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

Welcome to Part Seven of X-COM II: The Earth’s Revenge!

After another hiatis, the story moves forward once again, at what I hope is a steady one-mission-per-week pace...

Recap
The previous two threads have detailed recaps explaining some of the background of our adventure, as we haven't moved too far forward chronologically since then. Please see those thread to get a "large picture" overview of how our war stands.

To refresh our memories though...

When we last left our heroes, we were at the end of the hardest day of fighting to date in the eight-month long war: five missions in one day, most all of them against tough aliens in large UFOs. Although our first four missions were clear successes, our last mission, against a mere scout UFO in Italy, saw us lose two agents, one of whom was one of our top five agents, Ravenhawk. It is here where we'll pick up the story again...

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, please just post here or in the sign-up thread and 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
Our current game:
X-COM II (Part I)
X-COM II (Part II)
X-COM II (Part III)
X-COM II (Part IV)
X-COM II (Part V)
X-COM II (Part VI)

Our first game:
X-COM I (We all died in this one)

Here's where we left off...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 53)

USA COM

EU COM

ASIA COM

X-COM II Troop Attributes
SUPPORT PERSONNEL

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 53)

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 53)

Top Ten Kills Leaders
Waiting List

The Hall of Heroes and One Scumbag Traitor

Still dont know how Illinifan IV could be in the Hall of Heroes? He went to Notre Dame, always knew he was a bad seed, the ugly duckling, nasty apple! :mad:

Dola, I am also amused at how my family has had the most X-COM agents. ;) We tend to die quickly. Or go MIA/traitor like that bastard Illinifan IV! :mad: How I loathe him! :mad:

I'm just hoping to get some kills this time around. In the "lost missions" I did so much better :(

31 August

The month ends with a report that Crappy has unraveled the mysteries of UFO Navigation. This should take us one step closer to being able to produce ships that can take on the larger alien ships in the air.

The UN report comes in at month’s end, and brings mixed and confusing results (there may be a bug in here). Our score is off the board in the positive, and we receive an overall “excellent” commendation, but about ten countries are unhappy with our performance, and Germany has signed a secret pact with the aliens now too! England, Germany, and France have all gone over to the dark side! Europe is abandoning us! Yikes. I think that must mean that there is an alein base somewhere in Germany. Could be time for another base raid.

On Septemer 1, we call up agents to replace the fallen from August 30, and start building PSI-laboratories in Europe and Asia. They should be done before the end of the month, which means that we should be able to get a bunch of agents in PSI-training by the beginning of next month’s cycle. Not sure how all this works, but I think we’ll know the PSI-ratings of the troops in training by the end of October.

September 1

We start making transfers to get an even balance of troops at our three bases. Achilles heads to Asia from Europe. Data King III and Al Hill III head in the opposite direction. CTHomer heads for EU COM from the US. We order a new tank for EU COM.

September 2

Well, it looks like we're not going to have a long wait to get some action, as once again the European night comes alive with UFOs! Five UFOs, at least three of them large, start sweeping the European continent in the early morning hours.

Once again, we prepare the USA COM and ASIA COM Skyrangers for launches in the middle of the night to try and take out the large UFOs once they land. Once again, EU COM hunkers down, wondering if the UFOs scouring the continent are hunting for our base...

At daybreak, a mid-size scouting UFO touches down in the forests of Norway. We take a risk, and with four large UFOs buzzing Europe, send our EU Skyranger off to take them out. We’re leaving ourselves dangerously unguarded, but I want to hit these aliens hard today, and if possible, not let a single UFO get away without a fight.

The men on board: Chief Rum II, Klayman II, Render II, Kodos, 3ric III, Sachmo II, The Time, Rawisdan, Zippy, Astott.

Give ‘em hell men! I hope you’ve kept in shape during our break!

Coming this Sunday: Mission 54!

Fixed it! :)

But really, what ever could have happened to Illinifan IV?

For those of you that may have forgotten, Illinifan IV was repeatedly mind-controlled during a battle in the snowy tundras of Norway, and got dropped from X-COM voice and radar contact during the fight. Agents never found his body, but human footprints in the snow led from the battlefield towards an alien base a few miles away. He has never been heard from again, and remains to this day one of the great unsolved mysteries of X-COM.

Rewards have been offered for information leading to either his arrest or recovery, but as yet, nothing has turned up.

Rumors that he is a descendant of Osamu Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and/or Darth Vader are unconfirmed.

We must destroy the alien bastards - except for myself!

Yes! After a long slumber i shall lead my men to victory!!!

I can't wait to go from "In Transit" to "Active". That has got to be the longest airplane flight ever... :)

No kidding! It has been what, a 5 month flight? DAMN!!!:D

Woohoo! Back in action! Looking forward to kicking some alien, non-Kodos ass! :D

CR

Good luck guys!

Can't wait until I get back in the action too!

After watching the godawful but kindof fun "They Live" on AMC the other night, I'm ready to, uh, engineer stuff.

For those of you unfamilar with this move, it stars Roddie Piper (yes, that Rowdy Roddie Piper from WWF) as a construction worker named Nada who stumbles across a pair of sunglasses which let him see that the world as it really is: filled with aliens who look like they are wearing $1 rubber masks but who appear as normal people if you don't have these sunglasses.

Nada: "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum. " (which was later/earlier- I'm unsure which- used by Duke Nukem)

SI

Hey GB, thnx for fullfilling achilles and my reqest for the transfer. I didnt think you would remember. If im going to die(ive been alive way to mong for a blade, i might as well die with my friend).


Go get em Europe!!!!

Jeeber and Tucker: Yeah, that's been a loooong flight. Part of the reason is that we've been hammered with UFO attacks in the last few days of game time. I think you're scheduled to make it in within a few hours, but with four more UFOs buzzing Europe, there might still be quite a bit of fighting before you can in to the base. Sorry. I'll make a point to see where you guys are the next time I open the game (it tells you how many hours before you report).

Blade6119: No problem. I'm surprised I remembered too. Actually, I had made a note of it.

Sterling: That sounds like a winner of show!

Naiwf: At least you're still alive, though. It's getting rarer these days...

54th Mission: Norwegian Assault!

The EU COM Skyranger soars across the fjords of Norway, heading for an early autumn forest on the north side of the country. With our tank still in transport and the transfers still in transit, we only had ten men available in EU COM for this attack. The base is empty, a mighty risk should one of the UFOs searching the continent find and attack our base.

Kodos will lead the men in this mission. Sachmo II, whose blunder in forgetting to load the Blaster Launcher cost two men their lives in the last mission, has been given another chance with the same weapon. One can only wonder what thoughts run through his mind after his tragic error of the last mission.

Left Side:
1. Chief Rum II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Render II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. 3ric III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. The Time (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Zippy (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Klayman II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Kodos (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Sachmo II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Rawisdan (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
5. Astott (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger begins its descent to the woods below. We’re coming down a little to the southwest of the center of the battlefield. There is a small stretch of woods to the left of our exit and another at the nose of the Skyranger, but otherwise the majority of the battle should occur to the east and north of our ship. To the east—the right of our exit—there is a large wooded hill that starts about ten yards from our craft. Beside that, to the left as we look at it, we can just make out the edges of the cross-shaped UFO. Directly out from our exit is a small clearing, then a large, wooded hill starts up and off into the distance. To the left of this hill is a smaller wooded mound.

The Skyranger thumps down. The gate falls out. Silence. Klayman II hits the ramp, scans right and left, jumps off the Skyranger, and takes up a firing position at the landing gear. Render II follows, breaks left off the ramp, and sets up behind the ramp. Fortunately, the area at the nose of the Skyranger and the area to the left of our exit appear clear of aliens. That allows Klayman II and Render II to face the UFO and the woody hills on either side of it. The rest of the men get ready to disembark.

Suddenly, an alien appears on the right side of the hill that lies to the left of the UFO! It’s some kind of a new alien—a bulky green humanoid wearing a helmet of some sorts. Render II reacts instantly, and gets off a long shot that misses but drives the alien back into the woods.

3ric III comes running onto the ramp, jumps right, and spots another one of these green things through the trees that lie in front of the UFO. 3ric III drops to a knee and opens fire. Plasma slams into an intervening tree trunk, but one shot slips through and nails the alien in the groin. Purple goo comes spilling out of the creature, and it howls horribly as it drops to the ground. They bleed; they die. Nice shot, 3ric III! Before we can do anything else, two more green aliens come at us from the right side of the hill to the left of the UFO. One gets off a shot that spews up dirt at 3ric III’s feet. 3ric returns fire as the first alien turns to dart back behind cover, but 3ric’s shot catches him in the middle of the lower back, and blows a huge hole in the creature. It falls flat on its face, dead. The third alien opens fire at the men around the Skyranger, but his shot sails just wide of Render and cracks into a tree behind the Skyranger. This alien ducks back out of sight before we can line up any shots.

As Rawisdan exits the Skyranger and heads for the small hill to the left rear of the Skyranger, Render II tosses a grenade to the area that this most recent alien should be in. It goes off with a boom that echoes off through the woods, but out of the smoke the alien charges us again. 3ric III had his wheaties today, though: he gets off a quick shot that guts the creature for his third kill of the day! Wow! Go 3ric! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet after that last attack, and we are able to deploy in force. Rawisdan and Render II head for the little hill to the left rear of our exit. Chief Rum II and Zippy head for the right side of the large hill to the left of the UFO, towards the two bodies of these new green aliens. Astott exits the Skyranger, joins Klayman II, and the two of them head down the small clearing to the right side of the UFO and to the left of the large hill that lies beside it. Kodos and The Time exit and head for the large hill that lies immediately to the right of the Skyranger exit. Sachmo II exits, turns left and set up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher in a nearby grove. 3ric III, with three kills already, trots back into the Skyranger as a reserve: best to spread out the kills if we can.

The next few minutes pass by without incident. Rawisdan and Render II clear the small hill, turn right, and start up over the larger hill that lies to the left of the UFO. Chief Rum II and Zippy make it to the left corner of the UFO, where Chief Rum II identifies this new alien as a “Muton” on his Universal MIB dictionary. Klayman II and Astott make a cautious advance to the right side of the UFO. The door on this craft should be on the east side, on the far side as we approach it. Nevertheless, we should see aliens coming around the corners at some point, as we have heard the whir of alien doors a few times in the past five minutes. Kodos and The Time clear the large hill that lies to the right of the UFO, and begin down the other side.

Having cleared the hills, we are now in a position to advance on the UFO door. Rawisdan, Render II, Chief Rum II, and Zippy (Squad One) can loop around the far side of the UFO. Klayman II, Astott, Kodos, and The Time can approach from the near side. To help clear the way, Klayman—one of our better arms—tosses a grenade up and over the UFO to land just away from the where the exit door should be. The grenade goes offwith a muffled thump, but there was no alien scream along with it. As Squad One closes on the door from the back side, and Squad Two closes on the door from the near side, Sachmo II gets into the action, sending two consecutive blaster missiles at the UFO. The first one loops up and over the craft, then makes a sharp angle for where the door should be. There is an awesome explosion: smoke and fire spew up into the sky, and dirt and grass are tossed in all directions. The Time and Kodos, from about 40 yards away from behind some fallen trees, have good enough angles now that they can partially see the exit, and they spot for Sachmo’s second missile, which passes through the now destroyed door and explodes with a dull boom inside the mid-size craft. Klayman II and Astott, both right beside the the UFO wall, see a soft plume of smoke coming from the roof the craft, and realize that Sachmo II’s shot has blown a hole in the roof. Klayman lobs a grenade into the hole. Another dull thud comes from inside the craft, but as yet, we hear no screams. Sachmo II fires a third missile into the UFO. This one buries itself deeper in the core of the craft, and is followed by both a roar and a scream! Sachmo II picked one off! Way to go! X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

Suddenly, Kodos and The Time spot a Muton near the exit! They raise their Heavy Plasmas to fire, but lose sight of the creature in some intervening foliage. Astott lobs a grenade over the UFO to land near the exit area. Zippy and Render II pick up the pace and close to within 15 feet of the final corner to the exit from the back side of the craft, with Chief Rum II and Rawisdan right on their heels. The grenade goes off with a crash, and then suddenly a Muton comes around the far corner, right in front of Zippy! Both man and alien bring their weapons to bear, but it is the alien that is a fraction of a second faster: Zippy is drilled with a stream of heavy plasma blasts from point blank range. His body disintegrates, sending an explosion of blood and gore in all directions, and covering Render II in red. The alien then twists his aim towards Render II, but Render gets a finger on his trigger as the alien turns and nails the creature full in the face with a plasma blast. The alien’s head explodes in a flash of purple, and it drops to the ground! X-COM 5, Aliens 1.

And that is it! That was the last alien.

A stunned Render II calls for a body bag, and begins to look through the purple and red gore near the corner of the UFO for any recognizable pieces of Zippy. After a few minutes, he’s got a small pile of parts: a severed hand, a leg from the knee down, some large chucks of bone. Kodos and The Time arrive to help, but when 3ric arrives a few minutes later with the body bag, the pile isn’t much bigger.

Wrap-up

Promotions: Render II, Sergeant.
Kills: 3ric III, 3; Sachmo II, 3; Render II, 1.
KIA: Zippy.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Chief Rum II, The Time, Render II, Klayman II, Sachmo II.
Final score: 116!
Mission Notes:
Damn, I hate to lose men. Especially at the very end. Crap crap crap. Zippy was good, too.

Apparently Sachmo II’s blaster rocket hit the jackpot, as he picks up an official three kills. Nice payback for the last mission.

Go FOF X-COM!

Too bad about Zippy, but otherwise a fine mission. Good work, GB!

Hooray for the Blaster Launcher. I still blame "god" for the mystery of the unloaded blaster launcher. I guess that's part of the healing process, eh GB? :D

Render slumps into his seat in the 'ranger for the flight home...looks around him and says rather blandly, "someone ....get...me....a....TOWEL."

to bad about Zippy:(

A good job overall though:)

Wait a minute! Did I hear something about "more advanced ships"?? Specifically, "more advanced ships that will allow us fighter pilots to actually do something when an alien craft bigger than a VW bug comes into our area"? How intriguing.....

Toddiec

Great job again GB

OK, I think it is time I signed up.

Marmel

I need in on this, too.

How do we get Swaggs on board? :)

Wow, way to jump on the bandwagon guys

TV Commercial:
"Wheaties are good. Eat your wheaties, kids, and grow up to be a X-COM alien exterminator"

(fires blaster launcher into ufo)

"Eat Wheaties!"

Kodos, Fat: Thanks. Too bad Zippy got zapped, though.

Sachmo: Very clever. ;)

Toddiec: Yup, that's right. Bigger, more powerful, and faster ships for you to play with!

Marmel, Swaggs: Welcome aboard! I'll add your name to the list, although I must say XCOM is really scraping the bottom of the barrel when we start accepting Yankee fans (Marmel) into our ranks! ;)

3ric: Nice commercial! We should get sponsor patches like European soccer teams, too! I bet Volvo would like to put some decals on our tank. The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) would want something on Kodos, I'm sure. Just think of all the royalties; we'll be rich!

Hey, let's be fair here. Yankees fans can catch a plasma blast to the crotch just as well as the rest of us. :p

For some unknown reason, I never looked at the X-Com threads during my FOFC career. I thought - truth to God - that this was an FOF dynasty where the various teams were different plaents and societies and suc, and that the football team had to win or else earth would be destroyed. And that really wasn't my thing - more FOF dynasties and all.

So I clicked on it recently and umm....not FOF!

And I've spent the last 3 days reading the old threads including the first excursion. Amazing stuff and GB should be super proud.

I humbly ask to sign up for duty whenever you need me. I'll take whatever whenever, doesn't matter the bravery score, and I'll opt up if necessary!!!

GO X-COM


-Anxiety

Ah, It feels good to be back. This is quite possibly the best dynasty ever.

hurrah! the dynasty continues!!

Rumor has it they just love to be the first one to rush into the UFO.

:)

Anxiety: Glad you enjoyed it! I'll add your name to the list. Welcome aboard!

Airhog, Cam: Welcome back!

Quick update...

I should be setting the stage for the next mission tonight, and we're looking good for the next mission this Sunday.

You might be thinking of the short-lived .Up From The Ashes Village Challenge from the old board.

Good to know I wasn't making that stuff up! Thanks kindly.


-Anxiety

I still remember our two defensive backs...damn that woukld have been the best duo ever.

Just remember..

DannyVanHalen is the Bob Hope of XCom. Death is not an option.

Coffee Warlord Sr. said that too.

Right before he went out on his first mission.

Update
As the EU COM Skyranger lifts off and heads back towards its base, our USA and ASIA Skyrangers continue their flights toward the European continent. There are still numerous UFOs flitting around Europe on what looks to be another long day of fighting.

As the EU Skyranger touches safely down at base an hour later, the USA Skyranger gets the word: Large UFO has landed in Spain. Assault immediately!

With that, the USA Skyranger alters its flight path and heads for mainland Spain. They will be next in.

On board: Thomkal II, Fat Football II, Cam Edwards III, Tasan, Fonzie II, Revrew, Jeff Nights II, Tucker, Naiwf, Coffee Warlord II.

Good luck gentlemen! You’re up this Sunday!

Whoo!

CW Jr. is ready to kick some alien arse, preferably WITHOUT psi-nuked this time. The laundry crew is already upset with me for last missions...dirty armor.

Get me sum action, GB!

Go kick some arse, guys... :)

Go get 'em guys!

We are cheering for you back on the homefront...

Just checking in, I'm here and reading, and ready to kick some alien butt!

At least I went quick, although I wish I could have taken some of those buggers with me. I expect that my son, ZippyJr will be following my footsteps in joining x-com's effort to rid the earth of alein scum. (Kodos isn't scum so he can stay)

Guys, I know no one wants me to die, after all, I boost morale, but c'mon, I only shot our own guy one time.

Hell, Bobby Knight's still coaching isn't he?!

Godzilla Blitz lay in bed and looked up at the dark ceiling above him. The hum of the base fans were the only audible sound. He had been lying here for three hours now, waiting for word from the USA Skyranger. God, how he hated the waiting. The damn waiting was the worst part. When you know good men are putting their lives on the line, and you just want to know that everything is ok, but you have no way of finding out, other than those damn incompetent Skyranger pilots, which are as good as useless, and sometimes even worse.

They should be hearing from the Skyranger any time now. Ten more men on yet another assault on the enemy. What engagement was this, #55? How many men would die today? How many more would die before it was all over? Would we win? Would we lose?

Finally, Godzilla got out of bed, turned on the light, and reached for the toy 8-ball Fortune Teller that sat on his night table. It had been a gift from his wife, a joke sent along in last week's mail to help him relieve the pressure of not knowing any of the important answers. He looked down at the black window on the ball, saw the edge of the white answer cube sitting in the black, sticky fluid inside. Godzila chucked and thought, "Can't do any harm, that's for sure." He thought of a question, then spoke it aloud to himself:

"Will all the men survive this mission?"

He shook the ball, then stopped and looked at the window. The white cube floated up to the top:

"No. Definitely not."

Crap. Wouldn't you know it? Well, let's keep going:

"Will there be human wounded?"

He shook the ball again, and watched as the answer drifted into view:

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Aargh! You're not helping! You're supposed to help relieve stress, not answer all the questions negatively. Tell me something good!" Godzilla thought of another question:

"Will we win the war against the aliens?"

Once again he shook up the ball, then waited. The white answer cube floated into view:

"Ask again later."

"Piece of crap, you stupid fucking ball! Tell me something useful! Let's see...

Will we win the assault?"

The white answer cube floated up to the window so that an edge rested right against the window. No answer was visible.

"Aargh. Some stress relief this is! You're worse than the Skyranger pilots, at least they kind of speak English. Ok, one more question, and if you don't answer this with something positive, I'm tossing you, you hear me? Ok...

Will anyone get three kills today?"

Godzilla shook the ball furiously, then stopped and waited for the answer cube to float up to the window:

"Maybe."

Godzilla yelled, brought the ball over his head, then threw it straight down onto the concrete floor of the base. The ball shattered, black fluid sprayed in all directions, and black pieces of plastic clattered across the floor. The little white cube went spinning wildly into the corner of the room.

"God damn stupid piece of junk! Why did I even bother? You're just a friggin' toy! You don't know jack, do you? Do you!"

With that, he wiped off the droplets of fluid that reached his face, shut off the light, dropped back into bed, and continued restlessly waiting for word of what was going on. Had he bothered to look at the white cube in the corner, this is what it had to say in answer to his last question:

"You are wrong."

God I hate you Kenny.

55th Mission: Spanish Inquisition

The USA Skyranger begins its gentle descent to the Spanish countryside. This will be the second battle of what is turning out to be our second day of multiple battles in less than a week. Although the men inside have heard the reports of the new, faster, more powerful aliens—the Mutons—that were encountered on the last mission, it would appear that Ethereals are still our most dreaded opponent.

Captain Jeff Nights will lead the attack. He’s a rising star among the X-COM elite; some newspapers hailed his last mission as our most successful one to date. Also, let’s give a big welcome to Tucker, a rookie on his first X-COM mission. Talk about a baptism of fire: first mission and he’s up against a battleship!

Left Side:
1. Thomkal II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Fat Football II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Cam Edwards III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Tasan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Fonzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Revrew (Heavy Plasma, Stun Gun, Power Suit)
2. Jeff Nights II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Tucker (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends to the Spanish countryside. The skies are overcast on this warm, breezy day, but as we clear the final layer of clouds we get a look at the battlefield below. We’ll be coming down just to the west of the battleship, which lies a mere 10 yards away from our Skyranger. The massive three-story structure covers our Skyranger in shadow as we drop beside its hulking frame. We can see the telltale marks of the craft: the top two massive octagonal floors that rest on top of the four outer supporting pods and central pod of the first floor. At the rear exit of the Skyranger, about 30 yards away, lies a brick and wood, two-story barn. To the left of our exit lies a small grove. There are open fields at the nose of the Skyranger. The bulk of the battlefield lies to the right, or east, of the Skyranger exit, but there is enough unsecured ground to the left of the craft and at the nose of the craft that we could conceivably come under fire from four directions upon exiting.

I don’t like our position at all. The barn provides good cover for aliens, and the UFO is directly to our right. We could easily get hit by a well-concealed enemy firing at us from two sides or more. Crap.

The Skyranger hits ground. The ramp drops open and falls to the ground with a clang. Silence greets us.

Our tank rumbles onto the ramp. Plasma shots peal in from the left! One blows a hole in the side of the Skyranger, one slams into the side of the ramp, and the other whizzes past the entrance. Our tank turns left: Muton! In the field to our left, about 20 yards away! Thomkal II follows right on the heels of the tank, hits the ramp, then turns and dives straight towards the alien. Thomkal II lands, tucks, rolls, and comes up firing on full auto. The speed of the movement catches the alien off guard, and before he can switch his aim to Thomkal, a plasma blast from Thomkal’s Heavy Plasma rips open his chest. The alien falls with a thud! Rock on, Thomkal! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Tucker and Cam Edwards III exit the Skyranger and break sharply right, taking up firing positions near the landing gear of the Skyranger. We move our tank right as well, towards the looming shape of the UFO. We can now make out that the structure directly in front of our exit is a barn, and that there are at least two more barns set back on either side from this one. The rest of the men move towards the exit.

Muton! In a field, to the left of the UFO, about 40 yards away! Tucker and Cam open fire immediately; the Muton drops to a knee to take aim. We were a mere fraction faster than the Muton, but it pays off: Tucker’s shot blows a chunk out of the thing’s shoulder! It stays up, but just long enough for Cam to drill it in the stomach. The creature howls as its purple intestines gush onto the warm Spanish soil. It drops to its knees, then falls forward a moment later, its life quickly draining. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Incoming fire! Muton sniper on a barn rooftop! A plasma blast streaks down on us; the blast rips into the top of our tank, and it goes up in a ball of flame! Crap! Where is the sniper? Tucker leaves his spot at the Skyranger and sprints towards the barns to try and get a better look! Wow! What bravery! There it is! Lying on the roof of the right barn, about 40 yards away. Coffee Warlord II exits the Skyranger, drops to a knee, and opens fire just as the Muton lines up Tucker in its sights. Coffee’s shot is dead on, though, and the Muton never gets to pull the trigger: a plasma blast from Coffee’s weapon sends up a puff of purple goo; the alien’s head drops to the rooftop and falls still! Nice shot, Coffee! X-COM 3, Aliens 1.

We manage to move out a bit. The plan is simple for now. We’ll send some men to clear the barns, and some to cover the UFO exits, which lie on the central pod underneath the top two floors. Cam heads up along the Skyranger to try to get around the western support pod of the UFO and to get a firing angle on the south exit door of the central pod. Coffee sets up at the Skyranger’s landing gear to provide cover. Fat Football II heads into the now secured fields to the left of the Skyranger exit to set up the Blaster Launcher. Thomkal II heads for the left barn. Tasan exits and starts for the central barn, which is most likely cleared of aliens: if there had been any in there, they would have opened up on us by now. Tucker holds his position in the field, and scans the right barn for enemy movement.

Things stay quiet for a moment, and we continue to deploy. Fat Football II fires the Blaster Launcher at the central pod of the UFO; the missile slams into the left side exit, which still lies blocked by the west support pod in front of us. The missile explodes, sending smoke, dirt and debris shooting out on both sides of the west support pod, but we hear no alien screams. Fat slams another round into the Blaster Launcher. Cam starts to circle around the far side of this western pod, while Coffee Warlord II moves forward and starts around from the near side. Naiwf exits the Skyranger and follows a short ways behind Cam.

Meanwhile, in the fields, Tasan races to a window on the first barn, and gets a look into the first floor: empty. Thomkal II, approaching the left barn, notices an open front door on the structure, and gets a sixth sense that all is not right with this barn. Suddenly, a Muton comes running out the door into the small field next to the barn! Before it can turn, Thomkal II opens fire and nails it with two direct plasma hits. The Muton howls horribly and tumbles to the ground! X-COM 4, Aliens 1.

Back at the UFO, we continue to advance on the central pod. Cam and Naiwf turn the corner of the west pod, close to within 10 yards of the south exit, and wait for aliens to come out. Fonzie II exits the Skyranger and joins Coffee Warlord II. The two of them turn the near corner of the western pod, and advance to the rear of the central pod. Fat Football II fires a blaster missile through the now visible rip in the central pod’s door, then tries to angle it up and in to the third floor, but the missile turns straight south after making it to the second floor, and explodes over the southern pod. The blast blows a hole in the outer wall there, and also rips a slice out of the second level’s flooring, just in front of Cam and Naiwf. Debris showers onto the ground in front of the men.

Back in the fields and barns, Thomkal II cuts right and follows Tasan into the first barn. So far no aliens, but Tasan cautiously moves to the bottom of the stairs up to the second floor. Tucker, in the field, keeps a look out for trouble from the right barn and the distant fields. Revrew and Jeff Nights II finally exit the Skyranger, now that the area is clear. Jeff heads to help Thomkal II and Tasan clear barns; Revrew heads for the men at the central pod.

Suddenly, a Muton comes out the door of the UFO, right in front of Cam and Naiwf, who both open fire from point blank range. Cam hits once, but it’s Naiwf’s headshot that drops the alien to the ground in a heap, purple goo pouring out of the remains of its shattered skull. Then Coffee Warlord II, standing near the back of the central pod, catches movement inside the UFO through small tear in the side of the outer wall. Both he and Tucker, firing from the field, have angles on the hole. They pour fire at the hole, most of which misses the tiny target, but Tucker sneaks in a shot, and we hear the wail of a Muton’s death throes! Nice shooting men! Before we catch our breaths, another Muton charges out of the UFO! Here they come! Cam sends a stream of plasma into the alien’s side, and it crumbles to the ground screaming! X-COM 7, Aliens 1.

Back in the barns, Tasan rushes up the second floor stairs and finds…

Nothing. The men start to move out of the barn, to search the barn to the left of the present one.

At the UFO, Fonzie II and Coffee Warlord II advance past the central pod a bit and set up a firing position on the right-side, or east-facing door. With Cam and Naiwf holding the south-facing door, we now have a solid firing position. Fat Football II tries another blaster missile shot, but the missile makes a u-turn after entering the gravlifts in the tiny central pod, comes racing back out, and slams into the south pod. The blast punches a hole in that wall, and showers Cam and Naiwf in dirt and smoke. Enough of that stuff. There is obviously something preventing our missiles from getting up inside the UFO.

Revrew makes it around the western pod, sneaks up on the back of the square central pod, and starts alongside it to the left-side door. He circles around the central pod, and comes to the corner just before the south exit. He’s only five feet away from this door. He prepares a proximity grenade, which he’ll try to toss it into the central pod through the door destroyed by Fat’s missiles. He sneaks up on the door…

Muton! Above! On the second floor, about ten feet away! Revrew hasn’t been spotted yet. He takes aim as best he can with one hand and pulls the trigger. The alien’s head explodes as the plasma blast hits it dead on! Whoa! Three more aliens appear in and around the upper floors of the gravlift! And one of them is some kind of new alien—a gooey, purplish, throbbing mass of living jelly. Revrew turns tail, and runs back around the corner, with the proximity grenade still in his throwing hand. Once there, he stores the grenade away, and everyone waits. After a minute, no aliens appear, and Revrew returns to the central pod door to take another look. He cautiously approaches…

Muton, on the second floor! Revrew moves a bit more to get a good shot, then opens fire. Plasma streaks up into the second floor, hitting, but not downing the alien. Revrew quickly retreats again. Once again the men wait. Once again, nothing happens. After another minute, Revrew approaches again, spots another Muton, and gets off more shots. The Muton grunts in pain, and Revrew slinks away again. He repeats the procedure one more time. This time, as he gets to the opening, he spots the purple jelly mass on the second floor. He fires on full auto and puts three direct hits on the thing. It makes a horrible hissing sound, and stops quivering! Another kill for Revrew! X-COM 9, Aliens 1.

Having burned through his luck for the day, Revrew goes around to the backside of the exit pod, but keeps his eyes on the crack in the exit pod. Fonzie II leaves Coffee’s side and moves up toward the east UFO exit to try his luck, while Cam and Naiwf keep their plasma’s trained on the south exit, and Fat keeps his Blaster Launcher ready for firing.

Back at the barns, things are quiet: Tasan, Thomkal II, and Jeff Nights clear the far barn on the left, and start cautiously across the field behind the central barn. Tucker keeps his eyes trained on the as yet unsearched fields and barns that lie to the north of the UFO.

Back at the UFO, as Fonzie II draws within five feet of the east exit, Revrew spots movement inside the exit pod through the crack in the back wall! He yells a warning to Fonzie II, then jams his heavy plasma in the crack and pulls the trigger. A Muton wails in agony, and Cam and Naiwf see a spray of purple blood shoot out the destroyed south door. Nice shot Revrew! Boo-yah! X-COM 10, Aliens 1.

Suddenly, things happen too fast! Two Mutons come pouring out of the south exit! Cam and Naiwf open fire, and one of the Mutons goes sprawling. A plasma blast from the second one cuts right between Cam and Naiwf, but they keep up the fire! The Muton darts back inside the UFO. Suddenly, the east door opens up right in front of Fonzie II. He spots green and purple movement inside the UFO, and raises his plasma to fire. Kablaam! A grenade goes off right in front of the door, blowing Fonzie backwards to the ground in a cloud of debris. He lands hard, and his Heavy Plasma clatters away from him. Everything seems to be moving in some kind of surreal slow motion: He can no longer hear a thing, he has no idea where he is, and he feels a sharp sting in his left hand. He looks down at his hand: his index finger is gone from the knuckle up, and blood is oozing down the remains of the thin armor glove. Suddenly, shots come streaming out of the smoke at the UFO entrance and sail inches over his head, jolting him back to the present.

Fonzie rolls right and grabs his weapon, just as the east door whizzes shut. He looks down again at his bloody left hand, roars in rage, stands, and rushes the UFO door. Once there, he slams the opening pad. The door slides open. Right in front of him are a mass of purple jelly and a Muton right behind it! The Muton is facing towards the open south exit—away from Fonzie—so Fonzie snaps his aim to the purple jelly, and opens fire at point blank range. The mass of gooey jelly explodes in a liquid blast, sending goop all over the interior of the pod. The Muton, now alerted, twists to return fire. Fonzie dives right, away from the doorframe, as plasma streaks through the space he just vacated. He gets up as the door slides shut, and races towards the safety of the near corner of the pod to catch his breath. X-COM 11, Aliens 1.

Cam wheels into action from the other side of the pod. If he can catch the Muton facing the east door, he should have an open shot at the thing’s back. Cam rushes the ten feet to the shattered south exit, and steps inside the UFO. Bingo! Muton, facing the east exit, four feet away! Cam twists towards the Muton—but loses his footing on a broken piece of the UFO door and stumbles! The Muton spins towards the noise. Cam desperately pulls the trigger on his heavy plasma as he falls to a knee, but the shot is drawn low by the motion of his fall: it sails between the Muton’s legs and crashes into the door behind it. The Muton roars and pulls the trigger. The plasma blast slams into Cam’s head at point blank range, sending skull fragments, blood, tissue, and shattered Power Armor in all directions! Cam’s headless body falls backwards to the floor of the UFO pod with a thump. Suddenly, the UFO door opens from behind; an instant later, the smiling Muton’s head disappears in a purple explosion. The body falls forward, revealing Fonzie II standing with his smoking Heavy Plasma in the doorframe. X-COM 12, Aliens 2.

Fonzie scans up into the interior of the UFO for signs of movement, but all is silent. That was the last alien! The mission is over!

As Naiwf, Revrew, and Coffee start to converge on the central exit, Fonzie searches the area near the east door of the UFO for his missing finger. After a couple of minutes he shrugs, takes a look at the central pod of the UFO, and walks back inside. There is red blood, purple goo, and purple Muton blood all over the inside of the pod. Pieces of the shattered door, body parts, and corpses are strewn over the floor like discarded toys. Fonzie spots Cam’s corpse and walks over to it. He drops to a knee, pulls out his knife, grabs Cam’s left hand, pulls the armor glove off, and saws off the index finger. He holds it up, examines it, nods his approval, and sticks it in a pouch on his ammo belt. That one should do nicely.

Wrap-up

Promotions: None.
Kills: Cam Edwards III, 2; Revrew, 3; Thomkal II, 2; Naiwf, 2; Fonzie II, 2; Tucker, 1; Coffee Warlord II; 1.
KIA: Cam Edwards III.
Wounded: Fonzie (1).
Attribute Improvements: Revrew, Thomkal II, Naiwf, Fonzie II, Tucker, Coffee Warlord, Fat Football II.
Final score: 608!
Mission Notes:
Frustrating to lose Cam when we were so close to another casualty-free mission. That makes two missions in a row that we have lost an agent right at the end. Damn.

Go FOF X-COM!

I LIVED!