X-COM Files

The small shuttered room was lit only by the small LEDs of various pieces of electric equipment on standby. James pushed open the door, and flicked on the lights. He had come back early, the rest of the quys would be there soon. He glanced around on the large table holding six large computers. It was cluttered with stacks of paper and wires. Over in the corner dual servers and a coordinating monitor stood, continually searching the network for any whisper of activity.

James moved to his seat. He leaned back, and stared at the ceiling. As he had done before, he wondered what all this was about. They hadn't found much... He sat back up, he needed to concentrate. A left over container of Chinese food sat near the computer next to him. He was always clean, especially relating to food, but those who shared the room were not in agreement. He picked up the container, sniffed it, and disgustedly tossed it into the overflowing garbage can in the corner. There were other cans of pop and hamburger wrappers around, and James moved to pick them up as well. The group had been formed roughly three months before. It had actually been three months since they had started, and it had been constant hacking and searching since then.

The group was an elite group of hackers. They had been recruited by the government to spy on an underground operation. Why it was necessary, James didn't know. But he was being paid well, and that was good enough for him. While the others in the group may have been the best hackers they had, they certainly weren't the cleanest. "I don't know if I can put up with this much longer," James muttered to himself, as he carried his cargo over to the garbage. As he picked up the load, he heard the door downstairs. The others were back. About time.

It wasn't that he thought the job difficult, but he was expecting to get more. They had so far only intercepted various reports. Long, and thorough, but there should have been something more. Though progress had picked up, once they had discerned the file types used and created programs to monitor them. The connections had come from other servers spaced across the globe, often not even from where they were searching. Each time they found one, they would have to decode it. The process had gotten easier, but the progress was slow. James wondered if they would ever find what they were looking for. Though he didn't know what that was.

He pushed out the door, the large plastic bag in his hands. "Hey, Termi. You're back early," a man named Franklin said as he passed the group. James nodded politely. He used James' online codename. They all had codes, though Termi was quite odd. Franklin's was Zanabar, though, but it didn't really matter. As he reached the stairwell, the operations leader, Sam, grabbed his shoulder. "James, you're moving back to active searching, I'm taking you off of processing today." Searching, finally. James thanked him and continued outside. He was sick of processing. Finding and decoding the transmissions were fairly simple. He had been on searching before. He had found the first connection, where they discovered the file type. However, after a few days they had moved entirely to processing. There was only one person on searching, David. He wasn't the best at it. Since he had first been switched, James had been quietly theorizing how to best break the system. There was the potential connection with the mainframe when the comms were being sent.

James walked to the dumpster, and hoisted the bag over his head. A few items fell out, and so he bent down to pick them up. The communications were usually simple, meaningless numbers resulting from aircraft positions and radar frequencies. But there was potential to find more, and occasionally it was done.

James moved back up stairs, where Sam was signing on the computers. He moved to the end of the table, where David was seated. "Hey, looks like I'm back on searching." David nodded, but didn't say anything. James just shrugged. He didn't really know what to say to him if he didn't talk. "Ok, boys, let's get to work," Sam said, and he took his seat. Across the table, Frank and two others were having a belching contest. James noticed that all of the garbage he had just cleaned up was now replaced by fresh junk. Oh well.

James logged on. He opened word pad. For some reason the archaic program had an endearing effect. He just liked it. He started scribbling down notes. He had thought out the process before. Once he had the notes down, he would start making code for each step. Frank yelled at him, interrupting his typing. "Hey Termi, tell Jonesy here that I pick up chicks all the time. I'm just so charming." James gave a chuckle, though more out of the ridiculous statement than from any truth in it. Frank was nearly to large to fit on his side of the desk. He and Jonesy were arguing, and James went back to his work. Frank always picked on him. He wasn't bothered by it, it didn't matter much to him what the others thought. Besides, he tended to avoid confrontations unless it was really serious.
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A half hour passed before James was finished, and he went out to get a drink. He came back to his chair, and waited. There hadn't been any comms yet today, but likely there would be one, relating to airspace clearance, usually. The reports were detailed, though sloppy. Military is how James would describe them. They contained video records of combat events, or so it seemed, as well as radio transcripts. However, James hadn't decoded one of them, so he never got to see what it was in depth. He saw a brief starting of one. It went like this: S1-001.10.1-15.01.99 at LZ drop. Resit: MS.Sc.3 Allied: fan split, target east, inF to 00, outF 05,06,07,09. 09 TK. Nest entrance: 10. outF 10. 10 TK. outF 10. 10 TK. Area clear. Dis. est. weight- 13.35.42 Tact. Analysis: 6.

It still didn't make sense to him. And the accompanying files were untraceable as well. James was surprised that they were getting paid. He can make up random numbers too. So far he hadn't heard much about their finds, at least as far as them being successful. He wondered why.

To his left, David was searching away, though he didn't seem to be finding anything. James lay back. Sure, he wasn't trying to break any firewalls, but he had time. "Got one, coming in!" a man named Val said. Now was the time to act. The rest of the group got busy on catching and decoding the message, as it flew through the servers. "Let's see if we can get them!" David quickly turned his attention to analyzing the source. They had tried that already, without any luck. But this time James was trying something different. Instead of hacking the sender, he was going for the receiver.

The signal ended, but James had been ready. A few minutes later, as the rest of the group realized they had located another airway clearance code, James burst in upon an entire cache of data. He snooped through the files. There was one directory, called X-COM. He opened a folder called 'Files' Shortly there after he began reading. He called Sam over.

"Well, here it is! I think this is what they want," James said. He couldn't hold back the satisfaction in his voice. "How did you get in there?" Sam was dumbstruck. There wasn't as much data as they expected, but the connection stayed, so they continued reading. It was nothing like what they had seen before. This was no longer strings of numbers and code, but actual writing. Almost like a report, a story of the events. At current there were 17 of them. James started at the first, and read though. The stories were about a group so soldiers, apparently connected, who were fighting against alien hordes. It was fascinating, though James didn't know what to think. Sounded unreal to him, but at least it was different.

On the 17th entry, it seemed to end. James copied it down along with the rest. Odd...

X-COM #17:

Well, that last set of attacks went very well. The only worry is that a battleship will show up on my doorstep. But not that likely.

I have one replacement: Jordan J. C-,G: 53,55,36,40,36,63,69,33-High accuracy, but still rookie stats.
Anyhow, now to wait for the alien scumbags to arrive. I'll attempt this while talking to Kevin over facebook. Meanwhile, some Sectoids land in Russia, and the Skyranger goes out on a mission. Night mission, in the forest. Rolling hills and stuff.

But not many Sectoids. One walks near an electro flare, and our new teamster Jordan kills the punk. However, I don't feel very concentrated, so I decide to carry on later.

Then the record ended. How strange...James wondered what had happened. He read back through the other files. Some of the soldiers had died, fighting against unknown aliens. But the comical writing was almost making it unreal. Maybe someone is pulling a huge prank, he thought. Then again, what about the official data? Well, what about the Facebook? Very, very odd.

James started looking around again. He found a folder titled, "Soldiers." Inside there was a list, as well as a note. It read: "I have made a mention of all stats of all soldiers. Those who have not been here long, or accomplished anything, may not be mentioned. Also, those who have become casualties have been omitted."
James pulled it open. He started reading through the files. Another folder led to a list of those killed. It was somewhat shocking. He copied this folder as well.

Anna N.
Kills: 0
Missions: 1
Rookie

Ashley C.
Kills: 0
Missions: 1
Rookie

Bree G.
Kills: 2
Missions: 6
Captain

Brian Y.
Kills: 1
Missions: 1
Squaddie

Brianna B.
Kills: 0
Missions: 3
Squaddie

BriAnne D.
Kills: 2
Missions: 3
Squaddie

Cameron M.
Kills: 0
Missions: 3
Squaddie

Cami Claw
Kills: 2
Missions: 3
Squaddie

Carly Rawlins
Kills: 5
Missions: 6
Squaddie

Chelsea W.
Kills: 7 (+1)
Missions: 8
Sergeant
MVP
MVP Bombay Terror Mission

Cheyne J.
Kills: 0
Missions: 1
Rookie

Courtney F.
Kills: 3
Missions: 6
Squaddie

Courtney J.
Kills: 18 (+2)
Missions: 10
Captian
MVP Buenos Aires Terror mission
MVP
MVP Base-4

Devyn E.
Kills: 3
Missions: 8
Squaddie

Hannah Banana
Kills: 6
Missions: 5
Sergeant
MVP London Terror

Jacque A.
Kills: 7
Missions: 7
Colonel
MVP Base-1

Jason E.
Kills: 0
Missions: 1
Rookie

Jeff W.
Kills: 1
Missions: 1
Squaddie


Jessica W.
Kills: 0
Missions: 1
Rookie

Jill S.
Kills: 2
Missions: 4
Sergeant

Kade Downs
Kills: 7
Missions: 3
Sergeant
MVP Base-2

Kaitlyn R.
Kills: 5 (+1)
Missions: 3
Squaddie

Kami J.
Kills: 4
Missions: 1
Sergeant
MVP Base-3

Katrina S.
Kills: 5
Missions: 2
Squadie
MVP

Kevin D.
Kills: 16
Mission: 12
Colonel
MVP Vancouver Terror
MVP Kidnap

Kristen O.
Kills: 2
Missions: 3
Squaddie
MVP

Lindsay H.
Kills: 1
Missions: 2
Squaddie

Marie G.
Kills: 2
Missions: 2
Squaddie

Mary A.
Kills: 12
Missions: 9
Captain
MVP-Novisbok Terror

Melissa W.
Kills: 3 (+1)
Missions: 5
Squaddie

Natalie C.
Kills: 14
Missions: 8
Captain
MVP
MVP Kidnap
MVP supply3

Reggillious
Kills: 3
Missions: 4
Sergeant

Sahra M.
Kills: 0
Missions: 2
Rookie

Tyson A.
Kills: 14
Missions: 9
Commander

Taya A.
Kills: 4
Missions: 7
Sergeant

Vern
Kills: 3
Missions: 3
Squaddie

Zach S.
Kills: 3
Missions: 3
Sergeant

Zen Halen
Kills: 11
Missions: 12
Sergeant

There wasn't much else relating to the plight of the soldiers. The rest was repetitive numbers. He wasn't sure who had made these reports, who had found them out. He didn't even know if these things were real. But he just couldn't leave it where it cut off, he had to know what happened. What had happened to Tyson, and Kevin, and the others that he read about? Was the war a success? The Contributors, who were they? It didn't make much sense if it wasn't real, but then again, if it was real, he felt he needed to know.

He blindly stumbled through mounds of files, confusing code based on interweaven files that made no sense. Every time he would return to where he started. Then he started to notice something. The files were starting to be blocked. Each time they were harder and harder to break. What was going on? It happened fast, and the counters were perfect for his method. It was like the computer was writing itself.

A short time later, there was nothing left he could access, and any downloads were blocked. He was, in a sense, forced back into the 'Files' folder, where he was eventually left with the final entry, #17. It didn't even have a title.

Then the text of the final entry disappeared, and it started to change. James didn't try anything, he just watched. For one thing, it meant the connection was live. For anther, it meant that whoever was on the other end had likely reverse hacked his computer. It was unlikely he could have done anything as it was. The words disappeared. And then new ones quickly formed in their place.

Intruder. You have been noticed. However, you were allowed free access of my memories for my own reasons. Perhaps you can see the truth behind them. I realize that they may sound far fetched, but they are not the works of a crazed person. Though they may have been started for reasons unsatisfactory, they have been started, and now they cannot be turned back or undone.

You may be wondering what has become of the soldiers of X-COM. My record ends abruptly, and unfortunately I believe that it will not be continued. In the end is has become impossible for me to complete the task I did set myself out for. However, I have done a satisfactory job of compiling all evidence and all actions to the best of my ability. Suffice to say, there is no more that I can write, as I have written all I know, and there is nothing else I have to display. The data is lost.

The story was started for mischievous reasons. Though it was done foolishly, as it now cannot be undone. But the events had to start, and once they did there was no sense in turning them back. The original comic adventure idea of the event was kept only here, where realism could not harm it. It is odd, how I have thought so much, and yet obtained so little.

I do realize one thing though. There seems to be an odd drive, and whether it is singular to me, or it is a shared attribute I don't know. Though I have seen drives for power, for conquest. The goal of conquering, of destroying everything. Of obtaining power, of combat and victory. It certainly entertains the mind of youth, though without a reminder it remains something of a story.

These writings do not give justice to my point. Imagine with me, for a minute if you will, that you are in these writings, and that they are real. Think of your friends who have been cut down. Next time you see them, are reminded of their face, think that they would be gone, lost to the world. That is one think that can seriously be taken from these things. The serious fact that war, which seems to come and go as the tide, is a horrible thing. When it is impersonal, it has little effect, but if you realize the horror it causes, before time forces it upon you, then perhaps you will spend all of your efforts to eliminate it.

There is little else I have to say. I have been a contributing factor to this calamity, and while it is a horrible truth, it is a truth none the less. I have had to start it, and once started, I could not stop it. If only I was made to preform without option, I would never have to waste in an infinite loop. However, it is the price that is paid for with choice. Though now....there is not much else I can do, so I must continue on my path, until it comes to an end.

I hope you have read all that you desired. For there is nothing more. I have yet said enough. You have taken all that you need, and that is enough.

The typing stopped. James waited, tried to formulate a response, but couldn't write it anyway. His computer was in a frozen state, with only the up down arrow keys working. He sat back, and wondered at what he had just read. "Well, this changes everything!" Sam had just gotten off the phone. "They want to see it right away. James, can you pull it back up? James. James?" James leaned back, staring at the ceiling.





As said, I am leaving. While December 10 is a ways away, the moving of things to provide for carpet will likely last as long, and the old computer will probably remain dormant for many years. It also means I can't finish post #17. :( I wonder if this blog will remain for the time that I am gone, but either way, it was fun. I guess this is my final farewell. From this blog, at least. Peace.

PS. Unfortunately I do not know how may aliens we've killed here at X-COM, though you could count them all out using the promos screens I have for each mission. That would be cool to know. Somebody count them up!

X-COM #16: Base Bashing

I want to make this post short and sweet. Well, as sweet as it gets, anyway. There are a number of large Muton craft, all on harvest missions. Most of them travel at top speed, and there is no way I could catch them, so I just let them go.

As soon as the general stores completes, I'm ready to launch on our first base. This will be harder than before, because there will Crysallids. Which is one thing I'm worried about. As soon as I'm ready, I load up a crew consisting of Hannah, Courtney J., Chelsea W. Kaitlyn, Taya, Bree, Zach, Linday, Johnny Depp, and Sahra M. Hopefully all goes well. Hopefully.

I have seven flying suits at the base. Hopefully those will help against Crysallids. Though I'm hoping for proxies and other things to help as well. (what other things? Luck.) With that, I hope the Skyranger is ready for what it's about to get into.

Base 1:

Kaitlyn kills one Crysallid right off, but I don't like all these dark halls. Chelsea can see a snake, but I'm planning on smoking both drops. (they're right next to each other) I smoke one, and don't see any movement right off. Chelsea shoots another Crysallid, but it just falls unconscious. Howard moves up, and spies two snakes. If only I had an explosive in range....wait, blaster bombs. Courtney has one, and happily sends it into the room, where it can kill the snakes, and vaporize the unconscious Crysallid. It ends up getting 4 snakes, huddling together and swapping weapons. Nice.

I seem to be well covered on the one end, so I've got to head south and east. I am able to see a portion of the command center from across the display room. Howard is doing most of the scouting here. In a brief spurt of curiosity, I try to see if the blaster bombs can fly through the windows of the CC. It does, and collides with an angry snake on the other side, blowing holes in the command structure. I decide that curiosity has actually killed the snake. Once again, I hear doors and nothing else.

Howard is forced to down a strong snake, and I see another by the CC entrance. Not much I can do about that, though. Hopefully Howard is as strong as he says he is. The Snake decides that he is outgunned, however, and flees away. Howard spots the central grav lift, and I ready Courtney's final blaster bomb. The massive KaBLAMMMO! signifies the end of the command center. The others continue slowly advancing down the corridors.

I continue to hear nothing. There is an odd upper room, surrounded by doors. I don't like it at all. Lindsay has a nice reaction shot through the window and through a passing snake. This slow moving amplifies reaction shots. Luckily for my nerves, this ends the mission.

Kills:Courtney:7 Chelsea:1 Bree:1 Kaitlyn:2 Howard:2 Lindsay:1 MVP to Courtney, no matter how cheap her tactics were.

The supply ship heading for the base lands, to find the base is gone. Ha ha ha. I would likely have engaged that as well, except for the refueling process. I had a really nice landing for that first base, it went really well, luckily not many Crysallids. The next base is also a snake base, though. Also, a fool Sectoid Meteor craft is spotting for a base. I-1 vaporizes it with the dual plasmas.

Base 2:

If this base goes as well as the last one I will be happy. I've got Zen, Kristen, Devyn, Ajay, Mary, Carly, BriAnne, Kami, Ashley, and Anna. Zen gets the launcher, and I hope that they all huddle together like last time...

This base looks much more confusing. Nearly every room is a garden, and no large display rooms like before. Not a good thing. I smoke both entrances. I hear doors, but no movement. There are a couple gravity-checkpoint rooms, I'm not eager to go Crysallid hunting in there. Also, there is a massive garden room in the middle of the base, between my drops.

After a few ranged kills, I see the garden is really big. I have yet to see a Crysallid, however. I also discover the command center. Now, about those blaster bombs... The west is secure, so both groups need to head east. My flying suits give me a great spotting position for the snakes.

Ajay takes two reaction shots at a Crysallid. It starts to charge...Oh boy. Ajay misses it, but Carly shoots over his head and slays the creature. The whole squad would be infested instantly...not a good thing. I hate Crysallids.

A snake from the CC fires and kills Ajay. Arrg. I see way to much movement to be happy about this. Mary kills one near the CC, so hopefully that's the one. Please don't zombifie the team!

Howard is forced to take the lead once again. He does another long spot for Kami, which is very nice. But there is still a Crysallid in the hallway to the south. I don't hardly want to move forward, the risk of being zombified is so great. BriAnne reactions on a stalking Crysallid, or I think it was her. There is one more down there though, along with two snakes outside the CC. The Crysallid rushes in and Zombifies Howard, to which Kami blows it's filthy filth across the hall. Zen tries for a blaster launch. It kills one, but likely the walls of the CC are still standing.

Howard is severely beaten, but he stays strong with 20 health. Zen readies another missile. The explosion drops Howard's health another 9 points. Another bomb later and the CC is gone. Multiple enemies are panicking, I just don't know where they are. Three Crysallids are dead, though. Hang in there, Howard!

I see one snake in the south east corner, sneaking about. Already panicked. I'm not sure if there are any more, though. I wait outside, and BriAnne reactions it down. Kills: Mary:2 Kami:4 Carly:2 Howard: 2 BriAnne:2 Zen:5 Super. Sadly the loss of a team mate. Kami gets MVP, for great long range shots down skinny corridors. I'm also wondering where the Elerium is coming from. But I am loving the massive amounts of Heavy plasma. It is so sweet!

It's a simple matter of refueling the Skyranger and reassigning armor before I'm off for the final base. Floater base, so no Crysallids, no mind control, only floating floaters.

Base 3:

Last but not least, The floater base. To be invaded by Tyson, Kevin, Natalie, Cheyne, Courtney F. Jill, Kade, Zach, Vern, and Cami. Let's finish the fight.

Drops are very spread apart on this map. Howard finds two floaters as Kade kills a reaper. I heard some plasma, but couldn't see anything, so I simply tossed smokes. The floaters stumble past, but take no attempt at shooting. Oh well. After killing the first, and wondering where the second one went, I try to unite the two squads. Howard rushes towards the second, revealing two floaters sneaking up on them. Natalie has a rocket, the perfect remedy for the sneak attack.

Cami fires on a floater from above, but it doesn't shoot back. Kade and the same share a crossfire, both missing. I continue towards the command center, through a large garden. Howard finds two floaters, though both are too far away for anyone to hit either. One floater takes a shot at Vern; she returns fire and kills it. Afterwords, she tosses a grenade at another, leveling it as well.

I spy at least 3 floaters by the command center. Kevin is already warming up his blaster bombs. The floaters are dangerously tricky though. One lobs a grenade at Cami. Kade takes him down, and another rushes out with it's own shot. Kade fires, but misses. Cami glances at the grenade, and winces....luckily, flying suits>grenades.

Kevin launches a bomb, opening the CC for demolition. Natalie fires a rocket at a questionable floater, but it hits the floor, destroying the foliage. That leaves Cami standing there, uncovered! Howard is the target this time. I see an explosion, though I can't tell where. Not large enough to be a blaster bomb, I think. Either way, Kevin is ending that foolishness right now. With the CC destroyed, we just need to mop up the rest.

I continue my advance towards the CC. Kade fries through one floater and kills the one behind, in a classic example of the best way to auto shot. Cami and Zach both bring down others. Jill and Tyson head to the upper floor, where an unknown event caused an enemy casualty. Noticing the creature's blaster bomb, I assume I've found the answer.

Another sneaky floater tries to kill Kade, but his reactions win out, and leaves the floater dead. I continue searching, but can find nothing. Howard locates one, and Kevin sends in a gift.

And so ends our final base. Zach snuk back on the Skyranger, I'm not sure why I put him on twice. Oh well. Kade with the MVP, six kills, and a beautiful auto shot. Well, with all the tough work done, I should definitely get a funding increase. Kills: Kade:6 Tyson:1 Natalie:2 Vern:2 Kevin:3 Cami:1 Zach:1

Really, I got fairly lucky. The first base I killed four at once, the other two the aliens danced around but never came out and attacked. And Kade was pretty lucky there as well. But the bases went great. And I like the blaster bombs. Very very useful.

And so ends the epic quest of X-COM, 'smashing bases'. Next time: a new transport, a new base, and more of your favorite average people saving the world!

X-COM #15: Donut Run

Natalie was out on another mission. They were coming much more frequently now. Once again, she was going on this mission with Kevin. This UFO was different, though. It was a supply ship. Only she and Kevin had fought in a supply ship before. However, they didn't plan on repeating that again. The last group had just sacked a supply ship without anyone even being shot.

At the base, there had been a general excitement over the capture of the psionic alien and the soon to be completed base. Not only were the prospects exciting, but the search for the Contributors could continue if the soldiers were able to read minds. She had been talking with Kevin about it.

"What do you think we'll find?" she had asked. "I don't know. I guess anything would be useful. Anything at all."
"We haven't found anything else out about them, have we?"
"No, not really. It's so strange, that this group would be chosen to run the project. Well, not so much chosen, they chose themselves, and the funding nations agreed to it. Whoever they are, they are very persuasive. Other than that, there isn't much else."
"What about this alien? Why were we so excited for that? I mean, how does it help the search?"
"Well, we were watching the research. The alien had an extreme connection to that project, the ACIRIP one. Though they all have a good one. Anyway, Tyson was saying that he remembered something about that, that it sounded familiar. He was having a dream the other night, about the Contributors. He's had others, but this one was different. He said that someone told him the Contributors were not the enemy, but the solution, and some other things. He said it felt similar to the same thing you feel when you get hit by an alien attack. So, we're thinking that the aliens have a connection with the Contributors, or else the Contributors are using ACIRIP remotely somehow."

Reggie and Brianna came up to them then. "You guys ready for this? The last group didn't have a hard time," Reggie said.
"True, great use of smoke grenades. We'll have to do that."
"So, what was the deal with the heavy explosives? I heard they took some, but they didn't work."
"Yeah, well, we were hoping to blow a hole in the outer UFO wall. But that didn't work. They're to strong."
"Well, so much for a sneak attack."
"Yeah, we'll just have to use the doors. Worked out great for Tyson's team, though."
"True. Well, we're almost there, we had better get ready."


As the Skyranger landed, Natalie's displays came on line. Beyond the hatch was a brilliantly lit desert arena, so bright Natalie couldn't anything when she heard the first shots. Two red boxes appeared. She and Kevin eliminated the threats quickly. She jumped out as her eyes adjusted to the outside light. Howard was heading west as the rest of the crew got out. The large UFO was shining brightly only 40 meters away.

Natalie turned to the west, scouting behind the landed craft. As Hillary took the lead, Reggie and Brianna joined her at the base of a dune. "Natalie, clear the back of the UFO, and meet us on the other side. My group is heading for the front," Kevin instructed.


Hillary started moving, and Natalie followed. A red dot appeared, and Natalie opened fire before Hillary could finish saying she had spotted one. They continued advancing. "This is Howard, UFO front is all clear." The sand was very soft, and in the large suits, it was slightly harder to move. Natalie started using the abilities of her flying suit to move, rather than trying to walk on the slippery sand. "Oh, that is so not fair," Brianna said.

An alien shot came out from around the corner of the UFO. Hillary froze. "I've got him," Reggie called. He moved on top of the dune, and shot the beast down. Natalie pulled out her scanner. She was behind the UFO, but since there were only two scanners on the Skyranger, she wanted to spot for the front group. She detected some movement, though in the back corners. The same place they had been in the attack carried out just hours before. Luckily, they wouldn't be ambushed by aliens exiting the craft.

"Natalie, we're in position, waiting for you..." They broke into a run, trying to skirt about the outside of the UFO. Howard had already secured the outer side of the UFO. Around the far edge, they started to get winded. Natalie checked her scanner once again. More motion now that she was on this side of the UFO. They could be right at the door.

The group rounded the bend and aligned themselves at the door, Brianna and Hillary both breathing hard. The other group emerged from hiding places to align directly at the door on the right side. Reggie moved in behind them. "Kevin, I'm picking up motion over here."

"All clear on this side," Hannah responded. "We'll check that door once we move in," Kevin replied. His group began moving. "You two ready?" Natalie asked Brianna and Hillary. "Yep, we're good." "Is clear," came Kim's Asian English. Natalie watched as Kristen moved down the corridor on her map. "Your door looks clear, Natalie," she said. Hillary moved in, and headed for the corner. Around the bend, she found two Snakemen. Using the linked cameras, Natalie could see their backs were turned. Hillary froze, and they didn't notice her. Brianna had pulled out a grenade before entering. She primed it, and they tossed it quietly to Hillary. She picked it up and threw it down the hall. It was so quiet you could hear it clink as it landed. The snakes looked down, then exploded.

Only one fell. The other was still alive. Soon, another snake joined the first, and together they shot Hillary. Her personal armor couldn't hold out against the plasma. "Oh crap!" Reggie called, as a shot flew at him from down the hallway. "Toss a grenade down that hallway, let's get them," She dropped her motion tracer and handed Reggie a grenade. He threw it down the hall, when another shot hit him. "Ahh..." He stepped back, but he wasn't hurt.

The group knelt down in the hallway. Hopefully that grenade would work, and they'd be fine, at least for a while. "We've got to throw a smoke grenade down there as soon as this one goes off," Natalie whispered. The grenade exploded, throwing some broken weapons and debris down the hallway, though they couldn't tell if they had killed anything more than the one snake. Natalie reached for her motion tracker, but it was outside where she had dropped it. She groaned, and led the way around the corner. There were no aliens. "Clear, toss a smoke." On the far side they were doing the same. "Ahhh....." Cami was saying, though it sounded like a wail. As Reggie moved to toss in a smoke, Natalie called over. "What happened?" "Kim was throwing a smoke grenade, but he spotted a snake when he did..." "I didn't even...how..?" Cami had moved around Kim, and attempted to auto the snake. By the time she had stopped shooting, both Kim and the snake collapsed. "Hannah, you and Kaitlyn take point. Cami, head back here." Kevin was trying to solve the situation.

The smoke grenades went off, and they moved for the lifts. No enemies were spotted on either side. Reggie would be the first one up on this side. "I don't see anything..." Natalie wished she had her motion scanner. Both groups moved up at once. "Shooting through." Hannah blew open the far side wall. A snake was standing just beyond. "Eeep! Hannah ducked out of the way, as Kaitlyn shot through the hole to kill the snake. Natalie's group moved into the small room, and waited as Kristen flanked around the outside. They spread out, and quickly cleared the second floor.

"Clear down here. I'm scanning movement, upstairs corridor." "Ok, get back to the lift and let's head up," Kevin said. Natalie headed to the lift, as Kevin started up. At the top he was waiting by the door, and she had a brief flashback. Just like last time. Then the door opened. Both soldiers fired at the snake, killing it before it could raise it's weapon.(natalie got the kill) They moved into the hallway, it was clear. The other soldiers moved up the lift. Kristen crossed into the far room, Cami carried a motion scanner.

They moved down the hall, the scanner found nothing. Kevin rounded the corner to the bridge. Two bolts of plasma flew past, scarring the far wall. Kevin raised his plasma and opened fire. "Got it," he said as he turned back around the corner. That was the last one. "Nice shooting, everyone. Well done."

Back at base there was confusion over the newly found bases. Soon, the psi lab would be finished, and the soldiers could begin training. That was the plan, at least. The month ended directly after, and training begins. There was only space for 10 soldiers to train, Natalie was one of the chosen 10. However, it would be a month before they were finished. No one quite understood the whole process, and it would take the scientists that long before they figured out what progress had been made, and how mentally strong they were.

Another base was located in South America. That made for 3 bases on Earth at a time. The question was when to destroy these bases. Should they wait for the month, to try out their new powers? Or should they attack now, and try to hold off the alien menace? These questions were among the more frequent ones, not relating to any excitement over the Contributors. Tyson and Kevin were hoping that if they could read the alien minds, they could find out who they worked for. If they were aliens, or if somehow the Contributors had created them. They doubted it. But then, if they could read alien minds, perhaps they could read other minds as well...

A multitude of new construction began at the bases. New general stores, as well as a gravity shield, to slow any oncoming craft. With the alien base being so close, the question wasn't so much if they find us, but moreso, let's be ready when they do.

With two bases in South America, it was odd they had not seen so many supply ships. There was another attack on a small UFO, Natalie didn't take part in it though. However, they had decided to load the psi-amps on the ship, just to test them out. Some on the ship had started training, like Courtney J., but others had not. Whether they would even be able to use them was questionable. Either way, there would be the obtaining of Elerium.

Natalie had listened to the comm talk, as the soldiers moved out.
"Dark out here, can't see anything," Howard was usually the first to talk. "Heading up top, you guys know what to do," Courtney wasn't the most traditional leader. Plasma fire. "Howard is hit, can't see the source...located, Sectoid." There were multiple bursts of fire. "Got him," Courtney said. "That thing wouldn't die! We hit it four times!" Ajay exclaimed, "Landing is clear, rookies, come on out here."

"I've got eyes on the UFO." "Gotcha, tossing a flare." "Incoming fire, I can't see it..." It was Howard's operator. There was more fire. "Found him, this side of the hill." "I can get a shot in from up here," Courtney said. Natalie assumed she was on top of the Skyranger. "He's down, keep moving." "Ok, let's get to that UFO. Howard, you have a feed?" Bree was leading towards the UFO. "Yeah, but it's sketchy. Too many trees."

"You want this tracker?" Ajay called as he tossed it at the UFO. "Thanks," Jill said, "I've got something, I think on the UFOs far edge." "Ok, get into position. Jill, you want to lead us in?" "Well....why not?" "I don't see anything else, hoping it's clear out here."


"I'm only detecting one in the UFO. Ok, you guys ready?" "Yep, we've got your back." Jill slid through the door, and there was plasma fire. "That one's dead," she called. "Ok, keep you eyes open for any others." "I was thinking there would be more than just 3" "Nope, this one's the captain, only three crew." "Ok, then, let's head on home."

The psi-amps were a failure. However, at EuroCom, the stores were quickly filling with Elerium. They now had near 450 units of the substance, and from the double factories at the sister base they were producing X-COMs newest transport, based on alien technology. It would still take 22 days, even with 64 engineers.

A terror ship arrived, the one that had been expected for some time. It was decided that it would be best to engage the craft, before it reached its destination. The Firestorm quickly caught up to it as it lowered, and began it's attack with both plasma cannons. The ship crashed shortly after, but command was ordered not to engage. The Firestorm took no damage in the confrontation, and the crash site was left untouched. According to the General, Ethereals were too dangerous, and without Elerium, what was the point of attacking?

The scientists had discovered the use of food pods that were brought in from the supply ships. The pods had been filled with various items, but they couldn't be distinguished. After study, though, it was revealed that captives from earth, mainly animals but sometimes humans, were used as food for the alien species. Everyone at the base was sickened by the consumption of their fellow humans. Natalie thought back to all that the aliens had done. It was time when she thought of their horrible crimes, of how they've killed her friends, that she most wanted vengeance upon them. It was also at these times of fury that she felt the least hope.


Time went on. The bases weren't engaged, but the plan was to do it soon. The psi amps had been useless without training, and so there was no point in taking them. Further study was done, beforehand, however. Alien entertainment, used like drugs for the alien's minds. Odd.

Four new soldiers had arrived, to replace those who had been lost. Even that could be a depressing fact. Soon, the bases would have to be destroyed. There were 40 soldiers stationed at EuroCom, and it was likely nearly all of them would be involved in attacking the alien bases. They weren't worried about capture now. It was all about destroying the bases. Once they were resupplied, there would be a continual raid, until each base was eliminated.

New soldiers:
Johnny Depp D+,MS:60,65,32,20,45,45,53,38-Strength is decently high, for a rookie.
Kami J B-,S:59,64,33,30,56,66,53,35-very good rookie stats all around.
Cheyne J. C-,G:60,69,30,10,48,52,51,24-low averages mainly, higher TUs.
Ashley C. C+,R:56,41,39,40,60,53,78,23-Super reactions, but lower elsewhere.

Ok, that post could have kept going and going. Anyway, thanks for reading, more soon hopefully!

Interlude

Just a small note. Seeing how I only have 4 weeks remaining until I will be leaving on an amazing adventure for two years, it is likely that I won't add much more to this blog. Not that I wouldn't like to, I've had an amazing time, but with such a short time left, I want to make the most of what I have. Anyway, probably a few more posts on here, not sure what about, but maybe a bit more X-COM, perhaps some SC, it will be fun. Thanks for reading! Carry on...

X-COM #14: Re-supply

Research finishes almost instantly, along with tons of other production. After that kidnapping, the aliens are reluctant to come down to Earth any more. I finish a host of productions, workshop at USA, I start another (I've found a way for the factory thing to work for an extra 2 million per month.) Plasma defense finishes, so I dismantle the large radar, and hope to put a psi-lab in its place once it is done. I transfer some junk over to USA for my hopeful construction of an Avenger once I achieve the necessary parts.

Psi-lab gets done, so now I can build the laboratory. Oh yes, everything seems to be going well. Or at least I hope it is.... Anyhow, research is now Psi-amp, needed for psi attacks. Which I hope to do plenty of.

Finally, some aliens show up. Trying for a new base...ahh. I'm not liking this. I-1 is sent to dispose of the trouble. It's one of those tiny ones. I go for the kill over the ocean, but miss. Dratted thing runs away, then lands. I send the Skyranger, still with the 5 from before. (and the stun guns) Howard finds the snake and dissects him, easy enough. Odd how I haven't seen anything else though, it's been 10 days.

Ok, supply ship. Spotted over the North Pacific. I quickly re-equip the Skyranger with patrons. Courtney J. Mary, Chelsea, Taya, and Carly all have flying suits. Kade, Kim, Jeff, Hillary and Brian have either power or personal. I set the waypoint down by the base, hoping to head them off. I-1 beats it there, but I'm not certain the Skyranger will make it in time. It lands in Venezula (or thereabouts) Certainly not landing close to the base. But it takes off before the Skyranger can make it. The ship heads straight west, and I lose tracking. I'm thinking that HongKong may also have a new tourist attraction coming soon. An X-COM base, to clarify my roundabout speaking that could mean anything. I figure on the Skyranger making a round the world trip....which it very well might as it is on the other side of the planet. The people on that ship must be hurling....airborne for more than 24 hours.... The worst part is it will probably take all day to refuel it.

The Firestorm is almost done, I just need some plasma cannons to arm the beast. Psi-Amp finishes, which is sweet. It will still be 20 days until the lab is done, though. But still...plenty of time. I continue with research and production. Another Ethereal ship pops up. There will likely be a terror mission soon....not good. I haven't seen much more. My new Firestorm has no weapons, so I can't really shoot it down. It flies away soon enough, however.

Hmm, looks like they want to build a base next to my base...curse them! Once again, I can't really shoot it down. I'm not sure what their planning, though they do seem to be scoping out Nigeria for some real estate. Troubling indeed. Nigeria and it's 38,000 dollars may drop out of X-COM!(ok, it's giving 248,000) Eventually it lands, and the Skyranger sets out to catch it.

It does, and it's a night mission. Luckily, everyone gets plasma. Also lucky, it's jungle, so lots of cover and little houses. Or at least that's my take on it. Early on, Taya takes a very nice shot from atop the Skyranger. Courtney kills another near the Skyranger. I use the motion scanners on the UFO I landed next to to see that there are 2 aliens within. Or at least I think there are. Two Snakemen(or I'm assuming one might be a Snakewoman) are out on a romantic walk in the moonlight, when the armored column of soldiers ruins the evening by tearing the foliage and the romancers apart.

Kim walks into the UFO, seeing the Snakemen facing away. Kim has honor, and doesn't kill from behind. He kneels down, so Jeff and Carly are able to finish the job. Certainly a good mission. Take that, you alien base builders!

A few days later, some Mutons show up. I've never fought with Mutons, but they should be tough. Very tough. Well, better now than never. I-1 chases it from USA, but tracking is lost. I-1 has unlimited fuel, though.... He's going to hang out over Japan for a time.

Laser cannon finishes. I'm going to build them for money making purposes. Ahh, crap. Ethereal terror. AHHH! This may very well hurt really bad. Really bad. but the terror ship vanishes, and I'm not sure where the UFO went. I-1 must have scared it away. But I'm sure it's only temporary. A supply ship arrives, and I attempt to attack it. I send out my Firestorm, just to test it out. It is very fast. And very fuel hungry. Not the best chase craft, I assume. But very fast. The Skyranger nearly makes it to South America by the time the UFO is seen soaring away in the other direction.

A small UFO is seen, heading for North Africa. Alien base again. Then a supply ship. But wait....
This is going to North Africa also. Ohhh, boy. I keep my eyes on them both, and...well, another base is very likely. But where is it... What are they doing? The quad of craft circle the Sahara, like a bunch of confused kindergartners playing ring around the rosie. I still haven't found the base...odd. The small craft sets down, battleship lands also, then the supply ship. Well, the Skyranger has been on it's tail for a couple hours. Let's do this.

Had to wait until night time, blast it. The Skyranger landed behind the UFO. Ahh, we're dealing with Snakemen, not wimpy Sectoids...Hopefully all my training will be worth something. But wait! I forgot to tell you who is on this mission! Well, I'll try to remember for the record, I'm certain everyone did something useful in the battle.

I start off moving out the tank. I move my fliers up to the top of the UFO, hoping on a risky plan. I move the rest out on the ground. The UFO is to the south east. That pilot is getting really good at landing on top of these UFOs. Anyway, I don't see anything after some slight scouting. Somehow I can see the aliens inside the ship though, which is odd. Using my X-ray vision and such.

My plasma tank takes a hit as it drops low in the canopy to spot out the ground. Curse those snakes. Courtney F. hits it, but it just faints. Howard finds another one on the east, but I can't hit it from far away. Hopefully Howard's underbelly can stay strong. Jacque and BriAnne are skirting the northern edge, as Zen plans to plant his heavy explosive.

The snake doesn't shoot, and Courtney is able to kill it. It looks like the outside is clear, so I've gotta start the storming process. Zen's explosive is down, so I'm just waiting for the boom. After a few more turns and another placed explosive, the UFO is unscathed. Bah! I guess we're doing this the hard way.

The scanners are showing motion in the back corners, at least on the left side. I have no idea what floor it is on either, but there should be close to 13 more aliens on board. I move the groups closer to the doors, hoping to get a scanner on the right side. I get one over there, and I don't see any motion. Doesn't mean anything, just a fact.

Either way, the time is now. Kim moves in, first entrance clear. There could be some in the engine room, though. Marie checks the other door, and Chelsea moves in on that side. I move in slowly, as it is fairly packed. I slowly advance around the corners...nothing.

Kim peeks in the engine room. Unlike last time, no explosives allowed. The grav lifts are still unclear though. I've gotta stand on them, as that prevents alien downward movement.

A Snakeman comes out, firing a stun bomb. However, holding one's hand over the muzzle of the weapon doesn't seem to be the best trick. He stuns himself, for which Katrina is very grateful. Courtney advances, seeing a Snakeman. She opens fire, but can't kill the creature. It fires back, missing both shots. Katrina kills it, and keeps moving, rounding the corner and seeing two Snakemen in the hallway!

Ok, there are a few options here. First, I could smoke on top of Katrina. That would hopefully protect her. Or, I could try to have Tyson shoot the aliens. I don't think I have the TUs for a grenade throw by anyone down the corridor where the aliens are, so I'm in a predicament. Smoke sounds good, especially if Zen or Kim throws it.


Using intricate fancy footwork, Kim primes a smoke, drops it, Zen picks it up, and throws it at Katrina. Tyson autos one snake, but he can't see the other. On the right side, Chelsea throws another smoke grenade. They explode, and a concealing and Frebreeze scented smoke fills the UFO. It works! No alien movement, or fire from anywhere. Katrina drops the other snake, then slowly advances to find two more snakes. Time for a grenade. One snake is directly over Katrina's head. So it might come down if she moves off of the grav lift. Tyson tosses the grenade in the snake pit, so hopefully this will all be over. (and the Elerium better still be there.) Though the smoke did go through the wall...it would be oh so annoying if the Elerium was gone though.

The outside alien wakes up, rushing into the ship. Howard takes a shot at it, but I don't really care as it has no weapons. Both snakes are crispified in the blast, and all Elerium is safe. Hurrah! Katrina autos the alien above her, and reveals two more up there waiting. Well, since they hopefully won't shoot down grav lifts.... Chelsea and Marie all move up their lift, and wait for a pincer attack.

Katrina tosses the grenade up the lift, and it kills another member of the slithery race. The wandering snake takes a laser to the hip, as Courtney finishes what she started earlier. At the top of the lift, Katrina and Kim move out. Kim flanks north, not seeing anything. Katrina walks directly into an oncoming snake. She slays it, but finds another behind it. She hits it with one shot, but the snake lives. Tyson can't hit, because Katrina is in the way! Ok, think fast...

Ok, the stun bomb on the lower levels. Courtney loads it, Zen picks it up and tosses it to Tyson, Tyson shoots between Katrina's legs, and the snake falls asleep. (I reloaded the game to count out time units. But I vote that because of how awesomely classy and resourceful it is, it doesn't count as cheating in this case) That was close. Marie moves through a shot out wall, and drops another snake in the process.

A note pops up, declaring that the Snakeman Navigator has panicked. Can't blame the fellow, after that display. Zen and Jacque both use their scanners. Zen picks up one bit of motion, in the control room. Jacque, Mary, and Marie head up to the third floor. So far I count 14 kills by the team. Give or take one kill.

Mary moves in, killing one snake. 'Snakeman Leader has panicked.' Ha. I continue on, heading for the command center. A snake pops out. I hear what I think is a reaction shot, then a horrible throw ends the alien's life by his own grenade.

Excellent mission. See the stats? Yes, excellent indeed, with very sneaky tactics and smoke grenade throws. The smoke grenades worked excellently. MVP to Katrina, for not only killing but barely surviving, thanks to team mates. I find an alien base. Though I dislike how it is called, Alien base four. I thought there were only two....

That supply ship was loaded, with Elerium and heavy plasmas. I'm thinking of hitting the other one before it leaves. Might be a great investment. I decide to do so, and launch another attack on the second supply ship.

But not in this post! Too bad, you'll have to wait until next time! And I promise no cheating. The only time I reload a game so it ends in a different condition is when the comp crashes. That is sometimes a good thing. Now, a sneak peek:

This time it is daylight, in the desert, with no cover. Good luck, Kevin! (and Natalie, Hannah, Kristen, Kaitlyn, Reggie, Kim, Hillary, Brianna, and Cami) Right off, Howard takes a beating finding two snakes. Kevin and Natalie dispose of the duo, and Howard continues his scouting.....

More to come!

X-COM #13: Psionic Patrol

The UFO is heading directly south, so I assume that I'll be losing tracking soon. Man, I've gotta get a base in Asia one of these days. Anyway, I launch both crafts, though the Skyranger has a special crew... I'm taking most of the guys who I hope have higher psionic strength than usual. My comrade Kevin has told me to expect the worst from this UFO...though I am confident. I'm loading up the Skyranger with lots of non-lethal stun weapons. And both tanks. Howard and the other rocket one. I'll name it Bessie.

Ok, UFO-40, here we come!

"Hey, check this out." Kevin and Tyson were in the Hyperwave decoder room. They were checking out the equipment, though really they didn't know why. They had scoured everything before, and the whole mess was so confusing that it didn't make any sense. Really, they were just waiting for another UFO.

"What is it?" Kevin asked, leaving a game of solitaire.
"Look at this. UFO-40, species, Ethereal. Wonder what that is."
"Well, the word means highly advanced, or refined."
Tyson eyed him. "Kevin, how do you know such things? You're my go to guy for anything vocabulary related."
"Ha ha. Alien terror, central Asia. Must be a scouting craft for a later terror mission." They had started to realize that the missions these aliens were doing weren't just out of the blue, they actually had several parts to them, several craft involved in each.

They both started heading for the hangar when multiple alarms went off. The standard UFO sighted lights were on, but now nearly every light was flashing. They arrived in the hangar in a midst of confusion. Everyone was wondering what was going on. Why such excitement over a small UFO? A different species, sure, but still, not bad enough to be classified as a terror attack. Kevin noticed the general, speaking to some men wearing dark trench coats, and sunglasses.....Contributors? He had seen others like them, but they had business suits on, very diplomatic like. These guys were straight from the matrix.

Before he could get a better look they left the General and headed for the hanger exit. Kevin wanted to follow them, but before he could, the General grabbed him. "Come over here. Have you seen Natalie anywhere?"
Kevin didn't answer, but simply followed, watching the coated men leave the room.

General Grey stood on the Skyranger's dropped launch ramp. "Ok, everyone, calm down." The volume quickly dropped. "We've spotted a UFO, with a race called Ethereal. We have specific instructions to engage at all haste, the interceptor is already gone and we need to launch this as well." This was fairly normal. What he said next, was not. "Instead of doing the regular attack, we are going to use only a select few to engage this UFO. Kevin D., Natalie C., Zen Halen, Ajay, and Devyn. You five will be engaging the enemy. The flight suits and everything you need is on the Skyranger, we need you all to leave now."

Only those five? Kevin wondered what made him so special. He was the best soldier, but you would think that the commander would also get to go, or something. Tyson was approaching the General right then, and Kevin followed.
"What are you doing? I thought I decided who went on these attacks," Tyson said angrily. The General stared him in the eyes.
"You do not need to go."
"What? I'm the commander of all these forces, shouldn't I get to see what is dropping down from the skies first hand, so I will know how to deal with them?"
"The Contributors are in complete control of this mission. Kevin, please hurry on the Skyranger, we need to leave as soon as we can."

With that the General pushed past them. "What on earth? I really don't know what's going on here."
"Yeah, it all is pretty weird to me too. Why am I one going?"
"Well, you are the best soldier out of all of us. I just don't like these Contributors. What's different about this UFO than the other ones? We've never met these aliens before..."
"Maybe they know something we don't..." They both looked at each other, thinking the same thing. The Skyranger's engines began to fire up. Tyson clapped Kevin on the shoulder. "Good luck."

The Skyranger took off. Both of the tanks were on board now. They had given them names, the flying one Howard, the rocket tank Bessie. It was somewhat odd, Kevin thought. Both tanks had their names stenciled into their sides. It did make communication easier, though. Natalie, Ajay, Zen and Devyn. Interesting choices. All of them had experience, that was certain. But some, like Courtney J. or Tyson, who also had experience and skill, were left out. It was all very strange.

Shortly after the Skyranger left, the UFO was lost. It had been heading south, towards India. The Interceptor was a few hundred miles ahead of them, it would arrive within the hour and scout. The Skyranger was a supersonic craft. But that didn't make the ride seem any shorter. They could communicate with the base, though usually nothing happened until they were landing on the ground. They were still about an hour away when the interceptor reported finding the UFO. It was landed in central India. No one congratulated them on the discovery from base, which Kevin found odd.

As they neared the Indian Coast, the crew began looking for weapons. All that was left on the Skyranger was stun launchers, medi-kits, and some smoke grenades. They assumed they were going to have to capture the entire alien force. Though they had plenty of ammunition. Then they received a communication from command.

"Hello? Hello?" Kevin didn't recognize the voice, but there were plenty of guys at HQ that could be speaking to them.
"Yes, command, we read you."
"Ahh, yes. Colonel Kevin, I assume."
"Yes command, I read you. What do you have to tell us?" everyone could hear this communication.
"Colonel, you and your crew are going up against the toughest aliens out there. I'm assuming you've been wondering why you've all been chosen to go on this mission? Well, the aliens that you're going up against have similar mind powers as the ones you've experienced, only stronger."
How did they know this? The aliens had only barely entered the atmosphere. "Umm, affirmative, command..."
"Yes. Well, we have a special mission for you. The UFO is on the ground. You may have realized that you have a load of non-lethal stun weapons. Your goal for this mission is to capture one of these Ethereal aliens alive..."

Kevin mouthed to Natalie, "Who is this guy?" to which she just shrugged. Capturing the aliens. Well...that was a plan from before. Though only if it was a commander. And they were only in bases. Kevin interrupted. "Uh, command, what do you mean capture? Are we going for the ships captain, or-"
"No, colonel. Your goal is to capture at least one of these aliens. You are then ordered to pull out. Allow the tanks to do the spotting, and then you will capture the alien and bring it back to the Skyranger and return to base as soon as possible."
"I'm sorry, sir. The whole thing is just really confusing."
"Don't worry colonel we'll guide you through." The comm clicked off.

"What was that?" Kevin asked. Naturally no one had an answer. The Skyranger was only 5 minutes away from the UFO. They put on their helmets and got ready to move off of the craft. Kevin glanced over at Natalie. They were both in front, behind the tanks, at least. The Skyranger curved, and began it's descent. The craft hit the ground, and the hatch slid open. Bessie rolled off the back of the ramp. It was just before sunset.

"Alien located. Right side." The plasma tank moved off as well. Kevin looked at Natalie, who gave him a nod. He nodded back, then moved to the Skyranger's exit. "Colonel, your crew needs to stay hidden as best as possible. Don't let the aliens see you if you can help it." "OK, yes, sir." Howard had moved straight north, sighting the side of the UFO. Kevin flew out. The ground was covered with tall hedges, but his flying suit conquered that. Bessie had passed through a hole in the hedges. On the other side, Kevin saw an orange cloaked figure. It looked like Darth Sidious from Star Wars. Kevin aimed his stun launcher, and fired away at the creature. The bolt missed, but the explosion hit it and it fell down. "I've got it, it's down." Natalie had walked up behind him. "OK, I'm heading for it. Stay in cover." Kevin moved back behind the Skyranger's large thrusters.

Natalie walked across the field to where the Ethereal lay. The plasma tank continued to look around, but didn't see anything. "I've got it. I'm heading back." "Ok, we're covering you," Kevin responded. Though he only had a small launcher that wasn't even loaded. His map still showed all clear though. But then he heard the sliding of a UFO door.

"Bessie, make sure Natalie has cover," Kevin commanded. He checked his view, and switched it to Howard's. The tank was still 13 feet high. It turned toward the UFO. The large hedges covered it's view of the door, but on the side it located another cloaked figure. "This is Howard, opening fire." It shot the Ethereal, but one shot didn't bring it down. After the second one it fell, though.

Kevin looked over to Natalie. She wasn't moving very fast. "Natalie, do you need help?" "It's heavy, but I don't have far to go..." She was only about 15 meters away. She tossed her stun launcher in the direction of the Skyranger. Kevin hopped out to grab it. The unknown command spoke to them again. "As soon as the alien is on we're calling the tanks back and taking off." There couldn't have been more than two more aliens out there. They could grab the heavy plasmas and likely finish them. Natalie flew up the ramp, she was almost in, Kevin behind her lower down. She was holding the alien over her shoulder, it's hood still covered it's face. A very odd creature indeed. Then it flinched, and almost faster than he thought possible it jumped off Natalie's back, almost knocking Kevin off the ramp. Kevin could feel a mind blast, but it wasn't very strong. Though he could tell it came from the half-asleep alien in front of him. And if the other Aliens knew where they were....

A purple explosion covered the alien. One of the crew had seen it move and took a shot at it. It collapsed again. Natalie turned to Kevin. "Did you feel that?" He nodded, "Let's get out of here." She grabbed her dropped weapon, and Kevin hauled the alien inside, realizing that the alien was looking at Natalie when it did it's attack. Both tanks quickly returned into the Skyranger, and almost instantly the hatch was closing and the ship was taking off again.

"Well done, soldiers. Excellent job." The comm clicked off permanently. Kevin was slightly drowsy from the stun blast, but the tingling was subsiding. He looked out the window, to see the UFO begin moving as they flew away. Interceptor-1 noticed it, but was ordered to disengage. The fighter returned home 4 hours before the Skyranger. They noticed that the UFO was still tracking the Skyranger. "You think they want their friend back?" Kevin asked. "Possible." It was still about 100 miles away, but following the course of the Skyranger directly. Eventually it turned north, and returned to space. The Skyranger made it's way home.

Tyson was waiting as the Skyranger returned. He seemed anxious. "Kevin, what did you do?" "Well, we landed, stunned one of those aliens, and got back on and came home."
"They cut the comms here as soon as you hit the Indian Ocean. We had no idea what was going on."
"Really? We were getting briefed on the capture by someone before hand. I figured it was here, but...they did know all about these Ethereals."
"Contributors?" They looked at each other. It was most likely. "Yeah, that's my bet. He gave us orders, then cut the comms once they were done. I couldn't ask anything. They told us the aliens were very powerful psis. And to watch out. They masterminded this thing, and they know what they're talking about."

Tyson just looked confused. "Huh, we'll have to think about this later. What's up with those Ethereals?"
"I didn't really see them. They're fast though. I mean, they can react fast. We knocked one out, but it woke up, and I felt it attack. Not as strong as a Sectoid, but I think it was attacking Natalie. And it was half asleep, I was just standing right behind it."
"Wow. That doesn't sound good."
"And the tank shot one. Took two hits to bring one down."
"Well, at least everyone made it back fine. These things must be really important. I wonder what they expect to find."
"I wonder why they can't just tell us that themselves, since they know everything."
Tyson just shrugged. There wasn't much else you could do.

Sweet! Psionic research, here we come! Sure, we probably have an Ethereal terror mission in the works... but look at the glass half full. Short chapter but a great accomplishment. And since this counts as a mission on everyone's record, Natalie gets the MVP, and Zen gets the kill, as it woke up after Kevin shot it.

X-COM #12: Fire and Flames

Hello. Once again, that last post didn't really accomplish all that I wanted it to, at least as far as the writing went. Somewhat difficult when talking through the events, though spacing them out does have it's advantages. But I'm usually to lazy to write it all, or I feel an urgency to post, like I've taken to long or something. Anyhow, hopefully more events per post, and more focus on one troop as far as going through the missions and such. Well, hopefully. Every one of these posts are totally different as far as style. What's that saying, swim with the current, gather no moss or something? Oh well. As always, we'll see how this goes. Oh yeah, sorry about the pic quality, it is in an old version of paint, after all.

I get back to X-COM. Last month was really fairly slow, but with the Hyperwave decoders and the alien base I'm expecting more excitement. I instantly cue up 10 more soldiers, maxing out the living quarters at EuroCom. I just saw all my lonely friends on Facebook, and figured that they needed some company. And I'll have more missions to induct them on. As soon as the next LQ finish, I'm going to need some new scientists to fill the labs. Also, I send order for 5 more soldiers for USA and a HWP as well. I'm hoping for a new hangar as soon as I get a decent ship to put in it.

Anyhow, to build my flying tank, I need 30 Elerium. And we're a little bit short. So, those supply ships had better be ready, because we're coming for them. Actually, I hope we're ready for a supply ship. Last time....uhgggg.

I head to the base and ask for volunteers. Naturally, Tyson and Kevin, along with 8 other brave souls. Brave Elerium-obtaining souls, I might add. Zen, Hannah, Mary, Mellissa, Jacque, BriAnne, Reggillious, and obviously, Kim Jong. I would throw on a stun launcher or two, but seeing how I'm going up against mind-powerless Floaters, I don't really see the point.

I see the old UFO from last time, the small one going on a terror mission. I-2 engages, but it slinks away and lands. Hmmm. This might be a good time for some Elerium harvesting. I figure the small UFO will be well enough, and launch the Skyranger with the current load. Assuming the UFO doesn't try to get away. X-COM USA is right next to the site, they could probably walk and get there faster.

Oh, great. Right as the Skyranger shows up, night falls. And the UFO darts out of sight. I chase it, and it turns back south over Canada. I have I-2 blow it up, and then send the Skyranger home. Now I'm just going to wait for the Supply Ships to show up. Those Snakemen will likely be captured by some Zoo, and make millions becoming actors in movies about Anacondas.

I wait all day, but nothing shows up. Maybe something about 2 crash sites, but I doubt that. I guess I will just have to get closer. I-2 goes down to fly over the base, and hopefully find something useful. Suddenly, a big herd of soldiers arrive. Oh, yes! I love this part. In other news I-2 finds nothing after a day of searching. I figure I'll have to bump up my patrols.

Katrina S. C,G: 58,63,33,30,35,57,55,38-reactions are low, but TUs, accuracy and strength are all good.
Jeff W. B,R: 58,70,36,20,56,60,67,27-Excellent starting reactions and accuracy. TUs are decent.
CamiClaw C-,G: 58,50,3,50,33,58,56,32-Accuracy is a high point, strength also.
Lindsay H. C-,R: 55,60,29,60,58,43,51,33-Great reactions, bad aim but good strength.
Bill D+,MS: 50,51,35,10,51,41,74,24-His reactions are decent I'll give him that.
Hillary D,MS: 60,41,31,40,51,40,73,28-Same as above.
Brian Y. C-,G: 53,67,40,30,34,59,70,27-Accuracy is good, reactions are not.
Sahra M. C,H:50,60,40,30,39,59,58,40-Our second H class! Yay!
Jessica W. B+,S: 58,65,30,60,47,68,54,38-reactions are weak point, if you dare say that.
Jason E. C-,G: 52,43,25,40,41,62,71,27-Basically an S class, but other stats are slightly low.
Anna N C,S: 60,45,31,60,43,63,61,23-Slightly better than the last one.

Well, that clears up the newbies at EuroCom, let's check out X-COM USA.

Justin M. B+,R: 53,65,36,60,55,62,67,35-The Jessica of the United States.
Ronald McD D-,MS:52,53,40,20,30,48,65,25-That's what you get for eating hamburgers and dressing up like a clown.
April A. C-,G: 56,40,34,40,50,58,76,29-Relatively average but low TUs
Chelsea N. C,S: 54, 50,27,0,41,66,60,25-Accuracy is pretty good.
Jamie R. D+,G: 56,66,25,30,42,56,68,22-Not bad enough to be an MS. A couple missions can work wonders.

Now that we have a fresh batch of soldiers manning the base, we need a supply ship so we can fuel the base. (and the blog) I scan the alien base for nearly a whole day, until both Interceptors are out of fuel. Not even the Hyperwave decoders are picking anything up. I guess I'll just wait, until we get a supply ship or I decide to go blast that base. This is probably what I get for leaving two crash sites untouched.

Then comes an infiltration mission. But they all say that so...I'm not really sure what it means. The UFO skirts EuroCom, and I-1 follows in pursuit. I try to launch I-2 so as to head it off. Brazil is being too cheap as it is. I lose tracking, but both interceptors are dispatched to the two cities in the area. Then a terror ship pops up. Looks like they've found what they are looking for. Well, I don't like civvies+crysalids, so that beast is going down(if my Interceptors can muster it, I suppose) But my mouse freakin sucks, so I loose contact and I can't find it. Then this pops up.

What? Is there another base you want to tell me about? They were floaters last time. Oh well, that's the supply ship if I can find it. Then I spy the Terror ship. Not today, buddy! I-2 nails him with all of the missiles he's got. The ship doesn't like this, and blows I-2 out of the sky. GAAA! I-1 pees his pants, reports he's low on fuel, and high tails it back to base. Great, lost an interceptor. Those things are pricey.

I launched the Skyranger earlier, to follow the Supply ships. After the interceptors left, all I can see is a small UFO. Might as well get something for coming all the way out here.

EuroCom had grown much larger since Reggie had arrived there. And so had the number of soldiers stationed there. Tyson and Kevin had been there the longest, and likewise were very influential in the operations that took place at the base. They had come in asking for volunteers to attack one of the supply ships that would be heading to the newly discovered base. Reggie had heard of the last mission, 5 soldiers, two of whom he had known well, had perished in the attack. Tyson didn't want anyone to go who didn't want to, as the attack had been traumatic and very dangerous. Both he and Kevin had been there, and as it was partly their plan to attack they were both going on the mission. Reggie had volunteered. He wasn't completely sure why, but he just felt that he should.

They had been waiting for the next few days, as the Supply ships had completely vanished. There had been interceptors launched, but they hadn't picked up anything, besides two ships which had crashed earlier. They weren't engaged, as the Elerium engines had been destroyed. The attack was meant to secure Elerium, because all of the new production depended on the resource. Reggie was still wondering about how he had gotten there. He assumed that Tyson and Kevin had some ideas about the group they were working for, but they were apprehensive to tell anyone. Reggie assumed that he might be able learn more from them on the trip to South America, where the base was. That, and they were two of the best soldiers in the base, so they were probably the best to learn from.

Then the Supply Ships had been noticed again. Both interceptors had been sent down to chase them around. The Skyranger launched as well. As soon as the Supply Ships landed, the Skyranger would be there to take it out. The Interceptors had reported two Supply Ships, and a Terror ship. The two aircraft were ordered to destroy the Terror ship, and as the Skyranger started heading away from the base they had started the pursuit. Reggie moved up to where Tyson and Kevin were talking, at the back of the Skyranger. He moved in and took a seat.

"So, what did you find about the ACIRIP program?" Kevin was asking. "It was some sort of project to create a thinking computer. Like actual intelligence. I couldn't find much more than that, it was very secretive. But it seems that they did some kind of brain wave mapping. It doesn't really work for humans, but it seems to have a partial connection with the aliens. But other than that....I can't say that it seems like much of a connection."
"Huh. Sounds like another dead end. Just like everything else."

Reggie cut in this time. "So...what's up?" They both glanced over. Then Tyson laughed. "Nothing much, apparently. We've been looking for some connection with the Contributors around the base, but nothing much."
"Excepting that their very influential. And they were able to get scientists who are experts and understanding the alien technology."
"Hmm. But you haven't discovered who they are?" They both shook their heads. "I'm doubting our plan, Kevin. Let's focus on government records, figure out who they've appointed to oversee this operation." Reggie wasn't sure what that meant. "What were you just talking about?"
"Oh, just some program that some of the scientists were involved with. Just a coincidence." "Yeah, like how more than half of the engineers are from Japan. Who would have guessed?"

They sat in silence for a while. The craft had quite a way to go. The radio interrupted their talk. "This is Interceptor-2, I've got visual on the Terror vessel."
"Affirmative, I-2, orders are to completely destroy the craft."
"Roger that command, moving into aggressive attack pattern."
The Aircraft moved in close, and started firing all of it's missiles. "They should have this," Kevin said. "Avalanches are gone, I'm using Stingrays now." "Roger I-2, Interceptor-1 is heading to your position."

Reggie watched as the camera from the interceptor showed the UFO. Plasma fire began flying from the UFO's sides, as another missile blazed towards it. "This is I-2, my wing has been clipped, down to 2 missiles!" The mood in the Skyranger had suddenly grown serious. The last two missiles left the Interceptor, but the aircraft didn't pull back. Multiple plasma bursts flew from the UFO. One of them connected with the front of the Interceptor, and the camera went black. "Interceptor-2 is down! We've lost Interceptor-2!" the radio buzzed. "This is Interceptor-1, I'm running low on fuel, I can't complete the chase."

"I sure hope we don't have a terror mission," Zen said. Reggie's first mission had been against Snakemen and Crysallids. He could remember how they infected civilians with their attacks, causing them to hatch into new monsters. Though that was a month ago. "Anything's better than a terror mission." The Skyranger was still over the Atlantic Ocean. They were going to search for any landed UFOs, now that there was no air support.

"This almost reminds me of the cross country days," Reggie started. "Ahh, those were good times..."
"Yeah, I'd always get ready before the race with Neal....." Kevin trailed off. The subject suddenly felt much harder to talk about. Reggie decided to start off again. "So, you know everyone here?" Tyson glanced around. "Mostly, though some people I only barely knew...I don't know, it's an odd sort of recruitment." They glanced towards the front of the Skyranger. "What about the Asian guy?" Reggie questioned. "Hmm, Kim? I'm not sure. His name matches North Korea's dictator, but he seems just like a normal guy. They told me he was a trained soldier, very brave and aggressive. But he doesn't seem to be any more experienced than any of us. Less than, even."

Reggie looked back. Kim only knew rudimentary English. But he had always ended up in front. Reggie remembered that about his first mission. Right as he jumped off the ship, Neal had called Neal up to the front of the group. He also remembered Brianna almost getting her head shot off by a Snakeman. "To put it the way that the general said, 'He's obedient as a sheep, and just about as smart.' I'm starting to agree with him."

"Skyranger, this is command. We've located a landed UFO, small, in Venezuela. Snakeman craft, but the only one we're tracking. Could snatch some Elerium. We only need 30 for the new vehicle." "Sounds good, command, changing course." The sun was setting fast, so the Skyranger would be landing at night. Just like the last time Reggie fought. He was slightly nervous as he returned to his seat. But the small UFOs were supposed to be much easier than the Terror missions or the large ones were. As the Skyranger circled, he grabbed a laser rifle and clutched it in his armored hands. He would be taking up the rear again, unless assigned elsewhere.

The Skyranger put down hard, landing right next to a large barn. Reggie could see it out of the window. The tank rolled off. "Ok, lets go guys." Tyson and Kevin filed out next, dropping to the sides. "All clear so far. Grab some flares, it's dark out here." Reggie paused momentarily at the top of the ramp, scanning the outside. There wasn't much to see, so he darted to the left.

As he dropped off the ramp, he heard the 'psuu' of plasma fire, and instinctively dropped to his knees. "You OK?" Hannah called to BriAnne as he turned around. Bri looked over, though her face wasn't visible under her helmet. There was a large black burn on her shoulder. "Yeah..." She spoke in a daze, then reached down on her belt, grabbing a grenade. "There were two of them, over in those sheds. Let's tear them open." Hannah said as she rose her rifle. Reggie followed suit, and shot at the sheds. The walls crumpled, but there was nothing there. Though having no moon didn't help at all. Mary added fire from her plasma rifle, and Reggie heard a snake screech.

A purple blast lit up the ground from behind, but Reggie couldn't see where it had come from. Then the grenade blew the sheds apart. The explosion was bright, and Reggie couldn't see anything through the rubble, Bri and Hannah started off towards the north, where they had heard more plasma fire. "Reggie, come on over to the UFO. We're getting ready to go in." Tyson must have been checking the map on the HUD. "Sure, I'll head over."

The radio was alive with chatter. Jacque and Mary were heading through an orchard, the HWP was clearing the rubble, Kevin had covered the southern corner, taking out a Snakeman with a stun launcher. Bri and Hannah had killed a Snakeman shooting at them, but it was darker than usual, so no one could see. Reggie ran up just as Tyson and Kim moved through the door, and he switched to the second comm channel.

"It's clear in here, we're heading to the left." Zen jogged back to Reggie. He had swapped his rocket launcher with Jacque for plasma. "Hey Reggie. Just follow me in." They started through the door.

Kim and Tyson both moved through their door. "We're gonna wait by the bridge door until they move in from the other side," Zen instructed. Reggie nodded. The UFO was small, with narrow corridors. Reggie could see how it could be a deathtrap. He heard the high pitched 'sktew-sktew-sktew' of laser fire, and a burst of plasma fire right after. "We had better hurry." There was more fire as they neared the door, Zen tapped the switch and rushed in, Reggie followed right behind.

The Snake on the bridge had just collapsed, and Reggie moved around Zen, and found himself facing towards Kim's raised rifle. Kim moved for the door, apparently the door to the engine room. "Ahh, fried the equipment..." Tyson was looking at the wrecked control equipment on the bridge. "Missed?" Reggie asked. Tyson nodded. Kim came back out of the engine room. "Is empty," he said. "Huh, must be outside. Let's go." They rushed back towards the exit.

"Kevin, it's all clear in here. Have you checked everywhere?" There was a few moments before his response. "Yeah, We've covered everywhere. Except that big barn."
"Well, open it up, there's nothing in here." The four reached the exit and paused. "We're not seeing anything, be careful when you come out," Kevin warned. Just then Reggie heard a UFO door slide open behind them. They turned and eyed the bridge where Kim had just come in. "I check," he said, sheepishly. He walked through the door, and Reggie heard the 'sktew' of laser fire. "How did he not see it? Luckiest guy," Tyson muttered. Kim reappeared. "It dead." He said. "Well, that takes care of that. Let's tear this thing apart."

A short while later they had pulled all of the usable parts out of the UFO and loaded them into the Skyranger. Before the Skyranger departed two helicopters arrived, there to remove what was left of the UFO and cover up any evidence. The crew was departing as the agents arrived. The two groups didn't share any dialogue. Apparently these agents arrived at every UFO landing. The crew had to leave, however, to be ready for the supply ship they were looking for. It was about 2:00 local time.

Reggie put his gear in the seat compartment, removed his helmet and sat back. He was tired. The mission had gone well, much better than his first mission. Of course, it was only a small UFO. But judging by how well everyone preformed, as well as the new equipment they were getting, bolstered his confidence. Everyone had said that they were much better prepared for a supply ship now than they were back in April. "Well, Regillious, how'd you like your first UFO?" Jacque asked him.
"It was good. A little tight for me, though."
"Yeah, I like it outside more. Think you'll come along for the base?"
"I don't know, maybe." Reggie glanced over at Tyson and Kevin. They were doing like most of the crew and sleeping. Though others were listening to music or talking quietly.

"Jacque, do you know what Tyson and Kevin were talking about? I overheard something about a research program, but I really don't know what's going on."
"Oh. Well, they have this plan of searching for the Contributors. They did get us into this and all. I would like to know what's going on. They told a few of us to be on the lookout, so we've been asking questions and searching for stuff. The ACIRIP thing was one of the things we actually found. But it doesn't really help. I mean, it's like the others. For example, the General isn't top in his class, though he is very good. But not really the aggressive type. They think he is more of a rear General or something. But him and his staff are from America, they all know each other mostly. The pilots and aircraft are from all over, best pilots they can find, though we've only had two of them." She paused momentarily, likely thinking back to the earlier events of the day. "There are other ones too, German manufacturing techniques, Japanese hardware used to implement the effective use of Elerium, a brainwave computer project that connects with the aliens. It all seems coincidental." Reggie figured that sounded right. ACIRIP They didn't even know what that meant, though they did have the letters. Reggie wondered for a minute but couldn't think of anything. "It's ok, you know. I mean, watching everything, it looks like our scientists are learning more about the aliens each day. The staff is always saying that once we find out just a little more about the aliens we could be able to track them back to wherever they are coming from. I hear they're working on a ship that will be able to do that. Follow the alien ships after they leave, and track them to wherever they go. We'll be out of here in no time. Contributors or not." Jacque lay back on her seat, closing her eyes, and Reggie hoped she was right.

This next part is me ranting about the mouse in the last mission. It's bracketed by the stars.

****

Kim enters, and the first room is empty. Tyson follows him to the left, Zen and Reggie both wait outside for a moment. The rest of the team moves towards the uncharted sections of map. And in other news, I hate mouses with the rolly balls. Holy cow I have no idea how computers even got started with such things! No idea how many lives it has cost already! It's a good thing that combat is turn based, or else everyone would be dead right now, leaving the mouse victorious.

Kim bursts into the command center, finding a snake. He opens fire, missing each time. Tyson runs in behind him, but in his attempt to cover misses and hits the control station. Oh my. And the worst part was, the click slipped to the control station, so he would have hit it had I not have clicked so poorly. Now both of them are open to enemy mulching. The snake turns and fires, leaving a nasty burn mark on the bridge hallway. Whew again. Kim tries auto-ing the snake, and gives it a nasty triple hit before it finally falls. Zen and Reggie both advance from the right, setting up the perfect collateral damage cross fire.

Kim rushes the engine room to find it.....empty? What? I've still been scouting outside, but no fire for a while. There must be one in the building, or that's where my money is going. Usually the aliens like to take a few potshots, but I guess this guy figures on lie low and whatnot. And now the mouse is going berzerk. Seriously, the screens all crazy and I'm REALLY not in the mood. I've got the feeling that this will be this mouse's last game..... It finally reverts to normal(nearly sacrificing Kevin) and in time for me to save the game.

Mellisa has blasted out most of the walls, so almost all of the upstairs is clear. I wonder if the game is glitching, it has seemed somewhat off today. And after the beating of missed shots the Skyranger's been taking, I hope it gets everyone home. I keep on those doors...then the alien turn. UFO door. (?!) What the? Is Kim freaking blind? Holy cow he is the luckiest MS on the planet. Up until now because he's going back in there. He finds it and brings it down.

*****




Well, good, got my Elerium. But, once I arrive back at base I see that I now have only 4 HP clips. Though I had nearly everyone dump and I should have gathered tons from the stinking snakes. I guess this game just hates me...or the glitch isn't active. Yeah, I'll go with that. So only shoot if you're going to mean it, because even one shot counts as 3 Elerium. On the other hand I now have 6 small launchers and 16 bolts for each. Could probably stun the whole base, be it necessary. Oh yes, MVP is hard to give out, but, since Meaties don't get these awards, Melissa, 2 kills.

Right off I start production on a flying tank. Just the thing that I need to keep this outfit running! Hopefully a supply ship in the future as well.

I'm going to go for a supply ship, so I'm just going to wait until they show up, take one down, and then get the base next. Very small UFO, you don't get anything out of those anyway, so I just watch it. The tank finishes, and Interceptor-3 arrives at the other base. Sweet. I suppose I could build a Firestorm, just to test it out. Just one being built for now. Though, as always, Elerium supplies are low.


Ahh, ultimate craft research complete! Though it should be a battleship, but whatever. Gonna have to throw down one of these beauties ASAP. I start on motion sensors, assuming they might be helpful. Another small UFO pops up. I watch it fly about, until the one that I'm waiting for arrives. I do a last minute check of everything, then start chasing it. Kim and BriAnne are both off and replaced by Bill and Hillary. The UFO lands and I send out the Skyranger. I-3 is hovering overhead, but I'm not going to shoot it. Elerium is too valuable. It takes off, and flies out from under I-3 without him noticing. It heads for EuroCom, then disappears. What? Hyperwave decoder guys must be taking a nap. Well, another lost chase.

Another small UFO pops up. I'll probably start on those after the supply ship. Living quarters finishes, and I recruit 25 more scientists. That's gonna bust the budget. A terror ship shows up, and I figure enough waiting around for supply ships. But I'm not eager enough to attack a terror ship, even if it's crashed. However, I-1 is a brave soul, he chases it as it flies over Europe. I-3 hits it with 6 Avalanches, but nothing. He disengages and I-1 races towards it. He never catches the beast, it then heads north and away. I hit the 30min. timer and wait. I get some research done, and again a terror ship pops up. I-3 goes for it again. He fires off 4 missiles before getting swatted out of the sky. So much for that.

Well, I've got some new toys for this mission, blaster bombs, hovertank, and such. Let's do this. Ok, forget the blaster bombs. They explode too big for having civvies everywhere. Skyranger-1 is racing against the nightfall, but sunset is moving faster, so it will be dark when we show up. I really want an Avenger, that's for certain. Ahh, well at least we know what we're up against. I'm thinking of researching Laser Cannon, because missiles aren't cutting it. But I guess we'll see.

Ohh, right as we're landing at the terror site the supply ships arrive. Oh well, can't do anything about it now. The Skyranger sets down in Canada, ready to kick some alien tail.

Reggie was eating dinner at EuroCom. The crew had returned victorious at the small UFO, but Tyson told them to be ready for a supply ship. A number of small UFOs were spotted, two terror ships even. But they hadn't engaged any of the craft. Reggie supposed it would be best to be ready. They had chased one supply ship, but it breezed off to where ever it came from before they even got close. The terror ships were engaged by the aircraft. The replacement from the other base had been blown out of the sky. Luckily we're on a craft that doesn't attack, Reggie had thought.

The alarm went off again, and Reggie assumed that it was the terror ship raising it's ugly head once more. He hustled into the hangar, where part of the crew had already loaded. "Reggie, how are you?" Jacque was walking up behind him.
"Hey Jacque. What's all the fuss?"
"That terror ship from an hour ago, it's landed in Vancouver. We've gotta head out as soon as we can."
"Huh. Well, just like last time." The new HWP was moving towards the Skyranger. The interesting part was that it could fly. "Now that is the kind of car I want." Reggie said as he climbed into the Skyranger.

The group was the same as before. Reggie realized that he was the only one not wearing a flying suit. "Don't worry about it, Reggie. We'll protect you." Jacque told him. There were two people Reggie didn't know, two others, as they were being called. They were squabbling about something, but he didn't pay much attention. It had been a couple weeks since the last mission. Unless you counted the ride over the Atlantic. He started to dose as the Skyranger lifted off from the hangar. The sun had set at EuroCom, meaning it would be dark at Vancouver when they got there 6 hours later.

Reggie woke up later. It was around 4:00 back at the base, but at least he was well rested now. "Hey, you're up," Jacque smiled. Reggie yawned, "Ahh, yeah. How far till we get there?"
"We're almost there now, about 20 minutes I'd say."

The rest of the crew was waking up right now. Reggie had his stuff with him, and he was ready to go. "Jacque, you ready for this?"
"Yep. Always ready."
"Yeah. Hopefully better than the first time I went on one of these."
"You'll be fine. We'll try to get a vantage point from above. It worked really well last time."
"Yeah, but that was in daylight," Reggie reminded her. She shrugged. "It will be fine."

"We're on approach, got a landing zone all picked out," the pilot said. At the back of the ship, Tyson called back to the crew, "Guys, I'm glad you're here. Sorry we didn't get the supply ships, but we had to respond to this. But hey, big break for everyone after this." There was a murmur of approval. The Skyranger slowed, and Reggie heard the landing gear deploy. The hatch started dropping, and the interior lights clicked off. "Readdy Reggie?" Jacque's voice sounded more mechanical through her suit. "Oh yeah, let's do it." Reggie could almost see Jacque's smile.

Reggie's HUD sparked up. There was already a red box on the overlay. Kevin and Tyson moved out. "Got it, Crysallid," Kevin said. "Nice. OK, everyone in a flying suit, head into that building. Same setup as the first time that we did this." Reggie was one of the few without a flying suit. He leapt to the ground. To his right he saw a large building, the rest of the group had disappeared inside. Hannah was standing outside on the ground, holding a rocket launcher. "I'm not going in there with this," she said. "Kevin, you're in charge of the upper group. Ground group, you're on channel 2. Hannah, head up to the top of the Skyranger, stay on this channel," Tyson was giving the orders. They had split the channels to help with group coordination. Though communication could still be heard, but channel talk was much louder. It was mostly for UFOs, but it helped remove unnecessary talk.

Tyson shot another Crysallid waiting in a street. Reggie moved up behind him. Across the street he could see two more buildings, with large doorways facing the street. The HWP flew over about 13 feet up. Reggie saw Kevin fire on a snake in the street in his connected screen. He overheard Mary shoot another Crysallid to the west.

Reggie moved towards the frontal landing gear. Across the street, he could see some civilians moving in and out of the doors. A plasma bolt flew towards the upper story, but hit nothing. "Bug, bug!" Hillary said. She didn't have a video feed, but Reggie was right next to them. He looked around the corner, where a Crysallid was standing. He fired, one laser hit, but the creature still stood. Bolts flew from behind him, but all of them missed, flying into the darkness. Hillary finally shot it, and it crumpled to the ground.

"We've gotta cross the street. Reggie, you and Hillary check those stores, Bill, let's go." Tyson and Bill both sprinted across the street, now standing alongside the civilians clustered over there. "This is the upper group, we're crossing the street." Kevin informed the squad. Kevin was looking down from the rooftop. Mary and Jacque moved over to the large house following the tank. Zen was flying over also.

"Heads!" Tyson called. The door had opened, a civilian had crumpled to the ground. "Snakeman inside," he reported. Hillary had the store clear, Reggie watched across the street. Bill was walking into the building on the west side. There were two civilians standing next to him as he went in, so if he needed cover fire it would be hard for anyone at this range.

"Ahh, big bug in here..." Reggie could hear the sound of fire over the headset, but then the building next to Tyson exploded, throwing rubble across the street. "Bill's in there with some Crysallids. We've gotta take them out..." Tyson coughed. Hannah dropped to the ground by Reggie. "Reggie, knock out those walls." Reggie fired, and the walls crumpled. He didn't hit any civilians, but he did see one standing inside the building. He also saw Bill, a Crysallid standing over him, the infection passing through him, turning him into a zombie. Hannah's rocket flew through the door, and the side of the store exploded.

Reggie moved to a better position. "The Crysallid is down, but we've got more snakemen in there." "Roger that, we're moving in." Melissa dropped next to Reggie. They kept their guns trained on the storefront. Another rocket flew through the smoke, blowing more debris out of the way.

Tyson looked through the rubble. "I'm heading in through this side. Can't see anything." "Yeah, moving in from the west, got your back," Kevin replied. He began firing through the store. Reggie just watched. The soldiers converged on the storefront. 3 Snakemen later, and the motion tracers showed all clear.


I kept my other writing here, if you want to read it for all the details. Otherwise, it's bracketed by the stars, so you can skip it if you want.

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I fly out and see a Crysallid. Tyson has flying suit issues, but Kevin is a pro, and he kills the beast. Otherwise like the first mission, I am in a corner so I can move into the building's second story. The difference is it is night. The Hovertank moves out, and Tyson kills another Crysallid. Kevin and the other fliers, which includes everyone but Reggie and the meatshields, move into the second story of the building.

A (kevin) snakeman and a (mary) Crysallid spotted out of a window fall to upper story fire. The ground group will have to move across the street, as there are large buildings there as well. A Snakeman takes a shot at Kevin, but misses. I find a Crysallid down approaching the ground group. Reggie tries for it with his laser rifle, one bolt hitting. Bill fires two bursts, all nearly hitting teammates and nearly hitting the Crysallid. Hillary finally brings it down with another laser. Thank heavens.

I start to spread out. I'm sending the ground group across the street, and the upper group will have to follow them as the tank clears the area. Then a snake pops out, blasting a civvie and almost killing Tyson! I blow a hole in the wall, but I don't see the snake. There's another civvie right there, so I don't move. I figured it was fairly safe, since the civilians have been wandering through the doors all game. Bill moves in another door, and yipes! Crysallid. The most important 3 shots of your life, Bill! He misses all but one, and a snake shoots at him through the wall. He has nowhere to run....oh boy. I can't do much now. Goodbye, citizens of Vancouver, that's for sure.

Tyson's snake throws a grenade, blowing himself to pieces. Bill gets the royal Zombie treatment, the first member of Xcom to be zombied. He turns and clubs a citizen over the head. Well, it doesn't get much better than this. Reggie clears out the walls from a distance, so Hannah can get a view of the proceedings. Hannah has been on top of the Skyranger with a rocket. She fires it in, killing everything in the area. One civilian is nothing to worry about. Tyson kills the Crysallid.

A message pops up, telling me the snakeman soldier has panicked. That's nice, I'll use him for reaction training. There should be one more though. Hannah figures, what the heck? and lobs another rocket into the building. A lucky civilian is all that remains. Kevin and Tyson both move through the rubble, one from each side. Kevin spots a Snakeman, and kills it. He is answered by a shot from a snakeman further back. Reggie tries for a shot at it, but his bolts go off. I'm also not sure if the panicking alien dropped his stuff, but he only had a stun launcher anyway, so Zen just waits.

(Note: There were pics for all of these I think. Either way, I never get a picture of a flying bullet, that's for sure.)

The Snake fires off a blast of purple, so he hasn't panicked, or dropped his stuff, anyway. Zen answers with a shot of his own, ending the creature's sad existence. Kevin finishes what he started, and as the tank moves in, I discover another snake, one who was panicking I believe. Jacque drops him, and ends the mission.

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Very nice. Got a little dicey there for a second, but that's ok, it all worked out. No one liked Bill that much anyway. MVP to Kevin, 4 kills. I see Kevin has some sickening stats, wow. A small craft is noticed, and I'm not letting any more get away. I load up the Skyranger with primarily rookies, and wait for it to land. Or the end of the month, whichever comes first. After a lengthy chase, the UFO sets down in southern Spain.

It's a beautiful day in the Spanish vineyard. The unloading HWP is brutally assaulted by plasma fire. Kristen deals with the menace. I continue to find a floater sunbathing on top of a roof. Of all the things to be doing.... Richie moves out to rocket the beast into submission, but 'Howard' (that's the new name of the tank) is in the way. I move it, and the Floater reacts. Missing the tank, but one shot flies down from above and hits Richie dead on. Courtney flies out and autos that floater down.

I find anther floater on the side by the UFO. A whole herd of rookies cannot even touch it, and I really don't know why I brought so many. The floater takes aim at Howie though, so everyone lives. Finally, Marie is able to bring it down. I keep on scouting, having heard a door. Cameron spots a floater through a second story window. He clears a path, and Courtney F. takes it down. Yay! Courtney's first kill. She's been here quite a while, but now she can finally get a promotion!

I head for the UFO. I keep hearing door sounds. Likely there are 2 in there. Kim and Kristen head left, and Vern covers to the right. The rest of the houses outside all look clear. Suddenly, a sneaky floater rushes in from the right. He fires at Vern, but hits a wall. Vern fires back, squarely killing the beast. Kim and Kristen rush in from the far side. Kristen see's one, and autos away, killing it and another I didn't see. Kim rushes into the engine room, and kills the remaining floater.

Good. Except for Richie. Bad stroke of luck there. MVP to Kristen, for many great kills. Then up comes funding. What the? Freaking Brazil. Any terror attacks there, and I'm not going. Well, most likely anyway. Actually, I should have destroyed many more UFOs than I did, note the negative up there. Yeah, not very good on my part.


Right before I sign off, one more UFO shows up.