69th Mission: Making Mutton of Mutons
The ASIA COM Skyranger makes its way westward for the second time in less than a week. Today’s destination is southeast England, where we’ll go up against a Muton scout that has crash-landed in the countryside. This time there should be more action for our men, as the enemy UFO is a large scout, which usually holds quite a few more aliens than the small one that we faced last time.
This time Sterling Ice got the equipment loading correct, so everyone has Power Armor on for today’s battle.
The Skyranger begins its descent…
Our troops today:
Left Side:
1. Travis III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich 1033 (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Danny Van Halen (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Illinifan V (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Jeeber D (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
Right Side:
1. Zippy II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Jeff Nights II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Split Personality II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Condors II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Fonzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
The Skyranger will be coming down on the east side of the combat zone today. We can’t make out the UFO as we descend, but we can make out a number of buildings on the battlefield. To the immediate left of our Skyranger exit, about 5 yards away, are a couple of small shacks. About 40 yards away, at a 45-degree angle to the left from our exit, are a series of small shanties. Just behind them we can make out a two-story building. In the opposite direction, about 30 yards from the nose of the Skyranger, we can see another two-story building. Other than that, we’ve got the fields, fences, and walls that are the standard fare of British battlefields.
The Skyranger lands on the soft soil with a thunk. The gate falls open. Cool fall air drifts in to our Skyranger bay. Silence greets us.
Our tank rumbles onto the ramp. Incoming plasma from the left! Ambush! Our tank is drilled by quick, consecutive plasma hits and erupts in a ball of flame! Shrapnel and smoke pour into the Skyranger bay from the explosion. Shit. Zippy II and Travis III run for the edge of the ramp. Both men scan left and start to go to their knees. There! Two Mutons! At the shacks about 40 yards away to our left. One is firing through a window from inside the first shack; the other is kneeing in front of the first shack. Plasma comes streaking at our Skyranger before either man can get a shot off. Zippy II is nailed in the chest by a direct hit that cuts through his armor. Blood comes gushing out of his chest as he topples face down on the ramp. Qwikshot II, Rich, and Danny Van Halen sprint for the exit as Travis III opens fire. Travis catches the Muton in front of the shack with a plasma blast that sends it spinning to the ground, but we hear no scream: this alien is still alive. Split Personality III, Danny Van Halen, and Rich exit the Skyranger. Split and Rich open fire on the alien inside the shack while Danny checks Zippy II: he’s unconscious but alive! As plasma blasts whiz over his head, Danny pulls out a Medikit and starts to slap patches on the hole in Zippy’s chest. Neither Split nor Rich can hit the alien inside the shack, but Jeff Nights II reaches the top of the ramp and adds his firepower. Plasma blasts tear into the shack, and finally Jeff hits the Muton in the head. The creature drops back into the shack with a scream! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.
Danny drags Zippy II’s unconscious body back into the Skyranger bay as we try to clear the congested exit ramp. Travis III jumps off the ramp to the right to take cover behind the Skyranger landing gear. Incoming fire! A plasma blast comes tearing at Travis from the left of the shack that lies right beside our Skyranger. The blast cracks into the landing strut, mere inches from Travis’ head. Travis looks right and spots the Muton about 20 yards away, behind a stone wall to the left of the shack. He returns fire, and clips the alien’s head on his first shot. The alien screams and slumps over! Yes! What a shot! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.
Off at the more distant shacks, the alien that Travis stunned gets up and starts to bolt. Rich spots the movement and we open fire again. Green plasma streaks towards the target. The Muton tries to get into the shacks, but Rich lands a plasma blast on the creature’s back that knocks it to the ground screaming. This time it’s down for good! Jeff Nights II steps back into the Skyranger for a moment to let us clear the exit, as right now we’ve got five men bunched up in a grenade’s fantasy. X-COM 3, Aliens 0.
We try to move away from the Skyranger. Split takes two steps forward, but comes under fire. Plasma blasts clang into the side of the Skyranger. Another Muton is huddled behind a low wooden fence about 40 yards away, just to the left of shacks from which the Mutons ambushed us. Danny Van Halen, who just put Zippy down at the edge of the Skyranger bay, joins Rich and Split in opening fire on the Muton. Plasma slams into the fence, but Danny slips two shots through the gaps in the planking that slam into the Muton’s torso. It clutches its midsection, screams, and topples left to die. X-COM 4, Aliens 0.
Meanwhile, Travis makes a dash for the front landing strut of the Skyranger. He gets there safely, and searches for Mutons. Illinifan V steps out of the smoky Skyranger bay, jumps to the ground to the right of the exit bay, and takes up a position at the landing gear that Travis just left. Suddenly, plasma blasts come flying at Travis again, this time from a Muton advancing through a wooded field about 30 yards off the nose of the Skyranger. The blasts punch up clumps of dirt by Travis’ feet. Before Travis can return fire, the Muton retreats into the trees. Travis crawls forward from the landing strut to try to spot the alien, as we get Jeff and Jeeber D out of the Skyranger on the right side to lend a hand.
There! Behind a tree about 35 yards from Travis! Travis ducks down while Illinifan, Jeff, and Jeeber open fire. A torrent of plasma streaks for the Muton, but our aim is off: most of the shots sail well wide. The ones that don’t blow chunks of the small tree away, but don’t hit the Muton behind it. Danny Van Halen and Split Personality, in line with the enemy from the left side of the Skyranger, try some long distance shots, and Travis adds his firepower as well. The Muton is cowering under this impressive array of firepower. Finally, Jeff Nights II gets off a great shot from afar that nicks the tree trunk and slams into the Muto’s hip. The creature’s hip explodes, and the Muton falls to the ground screaming! Within seconds it is dead! X-COM 5, Aliens 0.
Things finally go quiet for a bit. We get a moment to plan our advance. We’ve got three areas of buildings to search: the shacks and house from which the ambush took place; the shacks to our immediate left; and the two-story barn that lies about 30 yards from our Skyranger nose. Rich, Split, and Danny head for the ambush shacks and house. Condors II exits the Skyranger and joins Illinifan. They head for the shacks right beside us. Travis III and Jeeber D head for the barn off the nose of the Skyranger. Fonzie II heads out of the Skyranger and into the now secure field near the exit. Once there, he sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Jeff Nights II stays back as a reserve.
We’ll use Fonzie II to soften up some of this danger of searching buildings. He fires two blaster missiles at the barn by Travis III and Jeeber D. The structure is torn apart by the missiles, but we hear no alien screams from inside. Jeeber D and Travis head for the remains to confirm that there are no aliens left alive there.
X-COM agents clear a Muton-held village. September, 2003. X-COM Archive Photos.
Meanwhile, Illinifan V and Condors II clear the two shacks right next to our Skyranger. As they do this, they spot the UFO, about 40 yards away, sitting in a field right behind a low stone wall. The door is facing us, so we should have a good shot at anything that comes out if we can move fast enough and get in a firing position. The two men take up some temporaty positions at the shacks overlooking the door.
At the ambush area, Rich clears the first two shacks, and the team starts to advance on the two-story house that lies further on. We’ll need to clear this before we can set up a good firing position on the UFO, as the house overlooks the stone wall that we’d like to use for cover.
X-COM forces work through a destroyed British barn. September, 2003. X-COM Archive Photos.
Back on the other side of the battlefield, as Travis and Jeeber are heading for the destroyed barn, Jeeber spots a Muton heading towards the UFO through a field that lies behind it. Jeeber D drops to a knee as Illinifan, at the left side of the central shacks, picks up the movement as well. Both men open fire. Plasma blasts tear up the field, and the Muton makes a mad dash for the safety of the UFO. It gets to within 20 yards when a plasma blast from Illinifan catches it in the knee. The shot dismembers the alien and sends it rolling to the ground. It frantically tries to crawl the remaining distance to the UFO, but Illinifan catches it in the side with another blast that stops it for good. X-COM 6, Aliens 0.
Things go quiet again as we continue our searches. Travis and Jeeber work their way through the remains of the barn without further incident, and head for the area to the left of the UFO. Once there, Jeeber D sets up a firing position on the door from behind a hedgewall, while Travis continues working his way around the cross-shaped UFO.
On the north side of the battlefield, Rich and Split Personality clear the two-story house. Rich goes up to the roof and sets up a sniping position that overlooks the battlefield and UFO. Split continues past the house with Danny Van Halen. The two of them clear the area to the right of the UFO and start behind the craft.
An X-COM sniper hunts for enemy troops. September, 2003. X-COM Archive Photos.
Back at our central area, with the house to the north cleared, we now control the wall that lies to the right of the UFO exit. Jeff Nights II, Zippy II—who has snapped back awake—, and Condors II make their way to the wall and set up great firing positions on the UFO door. Illinifan breaks left and works his way to some rubble near the destroyed barn. We’ve now got six men—Jeeber, Illinifan, Condors, Zippy, Jeff Nights, and Rich—all in position to blast anything that comes out the door.
At the rear of the UFO, Danny Van Halen, Travis, and Split finish their search and converge at the back of the UFO. We’ll wait a bit to see if aliens exit the front, then we’ll have Fonzie II blow open a hole in the back so these three men can lead our assault.
We don’t have long to wait, however. Within a couple of minutes, a Muton steps through the UFO door. Six agents open fire at once. The front of the UFO is ravaged with plasma blasts. The Muton has no chance. Hit multiple times, it turns to reenter the UFO, but Jeeber D puts on the coup de grace: a head shot that blows away the left side of the creature’s head. The thing drops to the ground, dead. X-COM 7, Aliens 0.
Suddenly, another Muton steps through the door! This time Condors II is fastest to the draw. His first shot hits the Muton in the face and blows it backwards into the UFO screaming. Right on this ones heels, a third Muton bursts through the exit. Once again it is Condors II that lands the killing blow, as a stomach shot doubles the enemy up and drives it to the ground, where it dies seconds later. X-COM 9, Aliens 0.
And that’s all she wrote! That was the last alien! Well done! Tough start, but we rallied nicely.
Kills: Jeff Nights II, 2; Travis III, 1; Condors II, 2; Rich 1033, 1; Danny Van Halen, 1; Jeeber D, 1; Illinifan V, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: Zippy II (19 days).
Attribute Improvements: Zippy II, Jeff Nights II, Travis III, Condors II, Rich 1033, Danny Van Halen, Jeeber D, Illinifan V, Fonzie II.
Final score: 260
Mission Notes:
Zippy II is extremely lucky to be alive. He came as close as one can to dying from that chest shot, and would have died if Danny Van Halen had arrived a minute later.