Alf, Real Deal: Thanks! I still want to leave one base behind so we can raid the supply ships, but we're going after that other base before the end of September (game time).

Sir Fozzie: Very solid first mission!

Blade 6119: The nice thing is that our waiting list is much shorther than ever before. The bummer is that we have so many agents active that the wait between missions is long. And the damn aliens won't attack in a way that allows us to balance out our missions.

Japh: You fought well, and got some decent improvements. However, you were lucky that the second alien didn't turn and fire on you before Travis took him out. To be honest, I thought you were dead once I saw those two aliens. We were fortunate to have so many people in range on the outside.

Wolfpack: I'm surprised your grenade didn't get anything. Maybe next time!

Update

We shuffle some more people around to try to get our rookies into Europe. I'd like to run another all-rookie mission before thinking about hitting that next alien base. Along these lines, we shift Illinifan V and Travis III to ASIA COM, and call in Data King III and Blade III to EU COM. Swaggs and Sir Fozzie head to USA COM; Katon and Mr. Bug IV head for EU COM to replace them. We get a quiet 24 hours so the transfers go without complications.

Late on the 11th of September, though, EU COM's new Hyper Decoder picks up a medium UFO heading east over India. These decoders are great: we know the UFO has Floaters inside and that its on an abduction mission. ASIA COM prepares its Skyranger for launch, and when the UFO gets over northern China, we launch to trail the craft. We didn't have enough ammo for our tank, so we got with a compliment of 12 men instead. Within an hour, the UFO sets down in southeastern Russia, and we pounce.

As the ASIA COM Skyranger nears its target, ASIA COM radar picks up another medium UFO heading for central China. EU COM prepares its Skyranger and launches to trail this new target. Before the ASIA COM Skyranger reaches the first UFO, this second UFO lands in central China and our EU COM Skyranger heads in for the assault. ASIA COM will strike first, and EU COM should hit second. The UFOs landed in mid-morning, so we should have plenty of time to strike in daylight for both attacks.

On board the ASIA COM Skyranger:
BYU, Achilles, Danny Van Halen, Qwikshot II, Sublime II, Rawisdan, AStott, Split Personality III, Klayman II, Jeeber D, Illinifan V, and Travis III.

On board the EU COM Skyranger:
Katon, Mr. Bug IV, Data King III, Blade III, RealDeal III, Jeff Nights II, Marmel, Condors II, Japherwaki II, and Wolfpack.

In honor of the NFL opener, I think we should have another special Thursday Night Edition of X-COM II. The ASIA attack will be posted in two days.

Good luck, men!

Woohoo! I'm going to get to shoot me some more aliens!! Yeehaw!

Man... sent away from the action. :(

All right! AStott does a last couple checks on his modified plasma rifle to make sure that everything is in proper working order.

After seeing SWAT last night im ready to go!!! oh wait...im dead...thanks again godzilla;)

oh...and it is september 11th in the game world, so i will be the first to say god bless america!!

This is falling to the bottom of the page, so BUMP.

Sorry, got tied up with work this evening and was unable to finish the write-up. I should be able to post it later Friday evening.

9/5 Edit: Life continues to get in the way of us saving the world. Once again I have no time to finish up the report. Hopefully tomorrow. Sigh. All work and no play makes me a tired boy. Off to bed.

he just can't go on knowing im not in there anymore...;)

Take your time, as I quote from Willy Wonka...


The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.


That and sooner or later my 10 bravery will get me killed (and hopefully no one else).

Superman needs some front line action. Superman is a little bored polishing his ship and his monkey.

Superman can get pretty lonely on base defense when its just him and the janitors.

Superman has not left USA COM since he became a X-Com agent. At least there is plenty of booze and porn at USA COM.

Superman can shoot lasers out of my eyers that makes him more than qualified for frontline duty!

Why is Superman attacking those helpless doves?

Aren't doves the international symbol for terror and oppression?

SI

They were shitting all over the sidewalk...

Oh...in that case, carry on.

Finally!

63rd Mission: Russian Raid

The ASIA COM Skyranger heads over mainland China on route to the dawn strike on the medium UFO that has touched down in southeast Russia. The EU COM Hyper Wave Decoder gives us a lot more information about this UFO than our traditional radar systems. The most helpful information is that of the alien type, as we can make preparations and choose agents based on weaknesses and strengths regarding PSI-combat. Today we’ll be up against Floaters, which in the past have not used PSI-capabilities.

We’ve got 12 men on board today, and no tank. Our tank was short on ammo, and X-COM regulations forbid us from loading a tank unless it’s fully armed. Our men will have to do without an armored scout for the mission.

Left Side:
1. Klayman II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Achilles (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. BYU (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Rawisdan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
6. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Split Personality III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Travis III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Danny Van Halen (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Sublime II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Illinifan V (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
6. Astott (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends to Russian forests that sprawl for as far as the eye can see. The weather is cool and windy, and scattered clouds throw sliding shadows onto the sea of green below. And there sure are a lot of trees down there. Matter of fact, that’s about all we can see except for the bulky two-story UFO that we’ll be landing near. The nose of the Skyranger looks like it will come down just a few feet shy of the backside of the UFO, so we’ll need to circle around to the front in order to gain entrance. Although we can only see thick forest growth as we descend, the terrain does not appear to be flat: there are two large hills, one to the immediate right of the Skyranger exit, and another to the left of the exit, nearer to the nose of the Skyranger. There is a small clearing near our exit.

The Skyranger settles in the small clearing, and the exit door drops with a bang…

Nothing. Klayman II heads out the exit, breaks left, and drops off the left side of the ramp. Floater! Right in front of him, about 15 feet away! Klayman II opens fire first, but his first shots sail over the Floater. The Floater twists to fire, but before he can Klayman drills him with a shot that tears a chunk out of the creature’s thigh. The Floater drops to a knee, but regains his balance and opens fire! His first shot catches Klayman in the knee, punching a hole in his armor and spinning him to the ground. Klayman II quickly gets back up on his good knee, but a second shot punches a hole in Klayman’s chestplate and penetrates to his heart. A gush of red spews out of Klayman’s armor and he falls backwards to the ground, dead. Eek! That sure wasn’t a good start! X-COM 0, Aliens 1.

Split Personality III is right on Klayman II’s heels, though. Split drops to the ground right beside Klayman’s corpse and opens fire. Split has better luck than Klayman, as he drills the injured Floater in the midsection with his first shot. The Floater doubles over and collapses to the ground! X-COM 1, Aliens 1.

Travis III exits the Skyranger, breaks right, and sets up behind the right landing gear. BYU comes out next and heads straight down the ramp and towards the woods at the rear of the Skyranger. Floater! 40 yards away, behind a fallen tree trunk in the woods! BYU opens fire immediately, and his second shot blows the Floater backwards to the ground. We hear muffled screams and then silence. Yes! X-COM 2, Aliens 1.

Suddenly, a Floater comes charging from around the left side of the UFO, about 40 yards away, directly towards Travis III. Travis takes quick aim and opens fire. His shot drills the Floater in the chest and sends it spinning to the ground. Nice shot, Travis! X-COM 3, Aliens 1.

Another Floater comes at us, this one from the right side of the UFO, also about 40 yards away! Split Personality III calmly opens fire and hits the thing in the hip, which breaks with a loud crack. The Floater drops to the ground, where it screams in agony for a few seconds before falling completely still! X-COM 4, Aliens1.

Things go quiet for a few minutes, and we deploy our men. Rawisdan exits the Skyranger and joins BYU. Together they start to search the area off to the left rear of the Skyranger. Sublime II exits the Skyranger and joins Travis III. Together they start up the hill to the right rear of the Skyranger. Both Illinifan V and Danny Van Halen exit the Skyranger and begin an advance through the woods towards the left side of the UFO. Astott and Jeeber B do likewise on the other side of the Skyranger, except they head for the right side of the UFO. Split Personality III holds at the Skyranger. Achilles heads straight into the woods at the rear of the Skyranger and sets up with his blaster launcher. Qwikshot II holds at the Skyranger with Split Personality.

Suddenly, another Floater comes around the left side of the UFO. It’s about 40 yards from Illinifan and Danny Van Halen. Illinifan V gets off a fast shot, but it sails well wide and blows a hole in a nearby tree trunk. The Floater returns fire. The plasma blast races at Illinifan V and drills him in the shoulder: the shot punches through the armor and blows a chunk of Illinifan’s shoulder off in a splash of red. Danny Van Halen, a little ways back of Illinifan, returns fire. Streaks of plasma rip through the woods, and almost instantly the Floater drops to the ground with a large hole in his chest cavity. Danny Van Halen racks up another one! The man is quickly becoming a cult hero! X-COM 5, Aliens 1.

Qwikshot II runs out of the Skyranger and heads up for Illinifan. We’ll want to patch up that shoulder before he loses too much blood.

Almost immediately after this, on the other side of the UFO, Jeeber D and Astott spot a Floater coming around their side of the craft, about 50 yards away. Both men open fire on full auto. Plasma blasts slam into the side of the UFO and the surrounding trees. The surprised Floater turns to head back around the corner, but Jeeber D nails him in the side as he turns! The Floater drops to the ground, dead! X-COM 6, Aliens 1.

Back on the left side of the UFO, Qwikshot II slaps a Medikit on Illinifan V’s wound. Illinifan immediately feels better, as the soothing medication seeps into his body. The two of them resume the advance on the left side of the UFO, as Danny Van Halen turns and heads back toward the Skyranger.

Elsewhere, Sublime II and Travis III complete their search of the hill to the right of the Skyranger exit. They now start to sweep the woods that lie on the left side of the UFO, a little further away from the craft than Illinifan V and Qwikshot II. BYU and Rawisdan also clear their area. The two of them now start to sweep the woods to the right of the UFO.

Within a few minutes, we’ve got two lines of four men sweeping each side of the UFO. On the left side, there’s Illinifan V, Qwikshot II, Sublime II, and Travis III (Squad 1). On the right side, we’ve got Astott, Jeeber D, Rawisdan, and BYU (Squad 2). Danny Van Halen and Split Personality III are back at the Skyranger, and Achilles is back in the woods with the Blaster Launcher.

Suddenly, another Floater comes around the far left corner of the UFO! Qwikshot II lives up to his name: he drills the Floater with his first shot, before the Floater can even register our presence. The stunned creature stumbles and falls dead to the ground! Nice shot Qwikshot! X-COM 7, Aliens 1.

Except for the near constant whirring of interior UFO doors, things remain quiet for the next few minutes. We finish our sweeps of the exterior of the UFO, and prepare for our assault. We’ll go in from two angles, as usual. Squad 1 will have Achilles blast a hole in the outer shell of the UFO on the near left corner. Squad 2 will go in through the front door. The men get ready. Danny Van Halen leaves the Skyranger and joins Illinifan V and Qwikshot II at the left corner. Travis III and Sublime II stand by to act as a reserve force for this portion of the assault. At the front of the UFO, Astott and Jeeber D close in on the front door and take up firing positions right beside it. BYU and Rawisdan will act as a reserve. Squad 2 will go in a minute or two after squad 1.

Within a minute or so, the men are in position, and Achilles lets fly with the blaster launcher. His missile slams into the outer shell of the craft, blowing a man-size hole in the tough alien armor. Illinifan V is up, around the corner of the UFO and inside within seconds…

Nothing. He’s standing in a U-shaped room that wraps around the two main exit rooms. He’s right at one corner of the “U”, and there are no aliens down either corridor. He can see the entrance door to the central exit section, and we know that there is a grav-lift around the far corner. As Danny Van Halen and Qwikshot II move up the hole, Illinifan V moves further in the UFO. Blam! A plasma blast slams into the wall right beside Illinifan’s head! Whoa! A Floater was hiding along the corridor! Illinifan V twists right and returns fire on full-auto. From five-feet away you’d think he could hit something, but all of Illinifan’s shots slam into the wall behind the Floater. The Floater, meanwhile, returns fire, this time catching Illinifan in the foot with a blast that pierces the thin leg armor and tears his foot apart. A second later, Danny Van Halen is in the UFO and beside Illinifan. DVH’s first shot slams into the Floater’s chest and drives it back against the bulkhead. The creature crashes into the wall, and slides lifelessly down to the floor. X-COM 8, Aliens 1.

As Qwikshot II clambers through the entrance hole and sets up beside DVH, Illinifan V limps toward the exit. Within moments he is outside, where Sublime II starts slapping Medipatches on his foot wound. That will do it today for Illinifan, as BYU orders him back to the Skyranger.

Back at the main exit, Jeeber D and Astott kick into action. Jeeber D leads the way. He charges the main door, hits the opening mechanism, and steps inside the small foyer…

Nothing. Astott is in right behind him, and the two men rush the door to the central room. Once again, Jeeber D pops open the door…

Floater, by the door to the outer corridor at the far end of the room! The alien is aiming right at Jeeber D! Jeeber ducks behind a table as a plasma blast slams into the wall right where he just was. Qwikshot II, in the outer corridor of the UFO, sprints to the door that enters onto the central room. He rips the door open, jams his heavy plasma into the back of the Floater, and pulls the trigger. The Floater’s chest explodes, sending a cone-shaped rush of purple gore into the room. The remains of the Floater drop to the ground! X-COM 9, Aliens 1.

Time to get up that grav-lift, and try to spread our kills out a bit. Sublime II comes into the UFO and sets up by DVH. The two of them cover the far corner of the “U” corridor while we shift some people around. Rawisdan and Astott move up into the central room of the UFO. They’ll lead the advance on the grav-lift and second floor. As they are doing this, a Floater suddenly appears around the corner of the inner corridor! DVH and Sublime II are waiting, though, and both of them open fire before the Floater has a chance to lift his weapon. A plasma blast rips open the creature’s stomach, and he slumps to the ground screaming! Wow. He had no chance! DVH and Sublime II were all over that! X-COM 10, Aliens, 1.

Astott and Rawisdan are finally in position, and they move through the door to the inner corridor and head towards the far corner. As they approach it, they hear plasma fire from around the corner! A Floater must have gone berserk! Reacting quickly, the two men rush the corner and head around…

Floater! Fifteen feet away, at the bottom of the grav-lift! Both men open fire, but it is Astott who drills the alien in the head. The creature’s head explodes, and the alien falls to the ground with a lifeless thud! X-COM 11, Aliens 1.

And that is the last alien! Well done, men! Losing Klayman’s boy is a tough break, but 11 straight kills with only one injury sure got us some revenge!

Wrap-up

Kills: Danny Van Halen, 3; Travis III, 1; BYU, 1; Qwikshot II, 2; Astott, 1; Split Personality III, 2; Jeeber D, 1.
KIA: None
Wounded: Illinifan V, 9 days.
Attribute Improvements: Danny Van Halen, Travis III, BYU, Qwikshot II, Asott, Split Personality III, Illinifan V, Sublime II, Jeeber D.
Final score: 344
Mission Notes:
Danny Van Halen gets himself a hattrick! Wow! The man is on fire!

Nice work DVH, and get well soon Illini.

Excellent job GB, that mission looks like it netted some serious improvement in the troops.

Bah! I knew I shouldn't have complained about the birds.

Illifan avoided the curse!!!

Well, Boston did win the WS (In RWBL)

Great job team (mumbles something about seeing no frontline action)!!

Remember there is no "I" team.

If you talk bad about the birds you will get a new paint job on your car. How does white sound to you? :)

Finally! Thought I was never going to pick up a kill for that mission... I was starting to think there was something wrong with my plasma rifle...

Oh, and Godzilla Blitz, I really hope you aren't trying to say something about my drinking habits with this line...

Attribute Improvements: Danny Van Halen, Travis III, BYU, Qwikshot II, Asott, Split Personality III, Illinifan V, Sublime II, Jeeber D.

Superman,

You fly an interceptor out of USA COM. The UFO's know not to mess with USA COM, so you will probably never again see any action. Maybe you should apply for Skyranger pilot...

Lokugh

I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn today. A tree yes, but a barn probably not. Oh yeah, OUCH!!!!!!!!!

Sweet, another kill for the Jeebster. Nice...

Both of us got one. WooHoo. The SplitP boys are back in action.
That's 5 kills in 3 missions. Not bad. Not quite on the level of DVH, but not bad.

Superman: Yeah, North America has been so quiet lately. All the action seems to be in Europe and Asia. I don't think your Interceptor has launched in a couple of weeks. Would you like to switch to Europe? I don't think CapnMorgan is around any more. If he's not, we can switch you right over. Asia is getting action now, so Toddiec and you should be kept pretty busy. And soon, we should have brand new, turbo ships to help you guys kill UFO's that are bigger than Volkswagens.

Klayman: Sorry about your death. Another meaningless casualty. If Craptacular had remembered to order ammo for the tank, the tank would have been out of the Skyranger first, and the tank would have taken the hit instead of you.

AStott: Whoops! Sorry about the typo on your name! Nope, no reflection on your drinking habits! I actually wish I had more patience to fix all the capital S's in your name too, but Word always changes them over to "Astott" with its auto correction.

Illinifan: The good thing about the mission is that you're only out for a few days. I thought you might be gone for 20+ days seeing as you got hit twice. I should have never sent you into the UFO first, as your accuracy was all messed up from your first wound. Another case of poor decision-making almost costing us a life (that should give Bee some ammo to work with).

Jeeber D: Good mission. I think you might be ok if I can just keep you from being alone in a situation where reflexes count.

______

Random news...

I was originally hoping to post two missions last week, but obviously things didn't quite work out that way. I'm going to have to aim for Sunday for the next mission.

I'm thinking that we might do a quick "roll-call" thread over the course of the next week, just to get an idea of who is not still reading the dynasty. I think there's about a dozen guys who are agents but who are no longer around, and I think putting them all together in America would be a good idea. I can then just give outlines for their missions, and focus on writing more in depth stuff for the people that are still reading. This will help people to get in on action more often, as I realize that this "one-mission-a-week" leaves a long time between missions. I'll probably make the post in a couple of days.

Also, I guess we should switch threads after the next mission, as this one is getting long.

Now men, I am not a bragging man, but wow, I rule.

My cult status will still always pale in comparison to Chuck U. Farley, but if I am even ever mentioned in the same breath, I feel like I've accomplished something.

[inhale]DVH. Chuck U. Farley.[exhale]

you are welcome.

Swaggs is still active and looking to get back to Europe or to Asia.

I didn't know that "Purchasing Agent" was added to my title of:
Chief Scientist / Head of Research / Interrogator / Lead Custodial Engineer / Babysitter. Don't we have enough money to hire someone else to run the armory?

I am, of course, still a reading. Whoot!

-Anxiety

Well, I'm not doing any of your jobs. I already have enough people with sticks up their ass saying silly stuff like "Make another tank, I don't like dying" or "Quit bitching about having to make three rockets per mission".

SI

I don't mind dyin', as long as I take some of the alien scum with me.

I think Crappy and SI might need some time off. I mean, here they are working 8 maybe 9 hours a day (paid lunch of course) manufacturing our weapons, cutting open aliens, playing with new all the new toys they develop, etc, and all we are doing is getting our friggin heads, arms, and legs blown off. I really think everybody should cut them some slack. Thanks for putting it all in perspective guys ;)

I'll only work 10 hours a day next week and make sure you're one of the ones who doesn't get power suits. This stuff doesn't grow on trees, you know. Or how about that snazzy new radar at all the bases- do you think all that stuff wires itself? I don't need this crap- I should go back into the private sector and get paid enough to retire on just by taking a fraction of the technology with me. Hm... whenever I saw stuff like that they send a man with a gun to "quiet that idiot down and remind him about his agreement".

SI

I think you're too late. Since you didn't supply us with a tank, I'm missing most of my chest. I'm having difficulty replacing it. Chests don't grow on trees, you know :D

I think we already established that was one of crappy's jobs or someone else's but not mine.

SI

Alas, it seems you are correct. I will aim my indignation elsewhere...for the time being :)

Good for you *goes back to tinkering with klayman II's (II or III?) suit to include a self destruct which I have to control to*

SI

I am still there. Resting at SAM COM

Shows what you know. I have a Silocon tree in my back yard. My wife wont go near it though.

I'm here polishing my plasma rifle. Err. Or something like that. Has that other 'ranger landed yet???

I'm actually thinking this would be a good time to do that roll call I mentioned to get the people no longer here repositioned at our American base.

We'll link to this thread for the roll call purposes only...

Roll Call Thread

If you're still reading, go there and make a quick post to let me know you're still around. Then we can move the others to the quiet American base so that our readers get in on more of the fun and games.

I'll take a ticket out of this crap hole known as USA COM. I better get my new super ship soon or there will be hell to pay!

HELLOOOOO!!! Europe.

Wait a minute. Did I hear something about new turbo ships??? Maybe now I can help out in winning the battle in the air instead of handling groupie control for DVH. Everything is starting to come together....

Just a quick update...

I should be digging in to the next mission tonight, and it's looking good for a Sunday night posting. The troops are on the ground now!

64th Mission: Sands of Tibet

The EU Skyranger soars towards western China, where our second medium-size UFO of the day has landed. EU COM tells us that the enemy craft has touched down in a Tibetan desert, so we’ll be working in sandy, hot conditions today. Fortunately, we should be touching down later in the afternoon, when the worst of the heat has dissipated.

We’ve got a relatively young contingent on board today: 6 rookies fill out our ranks. One of Captain Night’s goals is to get as many of these guys experience as he can. Hopefully, we’ll get something a bit easier to kill. Floaters would make for a great opportunity.

Left Side:
1. Blade III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Katon (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Wolfpack (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Real Deal III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Condors II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Jeff Nights II (Blaster Launcher, Laser Pistol, Power Suit)
2. Data King III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Japherwaki II (Heavy Plasma, Stun Blaster, Power Suit)
4. Mr. Bug IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Marmel (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends to the battlefield below. White sand stretches out in all directions, and it is easy to pick out the UFO on the ground below. The dark blue craft will sit about 30 yards off to the right of our exit; we’ll be facing the door of the craft as we come out of the Skyranger. To the left of the UFO—20 yards directly across from our exit—there are two large sand dunes. Elsewhere is simply sand and sand and sand. We can make out another large dune about 50 yards off on the right side of the exit, almost directly in line with our Skyranger. The front of the Skyranger and the area to the left of the exit are secure, but there could be aliens lurking around the Skyranger.

The Skyranger drops the final few feet, then sinks into the soft sand before coming to a rest. The gate drops open with a soft thump…

Alarms! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Floater, 30 yards away, between the two dunes at the rear of the Skyranger! Blade III raises his Heavy Plasma and opens fire. His second shot slams into the rear of our tank’s turret, spinning it wildly and almost knocking the vehicle out of commission. D’oh! He makes up with it on his third shot, as he drills the Floater as it turns to face us. The Floater falls backwards to the sand and twitches silently until it dies seconds later. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

We send our damaged tank out onto the ramp and down into the sand. It reaches the bottom and spins…

Floaters! One is about 35 yards away, in front of the UFO door; the second is about 25 yards away, to the right of the Skyranger. Katon and Data King III come racing out of the Skyranger. They hit the ramp, dive right, roll, and come up firing. The Floaters spot the movement and begin to turn towards our men, but Katon and Data King III are too fast: each man rips apart a Floater with consecutive heavy plasma blasts. Both Floaters let out death wails and drop to the ground! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Mr. Bug IV and Wolfpack are next out of the Skyranger. They take up firing positions right behind our tank and train their weapons on the UFO exit, where we can always expect some action. Data King III loops under the belly of the Skyranger and heads for the dune at the left rear of our Skyranger. Katon breaks right, and heads for the large dune that sits 50 yards off to the right of our craft.

Suddenly, Wolfpack and Mr. Bug IV catch Floater movement to the left of the UFO, but before they can get a shot off the thing disappears around a corner of the craft! Seconds later, a Floater steps out of the UFO! Mr. Bug IV swings his aim around and opens fire. One of his shots drills the alien in the midsection and sends a gush of purple out onto the warm Chinese sands. The Floater topples over, dead! X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

Within seconds, the Floater to the left of the UFO reappears around a corner of the craft. It’s aiming at Wolfpack and Mr. Bug II at the tank, but Wolfpack has been waiting for this guy’s return, and he beats the alien to the draw. Green bolts of death streak across the desert and slam into the Floater’s chest. It howls and spirals to the ground! Nice shooting! X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

We catch a breather and rearrange our forces. Wolfpack breaks away from the tank and heads for Data King III. Together the two of them will search the dunes at the rear of the Skyranger. Mr. Bug IV breaks right and heads for Katon, to help him with the search of the large dune off to the right. Real Deal III and Condors II exit the Skyranger and take up firing positions at the tank. Jeff Nights II exits the Skyranger and heads off to the secure left side to set up the Blaster Launcher. Blade III, Marmel, and Japherwaki II move up to the Skyranger exit.

About a minute later, another Floater comes out of the UFO! Real Deal III and Condors II open fire immediately. Plasma blasts pepper the UFO wall; one of the shots, however, catches the Floater in the head that sends a puff of purple spray up in the air. The stunned—and now dead—Floater topples to the ground. X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

Data King III and Wolfpack reach the first pair of dunes and start up the near sides. The one on the right is small, and as Wolfpack clears the crest, he spots a Floater about 30 yards away, slowly working its way through the desert towards our position. Wolfpack and Data King III duck back down. Interestingly, because the Skyranger bay is elevated and the Floater is hovering about six feet off the ground, Japherwaki II and Marmel, in the rear of the Skyranger, can pick up this Floater on their HUDs. Japh exits the Skyranger, takes a knee, aims carefully with his Heavy Plasma, and opens fire from 60 yards away. Green streaks arc over the first dune and slam into the dune near the Floater, sending up puffs of white sand. The surprised Floater searches for the source of the fire, but can’t pick anything out. It turns to run, but one of Japh’s plasma blasts catches it in the back and blows a large chunk out of the creature’s torso. It howls, falls to the ground, and dies! Nice shot, Japh! X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

Off on the right side of the Skyranger exit, Katon and Mr. Bug IV reach the large dune. Mr. Bug IV advances up the side while Katon swings wide around it. The two men see no sign of alien activity.

Suddenly, another Floater comes out of the UFO! Condors II is a bit faster than Real Deal III this time, and with his first shot he decapitates the alien with a direct hit! Wow! We send Condors back up into the Skyranger, and bring Marmel out behind the tank. X-COM 8, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet for a while. Data King III and Wolfpack continue their search of the area to the left of the UFO and behind the first pair of dunes. The area proves to be clear of aliens, and the two men swing right and start to loop around the back of the UFO.

Mr. Bug IV and Katon clear the large dune on the right of the Skyranger without incident. They then head around the right side of the UFO. Everyone else waits.

Within a few minutes, the two pairs of men finish clearing the rear and right of the UFO. We now know that any aliens left are inside the UFO, and it’s time to take up the assault. The men can see that this UFO is identical to the one on the last mission. There must be a U-shaped corridor that runs around a central room and an entrance foyer on the first floor; there’s likely a grav-lift in the near corner of the U-shaped corridor, to the left of the main entrance. We’ll use the same general procedure we used in the last mission: blow a hole in the back right corner with the Blaster Launcher and send our first troops in through that. A minute or so later, we’ll send more men in the through the front door.

We move into position. Marmel and Real Deal III use the tank for cover to advance on the UFO door. Japh and Blade III leave the Skyranger and follow a short ways behind. Data King, Wolfpack, Mr. Bug, and Katon work their way to safety behind sections of the external wall of the UFO near the back right corner. Once Jeff fires the launcher, they’ll lead the assault.

Just as we take up final assault positions another Floater exits the UFO! Marmel, from ten yards away, is deadly quick: he nails the Floater in the side as it turns to face our tank. The creature drops its weapon, grabs its side, then keels over against the UFO wall. It slides down and dies, leaving behind a streak of purple on the UFO wall. X-COM 9, Aliens 0.

Finally, we get everyone in position. On three. One…two…three. Jeff Nights II launches the blaster launcher. The rocket arcs up over our Skyranger, winds its way around the UFO, and slams into the far back corner. The explosion punches a man-size hole in the outer shell, and sends sand and dirt flying away from the UFO in a large cloud.

Charge! Katon leads the way. He’s up and at the hole first. He quickly steps inside, just as a Floater comes at him from around a far corner of the U-shaped corridor. The Floater gets off a shot. The plasma blasts streaks towards Katon’s head, glances off the top of his helmet, and cracks into the wall behind him. Katon fights through a wave of dizziness and pulls the trigger on his Heavy Plasma: streaks of green race through the UFO, one of which catches the Floater in the upper chest and blows a huge chunk out of the creature and drives it backwards to the floor of the UFO. It’s dead before it hits the ground. Katon scans the interior of the UFO for more movement as Mr. Bug enters the craft behind him. X-COM 10, Aliens 0.

Seconds later, back at the main exit, a wave of Floaters burst out of the craft in front of Marmel and Real Deal III. Both men open fire on full auto. Streams of green slam into the creatures. Things happen so fast that it’s hard to tell how many aliens there were, but the two men make quick work of the enemy, and when they finally stop shooting, the smoking pile of bodies at the exit is a bit bigger. X-COM 11, Aliens 0.

As this settles down, we hear shots coming from the interior rooms of the UFO on the first floor. An alien in there must have gone berserk! Japherwaki II pulls out the stun launcher and charges the main exit. He pops it open and steps inside: nothing. He starts to rush the door to the interior room, but suddenly it pops open! Floater, five feet away. The thing opens fire on full auto from essentially point blank range: one shot smashes into Japh’s chest plate, denting it and cracking some ribs. A wave of black washes over Japh. Right on that shot’s heels, a second shot glances off his left shoulder and slams into the wall behind him. A third shot hits him in the right shin, driving his leg out from under him and toppling him to the ground. His heavy plasma and stun launcher go clattering away. A fourth shot catches him right between the shoulder blades and sends a wave of pain through his upper body. Then the alien pops the door closed and disappears from view. Japh coughs away the darkness, and takes a quick look at his body: all major parts are still attached, although he can’t feel his right leg, his chest feels like it’s been run over it with a tank, and he can barely lift his arms to push himself up. He fights through the pain, grabs his stun launcher, and stands. As Blade III enters the foyer, Japh limps to the door to the interior room, and pops it open. The Floater is standing right inside the door, just to the left. It looks amazed to see Japh still alive, let alone standing. Japh wastes no time: he jams the Stun Launcher into the Floater’s stomach and pulls the trigger: the bomb explodes, spinning the Floater around and sending Japh flying backwards to the ground. The last thing that Japh sees before he falls unconscious is the Floater coughing away the effects of the blast! It stills stays up! Damn!

Mr. Bug and Blade waste no time. Mr. Bug sprints to the door to this room that opens onto it from the inner corridor, and pops it open. He trains his heavy plasma on the alien and pulls the trigger. Shots fly across the room, but amazingly, Mr. Bug misses the Floater! The Floater turns to return fire just as Blade III reaches the door where Japh’s body lies. Blade III jams his heavy plasma into the Floater’s side and pulls the trigger. The alien’s torso explodes, breaking the body in two and killing the Floater instantly. X-COM 12, Aliens 0.

After that flurry of action, things go eerily quiet. We quickly regroup and prepare to finish searching the UFO. We’re pretty sure that everyone except Jeff Nights II has a kill, so we have him drop the Blaster Launcher and move to the UFO, while Katon and Wolfpack watch the far corner of the U-corridor for aliens. Once at the UFO, Jeff grabs a Heavy Plasma from the Floater corpses at the UFO exit, and enters the craft. Meanwhile, Blade III picks up the stun launcher from Japh and reloads it. Blade III and Jeff will lead this final charge.

The two men enter the U-shaped room and head to the far corner. Once there, they take a deep breath, and head around…

Floater, right in front of them! Blade’s shot is blocked by Jeff, who instantly pulls the trigger on his heavy plasma, and blows a foot-wide hole in the creature’s stomach. It howls and falls! X-COM 13, Aliens 0.

And that’s the last alien! Wow! What a mission! I think this may be the first time everyone has gotten a kill, although I’m not 100% confident about Real Deal III.

Wrap-up

Kills: Marmel, 3; Katon , 2; Japherwaki II, 1; Mr. Bug, 1; Jeff Nights II, 1; Wolfpack, 1; Condors II, 2; Data King III, 1; Blade III, 2.
KIA: None
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: Everyone!
Final score: 427. Nice.
Mission Notes:
Amazingly, after getting shot at four times from point blank range, Japherwaki II came through the mission unhurt! The scene played out almost identically to when Blade 6119 III got killed, but Japherwaki II came out of the thing with only scratches, whereas Blade 6119 got ripped apart. We haven't seen luck like this since Jeeber D's "dud" missile hit. Note to other agents: stand near these guys in battle and you'll be fine!

Bummer. The perfect mission still eludes us: Real Deal didn’t get a kill. Marmel hogged them all when the Floaters rushed out of the UFO as we began our assault. I thought for sure Real had one. Oh, well, we all got attribute improvements in any case, and we didn’t lose anyone. Actually, Real Deal probably got the best jump in stats of anyone: his reactions went up three points.

Marmel leads the hit parade with his first hattrick! Well done!

I wonder how long before PyschoCop II gets some action.

I think I have a few people in the wrong bases: we're transferring a lot of people now, so I'll straighten everything out in the next post. Other than that, I believe I have updated everything...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 64)

USA COM

EU COM

ASIA COM

SAM COM






X-COM II Troop Attributes
Support Personnel

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 64)

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 64)

Top Ten Kills Leaders
Waiting List

The Hall of Heroes