The assistant moved along the hall of cloning tubes, mking marks on his chart to show the continuing progress of all manufactured humans there-in contained.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he caught a flash of movement in one of the pods near the end of the hall. That's weird... All humans are kept sedated during this process, as being awake would emotionally scar anyone trapped in a tube for an extended period of time. He wandered down the hall to the pod where he thought he saw the motion.

Hmm...no movement now. It appears to be a young man, about 25, in pretty good shape. The readings seemed to check out.

He fired up his laptop and did a check on the pod. DNA Source: Chief Rum. Not much other information, just physical and mental characteristics, and the training program, which seemed heavy on methods of killing all living things and using any and all weaponry. He must be somekind of soldier, the assistant thought.

He knew that X-COM had an account with the cloning firm. A couple clicks confirmed this individual was indeed a prt of this account. In fact, this is the second clone from this DNA. The first set was grown and left months ago, no doubt to a grisly death at the hands of aliens. The assistant grimaced.

He returned tot he pad to take a closer look. The readings still looked fine, although the pod temperature seemed a little higher than normal. He was just fiddling with the controls when the yeys of the pod's occupant snapped open. The immobile man surveyed the pod glass and beyond for just a moment before beginning to shake and arrtle in the pod.

With a great grunt that could be heard even through the thick pod glass, the man struck the pod interior with great force, shattering the glass in all directions, and forcing the assistant to stumble to the ground. Wires and electrodes broke and snapped off of him as he stepped from the pod.

"My brother is dead!" he yelled with a great roar. The assistant quailed in fear. The man looked mad, and he was big enough to crush him like an insect.

The wild and furtive look on the man's face faded as he began to take in the surrounding area, and the man before him. The assistant was amazed as the man's face actually grew a grim smile as he approached the fallen man and extended an arm.

"Are you well?" the large man asked.

"Y-yes, I believe so," the assistant said. His eyes shifted over the big man's shoulder to the ruined cloning pod. "I can't believe you just did that. I can't believe you were even awake."

"I have been awake for three months," the man replied evenly. "As for the pod, that's just kindling to what I am designed to be able to do."

Looking at the man's muscular form, the assistant silently agreed.

"Three m-months?" the assistant struggled out. "But...how? The emotional damage...oh God, how can you be sane?"

The corners of the large man's mouth raised just a bit, in a cruel imitation of a smile. He didn't answer the question right away.

"Check your programs," he said. "You'll find it that way. X-Com likes its clones with an edge. The program is designed to wake me months before I am set for release. It tends to result in a little...unbalance...or so I understand."

The assistant gulped.

"You fear me," the man said. It was not a question. "Don't. I am no danger to the good people of Earth, my own people. Nor to any who aid them. It is our enemy, the aliens, that have need fear me."

"Your brother...", the assistant stammered. "Is he...?"

"An X-COM agent?", the man finsihed for him, knowing full well that's not what the waifish runt of a man meant at all. "Yes, he was. He just died, moments go, the victim of a cowardly act involving a distance weapon. They couldn't kill Sergeant Chief Rum II face-to-face. He had repeatedly proven to be too much for them. So they used that which he could not counter, a surprise attack from a distance with large explosive weaponry. They are cowards...and they will pay."

"Pay" ended in almost a guttural growl that faded away into the silence enveloping the clone pods.

"But...how do you know?" the assistant asked.

The big man grinned again and tapped his head.

"It's all in here," he said. "That will be in your program, too. Us Chief Rums are trained to be psionic with one another. We have a mental link, as strong as any Sectoid psi attack. We are great soldiers, my family. And my brother was maybe the greatest. Nine kills on 13 missions. Three on his very first mission. He made sergeant, and was almost a captain. He survived the first ever alien base attack, only to die on the second. Remember him. Remember me. And remember X-COM."

With that, the big man walked toward the exit, where he could find a change of clothes and some identification. The assistant didn't budge an inch.

A few paces away, he stopped and looked back at the other man.

"Oh...do you still have my father's DNA on file?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I would assume so," the assistant said.

"Good. If not, you should be able to get some off of the electrodes in my old pod," the big man said. "Start up another clone."

"Why?" the assistant asked, barely believing he would dare to ask. "You're here now. Will it be necessary?"

The man's face became hard to read before forming into that queer little half-smaile again.

"Let's hope not. But do it anyway."

Rookie Chief Rum III reporting to the waiting list, sir! I wish to avenge my clone brother and my clone father as soon as possible, sir. I was also traine dlonger than the past Chief Rums, thanks to the lengthy career of Sgt. Chief Rum II, so please only high quality skills for me, sir, even if it means I wait a callup or two. Thank you.

Chief Rum

Outstanding job! Bloody, but really outstanding. Glad I could take a bullet for someone. Oh well, see ya in my next incarnation, 3ric IV.

or 4ric? :)

*gulp* Ok, I'm in.

Id love to go on the next mission. However if my low bravery will not stand up against the PSI attacks I am prepared to wait for the next chance to kick some alien ass.

As always, excellent job GB.

Lokugh II hears the phone ringing. "My phone, ringing? I didn't even know I had a phone," he thinks to himself, digging through the mass of books and spare blaster parts towards the ringing sound. "Hello?" he answers.

"This is X-Com command. Your application for the X-Com forces has been approved. Report immediately." Click. The phone disconnects.

"X-com Command? Hmm, that was that stuff Dad was into, back before he died. He never said much, but he always brought home such neat toys," he thinks, cleaning the barrel of his favorite 'toy'. "I bet if they let him brong those home, they have even better stuff they don't let out. I'm in." With that, he packs up his toybox, slaps on the "Fragile. High Explosives" sticker and heads for the airport.



I'm in.

BTW, I'll volunteer for the base mission, if I get in soon enough.

Lokugh

So, I guess they did not break the mold when they made Chief Rum? :)

In a small house in suburban Michigan, a phone rings. The occupants check the Caller ID. "Unknown Caller," it says. The occupants ignore it. The wife mutters about telemarketers again and suggests that the husband answer next time and tell them to take the household off whatever list they have.

The phone rings again. "Unknown Caller," it says again. Sigh. Fine. "Hello?"

"Is this a...uh...Mr. Wolfpack?"

"Yes. And can I save you the effort? I'm not interested and I would appreciate that you put me on your "Do Not Call" list."

"Mr. Wolfpack? Sir? This is not anything like that. This is X-Com. Several weeks ago you put in for joining the group. We're calling to let you know that through attrition, a space has opened up for you if you are still interested."

"Yes, I am. When and where do I go?"

The person on the other end explains the needed steps.

"Okay. I'm on my way."

Woot! Only a minor injury! No one's going to get my spleen yet!

Good teamwork, Patman. That's what X-Com is all about, working together to tear apart alien scum.

If I'm healed I would be honored to be chosen for the Germany base assault. I hate seeing what those bastards have done to my former homeland... :mad:

Great writeup, GB. Proving once again why this is the best dynasty on the face of the earth. I am ready for the next mission if you require my services.

Oh, and Coffee. No problem. Maybe you can return the favor some day. :)

I'll sign up for this one, feet first!

I'm here! Put me in coach!

I don't know if I'll show up in time for the Germany base assault, but if I do, I'll volunteer for that. You know, since the last one went so well for me and all. :)

I want to go on the base mission!

Update

Random stuff, in no particular order...

Good news! Patman II survived! The stomach replacement surgery went well, and now that he's got 3ric III's intestines inside him, he should be ready to get back in action in about two weeks! Way to hang in there, Patman II!

Also, Crappy's men successfully attached Airhog's arm to Fonzie's right arm. It should work pretty well, but apparently Fonzie cut off Airhog's left arm by mistake, so if he holds his arms out straight with the palms down, both thumbs point to the right. Not sure how this will affect his fighting ability, but it will definitely take getting used to when typing. Fonzie's becoming quite the mutt, actually. He's got Cam's index finger on his left hand, and Airhog's left arm attached to his right elbow. A couple more random body parts, and Frankenfonz will really be a good nickname!
__________

Let's see, Aesyrqwe and Breeze are AWOL. Mr. Bug IV, Lokugh II, Sir Fozzie, Wolfpack, and Japherwaki II are on their way in. We need two more people...

Ring, ring, ring

Calling Ravenhawk II and Condors II. Your planet needs you!

__________


I'm getting hit with the back end of the project I'm working on again, so I may not be able to make this Sunday again for our next mission. My guess is that I can have it up a week from today at the latest, but if the mission is a short one (e.g., a scout UFO), I should be able to make our Sunday posting.

Our plan for the next few days of game time is to prepare for our next base attack, which should be a bitch, as it's against Sectoids for sure. We're pretty depleted after this last mission (seven agents either dead or badly wounded), so I may wait a week of game time to let our replacements get in, and then try to send mostly rookies on an easier mission to get them some experience so we can take a handful of them into the next base. Ideally, we'll get two such easy missions quickly and then hit the base. We won't wait long though, as we absolutely want to knock the German base out before the end of the month (game time), and it may take two tries to get it right. We're low on blaster missiles too (Sachmo II and Blade 6119 were a bit trigger happy on that last misison), so we've got to let Sterling Ice's men catch up in production. Lastly, we'll move our seriously wounded troops to South America to let them heal in peace. We've now got six men on the rack for ten days or more. Yikes. We're taking a beating.

___________

Men: Thanks for volunteering! We're making a list, and checking it twice. It'll be a while before we make a final list, as I want to take a look at some of the stats of the rookies coming in, but we should be able to put together a good team! And although I mentioned people have 48 hours to volunteer, feel free to volunteer at any time if you haven't already done so, as it'll probably be a little while in real time before we get after that next base.

Tasan: There actually were a couple of people that had cakewalks on the last base mission too, if I remember correctly. I'm going to try to get you on the next base mission as well, so you should expect some action there.

Anxiety: Considering your stats, I think you did very well in your brief tour. Let's hope Anxiety II will get better stats. Our waiting list is getting shorter and we've got another base attack coming up soon, so you probably won't have to wait long. Do you want to "opt up" again if the opportunity arises?

Swaggs: 4ric? Very funny.

RealDeal: I'll make that name change in the next update! And thanks for volunteering for the German assault. We'll need you, and I'll do my best to keep you alive.

Chief: Great writeup! Classic! Chief Rum III sounds like just the type of agent we need! I'm glad to see the breeding program is working well!

Swaggs, Sachmo II, Tucker, Rich, Kodos: Thanks for the compliments!

_________

I'll be a bit busy in the next couple of days, but will try to move the game forward a bit if I can. I'll keep people posted.

Go FOFC X-COM!

I think I may have already, but I will again, send me in to the base. I would make a wonderful human shield!

Yay!!!


It's been about 3 months or so....lol

GB,

Any chance I can sign up to be one of your minions. I currently only have a single incarnation, but I am sure you can correct that. I am slowly catching up to your current thread. I am on the second thread on the old board. I find it hard to believe Jfbbis is still alive. That is a good thing, well now that he is apparently consistently hitting what he is shooting at.

I admire your policy of not shooting your mind controlled minions. In my games that is a death sentence, you get mind controlled, and all the sudden you volunteer for everything. I once read about a guy who had his mind controlled guys kneel down in front of a veteran, who would "Cap" them from behind.

Update

September 4-6

We reshuffle our troops, send our injured to South America, and anxiously await reinforcements to arrive. Four new men slowly trickle in during these couple of days: Katon, Illinifan V, Blade III, and Mr. Bug IV. X-COM command is quite impressed with Illinifan V and Blade III; these guys look fearless and have nice quick reactions. Katon looks pretty good as well, although both Blade III and he clearly need some work on the firing range.

Mr. Bug IV is another story. When Katon dropped his suitcase on the floor with a bang, Mr. Bug screamed "Aliens!?" and dove for cover under a nearby table. Ten minutes later we convinced him it was only a suitcase, and he came back out. Although he did redeem himself with some amazing shooting on the range a little while later, we have Sterling Ice just use Post-It notes to label his X-COM gear.

Early on the morning of the 6th, in the midst of these preparations, EU COM and ASIA COM radar track a large UFO heading for Europe, and we prepare our Skyranger to head out on assault. Sure enough, the UFO heads right for the German base and touches down. We get as many new faces on board the Skyranger as we can and head out. On board:

Jeeber D, Blade 6119 III, Wade Moore, Jeff Nights II, RealDeal III, Coffee Warlord II, Afoci, Tucker, Illinifan V, and Tasan.

We leave Kodos and Sachmo II at home to guard the base and get some rest.

We'll try to hit this supply UFO at dawn, right before it takes off, but when there's enough light for our troops to see.

I'm going to try to play and post this mission by Sunday. If I miss that, it will most likely go up next Thursday. I might try to make a quite stat update before posting this next mission as well.

_______________



Ah, the noble course of action. That didn't last forever. Reality set in.

And yes, I've got you on the waiting list. Welcome! I could have sworn I posted that somewhere before. Sorry if I missed it. The pressure must be getting to me.

Glad to see that I'm recovered from my chest wound and will be going after the alien slime in Deutschland.

Hopefully if I continue to show strong nerves I will be allowed to go on the base assault in Germany as well.

I want revenge for that scar on my chest...

Good luck on the first mission, all you "new faces". Don't bite the big one [b]too[/b[ quickly.

Updated Stats...
X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 60)

USA COM

EU COM

ASIA COM

SAM COM






X-COM II Troop Attributes
Support Personnel

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 60)

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 59)

Top Ten Kills Leaders
Waiting List

The Hall of Heroes

Ring Ring Ring

Calling Zippy II. Your planet needs you!

What're you talking about? I was aiming at that lightbulb. Obviously a camoflauged alien listening device.

WooHoo! I am winning something!

I'm ashamed to admit this, but I never looked at any of the X-Com threads until today. :(

Wow! Don't really know what else to say, I've only read through a few pages, but I'm hooked! Outstanding job GB, now I've just got to find the time to get caught up with everything! That's a lotta reading.

Add my name to the volunteer list!

Once again, unbelievable dynasty, and just from reading a few pages I'm seriously considering trying to nab a copy of this game. I'm just worried if I can get into an "older" game, I have no problem going back to old games I played, but starting new is another story. :)

Sounds like too good of a game to pass up though, even after all this time.

This is BLASPHOMY!

I am the second most experienced man in Asia, and I am being SHAFTED LIKE SKY LOPEZ!

I demand respect.

I only shot Kodos once..

.. And he had it coming, he was being boisterious.

Me too :D

Quick Update...

I doubt I'll make this Sunday's post. Most likely the mission will go up on Thursday of next week, but there is an outside chance for Tuesday. After that, I should be able to get us back on track, so I think I can make next Sunday for the following mission.

Ring ring ring

Calling Marmel, Swaggs, and Travis III.

Your planet needs you.

____________

Katon: Not to scare you or anything, but I think you've got the lowest marksmanship rating we've ever had.

Afoci: Congrats! Actually, don't worry about that rating so much. It tends to go up fast if you survive some missions. Just don't get hit and you'll be fine.

Calis: Welcome! The graphics are definitely retro, but they are more than serviceable. After a half hour you don't even notice them. If you try to pick up the game, be sure to get the Collector's Edition. It has updated versions of the games that work better on newer computers.

DVH: You are destined for stardom. Don't worry. Be happy. We'll find you lots more caves to clear.

Jfbbis: I am amazed you're still alive too. You've been wounded quite a few times, though, haven't you? It's more than two, right? The nice thing about the wounds is that you're safe when you are out of action, so you'll survive at least another three weeks. You just keep going and going.

Hey, GB, I probably should have made it more clear in my story about Chief Rum III.

But since he stayed a bit longer in the ole development tube than most, he is extra developed. So I would only accept higher bravery, and if the OptUp means better all around stats, that fits as well. Just thought I would let you know that's what I was looking for for Chief Rum III, even if I have to wait a little to get back into duty.

CR

Chief: Got it! I'll fix it. We're cycling right through the waiting lists now, so it shouldn't be long even if you do draw a crappy guy.

Condors II ready to go!

Ring, Ring, Ring

Swaggs, somewhat startled, shook awake and drew in a cold breath. Quickly, he grabbed his cellphone and answered.

Sitting with his knees drawn in tight against a large brick building, with a heavy winter coat drawn tight against him, he answered the phone.

After listening for a few seconds, Swaggs grunted, in a husky voice, with a single sentence. "I will be there shortly."

Swaggs bit his lip a bit, but for a brief moment it was apparent that he had smiled. He had been waiting a long time for this.

As he rose from his seated position against the building, he drew in one more cold breath and walked around the corner and into the X-Com headquarters to report for duty.

Reporting for Duty, SIR!

I would like to not opt-up this time, since the list is shorter I'll wait awhile.

-Anxiety

The sky is dark, the land barren and covered by a thick layer of snow. The wind howls across the flat expanse of land unbroken, save for one tiny speck.

Upon closer examination, that speck turns out to be an igloo with a team of dogs huddled together for warmth outside.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING!

The sound of the wind is broken by the shrill ring of a phone, and not one of those ridiculous downloadable tones either.

Shortly, a man dressed in a heavy parka crawls out of the igloo opening, a hand clutched to his head as he stands.

"Sorry, the reception inside is brutal, what did you say?"

A pause while a few of the huskies look up, wondering what's disturbing their slumber.

"Yessir, I'm Travis III. I'll be there as soon as I can."

A quick flip and the cell phone is closed and returned to a pocket, the man turns, returning the gaze of the dogs.

"Get ready boys, time for one last run."

Breeze is available when needed. Didn't hear the phone...must have been in the shower or bathing the babies ;)

I do what I can when stumbling around outside the lab :D

Hey, will you guys stop using up those rockets like they were going out of style. I can't just make them with over the counter parts, no funding, and in a matter of seconds. Use those nifty little heavy plasma guns to shoot stuff for once :rolleyes:

SI

Zippy II reporting for duty

Hey now, I hate aliens as much as the next guy, but I live because of that particular alien.

That Cam Edwards guy, though. I'm sorry I missed him. Me and him together were just bad luck. I mean, geez, our ancestors have shortest lifespan awards named after them! At least the aliens took care of it, though. :)

Skyranger Transmission

This just in from the Skyranger...

Pilot: Um, I think everyone is kind of mad at me. When we left the base, you guys told me to "Hurry back." And then you said to "Wait for dawn before you land." Well, they seemed kind of contradictionary to me, you know what I mean? I mean, how am I supposed to "hurry" if I'm "waiting"? Anyway, I figured since you told me to "hurry" before you told me to "wait", that the "hurry" was more important than the "wait". So--

X-COM Command: Get to the point!

Pilot: Huh? Oh, ok, well, I figured that we'd just kind of zip in and land while it was still dark, you know? Figured that it would be harder for the alien buggers to see us, right? Makes sense, doesn't it? So I took the craft in, and put her down right near the UFO about ten minutes ago. That was, let's see, um, big hand on the 4, little hand on the 3, add ten. Um, about 4:30 in the morning. It's real dark out there, and I figured everyone would be really happy, you know. I mean, they should get to get back early and everything. But everyone sounded really pissed back there when I dropped the landing gate. Wade kind of yelled at me. He got even madder when I told him I blew out the resitor jets on landing, so I couldn't make another straitght-up-and-down landing. Well, anyway--

X-COM Command: You realize that the aliens have much better night vision than we do, don't you? Didn't they tell you that in the training missions?

Pilot: Training missions? Oh, you mean the neat sci-fi movies we watched? Those were real? Well, I'll be damned. Anyway, I promise not to do it again. But you know, it's real pretty out there when they fire back and forth. I can see lots of green lines going back and forth from the UFO to our Skyranger. Can't see much of anything else. One of them hit us too. It went BANG, and I nearly pooped my pants. I tell you. It's--

Kablam!

Pilot: Whoa! Neat! Look at that tank turret go! Up...down. Crash! Wow. That was cool looking! This is better than the fireworks when I was a little kid in Fat Fork, North Dakota! Wow! That burning tank sure looks neat---

Transmission terminated.

I don't like fighting in the dark... :(

i dont like our pilot...but we have some top vets and rookies, so this could be a solid mission...lets hope he oesnt have any grudges against me from asotts dynasty

Look on the bright side.

At least our radios seem to be holding up a bit better.

I would like to open a tank-making business on the side.

Yeah, don't you know it? I'm starting to think that it might be more fun to just use rookies for scouts. Those tanks cost $400k+ each, and it seems like I'm always buying new ones. A fully equipped rookie only costs us probably $100k if we lose him. We could send out 14-man teams, and use our wimpy rookies like Russian peasants in Stalingrad.

Happy birthday, by the way!

Coffee: I'll have you know we buy only the best Turkish made radios available on the black market in Constantinople, which I think I spelled wrong.

Blade 6119: Nope. I never hold grudges. Hey, did I forget to give you a weapon this mission? Damn. Oh, wait. Here it is! Whew! For a second there I thought I forgot to equip you with our new, high-tech plastic dining fork.

Jeeber D: I don't like to give stuff away, but you've got lots of light around you: you were standing right beside the tank when it went up. If you could open your eyes, you'd be able to see fine. Ooops. There I go. Said too much again.

Anxiety: Got it. I'll change that. I'm glad that it doesn't look like people will have to wait that long to get in the game any more. Wish I could play at a faster pace, though.

Condors, Swaggs, Marmel, Breeze, and Zippy: When someone goes AWOL and misses a phone call, I call the next people in line, and take whoever reports first out of everyone on AWOL and everyone called. In this case, we needed three people, which means Condors, Swaggs, and Marmel are on their way to the base. Breeze and Zippy, I'll hold your spots right at the top of the list, but put you back "on-call" for the next call up. Sorry for the extended delay, but it's the easiest thing I can think of to make sure that we don't call up people that aren't around any more. It shouldn't be much longer though, so stick around, as we'll have another base mission real soon, and we'll probably need some replacements after this current night mission. By the way, it sure looked light enough on the world map when I sent that Skyranger in. Another oops. Another few deaths. Just a typical day at X-COM.
___________

As for posting the next mission, I should be able to finish playing and post this mission on Thursday, as I plan to take most of the day off from work. The big project is esentially finished, and I just have a couple of little things to do on Thursday. I'm also going to try and play the next mission as well, so we can get back onto our "every Sunday night" schedule.

Ummm...I can't open my eyes because the flames are too bright, right?

If I was dead my eyes would be permanantly open. I think. I hope...

Sorry, just couldn't resist splitting this one into two parts...

61st Mission: German Supply Ship!

The EU Skyranger hightails it northwest towards the German base and the alien supply ship that has landed nearby. The skies are still pitch dark, and our plan is the standard one: circle the landing sight until dawn, and then strike just before the UFO takes off.

Inside the Skyranger, the men quickly run through weapons checks. The ride takes less than 2 hours, and it takes a while for some of the rookies to get everything straightened out. With five agents in the team with one or less mission’s worth of experience, we made need all the help we can get.

The skies are still dark when the Skyranger begins its quick descent to the German countryside. Wade Moore, the commander for today’s mission, calls up to the Skyranger pilot for confirmation that we’ll wait till dawn. The pilot replies ambiguously that everything is ok, but the skies sure look dark outside. We’re not carrying any electro flares, so we must avoid landing in the dark…

Left Side:
1. Blade 6119 III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Jeff Nights II (Laser Pistol, Power Suit)
3. Afoci (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Illinifan V (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Wade Moore (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
2. Real Deal III (Blaster Launcher, Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Tucker (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Tasan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops the final few hundred meters to the dark landscape below, and now the men inside are starting to wonder what’s going on. We can see that we’re coming down on the northeast corner of the active quadrant, with open fields running left of the exit, and a large hedgewall at the nose of the Skyranger. To the right and rear of the exit, we have secure ground. It’s hard to tell in the dark, but we can make out what looks to be the bulking shape of the supply ship about 100 yards to the left of our exit. Just as Wade is ready to make a move up front to confirm that we’ll wait to dawn, the Skyranger accelerates downward, stops in a hover just a few meters above the ground, then drops the final few feet to land with a thud on the hard German soil. The ramp drops away with a crash. What the hell are we doing?

The men can see the dark countryside stretching out in front of them. All is quiet. The pilot’s voice comes over the intercom, “All set. Here you go guys!”

Wade presses the transmit button, “What the hell are you doing setting us down in the dark like this? We’re supposed to wait for dawn.”

“Early to rise, early to bed, sir! X-COM command told me to ‘Get a move on!’ so I thought we’d get right to work. Anyway, too late to change now. I blew our resistor jets on landing, so if we go up, we can’t do another vertical landing. Good luck!”

Wonderful. Where do we ever get these guys?

Without much of an option, we send the tank down the ramp into the darkness…

Nothing. Dead quiet. We spin the tank left, and head for what we can now see is the massive, three-story UFO, sitting about 100 yards off to the left of the exit. We shuffle our troops in the exit bay, and send Afoci out the door and right. Once there, he begins a slow advance on the hedgewall that the nose of our Skyranger is butting up against. Illinifan V also exits. He heads left and takes up a position just behind our tank.

We edge our tank slowly into the field left of the exit. Movement! Just in front of the UFO! Illinifan V raises his plasma rifle and pulls the trigger. Green streaks sail toward the UFO and light up the night. We can see the small figure start to run, but a green streak slams into it and drops it to the ground. We hear the high-pitched death scream of a Sectoid! My it has been a while since we’ve faced Sectoids. But what a shot by Illinifan! Nice job, rookie! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet for the moment and we devise a plan. We’ve got the UFO off to our left, and we can make our lives a lot longer if we can set up a firing position on the near exit door, which should be just around the left corner of the craft as we look at it. Also, we’ll need to clear the large area at the nose of our Skyranger, and send some troops to clear the area to the right of the UFO as well. We get moving.

Illinifan V breaks away from the tank and heads slowly across the fields towards the right side of the UFO. Tucker exits the Skyranger and follows a few steps behind. Jeeber D exits the Skyranger and rushes to the tank; together they start a slow advance towards where we think the UFO door should be. Tasan exits the Skyranger and follows Afoci as he resumes his advance on the hedgewall. Real Deal III exits the Skyranger, heads the opposite direction from our men, and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher.

Suddenly, more movement, and incoming fire! A plasma blast streaks towards our position and slams into the side of the Skyranger. There! A Sectoid is sneaking through the field just to the right of the UFO! Illinifan reacts instantly, twisting and firing a shot that sends a long arc of green towards the enemy…

Direct hit! The Sectoid screams and drops to the ground! Illinifan is on fire! Way to go! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We resume our movement. Jeeber D and our tank get about 50 yards from the UFO door, when suddenly Jeeber spots shuffling movement near the UFO corner! Looks like two Sectoids! Before we can react, they open fire! Green blasts of plasma race toward the tank and Jeeber! A few go streaking by, but one shot hits the crack between the turret and the tank body; the shot penetrates our tank, which explodes, sending the turret ten feet in the air. It crashes to the ground a few feet away. Just as quickly as it started, the enemy fire stops. Jeeber D is stunned by the blast, but otherwise ok. He peers through the darkness from behind the ruined tank body, but sees nothing. Damn it. He crouches down, preps a grenade, and makes a long toss to the area where he thinks he saw movement.

Kablam! The grenade goes off and shatters the night silence. We hear a Sectoid screaming! Yes! Nice toss, Jeeber! Within a few seconds the creature falls quiet. The question is, did we get both of them, or just one? X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Why wonder, when you’ve got the security of a blaster launcher? RealDeal III plots a course to the near UFO exit area, and pulls the trigger on the launcher. The rocket soars up over the Skyranger, then loops around and slams into the UFO. The evening explodes with the impact. A 50-foot area around the exit is consumed in smoke and dirt. Unfortunately, we don’t hear any alien screams. Maybe Jeeber D got a pair?

Over the next few minutes, things go quiet, except for the constant whirring of UFO doors. We expand our position. Afoci and Tasan make it past the hedgewall and into an orchard that lies behind it. They continue on and search the fields that lie further on, but there are no aliens over here. They turn right and starts toward the near UFO door. About 50 yards away, they come to a low hedge and fence, and here they take up firing positions on the near exit.

As this is happening, Jeff Nights II exits the Skyranger and joins a Tucker and Illinifan V as they sweep the area to the right side of the UFO. Quickly they come upon some shanties, which RealDeal subsequently blows apart with the blaster launcher. The lack of screaming aliens lets us know that these buildings were empty. The three men continue around the backside of the UFO, and reach the far corner within a few minutes. Here they get ready to come around the corner to come up on the far door from the back of the UFO.

While all this movement is going on, Jeeber D sits in the field, about 40 yards from the UFO exit, waiting for signs of movement. Blade 6119 and Coffee Warlord II exit the Skyranger and advance to the near corner of the UFO. They reach the wall there, and wait for things to develop.

Back at the Skyranger, RealDeal III keeps a ready Blaster Launcher and Wade doodles graffiti on the wall of the Skyranger.

With almost all the exterior of the UFO searched, we prepare to assault the UFO. Because RealDeal has already blown a hole in the near door, we’ll go in through that one first. Jeeber D, Afoci, and Tasan start edging across the fields to get closer to the door. Coffee Warlord II sneaks around the corner so that he is at a right angle to the opening in the near door, and trains his heavy plasma on the opening. Blade 6119 sneaks up to the edge of the corner, right behind Coffee.

At the far side of the UFO, Tucker, Illinifan V, and Jeff Nights II work their way around the far corner, but hold just short of the final corner that would allow them to see the far door.

Suddenly, a Sectoid pops out of the far door, turns and opens fire on Coffee, way down by the near door! The plasma blast races alongside the UFO, but catches the metal wall and ricochets wildly away. Coffee reacts brilliantly and drills the Sectoid with a stomach shot that knocks the thing to the ground with a screech! X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

We decide to push it. Coffee gets up and rushes the final few feet to the hole in the near door. He plunges into the UFO…nothing. These supply ships consist of two, three-story octagonal sections that are joined by a narrower section. On the interior of the first floor, there is an outer corridor that runs around a walled central engine room. Coffee finds himself in this outer corridor. He breaks left towards the section of the UFO that connects with the far octagonal section and the far door that lies on it. He spots no aliens. Blade 6119 III follows quickly on Coffee’s heels. He enters the UFO, turns right, and starts along the outer corridor in the opposite direction. Jeeber D rushes to the door as well, but as he approaches, another Sectoid exits the far door! It turns and gets off a shot at Jeeber D, but it slams into some debris by the near exit and misses Jeeber completely. Tasan, cutting across the field, opens fire on this alien. His first shot hits and blows the Sectoid against the side of the UFO, where it slumps to the ground dead, just as Jeeber D safely enters the UFO. X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

Tucker, at the far corner, comes around the corner to within a few feet of the far door, and gets ready for anything to pop out of the UFO. Illinifan V and Jeff Nights II edge closer to the corner. Afoci and Tasan continue to move slowly across the field in front of the UFO doors, keeping their weapons trained on the still unsecured far door.

Just as I’m wondering where all the PSI-attacks are, we are washed over with a wave of PSI-energy. Coffee Warlord starts singing Barney’s Favorite Children’s songs and twitching uncontrollably! Fortunately, he gets himself under control long enough to respond to Wade’s quick order to drop all his weapons and exit the UFO. Coffee obeys immediately and starts back to the near exit. Jeeber D quickly takes Coffee’s spot along the corridor. Blade 6119 III heads around the first interior corner and rips open the door to the central engine room…

Nothing. He resumes his search of the corridor. Jeeber continues along the corridor in the opposite direction as Blade 6119. He makes it through the joining section and approaches the far door…

Nothing! But suddenly a Sectoid comes around the far corner, about 20 feet away! Oh no! He’s got a blaster launcher! Jeeber lifts his heavy plasma to fire, but he’s too slow! The Sectoid fires. From point blank range, the deadly rocket comes whooshing towards Jeeber D, who closes his eyes and prays.

(to be continued!)

Be sure to turn in later tonight for either Jeeber D becomes a Rorschach Test or Horrible Death of an Agent inside a UFO!.

Damn you and your cliffhangers!!! You're worse than revrew! :mad:

Oh well. If it has to end at least I got a kill or two...

Duck Jeeber!

it could be me dead in the UFO...im in there too...no offense jeeber, but i hope its you...

What a team player. ;)

I went in a different direction from you and the blaster was coming straight towards me. So most likely I'm the one who is now human spaghetti sauce...

61st Mission: German Supply Ship!
(continued from this afternoon!)

(previously on X-COM II)

Nothing! But suddenly a Sectoid comes around the far corner, about 20 feet away! Oh no! He’s got a blaster launcher! Jeeber lifts his heavy plasma to fire, but he’s too slow! The Sectoid fires. From point blank range, the deadly rocket comes whooshing towards Jeeber D, who closes his eyes and prays.

(and now our story continues)

The rocket slams into the wall of the UFO mere inches from Jeeber’s head and...

…falls to the ground? It didn’t explode! It was a dud? Both Jeeber and the Sectoid look stunned, but suddenly both parties realize that the tables have turned completely, as the Sectoid is holding an empty Blaster Launcher and Jeeber D is holding a loaded Heavy Plasma. Jeeber quickly levels his heavy plasma just as the Sectoid turns to run away. Jeeber fires and blows the Sectoid against the wall of the UFO, where it drops to the floor with a thud. Wow! Jeeber D survived the impossible, and gets a kill to boot! Guess what breakfast cereal he eats! That’s right, Lucky Charms! X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

As this drama comes to an end, at the other end of the UFO, Coffee manages to exit the UFO and start back towards the Skyranger. Blade 6119 edges towards the next corner of the corridor. Suddenly, a Sectoid comes charging around the corner! Blade 6119 is face to face with the enemy, but before he can react, the Sectoid jams a laser pistol in his crotch and pulls the trigger. The direct hit from point blank range caves in the lower portion of Blade 6119’s Power Suit. Blade 6119 feels a flash of agony, then a wave of black nausea washes over him. He drops his heavy plasma to the floor of the UFO and falls to his hands and knees. He immediately fights through the nausea and rises back up to his knees, but before he can do anything more, the Sectoid jams the laser pistol in Blade 6119’s stomach and pulls the trigger again. The weakened armor gives way, and Blade 6119’s stomach explodes with a whoosh, splattering the walls of the UFO corridor in red. Still conscious, Blade reaches out weakly for his heavy plasma, but the Sectoid sticks his laser pistol in the shoulder joint of Blade 6119’s armor and fires again. Blade’s shoulder explodes and his arm—separated at the joint—cartwheels backwards and lands on the ground. Blade 6119 looks at his severed stump, then turns to the Sectoid. The Sectoid uses the butt end of the laser pistol to smash Blade 6119’s faceplate, snapping Blade’s head back and peppering his face with glass. The alien then flips the gun around and points it right in Blade 6119’s face. Blade 6119, mouth full of his own regurgitated blood, spits a defiant red stream right in the alien’s face. A second later the alien fires: Blade 6119 III’s head explodes with a gush of red. His lifeless body drops to the ground. X-COM 6, Aliens 1.

Damn it. We’re in trouble. We’ve got no one on that side of the UFO. We send everyone into action. Afoci and Tasan start sprinting towards the near door. Jeeber D turns around and heads back towards where we expect this dangerous Sectoid to appear along the corridor. To cover the other end of the corridor, Tucker and Illinifan V approach the far door of the UFO, pop it open and enter the craft. They head left, go past Jeeber D’s kill, and start around the next corner. Wade leaves the Skyranger and starts sprinting towards the UFO. RealDeal plots a firing course with his blaster launcher, then holds fire when he realizes that there is a greater likelihood that he’ll take out our own men than this enemy.

Jeeber D drops to a knee near the near exit and awaits the Sectoid to turn the next corner in front of him. Afoci reaches the near door of the UFO, just as the Sectoid comes around the corner on the inside of the craft in front of Jeeber D and the outer door. Afoci steps inside just as the Sectoid fires. The laser shot catches Afoci in the knee, denting his armor and sending a flash of burning white pain up his spine. But Afoci stays on his feet, and both Jeeber D and he open fire on the Sectoid, who is only a few feet away. Streams of green plasma hit the Sectoid simultaneously. In a few short seconds, there is nothing left but a pile of green goop. Revenge! X-COM 7, Aliens 1.

Wade and Tasan enter the UFO shortly after that, and the four men start an advance to the grav-lift that goes up to the third floor. From the other side, Jeff Nights II, Tucker, and Illinifan V start working their way to the lift from the other side of the craft. Tucker, Afoci, and Wade reach the lift first. Afoci and Tucker make it in safely, then head up to the third floor. Wade follows quickly behind them. Once there, Tucker approaches the grav-lift exit door, pops it open, and takes a quick look: nothing there. In the past, the Sectoid commanders have hidden out in the bridge, which lies at the other end of this floor. Rather than risk a room-to-room search, we call Real Deal and his blaster launcher. A couple of lucky shots to the bridge could save us a lot of trouble. Real Deal plots the course, pulls the trigger, and sends a missile on a winding course that ends at the outer wall of the bridge. There is a loud roar from that end of the craft, and we hear the frantic screams of a dying alien! Yes! Real got one! X-COM 8, Aliens 1.

And that is the last alien! It’s over!

Tough to lose such a fine agent as Blade 6119, but so many rookies taking a supply ship with only one casualty is a job well done. Way to go, men!

Wrap-up

Kills: Tasan, 1; Real Deal III, 1; Coffee Warlord , 1; Jeeber D, 3; Afoci, 1; Illinifan V, 2.
KIA: Blade 6119 III.
Wounded: None (Afoci was ok!).
Wet Diaper: Jeeber D, 1.
Attribute Improvements: Tasan, RealDeal III, Coffee Warlord II, Jeeber D, Afoci, Illinifan V.
Final score: ? Forgot to look at this again.
Mission Notes:
Jeeber D gets a hatrick! Well done! His grenade toss apparently got two Sectoids.

I have no idea what happened with Blade 6119 III. He just stood there while the alien got off four shots in a row. Damn. That was ugly.

I’ve decided to move the promotions news to it’s own post. There were a lot of them after this mission, as we have lost two sergeants on our last two missions, and now have enough men for another Captain’s position.

Go FOF X-COM!

Aww, screw the blaster launcher and get me an alien commander!







Preferably not Kodos.

That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me!

Oooh, a night mission. Scary. Good work, men! Shame about Blade6119, tho.

did you have to describe in such detail the killing?..my god...i was quenching the entire time...

Lets see...i talk about having asott "accidently" kill godzilla...godzilla says he should use that here...Blade6119,who has never been beaten in reactin by an alien does nothing while getting blasted to smitherens...godzilla blitz magically doesn't know whats going on...hmmmmm, i do! Well....everyone better watch out, because when blade6119 IV hits the game, its going to be a japanese monster bloodbath.

Oh...have a nice day!

You crazy Arizonian you...

you crazy thankfully not texan you...

Crappy: You actually just started "researching" another commander now. It's the leader we need again (I researched the other one in the wrong order), and they can only be gotten at alien bases.

Afoci: You did very well on your first mission!

Blade 6119: As soon as you died, I knew you would think that I did it on purpose. I just knew it. But really, I didn't. I actually sent you in what I thought would be the safer direction: Jeeber went the other way and got shot at by the blaster launcher, right? It was just that he got unbelieavably lucky, and you balanced our luck out. I've never seen someone get shot four times at point blank range and not react. It was unreal. Sorry about your death, but I would never willingly kill an agent.

Well, maybe not "never", but I haven't done it yet, anyway.

Don't get any bright ideas, GB. :)

Especially with me. Despite the fact I have a bad track record, and my boy has been mindzotted twice now, he keeps on kickin! Wheee!

CWII deserves promotion to Captain, I tell you!

Actually, commanders are the highest ranking aliens in the game. Leaders are one level below them. You need to capture a leader (I think a commander will work too) to research Alien Origins, but you need a commander to figure out where the alien's main base is. While the game only says a commander is needed, only a commander from an alien base will give you the information you need. Battleships also have a commander, but battleship commanders don't have that info.

At least I think battleship commanders can't tell you where the main alien base is. Now I can't remember if the game says commanders are only found at bases (which I know is wrong), or if it only says that you need a commander, in which case what I just described above is accurate. Maybe I need to go find my book and double-check.

That, my friend, is Karma coming back to kick you in the ass...

Alien Origins can be researched by capturing anyone. Martian Solution is gotten by capturing a leader, and the actual final battle information is gotten by capturing a commander.

That's right. That's what I get for trying to pull that all from memory. :)

And this kinda useless trivia is what I get for having an eidetic memory. :)

Great job as always GB. The desription of Blades's death was gut-wrenching and over-the-top, but excellent nontheless.

Keep up the good work. And send out SP3 on a mission every now and then. We'd like to kick some alien butt especially after what that basterd did to Blade. :mad:

**Stares at the phone and decides to risk missing THE call
**Places an order for a case of Lucky Charms br4eakfast cereal
**Hangs up and continues staring at the phone

Great Job everyone! How the hell did Jeeber survive!?!?!?!?!?

Now I know why I've never recognized that word before. It's absolutely 100% never been used to describe me. I have an absolutely awful visual imagination/recall. Considering the company I keep sometimes, I think that helps in my fight for sanity.

SI

I have to balance out the fact that I have such a high recall ability with lots and lots of alcohol. It numbs out the stuff I don't want burned into my skull. :)

The important thing, apparently, it to research Aliens Origins first, otherwise when you research the Leader and the Commander, you get no results.

Um, ahem, Crappy didn't figure that out so he went ahead and researched the Sectoid Leader and Commander that we nabbed on our first base assault before researching Alien Origins. Basically this means that all those men that died on the first base mission kind of died in vain, and we need to get another Leader and another Commander.

We nabbed a Leader somewhere back there, and Crappy's men are working on him now, but we still need another base Commander to solve the alien riddle.

Tucker: I have no idea what happened on that blaster missile shot. The Sectoid came around the corner, fired the missle, the missle went right at Jeeber D (there was no way the alien could miss, as the firing angle was such that any miss would hit the wall right beside Jeeber), and then nothing happened. The only thing I can think of is that somehow the alien programmed the missile to end its course in the air. If you don't program a missile so it actually hits something, it will just drop harmlessly to the ground in the last square of its firing course.

Split: Yeah, I feel badly that there have been quite a few people that haven't been on missions in a while. I apologize. One of my goals has been to get the active readers on roughly the same amount of missions, but with three UFOs hitting Europe for every one that hits somewhere else, it just seems to be that Europe gets more than its share of the action. Once we get this next base mission done, I'm going to try to rotate people in to Europe on a regular basis so that we get closer to an even mission balance.

Also, we've got about a dozen agents from the "pre-thesis" stage who I don't think are reading the dynasty any more. I'm thinking about putting all of them together on one base and abbreviating the write-ups for their missions. I may do a roll call after our next base mission so we can be sure who the people are that aren't around any more.

Japh: Thanks for the correction on the leader/commander mix-up. In the game we're doing it correctly (i.e., currently researching the leader, looking for the commander). I wrote it up wrong, though. Thanks.

I'm still going to aim to get the next mission up on Sunday, but I think it will be very late when it does go up, and it might be Monday before I can post it. I'll try to set up the mission on Saturday, but it might be tough to do before Sunday. In any case, we should get pretty much back on track with this next mission.

Announcement

X-COM command regrets the loss of some of our top agents in Portugal and now in Germany. However, new leaders must be called forward to replace the fallen. We announce the following promotions, effective immediately:

Patman II: Captain
Sachmo II: Sergeant
Achilles: Sergeant
Qwikshot II: Sergeant

Afoci: Squaddie
Illinifan V: Squaddie

Congratulations, men. Lead us well.

Why am I not a squaddie? I thought you got Squaddie automatically when you got a kill? Or am I already a squaddie? If so, why am I not a sergeant? There's a hero inside of me, and I'm pretty brave myself.

Update

UFO activity completely stops over the course of the next few days. This gives us some badly needed time for recruits to get into our bases. By the 9th of September, eight new agents arrive at our EU COM base: Lokugh II, Sir Fozzie, Wolfpack, Japherwaki II, Condors II, Marmel, Swaggs, and Travis III. They are weighed, tested, and assigned sleeping quarters within a few hours. By the end of the day on the 9th, our ranks are back up to 100%. Afoci, Tucker, and Jeeber D are shifted to other bases to balance our forces better.

Also on the 9th, Sterling Ice happily gives us word that the EU COM Hyper-Wave Decoder is now online and functioning at 100%. This amazing device, modelled using alien technology, will locate 100% of the UFOs within its search radius, and will also give us much more information about the size and course of the UFOs it finds. It is a major breakthrough in our ability to identify and hunt enemy craft.

ASIA COM also completes the construction of an engineering workshop that will be used entirely to help improve our finances. We hire 50 more engineers for the site. Once there, they will begin construction of profitable military products that we can sell to various corporate concerns. This should help our bottom line significantly.

Finally, just after midnight on the 10th, the quiet ends. ASIA COM radar picks up a small UFO soaring across the Pacific. Toddiec IV launches in the Interceptor to hunt it down. After a long, 12-hour chase, he engages and forces the craft down over northern India. We put Kodos, Sachmo II, and eight complete rookies aboard the EU COM Skyranger, and send them into battle. They should reach the UFO crash sight just before dark on the 10th.

On board: Kodos, Sachmo II, Travis III, Marmel, Swaggs, Sir Fozzie, Condors II, Wolfpack, Japherwaki II, and Lokugh II.

Good luck, men. Remember that Kodos is on our side.

Real: You've been a squaddie for days now. Haven't you noticed the bigger paychecks? Do you even cash the things?

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 61)

USA COM

EU COM

ASIA COM

SAM COM






X-COM II Troop Attributes
Support Personnel

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 61)

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 61)

Top Ten Kills Leaders
Waiting List

The Hall of Heroes

New Recruit Analysis

Swaggs, Marmel, and Condors II clearly look to be the cream of the crop of our eight new recruits. Good bravery, fast reactions, and good shooting are tough to improve, and these guys have some nice scores in all three of these critical attributes. Getting three rookies with such high numbers is a fantastic break for us after losing so many good men in the past couple of battles. Travis III is not far behind these three guys. Lokugh II looks to have middle of the road ratings.

At the bottom end of things, Wolfpack, who may be the weakest agent we have ever recruited, is going to have to rely on his shooting to stay alive. Sir Fozzie's bravery, or lack of it, is a matter of concern, but if he can keep his wits about him, he could do well with his blindingly fast reactions. Japherwaki II should eat lots of Lucky Charms, pray daily, and try to stay as far away from aliens as possible.

Dang, missed out on another mission. Must... get... kill numbers... up.

well...at least im one of only 3 dead in the top kills list...shows i did well before dying...maybe after the roll cal we should start using those inactive members for the dangerous roles...or, if you want a challenge, purposely kill them off...might make for an interesting twist in a war we are winning...

Oh, and godzilla...i was just joking...i know your pissed about me ruining the phoenix flames dynasty, and some other things, but i trust you will only hurt me if you see me in real life....besides...11 missions...13 kills...still a squaddie...hmmm Oh well...maybe ill have better stats this time.

Im back, and glad to see this welcoming me. While i was gone many of my brothers have died, and i am truly sorry. Im ready to exact my revenge on those alien pricks!

So I get one of the worst characters ever, and you're going to make me guess my stamina? My luck the question mark is either a 0 or a 1.

So hey, I noticed you were able to say something nice about all the other rookies. What about me? Where's my positive comment? What's my redeeming quality?

Or maybe the best question is, who let me through the recruiting process, and has he or she been fired yet? :)

AStott: You volunteered for the next base assault, right? You time is near!

Blade 6119: Glad you understand! And I'm not pissed about that Phoenix thingie either. Didn't bother me at all. Blade 6119 III had a damn fine run, too, if I may add. Number six on the all-time kills list in 11 missions is one fine record. And most importantly, he broke the family jinx. Let's hope Blade 6119 IV is the last member of the Blade 6119 family that we'll need to call up.

Achilles: Welcome back, sergeant!

Japherwaki: Your stamina is 63. Sorry, I couldn't read my own writing when I put it up last night, and didn't have the game handy to guess. Um, let's see. Something good to say about you. How about...

You have good ratings in all the useless combat skills. That's positive, right?

Actually, you're not that bad. If you're hidden PSI-skills are good enough and you survive some missions, you could end up being a decent agent. I mean, look at Jfbbis. He had almost no skills when he came up, and he's still around.

______

By the way, the next mission should almost certainly go up tomorrow sometime (probably late evening).

Base mission... oh yeah. Righto. I'm ready. Bring it on.

Hmmm more kills than Patman II and he gets the promotion to Captain. Thomkal II (and not me) is a bit steamed.

Enjoying the dynasty as always GB, even if I'm not posting much at the moment.

Can't believe that blaster missile failure last time or the brutality of that attack on Blade. Good thing he died, he would have been a eunuch after that first shot anyway

BWAHAHA!

SI

Isn't there some way to know about the PSI ratings of people through tech or is that always a hidden rating?

SI

I should probably let somebody who's played the game in this century answer, but I'll take a stab at it: I believe the PSI ratings are hidden until you develop the PSI labs (or whatever they're called). Once the agents go through PSI training you can see their PSI ratings.

Can anyone confirm or refute my questionable recollection of how this works?

Correcto, Fonz. Every agent has a psi rating to start. It only becomes visible after they go through a month of psi training.

Every month, you can select 10 agents per psi facility to train.

Crappy's men have completed this research, and Sterling Ice's men are currently building PSI-labs at both EU COM and USA COM. They should go online before the end of this month, which means we can get 20 agents PSI-trained in October.

62nd Mission: Rookies and Newbies, Oh My!!

The EU Skyranger crosses Eastern Europe on a cloudless, cool, September afternoon. We should have no problems reaching today’s target: a downed UFO scout in rural, north India.

You can taste the fear inside the Skyranger. Injuries and death have whittled down our agent force, forcing a massive call up of nearly a dozen rookies in the past week. Eight of them are aboard the Skyranger today, and Kodos and Sachmo II will have their hands full keeping this crew in one piece.

Thirty minutes later, as the sun starts its dive towards the horizon, the Skyranger begins its gradual descent to the Indian countryside. The men inside mouth silent prayers to their gods to keep them alive through their first battle.

Left Side:
1. Lokugh II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Travis III (Laser Pistol, Power Suit)
3. Sachmo II (Blaster Launcher, Laser Pistol, Power Suit)
4. Japherwaki II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Marmel (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Kodos (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
2. Sir Fozzie (Blaster Launcher, Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Wolfpack (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Condors II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Swaggs (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops the final 100 meters to the Indian countryside. We’ve got the usual fare: farmland and groves, with scattered fences and walls splitting them up. We’ll be coming down on the northern side of the battlefield. The area to the immediate rear of the Skyranger is secure. To the left of the exit, we can see a small date tree grove. To the right of the exit, towards the nose of the Skyranger, there is a collection of small, one-story shacks. Directly at the nose of the Skyranger is a small, wooded area. Everything else is flat farmland. We can make out no sign of the UFO yet.

The Skyranger hits the ground, bounces once, then comes to rest on the dusty Indian soil. The exit ramp falls away with a thud, and a cool afternoon breeze wafts into the Skyranger bay. There are no signs of alien activity. Our tanks rumbles down the ramp, scans right, and spots a Floater, about 20 feet away, in an open field to the left of the shanties! Lokugh II is quick on the heels of the tank. He hits the ramp, jumps left, lands on his feet, turns right, braces his weapon using the ramp of the Skyranger, and pulls the trigger. The Floater is trying to get to cover, but Lokugh II opens up its back with his first shot, and the Floater tumbles to the ground with a scream! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

As we swing our tank up towards the shacks that lie beside our Skyranger on the right, Sir Fozzie exits the craft and takes up a firing position behind a low stone wall that lies next to the shacks. Once there, he spots the looming shape of a cross-shaped UFO lying about ten feet beyond the shanties. He scans the battlefield for movement…

There, inside the second shack! Sir Fozzie sees a splash of purple cut in front of one of the windows, then it disappears! He also hears the click of a wooden door opening as well. There may be a couple of them in here, and they are very close.

We move up tank further up alongside the shacks. We can now see that there are only two of them: a larger one next to us and a smaller one just beyond the first one. Travis III exits the Skyranger, heads left, and takes up a firing position at the Skyranger landing gear. Inside the Skyranger, Wolfpack prepares a grenade and steps to the edge of the exit ramp. We might be able to take out any aliens in that second shanty with a grenade toss over the first one.

On the other side of the Skyranger, Lokugh II breaks away from the Skyranger and heads into the grove at the left of our exit. The grove is fairly open, and he can easily see that there are no aliens inside it. The area beyond it is showing up as “clear” on our radar, so Lokugh breaks left again and starts heading up through the fields that lie alongside the Skyranger to the left of the exit.

Back at the shanties, we edge our tank up to the corner of the first shanty…

Floater, standing right outside the door on the south side of the first shack! We put our tank in reverse and pull it back a few meters. Sir Fozzie preps a grenade and tosses it over the first shanty to land just a few feet away from the door. Wolfpack exits the Skyranger, runs up beside Sir Fozzie, and tosses his grenade up over the first shanty to land just beyond the second one.

Slam! Bam! The two grenades go off within seconds of each other. Wood planking and dirt are scattered about in the ferocious blasts, as the backsides of both flimsy buildings are blown apart. Just after Fozzie’s erupts, we hear the Floater near the door screaming in agony! Well thrown, rookie! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We send our tank around the corner. It scans the remains of the buildings, but sees no signs of Floater movement. Looks like there was only one in here, and Sir Fozzie blew it apart. However, our tank spots another collection of shacks about 30 feet away, which lie just to the right of the UFO.

Things fall quiet for a moment, and we devise a plan. We know that the door to the UFO lies on the far side of the craft, exactly opposite from our position. We’ll send Swaggs and Wolfpack around the north side of the UFO to converge on the exit door from that side. We’ll send Marmel and Travis III behind the tank, and have it cut between the newly found shacks and the UFO to converge on the door from the south side. Japherwaki II and Condors II will search the newly found shacks. Sir Fozzie will pull back, join Lokugh II, and together the two of them will confirm that the fields to the left of the Skyranger are clear of enemies. Kodos and Sachmo II, our babysitters today, will stay at the Skyranger in case things get ugly.

We move out, and all the agents start on their way. Swaggs and Wolfpack start down the left side of the shattered shacks. Travis III and Marmel meet at the tank, and they quickly go around the other side of the shacks and head towards the UFO. Not far behind them, Japherwaki II and Condors II start around the first set of shacks and head off towards the second set.

As Swaggs and Wolfpack work their way towards the UFO, they see smoke drifting out of a large hole in the center of the craft. Following our usual procedure in such cases, Swaggs pops the pin on his grenade and tosses it up and into the craft. Wham! The grenade goes off with a muffled boom: we can hear the death screams of a Floater inside! Yes! Easy candy! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Travis III and Marmel, approaching the UFO from the other side of the shacks, decide to try their luck as well. Travis III tosses up a grenade into the gaping roof hole. The grenade goes off almost instantly, but we hear no alien screams follow it. Damn. The men also can now see that there is a two-story building tucked against the backside of one of the shacks in the second cluster. Double damn. Without knowing what lies in that building, we can’t safely approach the UFO from this side: Travis III and Marmel would be dead meat if there were anything inside that building.

A little ways behind them, Japherwaki II and Condors II begin their cautious approach on the second set of shacks. And in the field on the other side of the Skyranger, Lokugh II and Sir Fozzie make it far enough to see that this side of the Skyranger is indeed clear of aliens. The two men turn left and start to work their way up to Japherwaki II and Condors II. Meanwhile, back at the Skyranger, Kodos exits the craft and takes up a long-ranger firing position behind the wall to the right of the Skyranger. Sachmo II also exits the Skyranger and takes up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. With buildings in play, the Blaster Launcher might be needed; with Floaters around, buildings are never really “clear”, as Floaters can fly over the tops of buildings where we can’t see, and Kodos can now spot some of this movement from a ways back of the battlefield.

Wolfpack and Swaggs continue around the north side of the UFO. Marmel and Travis III have to hold up where they are and wait for Japherwaki II and Condors II to clear the building that lies off to their right.

Japherwaki II reaches the wall of the first shack, and turns the corner along the far side. Floater sniper! He’s lying on top of the two-story building, with his scope facing the area that Marmel and Travis are heading for. Japherwaki II has a decent shot from where he is. He takes careful aim and lets rip on full-auto. His first shots sail badly wide and alert the Floater, who quickly shifts to take aim at Japherwaki! Hurry up, Japh! Japh keeps his finger on the trigger, and just as the Floater sets up, one of Japh’s shots catches him in the chest, sending up quick spray of purple! The floater lets out a gurgle and his head slumps down. Way to go, Japh! X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

Japh can now see that there is two-story barn that lies about 40 yards to the south of the two-story building. We send Lokugh II and Sir Fozzie in that direction.

While Marmel and Travis II wait behind the tank, Marmel decides to use his grenade as well. He primes it, then lobs it into the hole. There is a crash inside the UFO, and we once again hear an alien scream! Marmel’s got his first kill! X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

On the other side of the UFO, Wolfpack and Swaggs reach the far corner of the craft, go around it, and set up firing positions on the exit. From here they are also facing the as yet unsecured two-story building, and they should be able to react to any movement from inside there as well.

Japherwaki II and Condors II quickly clear the first set of shacks and approach the building.

Meanwhile, Kodos decides to get a little exercise. He approaches the UFO, preps his grenade, and tosses it up and into the hole in the roof. Boom! Another blasts rips apart the interior of the craft, but once again, we come up empty handed. Kodos then slips back to his firing position at the wall.

As Lokugh II and Sir Fozzie approach the barn, Japherwaki II and Condors II reach the windows on the first building. The first floor is split up into several rooms. From here everything looks clear. Japh goes in the back door and starts clearing rooms while Condors II goes around and comes in the front door. They meet in the central area, and get ready to barge up to the second floor. Japh walks over to the stairs, places his foot on the first step, and looks up the stairs…

Whoa! Two Floaters! They are facing the other way—apparently they are waiting to ambush anyone that approaches the UFO—and they are unaware of Japh’s presence below. Japh quickly whispers an alert to Marmel and Travis III, who are only about 20 feet away, just shy of reaching the building on the UFO side. Wolfpack and Swaggs also train their weapons up at the walls and windows. Japh whispers “On three! One, two, three!” Everything and everyone open fire at the same time: Japh blows huge holes in the back of one of the Floaters, sending it sprawling to its death. From the other side, our rocket tank sends a missile into the brick wall that makes up the exterior of the second floor. The explosion blows a large hole in the side of the building and spews brick and glass to the ground below. A fraction of a second later, Wolfpack, Swaggs, Marmel, and Travis III begin pouring heavy plasma fire into the second floor. Travis III watches as two of his shots slam into the second Floater, spinning it like a rag doll and sending it twisting to its death! Whoa, baby, that was one awesome display of firepower! X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

And that is the last alien! Well done! Seven dead aliens and no casualties!

Wrap-up

Kills: Travis III, 1; Swaggs , 2; Japherwaki II, 2; Marmel, 1; Sir Fozzie, 1; Lokugh II, 1.
KIA: None
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Travis III, Swaggs, Japherwaki II, Marmel, Sir Fozzie, Lokugh II, Kodos.
Final score: 100-something
Mission Notes:
Swaggs apparently got two aliens with his grenade toss inside the UFO!

Good mission. We spread the kills our reasonably well, as six of our eight rookies on board picked up at least one kill. Just what we wanted.

Master GB knows how to play this game !

Take that, alien scum!

(I always wanted to say that ;))

No offense Kodos, the Floaters are alien scum ;)

This was probably a welcomed sight...

Way to go rooks!

i hadnt died in awhile, and ive forgotten how boring it is to not be in the game...*starts whistling while crouching in corner*

Sure, GB. Focus on what I don't bring to the table. :)

Can't believe I didn't get a kill out of that mission. Oh, well.

When I saw the part about walking into the room with two Floaters, I figured that with my slothful reaction speeds, erratic aim, and low bravery, I'd have just enough time to soil myself before the Floaters blew me apart.

But even a slow, inaccurate coward can take down a Floater from behind. :)

I can't wait to see what my improvements are. I'm just glad to have seen some action, and to actually have an impact on the alien war, other than providing target practice for one of our fellow soldiers during out first alien base assault.

GB is getting quite good at this. Time to take out any alien bases left.

Attempted bump.