X-COM II: The Earth’s Revenge (Part X)
 

This thread continues the saga of our FOFC heroes as they battle against the alien horde that threatens to take over Mother Earth.

A Brief Recap
We're just approaching the end of November. UFO sightings are increasing dramatically. Our men are often called to battle aliens on a daily basis. However, just a couple of days ago, Doctor Craptacular and his team of researchers cracked our Sectoid prisoner, and were able to decipher enough information for us to begin planning a final assault on the alien brain on Mars. We're trying to stay alive for the ten weeks or so it will take to get ready to launch that mission.

We continue our story with Mission 87, an ASIA COM Skyranger attack on a Sectoid supply UFO that has landed in southwestern Germany.

By way of explanation
This "dynasty" is a participatory story using the Microprose game X-COM: UFO Defense. If you'd like to sign up, just post here to let me know. You don't need to know anything about the game, basically you just read along and post comments as you like, although at times there are decisions to be made where input is requested. In almost all of those cases, you don't need to know anything about the game to make an equally bad decision as I usually do.

Past Links
A Sectoid cyber attack on our computer systems took out much of the recorded history of our fight against the aliens, but these recent links remain. Efforts to regain public access to the lost annals continue.

X-COM II (Part VI)
X-COM II (Part VII)
X-COM II (Part VIII)
X-COM II (Part IX)

87th Mission: Sectoids in Deutschland

Just one hour after the EU COM Skyranger limps back to base with 50% casualties aboard, the ASIA COM Skyranger starts its gradual descent to the German countryside. Things are looking good to catch this second alien UFO on the ground before it takes off. This attack should have more daylight than the EU COM’s attack, which we hope will translate into fewer casualties.

Jeff Nights II leads our men.

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

Our troops today:

Left Side:
1. Split Personality III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Jeff Nights II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Danny Van Halen (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Condors II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Render II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
2. Travis III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Zippy II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Fonzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Calis (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger begins its vertical descent through clear skies to the German farmland below. The men scan the battlefield. We’re coming down right beside the huge, alien supply ship, which will lie about 10 yards to the immediate left of our craft. This could get hot fast, as the exit doors on the UFO should come down about even with the nose of the Skyranger. We can also pick out a collection of shacks up by the nose of the Skyranger, about 10 yards in front of the alien UFO. Elsewhere, things are very much flat and very much farmland. The areas to the right of the Skyranger exit and to the immediate rear of our exit are secure ground and free of aliens. The battle will lie to the left and up by the nose of our Skyranger.

The Skyranger drops the final meters and lands with a soft thud in the rich German soil. The Skyranger ramp falls away…

Silence.

We move our tank down the ramp. It searches for aliens…

Nothing. We bring it slowly towards the nose of the Skyranger, up the space between the UFO and our craft. Rich exits and takes cover behind the tank. Split Personality exits and sets up by the right landing gear. We wait…

Nothing.

We deploy in force. The supply UFO is a large three-story craft with an exit on each end of the long south side. One of these exits lies even with our Skyranger nose, and is less than 20 yards away, just around the near corner. If we hurry, we can set up a good firing position on the first exit and pick aliens off one-by-one as they come out. The only risk is that we could take fire from the shacks across from the exit if there are aliens in there. Nevertheless, it’s too tempting to pass up. We go for it.

We send our tank towards the corner of the UFO. Rich follows close behind. Calis exits the UFO and hurries to catch Rich, but Calis is a rookie, so he doesn’t quite have the speed to keep up. Move your ass, newbie! Split heads up by the nose of the Skyranger to provide fire support. Render exits and heads to the field near our exit to set up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Danny Van Halen and Zippy go around the back of the UFO and start a long, cautious advance along that side of the craft. Once Rich and Calis clear the Skyranger exit area, Travis exits and heads for the side of the UFO, near our Skyranger. He’ll help Rich and Calis.

As Rich and the tank make the near corner, suddenly there is a quick flash! Incoming missile! The missile slams into our tank and explodes. Flames and smoke bellow up into the early morning sky. Rich—safe behind the tank—gets an instant headache and loses his hearing; our tank has a huge dent in its turret, but otherwise is ok. Calis, just a few feet back, needs a new diaper. Otherwise we are ok. But where the hell did that missile come from? And what was it? The tank and Rich move forward, into the teeth of this unseen enemy. There! Sectoid in between some of the shacks across from the UFO, about 30 yards away. Rich goes to fire but the alien ducks behind a shack. Back at the Skyranger, Render picks up the action on his HUD, plots a course with the Blaster Launcher, and fires. A rocket sails over the Skyranger and slams into the shack the alien is hiding behind. A massive fireball levels the building and kicks a huge fireball sideways into the adjacent field. The Sectoid near the shack is killed instantly, but we also catch sight of a second Sectoid—who must have lying in ambush in the adjacent field--rolling on the ground in flames and screaming. Within moments, he dies. Yes! Render got two! Nice shot! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

The tank and Rich move closer to the UFO exit. Another Sectoid! This one is about 40 yards away, standing in front of the UFO’s far exit. Rich opens fire instantly. His first shot is a direct hit on the alien’s chest, which drops the creature to the ground, dead! Nice shot, Rich! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.


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

We continue to strengthen our position at the UFO exit. Calis and Travis make it to the tank. Travis joins Rich at the tank, but Calis moves a little left of their position, behind a stone wall that will shield him from fire from any exiting aliens, but allowing him to keep an eye on the remaining shacks across from the exit. Fonzie exits the Skyranger and moves up under the nose of the craft to act as a reserve.

Up by the nose of the Skyranger, Split moves towards a hedged-in grove to check for aliens. Jeff Nights II exits the Skyranger and jogs to Render. The two men switch weapons. Render heads off to provide backup for Danny and Zippy as they make their way around the backside of the UFO. Jeff checks over the Blaster Launcher and prepares to fire.

We know that Sectoid commanders tend to cluster in the third-story bridge of these supply ships and rain down PSI attacks on approaching agents, so Jeff plots a course over the entire UFO that will bring Blaster missiles slamming into the bridge. He fires the first missile. It soars over the battle field, twists down, and slams into the hard outer wall of the UFO. No screams on this one, but we get a nice hole in the side of the craft. The second shot is the payload as that one should penetrate deep into the UFO.

Suddenly, a Sectoid pops out the far door, about 30 yards from Travis and Rich! The two men and the Sectoid fire at the same time. While a Sectoid missile streaks at our position, plasma blasts races towards the Sectoid. The missile slams into our tank and explodes with a pop. Stun gas! Our plasma isn’t as harmless, however, as one blast blows the Sectoid’s head to pieces! A fraction of a second later, a massive wave of PSI-energy hits our men! Almost instantaneously, Travis starts screaming in Sectoid! He jams his Heavy Plasma into a startled Rich’s side and pulls the trigger on full-auto. Rich is literally cut in half by the shot! Aaargh! Travis is under alien control! He spins and keeps firing, this time nailing our tank from behind and knocking it out of action. He keeps spinning, this time on Calis, who now is realizing what has happened. Calis turns—incredulous—and fires at Travis. The plasma blast catches Travis right in the weak neck armor and cuts his head clean off. Travis’ body continues his spin as he dies, and sends a stream of plasma just inches over Calis’ head. Shit shit shit. That was so fast! Two men and a tank down! X-COM 4, Aliens 2.


X-COM dead at a UFO entrance. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Split and Fonzie cut towards Calis. Condors exits the Skyranger and heads there as well. Jeff hurries and fires two more missile rounds into the UFO. The second one hits the jackpot, as it sets off a chain reaction of explosions inside the upper two floors of the UFO. The earth shakes as the UFO is rocked with thunderous booms. We also hear the muffled screams of Sectoids inside, so Jeff has gotten himself at least one kill! That should help cut down on PSI-attacks! X-COM 5, Aliens 2.

Things are quiet the next couple of minutes, and we get no further PSI attacks. Split and Fonzie replace Travis and Rich behind our ruined tank, while Calis keeps covering the far shacks. Condors reaches the men there, then begins a wide arc that will take him through the fields to the left of the shacks and then into the shacks. Danny, Zippy, and now Render make it to the far end of the UFO and start around the corner. They make it to the far side of the UFO, just shy of the corner opening onto the far exit. Zippy and Render take up a position there while Danny scurries past and heads for a barn about ten yards in front of the exit. Danny begins a sweep through these buildings. If all goes well, he’ll meet up with Condors coming from the other side.

Things go quiet for a bit, but as Condors approaches the shacks from a distant field, he spots two Sectoids lined up just behind a stone wall, about 35 yards away! Ambush! He darts back behind the cover of a hedge. Calis, about 50 yards away, has a long shot on these aliens. He opens fire, but the shots sail well wide. Damn rookies. Danny Van Halen is approaching this position from the far side and is only 25 yards away, but a shack blocks his line of sight. He glances at his HUD, judges the wind, and tosses a grenade over the intervening building. Kaboom, the grenade goes off, blowing the stone wall apart! We hear no screams though, so Condors crawls forward to get a look through the smoke from the grenade blast. There! A wounded Sectoid, in the field, about 30 yards in front of him! Condors takes careful aim, fires, and drops the Sectoid with a shot to the torso. It falls screaming to the ground. But where is the other alien? X-COM 6, Aliens 2.

Calis leaves the wall and closes in on the remaining Sectoid’s last known position, while Danny does likewise from the other side. Condors—with no cover in the field—continues his careful approach. Suddenly, Danny is hit by a wave of PSI-energy and loses it completely! He goes berserk and starts shooting in random directions! One plasma blast blows a hole in the wall of a nearby shack that opens up a line of sight to Calis, who dives back out of sight to save himself! Suddenly, the Sectoid appears moving out from the shack beside Danny Van Halen. The alien has an open shot on the babbling Danny. It fires…

The shot whizzes over Danny’s head! Whew! Calis rolls for cover and tosses a grenade up over an intervening wall. It lands about five yards away from the Sectoid, who is lining up Danny for the kill. With Danny’s life on the line, Condors gets up and charges. The yell distracts the Sectoid for a second, and it turns to fire on Calis instead. As it does, Calis’ grenade goes off with a crash. The alien is blown forward and comes to earth with a crunch, dead! Danny is saved! Nice job, Calis! X-COM 7, Aliens 2.


X-COM forces root out Sectoids in house-to-house fighting. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Suddenly, a Sectoid comes out of the UFO’s far exit, about 30 yards from Split and Fonzie. The two men open fire. Plasma blasts steak across the interval before the alien has a chance to react. One shot catches the alien in the left shoulder and blows a chunk out of the upper torso. The Sectoid wails and falls over to the ground, dead. X-COM 8, Aliens 2.

Back in the fields beyond, Danny Van Halen snaps back to himself. With his morale shattered, he’s too likely to go over to alien control, so Jeff Nights II orders him to drop all weapons and begin a retreat to the UFO. Just as Danny starts this, another wave of PSI-energy hits our men, and this time Split Personality completely panics! Aargh! He starts frothing at the mouth, drops his weapon, and runs into the fields beside the shacks. Crap.

All alone at the UFO door now, Fonzie ducks around the corner to get out of the way of the exit, as we need more firepower. At the far end of the craft, Zippy and Render swing around their corner and take up firing positions five yards from the UFO exit near them. This will give us two men to fire on the UFO doors. Calis and Condors search the area near them for more signs of aliens.

Suddenly, an alien pops out of the door right in front of Zippy and Render! Both men appear caught off guard, and the alien is blindingly fast! It swings its heavy blaster around and opens fire before either of our men can get a shot off! A plasma blast rips right through Render’s chest plate and blows a massive hole in his chest! He topples backwards, dead! Startled into action, Zippy recovers and pulls the trigger on his Heavy Plasma. The blast decapitates the alien and sends a spray of green gore flying backwards onto the grass. As this alien falls, another one steps out of the UFO! Zippy twists, but he’s too slow! The alien fires, catching Zippy in the groin. The shot punches through the armor and…well…ew…let’s just say it really hurt. Zippy looks down at the hole where his manhood used to be and slumps forward onto the grass. Blood pours onto the German grass. Within seconds, Zippy is dead. Fonzie, at the opposite end of the UFO, runs around the corner and gets off a quick shot at the alien as it turns around. The shot blows a hole in the alien’s stomach. It howls and drops to the ground, dead. X-COM 10, Aliens 4.

What a bufu mission! Fonzie keeps a nervous finger on his trigger, as Calis and Condors begin to race back towards the UFO. Jeff Nights waits to get off some kind of a shot with the Blaster Launcher, but we’re all too bunched up for the Blaster Launcher to do much good. Danny makes his way towards the far end of the UFO, but he’s unarmed and done for the day. Split keeps babbling in the far field. We’re essentially down to four men. Damn it to all hell.

Suddenly, another Sectoid pops out of the far exit. He’s got a shot at Danny Van Halen through a door and window of the barn Danny’s cutting around. The alien opens fire. The shot does in to the barn through the door, out the window by Danny’s head, and…

Sails just wide! Whew! Fonzie opens fire a fraction of a second later and hits the alien with a shot to the ribs that sends it screaming to the ground. And then another Sectoid comes out of the UFO, just as Danny ducks down out of sight. The Sectoid, spins, spots, Fonzie, and fires. Fonzie is a fraction of a second late, but both combatants miss with their first shots. The Sectoid finds the range first, though, and drills Fonzie in the chest plate with a shot that knocks the wind out of him. Fighting off waves of blackness, Fonzie keeps his finger on the trigger, and nails the Sectoid with a shot that rips an arm off at the shoulder. Green goo comes spouting out of the alien. It runs, screaming, for a few yards, then topples over to the ground, dead. Fonzie’s vision clears a bit, but there’s another Sectoid at the other end of the UFO! This one opens fire. A second plasma blast slams into Fonzie’s stomach armor, blowing the midsection plate apart and doubling Fonzie over. Fonzie tries to pull up on his weapon, but he’s too weak from the consecutive hits. The Sectoid lines up Fonzie for the killing shot, smiles—

“Aaarrgh!” Danny Van Halen screams at the alien from the window of the barn. The alien—startled—turns, spots Danny, and runs back into the UFO! X-COM 12, Aliens 4.

Fonzie—amazed to still be alive—struggles to his feet as Condors and Calis finally make it to the UFO. Fonzie is dazed, his armor is a mess, but otherwise he appears to be ok! He motions to Condors and Calis that there’s an alien just inside the far exit. Condors charges straight for the far door, pops it open, and comes face-to-face with the Sectoid. He jams his Heavy Plasma into the stunned Sectoid’s stomach and pulls the trigger. The Sectoid is cut in half in a massive splash of green. The two sections of the creature’s body drop to the ground. X-COM 13, Aliens 4.


Carnage at a UFO exit. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Condors scans the interior of the UFO: nothing. Fonzie, back at the other exit, limps to the door and pops it open. Nothing. He breaks right, into the narrow corridor that circles the main engine room on this floor. Condors, at the other end, breaks left to go around the other way. Calis rushes to get in the UFO to help Fonzie.

As Fonzie turns the first corner, he sees a Sectoid, about five yards away! Fonzie dives—more like “falls”—right and shoots at the same time. His plasma blast rips through the Sectoid’s thigh, cutting the leg in two and dropping the alien to the ground screaming. The Sectoid is still alive, but it is frantically clawing at its severed appendage. Fonzie gets up, limps over to the creature. He taps it on the side of the head with the muzzle of his Heavy Plasma. The Sectoid turns to look at Fonzie. Fonzie pulls the trigger and blows the creature’s head apart. X-COM 14, Aliens 4.

And with that, our threat sensors turn green. That was the last alien! Man, another bloody mission. More casualties.

Kills: Rich, 1; Jeff Nights II, 1; Render, 2; Fonzie II, 4; Split Personality III, 1; Condors II, 2; Travis III, 1; Zippy II, 1; Calis, 1.
KIA: Rich, Render II, Travis III, Zippy II.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Jeff Nights II, Fonzie II, Split Personality III, Condors II, Calis, Danny Van Halen.
Final score: 372
Mission Notes:
Aw, crap. Four more dead. Six in two missions. And we lost Rich. He’s been around since the beginning. Render II was a solid agent, too. Travis III and Zippy II showed promise as well. Damn. All dead. What a day. And it’s not over yet. USA COM still has that UFO crash site to take out.

I think I’m losing whatever touch I had.

Rest in peace, my friends. :(

Damn that sucks!:(

"aboard the Skyranger, just after lifting off from the german battlefield"

Captain Nights made sure all were secure for the trip back to ASIA COM base....Quietly, he took a seat agaisnt the craftwall, slowly removed his helmet and finally took a deep breath...He looked towards the back of the craft where the body bags of Rich, Render II, Travis II, Zippy II all were arrayed on the floor. He closed his eyes. This was by far the bloodiest mission he had led. Four of his men dead? What the hell had gone wrong. shaking his head, more to himself than anything else. He reminded himself he must not show fear in front of the brave men that he commanded. So..he closed his eyes once again and thought of Rich, Render II, Travis II, Zippy II..knowing that thier faces would haunt his dreams for months to come...

Bloody hell, four men dead? It's been quite a while since we've seen a mission that deadly for us... :(

The Sectoid leader must be lauging it up right now with all those humans going nuts and turning on each other. And Danny must have a hidden "luck" attribute because he should be dead.

Favorite line from the mission

Six men got killed in one day? I volunteered for this ****ing organization with numbers like that? *weeps* Oh how stupid am I.

It's a cold, cold day in the great white north, and in the crisp air, the shrill ring of an unanswered phone cuts through the otherwise silent day.

"Ma, we should really pick that up, the display says it's from the base Dad is stationed at. Maybe the war is over and he's called to tell us he's on his way home..."

The young man can't see the muted television, nor the face of the woman he's talking to. A single tear has begun to fall down her face, as even now CNN flashes pictures of the latest human/alien battle, the text at the bottom listing those killed in action, and the failure of one man to resist letting himself being taken over. The failure of one man , who killed one of his own.

"No son, he's not coming home, and the war's not over."

A dutiful nod from the boy in the other room as he picks up the phone and speaks for a few moments quietly.

"I'll be right there."

Did you make the decision to have Calis blow away his teammate? I know that you have tried very hard in the past to not shoot teammates who are under PSI control.

Mental note: party with DVH once on the active rotation ... need to see if living the lifestyle helps bring the battlefield karma.

what a mission. :(

DAMN, thats sucks....but after just seeing "Miracle," all i can do is pray my boy on USA does awsome...USA USA USA!

One of the originals goes down. :(

Damn, the mission started out so well for me. I cant really complain about Travis shooting me. I believe I was the first person to fall under sectoid control and kill one of our own. Damn Karma.

My son sends word that he is ready to step up and try to fulfill his fathers dreams of becoming more than a squaddie. Hopefully there is enough time left for him to be activated.

Oh man, not at all...your one of many who has....2 of my 4 dead anscestors was were killed by sqaudmates under control...welcome to hell...

Yikes. Bad time to be an X-com solider.

Man, rough mission. Nobody jinx GB anymore with "Wow you are getting too good with these missions" comments. I want Tasan II to live a while.

Captain Qwikshot II stares at the battle report. He keeps his grief quiet so as to not reduce morale, but they all know this is the price that could be paid (as sons remember fathers). The datalog shows that the psi attacks did the most damage and for this he is greatly concerned, he turns and heads back to the psi training facility, the thoughts and prayers adrift among the faces of dead men.

RendeR III recieved the news of his brother's death with amazing stoic dignity for such a young man. His mother, crumpled on the sofa in tears, didn't even try to stop him as he packed his bags, donned his fathers flight jacket and kissed her goodbye.

"I'll make sure they didn't die in vain mother...."

'Its time these aliens learned what pain really means' he thought to himself as he boared the plain.

I think the only appropriate response to this mission report is: "Holy Crap!" Man the aliens have really come to play all of a sudden.

Ouch...sorry to hear of the dearly departed...we have a spot saved for you up here, though...

Yikes, what a rough mission! Losing any agent hurts, but losing Rich was especially painful.

I'm frankly amazed to be alive. I'll have to remember to send Crappy a fruit basket for making such tough armor.

I SURVIVE AGAIN!

BOOYAH!

Chaotic swirls of gray and purple floated across the vision of Agent SplitPIII.

"Ugggh!", he grunted as he tried to sit up.

"Whoa there, fella. You shouldn't try to move, just yet", said a disembodied voice.

"Who?", said SplitP as a wave of nausea hit him like a Blaster Launcher missile.

"Here. Lay back down. I'm Nurse Betty and you are back at the base."

The nurse was amazed that the agent was even awake. He had enough drugs in him to knock out six men, yet SplitP continued to shake it off and regain conscienceness. At this rate, they might not ever be able to tell if there was any permanent Psi-damage from the Sectoid attack.

She looked to the doctor who shrugged his shoulders and motioned for her to give the kid another dose. If SplitP was to go on another mission, they had to be sure that he wasn't under any alien control.

***********************************************
SplitP-A: Allright boys, we need to take an inventory. Who's down?

SplitP-B: Well bro, we were hit pretty hard. We lost D, E, H, L, P & Q. The whereabouts of C & V are unknown.

SplitP-A: Damn. I was afraid of this. We are going to have to....

SplitP-F: Wait! Got one.

SplitP-V: dashdlahsld fqehidfoqewh asdjfo;asjd sl;d hahahahaha

SplitP-F: What's he saying?

SplitP-A: Who the hell cares. It ain't anything of this world.......Kill him.

SplitP-F: But

SplitP-A: KILL HIM!!!

SplitP-V: klsdfj;as sahdflahs wait. wait. I'mah noormal now.

SplitP-A: Like hell you are. You are under Sectoid control.

SplitP-V: You stuupid humaans will never ween. We will cruush youu. We will controol youu. We will.......

SplitP-A: You will die.

SplitP-A's slowly released the grip that he had on "V's" neck and watches his alter-ego crumple down and disappear.

SplitP-A: Any news on C.

SplitP-I: Still looking.

SplitP-A: We've got to find him...*yawn*... and fast. Dammit. They are hitting us with *yawn* drugs again. Must not sleeeeeep................

***********************************************
The monitoring machines on the young soldier began barking out warning signals. The body of the young recriut began convulsing and the medical staff feared that they may have given him too much medication.

Then, as suddenly as it started, SplitP's vitals went back to normal and he slowly drifted back into peaceful slumber.

A little distraught that my first kill as an X-Com soldier was Travis, but under the circumstances there wasn't much of a choice.

As an aside, I'm quite surprised I lived through this ordeal, seeing as how I'm one of the young guns and with the amount of people falling I lucked out on this one.

I'm not so anxious to be picked up for missions anymore. ;)

Yikes! That mission is ALMOST enough to get me worried about the upcoming USA mission.

Come on boys. The fight must go on. We must not let out X-Com brothers die in vain.

Just some general replies. Some carry over to stuff from the old thread...

Vince: No problem. I know you check in every once in a while, and figured it was the least I could do.

Chief: Got it. You're at the top of the list for the next call up to active duty. No problem missing the first one. They'll be more chances. At the rate I'm going on these last two missions, they'll be lots more chances.

Kingfc: I'm not sure about the other attack base yet, but if we can I'd like to do it. I need to check our cash flow, our facilities in AFRICA COM, etc., but I think it's probably a go. The team there would most likely be used for missions when we get overwhelmed by UFOs. There are so many now that we starting to not be able to hit them all. I hate letting a UFO sit on the ground and not have us take a shot at knocking it out.

Jeff: Good post! Too bad about those men you lost, but there really wasn't much you could have done about it.

Jeeber: I think this is our bloodiest day ever. I don't think we've ever lost six men in one day (in X-COM II anyway). And it's still not over. USA COM is up next.

Barkeep: You jinxed us! ;) It's like baseball. You never mention the no-hitter while the game is being played.

Rich: I hated to lose you. Sorry about that. It all happened so fast. One minute you were alive, the next you were dead, our tank was knocked out, and Travis had Calis lined up in his sights. It got ugly so fast. I'll add Rich II onto the list.

Travis: Great post! I'll add your next of kin onto the list.

Blade6119: Wasn't it Rich that killed one of your early ancestors?

Hoopsguy: Yeah, I hate shooting our own men, and will do my best to get out of their way of an alien controlled agent. No choice on this one. though. No where for Calis to go, and no time to get there either. It was either Calis or Travis, and since Travis changed teams, it had to be him. Also, I didn't want to give up our position at the UFO door. Too many aliens in those supply ships to let them get out.

Fonzie: Yes, you are really lucky to be alive. You got hit twice, and that alien had you lined up for the kill. There was nothing I could do. Then the thing just turned around and ran back into the UFO.

DVH: You, too, are incredibly lucky to be alive. You had so many shots taken at you that came so close.

Calis: The fates were with you this time. I almost put you right beside Travis at the tank.

Split: LOL! Hilarious! Don't kill off to many of you. We wouldn't want your IQ dropping too low.

Render: Sorry about your loss. We'll get your next of kin in line for more action.

Coming up:
Tuesday: Finish the photos for Mission 87. Intro for Mission 88.
Wednesday: Skyranger Report on Mission 88.
Thursday: Mission 88.
Friday: Updated Stats.

I'm thinking to "freeze" things after Mission 88 so we can have a "Power Medals Week". I'd like to go back and give out medals for missions 31-88. I think I can do about ten missions a day, which will take about a week to do.

Hey did you get my "next of kin heads to XCOM for duty" post back in the last topic? Just making sure I'm on the list.

If you do medals, please go back and give some sort of shame medal for the guy that killed one of my ancestors.

No problem, I never was too impressed by my guys stats. Maybe my son will have more talent.


Hey now, I just died. No need to bring up negatives from my past. Instead we should focus on all the positives. Like all those barns that I made sure were safe and secure...

Damn, two disasters in a row...

We can't let that alien scum get away with this !

Let's go get them ! Revenge ! Revenge !

Update

As the ASIA COM Skyranger limps home with four dead agents aboard, the USA COM Skyranger begins its gradual descent to the Slovakian countryside. We've got Sectoids in a small scout, so you'd hope we could cut down on casualties on this mission.

On board are a tense group of ten men:
CT Homer, Anxiety II, Illinifan V, AStott, Blade6119 IV, Sublime II, Rawisdan, Jeeber D, Mr. Bug IV, Klayman III.

Good luck, men. Let's all come home in one piece, ok?

JeeberD! I just tried the game, and I got smoked. I'll have to try and read the manual tonight!

Word. I downloaded the game once and got my ass handed to me. Maybe I should re-install the sucker and give it another go.

And quit using my name as an expletive, dammit! :D

Tasan: Yup. Got it. I'll make sure to add it to the list. Sorry I didn't mention it before.

Real: I'll be sure to pass your request on to the Medal's Committee. ;)

Ardent: Keep trying stuff. You'll get better. At the beginning you lose a lot of men anyway. Nothing to be done about it. No armor, no medi-kits, and no alien weaponry is tough. The men at the beginning are just cheap rookies, though. $40,000 a pop is chump change. Use 'em like peasants. They're dying for a good cause.

And on another note, I didn't get to the photos again. I'll do it tomorrow for sure.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go,
I've guns with blades and hand grenades
Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho
Hio, hi ho, killing sectioids we do go
I stomp on grays and bomb their bays
Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho
Hi ho, hi ho, floaters are are low
We break their tails with the US detail
Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho
Hi ho, hi ho, I slap around a 'mo
I burn him hot we killed his lot
Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho
Hi ho, hi ho.....



-Anxiety

Uh oh. Let's hope not. 10 men coming home melted together in one piece would be gross.

Tactical land combat isn't for the Navy.

Any update on where I am, and what I'm doing? :)

Exactly. Rookies are like very cheap cannon fodder. :) They draw fire away from your veterans... (i usually arm rookies with just a primed grenade, and then send them off into buildings to scout. =D )

I am still alive. Thank god. If I keep my mouth shut, I don't die!

Crap.

Poor Ensign {insert Star Trek guest star's name here}


I got a chuckle out of that, for what it's worth

SI

Whoowee. To borrow a saying from DukeNukem: It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum...and I'm all outta gum. :D

I predict a severe Sectoid ass-kicking tonight. Me and my USA COM associates are going to tear the crap out of those silly little aliens...

This is almost off the first page... better bump it up..

The Sectoids will not accomplish their secondary goal of knocking this dynasty off the front page. NEVER!!!

lol

THOSE BASTARDS!

Skyranger Transmission

The USA COM Skyranger reports that all is going perfectly. Light Sectoid resistance. No casualties. Cake. Looks like we're back on track.

Got a little busy, so the mission might go up tomorrow instead of tonight.

Aw, crap. Clearly the Skyranger pilot is speaking Sectoid. You're all screwed. I'll get to making bodybags.

SI

What's that blue leader? I don't think I copy.

uh oh were all screwed:(;)

Had to turn on the Pilot Translator.

I'm skeered... :(

(Photos coming soon, I think. I might have erased them by mistake)

88th Mission: Sectoids in Slovakia

Six hours after the ASIA COM Skyranger limps home with its four dead agents, the USA COM Skyranger begins its gradual descent to the late afternoon Slovakian countryside. With six dead agents in less than 6 hours, the men on board are tense. This has not been a good day.

Captain AStott will lead us in battle.

Our troops today:

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

Right Side:
1. Sublime II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
2. Rawisdan (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 to the battlefield below. We’re coming down on the northwest sector of the active zone, so the areas at the exit of the Skyranger and to its left are free of aliens. The battle will be to the right of the craft and up by the nose. Although the weather is clear, we can’t see much of the battlefield on the way down. To the right of the exit, it looks like we’ll have a couple of hedged-in fields right up tight to our exit. Otherwise, no distinguishing features stand out on the battlefield. There is no sign of the UFO, nor any sign of houses or barns.

The Skyranger touches down gently. The ramp falls away. Silence.

Our tanks rumbles down the ramp, spins, and sees…

Nothing. We roll it right, through a break in the hedge wall and into the field beyond. Nothing there as well, although we can see yet another hedge wall at the other end of this plot of land. Mr. Bug and Klayman exit the Skyranger and move in behind the tank. Together they start a sweep of the area to our exit’s right. Anxiety II and Illinifan V exit as well. The two of them move up by the nose of the Skyranger and begin a sweep to the southeast. AStott also exits and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher just away from the rear of the Skyranger. The rest of the men shuffle to the exits and wait.

Things are quiet for the next couple of minutes. Men and machines spread out. Our tank leads the way east, and as it breaks through the hedge wall at the other end of the first field, it catches a glimpse of a Sectoid, in a field, about 30 yards away. No one has a shot yet, but Klayman tosses a grenade up over the hedge wall in the Sectoid’s general direction. The throw is nearly perfect. As the grenade rolls to within a few feet of the startled Sectoid, it turns to run. It gets one step away when the grenade goes off, chewing up a chunk of the field and blowing the alien apart! Well done, Klayman III! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

We continue to move. Since Klayman III has now got some experience on what surely will be a short mission, he heads back toward the Skyranger; Blade6119 IV comes out to take his place behind the tank. The tank and Mr. Bug IV wait while this happens. Anxiety and Illinifan continue southeast and spot the badly damaged medium scout UFO sitting in a field about 30 yards farther away. They also spot some small shacks directly to the south of our position. CTHomer and Jeeber D exit the Skyranger and head in the direction of the shacks. Anxiety and Illinifan can see that the UFO has a massive hole in its roof, and we decide to bring out the heavy artillery. AStott plots a course with the Blaster Launcher for the inside of the UFO and pulls the trigger. The missile sails up and over our Skyranger, tears straight for the UFO, and then disappears through the roof. We hear a massive roar, followed quickly by the scream of a dying alien! A plume of flame and black smoke pours out of the UFO. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Back to our east, Blade6119 catches up to Mr. Bug and our tank. Together they continue their sweep. Shortly, they spot a barn behind a small grove. Our tank heads in to the grove to scout for alien movement.

Back at the UFO, Anxiety and Illinifan continue to advance on the craft.

To the south of our Skyranger, CTHomer and Jeeber D move in on the shacks.

Back at the Skyranger, Sublime II exits the craft, heads to AStott, and switches weapons. AStott heads back into the Skyranger. At this time, Rawisdan also exits the Skyranger and starts southeast, to add his firepower to the men advancing on the UFO.

Suddenly, back to the east, our tank spots a Sectoid at the backside of the barn, about 30 yards away from our position! None of our men have any shot, but back at the Skyranger, the alien lights up on Sublime’s HUD. He plots a quick firing course and pulls the trigger. Three seconds later the missile slams into the back of the barn, gutting the first floor in a massive explosion and killing the Sectoid instantly.

And that’s it! Yes! Finally, a mission with no casualties! Well done, men!

Kills: AStott, 1; Klayman III, 1; Sublime II, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None
Attribute Improvements: AStott, Klayman, Sublime.
Final score: 78
Mission Notes:
Nice to not lose anyone. Six dead men in one day are enough.

Sir Fozzie: Not sure off hand. I'll be posting a stats update sometime in the next day or two. The eight new agents aren't in the game yet. They'll be called once we hit the end of the month, and then it takes 3 days worth of game time to get them to bases.

3ric: Very funny! I should have worded that a bit differently. ;)

Anxiety: Good humor. I think we've got a new theme song!

Coming up:

Today/Saturday: Stats Update, Mission 88 photos (if available).

After that, I'm not sure. I might try to get us to the end of the month before I do the medals update, or I might try to do both at the same time. Anyway, we'll move forward a bit over the weekend.

Pimptacular!

maybe he was telling the truth....

I didn't get to shoot anyone... :(

OMG Astott stole my kill!

Wait, illini and i were together on a mission and we didnt kill eachother...my god...i figured after he shot Blade6119II my boy would get revenge...damn illini!

Any info on which base I've been sent to? :)

I'm stuck in a rut. Hardly any action

All too easy...

Hey, Illinifan999... When you get to lead an attack, then you'll discover that it's not called stealing kills. It's called helping protect your men from unneeded harm. You want to see stealing an attack? Next time I won't voluntarily give up the blaster launcher...

*mumble mumble grumble*

:D

Here we go...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 88)

USA COM

EU COM

ASIA COM

SAM COM

AFRICA COM

X-COM II Troop Attributes
Support Personnel

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 88)

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 88)

Top Ten Kills Leaders

Waiting List

The Hall of Heroes

Quick Update...

Sachmo lived through the night. Some quick surgery by Crappy not only saved his life, but should have him back in fighting condition within three weeks. Way to go, Crappy!

I'm still not sure what to do next. Medals, missions, or both. I'm leaning towards X-COM National Medals Week, because it keeps bothering me that we have a bizillion missions where people didn't get any medals.

I'll figure something out by Monday. We'll either have up Missions 31-40 medals, or the lead-in to the next mission.

Anyone see my Junior Mints?

Where the heck am I in transit to?

prob. africa com...but maybe your already to south america com. Doubtful yur already up to one of the big 3.

oh, and im glad to see you had to go to bed ;)

Lordy, my reaction time still sucks ass. I wonder if I should stop getting drunk before missions.

Be nice to keeping going on missions until the end of the month, when we can see the first batch of psi results.

ASIA here I come!

Glad I'm not last on the waiting list anymore... :)

It does make me just a bit uncomfortable to have a bunch of people with III and IV in their names behind me though...

???

I was looking at the list and I had a question...didn't Kodos die at some point? I thought I remembered him having to be regenerated.

Lokugh

I think doing a medals week would be great. Lots of those past missions deserve some recognition.

Ah, that's the military for you. You never know when or where you're going to be relocated. Sometimes you wonder if the leadership have any idea as well! ;)

Yeah, he died. But then the save file got corrupted or something and GB had to go back to a previous save to be able to continue. How convenient... ;)

It pays to have friends in high places. :D

Kang and his space-based computer disruptor?

SI

I had to STUDY, then go to bed. It just so happens this is part of my study routine.

Ok, I got nothing.

I'm busted.

This is a repost of the explanations of the Medals, just to make it easier to find:

The awards, ranked in order of prestige...

Order of Mega Mighty Mojo: The highest honor that an X-COM agent can receive. For outstanding service to the X-COM cause over an extended period of time. For repeated leadership, valor, and accomplishment in an amazing number of battles.

Order of Mighty Mojo: The second highest honor that an X-COM agent can receive. For outstanding service to the X-COM cause over an extended period of time. For repeated leadership, valor, and accomplishment in numerous battles.

Order of Mojo: The third highest honor that an X-COM agent can receive. For outstanding service to the X-COM cause over an extended period of time. For repeated leadership, valor, and accomplishment in several battles.

Star of Terra: This medal is awarded to an X-COM agent for actions that cause alien destruction above and beyond the call of duty on a single mission. As opposed to the Badge of Kahunas, this medal is awarded when you kick alien ass. It is a higher order medal that the Badge of Kahunas. Comes in three degrees: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Badge of Kahunas: This medal is awarded to an X-COM agent for unprecedented valor or sacrifice in the face of battle. As opposed to the Star of Terra, this medal does not necessarily have to mean that you actually did something nasty to the aliens. Comes in three degrees: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Angel Wings: This bar is awarded to an X-COM agent for actions of valor or sacrifice that save the lives of other X-COM agents. Comes in three degrees: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Purple Heart: Given to X-COM agents wounded in action.

Coffee Warlord Pin: Given to X-COM agents that die incredibly early in their X-COM careers. Named after Coffee Warlord, who was shot and killed approximately 1 minute after the Skyranger exit gate opened on his very first mission.

Kodos Doh Pin: Given to an X-COM agent that does something incredibly stupid or clutzy on a mission. Named after Commander Kodos, who, on a terror mission early in our X-COM history, threw two consecutive live grenades into a telephone pole directly in front of him, causing all the agents near him to scramble for cover twice, and pretty much destroying the nearby house.

Yellow Pin of Cowardice: This demerit is given to an X-COM agent for cowardice in the face of battle, for actions detrimental to the name and honor of the X-COM unit, or for incompetence that leads to the death and injury of civilians and or fellow X-COM agents.

Gray Pin of Cowardice: This higher order demerit is given to an X-COM agent for major cowardice in the face of battle, for actions detrimental to the name and honor of the X-COM unit, or for incompetence that leads to the death and injury of civilians and or fellow X-COM agents.

Black Pin of Cowardice: The highest order demerit. If “awarded”, the recipient has two alternatives: resign from the X-COM ranks or be called upon to sacrifice their life in battle for the service of the X-COM cause. If a recipient chooses to resign, their next of kin may enter the game and try to restore honor to the family name. If a recipient chooses to sacrifice their life, they will be placed under guard on subsequent missions, will have a double high explosive charge strapped about them, and will be called upon to force entry into the enemy UFO with the charge activated. If successful, your Cowardice Pins will be stricken from your record, you will be awarded a Badge of Kahunas and possibly a Star of Terra, and you will without a doubt be very very dead.

Gold Angel Wings for Coffee!!!

10 missions down, 48 more to go...

Medals Update

Mission 31

Coffee Warlord: Coffee Warlord Pin
By getting blown away seconds after the Skyranger ramp fell away, Coffee set an all-time record for shortest X-COM career. We named the award after him for his performance on this mission.

Mission 32

AStott: Bronze Star of Terra
In action against a downed UFO in the jungles of Malaysia, AStott killed three Floaters as they exited their UFO.

Mission 33

None

Mission 34

Sachmo II: Bronze Star of Terra
Sachmo II led the way on a scouting mission into the heart of an alien base. He correctly identified the aliens, killed a Sectoid, and escaped unnoticed. The kill was our first ever offensive kill.

Mission 35

Patman II: Bronze Star of Terra
Patman II took the point on the counterpart scouting mission into the Norwegian Sectoid base. Like Sachmo II, he identified our opponent, killed a Sectoid, and escaped unnoticed.

Mission 36

Lokugh: Bronze Angel Wings
Lokugh spotted and killed an enemy sniper seconds before the sniper would have killed Alf III.

Mission 37: Norwegian Base Assault

Raven Hawk: Gold Star of Terra
Raven Hawk performed admirably during the entire battle, was one of four men to charge the alien control center at the end of the fight, and single-handedly captured the base commander.

Shorty: Gold Star of Terra
Shortly killed six aliens during the course of the battle, saved two X-COM agents with timely shooting, and was one of four agents to make the charge into the base command center.

Sachmo II: Gold Badge of Kahunas
Shorty: Silver Badge of Kahunas
Klayman: Silver Badge of Kahunas
Raven Hawk: Silver Badge of Kahunas
These four agents led the final charge into the alien command center. Sachmo II, who was badly injured earlier in the fight, deserves special distinction for fighting with such incredible wounds.

Data King II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Chief Rum II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Toddiec III: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Kodos: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
3ric II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Cam Edwards II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Patman II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Kerillini II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Japherwaki: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
Al Hill II: Bronze Badge of Kahunas
For volunteering on our first base assault, the remaining ten men on the mission are awarded this distinction for bravery.

Raven Hawk: Gold Angel Wings
Raven Hawk rushed down a corridor under heavy fire and administered first aid that saved Sachmo II’s life.

Shorty: Silver Angel Wings
Shorty fired the Blaster Launcher and took out a CyberDisc seconds before it would have killed both Raven Hawk and Sachmo II. Later he took out a Sectoid that would have killed Kodos.

Patman II: Purple Heart
Kodos: Purple Heart
Sachmo II: Purple Heart
All three of these agents were wounded during the fierce fighting inside the alien base.

Data King II: Yellow Pin of Cowardice
Data King II panicked and ran away in the initial stages of our penetration into the alien base.

Japherwaki: Yellow Pin of Cowardice
Japherwaki came under alien control and killed Cam Edwards II. X-COM agents killed Japherwaki shortly thereafter.

Al Hill II: Yellow Pin of Cowardice
Al cracked under pressure and was mind-controlled by the aliens. Kodos was forced to kill him after Al opened fire on our own men.

Patman II: Yellow Pin of Cowardice
Patman II was mind-controlled by aliens. He shot Kodos with a Heavy Plasma blast that nearly killed our commander.

Kodos: Yellow Pin of Cowardice
As the remains of our attack force prepared to assault the enemy control center, Kodos froze. He was unable to continue with the mission.

Klayman: Order of Mojo
Klayman, who was killed during the final assault on the base command center, ended a career that spanned 13 missions. During that time he killed 18 aliens, received numerous awards of distinction, and ended with the highest kills/mission ratio ever recorded by an X-COM agent (ten missions to qualify). In honor of this distinguished career, Klayman is awarded the Order of Mojo, the third highest career honor that an X-COM agent can receive.

Mission 38

Rich: Bronze Star of Terra
Rich killed three aliens in a fierce terror mission in Bogotá.

Mission 39

None

Mission 40

Wade Moore: Bronze Angel Wings
Wade saved Qwikshot II with a long shot just as an alien was going to blow Qwikshot II’s head off.

X-COM II Medals (Through Mission 40)

USA COM

No medals. Means I have yet to screw up. Thank goodness.

Al Hill I was killed due to incompetence by another crew member. This injustice has still not been rectified.

I like having a medals weeks too.

Any chance of having a medal that's the opposite of the Kodos Doh Award, for either surviving death or killing aliens through sheer luck alone? Because I get the feeling I'd be getting a bunch of those :)

What did Illinifan III do to get the Black Pin of Cowardice?

I think he was the one who defected to the enemy.

Illinifan III will live on as the only X-COM agent to run away from battle and join the aliens.

Let's open it up to a Military Vote of Peers.

Tucker: Yeah, Illinifan III turned on us and fled. His whereabouts are still unknown. We'd heard transmissions from the Sectoid base in England that indicate he was there a couple of months ago, but we've heard no word of him in the past month or more. Poindexter, the captured Sectoid Commander, knew nothing of him. It's likely his disappearance will generate History Channel documentaries for years if we win this war and the mystery remains unsolved.

Japherwaki: After reading Mission 41, I'm thinking that some kind of a Rabbit's Foot Award might be in order for an agent that has extremely good luck in a mission. We need a better name, though. Hint, hint.

The Herd: When I wrote everything down for the agents moving up from guard duty, you were still in transit. I forgot to check note where I sent you. It's either EU COM or ASIA COM. If I remember correctly, it was EU COM. I'll check and update the list the next time I open up the game.

Real: I was thinking the same thing (go to the end of the month before doing medals), but we've got a couple more likely missions coming up before we get through the last couple days of October. Rather than wait, I wanted to get caught up with the medals.

fantasic flying froggies: Yup. You're next. Shouldn't be long now. Especially if we open up the AFRICA COM base as an assault base. We'll need another four or five agents right away if we do that.

Mr. Bug: Yeah, the USA COM base has been getting some short missions lately. In the middle of October, things got hot there, but now they're quiet again. It's tough to get them to Europe quick enough to get in on the big UFOs that land there.

If you are going to open up any new assualt bases, Captain Nights II volunteers to transfer there. The newbs will desperately need some vetrans and solid leadership.

I have been on 22 missions. I have 18 kills. I have ZERO medals. Just rename me Rodney Dangerfield. ;)

Jeff: I think we're going to keep most of our men in position at the big three bases during November so that we can keep everyone in PSI training. At ASIA COM, we have two PSI training facilities, so everyone there will get PSI training. I think your PSI training will be more critical to the overall success of X-COM's final mission, but we'll know more when we see your PSI training marks at the end of the month.

Revrew: One of the strong points of your career has been the fact that its gotten progressively better. In your first 13 missions, you had 8 kills. In your next 9 missions, you got 10 kills. I think your chance for medals will come as the committee starts reviewing the last 48 missions.

And as a quick update, I think I'm going to hack away at the medals for the next few days. I'll feel really good if I can get caught up with them. I'm going to try and do ten missions a day through Saturday. I'm also going to try and post the lead-in for our next mission on Friday, and then post the mission on Sunday. Don't know if I can make that pace, but I'll try.

Ah yes the dream season.

Man, I almost forgot how much of a little girlscout my father was...some of his bravery seems to have rubbed off on me however. Uh oh.

Stop your bitching, stop your glory hunting, and grab your weapon. We've got aliens to kill. Sir.

:D

If Africa does become an assault base. I'd be glad to serve in the heat and kill some aliens.