Defensive Plasma Wave: Our plasma turrets can be reworked to serve as an anti-missile measure. By simply not applying a strong enough bond to the expelled plasma, it will, rather than travelling as a single blast, spread out from the turret like a wave. Though this diffuse plasma is unlikely to cause serious damage to larger craft, it should be enough to detonate missiles.
On detecting incoming missiles, our vessels will turn all available turrets (or the ship itself) to face them, and unleash the plasma wave. This may not destroy all missiles, but it should reduce their number considerably.
Normal : 3 +2
Plasma turrets are complicated pieces of technology. The complex interplay of plasma generation, magnetic containment and high ejection velocity needs to be carefully calibrated, lest the plasma bolt simply disintegrate and dissipate into the surrounding air. Luckily for us, ensuring that that occurs is a comparatively far more simple affair. By simply lowering containment strength and ejection power while increasing the firing cycle duration and sending the burst directly into the propulsive grav wave, we can shroud large parts of our vessels in a veritable shield of plasma for a short period of time.
The Defensive plasma wave can automatically reconfigure available vehicle plasma weapons into an integrated defensive system that destroys missiles at close range, though offensive firepower is lost until the weapon configuration is shifted back. In addition, seeing a UFO burst out of it's own shell of plasma is an awe-inspiring sight.
Target: Brazil
Vehicle: 1x Medium Scout (3VP), 1x Medium Fighter (2VP)
Crew: 1x Sectoid, 1xMeld Container (1UP, 1EP), 1xScout Drone (1UP), 2x Skin Crawler, 1xElerium Grenades (4UP, 1EP), 1xSkin Crawler (Infiltrated)(Free).
Objective: Harvest (and investigate signal)
Agent Blue sat calmly in the cafe, reading his morning paper while nursing his tea. With a tentacle, he adjusted his parasol to keep the sun out of his large eyes, then turned back to his article.
THE ALIEN MENACE it said atop the page in bold, angry letters. Not a flattering article, and rather creative with it's facts too. After all, Agent Blue was certainly no mindless brute, and he couldn't phase through walls.
In the distance, a smoldering car exploded, remnant of the recent attack. By now, the Scout and it's fighter should be well on their way in orbit, taking the captives with them. Agent Blue wasn't disappointed to be part of the infiltration squad and having to stay behind. It was what they did, and it was what they were good at. One certainly couldn't expect a Sectoid to infiltrate human society. The wretched creatures couldn't even figure out pants. They'd bungle the mission in an instant.
Thinking about bungling a mission, he wondered what was taking Agent Lime so long. Getting a drink shouldn't take so long, even for batch-fresh amateur like him. Probably got distracted by the Sushi place again. Or maybe a television, an abandoned car, or just a candy wrapper. The younglings were too curious for his own good. Sighing, Agent Blue finished his tea, straightened his coat and went of to search for his protege.
High above them, in the Sky of Brazil, a desperate fight was occurring between XCOM Ravens and the landing force. The defensive plasma wave had succesfully negated most of XCOM's missiles, leaving only a single scar on the Medium scout, but now both sides were engaging each other in a close-range dog fight. XCOM's railgun pods fired lethal projectiles, tearing holes through the medium Scout even as it's defenses downed one of their own.
Another died not much later, bracketed by plasma barrages until it was an easy target for our medium fighter. An attack unfortunately, that also allowed the last enemy fighter to destroy our fighter with another shot not much later. The last fighter, clearly struggling to keep up as our damaged medium scout continued it's climb managed to fire a single final shot. The projectile hit our Medium Scout dead center, tearing through the bridge and navigation controls. Luckily, the damage was limited to several non-essential subsystems, and our ship was capable of making it's escape.
Mission results : Partial success (1 Fighter destroyed, Medium Scout heavily damaged) Agent Lime and Agent Blue MIA.
Loot : 1 DNA sample, other loot destroyed
We've attained a decent lead on a psionic source of average potential in Brazil.
Target: Australia
Vehicle: 1x Small Scout (Free) masquerading as a Medium Scout.
Crew: 1x Sectoid (Free)
Objective: Harvest (and investigate signal)
The enemy clearly anticipated our scout's landing here. Our units were confronted by an XCOM team, equipped with railguns as well as what appeared to be some kind of vision enhancing device. We're not entirely sure of it's functioning or purpose, as our sectoid team was methodically and rapidly picked off just moments from landing, before they could get a proper impression.
Mission Failure
Vehicles
Small scout : One of the tiniest vessels at your disposal, the Small scout is both cheap and reliable. Powered by a single Elerium core, the vessel makes decent speed, while carrying up to 2 units to their destination. It's equipped with a plasma turret for self defense . Cost : 1 VP | 1 Free
Light fighter : Roughly half the size of a Small Scout, the Light fighter is a small craft that can be slaved to a nearby UFO to defend it. It's armed with 3 forward firing plasma guns, giving it a decent amount of firepower. Like the small scout, it is powered by a single Elerium core that gives it decent speed. Cost : 1 VP
Medium fighter Roughly 3 quarters the size of a small scout, the medium fighter is a small automated craft capable of independent operation. It's armed with 3 forward firing plasma guns, giving it a decent amount of firepower. Powered by an enlarged Elerium reactor, it's small size gives it greatly superior speed and maneuverability. Cost : 2 VP
Medium Scout : Roughly twice the size of it's smaller cousin, the medium scout is medium sized craft powered by a single large elerium reactor. It's armed with 3 plasma turrets around of the rim of the hull, and a mortar for ground use. It's armor is no stronger than that on the light scout, but an extra layer around the core provides extra protection to critical systems/ It's powerful engines give it's decent speed while carrying 4 units.
Cost: 3 VP
Equipment
Plasma Pistols : A basic simple sidearm that has been used in many pacification operations. The plasma pistol is a dependable bit of equipment that is light but not particularly powerful.
Elerium Grenade : The elerium grenade is powerful handheld explosive. Cost : 1 EP
Meld Container : A container filled with the precious Meld, a substance that consists out of billions of cybernetic nanomachines that automatically capture, catalogue and analyse any foreign DNA they find. Greatly increases the effectiveness of recovery operations. If capture threatens, the container will perform an auto-sterilization cycle. Cost : 1 EP
ECM equipped flight computer : A modified flight computer that can mimic a larger ship or deceive missiles.
Cost: 0 EP
Defensive Plasma Wave : A modification of our current generation plasma weaponry, that allows our vessels to engulf themselves in a bath of plasma to stop missiles at close range.
Cost :0EP
Elder's Scorn : A modified Elerium power core that destroy a ship when it sustains damage, or it's crew is killed/incapacitated.
Cost: 0.25 EP
Aliens
Sectoid : A formerly weak species with a limited capability for the gift. Nonetheless, their simple biology allows to easily clone these creatures and deploy them in great numbers. Integration of human DNA has brought their strength up to par with human baseline.
- Reversable Mind Merge: Merge minds with an organic, intelligent friendly or enemy, giving or drawing upon them for strength
Cost 1 UP ( 1 Free available)
Scout drone : A small but fast scout drone armed with powerfull short range non-lethal weaponry and powerfull sensors. Effective at hunting down humans as well as spotting threats, but lightly armored.
Cost 1 UP or 1 EP
Skin Crawler : An infiltrator unit capable of mimicking human form (more or less). Has 8 claw equipped tentacles and is capable of using most handheld technologies.
Cost 2 UP (+1 UP if infiltrated [Infiltrated units require no transportation, but can not use equipment]) [3 UP worth free]
Mission Profiles
Harvest: A simple mission profile that involves a UFO landed in a secluded area to capture humans other lifeforms for analysis in the main base.
Recruit Collaborators : A more complex mission profile that relies on the insertion of infiltrating units to make contact and recruit potential collaborators.
Alien Resources
4+1 VP
6 UP
2 EP
2 DNA token
Dark side of the Moon base [Hidden, Industrious]
Africa
---> Egypt
---> South Africa
---> Nigeria
Asia
--->Australia Light infiltration
--->China
--->India
--->Japan
Europe
--->France
--->Germany
--->Russia
--->United Kingdom
North America
--->Canada
--->Mexico
--->United States
South America
--->Argentina
--->Brazil X
: The Ethereals have decided to catalogue our enemies equipment. The side which manages to make the best description/analysis of a piece of enemy equipment may win a price.
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Author
Topic: Ethereals : XCOM Arms Race (Read 66094 times)