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

[Raven Hawk]

Originally Posted by ardent enthusiast

Tell me how to use that blaster launcher thingee.

It all begins by not acting like Commander Asshat.

[Godzilla Blitz]

108th Mission: Sectoids Below the Equator

The EU COM Skyranger races south, for coastal Kenya and the large Sectoid scout that went down there. This will be our first mission since the aliens have dropped the nuclear bomb on Moscow, and the men inside the Skyranger today are determined to exact some revenge—however small—for the injustice that has occurred in Russia.

The men go through their preparations for the dawn assault. We’ve been on a run recently, and as a result our assault teams now consist of solid, experienced agents. Today is no exception, as every man on board has killed an alien in combat.

Sergeant Swaggs will command our troops today.

The green light goes on and the craft begins to drop to the Kenyan farmland below.

Left Side:
1. Raven Hawk II (Blaster Launcher, Flying Suit)
2. Breeze (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
3. ShaefIllini (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
4. Mike Vic (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
5. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma & PSI Amp, Flying Suit)

Right Side:
1. Japherwaki II (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
2. Real Deal III (Heavy Plasma & PSI Amp, Flying Suit)
3. Naiwf (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
4. Swaggs (PSI Amp & Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
5. Chuck U Farley (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)

As the Skyranger falls through light clouds, the men scan the cool, dawn landscape below. Coastal Kenya is predominantly farmland, which is a battlefield we are well familiar with. We can easily see the cross-shaped UFO: it will lie directly in front of our exit, about 30 meters away. The door is on the right of the craft, almost in line with the exit of our craft. This could be a very good position for us to work from, as we basically have a great firing position on the door without even leaving the Skyranger. With the exception of two-story structure that will lie beside our Skyranger’s right side, the rest of the battlefield that we can make out is flat fields. The area beyond the nose of the Skyranger is secure ground.

The Skyranger drops the final meters and hits the ground. The ramp falls away and thuds onto the warm Kenyan soil. Silence.

Our tank exits the Skyranger, spins, and spots nothing. It goes vertical and starts sweeping over the house to our right. As it does this, Breeze and Real Deal III exit the Skyranger and take up positions at the landing gear.

Our Hovertank spots no aliens around the house. It turns and begins a wide arc over the battlefield. Past the UFO, to the right, we can now see two more two-story buildings of some sort. Breeze moves to a low stone wall on the left of our Skyranger. Real Deal heads for the house on the right. Naiwf and Mike Vic are out next. They begin a slow advance through the air toward the UFO doors. We can now see a small hole in the roof of the UFO, which should allow us to dump ordinance inside.

Movement! Our tank spots a Sectoid, in the field to the left of the UFO, about 40 meters from Breeze. Breeze picks up the Sectoid on his HUD, aims, and fires. Plasma clangs off the side of the UFO as the Sectoid drops to a knee to return fire. Before it can get a shot off, Breeze lays it flat on its back with a plasma blast. The creature’s mangled chest is testament to the force of the hit. X-COM 1, Aliens 0.

We continue deploying. Shortly, we hear the door of a building close. Humm. The one on our right, or one of the one’s past the UFO? Real Deal cautiously enters the house on our right to flush anything out. Raven Hawk II exits the Skyranger, swings around the nose of the craft, and quickly sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Our Hovertank drifts towards the houses that lie past the UFO, and spots an open first-floor door inside the left one. That door was closed when our Hovertank saw it a moment ago! Raven Hawk plots a firing course with the Launcher and pulls the trigger. The missile races past the Skyranger and UFO, then slams into the outer wall of the first floor of the house. The massive explosion roars through the first floor, incinerating everything in its path. We hear the scream of a Sectoid dying inside! Nice shot Raven! Not a knife kill, but a kill nonetheless. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

We continue deploying. As our Hovertank works through the area around the buildings past the UFO, Coffee Warlord II exits the Skyranger and moves to Raven Hawk, where the two men quickly exchange weapons. Japherwaki II exits the Skyranger, joins Breeze, and together the two of them advance toward the fields to the left of the UFO. Chuck U Farley and ShaefIllini exit the Skyranger and begin a slow advance on the ground toward the UFO door, while Mike Vic and Naiwf continue toward the same target in the air. Real Deal works more quickly through the house on our right. Swaggs waits for the exit area to clear.

Suddenly, our tank spots a Sectoid inside the UFO, through a rent in the outer wall! Coffee isn’t ready with the Blaster Missile yet, and no one else has a shot. Swaggs, however, picks up the alien on his HUD, punches in the coordinates on his PSI Amp, sets the meter on “Mind Control”, and pulls the trigger. A wave of PSI energy rolls out of the Skyranger bay and washes over the UFO…

Got him! We’ve mind controlled a Sectoid Navigator inside the UFO! Cool! Swaggs speaks into the PSI Amp and orders the alien to look around the interior of the UFO. Bingo! There’s one more alien in here. Next, he has the alien toss its heavy plasma away and start marching toward the UFO exit. The fun doesn’t last long, though, as the other Sectoid in the UFO clues in to what’s going on, turns to our Sectoid, and fires from ten feet away. The plasma cuts right through our creature and comes out the other side in a green gush. Our alien drops to the ground, dead. X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Coffee finally gets set up with the Blaster Launcher. He quickly plots a firing course through the hole in the UFO roof and pulls the trigger. The missile races for the UFO, darts up, then disappears through the hole. An instant later we hear a muffled rumble from inside the UFO. A jet of smoke comes spewing out of the hole in the UFO roof. We can also see a couple of new holes in the roof from the blast. Unfortunately, we don’t hear any screams. Apparently Coffee missed? With a blaster launcher?

As the roar from the explosion dies away, Mike, ShaefIllini, Chuck, and Naiwf suddenly find themselves under fire from a Sectoid charging us from the undamaged building past the UFO. Plasma just misses our men. We return fire instantly. All four men approaching the UFO—even Swaggs in the Skyranger—have shots at the alien. A wall of plasma goes streaking toward the charging Sectoid. It gets five feet closer to us when a blast from Swaggs blows its left leg off at the hip. The alien tumbles screaming to the ground. Green blood pours out of the creature onto the rich Kenyan soil. Good fertilizer. The alien is dead within seconds. X-COM 4, Aliens 0.

Things fall quiet after that. Real clears the house, our Hovertank clears the buildings past the UFO, and none of the remaining unexplored pockets on the battlefield hold any hidden aliens. Time to get any Sectoids left in the UFO, most likely just the one we saw before. We’ll try to go right in through the holes in the roof.

Mike Vic will lead the way. Naiwf will go right in on his heels. The two men take up positions on the roof of the UFO.

On three. One…two…three!

Mike jumps for the hole and drops into the murky UFO. He lands, spins, and spots a Sectoid near the navigation panels of the craft. Both combatants twist their weapons to fire, but the Sectoid is a fraction faster. A blast of plasma rips Mike’s left arm off at the joint and sends his heavy plasma flying. Mike turns to jump for cover, but a second blast nails him in the hip and rips through the armor, punching a deep hole in his thigh. He falls to the floor of the UFO, blood draining from his body. Naiwf is right on his heels into the hole, though, and this time the Sectoid is a fraction slow. Naiwf drills him with three consecutive plasma shots that send him flying backwards into the navigation panels. The alien slides to the floor, dead. X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

And that is the last alien. Our threat sensors turn green.

Naiwf quickly checks for a pulse on Mike Vic: none. Damn it, we’ve lost one. X-COM 5, Aliens.

Kills: Swaggs, 1; Naiwf, 1; Breeze, 1; Raven Hawk II, 1.
KIA: Mike Vic.
Wounded: None .
Attribute Improvements: Swaggs, Naiwf, Breeze, Raven Hawk II.
Final score: Not sure.
Mission Notes:
Not only did Coffee not kill the alien in the UFO with the blaster launcher, he apparently did not even hit the alien. This has to go down as one of the worst shots in X-COM history. Let’s hope it’s not an omen for Coffee’s performance on Mars.

I think I was getting overconfident after that run of missions with no agents killed. I should have punched a hole in the UFO wall and gone in that way. Or at least tossed grenades in through the roof. There was no need to risk an assault at the end. Stupid mistake that I shouldn’t be making after 100-plus missions. Sorry, Mike.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

It all begins by not acting like Commander Asshat.

Seriously, though, is there a way to load it or something? Every time I click to fire it the only option it gives me is to "throw".

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

oh god, ardent and i on a mission together....death must ensue

I rather suspect hilarity will ensue.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by ardent enthusiast

Seriously, though, is there a way to load it or something? Every time I click to fire it the only option it gives me is to "throw".

You've got to load it.

1. Put a blaster launcher in an agent's hand.
2. Click on a blaster missile.
3. Drag the missile to the launcher.
4. Click on the launcher.

You've got to have enough time units left to load it.

[MikeVic]

Unfortunately, MikeVic died in combat recently.. fortunately, he had a son back at home... a son that chooses to exact revenge for his father's death!

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Unfortunately, MikeVic died in combat recently.. fortunately, he had a son back at home... a son that chooses to exact revenge for his father's death!

X-Com agents breed like rabbits.

[Raven Hawk]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

X-Com agents breed like rabbits.

I think it would be more accurate to say rabbits breed like X-Com agents.

[Poli]

Woot! Thanks, GB!

[Lokugh]

That's ok Mike, I suspect my grandson will be joining you in X-COM heaven soon. He's probably going to die in Britain, but he plans to take the Sectoids with him, so perhaps we will have plenty of servants in the afterlife

[Godzilla Blitz]

Ok, let's get started. It's going to take me a few minutes to get the game to the point where we can attack the base, then instead of writing a typical mission, I'm going to take it from the point of the action's start. I'll play then make a post here after each couple of turns.

Here's the rules and scoring system:

* Fourteen of you have been selected to assault the sole remaining alien base, in England. All fourteen of you have been given heavy plasmas, two grenades, and a medi-kit. We will take blaster launchers, but will store them to the side unless we lose 9 agents, at which time any agent may pick up and use them.

* Instead of me selecting the order of deployment, I will be using random dice rolls to determine who is first down the grav-lift, etc. On bases missions some of you will get placed by the computer on the ground floor already. I'll attempt to bring those agents back up without firing.

* I almost always try to spread out the kills over a number of agents so as to maximize our total attribute gains. However, on this mission, it’ll be every man for himself, for as many kills as he can get. I will always push you to get a kill.

* You all have chosen a preferred style of play. You have selected either: (1) Aggressive (move forward as fast as possible toward through your assigned sector with no regard for defensive reactions or flanks); (2) Normal (move through your assigned sector often with regard for reactive fire, but with little regard for getting outflanked; (3) Cautious (move through your sector always considering reactive fire, and never allow the potential to get outflanked).

* The top two agents will get a ticket on the Mars mission.

Point Scoring
Kill Alien or Mind-Controlled Agent: 2 points
Hit Alien or Mind-Controlled Agent (but not register a kill): 1 point
Confirmed Kill of a Blaster-Launcher Alien: 1 bonus point
Treat Fellow Agents’ Wounds: 1 point
Earn Angel’s Wings: 1 point
Be the first agent into the Command Center who survives the mission: 2 points
Be the second agent into the Command Center who survives the mission: 1 point
Lose Morale Due to a PSI attack, forcing us to order you to drop your weapons until you regain composure: -1 point
Freeze: -2 points
Go Berserk: -4 points
Get Mind Controlled: -8 points
While Mind Controlled or Berserking, Kill Fellow Agent = -20 points
Get killed: Disqualified

Our agents
Danny Van Halen Normal
Wolfpack Cautious
Naiwf Normal
Split Personality III Aggressive
Breeze Normal
Chuck U Farley Aggressive
Glen Goyne Normal
Alf III Normal
Mr. Bug IV Normal
Blade6119 Normal
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious
Lokugh III Aggressive
Katon II Cautious
Hoops Guy Cautious

[Godzilla Blitz]

Ok, I've got all the agents into the base. We've got a slight delay as we finish up the Puzzle Contest. Real Deal vs. ShaefIllini. They'll be done at 10:10.

[kingfc22]

GB - what would happen if everyone was DQ'd? Just curious...

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

GB - what would happen if everyone was DQ'd? Just curious...

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we came close to losing. We're not using our blaster launchers. We've got quite a few low PSI agents. We're going to be running a much more aggressive movement plan.

This could get ugly.

If we get down to two men, I'm going to do my best to evacuate.

We'll think of something if everyone dies.

[Poli]

Or just go with AE II by default.

[MrBug708]

Goodness....How did I get picked for this madness?

[hoopsguy]

Even with all the warnings about potential death and destruction, I'm excited to have snuck into the last spot. Hopefully we fight way over our heads and burn down the base with minimal casualties, setting the stage for Mars in style.

[Godzilla Blitz]

109th Mission: British Base Assault Competition

Turn 1
Ok, we're in the base. We're in side-by-side rooms in the northwest corner of the base. Mr. Bug, Katon, and Danny Van Halen draw first straws in the eastern most room of our two rooms. They head down. They encounter no aliens as they set up in on the ground floor. There are corridors west (to our other entry point), east, and south. All three men leave enough time to react to alien movement.

In the westernmost room, Hoops Guy draws the first straw out. He goes down without incident. There are corridors east (to our other entry point) and south. He sets up facing south.

The rest of the men will wait for us to clear some space below.

Scoreboard

Name              Mode      Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal    
Wolfpack          Cautious  
Alf III           Normal    
MrBug IV          Normal        
Blade6119 IV      Normal      
Katon II          Cautious   
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   
Lokugh III        Agressive        
Naiwf             Normal       
Breeze            Normal       
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive       
Split Pers III    Aggressive       
Glengoyne         Normal       
Hoops Guy         Cautious  

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 1: Aliens
Katon II spots movement to our south! A Sectoid comes down a grav-lift in the room to our south, about 15 meters away. It opens fire on Katon II...

and hits! Katon is dazed, but he stays up and pulls the trigger on his heavy plasma. Shots race toward the alien and...

hit! The Sectoid wails and falls! Katon is on the board!

Suddenly, a wave of PSI energy washes over us...

Scoreboard

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     0
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     0    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious   2 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   0 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     0   
Hoops Guy         Cautious   0

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 2: Aliens

Nothing.

[hoopsguy]

Feeling a little lonely ... or is it just more kills for me? Now I know how SplitPersonality has felt on all of these missions.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 3: X-COM
Hoops Guy spots a Cyberdisc coming for him from the south! He opens fire from about 40 meters away...

and drills the thing with a blast of plasma. These Cyberdisc's are tough, though. It swivels, aims, and returns fire...

Hoops Guy is gutted! His guts pour onto the cold, hard base floor. Frantically he tries to stuff them back in, but the Cyberdisc drills him again, and that is the last thing Hoops Guy remembers.

Up above, Ardent Enthusiast and Blade6119 draw the next lots, in that order. Ardent jumps into the grav-lift, drops to the ground floor, steps in line with the south corridor, and opens fire. His shots scream down the corridor and slam into the Cyberdisc! The thing explodes, and we see a Sectoid engulfed in flames come down the corridor toward us. It topples over a second later, dead. Ardent bagged a pair!

Blade6119 is right on his heels, but for the moment we see no more action to the south. But wait! The Cyberdisc explosion blew away a section of the outer wall in that room. We can make out the gold inner walls of the command center down there. Bonus point land lies just a few meters to the south. Blade6119 heads for it.

Back in the eastern room, Katon and Mr. Bug proceed into the southern room, but so far see no more aliens. This room should lie just to the east of the command center, so these men have a chance to cut over and score big. Danny still heads east, but is joined by Glen Goyne, who drew the next lot out of the upper room.

X-COM 3, Aliens 1

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     0
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     0    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious   2 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     0   
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Mars Strike Team Omega

Our next two members of Strike Team Omega:

1. Commander Kodos
2. Captain Revrew
3. Colonel Jfbbis
4. Colonel Wade Moore
5. Captain Jeff Nights II
6. Captain AStott
7. Sergeant Thomkal II
8. Sergeant Achilles
9. Sergeant Swaggs
10. Sergeant Coffee Warlord II
11. Squaddie Jeeber D
12. Squaddie Raven Hawk II
13. Captain Qwikshot II
Qwikshot has been an active and steady agent over the course of his career, has always kept us positive, and has shown solid cool under PSI pressure. While he doesn't have the high kill totals of some of our agents and could have difficulties if we sustain casualties, his long track record of excellence makes him a solid choice for the Mars mission.

14. Squaddie Illinifan V
The Illinifan family looks to have finally gotten things right with their latest X-COM member. Illinifan has nearly perfect close combat genetic talent: high bravery, quick reactions, and rock-solid PSI skills. Although he lacks the experience of many of our Omega team members, he brings a lot of potential to the table, and has performed admirably in over ten missions.

Welcome aboard, men.

Next up...
The Battle Competition. 14 agents fighting a point-scored base assault to earn one of two seats on the Avenger. This should be a dilly!

Woohoo, I'm on the squad...I'll make you proud. Ah, #13, hope it's lucky.

[hoopsguy]

Ouch. Time to go to bed. Go get 'em, guys!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 3: Aliens

Although we see no alien activity, Katon is slammed by a wave of PSI energy. He starts to shake and quiver, but...

...he hangs on! Still his morale takes such a drop that we're going to have to order him to drop his weapons until he can calm down. - 1 point for Katon

X-COM 3, Aliens 1

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     0
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     0    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious   1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     0   
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Glengoyne]

This is the most fun you can have on a message board.

Well without a Wizzard's Robe or Rhinocerous.

[kingfc22]

This is going to be good.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 4: X-COM

Blade6119 and Ardent start moving toward the command center to the south. To get there they’ll have to pass through a smaller room that is filled with explosive canisters. The room is empty, but the two men hold just shy of the room for the moment. If they get stuck in that room when a fuel canister gets hit, it’s lights out.

To their east, the badly shaken Katon drops his heavy plasma and grenades, and starts back to the room to the north until he can regain composure. Suddenly, a blast of plasma comes streaking out of the small, windowed bunker in the center of the room he just left and slams into the wall beside his head. Katon jumps to the safety of the northern room.

As Chuck Farley—who drew the next lot—jumps in the grav-lift to come down and help, Mr. Bug, who is right beside the bunker in the room the shot came from, frantically figures out what to do. Before he reacts, Chuck spots the alien that fired on Katon. It’s about 30 meters away, in the room to Mr. Bug’s south. The alien had fired through the bunker room at Katon. Chuck quickly aims and fires his heavy plasma, but the shots go wide, slam into the bunker, and blow some wall panels away.

Mr. Bug gets to his feet, runs to the window of the bunker, and fires through it at the Sectoid. Plasma races through the bunker, out the other side, and guts the alien. It topples to the ground, dead.

Mr. Bug is on the board!

To his east, Danny and Glen continue east down their corridor until they come to a corridor running south that crosses it. Danny has dibs and takes the south corridor, figuring that more aliens lie in that direction. Glen continues east.

X-COM 4, Aliens 1

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     0
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     2    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious   1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     0  
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Raven Hawk]

I'm in the communcations room, listening in. I pour a little of my 40 out on the floor for hoopsguy. A good man and a brave soldier.

[Tellistto]

Intense stuff...haven't hit refresh this often in a long time!


Tell

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 4: Aliens

Mr. Bug spots Sectoid movement to the south, but neiter side gets a shot off.

To his east, Danny spots a Cyberdisc in the hallway to his south! The thing fires first. A blast of plasma races toward Danny and slams into his chest armor. Danny starts to fade, but he pulls it together. Before he can get a shot off, a massive wave of PSI energy slams into him! He starts speaking Sectoid! He wheels around, spots Glen Goyne, and fires from 10 feet away. Glen's back armor is ripped apart and he is thrown forward to the ground. Blood pours onto the white base floor from a massive hole in his upper back. Within seconds, Glen is dead.

Danny fades from our radar screen: rogue agent on the loose.

Things are turning ugly.

X-COM 4, Aliens 2

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal    -28
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     2    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious   1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     DQ  
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Godzilla Blitz]

Glad people are enjoying it. I was afraid it might be kind of boring. I wish I could play and type faster.

I'd like to keep going, but I think I'll stop and rewrite that post I deleted and then call it a night for X-COM. I think this is a nice, suspensful place to say...

(to be continued)

[kingfc22]

Knowing that we only have 4 days until D-Day. This will be the ONLY time I won't be too said if someone dies. It's sad, but Kingfc22 II wants to go to Mars!!! Armed or Unarmed

[Raven Hawk]

Pours some of his Colt 45 out for Glengoyne.

Stop dying, it's turning into alchohol abuse.

[hoopsguy]

DVH still has never died. Of course, he isn't exactly making a great case for himself to be on Mars in any capacity that involves a weapon ...

Sorry to cost you the booze this close to the Mars mission, Raven. However, it is good to see that you have an eclectic mix of wino specials on hand for the occasion.

[Kodos]

This is great fun. GB, you continue to outdo yourself!

[Glengoyne]

I would have bet good money another agent would kill me on this mission, but never did I consider it would be Them under alien control.

On another note, maybe it was a bad Idea to tell my squad mates to keep a gun trained my direction.

[MrBug708]

Heh...Im gonna get all my kills in a fake mission

[Godzilla Blitz]

I'm going to try and play the rest of the mission tomorrow late morning. That might not be possible, though. We'll see how work goes.

I think we might be in real trouble in this mission. Our perimeter to the east is shot, we've lost two agents KIA, Danny is fighting for the wrong team, Katon is a liability until he gets his head back on straight, and the rest of our troops are mighty shaky on the PSI defense. We're essentially down to ten men already, and the aliens have lost four and added one. And how long can Blade6119 and Ardent fight beside each other without one of them shooting the other?

The lack of blaster launchers makes it much tougher. Right now I would like to hit the room to Mr. Bug's south with one missile, and hit the wall between the last locations of Danny and the Cyberdisc with another one.

This could be a tough fight tomorrow. Be interesting to see if Ardent can hold his lead. Lots of aliens left to kill, though. If we can kill them, that is.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Kodos: Thanks. I wonder if the Mars mission would be better done this way, or the regular way. I wouldn't keep score, though.

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Heh...Im gonna get all my kills in a fake mission

Fake? Those are real aliens shooting at you out there, Ender.

Glen: Sorry about your death. It happened so damn fast. Those PSI-attacks are brutal. You just watch your guys die.

Hoops: Sorry, too. I thought about bringing another agent down at the start, but you had lots of help on your east, and solid walls behind you to the north and west. I was worried that if we brought another agent with you we'd make a juicy, five-agent target for a blaster missile, as the two rooms were kind of close. Having the alien command center just to your south was probably not conducive to living a long time, especially by yourself.

Raven: Save some of that stuff for me, ok?

[MrBug708]

Well, the premise is fake. It's almost like "The Most Dangerous Game"

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Kodos: Thanks. I wonder if the Mars mission would be better done this way, or the regular way. I wouldn't keep score, though.
...
Glen: Sorry about your death. It happened so damn fast. Those PSI-attacks are brutal. You just watch your guys die.
...

I think this format makes for a very interesting read while it is happening, but I think you would probably craft a better tale if you did it in your "normal" manner. It is entirely up to you though.

Oh and no trouble with the death. I went out in a better manner than I had envisioned. I think the fact that I have a Psi Def of 3, and was never controlled on a mission, may indicate that your Psi decoy strategy may not pan out as well as we all thought it might.

Oh and Good luck to the rest of you. I hope DVH survives, so I can haunt his "never been killed" ass for the rest of his life.

[Alf]

Interesting read. Wiating for the new thread

[Poli]

GB, I hope you can finish this sometime this morning. I'll be gone for the weekend with the colors detail (flag detail) up to Milwaukee for the NASCAR races.

I expect I'll be leaving here at noon CST.

PS, If I make it to Mars, there's a shiny quarter in it for you.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 5: X-COM

We need reinforcements to the east. Lokugh III draws the next lot, steps into the grav-lift, and heads down to the main floor of the base. He breaks right and heads down the corridor toward Danny Van Halen's last known location. Chuck also breaks right and joins Lokugh. The two men keep their weapons at the ready: he's should be just around the corner.

Naiwf gets the next lot, heads into the grav-lift, drops to the main floor, and jogs to join Mr. Bug. Mr. Bug keeps an eye open for movement to the south as he begins to work his way around the small bunker in the middle of the room.

To his west, Ardent prepares a grenade to toss into the room with the fuel cannisters. With the command center just on the other side, we can't risk taking fire while crossing a room full of gasoline.

X-COM 4, Aliens 2

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 5: Aliens

Danny snaps back under our control for a brief moment! He spots the Cyberdisc that hit him before just as it turns a corner to the east. He gets off one quick shot that dings the upper hull of the thing, then it is gone down the side corridor.

Mr. Bug and Naiwf catch Sectoid movement in the room to their south, but neither agent can get a shot off.

Two massive waves of PSI energy slam into our forces again. Danny snaps back under alien control and Katon completely freezes up.

Suddenly, Mr. Bug sees Danny come barging into his room through a side corridor from the east. Danny's only three feet away! His eyes are wild, there's spittle all over his face plate, and he's screaming in Sectoid.

Mr. Bug twists violently to the left to fire, just as Danny jerks his weapon toward Mr. Bug...

X-COM 4, Aliens 2

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal    -27
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     2    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious  -1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     DQ  
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 6: X-COM

Mr. Bug pulls the trigger a fraction of a second faster. A stream of plasma slams into Danny's chest plate, but he stays on his feet and gets off a shot that snaps Mr. Bug's head back. Mr. Bug topples over backwards just as a second shot from Danny tears through the space where his upper torso just was. Mr. Bug lands on his back. The world is swimming, but Mr. Bug aims for the Danny in the middle of his triple vision and pulls the trigger on full-auto. Three more shots slam into Danny, ripping apart his chest armor and penetrating to flesh. Danny is slammed back into the wall of the room, where he slides to the ground, his chest a steaming mass of red gore. Mr. Bug rolls over onto his stomach, gets to his knees, then turns to confirm that Danny is dead--

Danny is standing! He's dropped his weapon, there's blood pouring down his legs from the massive hole that used to be his chest. He starts walking toward Mr. Bug. Mr. Bug pulls the trigger on his heavy plasma and cuts Danny in half at the stomach. Danny's upper torso and head collapse onto his legs, and then everything falls to floor of the alien base. Danny is dead.

Mr. Bug shakes his head to clear it. Outside of a massive headache, he appears to be fine.

Still, the loss of yet another agent badly shakes the morale of our men. Everyone is on the edge of panic. Blade6119 looks particularly shaken. For the moment their training holds such fears in check, and they continue fighting...

Ardent tosses his grenade into the room with the fuel cannisters, then both he and Blade6119 step back around the corner to get out of the way of the blast that will follow.

Mr. Bug and Naiwf retrain their attention to the south, where we know there is at least one Sectoid.

To the east, Chuck heads east, then turns south, down the corridor that Danny took before he got mind-controlled. There must be a Cyberdisc down here somewhere. Lokugh III makes an agressive move as he jogs straight east, past the corridor Chuck went down.

Wolfpack draws the next lot, and drops to the main floor of the base. We'll need more firepower here shortly.

Up above, Breeze, Alf, and Split Personality wait to get in the action.

X-COM 4, Aliens 3

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     DQ
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     7    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious  -1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive 0       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     DQ  
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 6: Aliens

A Sectoid comes down the corridor in front of Chuck, about 40 meters further into the base! Chuck goes for his weapon, but the Sectoid gets off a shot a second faster. The plasma races toward Chuck and...

drills him in the face plate! Red plasma burns into his head, cutting through flesh, bone, and brains. Chuck falls foward like a tree. His body slams onto the floor, twitching. Blood drains onto the base floor. Chuck is dead.

To their west, Mr. Bug and Naiwf see no movement in the room to their south.

Again to the west, Ardent's grenade goes off, setting off a chain reaction that tears the fuel cannisters in the room apart.

With the death of Chuck, our morale takes yet another drop.

X-COM 4, Aliens 4

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     DQ
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     7    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious  -1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   4 
Lokugh III        Agressive  0       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive DQ       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     DQ  
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ

[Poli]

Crap! There goes my ride!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Turn 7: X-COM

As Wolfpack races to help, Lokugh turns around and sprints into the corridor where Chuck died. He spots the Sectoid down the hall, drops to a knee, and opens fire. Plasma races down the corridor...

...and nails the Sectoid! It drops to the floor of the base, but there is no tell-tale scream of death. A second shot from Lokugh hits an intervening fuel cannister and blows it up. The smoke and debris from the explosion cause the Sectoid to fade from Lokugh's HUD. Damn it.

To their west, Mr. Bug and Naiwf continue around the bunker in their room. They make it to the south side of the room, and train their weapons on the exit. Beyond it they can see what look like some kind of cave structure.

To the west again, Ardent heads around the corner and into the smoky room he just cleared with a grenade. It's difficult to see with all the smoke...

Movement! A Sectoid, five feet in front of him, and is it holding a blaster launcher? Ardent pulls the trigger a fraction of a second faster than the alien and blows it off its feet. The alien falls backwards screaming. It lands with a slap on the base floor, dead.

Blade6119 follows Ardent into the room.

Up above all the action, Breeze draws the next lot and heads into the fray.

X-COM 5, Aliens 4

Scoreboard Update

Name              Mode       Points
Danny Van Halen   Normal     DQ
Wolfpack          Cautious   0
Alf III           Normal     0
MrBug IV          Normal     7    
Blade6119 IV      Normal     0  
Katon II          Cautious  -1 
Ardent Enthusiast Cautious   6 
Lokugh III        Agressive  1       
Naiwf             Normal     0   
Breeze            Normal     0   
Chuck U Farley    Aggressive DQ       
Split Pers III    Aggressive 0       
Glengoyne         Normal     DQ  
Hoops Guy         Cautious   DQ