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

[kingfc22]

Jerk, if my son makes it to active status in time. He will be honored to stand there right with ya. Knowing that he helped save Earth after his father was betrayed during the Spanish base assualt would help the kingfc name to go down in history.

[Godzilla Blitz]

102nd Mission: Sectoids in Africa

The USA COM Skyranger heads over the jungles of Africa for a mid-afternoon attack on…

Our Flying Suit production is picking up; we’re adding a couple more suits a week to the remaining bases without full stores. Half our agents today are equipped with the advanced armor. We’re also getting Hovertanks into the action on a more consistent basis, and today USA COM has one of the handy vehicles aboard.

Another day, another mission.

Wade Moore will lead our troops today.

Our men:

Left Side:
1. Wade Moore (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
2. Ardent Enthusiast (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Patman II (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
4. Anxiety III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. AStott (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)

Right Side:
1. Airhog II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Sublime II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Jeeber D (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Lokugh III (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
5. Achilles (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)

The Skyranger begins its descent to the steamy jungles below. The men scan the battlefield. We’re coming down on the northwest corner of the active zone, so the areas to the left of our exit and in front of our exit are clear. To the right of our exit and up by the nose of the Skyranger we see simply the jungle rooftop stretching out to the horizon. There is no sign of the UFO. The Skyranger drops below the tree cover and sinks into the jungle. The landing gear squishes into the soft undergrowth. The ramp falls away…

Silence. Our Hovertank heads out, spins, and scans. Nothing but jungle. We send it vertical, over the lower undergrowth for a better look into the thick vegetation. Still nothing. Ardent Enthusiast and Airhog II exit the Skyranger and begin to move southeast. Our tank, overhead, heads in the same direction. Wade Moore exits the Skyranger, goes airborne in his flying suit, and follows the tank about 10 meters back. Still nothing. After a couple of minutes, our tank spots the badly damaged remains of the UFO sitting in a tangle of undergrowth, about 40 meters to the southeast of our Skyranger. The roof has a massive hole in it, and sections of the craft are scattered about. Still no sign of any aliens.

Suddenly, our tank draws some fire. A plasma blast reaches up from the forest floor and goes sailing by. Our tank turns toward the fire and advances, with Wade a few meters back. There! A Sectoid, dug into some ferns, about 20 meters away from our tank to the south. Wade picks up the creature on his HUD, aims, and fires. The Sectoid gets up to run for the UFO, but Wade drills it as soon as it gets to its feet. The Sectoid screams and tumbles to the damp jungle floor. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

We continue to move troops out of the UFO. Sublime II and Anxiety III exit the Skyranger, and head straight south from our Skyranger. Ardent waits for Lokugh III to exit and reach him, then the two men advance southeast. Airhog II waits for Patman II to reach him, then the two men head straight east. We’ve now got six men on the ground, fanning out behind our tank, which is in the air 20 meters ahead of them. Wade heads back to the Skyranger, but AStott and Achilles exit, take to the air, and set up firing positions about 10 meters back of our tank. Lastly, Jeeber D exits the Skyranger and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher.

Suddenly, as our tank waits for our men to catch up, a missile comes flying up from the jungle floor, sails by our tank, and disappears through the jungle rooftop. Our tank spins…

Sectoid cutting down a wide jungle path, about 20 meters to the south of our Skyranger! Sublime is only 20 meters away from this Sectoid. He spots the alien on his HUD, then gets a visual on it as it cuts down a jungle path in front of him. Sublime fires a single blast. The shot catches the fleeing alien in the back and sends him sprawling to the jungle floor. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We continue moving. As our tank draws closer to the UFO, once again it takes fire. This time a plasma blast streaks up at us from inside the UFO, through the large hole in the center of the craft. The shot clangs off the hard outer armor of our tank, then ricochets up to punch a hole through the jungle rooftop. Our tank spins and scans the interior of the craft. Bingo! Sectoid, hiding behind some broken wall panels near the front door of the craft. None of our agents has a shot at the creature, so we let Jeeber have a go with the Blaster Launcher. He plots a firing course for the inside of the UFO and pulls the trigger. The missile whistles its way through the jungle, drops down inside the UFO, and goes off with a roar. Fire and smoke shoot out the hole in the roof. Inside the UFO we hear the wails of dying Sectoids. Jeeber D got him! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

And with that, our threat sensors turn green! Well done, men!

Kills: Wade Moore, 1; Sublime II, 1; Jeeber D, 2.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Wade Moore, Sublime II, Jeeber D.
Final score: 102
Mission Notes:
Jeeber D got two aliens with his Blaster Launcher shot!

Starting to feel more comfortable with the use of aerial troops and tanks.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

November 26

Shortly after midnight, Toddiec IV in the ASIA COM Interceptor downs a Snakemen scout near the North Pole. The UFO limps south and crashes in Siberia. Sheesh. What's with these Snakeman scouts and Siberia?

Out the door we go. ASIA COM to investigate. The following men are on board:
Split Personality III, FF Froggies, Jeff Nights II, Afoci, Sir Fozzie II, Glen Goyne, Fat Football II, Qwikshot II, Illinifan V, Hoops Guy.

D-Day Countdown: 18 days

[Poli]

Better luck next time! Thanks, GB!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Random Replies:

I'm going to try and post photos and an update tomorrow.

Mission 103 should go up on Thursday.

We'll call up guard troops once we hit December 1st, so it shouldn't be long before everyone is in the game, at least as a guard.

Ardent: No problem. Not much of a mission there.

Jerk: Welcome! Glad you've enjoyed the dynasties!

Wolfpack: That excuse never works for me whenever I try to play X-COM instead of changing a diaper.

Revrew: Poetic license. I'm just embellishing.

Kodos: Don't go picking yourself with that Commander's Choice!

Jeeber D: Yup, you got some! Good shot!

Real: No problem, I understand. I think you're better off staying at EU COM, as they tend to get the most big missions. They also die more often, too, but hey, you can't have everything.

Hoops Guy: Yup, PSI updates on December 1st. Five days away.

Raven Hawk: We can change your name to Raven Hook! Too bad we can't get you promoted to Captain!

Jfbbis: Of course, the fact that you've spent so much time in a hospital bed could be a big factor in your being the only one alive of our original eight men. . I thought we lost you on that one, though. You took two big hits from close range. A third shot went between you and Kodos. You'd have to think that if you took a third hit, we'd be talking to Jfbbis II right now.

FF Froggies: Yeah, I can't seem to keep everything together on the big PSI missions. We're taking a beating lately there. Losing some real good agents, too. Got to try and reduce the casualties somehow, but I'm hoping that I can identify a team of high PSI-rated agents after the next PSI results come out. PSI casualties are killing us.

Tellistto: On this mission, the command deck was at the far end, and I was thinking the aliens would trickle down to the near end of the UFO to get at us. Plus we had all those buildings near by. Still, I'd have to agree. I should have taken a couple of blaster missile shots at the command deck earlier in the mission. We ended up killing three guys in the command center in the back half of the mission. Seems like they hang out there no matter what.

[Tellistto]

Very rarely do the commanders venture down below the third deck, or even away from the door to the command room. Every single time I fought one of those things I found a sectoid standing at the door, and sometimes there was another inside that room. I never knew the blaster launcher could put a hole in a ufo, or I'd of done it myself. Anything that will stop those psi attacks is good

Tell

[JeeberD]

Wheeeeee!!!!!

I like using that Blaster Launcher thingie!

[Tellistto]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Wheeeeee!!!!!

I like using that Blaster Launcher thingie!

*Tellistto pats JeeberD on the head, smiling serenly

[SirFozzie]

Ere we go again!

[Blade]

I hope I can get Blade IV some action before D-Day...I think he is getting a little too comfortable just spending his days on the base drinking beer...

[The Afoci]

I hope this alien is a pretty girl.

[Glengoyne]

Allright, Back in the saddle again.

Glengoyne looks around the Skyranger, knowing he has to make the most of any action he sees. Everyone onboard knows that they need to stand out and differentiate themselves to have any chance of making the Mars mission. The looks on the faces of his teammates confirms that many of them are thinking along the same lines, even Fat Football has his gameface on early this mission. Glen's mind flashes back to the meeting where the Mars Mission was announced. A battle field competition he said..."I wonder what that will be? Well no time to think about that now, I'm confident I won't let X-COM down though. Hell I haven't shot any of our guys yet. I got that going for me"

The Overhead lighting dims, and the Pilots voice brings their Com units to life. "Target In Sight. You all be sure to stay warm out there."

[Poli]

AE sits in the barracks after a mission in which he did nothing. He thinks about what he's been told. That this will all be over in less than 3 weeks, one way or the other.

"I wonder if I'll be selected for the 'final' mission", he says to himself.

Suddenly, he pounces up and unlocks his foot locker. He pulls out his lone personal item he was allowed to bring, his trusty Magic 8 Ball. He used the Magic 8 Ball to enlist in X-Com. He used it before missions to find out if he would die. It had never been wrong.

"Will I be on the 'final' mission, Magic 8 Ball?" he asked the ball.

"Not Likely" was the Magic 8 Ball's reply.

The Magic 8 Ball is never wrong. Angry, Ardent takes the Magic 8 Ball and throws it across the room. It shatters on impact and Ardent goes to get cleaning gear to clean the mess.

Darn Magic 8 Ball. I hate you.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Updated Stats, through mission 101...

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 101)

USA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
14.  Wade Moore        Active     Colonel   25     23     
43.  Achilles          Active     Sergeant  20     15     
46.  Patman II         Active     Captain   22     13     
55.  Sublime II        Active     Sergeant  19     10     
74.  AStott            Active     Captain   17     19     
75.  Alf III           Active     Squaddie   9      5     
92.  Jeeber D          Active     Squaddie  11      7     
98.  MrBug IV          Active     Squaddie  11      5     
112. Airhog II         Active     Squaddie   4      1     
114. Blade6119 IV      WND (16)   Squaddie   4      4     
115. Klayman III       Active     Squaddie   4      4     
121. Katon II          Active     Squaddie   2      2
129. Ardent Enthusiast Active     Squaddie   2      2
133. Lokugh III        Active     Squaddie   2      1     
143. Anxiety III       Active     Squaddie   1      1
 

EU COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
2.   jfbbis            WND (Coma) Colonel   23     23     
10.  Kodos             Active     Commander 27     26     
19.  Revrew            Active     Captain   25     23     
70.  Naiwf             Active     Sergeant  15     10     
89.  RealDeal III      Active     Squaddie  12      7     
90.  Coffee Warlord II Active     Sergeant  13     11
101. Wolfpack          Active     Sergeant   9     10     
102. Japherwaki II     Active     Squaddie  10      7     
105. Swaggs            Active     Sergeant  11     10
110. Breeze            Active     Squaddie   6      8     
116. Chuck U Farley    Active     Squaddie   5      5     
122. Mike Vic          Active     Squaddie   3      4      
123. Vince             Active     Squaddie   3      3      
128. ShaefIllini       Active     Squaddie   2      1
131. Raven Hawk II     Active     Squaddie   2      3
 

ASIA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
35.  Jeff Nights II    Active     Captain   25     14     
39.  Thomkal II        Active     Sergeant  21     18     
41.  Fat Football II   Active     Sergeant  18      9     
45.  Danny VanHalen    Active     Sergeant  20     14     
52.  Qwikshot II       Active     Captain   20     12     
84.  Split Pers III    Active     Sergeant   9      9     
93.  Afoci             Active     Squaddie   9      7     
96.  Illinifan V       Active     Squaddie   9      7     
109. Glengoyne         Active     Squaddie   6      4     
117. Psycho Cop II     Active     Squaddie   3      2      
118. Calis             Active     Squaddie   6      1     
124. Sir Fozzie II     Active     Squaddie   4      0      
127. Hoops Guy         Active     Squaddie   3      1
134. BYU II            Active     Squaddie   4      0      
137. FF Froggies       Active     Squaddie   2      0     

 

SAM COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
71.  Wignasty          Active     Squaddie   7      3     
130. Peregrine         Active     Rookie     0      0
132. Northwood DK      Active     Rookie     0      0

 

AFRICA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
59.  Daimyo II         WND (14)   Squaddie   9      5     
94.  Data King III     Active     Squaddie   5      2     
125. Chief Rum IV      Active     Rookie     0      0      
136. Barkeep           Active     Rookie     0      0
138. Blade IV          Active     Rookie     0      0
139. Tasan II          Active     Rookie     0      0
141. Render III        Active     Rookie     0      0

X-COM II Troop Attributes

      
     Name              TUs  Sta  Hlt  Brv  Rea  Fir  Thw  Str  PsD  PsS
2.   jfbbis            78   85   61   30   35   88   58   61
10.  Kodos             80   93   60   50   62   85   74   64   75   20
14.  Wade Moore        81   82   56   30   59   92   72   68
19.  Revrew            79   73   57   30   38   68   60   65   91   24
35.  Jeff Nights II    74   80   55   60   33   67   63   54   97   17
39.  Thomkal II        74   94   60   30   56   52   61   55   60   20
41.  Fat Football II   71   72   43   50   38   70   73   54
43.  Achilles          75   74   59   10   46   80   79   56
45.  Danny VanHalen    78   85   50   10   42   63   79   52   28   21
46.  Patman II         78   71   55   60   50   52   79   57
52.  Qwikshot II       75   81   47   10   58   77   65   54   75   22
55.  Sublime II        77   77   48   10   40   74   78   59
59.  Daimyo II         65   60   48   30   47   70   64   43
70.  Naiwf             76   72   53   50   40   63   69   49   26   16
71.  Wignasty          64   45   37   20   38   61   72   44
74.  AStott            76   62   56   50   55   73   62   59
75.  Alf III           62   61   40   40   52   51   57   46
84.  Split Pers III    71   71   47   30   41   64   67   44
89.  RealDeal III      75   76   40   60   47   68   68   56   48   24
90.  Coffee Warlord II 76   85   51   60   38   73   69   46   25   24
92.  Jeeber D          65   61   44   20   31   62   78   42
93.  Afoci             64   60   41   30   40   47   55   47
94.  Data King III     63   52   31   50   36   52   58   35
96.  Illinifan V       57   55   47   50   56   54   66   45
98.  Mr. Bug IV        65   69   50   10   34   71   66   41
101. Wolfpack          72   75   41   40   38   65   59   42
102. Japherwaki II     69   81   43   20   32   53   53   50
105. Swaggs            71   77   47   60   51   78   69   51   83   24
109. Glengoyne         70   70   45   30   34   68   53   46
110. Breeze            65   51   41   60   31   72   54   42
112. Airhog II         56   67   30   60   56   44   54   29
114. Blade6119 IV      56   47   44   10   37   74   61   33
115. Klaymn III        62   80   46   30   34   72   58   36
116. Chuck U Farley    58   69   36   40   55   68   77   39
117. Psycho Cop II     53   64   40   10   60   67   50   44
118. Calis             58   57   26   50   39   55   73   35
121. Katon II          54   54   29   40   59   69   54   39
122. Mike Vic          67   50   45   10   32   44   53   43
123. Vince             60   69   31   10   45   66   57   43
124. Sir Fozzie II     60   65   27   10   31   67   50   25
125. Chief Rum IV      55   46   25   30   50   52   63   38
127. Hoops Guy         54   54   40   40   41   59   65   27
128. ShaefIllini       62   53   43   10   60   59   64   36
129. Ardent Enthusiast 64   63   31   40   48   65   72   35
130. Peregrine         55   45   37   30   35   45   64   34
131. Raven Hawk II     59   46   33   20   31   68   66   43
132. Northwood DK      51   40   27   30   54   48   56   40
133. BYU II            52   69   33   10   53   58   61   38
134. Lokugh III        54   62   39   60   40   47   55   37
136. Barkeep           52   57   33   30   34   55   73   32
137. FF Froggies       55   51   40   10   57   44   75   36
138. Blade IV          58   42   30   30   51   40   49   23
139. Tasan II          60   50   38   10   37   54   79   20
141. Render III        59   64   27   50   42   46   53   22
143. Anxiety III       56   60   42   40   38   69   68   34

Key: TUs = Time Units; Sta = Stamina; Hlt = Health; Brv = Bravery; Rea = Reactions
     Fir = Firing; Thw = Throwing; Str = Strength; PsD = PSI Defense; PsS = PSI Skill

Support Personnel

Head of Research: Craptacular
(Current researching focus: Gravity Shield)
Head of Engineering: Sterling Ice II 
(Current manufacturing focus: Flying Suits, Hover Tank, Avenger Fighter)
US Interceptor Pilot: CapnMorgan
EU Interceptor Pilot: Superman
AS Interceptor Pilot: Toddiec IV

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 101)

Time Units:   (81) Wade Moore
Stamina:      (94) Thomkal II
Health:       (61) Jfbbis
Bravery:      (60) (Nine tied)
Reactions:    (62) Kodos
Firing:       (92) Wade Moore
Throwing:     (79) (Three tied)
Strength:     (68) Wade Moore
PSI Defense:  (97) Jeff Nights II
PSI Strength: (24) (Four tied)
 

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 101)

Time Units:   (51) Northwood DK
Stamina:      (40) Northwood DK
Health:       (25) Chief Rum IV
Bravery:      (10) (14 tied)
Reactions:    (31) Raven Hawk II, Jeeber D
Firing:       (40) Blade IV
Throwing:     (50) Sir Fozzie II, Psycho Cop II
Strength:     (20) Tasan II
PSI Defense:  (25) Coffee Warlord II
PSI Strength: (16) Naiwf
 

Top Ten Kills Leaders

1.  Kodos                26
2.  Wade Moore           23
2.  Revrew               23
2.  Jfbbis               23
5.  Astott               19
6.  Klayman (KIA)        18
6.  Thomkal II           18
8.  Shorty (KIA)         16
9.  Achilles             15
10.  Rich (KIA)          14
10.  Danny Van Halen     14
10.  Jeff Nights II 
     14
 

Waiting List

ID   Name              Base         Status     Rank     LBrvOK?  OptUp?
144. Rich II            -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
145. Zippy III          -           AWOL       Rookie   Yes      Yes
146. Gi                 -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
147. Tellistto          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
148. CT Homer II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
149. Rawisdan II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
150. Gbk                -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
151. The Herd II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
152. 3ric V             -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
153. Fonzie III         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
154. Condors III        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
155. Dawgfan            -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
156. Travis V           -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
157. Kingfc II          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
158. Tucker III         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
159. Almighty II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
160. Sachmo IV          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
161. The Time II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
161. Jerk               -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
 

[Tasan]

MARS MARS MARS!

I, Tasan II, volunteer my untested PSI self for assless-chap, feces throwing duty if so required! Heck, if you want to gamble, I'll suit up and carry a guy for you too!

Am I in any of the Psi testing this month? I can't remember if we ever got a facility built in Africa.

[Godzilla Blitz]

RING RING RING

Calling: Everybody, yes, everybody, on the waiting list!

Report to USA COM for processing. First ten men to reply to the call get sent to SAM COM for guard duty.

As incredible as this may be to believe--after who knows how many years of doing this dynasty--this has the potential to be "last call", so put some hop to it if you want in.

[jerk3616]

jerk flings poo at the Martians...or maybe it's just the phone...

I'm in.

[Coffee Warlord]

I must get me to Mars! I'm trying myself to the bulkhead if need be!

[MrBug708]

Respond to what?

[Godzilla Blitz]

jefk: One minute. Not bad hop there, rookie. Almost as fast as Ardent.

Tasan: Nope, the PSI lab for Africa isn't done yet. Sterling Ice also forgot to start the construction in time to get the thing done by the end of the November, so training can't start there until the end of December. Unless something really gets messed up, that looks like "never". Sorry.

Tellistto: Thanks. I think a couple of times we killed the last alien on supply ships in the grav-lifts at the east end of the craft, but I don't remember if that was on missions where we torched the command center with missiles or not. A lot of times we've had to go in and get them at the command center, though. It sures seems a safe bet to blow it apart early in the mission, anyway.

Blade: Yeah, been a bit quiet down there, and with everyone coming out of the infirmary at EU COM, our bases are at full power. I really don't have a good idea for how many missions are left for us to play.

Maybe some rough math would help...

We just detected our 168th UFO, and that has generated 103 missions (although a handful of these aren't from UFO sightings). That means that roughly 61% of UFO sightings result in missions. We're detecting about 1.5 UFOs a day now. If there are another 18 days to go, we'll have, um, let's see (does math), another 16 or 17 missions? A lot can happen in that time.

One factor working against missions is that our fusion balls tend to blow apart the smaller UFOs instead of forcing them to crash land. One factor working towards more missions is that the number of UFOs we're detecting is increasing every month.

Ardent: Only time will tell.

One more thing. Photos are up for mission 101, the USA COM supply ship attack.

[kingfc22]

ME!!!! ME!!!!

USA
USA
USA

[Dawgfan1980]

Am I still on a waiting list? If I am, lemme at um!

[3ric]

Private 3ric V reporting for guard duty. Sir.

[DeToxRox]

i'll world tour .. USA can be next on my list

[Alf]

Alf reporting for this crucial mission !

[jerk3616]

I can honestly say that I just happened to look in before I left for the evening, and the 1-minute response was just coincidence. However, if I said that I just happened to be hanging out in a tree across the street from a certain X-Com commander, cell phone in one hand and a pair of binoculars in the other, trying to decide if I should continue to wait for the call or leave the tree and root through his garbage...you'd buy that as coincidence too, right?

I'm also starting to realize that my body of work as a poster to this forum has now contained the words "assless chaps", "clown makeup", "feces", and a reference to being a voyeur.

I think I should take a nap. I'm starting to creep myself out.

[Tellistto]

Reporting in, GB.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by jerk3616

I can honestly say that I just happened to look in before I left for the evening, and the 1-minute response was just coincidence. However, if I said that I just happened to be hanging out in a tree across the street from a certain X-Com commander, cell phone in one hand and a pair of binoculars in the other, trying to decide if I should continue to wait for the call or leave the tree and root through his garbage...you'd buy that as coincidence too, right?

I'm also starting to realize that my body of work as a poster to this forum has now contained the words "assless chaps", "clown makeup", "feces", and a reference to being a voyeur.

I think I should take a nap. I'm starting to creep myself out.

Dude, those are some of the most common topics on the board. You fit right in. Don't worry about it.

[SplitPersonality1]

Originally Posted by jerk3616

I can honestly say that I just happened to look in before I left for the evening, and the 1-minute response was just coincidence. However, if I said that I just happened to be hanging out in a tree across the street from a certain X-Com commander, cell phone in one hand and a pair of binoculars in the other, trying to decide if I should continue to wait for the call or leave the tree and root through his garbage...you'd buy that as coincidence too, right?

I'm also starting to realize that my body of work as a poster to this forum has now contained the words "assless chaps", "clown makeup", "feces", and a reference to being a voyeur.

I think I should take a nap. I'm starting to creep myself out.

I think I like the new guy.


edit: And not "that" way, you freaks.....Not that there is anything wrong with that.

[Glengoyne]

So GB are you thinking that there will only be another 20 or so missions for this whole dynasty?

[Poli]

You heart the new guy?

[Godzilla Blitz]

103rd Mission: More Snakes in Siberia

The ASIA COM Skyranger heads north again, to once again take on Snakemen in the forests near the top of the world. Not sure what’s bringing all these UFOs to Africa and Siberia lately, but we’ll take the fight wherever we can.

ASIA COM seems to get the short end of the best equipment. Only three men will have Flying Suits today. They’ll have to make do with a stock issue tank as well, as they still don’t have a functional Hovertank. The glamour boys at EU COM get all the good stuff.

These short missions don’t give us much opportunity to build up our experience, but we’ll try to make the best of them.

Jeff Nights II leads our men today.

Left Side:
1. Split Personality III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. FF Froggies (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Jeff Nights II (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
4. Afoci (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
5. Sir Fozzie II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side:
1. Glen Goyne (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Fat Football II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
4. Illinifan V (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
5. Hoops Guy (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The men search the battlefield as the Skyranger drops through the cold, clear, northern skies. The early morning sun throws long shadows over the forests below, and we can’t spot the UFO on the way down. We’ll be coming down on the southeast corner of the battlefield, so the areas to the right of our exit and to the nose of the Skyranger are secure ground. In front of our exit is a small clearing; immediately behind it woods run as far as we can see. There is a line of lightly forested hills that lie to the immediate left of our exit and run parallel with our craft.

The Skyranger drops below the tree line and lands with a bounce on the small clearing. The ramp falls away…

Silence.

Our tank rumbles out of the Skyranger bay, hits the ground, spins, and spots nothing. Glen Goyne and FF Froggies are next out of the Skyranger. They set up firing positions at the landing gear. Our tank begins to move toward a cut in the line of hills to our left. Jeff Nights II and Illinifan V exit the Skyranger, go airborne, and scan the battlefield from above. Suddenly, our tank spots a Snakeman sneaking up on our position through the cut in the hill to our left. Illinifan and Jeff wait for the Snakeman to slither into range, then they open up on the unsuspecting enemy. Plasma blasts crack the silence of the forest and go flying toward the Snakeman. He startles, then turns to flee. Jeff hits him first and knocks him to the ground. He rights himself just as Illinifan blows a hole in his torso that drops him to the ground for good. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Things go quiet after that. We deploy our forces and move out. Split Personality III exits the Skyranger and joins Glen. The two men begin west, up over the hill to our immediate left. Sir Fozzie II exits and joins FF Froggies. The two of them move in behind our tank and follow it as it cuts through the ravine that runs through the hill on our left. Hoops Guy and Afoci exit the Skyranger and head straight north to sweep the forests in front of our exit. Fat Football II exits and sets up a position with the Blaster Launcher by the nose of our Skyranger. Lastly, Qwikshot II exits and goes airborne to join Illinifan and Jeff. The three of them then fan our behind and above our position to look for aliens from up high.

Our position expands, but we find no more aliens. The hill on our left is actually the first hill in a pair of small rolling hills that run parallel with our craft. As our tank cuts through the ravine that cuts across them, it spots the medium-size, cross-shaped UFO lying behind the second hill. We can now hear internal UFO doors opening and closing. We’re getting closer. We move in on the craft.

Our tank leaves FF and Sir Fozzie and goes directly towards the door, which faces us, and sets up just to its left. Glen comes over the second hill and then jogs to take up a firing position behind the tank. Split does likewise, but instead of stopping at the tank, he continues past it to check the left side of the UFO for aliens. FF Froggies and Sir Fozzie hold at the edge of the last hill and set up firing positions on the clearing that spreads out to the northwest. Jeff Nights and Qwikshot close in on the UFO from the air.

Elsewhere, Hoops and Afoci continue to sweep the woods in front of our exit, with Illinifan in the air behind them for support.

Suddenly, FF Froggies and Sir Fozzie spot a Snakeman approaching in the clearing to their right, about 25 meters away. Both men open fire, but Sir Fozzie is faster and more accurate. Sir Fozzie’s first shot catches the Snakeman in the head. Its entire left side is blown away in the hit. The Snakeman falls gurgling to the ground. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Once again things fall quiet. Over the next few minutes we complete the search of the exterior of the UFO. All the remaining aliens must be inside the UFO. We close in with everyone.

We’ll try to bust the UFO from two points at once, and our men move in position to do so. At the main entrance to the UFO, Glen Goyne and Qwikshot take cover behind our tank, while Jeff Nights II sets up over the door. Afoci sets up just to the right side of the entrance. At the corner of the UFO to their right, Hoops Guy, FF Froggies, Sir Fozzie, and Split get ready as Fat sets up to blow a hole in the side of the UFO with the Blaster Launcher. Illinifan waits on top of the UFO, just above the spot where Fat will blow our hole. Fat will start us off, and then FF Froggies and Hoops Guy will lead the charge into the UFO. Once they draw attention, we’ll send Glen, Afoci, and Qwikshot in the front door.

On three. One. Two. Three!

Fat fires the Blaster Missile. It winds through the woods and slams into the square corner of the UFO. The explosion blows a hole in the side and kicks back a torrent of flame into the woods near the corner. With Hoops Guy right behind him, FF Froggies tears around the corner and into the UFO…

Three Snakemen! Holy shit! Two to his right, at the shattered command center. One to his left, right in front of the main entrance. As the stunned aliens turn to react, FF Froggies fires on full-auto at the closer alien to his right, from five feet away. FF Froggies still can’t hit shit. All his shots slam into the bulkhead to the alien’s right. This alien spins, aims at FF, and—

Is drilled by Hoops Guy in the chest! The alien screams and tumbles backwards to the floor. The other two aliens turn to open up on FF and Hoops Guy just as Glen Goyne, Qwikshot, and Afoci come pouring into the UFO through the main entrance. Glen smashes the butt of his Heavy Plasma into the back of the skull of the Snakeman near the door, then dives right as the remaining alien turns away from FF and Hoops Guy to fire on this new threat. Qwikshot, right on Glen’s heels, gets off a shot just before the alien. He blows a chunk out of the creature’s shoulder just as the Snakeman fires on full-auto. Plasma races toward the men at the front door but the Snakeman’s aim is thrown off by Qwikshot’s hit: the plasma tails up and rips into the UFO’s roof. Afoci, right behind Qwikshot, drops to the ground and fires a shot through Qwikshot’s legs that skewers the Snakeman in the stomach. The alien squeals, doubles over, and falls. Wow! Nice work, men! Now that’s the way to run a UFO assault: 30 seconds, three dead aliens. Well done, men. Except for you, FF Froggies. X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

And with that, our threat sensors fade to green.

Kills: Afoci, 1; Glen Goyne, 1; Hoops Guy, 1; Sir Fozzie II, 1; Illinifan V, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Afoci, Glen Goyne, Hoops Guy, Sir Fozzie II, Illinifan V, Jeff Nights II, Qwikshot II.
Final score: 142.
Mission Notes:
I was happy with the final assault. We brought a ton of firepower on what could have been a treacherous situation.

FF Froggies is the second worst shot I have ever seen. He has missed just about every chance we have given him to make a kill. Today’s opportunity—an unawares alien from five feet—was a Christmas present, and he still blew it. How could he miss three times from such close range? More time on the range with you, my man!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Glengoyne: It's hard to say what will happen, as one mistake could spin things badly negative, but if things go positively, I'd say we'll fall somewhere in the "10-20 missions left" range. We are definitely in the end game one way or the other.

Jerk, Kingfc, 3ric, Dawgfan, and Tellistto: You're in! You'll won't get to the base until about December 3rd, but I'll post stats when you arrive.

[gkb]

Oh man did I miss the waiting list call????

[Godzilla Blitz]

Nope. You're number six. We're still looking for four more from the waiting list.

[gkb]

WooHOO!

[Rich1033]

I need to get back in on the action. Count me in.

[Breeze]

FF Frogies can go to Mars despite his Psi rating since he can't hit anything anyway.

[fantastic flying froggies]

I don't understand why this shooting thing doesn't work... I'm doing everything they taught me in basic training...
I do have one question though. On this heavy plasma thing, which end am I supposed to point at the alien ?
And this trigger thing you keep mentionning, remind me again what it does exactly ?

Or maybe just gimme a blaster laucher ? I shoud be able to hit an alien 5 feet in front of me with that thing, shouldn't I ?

Last option, I seem to have a pretty good throwing characteristic. Maybe you should just give me some grenades and push me in the damn UFO !!!

[fantastic flying froggies]

Originally Posted by Breeze

FF Frogies can go to Mars despite his Psi rating since he can't hit anything anyway.

Damn ! Breeze has now seen through my plan to go to Mars...

[illinifan999]

I'll just *wait* up here on the UFO, you guys go ahead.

[Fonzie]

Reporting for duty sir.

[Travis]

Ready to roll whenever you need me sir. I should last longer than my last incarnation (in fact, you may be hard pressed to top that one )

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Travis

I should last longer than my last incarnation (in fact, you may be hard pressed to top that one )

Been there, done that.

[Glengoyne]

Whoot another mission another kill!

Not to mention this one was in Hand to Hand with a Snakeman. Something for my memoirs.

[SirFozzie]

Nice. Finally got my first kill. Need to get better quick if I want to go to Mars

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

November 27

For the first time in a long time, nothing happens. All is quiet.

November 28

A supply UFO touches down at the British Sectoid base. Sachmo parks his Firestorm in the airspace above it, but runs low on fuel and has to return before the thing takes off again. We send our EU COM Skyranger loaded with men, but the UFO proceeds to take off and get away. Missed opportunity.

November 29

Once again, there is no UFO activity.

Crappy's team of researchers unlock the secrets of Grav Shield Defences. These will allow our bases to remain hidden from nearby UFOs. Not sure if it matters at this point, but we begin building a facility at all five of our bases.

November 30

The month ends with a wimper. No UFO sightings, but big news: Italy becomes the fourth European country to sign a pack with the aliens. It withdraws its portion of our funding immediately. Britain, Germany, Italy, and France have alled abandoned the human cause. Traitors.

December 1

PSI reports for November are due in later today, but before that happens, the USA COM Interceptor engages in some fierce dueling over American airspace: Around 3AM it knocks out a tiny scout (I think these are the ones that look for our bases) about 200 miles from our base; ten minutes later it forces a medium Ethereal scout to crash land in Minnesota, about 100 miles from our Fargo base. Two UFOs downed in a ten-minute time span!

We prepare the USA COM Skyranger to make the short jaunt. They'll strike once the sun comes up.

On board:
Ardent Enthusiast, Airhog II, Wade Moore, AStott, Klayman III, Alf III, Achilles, Sublime II, Jeeber D, Katon II

Ethereals, men. Be careful.

[Poli]

This was why the Magic 8 Ball was against me.

[Alf]

yeah, Ethereals, take care !

[Kodos]

Remember boys. Try to be a serial Ethereal killer!