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

[Qwikshot]

Yes it was great.

[RawIsDan]

Forgot to add this but despite the ending it was a great dynasty. Nice Job GB.

[Tasan]

I don't think this is the ending...but everyone keep quiet, Sectoid Leader might be reading!!!

[Raven Hawk]

Raven Hawk II sits on his bunk slumped over, with a piece of paper laying idly beside him. The memo is of dire news, it was orders to evacuate X-Com, given by Godzilla Blitz.

This is unfair. These aliens had killed his father. These aliens had killed his mother. Now the earth surrendurs? Bastards. In less than twenty four hours, he was scheduled to board a transport that would have taken him to SAM COM, to the hiding place of the Avenger. The last hope for mankind.

Now, the orders came to evacuate, to flee from the aliens who would be coming to the bases shortly to obliterate the last vestiges of X-Com. Raven would comply with orders. He would flee.

Walking into the armory, Raven looked over the vast store of weapons and armor. Flying Suits, Power Armor, Blaster Launchers, Laser Rifles, Heavy Plasma Guns and various other munitions. Raven instinctively reached for his Heavy Plasma. Only three notches were etched into the butt of this weapon. He had planned for more. But this would not be his destiny. Raven withdrew his hand, knowing that possessing any alien technology would be a red flag to any aliens that set up check points. Instead, he turned his attention to a less conspicuous shotgun and a box of ammo.

With a last stroll down the Hall of Heroes, Raven pried his dead father's picture from the wall. He looked at it briefly and said a few words:

"Dad, I'm sorry that I couldn't save Mom. I'm sorry that I let you down. I will keep fighting the good fight. I will not let the aliens take my freedom. I will not let the aliens take our hope."

With that Raven threw the picture into his backpack on top of a store of provisions and headed out to the motor pool. Since his own car was back in the USA, Raven selected a non-descript Volkswagon that had been brought to the base. He started the car and headed for the exit. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a CD and put it into the car's CD player.

Raven left the facility by the western gate, following a short line of ex-X-Com agents in their own vehicles. He noticed that it was about sunset and briefly jested at the coincidence.

"And they drove off into the sunset . . ."

Raven stepped on the gas and hit the Play button on his CD player.

And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
Swimming through the ashes of another life
No real reason to accept the way things have changed
Staring down the barrel of a 45 . . .

[Alf]

Raid on Mars !

[JeffNights]

Damn....Did we get Punked????

[JeeberD]

So I'm still waiting for GB to come on and say that he just heard from SI and that the destroyed Avenger was just a decoy and that we'll be launching at any moment...

Either that or that the whole Chicago incident was just a dream and that he's been watching too many Dallas reruns...

[Poli]

Dang.

I just got back from that NASCAR weekend to find I set the record for kills, got a ticket to blow up Mars, and now it's apparently over.

I'm headed for Galesburg (unofficial) COM. I'll meet you at the Nielsen Elementary, CW.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

December 14, 1000 hours

Roadside gas station, Meander River, Alberta

I pump the road-filthy Civic with gas and stomp my feet to get the blood flowing. Miss Terry is picking out some food in the convenience store beside the station. Despite my thick winter coat, gloves, and boots, the -15 degree temperature makes things a little unpleasant, especially after sitting still in a car for almost 30 hours. This far north, it’s still dark outside, and it won’t get very light even at midday. I look around at the frozen landscape and shake my head: there’s got to be at least a meter of snow on the ground now and it’s only early December. Why anyone would choose to live here is beyond me. Still, it should be safe up here for a while, even considering all that is happening around the planet.

We tag-team drove and slept all day yesterday and through the night, as we worked to get as much distance from us and the large North American cities as possible. Although we saw packs of UFOs yesterday morning, by late afternoon we were far enough north that we’ve seen only an occasional scout UFO since then. Throughout the day we listened to the radio. The news was about as expected.

Despite UN protests, by nine yesterday morning, the president of the United States had been taken by UFO off-world. By ten, the aliens had deposed the leaders of most of the world’s major countries and replaced them with Sectoid administrative teams. The sheer numbers of UFOs over the Earth was staggering, and their efficiency in neutralizing military hardware was brutally impressive. After X-COM, they went for nuclear arsenals and national space programs. By noon, they were all firmly in alien hands. NASA’s Florida and Houston operations were reduced to rubble by two in the afternoon. Traditional military forces and commercial transportation services followed. Incredibly, by early evening, less than 20 hours after the surrender, more than half of the world’s military hardware was reported as being firmly under the control of the alien forces. By six, all commercial air traffic out of major airports had been shut down, and there were unconfirmed reports that the aliens were starting to systematically blow up large commercial aircraft.

After early evening, even the satellite radio in the Honda had trouble getting reliable news, as the aliens either shut down or jammed media broadcasts across the planet. The rest of this is sketchy, but by late evening it seems that UFOs had cordoned a number of small cities around the world and began herding the population onto huge transportation craft: the aliens called these cities the “lucky first winners”, and their citizens “brave colonists for Earth’s new worlds”. Most of the reports we heard last night were from Bismark, North Dakota, one of the cities chosen. Although a small percentage of the people there apparently embraced the chance to go on the UFOs, most were reluctant. Some were openly defiant, and there were reports of brief yet violent skirmishes between residents and aliens. Armed with only hunting rifles, pistols, and knives, the humans apparently had no chance. The numbers are unreliable, of course, but we heard reports of anywhere from 10 to 500 civilian deaths compared to only 1-10 alien deaths.

Throughout the night, we heard brief, scratchy reports of activity, all of it unconfirmed. There were many claims that the aliens had started shutting down the Earth’s communication channels: Internet, cell phone, and traditional phone lines mostly. There were occasional reports of scattered alien atrocities: murder, rape, and cannibalism. By morning, the aliens had gotten their own media services running, and since then all we’ve heard are proclamations of peace, good will, and “eyewitness” reports of joyous celebrations world-wide. According to the aliens, the residents of Bismark and the other cities literally ran to embrace the transportation ships. Supposedly there were festivals, parties, events for the kiddies. About an hour ago, I turned the radio off. It’s too painful to bear. I shake my head when I think of the stupidity behind it all: to save two more cities from nuclear attack, we sacrifice the entire planet. Morons.

The click of the pump nozzle as it hits full snaps me out of my daydream. I put the nozzle back in the pump and start for the convenience mart to pay cash for everything we’re getting. It’s then that it dawns on me that this was supposed to be D-Day. I was supposed to be sending our troops off on what surely would have been humanity’s most important military endeavor. Instead, I’m buying Snickers bars, Coke, and regular gas in a frozen village in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. How ironic, I think, that on the day I was to launch the most sophisticated aerospace vehicle that man has ever produced, I am instead relegated to buying gas for a nine-year old Civic with nearly 100,000 miles on it. How fast we fall. I sigh, shake my head again in resignation. Got to keep moving. Never give up. No matter what. Never give up.

By 10:15, we’re back on the road again.

[Poli]

Sigh.

[MikeVic]

Great read, though.

[jfbbis]

Great dynasty, whatever the ending !

[SirFozzie]

You're still funnin us.. right GB?

I think we need a rope...

[thealmighty]

Anyone hear the fat lady? I ain't heard no singin'.

X-COM...X-COM...X-COM...X-COM...X-COM...

[Raven Hawk]

This is an unexpected turn in the story which makes for great drama.

Excellent stuff, GB!

[revrew]

When does the DVD come out with the alternative ending?

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Update

This far north, it’s still dark outside, and it won’t get very light even at midday. I look around at the frozen landscape and shake my head: there’s got to be at least a meter of snow on the ground now and it’s only early December. Why anyone would choose to live here is beyond me.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOURNS!

At the very least, shovelling snow beats earthquakes, tornado's and hurricane's. And for those 3 days of summer......

[jerk3616]

If this is true, and we've really lost, it looks like anal probes for the lot of us.

Thanks for the ride, GB. I'll be watching for the next one.

[Lokugh]

Great mission writeup GB, and great story to follow. I have my suspicions you are just leading the aliens away from our Avenger base so we can launch< g >

Lokugh

PS: If we do get a mission to Mars, you might try running them through agressive. I went through the whole base and only barely saw an alien

[Swaggs]

Uhm... hey guys... we aren't really done, are we?

[kingfc22]

This just keeps getting better. I just hope it ends with a trip to Mars.

Great job GB, either way.

[tucker342]

I really hope I smell a plot twist on the way...

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by tucker342

I really hope I smell a plot twist on the way...

Sorry. That, um, that was me. I had tacos for dinner.

[klayman]

Wow...I missed a lot of stuff.

[SplitPersonality1]

I miss a few days and I find out we got taken out...with a shot to the groin?!? Yikes!

Great stuff as always GB. If this is the tue ending to X-COM II, great job and sign me up up for X-COM III. If not, SplitP IV is ready and willing to serve.

[3ric]

He's searching the X-COM forums for a hack that'll enable him to say "F*ck surrender"

[Alf]

Or he is just preparing another Thread for the final X-Com battle !

[fantastic flying froggies]

I don't know wether I should be sad it's over or glad that the story continues and has even improved (I never even thought that was possible !)

And deep down inside, I'm still hoping... the light still shines...

[Poli]

Don't let this end like my Walk On dynasty.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by 3ric

He's searching the X-COM forums for a hack that'll enable him to say "F*ck surrender"

LOL!

It's called the McAuliffe Hack and it simply says "Nuts!"

[RealDeal]

It's time to kill some alien slime!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Moving to a new thread.

X-COM II: The Earth's Revenge (The Final Encounter)