Yeah! Traipsing through Ohio and blowin' up countryside. I've always hated Ohio. I volunteer for the gun that will will do the most damage to Ohio!

-Anxiety

We were sent out for supplies. I was driving. We got lost.

Unfortunately you get a queer look from gas station attendants when you ask them where the X-COM base is. We'll get there eventually.

I knew I shouldn't have left my GPS at home.

Woohoo! I'm goin' to Mars!!!!!!! (If GB will keep me alive that long...)

I cannot believe how much it made my day to see that 91 next to "Revrew" under PsiD ratings. I am just waaayyy to heavily invested in this whole thing. GB, if we fail to take Mars, I'm going to need to see a therapist.

I am very happy to see this thread back in action.!!!


I'll be back later today to catch up and see if I have been killed.

Update

This just in from the Skyranger…

Skyranger Transmission

Captain AStott reporting light Ethereal resistance…Have eliminated all enemies outside the UFO…No casualties…Will just clear the inside of the UFO and be heading back...Prepare lunch for all ten of us, because we’re all coming back on this one…Good job, men...AStott, out.

Amen to that!!!

This is no doubt bad news!

Since today is my birthday, I petition to get in a mission. :)



Or something.

Whoops. Another Skyranger report just in…

Skyranger Transmission

AStott here again…Unexpected heavy resistance encountered around UFO…Um, about that lunch? Make it for nine people.

So what is the cutoff range for Psi Defense do you think GB? Thomkal II's 60 would seem to be on the borderline...

I predict that the next Skyranger transmission to look like this:

Ummm . . . AStott here . . . about that lunch . . . do you deliver? Yes? Great! We need enough food for 7. We're pretty well pinned down here.

:D

He he. Funny man, that Raven Hawk...

AStott just called in again…

Skyranger Transmission

Unexpected heavy resistance encountered inside UFO…Looks like lunch for eight.

Ya want fries with that?

RING RING RING

Calling agents...

Want to do a quick double check on the people in transit, and we need more people as well. If you're on this, you're either on your way to base or have been called. If you're marked as "AWOL" and/or "Called", drop a post here to let me know you're still around. Everyone else is ok, and will be in the game shortly.

Called/Transferring Agents

Ok, this is getting silly…

Skyranger Transmission

AStott here...Um, one more of ours seems to have disappeared…Seven lunch settings should do just fine.

RING RING RING

Calling:
Chief Rum IV, Daimyo II, Data King III, Katon II, Ardent Enthusiast, Peregrine, Raven Hawk II, Northwood DK, and Lokugh III.

First three men to respond get transferred from guard duty to active duty at USA COM.

Usually I'd call fewer people and give them more time, but we need to move quickly on this one. USA COM is undermanned.

i hate you godzilla....you always do this when im on one of the missions...Hopefully my young boy can make it out alive though

Blade6119: I can tell you that you went into the UFO first. You were a very brave agent today.

Thomkal: I don't really have a cutoff in mind yet. I'd like to take the best agents, and although PSI defense is important, I don't think it would be fair to make it the most important. Might be the smartest thing to do, but not the fairest.

Revrew: Yeah, with your stats, performance, durability, rank, and PSI defense, you'd have to think the powers that be would be hard pressed to overlook you on that mission to Mars. Providing you're still alive, of course.

Ardent: Happy Birthday. Get to your damn phone pronto and you'll be on your way to action in America.

Damn Americans don't give me a phone call. I feel like Ben Rothlisberger right now. Waiting and waiting for the phone to ring.

I REALLY hate you now...thats just not cooll...now i have absolutely nothing to look forward to, and can proceed to simply plan my agents funeral...welcome to heaven another blade

Notice the past tense Blade? Don't worry buddy, I'm sure I'm there with ya :(

To Do List
1. Get headstone for Blade6119 IV

SI

Your father, Blade6119 III, did very well inside UFOs, didn't he?

Oh, wait a second. Was he the one that got shot a half dozen times from point blank range in that supply ship?

You Blade6119s get killed so often I get all confused as to who was who.

Anyway, turn in tomorrow for...

Like father like son?

or...

How to get rid of anxiety?

or...

How not to attack UFOs 101?

or...

Some combination of all of the above.

uh oh....

Wow GB. You can be such a bastage. That post was just plain mean. :)

Ready whenever I'm needed

Hello, who is this? Have I told you about Sammy Jankis?


GET ME TO USA COM PRONTO!

Hmm, just wondering... does this mean I'm currently in the johns or something ? and everything going as planned ?
just curious...

Apart from that, pretty worried for the guys in the ongoing mission...

Great, with my 37 reactions and all....im sure i at least took a couple shots for someone who you dont actively try to kill :( ...maybe my 5th son will have some nice stats if he ever gets in with our current pace.

FYI: Inbreeding doesn't help, Blade6119.

Hey GB, I am still here...ready and waiting for Blade IV to try and bring some glory back to the Blade line...

Im not from kentucky, so you dont have to worry about stuff like that
:p

My PSI ratings aren't great, but I don't think I've ever been taken over by a psi attack. I think when you look at the whole picture, at everything I bring to the table, I definitely deserve to go to the alien base.

91st Mission: Ethereals in Ohio

The USA COM Skyranger is bound for eastern Ohio on a bright, sunny morning. They’re heading for the remains a large, Ethereal-staffed UFO scout.

The mood inside the Skyranger is one of professional caution. Ethereals are always challenging, as each of them has PSI powers. A half dozen of them can wreak havoc with a mission. We’ll need to be at our best.

AStott leads our attack.

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

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. CT Homer (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Sublime II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Rawisdan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. AStott (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
5. Blade6119 IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Patman II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
2. Anxiety II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Mr. Bug IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Klayman III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger drops quickly to the battle field below. The men look over the terrain on the way down. We’ve got the typical rural landscape: fields, groves, an occasional house. We’re coming down in the middle of the battle field. To the right of the Skyranger exit, about 30 meters away, we can see the one-story, medium-size, cross-shaped UFO. The exit to the craft is most likely on the far side, but even so, it shouldn’t take long for things to get hot on this landing. Directly in front of the exit, about 25 yards away, is a collection of one-story wooden shacks. We can see two, two-story structures—one right behind the other—about 10 yards to the left of where we’ll exit from the Skyranger. At the nose of the Skyranger are some open fields. Lots of places for aliens to hide. This could be tricky.

The Skyranger drops the final meters, flares its engines, and settles into the dry autumn soil. The gate falls away with a thud. Silence. No sign of the enemy.

We send our trusty tank down the ramp. It makes it to the bottom without incident, spins and scans…

Nothing.

Anxiety and Blade6119 are next out of the Skyranger. They quickly set up firing positions at the landing gear. Still no sign of the aliens. Our tank heads for the right side the UFO. Mr. Bug IV exits the Skyranger and joins Blade6119. The two of them make a quick dash for the back of our tank. We’ll send this team around the right side of the UFO. They can now see some more wooden shacks about 50 yards away, just past the right side of the UFO as we look at it. Mr. Bug and Blade6119 will have to keep a careful eye on those shacks as they advance.

Klayman exits the Skyranger and heads straight into the field at the rear of our exit. Anxiety II moves away to the left of our Skyranger. The rest of the men wait for the exit to clear.

Suddenly, Klayman spots movement in a small courtyard that lies between the shacks straight in front of us and the houses on our left. There! An Ethereal, about 35 yards away, in front of a house at the back side of the courtyard. Klayman drops to a knee, but the Ethereal is a bit quicker! A missile! The projectile screams towards Klayman, but the Ethereals aim is low. The missile hits the ground 10 yards in front of Klayman and goes off with a muffled pop. Stun gas—too far away to do any damage. A fraction of a second after the missile goes off, Klayman opens fire. Plasma sails into the courtyard. The Ethereal turns to run, but Klayman drills it with a shot that slams it against the wall. The Ethereal screams and drops to the ground, its upper torso a shattered mess. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

We continue to deploy, and start to search for aliens. For the next few minutes we see no more aliens, but we get hammered with three massive PSI attacks. Fortunately, our men hang tough. We can also hear the whirring of UFO doors. Mr. Bug and Blade6119 follow our tank and make it around the far side of the UFO without taking any fire from the shacks to their right. Once there, the two men set up a firing position on the side of the UFO exit from behind our tank. Patman II also exits the Skyranger and begins to work his way to these two men.

Klayman waits for Sublime II to join him, then the two of them head into the first building to our immediate left. We can now see that it is a two-story barn. While Klayman moves over to a window that overlooks the battlefield beyond, Sublime clears the second floor.

Jeeber D joins Anxiety, and the two of them search the open fields to the left of this first barn without finding any signs of aliens. They then swing right, to search the building just behind Klayman and Sublime’s barn. Rawisdan and CTHomer head straight out of the Skyranger, search the shacks in front of us, then hold their advance. We can now see that we are on the edge of a small town. There are a number of buildings just beyond these shacks and the buildings on our left, and we’ll need to clear everything in order to swing around the left side of the UFO. AStott bides his time at the Skyranger.

Suddenly, we are hit by yet another wave of PSI energy, and Klayman cracks! He drops his weapon, runs out of the barn he was in, and heads back for our Skyranger. Damn it, man! Snap out of it! Sublime II needs you!

Jeeber D and Anxiety reach the second building on our left, which we can now tell is another barn. While Anxiety keeps an eye on some shacks that lie just behind it, Jeeber D goes in for a quick search. He clears the wide open first floor, then starts up the stairs to the second floor—Ethereal at the top of the stairs! Jeeber reacts instantly and pulls the trigger on his Heavy Plasma. The blast catches the Ethereal in the chest and blows it back against a wall. The thing drops to the ground smoking. But are there more up there? Back at the Skyranger, AStott yells, “Clear the deck!” and lets rip with a Blaster Missile. As Jeeber dives off the stairs into the first floor of the barn, AStott’s missile flies out of the Skyranger, takes a wide path around the first barn, and slams into Jeeber’s barn right in the middle of the wooden wall on the second story. The blast tears through the floor, sending a massive wall of fire through the structure. Down on the first floor, Jeeber watches in horror as the wooden ceiling comes crashing down on him. Thank god for Crappy armor, as the wooden planks bounce harmlessly off him. As silence returns to the Ohio countryside, Jeeber scrambles out from under the broken planking. The entire second floor of the barn is gone. It is safe to say that there are no more aliens up there. We did not hear any screams, so we can assume that the alien Jeeber D killed was the only one up there. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Things go quite once again. The men continue searching the rest of the battlefield. We come under no more PSI attacks, but we do hear the whirring of interior UFO doors. After a few minutes, there is only a two-story house that remains unsearched. We could send men in and do this room by room, or…

Two quick blaster missiles later, there is no more house, and we can say that the battlefield is secure. All that remains is the interior of the UFO. There are no holes in the craft, so it looks like we may have to go in and get our enemies. Over the next few minutes Mr. Bug and Blade 6119 hold their position on the UFO exit as we close in from all sides. Patman II and Sublime II move in behind Mr. Bug and Blade 6119. CT Homer, Rawisdan, Jeeber D, and Anxiety II move in from the other side. AStott holds his position in the fields. Klayman III, still shaken from the mind control, holds his position in the barn.

Suddenly, as the men on the left side of the UFO work their way around the craft, a wave of PSI energy rolls over them. Rawisdan lets out a bloodcurdling scream and starts babbling in Ethereal! Shit. Third in the line of men, he opens fire on Anxiety II, who is only a few yards in front of him. Hot plasma rips through the weak rear of Anxiety’s Crappy Armor and blows a huge hole in his lower back. Anxiety’s upper torso folds back over his legs and he crumples to the ground dead! Damn it! CT Homer—just in front of Anxiety—sprints forward, towards the UFO door and away from Rawisdan. Jeeber D—just behind Rawisdan—turns around, races away from the UFO, and dives behind a small shack. Rawisdan opens fire on Jeeber D, but the shots don’t make it through the shack. X-COM 2, Aliens 1.

Damn it. The Ethereals must be PSI-blasting us from inside the UFO. We’ll have to hurry. So much for advance planning. Charge! Our tank, Blade6119, and Mr. Bug race for the UFO door from the left. Blade6119 is the first one there. He slams his hand onto the opening panel, and steps inside…

The dark interior of the UFO is badly damaged from the crash. There is smoke and debris everywhere. Small fires provide some light, but throw dancing shadows over the wreckage and remaining interior walls. Blade6119 frantically scans the area…

There! Ethereal, 10 yards away, in some smoke at the center of the craft. Blade drops to a knee and opens fire, just as the Ethereal turns to do the same. Plasma tears through the UFO and drills the Ethereal in the chest. It howls and topples over a shattered control panel. Blade steps to the right as Mr. Bug is next into the UFO. Mr. Bug breaks right and heads for a relatively undamaged area off to that side of the craft. X-COM 3, Aliens 1.

Outside, as CT Homer head for the UFO door from the left, plasma blasts sail past him from behind! Shit. Rawisdan is closing in from behind! Homer can’t make the corner safely, so he dives back, behind the protection of another corner of the UFO, and trains his weapon towards the corner that Rawisdan is approaching. If Raw turns that corner, Homer will have him dead to rights.

On the other side of the craft, Patman II and Sublime II race for the UFO door. Suddenly, Patman II is hit by a wave of PSI energy, and he starts speaking Ethereal! An instant later he opens fire on Sublime II, who is only about ten yards in front of him. Plasma sails over Sublime’s shoulders, but he continues racing for the UFO door. As Sublime turns the corner to enter a plasma blast ricochets off his hip armor, but he dives into the UFO safely.

We’ve got to wrap this up quickly, as we’ve got two mind-controlled aliens closing in on us from behind! Inside the UFO, Mr. Bug races through a door on the right, turns left, and comes up on an Ethereal hiding behind the remains of a wall just to the right of the central area. Mr. Bug opens fire from 5 yards away, but misses! The Ethereal turns to open fire, but Mr. Bug manages to jump back through the doorway before the alien can get a shot off.

Back at the door, Blade6119 and Sublime—neither of who can spot Mr. Bug’s alien—still scan the inside the craft for other signs of movement…

Blade6119 hears something stumble on a piece of debris to his right. He turns quickly…

Ethereal, trying to sneak up on him, about five yards away. How did he get there? Mr. Bug ran right through that spot! Blade6119 has not time to ponder the answer though, as the two combatants bring their weapons to bear. Blade6119 is a fraction of a second faster, and that is all it takes. A direct hit from Blade6119’s Heavy Plasma blows the creature apart. X-COM 4, Aliens 1.

We keep up the pressure. As Sublime II preps a grenade, Mr. Bug takes a deep breath, barges through the door again, turns left, and drops to a knee to face the Ethereal taking cover behind the wall section. A plasma blast from the Ethereal cuts through the space Mr. Bug’s upper torso just vacated, and then Mr. Bug opens fire on full-auto. Plasma rips apart the interior of the UFO, but Mr. Bug does manage one hit that rips off the Ethereal’s left hand. Mr. Bug dives back through the doorway, just as Sublime tosses his grenade a couple of feet from the alien’s wall.

The grenade goes off with a deafening roar in the confined space. Shrapnel and metal fly through the interior, but there is no alien scream! Damn it.

Outside the UFO, Patman II snaps out of his alien funk and tries to clear his head. However, Rawisdan, still controlled by the aliens, comes around a corner of the UFO right in front of CT Homer! CT—who has been at the ready for the past couple of minutes—opens fire from point blank range…

and misses! Aargh! Rawisdan twists right, puts the barrel of his Heavy Plasma on CT Homer’s faceplate, and fires. CT Homer’s head explodes in a flash of red, and he drops to the ground, dead. Shit. How did CT miss that shot? X-COM 4, Aliens 2.

Back inside, Mr. Bug tries the door a third time. He barges through and spots the now dazed Ethereal. This time Mr. Bug has better luck: he lands three quick hits on the Ethereal, who screams and topples to the ground. X-COM 5, Aliens 2.

And with that, our threat sensors fade to green. It’s over. Finally.

The men exit the UFO and head for the field to the left of the craft. They gather the remains of CT Homer and Anxiety II.

Rawisdan is nowhere to be found. X-COM 5, Aliens 3.

Kills: Klayman III, 1; Jeeber D, 1; Blade6119 IV, 2; Mr. Bug IV, 1.
KIA: CT Homer, Anxiety II.
MIA: Rawisdan.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Klayman III, Jeeber D, Blade6119 IV, Mr. Bug IV, Sublime II,
Final score: 123
Mission Notes:
I think I’m really rusty. About two months ago, I had played the part up to where we clear the exterior of the UFO. I picked up playing again at the point where we approach the UFO, and promptly lose three men in less than ten minutes. I better remember how to play this game quickly, or we are in trouble.

Obvious mistakes:
1. I know aliens can PSI-blast us through UFO walls, but bunched up too much on the approach.

2. I should have blown a hole in the rear of the UFO and gone in that way. It would have been faster and more effective. Alternatively, a blaster missile into the UFO would have taken out those aliens in one turn.

3. I should have brought our tank around to provide cover for CT Homer against Rawisdan. Our tank was doing nothing.

GB, put me on the list to join please??? :)

We now have 2 traitors in our ranks. For shame!

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait? So, Blade survived. Blasphemy! ;)

SI

If I'm not too late, I am reporting for duty. Send me to USACom.

Traitors!!!! Hang em and shoot em.

Woohoo! Got me a kill!

I should have taken out Rawisdan when I had the chance, though. Cthomer might still be alive today if I had... :(

How right you are. The lesson here: When you have a chance to blast a Cowboys fan, don't hesitate.



:p

Cowboys fan on Cowboys fan violence has got to end!!! ;)

November 1-5
Amazingly, things go quiet over the first few days of November. Only two UFOs appear. Toddiec IV blows a small UFO apart over the North Pole, and Superman lets a small UFO get away over South Africa. Neither encounter leads to ground action.

Over the second and third, we get eight new recruits to our SAM COM and AFRICA COM bases. I’ll post their stats shortly.

November 5 brings outstanding news. Craptacular brings us word that the plans are complete for the Ultimate Starcraft, codenamed Avenger, and capable of flight to Mars. We have been gearing up AFRICA COM for this production job, and as soon as they complete work on the Firestorm fighter they are working on now, production will begin on the Avenger. Production is estimated at seven weeks, and we’re a week away from starting. In short: two months to Mars, if all goes well.

The silence is short-lived though, as…

November 6
Early in the morning, two immense UFO battleships pop up on EU COM radar, heading straight for Europe. We immediately prepare and launch the ASIA COM Skyranger for Europe, and put EU COM on alert. The UFOs scour the continent for a few hours, and at times come dangerously close to our EU COM base. One of them eventually lands in western Germany. We route the inbound ASIA COM Skyranger to that target. Shortly after that, the other UFO touches down in central France. With EU COM now free from the threat of attack, we scramble the EU COM Skyranger for the second UFO.

Oh boy. Two undamaged battleships filled with PSI-capable Sectoids. These gave us hell last time, and I’m rusty. Rub those juju beads for luck, because it’s time to mix it up again, and odds are some of us will be dying before the sun sets.

EU COM will reach their target first. On board:
Jfbbis, Wolfpack, Swaggs, Mike Vic, The Herd, Vince, Tucker II, Revrew, Breeze, and Chuck U Farley.

ASIA COM will reach the German UFO an hour later. On board:
TBA (Actually, I forgot)

Give ‘em hell, men. Let’s all get through this in one piece.

I’ll post a stat update, then list who’s in PSI training this month soon. Most likely post this next mission sometime over the weekend, but maybe sooner.

Random Notes...

The flash drive I found a few days ago was my wife's, but I finally found ours. I might just skip the photos on the last few missions and start with the next one.

Kodos: Now that I know that Jeeber and Rawisdan are Cowboy fans, it'll be easy to figure out who gets the point on USA COM missions.

Jeeber: Yeah, I thought we could get everyone away, and thought that there would only be one or two easily killed aliens inside the UFO. I thought we could save everyone's life. Wrong on all three counts.

Lokugh, Ardent, Katon: You've been moved up to active duty at USA COM. Welcome to the big leagues.

Gkb: Got it! Welcome! You've been added to the list.

Lastly, we need one more person off the waiting list to report for guard duty...

RING RING RING

Calling Shorty, Tasan, Rich, and Travis. First one to reply gets moved up to guard duty.

Rock on.

I'm in!

Rock On.

I lived! And killed 2 little green bastards to boot...And now Ardent will fight by my side! This is a glorious day!

I have a feeling my character might not survive his first journey...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 91)
An asterix after your kill total indicates that you are in PSI Training for November.

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

Ah damn I go off and buy a house, and miss my call up maybe. I'm here I'm here! Tasan II reporting!

Where ARE your priorities, son?!? :mad:



;)