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[CJ1145]

I'd like to take out the base, but my love of watching things die is over-ridden by my love of watching things that aren't my allies die. We should probably wait for armor.

[Mr Tk]

Yes we should attack the base. It should give us materials for power amour, also it means that we can try and stun a leader or commander to study.

[Itnetlolor]

Eff' yeah. Permission to upgrade to Heavy Plasma, SIR!

And furthermore, if it is possible, we should be well prepared to raid a base. As much as I appreciate the more revealing armor, we need something much more durable.

Sub-project, we ought to research any alien stunning weapons available if we have any to study. Boost our efficiency and odds of snagging a commander in the future.

Journal and mission logfiles will be uploaded in due time.

[Spartan 117]

I say we hand out HP's and armor, and then attack.

[DI7789]

Chapter 8: The One Where X-Com Kicks Alien Bum Again

When I left off, we had been hit by massive news.



I had a meeting with the soldiers, asking them if they were ready to undertake their biggest, most dangerous mission yet. They assured me they were ready. I hope to God that they are.



After the Skyranger was sent out, I received word of something slightly less worrying.



I ordered the Interceptors out in case the UFO took off.




Mission Control: Alright men, you've been split in to two groups. Prepare to assault the base.

Spartan 117: Everyone, look for the Alien Control Center. Try and stun all the aliens in there, then blow it up.

Obamarama: I'll scout the corridors.



Obamarama: Got a Reaper!

Sir Snipesalot: It's a Floater base.




Obamarama: This Tank's taking a lot of hits, guys! Any luck finding that Contol Center yet?

Metal Militia: Nope.



Obamarama: Little pricks...




Zombai?: Got a Storage Room here, maybe the Contol Center's through here?



Obamarama: I'm  getting mobbed here! Hey...what's tha-



Obamarama: Jesus, that just took out my tank!

Nirur Torir: I must say, you're taking this pretty well.

Obamarama: I got a punching bag for taking my anger out on...in fact, I think I may need it now.

Spartan 117: Take as long as you need.

Redshirt: I found the Control Room!

Spartan 117: Good. Sir Snipesalot, Ruckus, with me. Everyone else, get back to your entry points. This is nearly over.

Redshirt: There's a Leader up there, we're gonna need to be quick.



Sir Snipesalot: Watch out!

*Zap*

Redshirt: Got it.



Bahl: Well...this was easy.

Spartan 117: Sir Snipesalot, stay with me and prime grenades. Redshirt, Ruckus, take that Leader back to the Skyranger.

Ruckus: SIR YES SIIIIIR!

Fritz: Enthusiastic guy, ain't he?

Spartan 117: Grenades out, fire in the hole!



Sir Snipesalot: Nice!

Spartan 117: Well done, men.


sorry for the lack of screenshots. To be honest, very little happened. No promotions either, sorry Nirur.


Debriefing

They didn't face as much opposition as I was expecting. Although that massive explosion that blew up the Tank was worrying. If we can somehow find what weapon did that and adapt it for our use, however...


Post-Alien Base Attack

After the base attack, the UFO we had spotted earlier attempted to take off. Our Interceptors grounded it, permanently. But I wasn't ready to divert the Skyranger yet, I wanted a new laser tank to be built before the crew went on any more missions. I ordered the engineers to begin work immediately.



Then, once the Interceptors returned to base. I received a report of ANOTHER UFO.



It was getting worrying now. I couldn't deploy the Interceptors because they were refuelling. I don't think the Aussies will be too thrilled with this. By the time one of them was ready, the UFO had already fallen off Radar.



Some good news though, the scientists announced they'd finished work on the plasma cannons. McFrederick ran in to my office to request the engineers make him a pair for his Interceptor. I complied, but told the engineers the construction of the Laser Tank came first. Also, since some of the personal armour we have right now is a bit...flimsy, the scientists are working on a new armour, a more protective version. They theorise that by using Elerium as a power source, they can make armour that uses a power source to move. Meaning the soldiers don't need to worry too much about movement and can focus more on killing aliens.



Aw...<bleep>

End of Chapter 8

Readers' Decision:

We have Heavy Plasma, but we don't have a tank. Should we save Canberra?

Also, research. We haven't interrogated an Alien Navigator or Leader yet, in fact, we haven't even interrogated a single alien since X-Com was founded. And we haven't researched Alien Navigation or UFO Power Sources. We're also missing out on most Plasma weapons and Motion Sensors. What are your recommendations?

[Mephansteras]

Well, no point in researching any Leader besides a Sectoid at this point. We want psi, but all the rest of the info is only important later. Getting Hyperwave decoders will help us a good bit, though.

I say that we get Hyperwave decoders (through the Navigator), and then start working on either better ships or better armor.

As for the Terror mission...of course we go! We can't let an entire city get torched just because we don't have our tank. X-Com is not full of cowards! Homicidal maniacs, perhaps, but not cowards.

[Nirur Torir]

We must at least try to save the city. I vote we research Hyperwave decoders next, followed by medikits.

Log of McFrederick:
Haha, me cannons are nearleh readeh. Gotta celebrah. Ah cen buy more rum latah, gotta drink et all now. Haha. Stuck mah bagpipe recordin' in tha Skyranger. Goota raise morale while tha tank's gone-Oh, mah head. Gotta get back ta drinkin'.

[Itnetlolor]

Spoiler: Combat Reports (click to show/hide)

----<XCOM: UFO DEFENSE INFORMATION CODEX | LOG INPUT DATE: 03-16-99 TIME: 13:00 HOURS>----

SOLDIER REPORTING: [CLASSIFIED] "SIR SNIPESALOT" [CLASSIFIED]

MISSION: STANDARD RECOVERY PROCEDURE
CLASSIFICATION: LARGE SCOUT (SECTOID)
STATUS: SUCCESS

THESIS: Regardless of a minor video glitch, procedure went down to incapacitate resistance, and recover whatever can be salvaged.

REPORT: The losses were four (4) rookies, despite the simple goal of the mission. However success was obtained. A graphical error occurred upon opening access panel to the ship. Theory is that there is an EM shock system for unauthorized access. Lockpicking devices have been administered to settle the issue. Alternative if all else fails: C-4 or flashbang.

[END REPORT]


----<XCOM: UFO DEFENSE INFORMATION CODEX | LOG INPUT DATE: 04-01-99 TIME: 11:00 HOURS>----

SOLDIER REPORTING: [CLASSIFIED] "SIR SNIPESALOT" [CLASSIFIED]

MISSION: SETTLE TERRORIST PLOT (VANCOUVER)
CLASSIFICATION: TERROR MISSION (FLOATER)
STATUS: SUCCESS

THESIS: A large raid of Floater terrorists, accompanied by numerous Reapers have besieged Vancouver. The goal, minimize casualties, and take out all terrorists.

REPORT: Many Reapers and Floaters have been seen within city limits. At the start, 3 reapers were visible, and taken out accordingly. Following up, numerous floaters were spotted throughout the city. Minimal collateral damage had to be done in order to gain better access to said terrrorists. All units have been eliminated, and the city is safe for another day.

[END REPORT]


----<XCOM: UFO DEFENSE INFORMATION CODEX | LOG INPUT DATE: 05-01-99 TIME: 21:00 HOURS>----

SOLDIER REPORTING: [CLASSIFIED] "SIR SNIPESALOT" [CLASSIFIED]

MISSION: ERADICATE ALIEN BASE (AUSTRALASIA)
CLASSIFICATION: ALIEN BASE (FLOATER)
STATUS: SUCCESS

THESIS: An underground alien base has been located within Australasian territory, and threat has been increasing since the appearance of said base. UFO sightings have grown exponentially since it's appearance. The goal: Eradicate the base, and reduce the number of sightings. If possible, capture a commander and any other units that may be of use later.

REPORT: It was a short battle through the trenches to get into the base, upon arrival, we were welcomed with a series of plasma blasts to the laser tank. It stood up to it's title taking it's share of hits, however, a mysterious semi-nuclear device was used to reduce the tank, and the surrounding area, to no more than slag. Situation has been taken care of, however, and the control room has been destroyed, along with the stations associated throughout the base. No UFOs were to be seen; as if our appearance let them have time to evacuate. There was less activity within the base than expected. We managed to capture some units gathered within the command center before destroying it. We hope a commander is amongst them.

[END REPORT]

Spoiler: Personal Log (click to show/hide)

Journal entry: 3-16-99, 3PM

I'm seeing red. How did we lose so many redshirts in one episode? This was supposed to be a simple smash 'n' grab operation. instead, there's more gore than your average slasher flick. Plus, it seems these bastards have non-fatal technology as well. I think they just signed their own non-death warrant. I think we have a new method of snagging a commander here.

Combat aside, things couldn't be going better with Kaylee and me. She explained to me how the ship works, and is intrigued about the rapid developments XCOM is making with alien research. She's been influenced by my experiences as well to the point of; well, a game of frisbee was going on, and after getting beaned on the head by a well tossed one by McFredrick, she got an idea that we could possibly have something faster than our current interceptors.

I think she wants to volunteer working with the scientists on designing a new ship if there's an opportunity. But she needs a better understanding of alien technology. After getting her engines revved up, I had to do some maintainece on her.

    ._______.
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---    |||
     ._\|/_.


Journal entry: 3-31-99, 12PM

We-just-got-some-new-armor!!! We-just-got-some-new-armor!!!

Dare I say, it's a tad revealing, but Kaylee sure didn't mind. She thought it gave me more meaning to the term "Bad-Ass". Sure, my ass seemed a bit flatter, but fortunately, the tech guys followed my advice to toss in some air conditioning and cushioning in these suits. I was getting tired of carrying my pillow with me all the time for the trips to our missions. But of course, I "forgot" to return it for reasons I don't think the other troops and higher-ups would appreciate. What they don't know won't hurt them. At least, neither Kaylee or I heard Obamarama complain yet.

    ._______.
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---    |||
     ._\|/_.


Journal entry: 4-3-99, 1PM

Spartan seemed to appreciate the company Kaylee and I provided as he recovered. He even gave my book a good review. He even read it a second time around.

I heard a new base has been established in a bay over in America. Area 12 if I heard correctly. It seems we're also getting one of those alien bazooka rifles studied. I can't wait to try those out. I recall seeing the damage one of those did to a car. Damn thing never stood a chance. I think a redshirt was also just a shirt after getting blasted by one of those as well. Oh baby, payback will taste sweet. I wonder how charred Sectoid would taste like.

Unfortunately, there was another terrorism, but fortunately, we got there in time. I haven't had so much fun, nonetheless. I definitely lived up to my title. First a trio of Reapers upon looking outside the Skyranger, I popped one in a single shot, and by the end of the mission, I shot a floater out of the sky from the asshole-end of the earth. Fuck yeah, that's how you snipe. I wrote the book on sniping.

    ._______.
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---    |||
     ._\|/_.


Journal entry: 5-2-99, 2AM

Woo doggy!! What a mission! It turns out there was a base in Australia. Well, near it at least. A nice little Polynesian island just outside actually. A good spot to plant a base. Anyway, I wonder what the fuck that noise was in the base. Obamarama sure was pissed about it. He took it out on my pillow I had hanging in the maintainence closet. That poor pillow. Me and Kaylee sure had a good run with it, but damn; it's thoroughly torn apart.

Well, anyway, we had an unusually quick mission. Much fewer aliens inside than I expected. I think most of them evacuated, because I heard a ship was en route to the base and landed just outside of it as we were leaving. Well, I hope they won't mind us borrowing their commander for a few months. Too bad we had to return home so soon. I was still amped up to take out the other ship. Kaylee won't mind if we mourn the loss of our pillow for a bit, and honor it on the spot.

Dammit Obamarama, why'd you have to do that? And where's your tank? I didn't find it anywhere in the base after we finished either.

    ._______.
       /|\
---    |||
     ._\|/_.

(All reports and journal entries are now compressed into this format, and will be like this from now on.)

If we have Sectoid leaders, research them first. If not, then any Navigator for forewarning devices.

We can worry about the rest of the crap later. I'm loving my new gun. I might have no more need to have a sidearm anymore, so I don't care about a sidearm upgrade anymore.

We might need Obamarama for good defensive measure. If we can spare a little time, we'll get our tank first.

[Nirur Torir]

What do we need a tank for? Are you confusing X-Com with an organization that actually cares about casualties? CHARGEEE!

(Actually, we CAN spare time - IIRC, terror missions only despawn if nothing is en route to them, even an interceptor.)

[Spartan 117]

Field Commander "Spartan 117", personal log.

Whoo!

I'm out of medbay, and my influence on the team shows. We took out an alien base, and suffered no losses.

Ow! Stop hitting my with that pillow!

Okay, we lost the tank, but we can always build a new one, right?

Ow! Okay, THAT'S IT!

*Fighting noises*

OOC: Let's go fight the aliens with our plasma pew pewers

[DI7789]

Chapter 9: Have You Got the X-FactorCom

Spartan 117: Okay, we don't have Obamarama for this mission

Obamarama: The hell you don't, you just don't have my tank.

Spartan 117: ...Yeah, like he said. Be on alert, we don't have anything big and powerful watching our backs this time.



Sir Snipesalot: Sectoid outside the ship! Got it.



Sir Snipesalot: What the hell is that?

Spartan 117: Reminds me of a disc, think lasers'll fix it?

Sir Snipesalot: Let's see.




Metal Militia: Good God, do they have C-4 wired in to that thing?

Spartan 117: Everyone out of the Ranger, scout out the area.



Fritz: Snipesalot, Zombai?, follow me in to those warehouses, I'm seeing a lot of movement.



Spartan 117: GRENADE!



Bahl: Wow, I didn't even feel a thing, this armour kicks arse.

Spartan 117: Maybe it saved you, but...that Redshirt just got vapourized.

Bahl: We need to find out how those grenades work, if we used them against the aliens they'd have no chance.

Nirur Torir: Found an alien over here!

Spartan 117: I got it.



Spartan 117: Heavy Plasma, eat your heart out.



Sir Snipesalot: Another one over here.

Fritz: Don't go in alone, there might be more. I'm coming in.

Sir Snipesalot: From where? I don't see you.

Fritz: Through the wall.



Sir Snipesalot: Very original.



Nirur Torir: Another Sectoid down.



Metal Militia: More grenades going off over here!

Spartan 117: Stay in cover, I don't want any more casualties.



Sir Snipesalot: Some people say using Heavy Lasers in close quarters is cheating. It is. But I really don't see their problem.



Fritz: I'm seeing more movement in the next warehouse over. Zombai?, cover our backs.

Zombai?: Got it.



Sir Snipesalot: I think it just blew itself up.

Fritz: I don't know, keep your eyes open.



Zombai?: There's a Sectoid shooting me. I'm returning fire.




Zombai?: Got it



Spartan 117: Another disc, everyone, stay away from it.




Spartan 117: It's down, everyone, brace yourselves!





Fritz: Watch out Zombai?, there's a Sectoid firing at you from the street.

Zombai?: Wh-Arghhh!

Fritz: ZOMBAI?!! Take this, Sectoid scum!

Sir Snipesalot: Fritz! It's dead!



Redshirt: Hey, uh...guys...Metal Militia's here...

Spartan 117: What?

Redshirt: Metal Militia, he's...dead...



Spartan 117: What?! But how come we didn't hear him on the radio?

Nirur Torir: Huh? You couldn't hear his chatter?

Spartan 117: He's been talking?

Nirur Torir: Yeah, he's been talking on the radio through the whole mission, he's shot about two Sectoids on his own, bashed one to death with the butt of his gun.

Spartan 117: But we haven't heard him.

Nirur Torir: Hm...weird...you don't think the aliens've found a way to block our communications, do you?

Spartan 117: I don't know. Anyone see any more aliens?

Fritz: Nope.

Nirur Torir: All clear.

Redshirt: None here.

Spartan 117: Alright, mission success.




Debriefing

Worrying. In case the aliens really have found some way to hinder radio communications, I've ordered the training regimes to be more rigorous in case any of our soldiers ended up going solo on some missions in the future. Also, some of the soldiers reported headaches and migraines after the mission, one of them even said he heard a "soft whispering sound" in his ear. This is an unpleasant reminder of how much more advanced these aliens are. Metal Militia, Zombai? and the Redshirt shall be missed.

In other news, the researchers have managed to construct something more powerful than Personal Armour.



I've ordered them to get started on something a bit...grander, in scale.



It's been quiet since the Canberra Invasion. Mostly it's been the scientists running around frantically and the soldiers outside training. It's all quiet on the Western Front...

End of Chapter 9

Readers' Decision

Once we're done with the Hyperwave Decoder, here's what we have to work with:




Make your decisions.

Also, since it's been a quiet month on the scanners, I've been studying the graphs, and I've got a few copies which show where the biggest amount of UFO activity is taking place.

Top 5 Spots For UFO Activity: Sorted By Area


Top 5 Spots For UFO Activity: Sorted By Country


Does anyone think we should investigate any of these?

[Spartan 117]

If you haven't rearranged the base for chokepoints, plasma defenses are a must. Alien grenades are nifty too, especially against Chrysallids.

[Mephansteras]

I'm in favor of going for Alien Navigation so we can start working on more advanced craft.

Sounds like Australia is a pretty heavy alien spot. Might be worth checking out. Also might be worth sticking a listening post somewhere in SE Asia.

[Itnetlolor]

Spoiler: Combat Report (click to show/hide)

----<XCOM: UFO DEFENSE INFORMATION CODEX | LOG INPUT DATE: 05-04-99 TIME: 16:15 HOURS>----

SOLDIER REPORTING: [CLASSIFIED] "SIR SNIPESALOT" [CLASSIFIED]

MISSION: QUELL TERRORIST ACTIVITY
CLASSIFICATION: TERROR MISSION (SECTOID)
STATUS: SUCCESS

THESIS: Standard procedure. Locate alien terrorists, eliminate threat, capture leader-class if possible.

REPORT: A standard terrorist threat has been alerted to us; this time of Sectoid origin. An unusual tank of theirs has been observed. It appears to be a miniature version of the medium scout in design, with exceptional firepower. It is observed to react violently to laser bolts, within a threshold of explosive levels. The element of tactical use these are put to is to wipe out as many units unfortunate enough to destroy it at close range. Methods of incapacitation are being researched as of this moment. It is however observed that they are capable of floating in mid-air. Provided we can research the technology behind this; we can provide our troops with more adequate firepower from above. More intense firepower is already researched, so templates have already been made to mount them onto tanks. Unfortunately, our tank-frames are not sturdy enough to house such excessive force as a plasma cannon.

Also observed on the battlefront is an alien grenade of force comparable to a miniature fusion reaction. In a prior mission, entire rooms have been wiped out, melting one of our tanks; and in today's current mission, a soldier was disintegrated completely; all that remained was his weapon, however, not even his armor survived. Proceedings have been made to research more adequate armor that can handle such intense power.

[END REPORT]

Spoiler: Personal Log (click to show/hide)

Journal entry: 5-4-99, 6PM

After today's mission, I thought I would never hear anything again. We lost some adequate soldiers; and even a Redshirt all out disintegrated. It was like a cartoon. All that was left was a burn mark, and his gun. Poor Elmer, we hardly knew ye.

I got to see how the aliens felt whenever they destroyed Obamarama's tank. One-shot-killed the fucker. Those mini-disk things; seeing as there were no pilots inside, I'll just say they were controlled by Skynet... Cyberdisks I'll just call them. Anyway, those things explode more violently than Obamarama. Still I got to kill a tank in one shot . Bama; I'm catching up to your kill-count, and on foot.

Fritz apparently has a way to get to places. I mean, through a wall? Literally? My goodness man. Learn to aim, you could've killed us both by accidentally hitting the wrong part of the wall, and collapsing the entire building on us. Speaking of killing; it turns out Zombai? won't come back, as his name states, and Metal Militia didn't carry enough mettle to withstand the shock of all the explosions. He suffered trauma like none of us have ever seen.

I don't understand what everyone meant when they were talking to me as if I was killing everyone. I think I know what "Crazy" means; I write freaking novels. But I'm not crazy enough to hear voices in my head or any of the like, like everyone else does. If I can bean a Floater in the sky from down a street, and pop a Cyberdisk in one shot, I think I can retain focus to outsmart an alien in dimensions they never imagine. Considering the possibilities, the next Sectoid attack, I'm going to impose a mission to snag a leader. They seem smart enough to make everyone think I'm nuts; whereas I'm the most level-headed of the team.

Was I the only one that almost laughed when that Redshirt disappeared like a cartoon? I'm not normally a mean person, but I never thought I'd ever see something like that actually happen. Just in case I get the unfortunate short straw; I'm going to see if Kaylee wouldn't mind drawing it from me (...wait). Anyway, I want to at least have a chance for a legacy. This isn't fear of death, its a security measure for my bloodline. I want it known that I died a badass, and have descendants to continue the line of badassery. Say what you will, but I'd rather die a possible or post-father, than a leaf of a family tree.

From the charred remains of the Cyberdisk I nabbed, I noticed one hell of a crystal embedded inside it. I also found a strange gold-like material already formed into a ring inside it as well; Sweet, a free ring! I'm going to spend a bit of time crafting this sucker, or at least seeing what one of the others can do with it. I mean, we have the equipment, right?

I know everyone would say "You're going too fast with the relationship" and all. Well, say that to a redshirt. 3-4 months in XCOM is considered a lifetime if you're lucky enough to live that long. If anything, I'm an old-man-veteran ("Senior officer" more like), along with the rest of the "geezers" still alive here, compared to the dispensable Redshirts that come in like candy out a vending machine.

I'm thinking of proposing to her sometime soon, after this ring is finished. If we can outlast the aliens and win this damn war, I want to settle down. I have plenty of new material to work with now, and I don't feel like dying before I can let it out. BTW, I don't think the government would mind anymore. There have been so many casualties across the globe since New Year's by unusual means, let's not forget, a couple vacation spots disappeared. I don't think it's a secret anymore. BTW, I can always pass it off as Sci-Fi. Even I think some of the things that recently happened are rather ridiculous.

Hell, I never expected to hook up with the base's cutest engineer; or get laid for that matter. And now probable marriage and family? Just in case I die? It's alot to withstand, but I wouldn't trade it for a normal life. This is too fun. PTSD, what a joke.

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       /|\
---    |||
     ._\|/_.

Before we go investigating; we have to compare and contrast.

I think after annihilating the base in Australasia, they won't be bothering that area for awhile. I say we should investigate Russia and Africa respectively. That is, depending on XCOM activity in those locations.

The US can take a bit of peeking at if we can spare the time.

As for research: I'm in agreement for Navigation. Shame we lack a Sectoid Leader or one of higher ranking. We can research Alien Grenades and disintegrate them for once.

EDIT:
I also propose we make it a priority to capture a live Sectoid Leader. Do we have any devices to figure out which one it is? If we continue the trial and error method, we can always leave to the Redshirts to handle.

FURTHER EDIT:
Here's some gift art for keeping me alive for so long, which I won't mind using as my new avatar after Gobboween.

Spoiler: HFSCOM (click to show/hide)

Okay, so it isn't much, but I thought it would be funny.

Here's a size comparison.

[Nirur Torir]

I vote we go for better X-Com craft. Interceptors just don't cut it against battleships, even with plasma cannons.

Also, what happened to my explody gun? I like explodys.


Also also: When did I learn how to aim one of those things?