Update 31: Calm Before the Storm
On the 27th, we received the news we had been waiting for – the Avenger had completed construction, and was now ready for shipping to Evening Star.
The Skyranger had served us for a long time, but with the Avenger’s troop transport capacity, we no longer needed it. It was sold off to free up hangar space in Evening Star.
The Avenger arrived the next day.
The last UFO for July showed up on the 31st, and was promptly shot down by the Interceptor.X-COM SOLDIER BRIEFING, JULY 31
The first of our two new enemies encountered this month are the Mutons. Mutons seem to be the alien equivalent of shock troops – strong but unintelligent soldiers. Most notably, all Mutons have a neural implant that links them to another alien intelligence – the Ethereals. Under the influence of the Mind Shield, the Mutons recovered became comatose, suggesting that they are guided in every movement by their alien masters.
The Ethereals themselves are much more of a mystery. They are humanoid in shape, but their body seems extremely frail. Many of their organs are purely vestigial, and the only well-formed organ is the brain. Even so, its heart is barely strong enough to pump blood around its body.
An examination of the captured Ethereals answered many of our questions. These aliens maintain most of their bodily functions through a form of telekinesis, which we do not yet understand. The system is apparently subconscious, as the captured Ethereals were able to do so even when unconscious.
The actual interrogation of the Ethereals revealed much more. The aliens are starting to view X-COM as a serious threat after we destroyed the Floater Base. Although all the Chryssalids and Snakeman scientists were already evacuated, the loss of the base was still a serious setback. They are now attempting to find X-COM bases, especially in areas where UFOs have been shot down. Even the Muton terror ship was a decoy to lure us to launch aircraft, so that they could track our base.
With the alien threat becoming more aware of us, we must strike to eliminate them before they find us. Any attack on our bases would be disastrous, so we must prevent that at all costs. Therefore, we have decided that it is time to strike at their core.
The captured Ethereals have revealed that the alien base is in the Cydonia region of Mars – an area noted for showing signs of “civilization” in the form of unnatural landforms. The alien base is extensive, covering nearly ten square kilometers of land, but only one area is important to us. The entire invasion is coordinated psionically by one alien ‘brain’, which serves as a central computer and node for linking the different alien races into a coherent organization. Without it, the Mutons will be killed, and the other alien forces will be thrown into disarray. They will also be unable to launch UFOs as the ‘brain’ is tied into their navigation systems. In short, we strike at a single target, and the aliens are eliminated.
We have one way to reach Cydonia – the newly constructed Avenger. The Avenger is fast enough to reach Cydonia within a day, and is tough enough to fight any UFOs in a space battle. Thankfully, the alien base does not have any anti-air defenses, which will help the Avenger land intact.
Above are the lists of soldiers and equipment for the Avenger. All soldiers are required to participate in this mission. Our remote tank operator, Jeremy, will also accompany to control the hovertank, as the lightspeed delay would render it infeasible to control from Earth.
Good luck. The future of our race may depend on this one mission.
-Gen. Charles Brooke
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