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

[Godzilla Blitz]

Welcome to our continuing saga of man versus alien. This thread continues the saga of our FOFC heroes as they battle against the alien horde that threatens to take over Mother Earth.

A Brief Recap
We're approaching the end of November, the eleventh month of this long and bloody war. UFO sightings and alien attacks continue at an ever increasing rate. X-COM casualties are mounting, and the aliens are killing our agents at a higher rate than that of any month except of the first month of the war. Our veterans are starting to show signs of fatigue and combat stress. Our rookies are dying as fast as we can get them into battle. More and tougher aliens seemed to be involved with every mission. England, France, and Germany remain resolutely in league with their alien allies, and continue to apply political pressure on the United Nations to cut off our funding and force the Earth to ally with the aliens. Yet we fight on.

And we make progress. World opinion is slowly swinging in our favor. We have received glowing reviews from the United Nations for our work in fighting the alien horde. Alien atrocities across the world are starting to receive more media scrutiny, despite an alien propaganda machine that paints the aliens as the world’s saviors and us as the evil reactionaries holding the Earth back from a better future. A ferocious alien terror attack on London—called “an unfortunate accident” by the aliens—has led to some discordant voices in the generally universal outcry of support for the aliens in their three-country alliance. The truth is gradually seeping out. We are gaining strength.

Most importantly, however, and unknown to the aliens, is that good old human brainpower is on the verge of giving us a trump card. In the past couple of months, X-COM researchers and engineers have discovered the exact location of the secret Martian command center, have crafted blueprints for a craft capable of making the journey to that base, and begun construction on the vehicle at our South American base. If we can fight the aliens to a stalemate on Earth for the next two months, we should be ready to send our best 18 agents on a winner-take-all mission to exterminate the alien base on Mars and destroy the alien “brain” that controls all alien forces in our system. Victory on such a mission would end the war and end the alien threat for at least the next 100 years. Defeat would cost us the human race.

As so our story continues.

We pick up the action with an X-COM assault on an alien base in Spain. The attack is currently underway. Our next report should be a Skyranger transmission letting us know of the attack’s progress.

Explanation
This "dynasty" is a participatory story using the Microprose game X-COM: UFO Defense. If you'd like to sign up, just post here to let me know. However, we are clearing drawing closer to the war’s conclusion, so I can’t guarantee that people on the waiting list will see much action. You don't need to know anything about the game to participate, basically you just read along and post comments as you like, although at times there are decisions to be made where input is requested. In almost all of those cases, you don't need to know anything about the game to make an equally bad decision as I usually do.

Past Links
A Sectoid cyber attack on our computer systems took out much of the recorded history of our fight against the aliens, but these recent links remain. Efforts to regain public access to the lost annals continue.

X-COM II (Part VI)
X-COM II (Part VII)
X-COM II (Part VIII)
X-COM II (Part IX)
X-COM II (Part X)

[Godzilla Blitz]

X-COM II Troop Master List (After Mission 97)

USA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
14.  Wade Moore        Active     Colonel   25     23     
43.  Achilles          Active     Sergeant  19     14     
46.  Patman II         Active     Captain   22     13     
55.  Sublime II        Active     Sergeant  18     10     
74.  AStott            Active     Captain   16     18     
75.  Alf III           Active     Squaddie   8      4     
92.  Jeeber D          Active     Squaddie  10      7     
98.  MrBug IV          Active     Squaddie   9      4     
112. Airhog II         Active     Squaddie   3      1     
114. Blade6119 IV      Active     Squaddie   3      2     
115. Klayman III       Active     Squaddie   3      3     
121. Katon II          Active     Squaddie   1      1
129. Ardent Enthusiast Active     Squaddie   1      1
133. Lokugh III        Active     Rookie     0      0     
 

EU COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
2.   jfbbis            Active     Colonel   22     20     
10.  Kodos             Active     Commander 26     24     
19.  Revrew            Active     Captain   24     21     
37.  The Time          WND (4)    Sergeant  21     10     
70.  Naiwf             Active     Sergeant  15     10     
89.  RealDeal III      Active     Squaddie  12      7     
90.  Coffee Warlord II Active     Sergeant  12      9     
101. Wolfpack          Active     Sergeant   8      9     
102. Japherwaki II     Active     Squaddie   9      7     
105. Swaggs            Active     Sergeant  10      8     
110. Breeze            Active     Squaddie   5      7     
116. Chuck U Farley    Active     Squaddie   5      5     
119. Tucker II         Active     Squaddie   3      3      
120. Sachmo III        Active     Squaddie   3      1     
122. Mike Vic          Active     Squaddie   2      3      
123. Vince             Active     Squaddie   2      3      
128. ShaefIllini       Active     Squaddie   2      1
131. Raven Hawk II     Active     Squaddie   1      1
 

ASIA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
35.  Jeff Nights II    Active     Captain   24     13     
39.  Thomkal II        Active     Sergeant  20     17     
41.  Fat Football II   Active     Sergeant  18      9     
45.  Danny VanHalen    Active     Sergeant  19     14     
52.  Qwikshot II       Active     Captain   20     12     
84.  Split Pers III    Active     Sergeant   8      9     
93.  Afoci             Active     Squaddie   8      6     
96.  Illinifan V       Active     Squaddie   9      7     
109. Glengoyne         Active     Squaddie   6      4     
117. Psycho Cop II     Active     Squaddie   2      1      
118. Calis             Active     Squaddie   5      1     
124. Sir Fozzie II     Active     Squaddie   3      0      
127. Hoops Guy         Active     Squaddie   2      1
134. BYU II            Active     Squaddie   2      0      
135. FF Froggies       Active     Squaddie   2      0     
137. Kingfc            Active     Rookie     2      0     

 

SAM COM

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

 

AFRICA COM

ID   Name              Status     Rank      Miss.  Kills  
59.  Daimyo II         Active     Squaddie   9      5     
94.  Data King III     Active     Squaddie   5      2     
125. Chief Rum IV      Active     Rookie     0      0      
136. Barkeep           Active     Rookie     0      0
138. Blade IV          Active     Rookie     0      0
139. Tasan II          Active     Rookie     0      0
140. Travis IV         Active     Rookie     0      0
141. Render III        Active     Rookie     0      0
142. Almighty          Active     Rookie     0      0
143. Anxiety III       Active     Rookie     0      0
 

X-COM II Troop Attributes

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

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

Support Personnel

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

Attribute Leaders (After Mission 97)

Time Units:   (81) Wade Moore
Stamina:      (92) Thomkal II, Kodos
Health:       (61) Jfbbis
Bravery:      (60) (Nine tied)
Reactions:    (63) The Time
Firing:       (92) Wade Moore
Throwing:     (79) (Three tied)
Strength:     (68) Wade Moore
PSI Defense:  (97) Jeff Nights II
PSI Strength: (24) (Four tied)
 

Attribute Doggies (After Mission 97)

Time Units:   (50) PsychoCop II
Stamina:      (40) Northwood DK
Health:       (25) Chief Rum IV
Bravery:      (10) (14 tied)
Reactions:    (30) Raven Hawk II
Firing:       (40) Blade IV
Throwing:     (50) Sir Fozzie II, Psycho Cop II
Strength:     (20) Tasan II
PSI Defense:  (25) Coffee Warlord II
PSI Strength: (16) Naiwf
 

Top Ten Kills Leaders

1.  Kodos                24
2.  Wade Moore           23
3.  Revrew               21
4.  Jfbbis               20
5.  Klayman (KIA)        18
5.  Astott               18
7.  Thomkal II           17
8.  Shorty (KIA)         16
9.  Achilles             14
9.  Rich (KIA)           14
9.  Danny Van Halen      14
 

Waiting List

ID   Name              Base         Status     Rank     LBrvOK?  OptUp?
144. Rich II            -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      No
145. Zippy III          -           AWOL       Rookie   Yes      Yes
146. Gi                 -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
147. Tellistto          -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
148. CT Homer II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
149. Rawisdan II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
150. Gbk                -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
151. The Herd II        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
152. 3ric V             -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
153. Fonzie III         -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
154. Condors III        -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
155. Dawgfan            -           On Call    Rookie   Yes      Yes
 

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skyranger Transmission

This just in from the Skyranger in Spain…

Hi there. Me here, in the Skyranger. That Java dude just called me. Said it’s really important that I tell you they’re in some kind of bush. Yeah, I know, doesn’t make much sense to me, either, so I’ll just play the tape for you. Here you go.

(long pause, followed by a dull crash).

Oops. Wrong button, I guess. Damn, I hope the landing gear is ok. Let’s try that again. Humm. Which button was it, again? Can’t be the little red button. “Don’t ever press the little red button!” I remember that from training. Ummm. Maybe this one? Aha! Expresso’s voice is a bit scratchy, but you’ll probably be able to figure it out:

“Coff…ord…porting…We…plit into two squa…One walked…bush…ucking awf…whole tea…KIA. They knew we…coming...Some...tipped them off...Missi…utcom…uncer….offee…and out.”

And that’s was it. Sounds like things are going just fine down there. I’ll call you later if I hear something else. Wish they’d hurry though. I’m getting a bit hungry.

[Kodos]

Reserved for witty commentary. Coming soon.


I love that pilot. He's always got a smile on his face. That guy has a great attitude. I think he'll go far in whatever he does.

[Coffee Warlord]

Reserved for ordering men to their deaths. Coming soon.

Hey, guess I don't need to order them to their deaths! Whoo!

And if I'm reporting, I ain't dead!

[kingfc22]

Anybody taking lunch reservations?

[Blade]

We are able to place reservations for EHM?

[thealmighty]

How about if I, just in case, become the first Spain-o-rookie to, just in case now, you understand, put in for Almighty II to be member 156.

Not that I am not confident or anything, looking at the low numbers on most of my statistics (OR, maybe low numbers are GOOD in this game). You know, just in case my luck isn't any better than it has been in the Racing Dynasty.

[Poli]

CW, can I be on your team, rather than the other team you sent wherever?

[sachmo71]

Looks like my clone is no longer wounded. Time to kick ass!

[Tellistto]

Looks like more recruiting to do soon...

Tell

[Godzilla Blitz]

98th Mission: Su Basa es Mi Basa or Mi Asa is Grasa? (Part I)

The EU COM Skyranger hurtles low to the ground en route to the Spanish base nestled into low hills near the Portuguese border. We’re heading into darkness, but the night sky shows a pink glow to the east. The attack should go off at dawn, which is a mere 30 minutes away.

All our agents know that production has begun on the Avenger Ultimate Spacecraft, and that once the Avenger is built, the Mars mission is a go. For the largely inexperienced men on the Skyranger today, the chance to get on that ship to Mars rests solely in dramatically standing out from the crowd over the next month and a half. This base assault is a golden opportunity—for those who survive.

But survival is a huge question mark for each and every one of them. Today’s force is the least experienced base assault team we have ever put together. The highest ranking agent is Coffee Warlord II, and he is a sergeant who has cracked numerous times in battle and has a PSI evaluation of “weak”. Only three agents—Coffee Warlord II, Daimyo II, and Mr. Bug IV—have more than three missions worth of experience. Four agents—Travis IV, Lokugh III, Anxiety III, and Almighty—have never seen combat.

Despite the likelihood of death, despite the fear, despite the high odds against success, this volunteer force answered their planet’s call. These 14 men are risking everything for the chance to become a hero.

If there is anything working in our favor today, it is that—unlike previous base assaults—there is no need to take prisoners today. We can blow everything and everyone apart. Working against us today is that we have no idea what type of enemy we’re up against. God help us if this is an Ethereal base.

Coffee Warlord II will lead our troops today:

Assault Force Alpha
1. Kingfc (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
2. Blade6119 IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Daimyo II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Almighty (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Vince (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
6. Tucker II (Blaster Launcher, Flying Suit)
7. Travis IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Assault Force Bravo:
1. Coffee Warlord II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Mike Vic (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
3. Ardent Enthusiast (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
4. BYU II (Heavy Plasma, Flying Suit)
5. Anxiety III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
6. Mr. Bug IV (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
7. Lokugh III (Blaster Launcher, Flying Suit)

The Skyranger touches down as the red sun cracks the horizon behind them. The men quickly exit the craft and jog through some low hills to the entrance of the subterranean base. From there, they use our tried and true methods for entering the base: cut the upper grating, rappel down the air shafts, split up into two teams at the bottom and move along the horizontal venting that runs over the alien base.

Within minutes the two assault teams have located gratings over supply rooms. They cut their way in and drop to the floor of the small rooms that lie above the main base. The Assault Force Bravo supply room lies somewhere in the northern portion of the complex. Assault Force Alpha’s room is about 40 meters south of Bravo’s position. We have little idea of the layout of the overall base. Both groups silently check their equipment, and head down to the main floor.


Assault Force Bravo prepares to enter the main floor of the alien base. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Mike Vic leads the way for Team Bravo. He heads into the grav-lift and drops to the main floor. He looks in all directions…nothing. He can now tell that Bravo team is at the very northern edge of the alien base: hallways run west, south, and east from the square room that he is standing in, but there is solid wall to his north. Mike takes a quick look down each of the three corridors, but spots no aliens. BYU II joins Mike a few seconds later. The two men begin to set up firing positions down the corridors.


X-COM forces make an initial foray into the alien base. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Now that Team Bravo has identified the northern edge of the base, we know that Team Alpha lies over the heart of the base. This could get hot fast. The men of Team Alpha take a deep breath and head into action. Travis IV and Tucker II head down the grav-lift first. (The game did this in its initial setup.) They are standing in a square room with wide corridors on each wall. Travis IV steps to look down the corridor to the east (again, the game did this in its setup). Sectoid! 20 feet away! Travis drops to a knee to open fire. The Sectoid is faster. A plasma blast tears towards Travis, but misses him by inches and sails past. Travis aims—and is drilled by a plasma blast from behind, coming from the west corridor! There’s another Sectoid behind us! The blast cuts through Travis’ weak rear armor and comes out the other side in a red explosion of gore. Travis falls forward, dead. X-COM 0, Aliens 1.

We’ve got to meet force with force. Tucker II—armed with the Blaster Launcher—holds for a second, as Kingfc and Blade6119 IV jump into the grav-lift above him and drop to the first floor. As Kingfc breaks for the west corridor, Blade6119 breaks for the east one. Almost simultaneously, the two men spot the Sectoids and open fire. Kingfc hits a Sectoid about 20 feet away with a plasma blast that blows a hole through the thing’s chest and sends it flying backwards to the floor. Right behind this Sectoid is another one, and Kingfc keeps his finger on the trigger and blows off the legs of this second attacker. Two down. As this happens, Blade6119 drops to a knee and blows away the Sectoid in the east corridor with a shot that rips off the Sectoid’s right arm and sends the creature sprawling to the floor. Payback! X-COM 3, Aliens 1.


X-COM forces engaged with Sectoids in the alien base. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

At the north end of the base, Bravo Team moves out quickly. Anxiety III joins BYU II and Mike Vic on the main floor of the base. Mike Vic heads west. Anxiety heads south. BYU II heads east. As they exit the first room, none of them spots any aliens.


Overhead map of X-COM assault forces initial penetration into the alien base. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Back at Team Alpha, Blade6119 heads into the east corridor and comes immediately to a huge room that looks like some kind of laboratory. Everywhere there are large, cylindrical, glass vats filled with all sorts of body parts. Suddenly, a blast of plasma comes sailing at Blade6119! The shot misses him just to the left, goes flying into the room behind him, and just misses Tucker. Blade frantically scans the crowded room, but he can’t see a damn thing. He yells at Tucker for support with the Blaster Launcher, and then dives behind a vat. Tucker targets a vat near where the shot came from, and pulls the trigger on the Blaster Launcher. The missile roars by Blade6119, turns right, heads 20 feet further into the room, and slams into the vat. The spacious room is rocked with a massive blast that rips apart vats and send equipment flying in all directions. Blade6119 is covered with debris. As the roar from the explosion dies down, we hear the screams of dying Sectoids! Blade6119 looks up from under the debris and sees two Sectoids engulfed in flames and rolling on the ground. To his right, he also spots a Cyberdisc—only ten feet away—that was also knocked out in the explosion. Wow! Three kills with one shot for Tucker II! X-COM 6, Aliens 1.


Assault Force Alpha fights through fierce resistance. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Back in the room to Blade6119’s west, as Almighty comes down the grav-lift and starts to head south, Kingfc moves through the corridor and into the room to his west. No sign of aliens here, but this room appears to be a continuation of the massive room that Blade6119 is in. The room appears to wrap around the room we came down into. There are vats and other equipment filling this room as well. As Kingfc eyes the interior of the room, a blast of plasma comes flying towards him! Sectoid, moving towards him in the room, about 30 feet away! Kingfc swings his heavy plasma around and opens fire. A plasma blast slams into the alien and sends it howling to the ground with a shattered chest. Kingfc has got himself a hat trick! X-COM 7, Aliens 1.

And then it happens. About ten feet behind Kingfc, Tucker II lets out of fierce scream and starts screaming obscenities in Sectoid! He’s gone over to the aliens! He jams another blaster missile in his launcher, whips around, points the weapon at Kingfc, and pulls the trigger. The missile covers the ten-foot interval in a flash, slams into Kingfc’s back, and explodes.

Kingfc is engulfed in the fiery blast. Tucker is tossed backwards into the base wall and hits it with a sickening crunch. Almighty is thrown forward and shredded with shrapnel. Blade6119—still in line with the corridor of the room where the explosion took place—is driven into the glass vat beside him. The legs of the vat break from the force of the explosion and from Blade6119’s weight slamming into them. The 500-pound vat comes crashing down on top of him and shatters. The vat crushes Blade6119. Heavy glass shards rip into his armor. Daimyo II and Vince, still in the room above the carnage, are blown backwards to the floor as the concussion from the explosion wells out of the grav-lift in front of them. Smoke, fire, and debris fill the air in the center of the base. Somewhere, in the midst of all this carnage, we hear a Sectoid laughing.

(To be continued tomorrow)

[Tellistto]

Ouch...Blaster Rocket to the back from close range. Devastating Psi attack.

Tell

[Kodos]

Ummm. This may not be X-Com's finest day...

[MikeVic]

To Be Continued?!?! Argh!! Will tomorrow ever come?

[Coffee Warlord]

I was realllllly worried that was going to happen. Yipe.

[JeeberD]

Damn, and I was thinking that the bad sounding Skyranger transmission was just a red herring...

[Coffee Warlord]

Communism is just a red herring. Skyranger transmissions are not.

[Travis]

Guys................guys...............it's really dark in here...............isn't there supposed to be some light or something I'm supposed to go towards................oh hey, there you all are!

[Poli]

"Blue Leader, I don't think I copy. Did you just say you wanted fries with that?"

"Red leader, I think Blue Leader just ate the big one. Over."

[Poli]

Dola: I hope by tomorrow, he means "by 6 am EST tomorrow."

[Dawgfan1980]

Unfortunatly, Dawgfan might be moving up the list... {Sniff}

[kingfc22]

[Kingfc's intercom]...........................................................................................................................[/end transmission]


CRAP!!!!! I had 3 kills in my first bit of action too. My kid would like to avenge my death.

[Rich1033]

Did I hear people die? Ohh! Ohh! I call next.

Errr, I mean god bless the souls of those heroic men. You shall forever be remembered.

[Dawgfan1980]

Hey Rich, no shoving in the line over the dead bodies..... I mean the heroic men of our fellow X-com brothers.

[MrBug708]

Uh Oh.....

[tucker342]

crap... hopefully I didn't ruin the mission...

[Abe Sargent]

I just wanted to point out that this iteration of the Anxiety clan is really good with the weapon for a rook. I also have pretty good health for a rook, but poor reflexes. This suggests that I am best sered in either a sniper role or the guy who carries the heavy explosive weapons that you don't want fired otherwise.

(Hint, hint)

-Anxiety

[sachmo71]

Owch.

[Blade]

Oh no...

[Breeze]

That's gotta hurt.

[Godzilla Blitz]

98th Mission: Su Basa es Mi Basa or Mi Asa is Grasa? (Part II)

(Previously on X-COM II)

And then it happens. About ten feet behind Kingfc, Tucker II lets out of fierce scream and starts screaming obscenities in Sectoid! He’s gone over to the aliens! He jams another blaster missile in his launcher, whips around, points the weapon at Kingfc, and pulls the trigger. The missile covers the ten-foot interval in a flash, slams into Kingfc’s back, and explodes.

Kingfc is engulfed in the fiery blast. Tucker is tossed backwards into the base wall and hits it with a sickening crunch. Almighty is thrown forward and shredded with shrapnel. Blade6119—still in line with the corridor of the room where the explosion took place—is driven into the glass vat beside him. The legs of the vat break from the force of the explosion and from Blade6119’s weight slamming into them. The 500-pound vat comes crashing down on top of him and shatters. The vat crushes Blade6119. Heavy glass shards rip into his armor. Daimyo II and Vince, still in the room above the carnage, are blown backwards to the floor as the concussion from the explosion wells out of the grav-lift in front of them. Smoke, fire, and debris fill the air in the center of the base. Somewhere, in the midst of all this carnage, we hear a Sectoid laughing.

(Our story continues)

Back at Team Bravo, Mike Vic moves west and looks down a corridor to the south. Cyberdisc, 20 feet away, in an east-west corridor! The thing hasn’t spotted Mike yet, but Mike wastes no time nevertheless. He drops to a knee and opens fire on the disc. His first shot bounces off the craft. His second sails over it and blows a wall panel apart. His third catches the Cyberdisc right on edge. The thing explodes with a roar, sending debris tumbling down the hall toward Mike. Behind the wall panel that Mike blasted open, we can see the tell-tale orange glow of the alien base command center. The commander and the top aliens must only be a short distance away! Ardent Enthusiast enters the grav-lift, drops to the main floor, and quickly works his way forward to support Mike. X-COM 8, Aliens ?

While this goes on, BYU II moves east and comes into a pair of rooms filled with fuel canisters. Getting shot at in one of these rooms is definitely a bad idea, so BYU falls back and preps a grenade to toss inside. The grenade should set off a chain reaction to clear the room. Anxiety III heads south, out of our initial entrance room. It looks like there are about 30 meters of base between Anxiety III and whatever remains of Team Alpha.

Back at Team Alpha, things fall deathly quiet. Kingfc is more than dead. He simply doesn’t exist anymore. Almighty, however, rises to his knees. He’s alive! He’s got a two-foot long metal pipe sticking through his back and coming out his stomach. Blood is draining out his armor. He must get back up to either Daimyo or Vince immediately if he has any chance of living. Blade6119 also begins to stir. He can barely breathe—the vat has broken ribs and perhaps punctured a lung—but somehow he manages to push the remains of the vat off his crushed torso. His left knee is also twisted right, and his leg is sticking out at a bizarre angle: dislocated knee. He begins to crawl back to the grav-lift. As he does so, Almighty spots him and limps over to help. Together the two men make it back to the lift, where they take a quick look at Tucker before heading back up. Tucker’s head is twisted around 180 degrees. The two men don’t need to see any more. They head up the grav-lift. X-COM 8, Aliens 3.


X-COM forces, seconds after the blaster missile hit. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Once there, Vince and Daimyo—both groggy but otherwise ok—start working on the two wounded men. Vince holds a frantic Almighty down while Daimyo pulls the metal piping out of his stomach. Pieces of intestine stick to the pipe as it slides out of his armor. Almighty almost passes out, but the pipe comes out surprisingly fast, and as soon as Vince gets some Medi-patches on both sides of the wound, Almighty starts to calm down. While Vince finishes up with Almighty, Daimyo snaps Blade6119’s knee back in place with a sharp crack, and gives him a shot of painkiller for his ribs. Blade6119’s breathing settles down as the medicine courses through his body. Fairly quickly, Blade6119 is calm. The four men then ponder what to do. They are isolated and likely surrounded in an enemy base.

The enemy gives them no time, however. A wave of PSI energy sweeps through them. Almighty turns white, starts sweating, fingers his heavy plasma, drops it, and then freezes. We are so very close to losing him to the dark side. Move away quickly! Blade6119, Daimyo II, and Vince have no choice but to head back down the grav-lift. The three of them jump into the grav-lift and head down to the main floor, leaving Almighty as a babbling wreck. The entrance room is filled with smoke, but clear of aliens. Blade6119 limps west out of the room. Daimyo heads east. Vince heads north, to see if he can link up with Team Bravo. As the three men begin to move out, they hear Almighty babbling in Sectoid in the room above them! Oh, crap. Vince turns around and sees Almighty right behind him, fumbling with a grenade! Vince opens up on full-auto and drives Almighty against the base wall with a series of three hits that rip apart his chest. Almighty is dead before he slides to the ground. The grenade falls from his hands. Clear the area! The three men race off in their respective directions, but the grenade doesn’t go off! Must not have had time to pull the pin. Whew. X-COM 8, Aliens 4.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Blade6119 hobbles into the large examination room to the west and immediately takes incoming fire. Plasma blasts slam into the wall beside him. Blade6119 drops to the ground with a painful grunt, looks off to his right, and spots a Sectoid hiding behind a vat, about ten feet away. Fighting through the pain from his ribs and knee, Blade6119 twists and opens fire. His first shot blows a hole in the creature’s groin, and sends it to screaming to the floor. Within seconds, it is dead. X-COM 9, Aliens 4.


X-COM forces in close quarters combat. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

In the room behind Blade6119, Vince starts to move north towards Team Bravo. Daimyo moves east, but as he enters the large lab that lies in that direction, a single plasma blast comes tearing towards him from the interior of the lab. It drills him in the side of the stomach and rips a chunk of his hip off. Blood splashes backwards onto the debris on the base floor. Daimyo stays up, winces through the pain, and tries to spot the alien. Nothing. Damn it. It could be anywhere. He limps back to the relative safety of the corridor. Once there, he kneels, checks his wound, and keeps an eye on the interior of the lab. Crap. Where is that Sectoid? Daimyo is hurt bad, but he manages to slap a pair of Medi-patches on to stop the bleeding. Within a minute or so, he stabilizes. Team Alpha is down to three men, two of whom are badly hurt.

Back at Team Bravo, things are a bit better. BYU’s grenade goes off, ripping apart the interior of the room filled with fuel canisters. However, BYU can now see that the room beyond this has fuel canisters as well, and BYU is out of grenades. He’ll have to chance it. He moves forward.

To his west, Mike and Ardent cautiously move out. Ardent heads west, towards what we can now see is a dark, earthy room with some kind of fungus covering all the surfaces. In the center is some kind of huge fungus mound. Ardent pauses at the entrance to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, and checks for signs of movement. Mike heads south, towards the command center. Neither men spot aliens.

In a corridor to Mike’s east, Anxiety III continues south, as we try to link our two teams. As Anxiety comes to a corridor that cuts across the one he’s in, he spots a Cyberdisc ten feet away, coming right towards him! Anxiety twists and opens fire on full-auto, a fraction of a second before the Cyberdisc opens fire. From this close range, the plasma cuts through the thick upper armor on the disc. An instant later the thing explodes, driving Anxiety back against the corridor wall. He slams into the wall and drops to the ground. His head is ringing, but he manages to scramble to his feet quickly. He waits for his senses to clear. X-COM 10, Aliens 4.

In the room above the main floor, Lokugh III, Coffee Warlord II, and Mr. Bug IV finally get ready to get into action. As they do, another wave of PSI energy hits us. Mr. Bug IV turns pale…but stays with us. He’s badly shaken, though. Coffee orders him to drop his weapons until he can collect himself. Coffee then heads down to the main floor and jogs to help Anxiety. Lokugh is next down. He sets up a firing position with our other Blaster Launcher, just to the side of the grav-lift.

Time to put some pressure on the command center, where we know the Sectoids with PSI capabilities usually cluster. Mike closes from the north. Anxiety turns down the corridor to his west and closes in on the center from the east. As they do this, Lokugh plots a course and fires a Blaster missile through the hole in the command center wall that Mike blew open earlier. The missile disappears inside the complex and goes off with a roar. We can’t see the effect of the shot yet, but the base rocks with the explosion. There are no signs of aliens dying, though.


X-COM forces approach the alien command center. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Slightly to the west, Ardent waits at the entrance to the fungus room, and spots a Sectoid sneaking through the room, obviously trying to get behind our position! Ardent—using the corner of the room’s entrance for cover—waits until the unsuspecting Sectoid gets to within five feet, then opens up on full-auto. Multiple hits blow the Sectoid apart. The tattered body falls to the soft fungus floor. No more Sectoid. X-COM 11, Aliens 4.

To their east, BYU heads into the room he cleared with grenades, then breaks south, down a long corridor the runs along the east side of the base. As he moves down it, he spots a Sectoid, moving in the same direction, about 50 feet in front of him. This Sectoid is also only about 20 feet away from Coffee, who could close in on it by moving east through a side corridor. BYU opens fire first, but his plasma shots are off target. The Sectoid starts to run away, but Coffee cuts into the corridor behind him, drops to a knee, and opens fire. His first shot slams into the Sectoid’s back and drives it face forward to the ground. It slides a few feet, leaving a green train of goo behind it, and comes to a stop. X-COM 12, Aliens 4.


An X-COM agent, seconds before he killed the Sectoid to his front. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Back at the remains of Team Alpha, Daimyo, Blade6119, and Vince abort their attempt to move out. Instead, they’ll try to hold on to their position and wait for reinforcements. With only three men left, they don’t have enough men to move out safely. Vince grabs the Blaster Launcher that Tucker dropped, and keeps an eye out to the south. Daimyo holds guard at the entrance to the lab to the east. Still no sign of the Sectoid that opened fire on Daimyo. Blade6119 does likewise to the west.


Scan map shows X-COM penetration into the alien base November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

Back at Team Bravo, Anxiety is hit by a wave of PSI energy, goes berserk and starts firing in all directions! Plasma sails down the cross-corridor towards Coffee’s position. Coffee scrambles forward to get out of the line of fire as plasma crashes into the base wall beside him.

Fortunately, Anxiety calms down quickly and things go quiet for a moment after this, allowing Team Bravo to continue to expand our position. Coffee orders Anxiety to drop his weapons, but remain in position to search for aliens. Anxiety, Ardent, and Mike close in on the command center. Mr. Bug—now fully recovered—rearms and moves forward to help them out. Mike calls in for help from our blaster launchers. Lokugh and Vince respond with missiles that once again disappear inside the structure and explode. Once again the base rocks with massive explosions. Once again, we hear no signs of aliens dying. Damn. Suddenly, from within the bowels of the command center, there is a series of loud explosions. The continue on, one right after the other, for a good minute. In all, there must have been twenty explosions inside the center. As it ends, we hear the screams of an alien dying! Wow! What gives with that? Alien seppuku? X-COM 13, Aliens 4.


An X-COM agent circles the command center. November, 2003. X-COM Archives Photo

On the other side of our position, BYU swings back through the fuel canister rooms, then cuts down a long corridor that runs along the east side of the base. Coffee continues south, but meets no resistance. He reaches the north entrance to the large lab that Daimyo is watching. This creates a link between our two forces, and allows Daimyo to begin to search the lab towards the south.

Over the next few minutes, our men continue to search the base and close in on the command center. We occasionally hear the whir of an electronic door, so there is at least one alien left out there, but we don’t have much luck finding him. The men scour the remaining areas of the base. Team Bravo completes the hookup with Team Alpha. The base grows eerily quiet. Finally, Coffee enters a second-floor storage room, and spots a Sectoid cowering in fear in the corner. Coffee walks over to the creature, points the barrel of his heavy plasma at the creature’s forehead, pulls the trigger, and blows the top half of its head off. X-COM 14, Aliens 4.

Over and out. Su basa es mi basa, Senor Sectoid.

Kills: Tucker II, 3; Kingfc, 3; Coffee Warlord II, 2; Ardent Enthusiast, 1; Anxiety III, 1; Blade6119 IV, 2; Mike Vic, 1
KIA: Tucker II, Kingfc, Almighty, Travis IV.
Wounded: Daimyo II (14 days); Blade6119 IV (22 days).
Attribute Improvements: Ardent Enthusiast, Coffee Warlord II, BYU II, Blade6119 IV, Anxiety III, Mike Vic
Final score: 855. Nice score.
Mission Notes:
Tough starting position for Team Alpha. Four dead and two wounded out of seven men. Eek. Don’t know what more I could have done to keep them alive. There were at least ten aliens waiting near the grav-lift. Carnage.

Those explosions towards the end of the mission were bizarre. Never seen anything like that before. No clue what it could have been, but there were about 20 of them.

I’m glad that we took the base, but it’s a bit of a pyrrhic victory. The men who were racking up the experience and fighting heroically (Tucker II and Kingfc, 3 kills each) ended up dying on the mission, so we really didn’t gain all that much in experience for our efforts. Still, I can hardly complain. Taking out a base at a cost of four expendable casualties is a decisive strategic victory for us at this point in the war. Good job, men. Your sacrifices have not been in vain.

[Poli]

Rock on. Where's my steak dinner?

[SirFozzie]

Righteous.

More Basitude!

Let's take the rest of em! Force the slimy aliens back into the skies!

[JeeberD]

Rest in peace, brothers. Your sacrifice has made X-Com proud...

[Lokugh]

DIARY OF LOKUGH III:

Dear Diary,

Well, good news and bad news. Good news, I survived the Spanish Base mission and did not break when the Sectoids hit us with Psi Attacks. I even got to fire my Blaster Launcher, which was good. Bad news, I was at the back of the line, Guarding opur fearless leader, so I didn't manage to get into the fight until late and did not get any kills. Bummer. But, I survived and didn't screw up, so maybe I'll get another chance.

PS: Diary, remind me to post the pictures of The Almighty getting fragged in the recruit depot. Recruits need to remember what happens to them when they root for the aliens...the official report lists him as having been executed when he was taken over in a psi attack, but I saw the Skipper talking to Vince before the drop. I don't think TA was making it back to base regardless...

[Tellistto]

Nice comeback, GB.

Tell

[Coffee Warlord]

Well done, my minions!

Cigars and beer back at EU-COM!

[Japherwaki]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Those explosions towards the end of the mission were bizarre. Never seen anything like that before. No clue what it could have been, but there were about 20 of them.

There is a bunch of alien equipment along the walls of the command center. If the blaster launcher hit one of those, it usually sets off a chain reaction that blows most, if not all of the devices. I've used that to my advantage more than once to clear out an alien command center without having to go inside. Aliens usually do not suvive all of the explosions.

[SirFozzie]

either that or the alien panicked and shot randomly, hitting something that went boom and away we go

[Glengoyne]

Tough break for Team Alpha.

Great After Action report again GW!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Update

November 20
No rest for the weary. As the survivors of the Spanish assault force return to their bases of origin, our radar systems pick up two UFOs. Toddiec IV in the ASIA COM Interceptor downs a Snakeman scout over the forests of Siberia (again). Our new Firestorm fighter forces the second one down in the jungles of the Congo.

We immediately launch the USA COM Skyranger for the Siberian target. The ASIA COM Skyranger prepares to launch for the one in the Congo.

On a more peaceful note, Crappy's men unlock the mysteries of the alien PSI-amp weaponry, which now allows us to produce weapons to launch PSI-attacks on the aliens. We immediately allocate some of Sterling's engineers to the production of the hand-held weapons. Soon we shall be able to fight fire with fire.

On a side note, although we lost four men in the base raid, we get as many off the injured list at EU COM. Our bases are therefore still at full capacity for the moment. The only transfer we make is to bring Anxiety III to full duty at USA COM.

USA COM's mission against the Snakemen will go up either tomorrow or Friday. I might pick the pace up a bit more and try to do a mission a day for a bit.

Oh yes, almost forgot. On board the USA COM Skyranger:
Alf III, Achilles, Lokugh III, AStott, Klayman III, Airhog II, Sublime II, Jeeber D, Mr. Bug IV, Katon II

[sachmo71]

It's good to take out bases. They keep countries from defecting to the other side.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Glen: Thanks!

Japh: Aha! Thanks! I didn't know that. I don't think I hit anything in there at that time, so I'm guessing the aliens hit the weapon stocks themselves. Silly Sectoids.

Tellistto: Thanks. I actually wasn't too worried about losing the mission, despite the blaster hit. We still had our entire north team intact at that time, and had already taken out seven aliens, so I figured we were ok if we didn't get hit like that in the north. I'm glad we didn't lose more men, though.

Lokugh: Nice post! Was Almighty hoping that others died, too? I thought it was just Ardent.

[MrBug708]

Wow, it was kind of boring for me on that mission.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Wow, it was kind of boring for me on that mission.

I've got your back. I've got you and Lokugh on the next Skyranger out.

Unfortunately, there wasn't too much I could do with you on that mission. Once the entry room cleared, your morale took a huge dip with a PSI attack. It took you about five minutes to recover, and by that time we were just looking for that one last alien. BYU II and Lokugh III also didn't get much fun, but at least they got a few shots off.

With 14 guys on base attacks, it seems like there's always one or two that end up walking around all by themselves, like a Sunday stroll in the park. Never get shot at. Never see anything. Then again, it's probably a good thing that we don't end up needing everyone.

[Coffee Warlord]

Btw GB, I'd like to offcially reccommend the Rectal Horseshoe for Blade IV, as he actually didn't die this time!

[JeeberD]

Woohoo, I'm in on another mission. Those Snakemen will now have to feel the wrath of JeeberD...

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

I thought it was just Ardent.

I heart X-Com. What are you talking about?

[thealmighty]

DIARY OF Almighty (found by Coffee Warlord II upon return):

Dear Diary,

Yeah, I am nervous about my first mission but I think that is to be expected. I hope I aquit myself well.

I suppose I should tell CWII about Lokugh. I mean, it's ok to be gay and all, if you leave other guys who aren't out of it. But Lokugh just won't quit. How many bars of soap do you need to drop in the shower to no end to understand nothing will ever happen. I guess it's hard on Lokugh being gay and all, but why can't he leave me out of it.

And then to threaten me, to say if I don't bend over for him he will ruin my reputation and see me dead. Come on, man, get over it. I don't trust him at all. I hope someone will watch my back (no pun intended) on the mission- and after- or Lokugh may end up with his revenge.