Personal Log: January 12th, 2040We met the enemy yesterday. Our aquanauts fared well, a flawless victory. They came back, happy and cheerful, patting their back and reenacting the deaths of the aliens. Even the scientists came out and offered their congratulations, even showing them a few prototypes they were working on.
I, however, didn't. I was in the 1st Alien War, and I knew this was only the beginning.
Personal Log: January 13th, 2040Aquanauts continue to celebrate. Many of them have started going by call signs. This creates some paperwork, and I've organized it below. I have also been granted the use of a combat droid, though my feeling are mixed. You can't trust a robot to watch your back when things get tough.
Personal Log: January 14th, 2040Some of the aquanauts have started requesting more explosives. I respectively declined most of the requests, heavy weapons are unwieldy and difficult to use in close combat. I did place an order for a gas cannon armed with HE rounds for a certain TnuhEmilsLatem, however. I've come to call him Emily lately, more to annoy him if anything.
Personal Log: January 15th, 2040The scientists in the labs have made a breakthrough in Gauss technology. They base it on plasma technology reverse engineered from the 1st Alien War. They say it will make a great weapon underwater or on the surface.
I've asked them to make a pistol using this technology.
I also asked the head scientist what other possible research projects he had in mind. He got very excited at this point, stating that it was only my orders that prevented him from experimenting with the alien tech retrieved from the mission. I nodded, and he went over what could be researched.
Personal Log: January 19th, 2040Today the scientists finished testing their prototype, simply named the Gauss Pistol, and approved it for mass production.
Unfortunately, the guns currently fired using heavy ammo packages, that could only carry 1 ammo per package. This was too inefficient for combat, so I asked the scientists to go back to the drawing board.
In the mean time, I've sent a request for a few Gauss pistols to be made by the manufacturing sector.
Personal Log: January 20th, 2040The scientists finished in record time. I was so impressed I even smiled when they performed a live demonstration. Using a wall as a model target, I watched as they lined up the shot. A split second after it fired, a large chunk of the wall simply vanished, with the edges of the hole red hot. I shook the hand of the lead scientist and began production immediately.
Still impressed with their work, I decided to give the go ahead to dissect the corpse of what the aquanauts jokingly called a "Blue Sectoid". While I was sure this wouldn't give any useful information, I figured the scientists could use a break. The head scientist grew very excited as I laid out what I expected from the project, to the point he almost turned to start working on it if I hadn't raised my voice.
While the head scientist was busy in the dissection room, I ordered the selling of a few pieces of alien technology. There were many interested parties, from alien cults to research corporations. In the end, Alien Incorporated made the best offer. They were experts in alien technology, and offered to lend 15 of their best scientists if we let them take a look at some of the alien technology. I agreed.
Personal Log: January 23th, 2040I grow worried. After the initial activity, the aliens simply vanished. There has not been a reported sighing in almost two weeks. I feel they may be preparing for something.
~~~
While typing this a report landed on my desk. A junior scientist, recently shipped from Alien Incorporated, stood a few feet away from my desk. He was very excited, but he tried to hide it and stay formal.
I dismissed him and looked over the report. It seems the dissection was complete. The scientists have coined these "Blue Sectoids" Aquatoids, and are in fact close relatives to Sectoids, to my very surprise. This could only mean this was a continuation of the 1st Alien War, and we had not killed them off after all. There must be another brain, deep in the ocean, somewhere.
Perhaps this dissection wasn't a waste of time after all. I informed the higher-ups of this recent development.
'Continue as normal' was all they could offer me.
It was time to get back to work, however. I ordered the head scientist to create a rifle design using the gauss technology, to be used for medium range combat. He didn't seem very excited this time.
Personal Log: January 25th, 2040I was drinking my morning coffee when the red alert lights came on. The room flashing red, I rushed to command and control. Klaxons blared 'CODE RED' at 3 second intervals, while personnel of all jobs rushed about frantically. At command and control the hologlobe was centered on a small island in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles Island was its name. I could watch with a satellite view as aliens walked out of the ocean and started shooting vacationers, with strange alien technology I could not fathom.
One of the technicians brought me up to speed.
I quickly brought order to the base. The aquanauts were suited up and loaded onto the Triton. Some of them brought the new prototype Gauss Pistols with them also, a 'live combat test' they said. I had no time to argue and gave them the go ahead. The new motion sensors researched a few weeks ago had also been fully tested, and our scouts brought them onto the Triton.
We had no idea what we were going up against. The Triton was loaded and launched out of the sub pen, destination Indian Ocean. I didn't know it at the time, but I wouldn't see many of their faces again.
~~~
[/rp]
So, I guess this is a terror mission?
Yep. Also, the innocent bystanders are idiots, so I don't see why I should protect them. All they do is run back and forth in the same path until all the aliens die. Sigh. Well, at least they make good scouts. If they're alive, it's a good rule of thumb there aren't any aliens near them.
Now, where is the above ground X-Com? I mean, why should I have to do this with dart guns, when they have plasma rifles and powered armor? Meh. Anyway, tank out first, alien spotted.
Well, they're not Aquatoids, that's for sure.
I deal with the problem with a solid harpoon bolt.
Aaartus takes point, and finds two more aliens, one of another species. I want to call one of these a terror unit, but they both have guns.
I bring out Coral Launcher to blow the house to smithereens. However, apparently torpedoes can't fly through the air. *Grumble*. I send her back to get reequipped.
I elect to take a more defensive position, since I have no idea what these aliens can do.
Also, the dots blink in this minimap, so sometimes they're darker. You'll have to squint a little.
Next turn, and no one's dead. I move forward. Arrptus takes an aimed shot and misses the alien in the building, so I have the tank kill it off.
Combat Droid tanks a flanking route, and discovers the alien spotted earlier. He fails to hit it and retreats.
I have Coral Launcher pick up a standard harpoon launcher.
Once again I choose to be defensive. My position is very vulnerable. I'll move out next turn.
Combat Droid comes around again, and with an autofire finishes off that alien.
What IS that!? Is it hiding in the ground? How can it do that!? What, I, KILL IT WITH FIRE
Well it died, whatever it was.
Is...that the thing I saw in the hill? I can't tell. In the end, I decide to shoot it.
Humans: killing things they don't understand since 1999.
One-eyed Mal takes the dangerous job of exploring the tunnels.
Another alien. He's out of reach of everyone, so I pull back.
My forces are fairly spread out at this point. Sometimes I joke to myself that I'm spreading like a plague.
Huh. The Alien didn't move. Hmm.....
Mal finishes exploring the tunnels. I have no idea what this is or why a resort would have it.
I notice some Easter Head Statues. They must be cheap replicas to fool tourists.
OH GOD WHAT IS THAT
A slick harpoon from the Combat Droid kills the...thing.
I'm starting to reach the edges of explored area, so I start breaching some houses.
That alien still hasn't moved. Strange.
Finely, the tank gets a hit and kills it off.
Unfortunately, I had an unlucky soldier exploring these tunnel things. I was quite certain there wasn't an alien in there. I mean, come on, the creators of X-com wouldn't have an alien camp in an area with only one entrance, right?
Wrong. He died, filled with plasma or something.
I quickly organize a reaction team and set it outside the door for whenever the thing decides to come out.
Oh god. Coral only had enough for a snap shot. I had a distinct feeling the alien would live a snap shot, and had coral high tail it out of there. Plus, I couldn't help but think of Faith the Medic* and what she would do in this situation.
*Just a character Irony runs in an RtD I read/participate in.
I had Scout 1 attempt to take it out, but only succeeded in vaporizing the wall.
We lost another aquanaut. It was a reaction fire from the window. I'm realizing the AI now is much more...how to put this....a turtle. Which means civilians are less likely to die, but it's going to be harder to kill all the aliens off.
Coral comes back up next turn and autofires the thing. It survives two harpoon at point blank. Bah. I retreat again. Any other fire misses.
Else where, Frosty is looking for the alien that shot the aquanaut from the window. His motion sensors indicate nothing on this floor, so he moves up.
Area secured. Any aliens left are hiding..somewhere.
Coral heads up again to finish off the alien, but it has moved. Scout 1 spots it from his hill top vantage point.
However, everyone sucks at aiming, and the tank, once again, finishes the job. This tank has what, 3 kills now for this mission?
Hmmmm. Open Doors. Not a good sign. The Alien is somewhere....
On the other side of the battlefield, I find an alien that was hiding behind the Easter heads.
No one is in range to snipe it.
Next turn, Frosty braces himself for breach duty.
He comes around the corner and there's a creepy white alien with pink on it, staring at him.
A burst shot from his pistol annihilates it.
After many long range sniping shots, the alien is downed by the tank.
What's this? More tunnels? Oh dear.
Another alien is spotted, this time in the SW corner of the map. God. How many are there of these things?
Elsewhere, Frosty is suspicious of that open door. His motion sensors detect movement in the room.
He activates a grenade, and realizes he doesn't have enough time to throw it. He turns around.
I actually yelped in surprise at this. I was NOT expecting that.
Frosty does the only thing he can do, cower in the room and hope the alien doesn't follow.
...and it doesn't? Now I was confused. Does the AI even pay attention to my turn?
Frosty downs it in a burst of pistol fire.
Back on the other side of the battlefield, the alien hasn't moved. I shrug and Arrptus opens fire, killing it.
Scout 1 readies for breaching duty. There's an alien in there, I'm sure of it.
I begin exploring the other tunnels using One-Eyed Mal.
A turn later, the grenade Frosty threw goes off. I hear the tall tale sound of a civilian screaming. I look and see a dead civilian in the flames. Woops.
This was bad. The grenade went off. Thought, coast is clear, right? Just got to make sure. SHOT. Ok. He's low on reaction fire, let's send in another guy. SHOT.
Elsewhere, I find a civilian. I presume this means there's no aliens in that tunnel, and head off.
At this point I'm mad. That alien inside those tunnels is making me furious. I load up Frosty with heavy armament off a dead corpse and send him across the map.
Three high explosive shots later, I finely hear the screams of a dead alien, and calm myself out of my murderous rampage.
Oh. Frosty took hits from his high explosive. I didn't know the range was that far. A med kit would be nice right now....
Mal gets hit in the back. I almost scream. Where could that shot have come from!?
The tunnels, maybe?
Nope. It's another alien near the Easter Heads. I think that's the third one. How did I miss him?
A furious swarm of shots from our few remaining survivors can't down the alien.
Frosty kills another civilian with his bad accuracy, bringing his civilian kill count to 2.
He couldn't be saved.
The tank finishes off the green alien, bringing its kill count to 5, I believe.
At this point the two remaining survivors are running low on ammo. I pick up ammo/guns from corpses.
The tank randomly spots the last alien, and kills it, bringing its kill count to a whopping 6 for this mission.
When I saw this screen I had a sigh of relief. It was finely over. Somehow we got a live alien.
Our two survivors were Coral Launcher and Arrrptus.
~~~~~
I started playing this update at 7pm. It's now 11:30pm. My brain is currently fried.
Tomorrow I'll be going over a friends house, and will most likely spend the night. The next update likely won't be until Thursday, though it might happen on Wednesday.
I was writing the update when EuchreJack posted, so him and Jacen weren't put in for this update. They'll be brought into the fold with the new recruits next mission. They get priority. Otherwise, there's still 4 open slots left for new claims.
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Topic: X-Com: Terror From The Deep - An Orb Let's Play (Read 21683 times)