62    50    30    50    36    52    58    30
96.  Illinifan V       57    50    44    50    56    53    66    40
97.  Blade III         61    70    43    50    59    44    62    33
98.  Mr. Bug IV        61    64    45    10    34    69    66    34
99.  Lokugh II         57    60    35    30    40    60    78    44
100. Sir Fozzie        51    52    45    10    55    64    59    36
101. Wolfpack          64    68    32    40    35    61    59    31
102. Japherwaki II     66    75    37    20    31    50    51    43
103. Condors II        63    64    37    60    50    67    66    48
105. Swaggs            63    69    34    60    51    71    69    36
106. Travis III        65    61    43    30    54    69    58    35
107. Chief Rum III     63    47    43    50    56    65    77    24
108. Zippy II          58    68    35    40    47    69    50    34
109. Glen Goyne        57    64    40    30    34    65    53    37

Key: Tu's = Time Units; Stam = Stamina; Hlth = Health; Brav = Bravery
     Reac = Reactions; Fire = Firing; Thrw = Throwing; Str. = Strength

Support Personnel

Head of Research: Craptacular
(Current researching focus: UFO Navigation, Mind Probe)
Head of Engineering: Sterling Ice II 
(Current manufacturing focus: Power Suits, Blaster Missiles, Stun Bombs)
US Interceptor Pilot: CapnMorgan (7 Kills)
EU Interceptor Pilot: Superman   (7 Kills)
AS Interceptor Pilot: Toddiec IV (6 Kills)

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 71)

Time Units: (76) Wade Moore, Kodos
Stamina:    (88) Thomkal II
Health:     (57) Thomkal II, Jfbbis, Kodos
Bravery:    (60) (Seven tied)
Reactions:  (62) The Time
Firing:     (87) Wade Moore
Throwing:   (79) Fonzie II, Achilles, Patman II
Strength:   (66) Wade Moore

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 71)

Time Units: (51) Sir Fozzie
Stamina:    (45) Wignasty
Health:     (30) Data King III
Bravery:    (10) (Seven tied)
Reactions:  (30) Jeeber D
Firing:     (44) Blade III
Throwing:   (50) Zippy II
Strength:   (24) Chief Rum III

Top Ten Kills Leaders

1.  Wade Moore           21
2.  Kodos                19
3.  Klayman (KIA)        18
4.  Shorty (KIA)         16
4.  Astott               16
5.  Jfbbis               14
7.  Revrew               13
7.  Blade 6119 III (KIA) 13
7.  Rich1033             13
7.  Thomkal II           13

Waiting List

ID   Name              Base         Status     Rank     LBrvOK?  OptUp?
110. Breeze             -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
111. 3ric IV            -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
112. Airhog II          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
113. Anxiety II         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
114. Blade 6119 IV      -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
115. Klayman III        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
116. Aesyrqwe           -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
117. Chuck U Farley     -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
118. Psycho Cop II      -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
119. Calis              -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
120. Tucker II          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
118. Sachmo III         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
119. Katon II           -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
120. Marmel II          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
121. Crash Davis        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
122. Mike Vic           -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
123. Vince              -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
 

The Hall of Heroes

ID   Name                 Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills   Medals
1.   Cam Edwards          KIA        Rookie     1      0      J-1
3.   Patman               KIA        Captain    5      1      
4.   Fat Football         KIA        Sergeant   3      3      F-2B
5.   Sublime              KIA        Sergeant   6      3      K-2Y
6.   Blade 6119           KIA        Rookie     1      1      
7.   Jeff Nights          KIA        Rookie     1      0      
8.   Render               KIA        Sergeant  12      9      
9.   Kerillini            KIA        Sergeant   6      5      D-1B
11.  Toddiec              KIA        Squaddie   3      1      
12.  Illinifan            KIA        Squaddie   4      2      
13.  MrBug                KIA        Rookie     1      0      E-1B
16.  Thomkal              KIA        Squaddie   2      5      D-1B
17.  Shorty               KIA        Captain   16     16      D-1B; G-1; H-1
18.  Klayman              KIA        Captain   13     18      G-1; K-1Y
20.  Travis               KIA        Squaddie  10      6      
21.  Schmidty             KIA        Rookie     3      1      
22.  Al Hill              KIA        Squaddie   6      2      H-1
23.  Sachmo               KIA        Squaddie   3      3      
24.  Data King            KIA        Sergeant   6      4      
25.  Alf                  KIA        Rookie     1      2      
26.  Mr. Bug II           KIA        Squaddie   5      1      K-1Y
27.  Daimyo               KIA        Squaddie   3      0      
28.  3ric                 KIA        Squaddie   2      1      H-1; K-1Y
29.  Raven Hawk           KIA        Captain   15     11      -
30.  Sterling Ice         KIA        Rookie     1      0      
32.  Chief Rum            KIA        Squaddie   4      3      
33.  Qwikshot             KIA        Rookie     1      0      E-1G; F-1S
34.  Cam Edwards II       KIA        Squaddie   7      7      -
36.  Blade 6119 II        KIA        Rookie     1      0      
38.  Split Personality    KIA        Rookie     1      0      
40.  Toddiec II           KIA        Squaddie   4      3      
42.  Blade                KIA        Sergeant   5      4      
44.  Airhog               KIA        Squaddie  11      7     -
47.  Illinifan II         KIA        Squaddie   4      2      
48.  Fonzie               KIA        Squaddie   4      5      
49.  Lokugh               KIA        Sergeant   9      8     -
50.  Sachmo II            KIA        Sergeant  19     12     -
51.  Kerillini II         KIA        Squaddie   8      3     -
53.  Alf II               KIA        Rookie     1      2      
54.  Blade 6119 III       KIA        Squaddie  11     13     -
56.  Schmidty II          KIA        Rookie     1      0      
57.  Split Pers. II       KIA        Sergeant   4      4      
58.  3ric II              KIA        Squaddie   5      1     -
60.  Illinifan III        MIA        Squaddie   2      0      
62.  Data King II         KIA        Squaddie   3      2     -
63.  Mr. Bug III          KIA        Squaddie   5      3     -
64.  Japherwaki           KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
65.  Al Hill II           KIA        Sergeant   3      2     -
67.  Chief Rum II         KIA        Sergeant  13      9     -
68.  Toddiec III          KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
69.  Zippy                KIA        Squaddie   9      5     -
72.  Coffee Warlord       KIA        Rookie     1      1      
77.  PsychoCop            KIA        Rookie     2      0     -
79.  Blade II             KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
80.  Illinifan IV         KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
81.  Andone               KIA        Rookie     3      1     -
82.  Condors              KIA        Squaddie   6      3     -
83.  Travis II            KIA        Squaddie   4      3     -
85.  Cam Edwards III      KIA        Squaddie   2      4     -
86.  Klayman II           KIA        Squaddie   6      3     -
87.  3ric III             KIA        Squaddie   5      6     -
88.  Anxiety              KIA        Squaddie   2      2     -
91.  Tucker               KIA        Squaddie   3      1     -
95.  Katon                KIA        Squaddie   2      2     -
104. Marmel               KIA        Squaddie   3      4     -
 

[Blade6119]

sooo....whats up?...yah, im good. Still dead, but you know...thats what happenes when you get on the godzilla's bad side.

[RealDeal]

I'm becoming fairly studly. This maybe the best Real Deal Alhill yet. My goal is to become solid enough to go on the final mission, which is going to be a humdinger.

[Tasan]

A Kill! WOOHOO!!! Thanks GB, for getting me the kill and not getting me killed in return!

Saying that, I'll prolly die the next mission. Cest La Vi

[Godzilla Blitz]

Really slow day at work today...

Random X-COM Trivia

Deadly Missions

Although one would guess that an agent would be most likely to die on his first mission, surprisingly, it is the third mission that is most likely to take the life of an X-COM agent.

Number of agents that have died on their (x)th mission:

1st: 12
2nd: 7
3rd: 14
4th: 7
5th: 6
6th: 6
7th: 1
8th: 1
9th: 2
10th: 1
11th: 2
12th: 1
13th: 2
14th: 0
15th: 1
16th: 1
17th: 0
18th: 0
19th: 1
20th: 0

Tasan: No problem! Those grenades through the roof are usually easy kills, but those damn Mutons take a lot of damage before they die.

Real Deal: Yeah, that last mission should be something, if we get that far. I'm interested in seeing the PSI ratings of agents too. I think that will play a big factor in who gets to go and who gets to stay.

Naiwf: I didn't think you were going to pick up a kill there, as there was a good chance the Mutons coming out of the UFO could have gone the other way. Fortunately they cam for you, and there you are. Nice easy kill from a protected firing position. You even get your photo in the paper three times!