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[MidnightJaguar]

((I vote for cutting all the elevators and blowing the stairwells using the satchel charges and then waiting for our helicopter. We will most lilkly get torn to shreds if we run through the first floor. There is also most likely going to still be a squad on the ground floor.))

[syvarris]

((The two western elevators aren't hard to take out. It's the other three which pose problems.  Ten enemies came up the western three elevators in one turn, and there's probably another four enemies in the eastern two.  Plus the other five enemies from the fifth floor squad, meaning nearly twenty foes already up here with us, all of which we'd have to kill to cut every elevator.

If our retreat is explosive and loud enough, they probably won't immediately realize we're running rather than attacking, which gives us a headstart.  Also, the bottom floor garrison probably charged upstairs immediately, considering how Aigre's been saying they're in "oh god our ride's being attacked CHARGE" mode.  If we retreat, they'll probably (hopefully) charge right past us.))

EDIT: I made a modified armory, containing a few extra items Aigre okayed in the IRC.  Mostly, it just cuts out all the bad equipment though, and makes some of the formatting more uniform.  Excluded items are included in the third spoiler, alongside the reasons why they've been excluded.  I suggest you don't buy any of those.

Spoiler: Truncated Armory (Weapons) (click to show/hide)

Cost    Item
1000    M1911
  Ammo: .45 ACP, 7 round magazine.
  Range: Melee:+1 Short:0  Medium:-2 Long:Na  Extreme:Na
  ROF: Semi-Automatic
  MODS: SOPMOD

3000 MK 14 EBR
  Ammo: 7.62x51 NATO 20 round Box Magazine
  Range: Melee: -1 Short: 0 Medium: +1 Long: 0 Extreme: -1
  ROF: Fully Automatic
  Modifications: SOPMOD. Comes with a Leupold Mk 4 3.5-10x scope already equipped.
 
4000 M249 SAW
  Ammo: 5.56x45 NATO
  Range: Melee: -2 Short: +1 Medium: 0 Long: -2 Extreme: NA
  ROF: Fully Automatic
  Modifications: SOPMOD

6600 M240 GPMG
  Ammo: 7.62x51 NATO
  Range: Melee: -2 Short: +1 Medium: 0 Long: -1 Extreme: -2
  ROF: Fully Automatic
  Modifications: SOPMOD
 
200  M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System (can be standalone)
  Ammo: 12 Gauge, 5 round Magazine
  Range: Melee: +1 Short: -1 Medium: NA Long: NA Extreme: NA
  ROF: Bolt Action
  MODS: SOPMOD (?)

600 M203 grenade launcher (can be standalone)
  Ammo: 40×46mm Grenade
  Range: Short: +1 Medium: 0
  ROF: Breech-loaded
  MODS: SOPMOD (?)

6000 M32 MGL
  Ammo: 40x46mm Grenade, six round revolver cylinder
  Range: Short: +1 Medium: 0
  ROF: Double Action
  MODS: SOPMOD (?)

3000 Ballistic Assault Shield
  10 Kg shield, reduced weight and coverage to allow pistol use.
  Nice and heavy, reliably resists alien weapons.  Unlike armor.
 
500 Taser
  Ammo: comes with Single-Shot cartridge. $25 per replacement cartridge.
  Range: Melee:+1 Short:0  Medium:Na Long:Na  Extreme:Na (copied from M1911)
  Electric wired stun gun
 
SOPMOD modifications:
  Foregrips: Better automatic Fire Control
  Reflex Sight: +1 to melee and short range
  ACOG: +1 to medium (x1.5) OR long (x6) range
  AN/PVS-14 night vision device: Night Vision
  Laser Sights: +1 against targets in cover or vs moving targets
  Tactical Lights: It's a flashlight
  Suppressor: Less Noise
  CNVD-T Thermal Sight

Ammo types and prices

Magazines: $10 each

.45 ACP
- FMJ: $0.35 per bullet
- JHP: $0.35 per bullet
- HydraShok: $2 per bullet

5.56x45 NATO
- FMJ $0.35 per bullet
- JHP $0.35 per bullet
- AP $1 per bullet

7.62×51mm_NATO
- FMJ $0.50 per bullet
- JHP $0.50 per bullet
- AP $1 per bullet

12 Gauge:
- 00 Buckshot: $0.28 per shell
- AP slugs: $2 per shell

40×46mm Grenade:
- HE $60 per grenade
- Smoke $100 per grenade
- Signal Flare $30 per flare(s?)

Spoiler: Truncated Armory (Other Items) (click to show/hide)

FREE Helmet Electronics and Display System-Upgradeable Protection (HEADS-UP)
  Description: Helmet with a Radio, micro-computer and FOF system.  Bulletproof glass face shield.
 
1600  Interceptor body armor
  Descr: Kevlar and Ceramic-Alloy Plates
  Kevlar grants 20% resistance to Ayy smallest arms.  C-A plates grant 50-70% resistance for first hit.  Note that Ayy smallest arms fire in 5-round bursts.

30 Signal Flares

30 M67 Fragmentation Grenade
  Payload: 180g of Composition B
  Also available as M68 Fragmentation Grenade which has an impact fuze.

100 AN-M8 White Smoke Grenade

150 M84 Flashbang
  Description: Blinds, deafens and concusses nearby creatures.

1500 AT4 Disposable Recoiless Rifle
  Ammo: 84mm Rocket, Single use
  Range: Short: +1 Medium: 0 Long: -2

120 M18A1 Claymore
  Payload: 680g of C-4 Filling. 700 Steel Ball Bearings

15 M112 C-4 Block Demolition Charge
  Payload: 1.25 pounds (0.56 Kg) of C-4
 
500 Fibrescope Camera
  Description: Your standard SWAT Fibre Optics viewing device for peeking under doors and corners

1000 Target Painter
  Description: A laser pointer that lights up your target on your teammates' HUDs. Also used for calling fire support, if such is available.

3000 Panasonic Toughbook
  Description: A field laptop
 
1000 First Aid Kits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipment_of_a_combat_medic
Includes:
  Hemorrhage Control:
    Pressure Dressings, Compression Bandages
    Bulk Dressings
    Tourqinet
  Airway Control:
    Catheter Chest Needles
    Asherman Chest Seals
    Combitubes
  Stuff:
    Gloves
    Ethanol
    Assorted Syringes and Needles
    Scapels, Scissors and Sheers
    Safety Pins
    Field Stretcher

Medicine (sold seperately from kits):
  2   Morphine pill
  5   Antibiotic pill
  10  Hemostatic Agents 20 ml, enough for one bandage
  5   Phenergan 1 Pill (anti-nausea)
  100 Adrenalin 50ml Bottle ((syv: RL autoinjector costs $100, and's more useful))
 
1000 Chemistry Test Kit
  Ammo: 100 per refill of test materials.
  Can be plugged into the field laptop

500 Geiger Counter
  A radiation counter. Maybe you want to find radiation sources.

500 Metal Detector
  Presumably detects metal.

Spoiler: Everything Excluded from Truncated Armory, Plus Reasoning (click to show/hide)

2000   UMP-45
  Ammo: .45 ACP
  Range: Melee:+1 Short:0  Medium:-1 Long:Na  Extreme:Na
  ROF: Fully Automatic
  MODS: SOPMOD
//Almost entirely inferior to the M26, and costs 10 times as much.

3000  M4A4
  Ammo 5.56x45 NATO 30 round PMAG
  Range: Melee: -1 Short: +1 Medium: 0 Long: -2 Extreme: NA
  ROF: Fully Automatic
  Modifications: SOPMOD kits
//Classic, but inferior penetration and damage compared to M14 AND inferior range, MGs and grenades are better at Short, M26 is better at Melee and has better characteristics.
 
3000 M1014 Benelli M4 Super 90
  Ammo: 12 Gauge, 12 rounds
  Range: Melee: +1 Short: 0 Medium: -3 Long: NA Extreme: NA
  ROF: Semi-Automatic
  Modifications: SOPMOD
//Slightly better than the M26, but costs 15 times as much.  Nope.
 
SOPMOD:
  Weapon Shot Counters
  M26 Shotgun Mount
  M203 Mount
//Uh, what's a shot counter?  I don't think such a thing exists.  And the M26/M203 are better off as standalones. 

 
300  M9 Bayonet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M9_bayonet
  Mountable on rifles
300  VTAC Tomahawk
  An axe that makes short work of doors, barriers and flesh.
3000 Combat Longsword
  Full functinal German Longsword. Cuts through metal and armor easily.
500 Gas-Powered Chainsaw
//Yes, I know you people like melee weapons.  They're still stupid when we have guns.

300 AN-M14 Incendiary Grenade
  The thermate filler can burn through a 1/2-inch homogenous steel plate. It produces its own oxygen and burns under water.
3000 M202 FLASH (FLame Assault SHoulder Weapon)
  Ammo: M235 Incendiary TPA (66 mm) Unit Cost: $3000 Per Rocket.  Up to four rockets
  Range: Medium: 0
//Incendiary weapons are more likely to kill us than help us--we do CQB, not occupation.  Neither incendiary carries enough material to act as a good area-denial weapon; IRL, they're strictly demolition weapons used for burning civilian homes potential weapons caches. 
 
M72 LAW
  Ammo: 66mm Rocket $900 per unit.
  Range: Melee: +1 Short: +1 Medium: -2
//I like how this has +1 to melee!  Makes me think of a hero with no aiming skill whatsoever running up to a tank and jamming his LAW against it.  In any case, the range advantage of the AT4 offsets the lower price.

500 M15 Anti-Tank Landmine
  Payload: 10.3 Kg of Composition B $500 per mine
30 Composition 4 (One kilogram)
  Yield: 6.7MJ/Kg
250 M183 C-4 Satchel Charge Demolition Kit
  Payload: 9.1 KG of C-4
  The explosive can be tamped or shaped for use in breaching. It will also blow the crap out of enclosed spaces and cause severe structural damage.
3000 M150 Penetrating Augmented Munition (PAM)
  Payload: 200 pounds (90.72 Kg) of C-4
  Used for destroying heavy bridge Foundations and very strong pillars.
15 Door-Breaching Frame Charge
  Payload: 500g of C-4, shaped to bust doors.
//Buy a bunch of M112s instead.  It's always more efficient.
 
M300 Fighting Position Excavator (FPE)
  Payload: Less than 9 pounds of C-4
  Used to create 2-man fox-holes with minimal time and effort.
  Price: $50
//I'm tempted to leave this in.  9lbs of M112 costs 105$

Special Atomic Demolition Munition
  Payload: 1-10 Kt tactical Nukes
  Price: $1M+ available from governments
//Not an armory item.  Mission equipment.

10000 Remote Weapon System Kit
  Description: Turns a machinegun into a remote-controlled weapon
10000 M2 Browning HMG
  Ammo: 12.7x99 NATO $4 per round
  Range: Melee: -2 Short: +1 Medium: 0 Long: -1 Extreme: -2
10700 M224 60mm Mortar
  Ammo: 60mm Motar. $500 for HE, $350 for smoke
25000 M252 81mm Mortar
  Ammo: 81mm Motar. $600 for HE rounds
//All valid and useful, but too expensive right now.

1000 pneumatic anti-shock garment
//It's inferior to the FAK.  If someone's bleeding out, use tourniquets.  We shouldn't need to treat shock within the timescale of a mission.

[MidnightJaguar]

((Those are all valid points. However, it will probably take two turns to send the elevator back down to the other squad and back up again, since it took one turn to have the elevators come up.

[syvarris]

((Well, Barrantes will hopefully be entering the NW lobby next turn, so he'll see whether the elevator is moving, and therefore has a squad in it.  If it does, I'll have him drop several kilograms of C4 on their heads.))

[MidnightJaguar]

((Good plan.))

[Egan_BW]

((Edited purchases. Traded Incendiary grenades, for more bullets, HE, smoke, and a trio of frags.))

[Aigre Excalibur]

Toss a grenade into the south west service lift. Burst fire at the cluster of 6 aliens. Specifically try to hit the one out in the open. Call for my fire team to throw smoke down and to bring the injured back into cover. Then, get behind some piece of cover in the store

"FUCK! WATCH THE FLANKS!

((That was a bad turn for essentially everyone but me... I think Sean might have some survivor guilt assuming he lives through this.))

((Also Twin try to crawl over to me Sean might be able save her assuming her lungs have just collapsed and haven't actually been punctured.))

You peak around a corner and chuck a grenade into the southwest elevator lobby, catching everyone in the kill radius and pasting 2 Beta Greys.

Lay down suppressive fire on the aliens to the north.

You suppress the north guys. Hitting 3 of the aliens. 1 Beta gets hit in the right arm. 1 Beta is grazed in the left leg. Another is gut shotted, but stays in the fight.

Move through the store to the north, shanking the alien in there, and then going through the back door to the service hallway.  Look right before entering.

Barrantes Action: Blindly throw a flashbang out, in the vauge direction of the suppressing ayys.  Blindly follow it with two smoke grenades, trying to place them where they will block LoS of the civvie crowd to Lester [syv] and Denning [TFTH].  Then follow Muldoon [Dev], wielding M14.  If his check shows the hallway as clear, rush to the elevator lobby and lob an impact frag inside.  If Muldoon sees enemies in the hallway, chuck a timed frag down it, and following the explosion lean out and open up with automatic fire on the enemy position.

Barrantes flashbangs the aliens around the north stores and follows William [Dev] to assault the alien in the room.

Barrantes and William attack the lone Beta Grey with a Bayonet and tomahawk axe. The Beta dodges the combat knife only for its head to connect with the axe. It's KIA.

They peek out to note the aliens in the north east lift lobby waiting for them.

((I love punishment and will kill all the aliens here.))

Anyway, shoot/apply suppressing fire to the aliens in the elevator closest to me (should be the one down near the bottom of the map).

You suppress north, seeing as the aliens south are dead, and noone killed the guy in the north service lift lobby.



The two aliens left in the centre take shots at Jon Denning and Lester, but make clean misses. (snake eyes!)

The aliens north of the passenger lift are being shellshocked.

The aliens at the North-East Service lift lobby suppress down the service access corridor.

William Cornelius Clive Muldoon catches a round in the side and his right side ballistic plate shatters, saving his squishy flesh.



Casualties:

Lilian should still be recoverable, in the centre.

2 Betas in the south-west lift lobby.
1 Beta in a north-west store near the lift ate an axe to the face. (KIA)
3 wounded Betas north of the passenger lift. Whole group is also flashbanged. The gut shotted one should be critical.

With your gunner out of action, the civilians have stopped dying.

Positions:

William and Barrantes up north, peeking into the service access.

Linton and Sean are in the south.

John Denning and Lester are still in the centre.

Updated Tac Map:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Aigre Excalibur]

Hmm I forgot to process the smoke grenades, but if I did that would be 3 grenade throws and a hand to hand assault in one turn. And John Denning wouldn't be able to see shit to hit things with suppressive fire if his LOS was smoked.

[Aigre Excalibur]

I looked at Syv's proposed armory: You do need an all-rounded service rifle. M249 is too heavy to qualify. Try sprinting or going toe to toe with it, and you might have problems.

If you want something beefier than the M4, take a battle-rifle with identity issues, like the SCAR-H CQC. (Probably $5000. It's about $3000 without a SOPMOD kit. Our supplier wants us to buy SOPMOD.)

Also, for a spunkier handgun:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMI_Desert_Eagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wesson_Model_500

2000 for the Desert Eagle. 1500 for the S&W revolver.

That would make pistols no longer inferior to battle rifles.

We can also look at PDW calibre smgs that would be reasonable alternatives as primary weapons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_P90
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_MP7

Say, 5000 for the P90 and 4000 for the MP7, including the kits for their optics and accessories. Kits are compulsory.

Price tag for non-mass produced weapons would be much higher than army-surplus weapons.

Also... M32 MGLs and Atchisson Assault Shotgun for the next mission. Only 6000 a piece.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchisson_Assault_Shotgun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkor_MGL

You can also suggest and innovate ERRANT experimental weapons and armor. Maybe something to replace dragonskin and interceptor, given their dubious performance records.



If we can get through this mission, and I don't have to break out easier alternatives, we'll do tank hunting for mission 2.

[Devastator]

I'm kinda in favor of keeping the cruddy armour.  Adds more to the cannon fodder x-com feeling.

[MidnightJaguar]

Just one little note on the armory, we should not use the Desert Eagle; it jams at the drop of a hat, and it is just kinda crappy in general.

Also I agree with Dev, at least in the first two thirds of the game, we should have to use TACTICS to have any chance of survival.

[MidnightJaguar]

Recover Lilian take her back to the store and then patch her lungs and chest cavity up with my First Aid Kit and then apply pneumatic anti-shock garment.

[Nikitian]

((Now that's why an axe was completely worth 300$ spent on it!..

@syvarris I believe that modern melee weapons are as much utility tools as instruments of murder; in that capacity alone they might be worth it.  (This does not take in account how potentially good the futuristic melee weapons might be.) And then, in rare cases where really CQB happens, they are at least on par with most guns fired at point blank, and (depending on the weapon in question) often far more damaging - which is not so useful against squishy humans, but against tough aliens bred for war it might be just what we need.

Also, awwww, please don't take the incendiary weapons away. They have their uses, they do. I mean, I considered asking for WWII-era flamers next time!.. (I have a few other things to mention, but let's keep it to the end of the mission, I guess.)

Also - thank you for running my character. 


@Aigre Excalibur In anticipation of increase in alien armoredness and toughness, as well as especially in light of the next mission, I'd like to request a really large-caliber, high-power rifle. Might be an old anti-tank rifle from military stocks (should probably be quite cheap, if outdated), might be a more modern anti-materiel rifle, might be a specialised ERRANT model descending directly from the two (taking best relevant qualities of either, etc.)  - basically, I'd like a weapon that can ruin the day of any "muton", "cyberdisk", golem (SECRET CONSTRUCTS OF ALIEN JEWS!), etc. - whatever armored shit aliens might throw at us. A weapon to reach the full potential of destruction inflicted on singular armored target by modern personal ballistic weapons. ...And one that should hopefully be within our ability to buy.


@Team So, what are we to do? Better try and finish the flashbanged aliens (hoping their shell-shock takes a little more than one turn) or deal with the alien in the north-western lift lobby, dangerously flanking the team?..))

[Devastator]

Deal with the N/W lobby alien, if you can.  I have a plan for the NE aliens.

What way does the door to the service coordor open, Aigre?

[Nikitian]

Move to the side of NW lift lobby entrance (from outside, don't enter the service access hall).
Denning [TFTH], cease fire! I'll take him. Muldoon [Dev], keep an eye on that hall.
Lob a timed frag inside the lobby; if an alien exits, shoot him. Otherwise assault the lobby right after the bang.