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!