Update 5: More ExpositionAfter the chaos of the Berlin mission, UFO activity seemed to come to a halt. On the 29th, three soldiers arrived to replace our losses.Among them was Foley, who claimed that he had been Ramirez’s commanding officer back when he was in the Army Rangers.On the 1st of February, I once again found another briefing waiting on my desk.X-COM SOLDIER BRIEFING (JANUARY)
CLEARANCE LEVEL: CAPTAINDue to the pressing need for newer and more powerful weaponry, the Science Department has recently begun research into the previously impractical field of laser weapons.
The laser pistol is a miracle of modern technology. It is as light as a normal pistol, but also more damaging due to its use of laser technology. More notably, the laser pistol was made possible due to examination of alien power storage. In the past, handheld energy weapons were considered impractical, as the weapon would consume so much power that only one or two shots would be possible per reload. However, with the reverse-engineering of alien technology, the weapon does not even require reloading, due to the efficiency of power storage. In effect, the laser pistol has
infinite shots over the standard duration of a mission.
The laser rifle is more powerful and more accurate than the pistol, but does not have the rapid fire rate of the pistol. We hope to make the laser rifle the standard weapon for all future missions.
The medi-kit was issued to soldiers for missions in the second half of January, but it has not seen much use for injured soldiers. This is because the aliens’ plasma-based weapons are very often instantly fatal, killing on impact. We hope that the development of more effective armor will rectify this problem.
Regarding the latest mission in Berlin, we have confirmed that the aliens were indeed targeting civilians, so as to affect the funding governments of X-COM. The German government has managed to round up all the civilians who have witnessed the attack, and the damage caused to the surrounding buildings has been repaired. In future, X-COM soldiers, especially those with explosive weaponry, are advised to be more prudent with the use of their weapons.
Thankfully, the German government was not discouraged by the attack, and has increased funding to X-COM as a sign of thanks for repelling the aliens.
An autopsy of the recovered Sectoid bodies has concluded. Many aspects of this being are vestigial or deformed, with all major organs placed in roughly the same order as that of humans. Noticeably, the Sectoids lace any reproductive organs, and DNA testing of the bodies has revealed that they share the same genome. This most likely means that the Sectoids are a genetically engineered and cloned race, which would explain the under-developed nature of their organs. What is more worrying, however, is the fact that their craft – detailed below – do not possess a cloning system of any sort. This suggests that the Sectoids may be just the servants of
another alien species.
The interrogation of one of the captured Sectoids, who claimed he was an engineer, has provided insights into their organization. Their main purpose is to collect genetic material from Earth species so as to diversify their gene pool. The Sectoid interrogated claimed that their leaders were able to control the minds of others through “psionic” abilities. This should be taken with a grain of salt as it may be just fabrication, but soldiers are advised to report any mental discomfort after missions immediately. The information on their ships, as provided by the Sectoid, is detailed below.
The Small Scout vessel does not possess air-to-air weapons, and only measures four meters across. It has room for only one passenger, making it an unimposing craft.
The Medium Scout vessel is far larger than the Small Scout, measuring nine meters across. It also possesses air-to-air weapons, but their range is so short that our Interceptors should be able to outrange them with Avalanche or Stingray missiles. The craft has five seats, leading us to conclude that the vessel’s passenger capacity is five maximum.
The Large Scout is the largest UFO we have seen so far, and its weapons, although equivalent in power to that of the Medium Scout, have more than twice the range. The vessel contains only two seats, but recent missions turned up a total of nine or five aliens inside. Soldiers are advised to capture the “bridge” room of the vessel in a pincer movement, as aliens will wait in ambush on one side.
Although we have downed several of their craft, we still do not know how their weapons work, or how their power source. Our scientists are working to uncover these secrets, and we hope that they will have practical applications in the field.
Good luck in your battles, Soldier!
X-COM Commander,
Gen. Charles Brooke