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

[Thomkal]

Is it too late to be on the Skyranger that did the last mission instead of this one?

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally posted by Blade6119
I love those....if you want more, go there and browse their demotivational posters.

Those are always great. My all time favorite has always been...Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now.

[Lokugh]

Originally posted by Blade6119
How about this beauty from demotivation.com:

"If at first you dont succeed, failure may be your style"
or
"It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others"

I love those....if you want more, go there and browse their demotivational posters.

I have the full set, greeting card style. My favorite is "Burnout: Attitudes are contagious. Mine might kill you."

Lokugh

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by wade moore
Don't worry, I wasn't complaining.. I most certainly see the reasoning and advantage to me staying back -- believe me, I like staying alive!

Hell, you're a desk jockey anyways, what with your rank of super uber magnificent eighteen star general or whatever.

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

51st Mission: Big Day, Part III (French Large UFO)!

Two missions down; two to go. Ten minutes after the ASIA COM Skyranger starts back home, the USA COM Skyranger begins its descent to the French countryside. Awaiting them is our second large UFO of the day.

Captain Jeff Nights will lead the attack. On a side note, we’ve got two rookies on board: ex-flyboy Coffee Warlord II and Cam Edwards III. You may remember that the original Cam Edwards lasted only three minutes in his first battle before getting scalped by a Sectoid Plasma blast. He held the record for shortest X-COM career until Coffee Warlord managed to get himself killed in less than a minute, without ever setting foot outside the Skyranger. Should be interesting to see these two families of such a rich military tradition try to outlive each other on this dangerous mission.

Left Side:
1. Thomkal II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Rich (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Jeff Nights II (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. Fat Football II (Blaster Launcher, Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Cam Edwards III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends to the French countryside. The weather is identical to that of our previous two battles: clear skies and great, cool weather for fighting. The men get a look at the battlefield as the Skyranger descends. Our pilot will be putting us down in a field on the west edge of the battle zone. The most noticeable feature of the landscape lies to the immediate right of the Skyranger: there is some sort of two-story building less than 10 feet from the side of the craft. To the rear of the Skyranger, where the men exit, is a large wheat field. Beyond that lies a small orchard. At the nose of the Skyranger lies a couple of vegetable fields. We see no sign of the UFO yet.

The Skyranger descends the last few meters, then slams hard into the ground, rattling the men and gear inside. Rookie drive. The exit ramp drops away…

Alarms blare and the red warning light goes on! Hot landing! Sectoid in the wheat field, 20 yards away and approaching! Our tank rumbles forward as the Sectoid opens fire. Plasma blasts clang off the rear of the Skyranger. Revrew steps forward and opens fire. He’s dead on target: his first shot blows a hole in the Sectoid’s chest, sending an explosion of green goo flying in all directions. The now trunkless Sectoid falls to the ground in pieces. Take that little gray man! X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Our tank moves down the ramp and scans the battlefield, but sees no more aliens. Thomkal II exits the Skyranger, drops off the ramp to the left, and scans for movement. He sees nothing, but hears the soft click of a door opening inside the building just to the right of the Skyranger. Sounds like someone’s home. Time to say hello. Everyone in the Skyranger clears a path for Tasan, who pulls the trigger on the Blaster Launcher. The missile sails out the rear of the Skyranger, arcs a 180-degree turn to the right, and then slams into the side of the building. Brick, wood, and glass go up in a brilliant fireball that sends a shower of debris flying back onto the field. The entire first floor of the building is gutted in the blast, and we hear an alien screaming inside the building! Yes! Tasan bagged one! Unfortunately, the blast radius also got our rocket launcher tank too, and it suffers a turret hit that dings the launchers. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We immediately send our tank towards the now gutted, flaming building. Naiwf jumps out of the Skyranger, rolls off the ramp to the right, and comes up behind our tank as it edges to building. The rest of the men shuffle to the exit, with Cam Edwards III and Revrew manning the point positions. Suddenly, another Sectoid comes rushing our position from out of the grove at the far side of the wheat field! A long Plasma Blast sails towards the Skyranger entrance…

And just passes over it, missing Cam’s head by about two feet! Cam ducks in fear, but Revrew reacts instantaneously, and fires a return Plasma Blast that catches the Sectoid in the stomach and drops it with a howl. Way to go Revrew! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Before we can take another step, a wave of PSI-energy washes over the men…

Everyone holds steady! Way to go!

We move out. Revrew and Fat Football II head straight towards the grove to clear that area of any remaining aliens. Our tank crashes into the charred remains of the building’s first floor. Naiwf follows close behind. Through the far window frame of the building Naiwf spots the UFO. It’s one of long, three-story supply ships; the type that has two octagonal sections joined by a narrower central section. There should be two exits, one on each of the octagonal sections, on the far side of the UFO from where we are.

This could work out nicely. There is a solid stone wall that runs from the remains of the near wall of the building, and should provide outstanding cover to fire on the near UFO exit. Cam Edwards III exits the Skyranger, joins Thomkal II, and they both head up alongside the building towards the stone wall. Suddenly, another tremendous wave of PSI-energy flows over the men! Thomkal II starts twitching, spitting, and turning purple! He…

Hangs on! But his confidence is shattered, and he starts babbling incoherently. One more attack like that and Thomkal could be fighting for the enemy. Jeff Nights orders him to drop his weapons and grenades and get back inside the Skyranger immediately: his day is done. A twitching, sweating Thomkal obeys, and heads back for the Skyranger entrance. Coffee Warlord II exits to take his place. This should be interesting: Cam and Coffee trying to work together. I hope one of them doesn’t kill the other by accident. Tasan, Jeff Nights II, Rich, and Fonzie II make it towards the Skyranger exit.

We set up a plan of attack. Cam, Coffee, and Rich will head for the stone wall and take up firing positions on the closest UFO exit. Revrew, Fat Football II, Fonzie II, and Jeff Nights II will sweep through the fields on this side of the UFO, go around the far corner of the craft, and come up on the far door. Tasan will man the Blaster Launcher at the Skyranger and provide artillery support. Naiwf and the tank will cut towards the UFO, then break either towards the near door or far door as needed. Thomkal will cower in the Skyranger.

We set the plan in action. Fonzie II and Jeff Nights II exit the Skyranger, join Fat Football II and Revrew, and all four resume a sweep of the area on this side of the UFO. Rich exits the Skyranger and hurries to catch up with Cam and Coffee Warlord II. Coffee reaches the stone wall first, and sets up a position overlooking the UFO exit area as Cam covers the last few yards to the wall. Naiwf and the tank confirm that the rubble of the building holds no aliens, then prepare to head around towards the UFO. Tasan takes up a position behind the Skyranger and awaits further orders. Thomkal II heads into the Skyranger.

Suddenly, Thomkal II completely flips! He runs straight out of the Skyranger, down the ramp, then turns right and runs inside the bombed-out building! He keeps on moving towards the UFO! And just as quickly, he draws incoming plasma fire that slams into a chunk of building about five feet to his right! Coffee raises his head to see if he can spot the source of the fire, and spots two Sectoids at the corner of the UFO, about ten feet from the exit door! Coffee opens up on full auto. Streams of plasma scream across the 50 feet interval and slam into the aliens. One gets drilled in the hip, and the resultant explosion cracks it in half with a snap like that of a breaking number 2 pencil. The second one turns to return fire, but catches a blast to the shoulder that blows its arm off at the joint. The arm goes spiraling backwards, and Green goo comes spewing out of the creature’s torso. The Sectoid screams, tries to stop the flow with its one remaining arm, but gets drilled in the chest and slammed back into the wall of the UFO, where it slides to the ground in a heap, topples over onto its side, and then flops onto its face. Coffee got himself a pair! Nice shooting! X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

We resume our movement. Cam reaches the stone wall, observes Coffee’s handiwork, then joins him in keeping a close eye on the UFO exit. Naiwf leaves the tank and cuts through the building remains for the near UFO exit, as this looks to be a hot spot. Revrew, Fonzie, Fat, and Jeff (Squad One) continue to sweep the apparently empty fields.

In past missions, the alien commanders have stayed holed up in the third-floor bridges of these supply vessels and rained down PSI-attacks on our agents. It would make sense that the current PSI-attacks are coming from the same place. Now that Coffee and Cam have a good look at the UFO, we can try to counter the PSI-attacks. Tasan fires a blaster rocket up, over the remains of the building, and straight into the outer wall of the UFO, right near the bridge. The rocket punches a hole in the outer wall and sends a roaring fireball inside. A moment later, a screaming, burning Sectoid comes clawing its way out of the hole in the UFO and falls flailing to the to the ground 30 feet below! Yes! How do you like Blaster lunch, alien commander? X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

Suddenly, a Sectoid comes around the corner of the UFO, in plain sight of Coffee and Cam, and then Cam catches more Sectoid movement through the smoky hole in the UFO bridge. Almost as quickly, two massive waves of PSI-energy roll over our agents! Naiwf freezes completely, but Coffee goes berserk! He twists towards Cam and opens fire with his Heavy Plasma; two shots bracket Cam—either of which would have killed him from such close range. Luck was with Cam on that one! Cam reacts instantly: he stands, spots the Sectoid near the base of the UFO, opens fires on full auto, and pins the thing against the side of the UFO with two quick torso hits. It slumps to the ground a gooey mess. Then Cam zigs and zags his way back towards the remains of the building in hopes that Coffee won’t rip him apart with another random plasma blast. Thomkal, in the meantime, recovers his wits and heads back to the Skyranger. X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

Back in the field, Squad One continues its uneventful movement through the fields. Jeff Nights II leaves the line though, and jogs back to switch weapons with Tasan, who already has picked up some experience today by firing the Blaster Launcher. Once there, the two men switch weapons, and Tasan jogs to join the other three agents sweeping through the fields.

Coffee snaps back to his senses. Jeff orders him to drop his weapons, and he obeys instantly. Cam and now Rich swing back into position at the stone wall. As they do this, Cam spots the alien still alive in the UFO bridge. Jeff Nights II fires a Blaster rocket to try to take this one out. The rocket flies up over the building, disappears in the hole that Tasan’s shot opened up, and then slams right into the alien on the bridge. UFO debris, Sectoid goo, fire, and smoke, come spewing out the hole in the UFO! That should slow down those PSI-attacks! X-COM 8, Aliens 0!

Or maybe not! Another wave of PSI-energy hits our men. Naiwf, who dropped his weapon earlier, now comes under alien control and disappears from out HUD displays, and Coffee panics again. Rich, at the wall, spots an alien sneaking up along the far side of the UFO wall, but before he can get a shot off, the Sectoid opens fire. Fortunately, his shot harmlessly clips the edge of the UFO wall. Rich and Cam open fire, but both miss spray wild shots against the UFO hull. The Sectoid takes careful aim and gets off a second shot, this time much more accurate. It screams across the intervening field and slams into Rich’s chestplate, knocking him backwards to the ground, just as a return shot from Cam blows apart the Sectoid’s thigh and spins it to the ground with only one leg left. Rich—unable to breath—has his world turns black; blood starts oozing out of his ears, nose, and mouth. Cam reaches over to snap off the badly crushed chestplate and pop open his faceplate, and this allows Rich to suck in a huge gulp of air. He rolls over, vomits up some blood and mucus onto a row of cabbages. Gasping violently as the oxygen flows back into his lungs, his world slowly comes back into focus. After another moment he kneels, wipes off the blood and mucus, and snaps his faceplate back on. He’s back in business! This is clearly a man with kintama of stone! He’s ok! X-COM 9, Aliens 0.

Back in the field, Squad One accelerates their pace in an attempt to get around the UFO a bit faster. With all these PSI-attacks, we’ll need to get this thing over with quicker.

At the stone wall and building, Coffee continues to whimper unintelligibly, but Naiwf regains his composure enough to drop all his grenades and start back for the Skyranger. Rich sets back up at the wall, and both Cam and he hold steady.

Back at the Skyranger, Thomkal recovers enough for Jeff to order him back into action. He heads back under the Skyranger, picks up his weapons, and heads into the building.

Suddenly, a Sectoid pops out of the exit door of the UFO! Before either Rich or Cam can react, it spins and opens fire! A plasma blast races across the interval and slams into…

The rock wall right in front of Rich. It disappears in a flash of stone and plasma! Stone and rock cut into Rich’s armor and chest as he returns fire. His second plasma blast disembowels the Sectoid; it tumbles to the ground wailing! Rich got himself one! He reaches down, pulls an inch-long rock sliver from his chest, and shuffles over to a more protected spot. As this goes on Coffee snaps back to his senses, and begins the embarrassing walk back to the Skyranger. X-COM 10, Aliens 0.

Fonzie II breaks away from the sweep of the fields and heads back towards the near corner of the UFO, where he joins Thomkal II as he exits the building. The two men begin to sweep around the UFO near side, and come up just short of the final corner to the UFO door. We’ll send them into the UFO as our assault team for the near door. Meanwhile, Revrew, Tasan, and Fat reach the far corner of the UFO and begin to sweep around on the far exit. These three men will lead the assault on the far door.

And then another Sectoid pops out of the near exit door, turns and fires before Cam or Rich can react! The plasma blasts sails across the field and passes right between the two men. Rich and Cam return fire, but both men miss badly, and the Sectoid jumps back in the UFO. Thomkal II and Fonzie II, both now less than 10 feet from the door, jump into action. Both men sprint around the corner towards the door. Thomkal II slams the door latch, and comes face to face with a Sectoid! He catches the bewildered alien completely by surprise, shoves his Heavy Plasma into its midsection, and pulls the trigger. A funnel of green goo shoots out the creature’s back, taking most of its spinal cord with it. The alien drops to the ground, dead. Thomkal II slips on the creature’s guts as he plunges into the UFO, but regains his balance and looks around the interior. He’s in the circular corridor than surrounds the large, central room that makes up the core of the entire first floor. Thomkal II looks left then right: all clear. He breaks left, and Fonzie II, close on his heels, enters the UFO and breaks right. Rich and Cam leave their positions at the wall and sprint to help the assault. X-COM 11, Aliens 0.

Back at the Skyranger, Coffee Warlord and Naiwf continue to panic, come under alien control, and generally have a really bad day. Jeff waits with the Blaster Launcher in case his fire power is needed.

At the far corner of the UFO, Tasan, Fat Football II, and Revrew make it to within ten feet of the far door, and get ready to enter, as Fonzie II heads their way on the inside of the UFO. As Fonzie II moves down the corridor, he catches a quick glimpse of alien movement in the area near the far door. He quickly preps a grenade and tosses it into the room. It goes off with a crash in the confined space, and is quickly followed by alien screams! Fonzie II got one! X-COM 12, Aliens 0.

Fat Football II rush the door, pops open the far exit, and enters the UFO on the heels of the blast. At the same time, Fonzie II enters the area from the left corridor. The smoky room is clear of live aliens, and the two men continue right, to swing around the corner and head for the gravlifts on the far side of the floor. Tasan and Revrew hold momentarily at the door.

Back at the near exit, Cam and Rich plunge into the UFO. Rich turns right to follow Fonzie II’s footsteps, and Cam heads left to follow Thomkal II’s. Suddenly Rich is nailed by a wave of PSI-energy, and starts speaking alien! Shit! Rich is under alien control! We immediately lose track of his whereabouts on our HUD’s. All the men inside the UFO pick up the pace. We’ll try to get up the gravlifts to the next floor before Rich can come up on us from behind. To try to shake things up a bit, Jeff fires another blaster launcher missile in to the bridge of the UFO. The resultant explosion doesn’t produce any screams, but a couple of seconds later, we hear random plasma shots from up there, and Rich snaps back under our control. Jeff orders him out of the UFO, and Rich quickly obeys. Once outside, he drops his weapons, and heads back to the Skyranger. Another one done for the day.

Inside the UFO, Fat Football II and Fonzie II race around the corner towards the gravlift to the 3rd-floor; Cam and Thomkal II continue to loop around and head for the same lift from the other side of the UFO. Tasan and Revrew also enter the UFO to help out in the assault. We’d like to try to capture an alien alive, and Revrew, who has the Stun Launcher in his backpack, switches weapons and hurries to catch up with the others. We’ll pass on the 2nd-floor lifts, and that floor has always been empty. Fat is the first one to the lift, and steps inside. Sectoid! One floor up! Fat jerks up his Heavy Plasma, pulls the trigger, and disintegrates the Sectoid from point-blank range. A shower of green goo sprays down the shaft, drenching Fat in the process; he has to step out to clear his visor. Revrew, now armed with the Stun Gun, steps past Fonzie II into the gravlift, floats up to the third floor, and pops open the lift door. Sectoid, right in front of him! Shit! Revrew pulls the trigger on his Stun Gun. The shell drills the alien and explodes, blowing both the Sectoid and Revrew backwards and away from each other. They land with thuds and slide to a stop—both of them unconscious from the stun gas before they hit the ground.

Fat Football II and Thomkal II step into the gravlift, but their help will not be needed: that was the last alien! Another casualty-free battle! Wow! Well done, men!

Wrap-up

Promotions: None.
Kills: Rich1033, 1; Revrew, 2; Jeff Nights II, 1; Thomkal II, 1; Fat Football II, 1; Tasan, 2; Fonzie II, 1; Cam Edwards III, 2; Coffee Warlord II; 2.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Everyone.
Final score: 528. Yeehaw!
Mission Notes:
We’re on a roll, but I think this has to be the worst stretch of luck I have seen the aliens have so far in the game. In the past three missions, it seems that everything they have fired at has missed its target. We are shooting well, and the Heavy Plasmas pretty much allow us to down Sectoids with one hit. Rollin, rollin, rollin! Let’s hope things continue to go this way.

Nine of ten agents log kills on this mission. All ten men improve their attributes.

Let’s hear a big cheer for Cam and Coffee, both of whom both survived and logged multiple kills. Although it must be noted that Coffee did his best to take Cam out of the picture by freaking out and nearly decapitating him with a Heavy Plasma blast from two feet away.

Three down, one to go! So far, so good!
Go FOF X-COM!

[Blade6119]

Who from Europe is on the next one?...i know achilles got left of the last one...

[Fonzie]

As we've all learned, missions in which nearly everyone gets a kill, yet no one gets killed, are few and far between. Well done GB!

[Thomkal]

That had to be one of the most bizarre missions yet. I went from cowering in the Skyranger, being the first one out of the mission, to leading the charge inside the UFO.

And that panicky run across the field? It was all planned you see. I knew right where those Sectoids were and wanted to draw them out into the open...yeah that's the ticket. Thank the Cosmos the aliens haven't been able to hit the broadside of a barn recently. Figured I was a goner for sure.

I think Cam and Coffee should be teamed up on all missions now...only if I'm not on their mission team.

[Blade6119]

Originally posted by Blade6119
Who from Europe is on the next one?...i know achilles got left of the last one...

Sounded like i didn't care for USA COM, those stuck up, have it so great, disrespectful pricks...just wanted to say they have my support

[Godzilla Blitz]

Blade6119: First you tick off Airhog, now you tick of the entire USA base. Better watch your back there, and hope you don't get transferred to USA COM. One little slip of a Blaster Launcher trigger, and you could be—hey, wait, what am I saying? Your family already knows about getting hit from behind with rockets.

Fonzie: Thanks, that was a fun one. Still don't think we've managed to have a mission where everyone gets a kill and no one gets killed, but this would be the closest we've come to it. If only Naiwf could have gotten his act back together, we might have been able to get him into the action more.

Thomkal: Yeah, you had a strange mission. I thought you were done for the day when you bonked under that PSI-attack. But over the next ten minutes or so your morale went back up to 100, so I figured it was worth a shot to get you back in the fray, especially with a lot of other people tripping out. You had no more problems after that. Way to pull yourself back together. Coffee and Naiwf could learn something from you.

__________

About the upcoming EU mission, everyone that was at EU that didn't go on the last mission will definitely go on the next one. I'll have updated stats tomorrow and a list of the agents on the last big mission of the day. Next mission should go up on Friday, maybe earlier though.

Also, about the mission crews, I realize that there are some people that won't get in on any fighting today. Also, Europe seems to be where the heaviest fighting is, so they are going to see the most fighting for as long as this lasts. However, once we get moving forward a bit in game time, I'm hoping to rotate people in and out of EU COM so that we get a nice balance of missions for everyone. With ten agents on a mission, and roughly 40-45 agents active, though, we're still only talking about a 1/4 ratio. Also, for a number of reasons, it's virtually impossible to have it work out equally well for everyone. Still, I'll do my best to get everyone their fair share of fighting, so don't get discouraged if you haven't seen any action for a half dozen missions or so.

One easy thing that I can do to help is move out the AWOL EU agents to less active bases. I'll start that as soon as we get some breathing room.

[NAIWF]

Nine out of ten agents get a kill. Guess which one didn't? Yep it was me Well at least I didn't die or kill a friendly.

[JeffNights]

Alright!! WAY TO GO USA_COM!!! Thanks for making my first mission as leader a succesful one!

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Lokugh

I have the full set, greeting card style. My favorite is "Burnout: Attitudes are contagious. Mine might kill you."

Lokugh

(For some reason I misred this and was thinking playing card which got me to thinking about an idea, ala all of the spam I keep getting.)

Something we've been cooking up in the engineering building the past few days during coffee breaks and the like to help you guys out:




SI

[JeeberD]

Awwww, sectoids are cute....

[revrew]

"Stunning" victory for USA com! Sure am glad that was the last alien, what with me leaving myself vulnerably exposed after "taking one for the team" like that.

There you go, Crap! One sectoid guinea pig, comin' right up.

Am still a little jittery about the absence of more significant aliens. Where have all the ethereals gone?

[Coffee Warlord]

Note to self. Switch armor suits with Cam. Mine has a faint smell of urine in it for some odd reason.

But...

I LIVED! HA!

[Rich1033]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
51st Mission: Big Day, Part III (French Large UFO)!

The Sectoid takes careful aim and gets off a second shot, this time much more accurate. It screams across the intervening field and slams into Rich’s chestplate, knocking him backwards to the ground, just as a return shot from Cam blows apart the Sectoid’s thigh and spins it to the ground with only one leg left. Rich—unable to breath—has his world turns black; blood starts oozing out of his ears, nose, and mouth. Cam reaches over to snap off the badly crushed chestplate and pop open his faceplate, and this allows Rich to suck in a huge gulp of air. He rolls over, vomits up some blood and mucus onto a row of cabbages. Gasping violently as the oxygen flows back into his lungs, his world slowly comes back into focus. After another moment he kneels, wipes off the blood and mucus, and snaps his faceplate back on. He’s back in business! This is clearly a man with kintama of stone! He’s ok! X-COM 9, Aliens 0.

The rock wall right in front of Rich. It disappears in a flash of stone and plasma! Stone and rock cut into Rich’s armor and chest as he returns fire. His second plasma blast disembowels the Sectoid; it tumbles to the ground wailing! Rich got himself one! He reaches down, pulls an inch-long rock sliver from his chest, and resumes his sectoid ass kickin. X-COM 10, Aliens 0.

Go FOF X-COM!

[cue singing girls who always follow me around] Rich, hes one bad motha - shut your mouth. [end singing girls who always follow me aound]

I have Cajones of steel. I pity the fool who tries to mess with me.

I was actually worried for a minute, but I refuse to die until I get a promotion above squaddie. A big thanks goes out to Cam for having my back. Your fruit basket is in the mail.

[Kodos]

Nice work, men. Blitz, you have been kicking ass. Keep up the good work! Great write-ups as always!

[Godzilla Blitz]

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 51)

USA COM

PHP Code:

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
15.  Rich 1033         Active     Squaddie  14     12     K-1Y
19.  Revrew            Active     Sergeant  15     10     -
35.  Jeff Nights II    Active     Captain   13      7     -
39.  Thomkal II        Active     Sergeant  12     10     -
41.  Fat Football II   Active     Sergeant  11      6     -
59.  Daimyo II         WND (31)   Squaddie   5      5     -
66.  Tasan             Active     Squaddie   6      3     -
70.  Naiwf             Active     Squaddie   7      2     -
71.  Wignasty          WND (20)   Squaddie   4      3     - (currently at SAM COM)
73.  CTHomer           Active     Squaddie   4      4     -
75   Alf III           WND (26)   Squaddie   4      2     - (currently at SAM COM)
76.  Fonzie II         Active     Squaddie   3      3     -
85.  Cam Edwards III   Active     Squaddie   1      2     -
90.  Coffee Warlord II Active     Squaddie   1      2     - 


EU COM

PHP Code:

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
10.  Kodos             Active     Commander 13     15     D-1S;H-1
29.  Raven Hawk        Active     Captain   13     11     -
37.  The Time          Active     Sergeant  11      2     -
43.  Achilles          Active     Squaddie   9      8     -
50.  Sachmo II         Active     Squaddie  10      6     -
61.  Rawisdan          Active     Squaddie   5      4     -
67.  Chief Rum II      Active     Sergeant   7      7     -
69.  Zippy             Active     Squaddie   6      4     -
74.  AStott            Active     Sergeant   6      8     -
78.  Render II         Active     Squaddie   2      1     -
82.  Condors           Active     Squaddie   4      1     -
86.  Klayman II        Active     Squaddie   1      1     -
87.  3ric III          Active     Squaddie   1      2     - 


ASIA COM

PHP Code:

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  Medals
2.   jfbbis            Active     Captain   15     12     D-2B;G-1
14.  Wade Moore        Active     Colonel   16     20     D-2B; F-1B; G-1
31.  BYU 14            Active     Sergeant  13      7     -
44.  Airhog            Active     Squaddie   9      6     -
45.  Danny VanHalen    Active     Squaddie  10      6     -
46.  Patman II         Active     Sergeant  13      7     -
52.  Qwikshot II       Active     Squaddie  10      4     -
54.  Blade 6119 III    Active     Squaddie   9     10     -
55.  Sublime II        Active     Squaddie   8      4     -
83.  Travis II         Active     Rookie     2      0     -
84.  Split Pers III    Active     Squaddie   1      2     -
88.  Data King III     Active     Rookie     0      0     -
89.  Al Hill III       Active     Rookie     1      0     -

Medals Key: Medals listed by letter code then number of times received.
            A = Order of Mega Mighty Mojo; B = Order of Mighty Mojo;
            C = Order of Mojo; D = Star of Terra;
            E = Badge of Kahunas; F = Angel Wings;
            G = Purple Heart; H = Kodos Doh Award;
            J = Cam Edwards Pin; K = Pin of Cowardice.
Following Number: G = Gold; S = Silver; B = Bronze; Y = Yellow; Bl = Black 


X-COM II Troop Attributes

PHP Code:

Name                TU’s  Stam  Hlth  Brav  Reac  Fire  Thrw  Str.
2.   jfbbis            72    74    54    30    35    79    56    48
10.  Kodos             72    85    54    50    61    76    69    47
14.  Wade Moore        74    78    55    30    59    85    67    63
15.  Rich 1033         74    67    41    20    55    53    70    60
19.  Revrew            70    60    48    30    36    59    59    55
29.  Raven Hawk        66    63    49    30    63    61    62    50
31.  BYU 14            63    71    46    50    44    53    55    41
35.  Jeff Nights II    63    68    48    60    31    63    58    47
37.  The Time          68    71    44    40    61    49    56    47
39.  Thomkal II        65    84    57    30    54    48    61    42
41.  Fat Football II   69    68    41    50    38    68    72    50
43.  Achilles          60    63    49    10    44    77    79    46
44.  Airhog            68    63    41    50    53    44    54    54
45.  Danny VanHalen    69    69    34    10    40    58    78    40
46.  Patman II         72    64    48    60    44    49    79    49
50.  Sachmo II         60    56    40    50    40    47    81    44
52.  Qwikshot II       62    74    40    10    53    73    65    44
54.  Blade 6119 III    65    72    38    40    35    60    60    44
55.  Sublime II        61    63    36    10    35    67    75    47
59.  Daimyo II         61    60    43    30    47    69    64    42
61.  RawisDan          64    42    31    50    35    66    73    42
66.  Tasan             58    52    39    50    39    59    56    45
67.  Chief Rum II      58    69    38    50    39    77    63    41
69.  Zippy             63    69    42    40    41    58    58    30
70.  Naiwf             66    64    45    50    37    58    68    36
71.  Wignasty          64    45    37    20    38    61    72    44
73.  CTHomer           67    66    35    10    55    44    62    46
74.  AStott            65    53    42    50    54    67    61    49
75.  Alf III           58    47    34    40    52    48    55    42
76.  Fonzie II         61    71    44    20    39    60    78    39
78.  Render II         60    50    33    50    56    68    67    29
82.  Condors           55    58    32    50    38    51    74    33
83.  Travis II         55    65    29    20    55    56    53    23
84.  Split Pers III    57    54    34    30    38    63    67    34
85.  Cam Edwards III   55    43    41    30    50    50    76    27
86.  Klayman II        61    59    41    20    33    47    80    44
87.  3ric III          54    46    35    20    49    53    59    31
88.  Data King III     52    52    38    10    45    65    78    21
89.  Al Hill III       56    66    26    60    44    44    61    35
90.  Coffee Warlord II 60    67    35    50    37    69    69    25
 
Key: Tu's = Time Units; Stam = Stamina; Hlth = Health; Brav = Bravery
     Reac = Reactions; Fire = Firing; Thrw = Throwing; Str. = Strength 


SUPPORT PERSONNEL

PHP Code:

Head of Research: Craptacular (Current researching focus: UFO Navigation)
Head of Engineering: Sterling Ice II (Current manufacturing focus: Power Suits, Blaster Missiles, Stun Bombs)
US Interceptor Pilot: Superman   (0 kills)
EU Interceptor Pilot: CapnMorgan (6 Kills)
AS Interceptor Pilot: Toddiec IV (5 Kills) 


Attribute Leaders (After Mission 51)

PHP Code:

Time Units: (74) Wade Moore, Rich 1033
Stamina:    (85) Kodos
Health:     (57) Thomkal II
Bravery:    (60) Jeff Knights II, Patman II, and Al Hill III
Reactions:  (63) Raven Hawk
Firing:     (85) Wade Moore
Throwing:   (81) Sachmo II
Strength:   (63) Wade Moore 


Attribute Doggies (After Mission 51)

PHP Code:

Time Units: (51) Data King III
Stamina:    (43) Cam Edwards III
Health:     (26) All Hill III
Bravery:    (10) (Six tied)
Reactions:  (31) Jeff Nights II
Firing:     (44) CTHomer, Airhog, and Al Hill III
Throwing:   (53) Travis II
Strength:   (21) DataKing III 


Top Ten Kills Leaders

PHP Code:

1.  Wade Moore        20
2.  Klayman (KIA)     18
3.  Shorty (KIA)      16
4.  Kodos             15
5.  Jfbbis            12
5.  Rich1033          12
7.  Raven Hawk        11
8.  Blade6119 III     10
9.  Thomkal II        10
10. Revrew            10 


Waiting List

PHP Code:

ID   Name              Base         Status     Rank     LBrvOK?  OptUp?
91.  Tucker             -           In Transit Rookie   Yes      No
92.  New Star           -           AWOL       Rookie   Yes      No
93.  Jeeber D           -           In Transit Rookie   Yes      No
94.  Afoci              -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
95.  Havok              -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
96.  Ronnie Dobbs       -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
98.  Erik Flamebeard    -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
99.  Bishop MVP         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
100. Katon              -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
101. Neuqua             -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
102. Illinifan V        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
103. Blade III          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
104. Shorty II          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
105. Mr. Bug IV         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
106. Lokugh II          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
107. Aesyrqwe           -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
108. Sir Fozzie         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
109. Wolfpack           -           On Call    Rookie   No       No
110. Breeze             -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
111. Japherwaki II      -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No 


The Hall of Heroes

PHP Code:

ID  Name                 Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills   Medals
1.  Cam Edwards          KIA        Rookie     1      0      J-1
3.  Patman               KIA        Captain    5      1      
4.  Fat Football         KIA        Sergeant   3      3      F-2B
5.  Sublime              KIA        Sergeant   6      3      K-2Y
6.  Blade 6119           KIA        Rookie     1      1      
7.  Jeff Nights          KIA        Rookie     1      0      
8.  Render               KIA        Sergeant  12      9      
9.  Kerillini            KIA        Sergeant   6      5      D-1B
11. Toddiec              KIA        Squaddie   3      1      
12. Illinifan            KIA        Squaddie   4      2      
13. MrBug                KIA        Rookie     1      0      E-1B
16. Thomkal              KIA        Squaddie   2      5      D-1B
17. Shorty               KIA        Captain   16     16      D-1B; G-1; H-1
18. Klayman              KIA        Captain   13     18      G-1; K-1Y
20. Travis               KIA        Squaddie  10      6      
21. Schmidty             KIA        Rookie     3      1      
22. Al Hill              KIA        Squaddie   6      2      H-1
23. Sachmo               KIA        Squaddie   3      3      
24. Data King            KIA        Sergeant   6      4      
25. Alf                  KIA        Rookie     1      2      
26. Mr. Bug II           KIA        Squaddie   5      1      K-1Y
27. Daimyo               KIA        Squaddie   3      0      
28. 3ric                 KIA        Squaddie   2      1      H-1; K-1Y
30. Sterling Ice         KIA        Rookie     1      0      
32. Chief Rum            KIA        Squaddie   4      3      
33. Qwikshot             KIA        Rookie     1      0      E-1G; F-1S
34. Cam Edwards II       KIA        Squaddie   7      7      -
36. Blade 6119 II        KIA        Rookie     1      0      
38. Split Personality    KIA        Rookie     1      0      
40. Toddiec II           KIA        Squaddie   4      3      
42. Blade                KIA        Sergeant   5      4      
47. Illinifan II         KIA        Squaddie   4      2      
48. Fonzie               KIA        Squaddie   4      5      
49. Lokugh               KIA        Sergeant   9      8     -
51. Kerillini II         KIA        Squaddie   8      3     -
53. Alf II               KIA        Rookie     1      2      
56. Schmidty II          KIA        Rookie     1      0      
57. Split Pers. II       KIA        Sergeant   4      4      
58. 3ric II              KIA        Squaddie   5      1     -
60. Illinifan III        MIA        Squaddie   2      0      
62. Data King II         KIA        Squaddie   3      2     -
63. Mr. Bug III          KIA        Squaddie   5      3     -
64. Japherwaki           KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
65. Al Hill II           KIA        Sergeant   3      2     -
68. Toddiec III          KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
72. Coffee Warlord       KIA        Rookie     1      1      
77. PsychoCop            KIA        Rookie     2      0     -
79. Blade II             KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
80. Illinifan IV         KIA        Rookie     3      0     -
81. Andone               KIA        Rookie     3      1     - 


[Coffee Warlord]

My god, I *am* an attribute god.

Aside from my reaction time equaling that of a decrepid turtle.

[Blade6119]

well....rich and i are the only 2 in the top 10 kills still squaddies...still being overlooked...sooo sad

[Blade6119]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
My god, I *am* an attribute god.

Aside from my reaction time equaling that of a decrepid turtle.

Still faster than me...

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by revrew

There you go, Crap! One sectoid guinea pig, comin' right up.

Woo-hoo! We'll see what we can get (physically and verbally) out of this thing. Good work men!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Naiwf: Your attributes went up a bit, so that is always nice, though!

Jeff: Outstanding job on your first leadership mission, especially considering four of your ten men were taken out of action by PSI-attacks at some point in the mission.

Sterling: Those cards are great! LOL! Put 'em up on Ebay!

Revrew: That was very brave of you, but um, your other choice would have been to get shot.

Coffee: You started out so well, too.

Rich: Word has it that your tendency to let aliens into your mind might be the thing holding up your promotion. That's just a guess on my part, though.

Kodos: Thanks! So far so good!

Crappy: Be interesting to see if we got one of high rank.

______________

Update:

As the USA COM Skyranger lifts off for home, EU COM makes final preparations to launch its Skyranger for the battleship that lies 20 miles outside of the base. They should take off within the hour.

The following ten men are aboard:
Chief Rum II, Kodos, Sachmo II, Rawisdan, Condors, Render II, Achilles, Ravenhawk, Zippy, and Astott.

Three down, one biggie to go. Good luck, men!

Next mission should go up Saturday night at the latest, but more likely Friday.

[revrew]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
Revrew: That was very brave of you, but um, your other choice would have been to get shot.

Don't ever accuse me of being brave, GB. No, my other choice was to freeze up, pee my pants, and then get shot.

[tucker342]

good job GB!!!

[cthomer5000]

man, we are really kicking some ass. great stuff as usual GB.

[Coffee Warlord]

It's all 'cause of my son, too. A terrific morale booster as he made the transition from flyboy to ground pounder.

And he's already far out-performing his father, too. Not only is he alive, he's got twice as many kills.

[Godzilla Blitz]

52nd Mission: Big Day, Part IV (Romanian Battleship)!

Two hours after the USA COM Skyranger wraps up its outstanding mission against the alien supply ship, EU COM’s Skyranger is airborne again, this time for a late afternoon assault on the huge battleship that is parked only 20 miles from our base. This should be the last big mission of the day, and if successful, could be the cap to our most successful day of the war.

Kodos will lead his tired troops to battle again.

Left Side:
1. Chief Rum II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Kodos (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Sachmo II (Blaster Launcher, Power Suit)
4. Rawisdan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Condors (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Render II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Achilles (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Ravenhawk (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Zippy (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Astott (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The journey takes only a few minutes, and soon the Skyranger is working its way down to ground level. We’ve got great weather again, and a typical battlefield: fields, fences and stone walls. The dominating figure in our view is the massive, three-story battleship that sits right in the middle of the battlefield. We’ll come down on the northeast corner of the battlezone; the UFO sits about 30 yards away, off the nose of our craft and to the left of our exit. The battleship is a replica of the one that ASIA COM just fought: two huge octagonal floors sitting atop five landing pods, the four outer pods surrounding the inner exit pod. The battle today should be exclusively to the left of our exit and towards the nose of the Skyranger. The areas to the right of the exit and the rear of the craft are secure. Unfortunately, there is no cover between our Skyranger and the UFO, and we should have an unimpeded view of the right exit on the central pod once we disembark. This could be fast and ugly. The only other feature of note that we can make out is a small, hedged-in grove that lies about 50 yards in front of the Skyranger.

The Skyranger touches down, the gate falls away, and silence greets us. We send our tank onto the ramp…

Incoming plasma fire from the left! Two shots fly by the Skyranger exit, a third shot slams into the side of the tank, badly damaging it. Smoke bellows out of a large hole in the body, but the tank manages to roll down the ramp and turn left. There! Sectoid in the field, 15 yards away! Chief Rum comes out of the Skyranger at a full run, makes a quick dive left, and comes up firing. His second shot catches the Sectoid full in the chest and blows apart the creature’s chest cavity in a shower of green! Chief then looks left and right for more alien activity, all clear. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

Render II exits the Skyranger and takes up a firing position at the right landing gear. Sachmo II, with the Blaster Launcher, heads out of the Skyranger and moves off to the right of the exit, where he sets up a firing position. In the distance, we hear the whir of the UFO doors. From the Skyranger, we have an open lane to the central pod, but we’re just a bit too far away to make out what’s going on in there. We’ll need to use our battered tank for support and move in closer.

We move into action. Zippy and Astott exit the Skyranger, move up behind the tank, and follow it as it rumbles toward the central pod underneath the UFO. Condors and Achilles exit the Skyranger, turn left and start a westward sweep of the fields to the north of the UFO. Render II and Rawisdan exit, come up under the Skyranger, and start a southward sweep towards the hedged-in grove that lies to the east of the UFO. Kodos grabs some blaster rockets and takes them out to Sachmo II to bolster his supply. Chief Rum and Ravenhawk hold at the Skyranger as a backup force for the moment.

Things go quiet for a few minutes, and the men make good progress. The tank, Zippy, and Astott get to within 40 yards of the central pod’s right exit, and hold there. They have great firing lines on the exit, and should be able to put a lot of pressure on anything that tries to come out. Achilles and Condors make it to a stone wall that lies some 35 yards in front of some small shacks. Render II and Rawisdan make it to the edge of the hedgewall. From here, the men have a long, but decent line of fire on the left side exit of the central pod, as they are just past the obstructing outer pod. There is a stone wall here as well that offers good cover. Rather than punch through the hedgewall, the two men take up positions at the stone wall and train their weapons on the left exit area.

Almost immediately, Render II spots a Sectoid near the UFO door! He opens up at long range, and nails the Sectoid with a shot that sends him tumbling and squealing to the Romanian soil! Nice shot, Render! That alien never saw what hit him! X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Seconds later, Condors and Achilles—behind good cover at the stone wall north of the UFO—spot a Sectoid walking casually to the left of the distant shacks. Condors takes careful aim, tracks the alien, and gently pulls the trigger. Plasma streaks across the field and nails the alien in the skull, shattering it in a puff of green goo. Dead before he knew it, the alien drops lifeless to the ground! Nice shot, Condors! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Before we can catch our breath, another Sectoid appears, this one coming out of the right exit door directly in the line of sight of Astott and Zippy. Both men open fire at the surprised alien. Shots pepper the exit pod, and one of Zippy’s rounds appears to hit the creature in the shoulder, but the alien stays up, then darts back inside the UFO without getting a shot off.

The first wave of PSI-energy hits our men, but no one has any trouble shaking it off this time! Way to go, men!

Another Sectoid appears! This one comes from the right of the central pod, and it comes out with its Heavy Plasma spitting green flame. Shots arch towards our tank. One of them slams into and punches a hole in the turret that knocks the vehicle completely out of action! Its automated systems grind to a halt. Zippy and Astott hold their positions and return fire. One of them hits the alien in the knee and blows the lower leg off the creature. If falls howling to the ground, and tries to crawl to safety. It only gets a couple of feet before Zippy drills it in the rib cage. The thing slumps to the ground, green goo draining out of its chest cavity. X-COM 4, Aliens 1.

Astott and Zippy move a ways apart from each other, but keep their weapons trained on the UFO exit for more aliens. A moment later, the door opens and a Sectoid comes racing out. Both men open fire, and Astott quickly drills the alien twice with body shots that drop it backwards to the ground. Right on its heels another alien steps into the doorway, but Astott has found the range: he pops the alien in the head, snapping its skull backwards in a explosion of green goo, and that alien too falls to the ground at the doorway. Astott is en fuego! Way to go! X-COM 6, Aliens 1.

Right on the heels of those two aliens, a massive wave of PSI-energy hits our troops, and this time Zippy completely freezes in panic. Damn it! Hold on Zippy! Astott scrambles away to the right in anticipation of Zippy’s going under alien control. Kodos, who has moved up to the Skyranger, points his Heavy Plasma at Zippy’s back.

Time to bring out the heavy artillery to buy Zippy some time. Sachmo II fires the rocket launcher. The missile winds a deadly path, then slams into the right exit door of the UFO, ripping it apart and sending a ball of flame inside, and shooting smoke and debris back outside. Not sure, but there may have been a wail of alien death in there as well.

While this is going on, Achilles I, at the stone wall north of the UFO, climbs over the wall and heads toward the shacks to the right of the UFO. From there he can wind around to come up on the back side of the central pod. Condors leaves the wall, too, and makes his way along it towards Astott. Chief Rum II and Ravenhawk hold at the Skyranger.

Instead of coming under alien control, Zippy screams, drops his weapon, and runs left, toward the field that Render II and Rawisdan have patiently been waiting in. Good! Should be safe from trouble there! Astott quickly heads back towards the gap to take his firing position again, and Kodos heads away from the Skyranger and starts towards the central pod. Sachmo II fires the Blaster Launcher again, this time winding it into the central pod, then up to blow up inside the UFO. The missile disappears inside, there is a dull roar, and once again, we think we may have heard the scream of an alien dying, but can’t be sure. Ravenhawk leaves the Skyranger to take the Blaster Launcher from Sachmo II, so that everyone can try and get some experience.

We go into full UFO-busting mode now. Render II and Rawisdan jump the stone wall and start to close on the left UFO exit from the left side of the supporting outer pod. Achilles sweeps around the back of the north supporting pod, and starts to make his way into the central area from that side of the UFO. Chief Rum II sprints out of the Skyranger and begins a long loop to join Achilles. Kodos, now joined by Sachmo II, jogs to join Astott as he gets ready to assault the UFO with Condors. Ravenhawk opens fire with the Blaster Launcher, and sends another missile into the UFO. This one misfires though, and heads into the central pod, then out through the left exit before slamming into the south supporting pod of the UFO, where it rips open a huge hole in the wall. Damn it. The UFOs must have some kind of defense against these things?

As our men converge on the UFO, Astott starts for the UFO door. Suddenly, alien fire! A plasma blast chews up the earth next to Astott’s feet! He jumps back to try to locate the shooter, but can’t spot him. There are major holes in the UFO plating above him from the blaster rockets we’ve sent inside the craft, and the shots may be coming through those holes from aliens inside the craft. Damn it. Too many possibilities.

As Achilles, Rawisdan, and Render II close in on the central pod, Astott makes another attempt to get inside. This time he closes to within five feet, then spots alien movement up through the shattered plating of the craft, down towards the south. Astott loses sight of the alien though before he can get a shot off, then rushes to the side of the central pod, where through a different hole in the UFO, he spots movement above him on the third floor. Again, not long enough of a sighting to get a shot off. Damn it. Ravenhawk attempts to take out the Sectoid that Astott spotted in the south side of the ship by sending a blaster missile through the hole in the south pod then up into the second floor. This time the rocket’s on target, and a resounding boom echoes from inside the UFO. More plating comes flying off the craft, but there is no alien scream that comes with it.

Achilles comes up on the central pod from the back side. As he does this, Astott catches a better glimpse of the alien above him, and pulls the trigger. Plasma blasts streak upwards, tearing apart the insides of the UFO. One of the shots must have hit home though, as we he a blood-curdling scream from above! Astott got another one! X-COM 7, Aliens 1.

Ravenhawk’s last missile opened up a hole in the outer, far-south wall of the south supporting pod. Kodos decides to circle around to this opening, and orders Render II to leave his position to do likewise. Rawisdan closes on the central pod from the left and Sachmo II closes from the right. Both men keep a close eye on the demolished exits as they move forward. With Astott beside the pod wall, and Achilles behind it, any aliens that come down the main gravshaft will be have only Sachmo and Rawisdan to contend with. Chief Rum starts to close in on the back side of the UFO, where Achilles has taken up a position. Condors waits off to the side, behind cover offered by one of the pod walls. He’ll come in to the area once everyone is successfully inside the UFO.

Suddenly, a Sectoid comes into view in the central pod shaft, right in Rawisdan’s line of sight, and about five yards away! Both Sectoid and alien go for their weapons, but Rawisdan is just a fraction of a second faster, and his plasma blast blows the Sectoid backwards into the craft, where it drops screaming to the floor! X-COM 8, Aliens 1.

Whoops! A wave of PSI-energy hits us again, and Rawisdan freaks out! He tosses his Heavy Plasma to the ground, the turns and runs away. Hey, get back here! One kill and the man falls apart. Sigh.

Render II and Kodos make it to the hole in the south pod outer wall. Achilles and Astott slide up to the corners of the central pod, just beside the doors. Sachmo II gets ready to rush the final five yards to the pod as well. Chief Rum II makes it to the backside of the central wall. Condors hold steady. Ravenhawk keeps a steady hand on the Blaster Launcher, but we’re probably in too close for it to be much use at the moment. Zippy has finally made it back to the Skyranger, where he softly hums Barry Manilow tunes and sees visions of cute alien babies. All our men are poised to bust this UFO.

Go, go, go! Render II leads the charge through the hole in the wall in the south pod. He jumps inside and scans the interior. Ground level empty! The gravlift up to the main second floor lies dead ahead. Render II heads for it with Kodos right on his heels. 15 yards away, at the central pod, Sachmo II, Astott, and Achilles rush the blasted doors. Incoming fire! Achilles takes a plasma blast to the back as he bursts into the pod, then another one! Shit! Where’s the fire coming from? Achilles fights back the blackness, spins around to look back out the central pod, and spots an alien up on the second floor through a huge hole in the UFO plating above him. He manages to squeeze the trigger, and a line of plasma races out at the Sectoid, catching it in the groin. Guts and green gore pour down in a rush to the ground below, and the creature slumps backwards! Then another Sectoid appears! In the central pod, right above Astott and Sachmo II! Astott reacts in a flash, nailing the Sectoid with a plasma blast that literally explodes the creature. And then another one in the gravlift! This time Kodos, from 15 yards away in the south pod, has a clear line of sight through the destroyed flooring. He pulls the trigger and drills the Sectoid in the head! The skull explodes and the alien falls. Green goo from the two spatters the power suits of the two men in the gravlift. Achilles checks for wounds, but he appears to have survived the two hits with only minor armor damage! The gods are with us today! X-COM 11, Aliens 1.

The men pour into the UFO on the heels of this carnage. Render II goes up the south pod’s gravlift, and is the first one up the south shaft to the second floor. He comes up on a long hallway that leads to the main gravlift. To his right and left are doors. He eyes both of them for movement. Sachmo II is up the main shaft a second later. He comes up in the center of the second floor, and sees four long corridors, each running off at 90 degrees. To the south he sees Render II. The other three corridors are empty. Achilles is up a fraction of a second later, and the two men spin to try and cover the three unsecured hallways. Astott is next up in the main shaft, and as he arrives, he spots a Sectoid through a tear in the ceiling above him. He opens fire: we hear a scream, and then a thump as the alien falls to the floor above! Kodos rises into the south corridor and second later and sprints for the door to his left. Unfortunately, he steps in a large hole in the floor, and tumbles head first out of the UFO and crashes to the ground below! D’oh! Embarrassed, and with a massive headache, he heads back for the south gravlift again. Chief Rum II and Condors break for the central shaft as well. Ravenhawk sulks at the Skyranger. Zippy still hums to himself. Rawisdan still keeps tripping out in the field to the south of the UFO. X-COM 12, Aliens 1.

There can’t be many aliens left, and it seems that the last one is always the leader, or some other alien of high rank, so it would be nice to take this one alive. Unfortunately, guess who has the Stun Gun? Yup, Rawisdan, who is still zoning out in the field to the south of the UFO. Fortunately, a minute or so later he has a rare moment of mental clarity, and Kodos manages to get him to toss the Stun Gun and one extra shell back towards the UFO, where Chief Rum hustles back out of the central pod to get it. Back inside the UFO, Render II breaks right to explore a room off in that direction, while Kodos tries again for the left door. This time he slips on a loose UFO plate, snapping it off in the process, and once again, he falls to the ground with a crash!!! Commander, what was in your breakfast cereal? Bruised and groggy, he races back to the gravlift for a third ascent. Astott and Achilles head left from the central corridor to explore that side of the UFO, while Sachmo II notices a big hole in the floor and walks around it (see how this is done, Commander?) to take up a firing position on the remaining unexplored areas. Chief Rum II picks up the Stun Gun, and starts to race back to the UFO. Condors makes it up into the second floor, and joins Achilles and Astott as they search the left side of the craft.

Over the next fifteen minutes, the men make a harrowing search through the alien battleship. Yet corner after corner turns up empty handed. Finally, the last room is cleared, and we realize that the enemy must lie outside somewhere. We send the men down the shaft again to search the area to the southwest of the UFO. A somewhat recovered Rawisdan, who is the closest one to the area already, begins the short walk west to scout. Before he makes it ten yards, he spots a Cyberdisc floating in a distant field. Rawisdan doesn’t have a weapon, so he quickly ducks for cover while Ravenhawk finally gets to do something. Ravenhawk winds a blaster rocket around the massive UFO, and slams it onto the top of the Cyberdisc. Kablam! The disc goes up with a roar. Last alien? X-COM 13, Aliens 1.

No! As the rest of our force comes out of the UFO and heads south, Rawisdan continues his search in the field, and once again quickly comes upon an enemy. This time he spots a Sectoid that has dropped his weapon and is cowering in fear beside the remains of the Cyberdisc. Rawisdan preps a grenade and makes a long toss to its feet as the rest of our force opens up on the hapless creature from long range. Kodos shows his superiority here, as he kills the Sectoid with a shot to the chest just before the grenade goes off. X-COM 14, Aliens 1.

And finally, that is the last alien! Well done! Another casualty-free mission! Well, almost casualty-free. Kodos is pretty banged up from falling out of the UFO twice.

Wrap-up

Promotions: None.
Kills: Chief Rum II, 1; Kodos, 2; Achilles, 1; Rawisdan, 1; Zippy, 1; Astott, 5; Render II, 1; Condors, 1.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Kodos, Ravenhawk, Achilles, Rawisdan, Chief Rum II, Zippy, Astott, Render II, Condors.
Final score: 579. Another good one!
Mission Notes:
Hummm. I thought Sachmo II would have picked up at least some experience for his shots with the Blaster Launcher, but no go. Bummer.

Astott gets MVP for the day though, with his five-kill performance! Way to go!

Four big missions, four solid performances! There is one scout UFO parked in Italy that we might still be able to catch today, so we’ll send the EU COM Skyranger back for fuel and then out for one more mission before the sun sets.

Go FOF X-COM!

[SirFozzie]

Dayumn. That's some fine Killins

[tucker342]

wow, complete domination again! Great job!

[sachmo71]

Experience or no, we kicked their little green butts!

[SplitPersonality1]

Commander Kodos falls out of a UFO?

Twice?

Just wait 'til you get back to the base. Your men are already laughing at the vidtapes from the mission. Don't worry, we still respect you...sort of.

[Craptacular]

Maybe we need to do a little experimenting on Kodos while we're at it.

[Kodos]

Alright, smartasses. Maybe you'd like to try walking on metal with slimy tentacles? I may be a clutzy bastard, but I'm still the Commander!

I just know this is going to get me one of those damn awards...

[jfbbis]

Catching up ! Can't believe i'm still alive

[DeToxRox]

Kodos: I'm prepared to fight you to the death for the title of Imperial Goddess.

Time for a little surgery and it' mine!

SNIP! SNIP!

[revrew]

I am seriously concerned about DeToxRox. Does hallucinagen use disqualify a person for service?

[Kodos]

Snip! Snip! Is there any worse sound in existence?

[JeeberD]

Damn, another total domination. These aliens just can't handle the Blaster Launcher and heavy plasma.

I just worry about more terror missions...

[condors]

gb- i think you undervalue your x-com skills great job!

[Chief Rum]

You know, given our performance on this last mission, it seems like a fine time to maybe pursue another alien base attack mission. We know more one or two more are, don't we?

Chief Rum

[JeeberD]

You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea...

[DeToxRox]

revrew, if you're concerned, i challenge you to a battle of rock, paper, scissors.

winner gets braggin rights.. the loser gets ... a colonic.

[Havok]

For anyone that wants to Download X-Com send me a pm for the link.

[Havok]

also.... check this out

new and improved X-com coming soon

http://www.ufo-aftermath.com/pages/headquarters.html

[Godzilla Blitz]

Revrew: LOL!

Tucker, CTHomer, SirFozzie: Thanks!

Coffee: You've also panicked once more than your dad ever did.

Jfbbis: It really is amazing that you are still alive. Almost everyone you started fighting with is dead.

Condors: I do think I'm getting a bit better at the game, especially when I think back on some of the earlier missions. But still, we really have been lucky on these last missions. The aliens can't hit us, and even if they do, nothing happens. I haven't seen anything like it before. Big Brother the Collossal Squid is watching over us.

Chief, JeeberD: I want to leave one base so we can raid the supply ships that land there, but if we find a second base, we're going in to take it out right away. No second thoughts. In we go. Boom boom boom. One alien base on Mother Earth is enough.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

The EU COM Skyranger touches down with about five hours of daylight left on this looooong day of fighting. There is one UFO scout left in Italy, though, and it's too tempting of a target.

The EU Skyranger is refueled in minutes, and ten exhausted agents head out to battle again.

On board:
Ravenhawk, Chief Rum II, Sachmo II, The Time, Zippy, Klayman II, 3ric III, Rawisdan, Condors, Render II

Mission should go up on Monday afternoon.

[cschex]

I've been lurking here forever but, dammit, this thread has made me come out of my shell and want to be involved.

Sign me up!

[Godzilla Blitz]

53rd Mission: Big Day, Part V (Italian Scout)!

The EU COM Skyranger is airborne for the third time today, as X-COM heads into what will be an unprecedented five battles in one day. It’s now late afternoon in Europe, and this day—that started a little after 1 AM with the appearance of six UFOs over the European continent—is finally winding down. With four large battles completed, all that remains is one tiny scout ship. However, this will be the third engagement of the day for EU COM, and most of the men have not slept since the the two or three hours they got before the base alarms went off just after midnight. The men inside the Skyranger are dead tired. Not only that, but the EU COM tank got destroyed on the last mission, so our ten men today will be going into battle without the reassuring cover and support of our unmanned vehicle.

Ravenhawk will lead the men in this mission.

Left Side:
1. Chief Rum II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Render II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Sachmo II (Blaster Launcher, 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. 3ric III (Heavy Plasma, Stun Launcher, Power Suit)
3. Ravenhawk (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Rawisdan (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Condors (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends to the rural Italian farmland. The late afternoon sun throws long shadows across the fields, fences, and stone walls below. We’ll be coming down on the south side of the battlefield, so the area to the nose of the Skyranger is secure. There are no distinguishing battlefield features that we can make out so far. Of minor note, to the left of the Skyranger is small grove. To the rear, where we exit, there are open fields and fences, with a hedgewall off to the right. Directly to the right of the Skyranger exit are some barley fields and low stone walls. We can’t see any buildings, and have no sight of the UFO.

The Skyranger sets down, the gate falls away…nothing. Klayman II and Chief Rum II breath sighs of relief: if there were aliens near the exit, these two men would have been under direct fire with no tank for cover.

Klayman II and 3ric III are first onto the Skyranger ramp. Both men frantically scan the battlefield for signs of life, but everything is still. Klayman II breaks right; 3ric III breaks left. Both men quickly take up positions at the Skyranger landing gear.

Things appear quiet, and we move out. With no obstacles to speak of, we fan out in three directions. 3ric III and Render II head left, scan the area to the left of our Skyranger, then head north along the left side of our formation. Condors and Chief Rum II head northeast from our Skyranger, and form the middle pair in our wide arc. Klayman II and The Time head east; they are the right combo in our six-man arc. Sachmo II heads left from the Skyranger, and sets up the Blaster Launcher. Hopefully, he’ll have better luck this afternoon with the launcher than he did with it against the last UFO. Zippy, Ravenhawk, and Rawisdan get ready to leave the Skyranger to form the backup line to our formation.

Suddenly, Klayman II spots a Sectoid, about 50 yards away, moving through a grassy field. Following protocol, he holds still and lets The Time—trailing by a few feet—to line up a shot. The Time pulls the trigger on full auto. Plasma tracers streak across the gap, bracketing the bewildered Sectoid. The creature turns to return fire, but before it can get a shot off, The Time skewers it with a bolt of plasma. The Sectoid topples backwards, smoke drifting up from its shattered, twitching torso. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

We continue our movement. Zippy, Ravenhawk, and Rawisdan move out of the Skyranger. Zippy follows 3ric III and Render II as they head north. Ravenhawk follows Condors and Chief Rum II as they continue northeast. Rawisdan follows Klayman II and The Time as they head east.

As the men move forward, Chief Rum spots a cross-shaped, mid-size UFO lying in a field further to the northeast. There are some hedgewalls scattered between us and the craft, so we’ll need to weave a bit as we make our way there.

On the left side of our formation, Render II reaches a fence just beyond a hedgewall, when plasma blasts come streaking in from his right! Ambush! One shot snaps through some fence planking and drills him in the kneecap; another blast catches him full on the helmet. Render II drops to a knee and his vision goes blurry, but he stays up, scans right, and spots three Sectoids, about 50 yards away, in a field behind a hedgewall! 3ric III, only a few feet from Render II, drops to a knee and both men open fire. Their initial shots sail wide of the mark. Ravenhawk and Condors are about 30 yards away from the aliens, on the other side of the hedgewall, and the two men open fire on the hedgewall to try to blow a hole in it to get a line of fire to the other side. Their plasma blasts rip gaps into the wall, but the Sectoids were expecting this: they in turn open fire on Condors and Ravenhawk just as the smoke is clearing! Plasma blasts streak through the hedges at Condors and Ravenhawk. Ravenhawk gets drilled in the faceplate. It shatters, snapping his head back, peppering his face with shards of red-hot plasti-glass, and sending an inch-long shard into his left eye that splits it in half. Blood runs down Ravenhawk’s face as he screams and drops to a knee. Condors gets off a couple of shots at the aliens, once of which spins a Sectoid around. 3ric III appears to finish that one off, as a plasma blast from the left explodes the alien’s hip and drops it to the ground. The remaining two Sectoids keep firing on Ravenhawk and Condors, while 3ric III and Render II keep up the fire from the left side of our formation. Plasma blasts streak in all directions. Condors is the next one hit: he takes a shot to the left elbow that rips his lower arm off at the joint, and he drops to a knee and screams at the sight of the blood draining out of the remains of his arm.

A bleeding and stunned Ravenhawk calls to Sachmo II for Blaster Launcher support to end this firefirght. The aliens are clustered together, and should all up up with one shot. Sachmo II lifts his Blaster Launcher, spots the aliens on his HUD grid, and pulls the trigger on the Blaster Launcher. Click. Aaargh! Sachmo II forgot to load the Blaster Launcher!!! Shit! He frantically reaches to the ground for a missile, and starts to stuff it in the launcher!

Back in the field the fierce firefight rages on. Sectoid fire continues to rain in on Condors and Ravenhawk. Condors is hit again, this time in the right shoulder. The blast punches through his armor and burns deep into flesh. Condors drops to all three-and-a-halves, blood pouring from the torn shoulder armor and from the stump of his severed left arm. Ravenhawk grits his teeth, fights through the intense pain, and stands! He levels his Heavy Plasma at the two Sectoids, takes aim with his good eye, and gets drilled by a Sectoid plasma blast in the neck plate before he can pull the trigger. The plasma burns through the thin neck plating, dissolves Ravenhawk’s neck, and punches out the rear armor in a spray of gore and bone. Ravenhawk, head hanging to his body by a thin strip of flesh, falls to the ground, where the impact jars his head completely from his torso. His head rolls in the dirt and comes to rest five feet from the rest of his body. 15 feet away, Condors is hit once more, this time in the top of the helmet. The plasma blast punches through the armor, buries itself in Condor’s brain, and kills him instantly. He slumps to the ground, blood pouring out of the remains of his skull. Render II and 3ric III keep up the fire, and finally find the mark: Render catches one Sectoid in the side of the head. Half the creature’s skull disappears with a pop, and the thing falls dead to the ground. The last Sectoid turns to fire, but Render gets off another shot that catches it full in the chest and sends it sprawling to the ground. Render shakes himself clear, and checks his knee and helmet: he’s ok! But Ravenhawk and Condors are dead! Crap! Back at the Skyranger, Sachmo II raises his now loaded Blaster Launcher to fire. He is too late by thirty seconds, and the realization that his error in protocol cost X-COM two agents hits him like a thrown brick. X-COM 4, Aliens 2.

Still, no time to mourn the dead yet. Rawisdan and Zippy cut towards the middle of our formation to replace Ravenhawk and Condors, and we continue to move.

Klayman II and The Time continue on east, about 40 yards to the south of the UFO. The door to this UFO should lie on the east side—the back side as we approach it. If they keep driving east, they should be able to get a good firing position on the door. Chief Rum II, Rawisdan, and Zippy approach the west side of the UFO, and make it to the craft without further incident. Render II and 3ric III reach the northern extremity of the battlefield, then turn east to head around the north side of the UFO.

As our men move, we hear the door to the UFO open. Klayman II preps a grenade and makes a long toss over the side of the UFO to where we expect any exiting alien to be. The grenade goes off with a bang, but there is no accompanying scream. Chief Rum II, on the west side of the UFO, makes a grenade toss completely over the UFO. This one goes off with a roar, and this time we hear the wail of alien death! Chief Rum II got one! X-COM 5, Aliens 2.

We continue moving. The Time and Klayman II complete their sweep and close on the UFO door. As they do this, a Sectoid comes around the corner of the craft! The Time reacts instantly and opens fire on the creature. His plasma blasts all miss badly. Klayman II, a little further back and in bad firing postion, preps a grenade, and tosses it the 30 yards to the alien’s feet. The creature spins to run away, but Klayman II’s grenade was set to quick fuse, and the creature makes it only one step before the grenade explodes and lifts him ten feet into the air. The Sectoid comes back to earth with a thud. X-COM 6, Aliens 2.

And that’s the last alien? Huh? There’s usually more in these mid-size UFOs. Damn.

The men head back to the field where the remains of Ravenhawk and Condors lie. Sachmo II, in tears, is already trying to drag the bodies into body bags. The other men try to help, but Sachmo II screams at them and pushes them violently away. He spends the next fifteen minutes carrying the two corpses back to the Skyranger by himself.

On the way home, Sachmo II sits alone by the two body bags, his head buried in his hands, his body stone still. He neither moves nor speaks the entire way back.

Wrap-up

Promotions: Astott, Captain.
Kills: Chief Rum II, 1; The Time, 1; Render II, 2; Condors, 1; Klayman II, 1.
KIA: Ravenhawk, Condors.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Chief Rum II, The Time, Render II, Klayman II, Sachmo II.
Final score: 116!
Mission Notes:
Although Condors was a fine agent, Ravenhawk was clearly one of our best, and his death is a crippling blow. Ouch. What a friggin’ disaster. First Klayman, then Shorty, now Ravenhawk. We can’t keep losing our best agents like this. What a crappy ending to what could have been our greatest day. Damn damn damn.

I thought 3ric III hit the first alien in that group of three that ended up killing Ravenhawk and Condors, but apparently is was Condors that hit the alien twice.

Go FOF X-COM!