Note how I have no roman numerals after my name.

I am everything great with the world.

GB, just a note, my FOFC name is Peregrine but my X-Com guy's name is listed as Pergrine.

Bring on the battleships to EU-COM! We'll ready the welcome party.

*sigh* Being wounded sucks. Nothing to do but watch the paint peel. *grumble*

We could test out some of our new probing equipment on you instead.

You realize that this means you're all doomed.

:)

I would like to get my hands on some of the advanced weaponry being produced by your scientists. And even shoot an alien, if that is part of the deal ... I didn't see my name on the last list so I'm hoping that I'll be added to some remote outpost (or at least a waiting list) next time around.

The Anxietys, 3 missions with exactly one kill in each mission.

-Anxiety

I got a chill with that should be a piece of cake line too...

Just to let you know, I'm here:)

DVH: Your longevity continues to amaze me.

Peregrine: Got it. Fixed. Thanks!

AStott: You're getting closer, though. Shouldn't be long now before you're back in the fire.

Hoopsguy: #127. You're second on the waiting list. All you need is for a couple of people to die and you'll be upgraded to guard duty.

Tucker: Got it. I needed to move quickly on the last one, so you're still at SAM COM, but stay by that phone for the next call up, as your #2 on the list to move to active duty.

Skyranger Transmission

Just got a call in from the Skyranger in Switzerland...

Captain Nights just wanted to have me tell you that they've got mute on, whatever that means. I mean, if he had his mute on, how would he hear me? Anyway, he said that they're meeting light resistance and have killed some aliens. No X-COM casualties. Everything is going perfectly. He said it's a "Sunday stroll in the park". Expects to wrap up shortly.

This appears to be confirmation that we're all doomed. :(

"So yeah long story short apparently the Commander forgot to let people vote for X-Com..."

"What an ass..." *takes a drag from his cigeratte "I think he deserves another of his medals for that one."

"Rumor has it that the medal board is looking at it."

"Good. To be administering the damn awards for best Earth Organization--"

"--And not even allow his own organization--"

"--To get votes."

"F'ING PATHETIC."

*The sound of bells jingling to signify the door opening is drowned out by the curse.*

"F'ing pathetic indeed."

"Typical of command though."

"Very typical of our stupid command. The only reason I'm glad I'm at this damn desk job instead of Africa." *takes another long drag from his cigeratte*

"HA HA! To think we're signing up saps to go to AFRICA!"

"And there's a waiting list on top of it!"

"People just can't wait to get maleria!"

*Both of the men laugh. The guy with the cigerette takes a long drag from his cigerette and for the first time notices the guy standing by the door.*

*under his breath*"Shit" *out loud* "Welcome to X-COM recruiting! How can I help you?"

"Um... well... um... my name is Barkeep49 and I was thinking of maybe enlisting, but well... um... I heard you talking and... um... well..."

"Africa? Of course we were talking about the excotic land of Africa. Have you ever seen live elephants or lions" *the recruit shakes his head* "No? Well now's your chance bub. Just sign here" *shoves a pen and recruiting contract in front of the recruit.*

"Well I guess so..." *Barkeep49 signs on the dotted line.*

-------------
Decided to sit down and spend working reading what the big deal was about this getting left off the Golden Scribes ballot and now I see what an excellent dynasty this is and thought that I should join up. Sounds like things are wrapping down, but maybe I'll still get a mission or two in before the end.

Quick Reminder

If you are either "in transit" or on the waiting list, let me know if you either want to:

1. refuse to take the role of a low bravery agent (10 to 20 bravery). If you say no, you get put at the top of the waiting list, and the first person on the waiting list that has selected "opting up" gets to take your guy. The default is "Yes, low bravey is ok. I will take whatever stats I get".

2. like to opt up to take low bravery agents that someone passes on. This will get you in the game faster, but give you an agent that has low bravery. The default is "No, I don't want to be a wimp."
_____

Barkeep: Well done! Good humor! We'll get you right on the list!

In case people missed it, here's a description on the two guard duty bases from the last thread...

For those of your unfamiliar with our bases, SAM COM is located under verdant swamps in the jungles of northern Argentina, only 35 miles from the village of Los Blancos (video store opening in 2005!) and a mere 700 miles (about 17 days travel by swamp rider) from the wild nightlife of Beunos Aires! We've stuffed this base with all kinds of things to help you pass away the hours: a deck of cards (jokers included!), Chess Digest (June 2003 issue!), and a blazing fast Macintosh SE computer (software coming soon!) are sure to keep you entertained for hours and hours! Enjoy your stay! One of the nice things about this base is that the malaria risk is signficantly lower than that of...

...our AFRICA COM base, which is under a swamp in a jungle in western Zaire. This base is located 50 miles from the town of Bifale (pop. 59!) and a quick 1300 miles (about 23 days by elephant, camel, and rickety bus) from the nearest MacDonalds in Cairo, Egypt. Our AFRICA COM has all the amenities that you've come to expect at our X-COM bases: a working radio, Teletubbie videos (we'll try to get a tv/vcr down there soon!), and a checker board (with all pieces!). We're sure these things will keep you happy for days!

Be sure to enjoy your stay, and just remember, you guys have it good compared to the next guys that sign up. That's right, coming soon to an X-COM agency near you: ANT COM. That's Antarctica COM, for those of you wondering if it had anything to do with little insects.

Lastly...

Update
Mission 81 will go up Sunday night as scheduled.

I'm going to have to go with I don't want to be a wimp option. Let me in the action.

BTW I would actually prefer to be a wimp... A wimp with good skills, but a wimp.

Mutons. :) Sweet.

I'll go with the "I don't want to be a wimp" option. If I'm going to die, let it not be of something, but for something.

I'll play the wimp if that is my fate.

Errr... No Sir, that's ok. I just discovered that it's amazingly blissful to just lie here in bed. I'm quite ok. Try checking that bunk over there though.

Africa rules!

Just so all of you saps in Africa / SA COM know.

We in the flagship station of EU-COM have a full bar, hookers on call 24/7, cable, and our own OC3 internet line.

However, before you all want to come rushing here, there is a questionaire you must answer.

1) Do you mind having other soldier's bodyparts grafted to you?
2) Can you sleep with screams of tortured aliens being dissected in the other room?
3) Will the incessant explosions coming from the research lab bother you?
4) Do you have a problem with taking orders from an alien?
5) Do you have frequent bladder/bowel control problems?
6) Can you speak Sectoid?
7) Can you speak Skyranger Pilot?
8) Do you understand how to show proper respect towards soldiers wielding the Blaster Launcher?

If you can answer yes to the above questions, then you too can join the elite of EU-COM!

I miss the rains down in Africa.

I know the equation for figuring minimum range of a radar. Does that count for anything?

Other room? They told me they needed more laboratory space.

It's hard to sleep with the screams of tortured aliens being dissected in the other bunk. :(

CW, you might have Hookers, but they all look like The Afoci, so take fwiw

GB, don't you dare do a call up/roll call for agents for the rest of the day. If I miss an opportunity, there will be sectoid to pay.

81st Mission: Firefight in Switzerland

The ASIA COM Skyranger soars west over Eastern Europe, its destination today a high field in northern Switzerland. The men are itching for action, but today’s target, a small, crash-landed UFO, may not provide much of a fight for this highly experienced crew. Our only rookie is 3ric IV; otherwise, every other agent on board has a kill and multiple- mission experience.

Jeff Nights II has seniority over Qwikshot II, and therefore will lead our forces today.

After a short while, the green light goes on and the Skyranger begins its descent through the mountains of Switzerland to the early morning countryside below.

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Render II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Jeff Nights II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Danny Van Halen (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Fonzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Split Personality III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Zippy II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. 3ric IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Condors II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger begins its vertical descent to the battlefield below. The men scan the farmland below, and immediately pick out the smoking remains of the UFO. It’s a cross-shaped scout, which usually holds a half dozen aliens or so. We’ll be landing about 50 yards to the craft’s west. Except for the UFO, we see no other buildings or obstacles: in all directions, it’s just the standard fare of fences, fields, and stone walls. The area to the left of the Skyranger exit is secure ground, however, so we can safely ignore that side of our craft.

The Skyranger drops the final meters and touches ground. The ramp falls away with a dull thud. All is quiet. Cool fall air wafts into the Skyranger bay.

Our tank heads onto the ramp and down towards the battlefield. Once there, it spins right—Muton, 20 yards away, approaching through the field to the right of the exit! Render II rushes out the exit, dives left, rolls, and comes up firing on full-auto. Plasma tracers race toward the creature as it raises its weapon to return fire. Render II is too quick however: a plasma blast catches the Muton in the face and splatters its skull. The creature twists and falls dead to the ground! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Our tank and Render scan the area for more signs of life: nothing. We begin our deployment. As our tank heads straight for the UFO, Zippy, 3ric, and Split Personality exit the Skyranger and take up firing positions. This will be most likely be a short mission, so Render heads back inside the craft to let others get some action.

Our tank gets about ten yards away from the Skyranger, when its sensors spot a Muton working its way around the left side of the UFO, about 40 yards from our position. Split Personality and 3ric pick up the creature on their helmet HUDs and open fire. Plasma blasts send puffs of dirt up around the startled Muton. It turns to flee, but 3ric catches it in the thigh with a shot that rips a chunk of flesh off. The Muton hobbles two more steps towards safety when Split blows a hole in the middle of its back. The Muton drops to the ground, twitches, and dies. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet after that, and we begin to spread out. Split heads back into the Skyranger to play cards with Render. We’ll keep the two of them inside unless we need more firepower. Qwikshot and 3ric are joined by Condors, and the three of them head straight out from our exit area in order to search the fields that lie in that direction. Danny Van Halen and Fonzie exit the Skyranger and begin an advance behind our tank towards the UFO. On this type of craft, the exit doors should be on the far side of the craft, so we should be able to get to the near wall of the UFO easily. Zippy makes a cautious advance for the right side of the UFO, to cover our flank on that side. Rich exits the Skyranger and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Lastly, Jeff Nights II exits the craft and follows our main advance. We’ll use him as a reserve.


X-COM forces advance on an alien scout. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Things continue without incident for the next few minutes. Danny Van Halen and Fonzie make it to the side of the UFO, where they proceed to toss grenades up and through a hole in the craft’s roof. The muffled explosions shake the ground, but the two men get no result.

As Danny and Fonzie toss the grenades into the UFO, our tank breaks to the left of the UFO and waits for Condors, Qwikshot, and 3ric to wrap up their search of the fields at the rear of the Skyranger. This group will sweep around the left side of the UFO.

Danny Van Halen and Fonzie give up with the grenades and head for Zippy at the right side of the UFO. These three men will sweep around that side of the craft.

As our groups make their way around, we can hear the whir of a UFO door. Damn it! They are inside the craft! Our grenades must have missed. Jeff Nights II and Fonzie start pouring more grenades in through the UFO roof.


X-COM troops set an ambush for aliens trapped inside a downed UFO. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

As explosions from the grenades rip the quiet Swiss morning, our two squads wrap around the UFO and come up upon the exit door. As they do this, the exit door whirs and a Muton comes stepping out! Danny Van Halen is the first to react, as he opens fire on full-auto and nails the alien in a hip before it can turn to fire. The creature howls and falls to the ground dead! Right on its heels comes a second Muton. This time Condors--approaching from the other side--gets to the trigger first. Shots rip two huge holes in the creature’s chest, and it too falls dead to the ground! X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

And that was the last alien! Well done, men! Good mission to get some of the rust off!

Kills: Danny Van Halen, 1; Condors II, 1; Split Personality III, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Danny Van Halen, Condors II, Split Personality III, Jeff Nights II, Fonzie II, Render II, Zippy II, 3ric IV.
Final score: 126
Mission Notes:
For some unknown reason, Render didn’t get a kill for the alien he shot at the beginning of the mission. Not sure if I had miscounted his kills earlier in the dynasty, but I distinctly heard the Muton scream, and the results screen showed four alien kills, yet Render still only has six kills on his record card.

The grenades we threw into the UFO must have wounded the aliens inside, because everyone who threw grenades racked up some solid attribute gains. Nice to have eight people get some experience in a short mission where we kill only four aliens.

Note to self: Mutons are tough. I have to remember that. I gave up on the grenades too early.

Hey godzilla...images not working, and nice mission

Wait ... those are aliens??

Rock on.

show-off

I also know how to insult a person's dad in Japanese. Or was that Chinese? Either way, it is insulting in one of those two languages.

RendeR II looks out the back of the skyranger as the boys mop things up. He tosses a Muton rank badge out onto the ground. "You can tell your alien sheep F(*(*& leaders, this planet aint big enough for both of us. But since you can't be content with what you have, I'll be happy to take Mars away from you too."

He turns and takes his seat awaiting take off..."yeah, they know its coming, you can smell teh fear in the air"

"Awe man....quickshot....DUDE...do that shit OUTSIDE the skyranger.....gawd what a smell......"

"Thats right boys, i'll be heading out last making sure everyone gets outta of the Skyranger ok. Wouldnt want anyone gettin' lost now!"

:JeffnightsII looks up and sideways griining

i love the sound of alien screams in the morning

Dammit Crappy, have you been experimenting on our recruits again?

Woohoo! We're not dead! We're not dead!

Yet.

Note to self. Barkeep always takes the point in dangerous situations... ;)

Update

October 20-22

We shuffle people all over the world, moving men and machines in all directions to get good balances of personnel and equipment at all our bases. (I’ll be posting an update with new stats and base assignments before our next mission. Quite a few people have been moved around.)

No research gains are made, but all things continue as scheduled.

During the day of the 21st, Toddiec IV launches the ASIA COM Interceptor, chases, and damages a medium UFO over Australia, but the craft escapes.

In the middle of the night on the 22nd things perk up. The Red Line from the UN rings at USA COM. They inform us that aliens have landed in Nairobi, Kenya, and a section of the city is under attack: a terror site! Within seconds, EU COM goes from a slumbering darkness to a beehive of activity and light. Within minutes, the EU COM Skyranger is soaring up into the dark skies on route to Africa and the alien menace that awaits. On board are the following ten men:

Kodos, Jfbbis, Revrew, Naiwf, RealDeal III, Coffee Warlord II, Swaggs, Breeze, Sachmo III, and Chuck U Farley.

Good luck, men! Terror missions are such fun!


The mission has a good chance of going up on Wednesday night.

You sent me on a terror mission!?!?

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Alright. Back in action! Time to take it to the alien perpetrators!

sweet. Is it my turn for the blaster launcher?

I believe I'll be active duty very soon. Die, Coffee, die. :)

Our prayers are with you guys!

For those of you assigned to the terror mission, I think this is the key sentence from GB's update:

dola-

Good luck!

Note to self. Kodos makes a great human(alien) shield.

...as long as you enjoy my acid-based alien blood splashing on you. :p