July 6th 2084, 11.15PMAnalysis of the plasma blaster is complete. The labs are now evaluating the Shevaar corpses. Their comments on the plasma blaster are below:
1) The plasma blaster is the heaviest weapon we have observed the aliens using. Based on our analysis of the Taman, it is unlikely that they will get any bigger. It operates on the same principles as the smaller plasma weapons, with a similar magazine which packs in far more plasma.
2) The plasma blaster is primarily designed to fire what the lab guys are calling “the ball of pain” – a massive but slow moving plastic bubble of plasma which bursts upon impact, showing a 3m wide area with its contents. It has a range of around 20m, after which the ball melts and the plasma dissipates. The ball is horribly inaccurate, but will kill nearly anything with a near miss. A hit will melt a hole clean through an armoured target.
3) Unlike the smaller weapons, the blaster is capable of firing plasma without the containment bubbles in the form of thin jets as a secondary firing mode. These jets are devastating but exceptionally inaccurate.
Analysis: a truly terrifying close combat weapon which sacrifices the plasma rifles accuracy and rapid fire for sheer stopping power. It renders our flamethrowers and shotguns obsolete as it is lighter with a longer range than the flamethrower and more deadly than a shotgun. We already have plenty of these weapons and its ammo scavenged from the aliens so do not need to manufacture any.
Bruce, Luke, and Barry have all been issued a plasma blaster. Bruce seemed pleased with this – he has seen what they can do close in first hand, and is itching to get out of his hospital bed to enact some payback.
July 7th 2084, 6.45PMAn enemy fighter has been spotted to the south over southern Arabia. Both pilots have been scrambled to take it down.
Unfortunately it escapes our radar coverage before we can close with it and both pilots return to base.
July 9th 2084, 9.25AMThe dissection of a number of Shevaar corpses is complete. Dr Branth has prepared the following dossier on the new alien:
1) The evolutionary pathway of this creature stands it aart from the humanoid Taman and our own species. It has digitigade legs and a small tail. Most remarkably is the lack of an “eye” analogous to our own or a Taman.
2) Despite looking reptilian, the Shevaar is warm blooded. It has a large brain (larger than that of a Taman or our own), and large hands capable of handing the same weaponry as a Taman. Its feet are flexible and springy and allow it to move with a fast rolling gait.
3) Its internal structure belies a brutal evolutionary history. Its chest is built around a solid panel of bone supported with cartilage. Its bones are not built around calcium as in humans or the Taman, and instead are made up from carbon compounds, making their bones much stronger than ours. All vital organs are well protected by bone, and anything that isn’t tends to be wiry motive muscles.
4) The alien skull is formed from carbon-bone horns wrapped several times over themselves. Tissue and bone scarring show that the Shevaar appear to engage in some kind of head butting ritual of unknown purpose. A mouth equipped with omnivorous teeth just out from the mass of bone and leads to a simple but functional digestive tract.
5) Most remarkable about the creature is a set of three sensory organs within the curls of bone. They appear to be how the Shevaar “sees”. These organs appear to be sensitive to infra red radiation – the Shevaar “sees” heat. This makes it very hard to take cover and ambush these creatures.
Analysis: The Shevaar are a fast and dangerous opponent. Naturally mobile and tough, they present a threat on the battlefield in part thanks to their ability to track our troops with ease using their infra red vision. In combat they appear to operate ahead of Taman soldiers as forward skirmishers. Their body structure is resistant to small arms fire, explosions and bladed attacks, but they are still vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat.
The lab team are now investigating the alien detection technology salvaged from downed UFO’s.
Bruce is out of the hospital, and will rejoin the combat rotation.
July 12th 2084, 2.20PMProduction of alien plating for our 3 aircraft is complete. Hopefully this will make engagements with all UFO’s more survivable.
Dr Branth has finished his work on the alien detection system:
1) As already known, the system uses advanced by well known physics in its application of radar, lidar and so on. We will be able to fine tune our own apparatus using the alien improvements.
2) The mystery sensor nearly blew the minds of most of the research team. Initially it made no sense, simply spitting out incoherent noise. That is, until it was raised to altitude. It turns out that the mystery sensor is a gravity sensor, capable of detecting the presence, mass and velocity of a body based on how it distorts space-time. It should work with 95% accuracy anywhere in the gravity well of a star. We should upgrade our existing radar facilities to incorporate a gravitational sensor in order to improve the range and resolution of our detection capability.
3) The alien detection system feeds all of its sensory input into an intelligent computer system, which separates meaningful data from noise, and is capable of interfacing directly with targeting subroutines to guide fire at threats and targets.
4) Whilst we cannot interface the alien detection with our current aircraft technologies, we can incorporate it directly into any future aircraft designs and reap the benefits of such a sophisticated package. We can manufacture these using the captured examples as a blueprint, but as ever it would be easier to repurpose intact specimens from shot down alien craft.
As per Dr Branth’s recommendation, I have ordered a gravitational sensor incorporated into our radar systems. This will mean deactivating our current system for a 7 day period, giving us no coverage during that time. We will be relying on external agencies to report UFO activity during this time.
The labs are now looking into the alien stellar navigation system, which could have very interesting findings.
July 13th 2084, 7.15PMThe research into alien astronavigation has produced mixed results.
1) The system is essentially a computer system loaded with software purpose built with plotting a course between any one point in space and another. We have been able to decipher the system of notation the aliens use for astronomical objects, and it is remarkably elegant for computational purposes.
2) Once we understood the notation, it became apparent that this system operates just like a GPS route planner – it has a number of filters it can apply such as “shortest route”, “fewest navigational hazards” and so on that can be layered until a desired course is obtained. The unit even seems to be able to incorporate FTL jumps if so desired, which all but proves that the aliens have access to some kind of FTL drive.
3) Unfortunately, none of the units yet recovered come loaded with a star chart. Instead they are loaded with a comprehensive database on the solar system, including full analysis of all solar system planets, moons and minor bodies, some as of yet unknown to humans. The orbits of all bodies are also plotted in for hundreds of years to come. This information might not be of much use to us in our war against them, but it will enhance humanities knowledge of the solar system dramatically, if we are ever allowed to release it to the public.
4) These charts would easily allow us to navigate around the solar system if we had craft up to the job. We could even load in a star chart of our own into it, but it would no doubt be horribly incomplete and thus a very risky undertaking.
Now that our scientists and engineers have fully studied and evaluated the technology used by the aliens in their craft, they have suggested to me a radical idea: Take what we have learnt from them, and improve on it. In short, make a small, fast and tough fighter using their technologies repurposed as a human weapon designed to outperform their craft. I must profess I like this idea a lot – they may pursue it once some time has been spent evaluating the alien strategies we have seen so far.
July 15th 2084, 10.30PMSpurred on by the chance to start work on the human/alien hybrid fighter, the lab geeks have turned around the analysis of the alien strategy in double quick time. Here are their main findings:
1) Based on the storage of biological material onboard Harvester class UFO’s, and the behaviour of the Bloodspiders, it is highly likely that the aliens are collecting human biological material, presumably for some kind of analysis or investigation. What sort of analysis or investigation can only be guessed at.
2) Their raids and landings appear to focus on areas of dense human population, or facilities linked to cities such as ports and power plants. They are VERY interested in humanity. Based on our own detections, those reported to us, and those logged by local security forces that are not passed on to us, we believe we are detecting around 10% of the alien activity on Earth. The world will have to start reporting more alien sightings to us if they expect us to turn the tide of this war.
3) Further footage of the larger FTL capable UFO’s has been obtained from a number of orbital telescopes. We are now 100% confident that these craft operate as some kind of FTL carrier, ferrying ships and forces into the solar system from elsewhere. If we had some way of carrying out some kind of offensive action against one of these base-ships we could help level the playing field.
Thier new fighter better be good.
Pilots:
Pilot Rehyaaz “Haspen” de jesus – 9 missions, 4 kill
Pilot “Tiruin” Kloot – 8 missions, 2 kills
Pilot “Birdy-51” Danielsen – 4 missions, 1 kill
Soldiers:
Lance-Corporal “Honker Bonker” Assar - 9 missions, 5 kills
Lance-Corporal “Kickingbottom” Suzuki – 3 mission, 4 kills
Rifleman Barry the Baptist – 2 missions, 1 kill.
Lance-Corporal “Krevsin” Timofeev – 6 missions, 4 kills
Rifleman “SSG” Bradford – 7 mission, 6 kills
Rifleman “Luke” Mubarack – 3 mission, 1 kill
Rifleman Maxclone Beta - 0 missions
Rifleman "S1.1" Ifrasen – 0 missions
Rifleman “Scriblee” Beaumont – 0 missions
Rifleman Edgar Evens – 1 mission, 1 kill.
Rifleman Roy Phillips – 1 mission
Rifleman “Disarcade” Melton – 1 mission, 1 kill
Rifleman "Unisol" Tickoo - 0 missions
Lance-Corporal Bruce “Dsarker” Bonzer – 8 mission, 3 kills
Rifleman “Lukeinator” Herring – Gunned down from point blank by a dual plasma pistol wielding Taman at a docks in Egypt. 1 mission, no kills.
Pilot Jesse “Spaghetti-7” James – 6 mission, 3 kills. Shot down by an alien fighter craft over the Ukraine.
Corporal “Shadenight” Schwartz – 8 mission, 9 kills. Killed by plasma rifle fire from an unknown alien at a Solar Power plant in Kazakhstan.
Lance-Corporal “MaxClone Alpha” – 4 missions, 3 kills. Killed by a Taman from point blank range at a Solar Power plant in Kazakhstan.
Lance-Corporal “Scriver” Bouzid – 6 mission, 6 kills: Killed by an unknown alien in a Solar Power plant in Kazakhstan by plasma blaster fire.
Rifleman “Cognitive Dissonance” Schultze – 4 missions, 3 kills: Killed Killed by an unknown alien in a Solar Power plant in Kazakhstan by plasma blaster fire from point blank range.
Rifleman “Delta Foxtrot” Guedes – 1 mission, no kills. Shot from long range by a Hovernet in the defence of Moscow.
Lance-Corporal “Euchre Jack” Cardoso – 3 missions, 2 kills. Hit by multiple plasma rounds fired by a Taman from long range in the defence of Moscow.