74th Mission: Terror in London! (Part I of II)
The EU COM soars towards London to face an unexpected alien attack on the British capital. One can only speculate why the aliens are attacking a nation with which they have signed a treaty of cooperation. Perhaps the aliens are finally getting desperate? This may be a big chance for us to win over the support of the British people.
Commander Kodos is in charge of today’s crew. With the exception of Breeze—a rookie on his first mission—we’ve brought along a top-notch team of experienced EU COM agents.
Left Side:
1. Jfbbis (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Revrew (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Real Deal III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Patman II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
5. Swaggs (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
Right Side:
1. Kodos (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
2. Breeze (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Chief Rum III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
The Skyranger descends to the outskirts of the British capital on this clear, breezy, fall day. We’ll be coming down on an empty lot at a street corner on the southwest corner of the battle zone. To the immediate rear of the Skyranger, about 20 yards from where we’ll exit the craft, we can make out a large warehouse. Running parallel with the right side of the Skyranger will be a long, two-lane street. We can make out a pair of small houses on the opposite side. Running perpendicular to the nose of the Skyranger will be another two-lane street. Across this street we can make out an empty lot. The area to the left of the Skyranger is secure ground. Almost all of the battle should occur to the right of our Skyranger.
The Skyranger drops the final few meters to the ground. The wheels hit the ground. The ramp falls outward…
Alert! Hot warning! Our tank spots a Floater just to the right of the warehouse in front of us, about 20 yards away!
X-COM forces come face to face with Floaters in London. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo
Kodos and Jfbbis follow our tank as it heads out onto the ramp at full speed. The Floater opens fire on full-auto. Plasma blasts hammer our tank. It explodes with a roar. Jfbbis and Kodos fire over the back of the ruined vehicle at the enemy Floater. Jfbbis’ second shot catches the thing in the side of the face and blows away half its skull in a splash of purple. The Floater gurgles and drops to the ground. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.
Two civilians come running out of the warehouse in front of us. We hear gunshots and the screams of innocent civilians roll over the city landscape. We’ve got to move fast if we want to save as many of these people as we can. Chief Rum III works past Kodos and Jfbbis, breaks left, and takes cover at the Skyranger landing gear. He scans the nearby terrain for enemies, but spots none.
Revrew starts out of the Skyranger. As he does, he spots a Floater moving away from us, about 40 yards away, in the street to the right of our exit. He and Kodos open fire. Kodos is first to hit, and his shot blows a hole in the creature’s back. The thing drops to the street, dead. Once again Kodos beats Revrew to a kill! Revrew hisses and flashes Kodos the middle finger. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.
We move out. Revrew, then Real Deal III, exit the Skyranger and head for the warehouse in front of our exit. Swaggs, then Jfbbis, exit the Skyranger, loop up under the fuselage, and head for the street off by the nose of the craft. Kodos takes the Blaster Launcher from Breeze, who is struggling under the weight of the weapon, and gives him his Heavy Plasma. Breeze, Patman II, Coffee Warlord II, and Naiwf then work their way out of the Skyranger. They join up with Chief Rum III, and the five of them form a line and begin a cautious advance towards the two houses that lie on the other side of the street that runs parallel with our Skyranger. Coffee anchors the left side of the line, Naiwf takes the middle, and Chief takes the right point. Patman II and Breeze hang back a ways and form the second rank of the line. Lastly, Kodos exits the Skyranger, breaks left, and sets up a position with the Blaster Launcher.
Swaggs and Jfbbis make a quick check of the empty lot beyond the street at the nose of the Skyranger. They then turn left and work to catch up to the right side of the line of men working their way across the street.
As our line of men working across the street get about halfway into it, a civilian comes fleeing out of one of the houses on the other side. A bolt of plasma comes from somewhere behind him and hits him in the back of the head. His head disappears in a red pop, and he drops to the ground, dead. Unable to spot the alien, our men continue this perilous, open advance.
Suddenly, a Floater exits the right side of a warehouse set back from the other side of the road, about 40 yards in front of Chief Rum III, and about 60 yards from Swaggs and Jfbbis! Most of our line of men has their lines of fire blocked by the building’s front, but Chief Rum III opens up, and Swaggs and Jfbbis add in some firepower from further back. Despite the bad angle and long distance, Jfbbis shows again why his is the second best shot in X-COM: his first shot blows the Floater’s stomach apart, and the thing falls to the ground before it can get a shot off! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.
But suddenly another Floater exits! This time the Floater gets off a number of shots at Chief, who also returns fire. Before either one can hit, the Floater switches to a grenade, tosses it at Chief, and takes cover by dropping to the ground. Crap! The grenade lands right next to Chief! Do something, Chief! Chief reaches out, picks up the grenade, and starts to toss it back at the Floater…
X-COM forces advance on enemy-held positions in London. October, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo
(to be continued)