I really hope everything is fine. He just had a kid, so maybe he's just extremely busy.

Good new from Godzilla Blitz:

Hi Chris,

Sorry that my absence has caused some concern, and thanks for the email. I appreciate it. I’ll visit FOFC to post a note shortly.

Kind of a long, boring story why I disappeared, but I’m hopeful that things will get back to normal within a month or so.

Again, thanks for the concern and email.

Mike (Godzilla Blitz)

Thank friggin god.

Whew

An audible sigh from the masses of FOFC.

SIGH


Okay one thing to cross off the worry list. Now if we can just take care of this bin laden guy.....

Very happy to see that message from him. I suspected it was a boring story that was the cause, but you tend to be imaginative and start fearing worse things.

Woo Hoo. That's great news to hear back from GB.

Sectoids you're not off the hook yet.

Ouf !

(the French version of a sigh of relief...)

Thanks goodness. I was truly worried about him and his family...

Now that we're sure he's okay, we can joke. :)

Tell us the truth, GB. How did that anal probing really feel?

Good to see all is well.

I am glad everything is alright!!!

now that we know he's OK:

XCOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

http://www.bash.org/?4281

SI

:sigh of relief:

Glad you're okay GB.

Heh, good news :)

I blame Sectoid Leader.

Whew.

All of us, from SplitPersonalityA to SplitPersonalityZ breath a collective sign of relief.

Good news. Glad to hear he's doing ok.

Groovy!

No way I'm letting this thread drop off page 1...

You probably should...

why ?

Damnit! Don't play games with my emotions like that

Eek.

Sorry, guys. Especially sorry for causing all the concern. Thanks to everyone that was thinking about me. I hope you all have been ok while I was gone.

Life's still a bit twisted now, but I'd like to try to move forward with this a little bit at a time. So...

What say we go get us some Sectoid?

___________

P.S. I won't be stopping by daily like before, but will try to get by a few times a week to check in on things. If you ask me something and I don't reply right away, that's why. I'll try to keep up as best I can. Thanks for the understanding.

P.P.S. I'll aim for Saturday to post our next mission.

Go FOFC X-COM!

X-COMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woot!

XCOMMMMMMMMMM!! WORD UP!

YAY! That's good to hear:)

Welcome back, GB! I hope things are going better for you.

XCOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Hell YEAH!

And to think that I was going to yell at whatever moron had bumped it again! ;)

Hey! Aren't you usually one of those morons? ;)

SI

Yes. But after a while, it becomes pointless. :)

Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

SNAP!!

ITS NEVER POINTLESS!!!!! XCOM, TEN-HUT!

Oh wait, I'm sitting on a cloud in heaven, waiting for my son to get into action....well you get the idea anyway...

YEEEEEEEEeESSSS !

signed,
The last moron.

woot!

Hope your life gets untwisted real soon GB. Hope you and yours are ok.

Whenever you have the time for XCom is fine with us-looking forward to the continuation of the story.

Awesome! Welcome back, GB!

Excellent GB. Welome back.

Oh, and I agree "Kodos is a moron." :)

Locked and loaded!

Really happy to see you back, GB. :)

So, um, what happened? If you don't want to tell, it's OK, but we're here if you feel a need to share.

Thirded!





It just seemed silly to keep bumping it when he obviously was otherwise occupied and keep getting peoples' hopes up for no good reason.

X-Com for life ... Which in my case is still in it's first pressing.

Glad to see you back GB. W00t!! XXXXX-CCCCOOOOOMMMMM!!

Sign me up for the waiting list. I'll take low bravery. After spending the last 3 days reading all of the AAR's, I'm happy your back. What a great Dynasty. Now...where is my copy of X-Com......hmmm.....

Ditto, if only due to a fortunate technicality. :D

Good to see you 'round these parts again, GB. Hope things get cleared up soon.

Just to remind everyone where we left off...

Previously on X-COM II...

October 31

Less than 36 hours after we knock out three UFOs in a bloody day of fighting, the European night sky is alight with more UFOs. A small UFO touches down in Northern Africa. A medium-size Muton UFO lands near the British alien base. A large battleship dances over the continent. We launch the ASIA COM Skyranger for the African UFO, and the EU COM Skyranger for the Muton UFO that has landed in Britain.

We're racing the dark with the ASIA COM Skyranger, and it becomes apparent that we’re not going to make it. With Superman on route to knock down the UFO as soon as it takes off, we send the ASIA COM Skyranger back home. However, the EU COM Skyranger will have plenty of light, and makes it to its target in plenty of time. In we go again…

On board:
Kodos, Wolfpack, Swaggs, Vince, ShaefIlllini, Real Deal III, Tucker II, The Time, Revrew, and Chuck U Farley.

I lost the flash drive that had the photos for next couple of missions. Until I find it, we'll just have to go with the typed report. That drive is around here somewhere, so should be able to post them eventually.

Everyone: Glad to see that a lot of us are still around! Thanks for the welcome back.

Eric: Thanks. Right now I'd prefer not to talk about it, but I most likely will in a few months.

Gi: Welcome aboard. Sometime next week I'll post an updated roster list. We'll get you in line. I hope you'll be able to get in some action.

I should have our next mission up in an hour or so!

Woot! The first mission for Tucker II! Bring on those Sectoids!

89th Mission: More Mutons in Britain

One day after suffering 50% casualties in a ferocious firefight with tenacious Sectoids, the men of EU COM are once again heading into battle aboard the EU COM Skyranger. The war goes on, and new men step up to fill the void of the fallen. We’ve got three scared rookies on board for their first mission, and you can tell that even our vets’ confidence is a bit shaken after losing six men in one day yesterday.

We can take some consolation that we’re up against a medium-size Muton UFO today. The Mutons do not have PSI powers, and that should make our job a bit easier. Still, Mutons are tough bastards; it usually takes a few hits to take them down.

Giving our confidence another boost is a shiny new Hovertank that replaces the Cannon Tank we lost yesterday. This $900,000 piece of machinery is much tougher than a regular tank, and fires a high explosive fusion bomb capable of doing extensive damage. New toys for the boys.

Kodos will lead our men today.

The Skyranger begins its gradual descent to the sunlit battlefield below. Into the mix again…

Our men:

Left Side:
1. Kodos (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Vince (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Real Deal III (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Swaggs (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Chuck U Farley (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Revrew (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Wolfpack (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. The Time (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Tucker II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. ShaefIllini (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops through the unusually clear British skies to the battle field. We’re about 50 miles from the alien base, and the land below us is typical British countryside. We see no sign of the UFO, but we can see a two-story structure immediately to the left of where the Skyranger will touch down. Straight out from our exit, our view will be unimpeded right up to a large hedgewall, about 40 yards out. At the nose of the Skyranger there’ll be a small grove. We’re coming down on the east side of the battle zone, so the area to the right of our exit is clear. The bulk of our fighting should be to the left of the Skyranger.

The Skyranger touches gently down. The ramp falls away. Thump…

Nothing.

We send our Hovertank out and—doh! I just realized why they’re called “Hover” tanks: they can fly! Cool! Our tank glides out the exit, then up over our Skyranger to scout the landscape from above. It makes a quick scan of the area, but sees no aliens.

We shuffle our exit order to get our less experienced agents out the door first. After a moment, Tucker II and Vince are first out. The two rookies set up by the Skyranger landing gear and try to peer into the farmhouse that lies about 5 yards to our left. They see no movement, but we hear UFO doors opening in the distance. The enemy is out there.

Our tank begins to sweep a wide arc around our position, and spots our first Muton hiding towards the back of the small grove that lies at the nose of our Skyranger, about 35 yards away! Tucker II rolls away from the landing gear, comes up on one knee facing the nose of our craft, and has a perfect line of fire on this Muton. He takes quick aim, pulls the trigger. A plasma blast tears into the grove and disintegrates the alien’s skull. Wow! What a start for Tucker II! One shot: one kill! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Our tank continues its airborne sweep. Just as it clears the roof of the house on the left side of the structure, a plasma blast comes racing up at it, missing it by inches! Muton! Sneaking up alongside the left side of the house! We’ve got no one close enough to take a shot. Blaster Time. Back in the Skyranger bay, Kodos and Wolfpack jump out of the way as Real Deal III plots a quick firing course with the Blaster Launcher and pulls the trigger. The rocket tears out of the exit, goes up over the Skyranger, and drops down at a sharp angle behind the house. Kabooom! The left side of the house goes up in a huge explosion that kicks wood and brick 30 feet into the sky. Inside the roaring fireball, we can hear the Muton death wail! Sneak up on us, will you? Not with Hovertank over your head! Boo yaa! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We begin to deploy in force. Tucker II and Vince are joined by Chuck U Farley. The three of them start toward the left side of the house. They’ll start a sweep west of our position on that side of the structure. ShaefIllini, Wolfpack, and Kodos will go up the right side of the house and work this side of the structure. Swaggs, The Time, and Revrew will head straight out from out exit to clear the other side of the hedgewall that lies in front of our exit. Once they do that, they can break left and help our general westward sweep. Real Deal III will set up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher at the Skyranger. Our tank will sweep over the battle field and spot for us.

We move out.

We get only a few seconds into our deployment when our Hovertank spots another Muton, about 50 yards away, advancing on our position through a small grove on the back side of the now shattered farm house. Vince shuffles to the left of the remains of the farmhouse, drops to a knee, picks up the Muton on his HUD, and opens fire. His first two shots slam into intervening obstacles, but his third shot cracks into the Muton’s torso. It screams and topples to the ground! Nice shot, Vince! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Less than a minute later, our Hovertank spots the UFO, in the middle of a field about 60 yards west of our position. It’s a large, square two-story craft. There are two exits. One faces us; the other lies on the left side of the craft as we see it. Standing just in front of UFO is an unsuspecting Muton. Our lines of fire are completely blocked by intervening hedgewalls, trees, and stone walls, but these are no obstacles to a Blaster Launcher. Once again Real fires a missile out the back end of the Skyranger. Three seconds later, the Muton and a huge chunk of the field he was standing in go up in a massive fireball. X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

We continue moving out, but change plans a bit. Tucker, Vince, and Chuck continue up the left side of the farmhouse. Instead of sending a squad of men to search the backside of the hedgewall, we decide to send our Hovertank over to check it out. By doing that, we can send everyone straight for the UFO. As our tank cuts over, Wolfpack and ShaefIllini lead the way through a small grove to the right of the farmhouse. The Time and Swaggs are close behind. Real’s got two kills now, so we have him trade weapons with Revrew, who was still waiting in the Skyranger for the exit to clear, along with Kodos.

As our Hovertank slices through the air towards the far side of the hedgewall, it spots two more Mutons! One is in a field just in front and to the left of the UFO, about 40 yards away from our advancing troops; the other is in front of one of the two exits on the UFO, about 50 yards away from our men. Wolfpack has a shot at the left-most alien, and quickly uses his HUD to line up the target. He pulls the trigger on full-auto. Plasma streaks across the intervening fields. Two quick hits slam into the unsuspecting Muton. It twists and starts to run back towards the UFO, but Wolfpack catches it with a third hit that sends it sprawling to the ground, dead! The second Muton, now alerted, begins to advance on our position. A section of hedge blocks the line-of-sight to our men, so we let Revrew do the honors. He plots a course with the Blaster Launcher and pulls the trigger. The rocket screams out of the Skyranger. Seconds later, the front of the UFO goes up in a fireball that kills the Muton instantly. Revrew tosses the Blaster Launcher to Kodos. Let’s all get in on the fun. X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

Our Hovertank makes it past the far hedgewall: no aliens there. It begins to cut back towards the UFO. All our men continue advancing. Suddenly, we hear ferocious wailing near the UFO. Three Mutons are charging through the field toward us, all about 40 yards away! Two are in the field to the left of the UFO; one is coming through the field right in front of it. Everyone with a shot—Vince, Wolfpack, ShaefIllini, and Swaggs—prepares to fire. The Time—whose shot is blocked by a hedge—preps a grenade and throws it in the Mutons’ path. Chuck and Tucker scramble to get in position to fire.

When the aliens get to 30 yards out, Kodos orders, “Open fire!” and the men let her rip. A hail of plasma streaks towards the aliens as they close on us. ShaefIllini drills the alien on the right with two hits, and then Swaggs catches it in the head to drop it for the kill. Wolfpack nails the first alien on the left with three quick hits that sends it sprawling to the ground. Vince catches the other alien on the left with two hits that drops it to the ground. This last alien emits no telltale death wail, so we’re pretty sure he’s alive. A second later The Time’s grenade goes off and the question is moot: the blast obliterates the two bodies in the field. Wow! Impressive firing, men! X-COM 9, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet for a bit, except for the whirring of internal UFO doors. Our Hovertank keeps sweeping the area, and our men move forward to set up firing positions on the two UFO exits. After a few minutes, we get Vince, Tucker II, Chuck Farley, and The Time in a wide arc about 30 yards away from left exit, and Wolfpack, Swaggs, and ShaefIllini in similar arc facing the right exit. Real Deal and Revrew stay back in reserve. Kodos exits the Skyranger and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher.

Then we wait.

And wait.

Muton! A Muton steps out of the right exit! ShaefIllini and Wolfpack open fire at the same time. Plasma screams towards the alien. One shot catches it in the groin. The Muton screams, crumbles to the ground, and dies! Nice going, men! X-COM 10, Aliens 0.

We wait some more, then decide to assault. The Time and ShaefIllini fall in behind our Hovertank and begin a cautious advance towards the left UFO door. Chuck follows a bit off to the left of this advance. We’ll send these three men inside the left door first.

As the men approach the craft, the left exit opens! A missile comes sailing out of the dark interior of the UFO and flies right for Vince! Aaargh! The missile…

Just goes over Vince’s head and sails off into the distance, where it explodes with a resounding boom, sending a massive fireball into the sky. Whew. Close call.

Our three men and our tank continue advancing. Suddenly, a Muton steps out of the left exit again! Chuck reacts instantly as the Muton turns to throw a grenade at our tank. Just as the Muton makes the throw, Chuck catches it with a plasma blast that twists the creature around. It falls screaming to the ground. And then another Muton comes out on this one’s heels! It gets off two quick shots at our tank, both of which miss by inches, then ducks back into the UFO interior. The Time and ShaefIllini drop to the ground behind our tank as the first Muton’s grenade goes off. Kaboom! Smoke and dirt fill the air around our tank. Shaef and The Time lose their hearing and get their senses rattled by the blast. The Time looks at his thigh, and notices a three-inch piece of shrapnel sticking out of his armor. He grabs the piece of metal, pulls it out, and winces as a trickle of blood starts oozing down his armor. He stands quickly though, and we resume our advance on the UFO. X-COM 11, Aliens 0.

The men reach the UFO without incident. We pull our tank away, and get ready to enter. The Time will lead the way, followed by ShaefIllini and then Chuck. On three…

One…two…three…

The Time stands, pops open the door, and comes face-to-face with a Muton! The Time jams his heavy plasma into the Muton’s stomach and pulls the trigger. The blast cuts the creature in two pieces with a fantastic splash of purple. The two chunks of Muton drop to the ground. Oh crap! There’s another Muton behind this one, about ten yards away, near a grav-lift shaft! It opens fire on full-auto! Plasma blasts slam into The Time. One shot catches him in the chest, putting a big dent in his armor and sending a stream of blood out of his mouth. His vision goes black and he starts to fall, but second shot catches him in the shoulder, rips a chuck of armor and flesh off, and sends a spray of blood back into the field. The last blast spins The Time around like a rag doll. He topples to the ground. ShaefIllini—right behind The Time—steps on The Time’s back, twists to see the alien inside the UFO, and opens fire. One blast nails the Muton in the forearm, wounding it slightly, but the rest fly wide. Suddenly, Kodos—still back at the Skyranger—yells, “Clear!” and opens fire with the Blaster Launcher. ShaefIllini jumps to the side of the entrance. Together Chuck and he yank The Time’s body away from doorway. A split second later Kodos’ missile disappears through the open door. A massive explosion shakes the UFO and sends a stream of raging fire out the exit. Inside we hear the death screams of at least one Muton. X-COM 13, Aliens 0.

That does it! Our threat sensors turn green! That was the last alien!

Chuck and Shaef look at The Time. His chest plate is caved in, he’s got blood dripping out of his thigh, there’s a chunk of his left shoulder missing, and the inside of his helmet is drenched with blood. Somehow, his heart is still beating. The two men stick on Medi-patches on the wounds, and then carefully carry The Time back to the Skyranger. He should make it, but we won’t be seeing him in action for a long while.

Kills: Kodos, 1; Revrew, 1; The Time, 1; Real Deal III, 2; Wolfpack, 2; Swaggs, 1; Chuck U. Farley, 2; Vince, 1; Tucker II, 1; ShaefIllini, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: The Time (22 days).
Attribute Improvements: Everyone!
Final score: 477. Solid score.
Mission Notes:
The Time got beat up bad. Ouch. Three wounds in one battle. Lucky to be alive.

This was a close to a perfect mission as we have come. Everyone had a kill and everyone got attribute improvements. Only blemish is the fact that The Time almost died. Overall, though, a solid mission. Nice to get all three of our rookies a kill on their first mission.

Hovertanks rock. They change the dynamic of the game completely. We can use these things as tough, armor-plated spotters, and then kill with our Blaster Launcher from distance. The aliens never even see us. I think we’ll add a second Blaster Launcher to each big mission now. We’ll need to crank up missile production, but we should be ok there, until we need to shift engineering over to the Ultimate Spacecraft. For the trip to Mars. Yeah, Mars. I love the sound of that word.

So good to see this back. What a great return mission!

Man I love a good X-Com report!

Hovertanks really are the shizznit for advance recon! Nice shooting, it was just an overwhelming display of firepower...

Very nice mission, GB. Welcome back.

I love reading this, and I'm not even in it.

How do I get on board?

WOOOT

Can I get an X-Com watch too ?

Sorry, couldn't help myself... :D

I'm glad he pulled through though... Some serious alien butt-kicking took place in that mission !

GB, tell SI to give you a better report for your new toys. :)

Great start to the "rebirth" of the dynasty GB, way to go guys!

Nice to see you back.

Rock on.

Nice to have a mission without a fatality.

Awesome job!!!

Oh Boy...Haven't read an X-Com report in some time!

Two kills and a near-kill! I rule! *throws fist into the air*

Great return mission, and I finally got to play with the blaster launcher. Excellent!

Excellent...

Hell yeah...a kill and a near-kill already. And a little bit of luck with a miss on that missile. It's good to be back in action, finally :) (referring, of course, to my soldier's extended absence from the field).

Because I was unable to read the first couple parts of this dynasty, was there a high number of deaths for X-Com during the begining of the Alien assault?

Well, first, there is a reason why this is X-COM II...X-COM I ended with all agents dead.

As for the this current thread...when an agent dies, his child usually joins up. My grandson is currently in training and I got in late. There are some here who are on their fifth or sixth generation :)

We'd have even more deaths, but a bug about a quarter way in caused GB to have to back up a few months, which is why Kodos is still alive...he survived by a technicality. Unfortunately for those of us in training (on the waiting list), GB has gotten really good at this game, so people don't die so much.

Lokugh

After reading all the remaining AAR's, Kodos is my favorite, if only because he has lasted this long :)

I just started playing this again and noticed that without armor, you see a ton of deaths early game.

I need to brush up my skills...

Yes! A kill in my first mission!:D

Glad to see that so many people are back! It feels good to get this going again.

I hope to put up our next mission this weekend, and will most likely write a lead-in for it in a couple of days.

Unfortunately, I was trying to change a stuck light bulb in a desk lamp tonight and the bulb shattered in my hand. Overall I was pretty lucky, but I did slice the tip of my left pinky pretty badly, and I'm having trouble typing now. I'm not sure getting blood in your keyboard is a good idea either. I'm going to have to let this heal before I'll be back. I imagine it'll only take a day or two at the most.

Gi: Yeah, we got beat up pretty badly in our first base assault. At some point I'll try to post the threads from the old board. I've got some webspace I can dump it on.

thealmighty: Consider yourself on the waiting list. I'll add your name at the next update. Welcome. If you come close to living up to your name, we'll be grateful.

Oh yeah, I found the flash drive with the photos on it, so I'll probably add those sometime soon as well.

Purple Heart for GB!

Blood in the keyboard? Dang it, GB, your write-ups of the missions are getting WAY to realistic... :) no need to resort to cheap special effects! ;)

Just kidding, of course. Take care of that finger.

Update

November 1

The eleventh month of our war begins just as the tenth ended, with UFOs dancing across our radar screens. Before the month sees its first dawn, the USA Interceptor has knocked out a small, Snakeman UFO over Siberia, and the EU COM Interceptor forces an Ethereal UFO down in Ohio. ASIA COM launches for the Siberian UFO. USA COM prepares to launch for the Ohio UFO, but will wait for dawn to work its way west.

Sometime during the day on the 1st, we’ll get our monthly evaluation from the UN, and more importantly, we’ll see the results of our first month of PSI-training! That’s right, men, the fortunate dozen or so of you that were in PSI-training and survived October will finally get to see how you rate psychologically. Needless to say, this will be a big day for many of you, and it could make the difference between watching the Martian attack on tv or being in the actual attack.

However, before that happens, ASIA COM will fight Snakemen, so we’ll have a combat first, report cards later.

On board the ASIA COM Skyranger:
Glengoyne, Fat Football II, Qwikshot II, Calis, Sir Fozzie II, Thomkal II, 3ric IV, Illinifan V, PsychoCop II, Hoops Guy

Yikes. Quite a few rookies here.

Also, one more unimportant detail…

Um, you don’t have a tank. We lost it on the last ASIA COM mission; the new one’s not in yet.

Who needs tanks anyway, right? Tanks are for the wimps over in EU COM, right? Right?

Go get ‘em, men! Rookies out the door first!

Klayman: Actually, I was fixing the light so I could read a map, so it wasn't in the line of duty. I don't think I get a Purple Heart, right?

Eric: All better, now. Except for a bandaid on my pinky and a sticky red "A" key, that is.

Somehow your prelude into the next mission is not making me feel very comfortable.

Hopefully I don't have to wax any teammates this go round.

I'm hoping the same thing, Calis.

Snakemen...pfft. No worries about anyone being taken over, just have to watch out for getting ate.

Tell

P.S. Oh yeah...you can sign me up too, maybe I'll get in before the end mission. If not, life goes on. I've been reading this since the first one that ended in disaster, excellent writing GB. I also liked your report on MOHAA, had me rolling in that one.

It was a map of the battlefield so that's in the line of duty. Being a man and all, you couldn't possibly be reading a map for any other purpose, right? :D

Wow... I have been so busy I haven't been in the dynasty thread in months.. Had no idea this was still going and that I was still truckin'... good work men! I will start keeping up and try to play catch up!

90th Mission: Snakemen in Siberia

The ASIA COM Skyranger is northbound for the forests of Siberia. This will be the base’s first mission since losing four men in a rough fight at the end of October. The mood inside the craft is tense. We’ve got a handful of rookies on board, we’re without a tank (knocked out last mission), and we’re going up against Snakemen—always a tough fight.

To our advantage, we’ll be touching down in mid-afternoon on a bright, sunny day. Also, CapnMorgan’s Interceptor report said the UFO was a small scout, so we shouldn’t have a lot of opposition on the ground.

Qwikshot II will command our attack.

After a short while, the green light goes on and the Skyranger begins its descent towards the forests below.

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Glengoyne (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Fat Football II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Calis (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Sir Fozzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Thomkal II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
2. 3ric IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Illinifan V (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. PsychoCop II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Hoops Guy (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops to the sunlit forests below. The men scan the landscape. We can see rolling forests spreading out in all directions. To the right of our where we’ll exit, we can see a thin stream of grey smoke floating up out of the woods: our UFO. It looks like it will lie on the other side of a patch of thick woods, about 40 yards to the right of our UFO exit bay. We’re coming down on the west side of the active zone today. Just in front of the exit of our Skyranger is a small clearing. To its right is a large hill. The area to the left of the Skyranger is secure ground. Elsewhere, we can only see woods.

The Skyranger touches down with a soft thump. The ramp falls away. Cool fall air rolls into the Skyranger bay.

Silence.

Glengoyne takes a deep breath and exits the Skyranger…

Nothing. He scrambles down the ramp, scans in all directions…

Nothing. 3ric IV is out next. The two men take up firing positions at the landing gear as the men inside the Skyranger shuffle around. PsychoCop II exits next. Slowly the three men work their way away from the Skyranger. Glengoyne heads towards the nose of the Skyranger. PsychoCop heads straight right. 3ric IV heads towards into the clearing in front of our exit, then breaks slightly right to head up the large hill.

Suddenly, we hear a plasma rifle go off! Huh? We see nothing. Crap. Something must be nearby. There! Glengoyne picks up a flash of gold, about 25 yards away, in the thick woods that lie beside our Skyranger: Snakeman! Just as quickly Glengoyne loses sight of the thing. Glen and PsychoCop advance into the woods…

There! Behind a tree, about 20 yards away! Glen and Psycho both have shots. The two men drop to a knee and open up. Plasma blasts slam into intervening trees, but Glengoyne slips one shot through the dense foliage and catches the Snakemen in the chest. The thing screams and drops to the ground! Nice shot! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet again. We take advantage and deploy in force. Since this will most likely be a short mission and Glen has a kill, he turns and heads back to the Skyranger. Calis exits and joins 3ric. Together the two men head up the hill off to the right of our exit. PsychoCop—whose shots at the first alien missed horribly wide—heads into the woods towards the UFO. Sir Fozzie II and Hoops Guy exit the Skyranger and head up towards the nose of the craft. Once there, they break into the woods to the right of our Skyranger. They’ll advance to where we think the UFO is and try to set up a firing position on the door.

Things stay distressingly quiet for the next ten minutes or so. 3ric and Calis sweep up over the hill. PsychoCop waits for Thomkal to join him, and then the two of them advance to the UFO. It’s a tiny scout that usually holds 3-5 aliens. The door lies on the far side of the craft. The two men sweep the left side of the UFO. Hoops Guy and Sir Fozzie arrive at the UFO soon thereafter, and set up a firing position about 15 yards from the exit. Qwikshot exits the Skyranger and jogs to join these two men in case they need help. Illinifan V exits the Skyranger and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Fat Football and Glengoyne start a game “paper-rock-scissors” in the back of the Skyranger.

The men complete their sweeps without incident. There is only one place left: the inside of the UFO. Time to go in. We’ll hit the door with a Blaster missile, follow it with another, and then bust in to the inside to clean up whatever is left. We bring PsychoCop and Thomkal to one side of the tiny craft, and pull Qwikshot, Sir Fozzie, and Hoops Guy to the opposite side. Once they are in position, Illinifan lets rip with the Blaster Launcher. The missile arcs over the woods, comes down, then twists into the alien door. A massive explosion blows the door apart and tears up the ground for 30 yards in front of the door.

Hoops Guy and Sir Fozzie start for the edge of the door as Illinifan stuffs another missile in the Blaster Launcher and fires. The second missile flies over the battle field, twists down, and disappears inside the UFO. A massive explosion inside sends a rush of flame and debris out of the UFO. Inside we can hear the death wails of Snakemen dying! Hoops Guy and Sir Fozzie are inside the UFO right on the tails of the explosion: three mutilated Snakemen corpses litter the floor of the ravaged craft.

Mission over.

Kills: GlenGoyne, 1; Illinifan, 3.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: GlenGoyne, Illinifan.
Final score: 77
Mission Notes:
On second thought, I might have waited a bit for aliens to exit the UFO, but we had been there so long and nothing happened that I thought they were never going to come out. Would have been nice to spread those kills and experience out a bit, but a mission with no casualties is always a good mission.

Another day, more dead aliens. Gotta love it.

Woot!

whew glad to have survived another one, especially when psi ratings were about to be revealed. Way to go squad!

Should have a new stat update out this week, with psi ratings for those that made it through. Aiming for another mission this weekend. We've got those Ethereals for USA COM to handle.

Wade: Welcome back! It's good to hear from you! Your leadership has been missed, but it'll be good to have you back for the push towards the final mission.

Tellistto: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it. Welcome, and I'll add you to the on-call list.

Klayman: Hey, that's right! It was a map of Earth, and Earth is where our game takes place, so sure, that was in the line of duty! I get a Purple Heart! Yipee!

PSYCHOCOP II ROCKS!

X COMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Report Cards!

A dozen or so men made it through a month of grueling PSI-training, and the results are in! A word of explanation for those who don't know the game that well. PSI Defense is your ability to withstand PSI attacks without suffering adverse effects. It cannot change. PSI Strength is your PSI attack ability. It increases with training.

Big winners on the PSI report cards are Revrew and Jeff Nights II, who score at the top of the chart in the all important PSI defense rating. Unfortunately, Condors II has the PSI strength of 2-year-old. Dont' stand in front of him if you're up against Ethereals.

Without further ado...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 90)

USA COM

EU COM

ASIA COM

SAM COM

AFRICA COM

X-COM II Troop Attributes
Support Personnel

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 90)

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 90)

Top Ten Kills Leaders

Waiting List

The Hall of Heroes

What I lack in psi power, I make up for in insanity!

When am I ever going to get off this blasted waiting list???

Heh. Since my Psionic Defense pretty much sucks...I volunteer to be part of the experimental psionic attacker committee! I understand the weakness of the mind better than almost anyone, and must develop my gift to attack weak minded aliens!

Must...find...way to get on ship to Mars. :)

Update

November 1

At dawn Central Standard Time, the USA COM Skyranger launches to investigate the remains of a large, Ethereal UFO that was downed over eastern Ohio.

Inside are the following ten men:
CTHomer, Sublime II, Rawisdan, AStott, Blade6119 IV, Patman II, Anxiety II, Jeeber D, Mr. Bug IV, Klayman III.

Good luck. Ethereals are always so much fun at parties.

(Should be posting this mission sometime during this week. Got a bit busy over the weekend.)

Also coming up: This month's PSI trainees.

Ardent: We've had a lot of missions in a short time span (game-wise). It takes about four days to get into base, so it shouldn't be long now. Maybe after this next mission we should be able to see what all of our new recruits will look like.

Coffee: All may not be lost. I have a couple of weird ideas I may try on the final mission, should we ever get there.

Warlord, don't fall for the Okee Doke! Don't do it!

Don't worry, weird ideas are the only things that work on the final mission anyway. :D

Woohoo! Glad to see that I'm getting in on a mission... :)