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 toasteroven wrote:
Interesting fact: I had the Harbor mission map pop up as a terror mission in Long War.

It was unpleasant.

This thread is great, though. I'm amazed at what you've pulled off, time and time again.

Yeah, I've had that as well. It's a tough map to do a terror mission on because it's so damn big. Floaters just love going after civies.

Well this is my 6th game of Long War and I've never played past the middle of July either through sheer frustration when half your team ends up dead or you get a squad wipe or something. I think I learned my lessons for Spring and early Summer of the first year. After that we are in unexplored territory gentlemen.

OPERATION PATIENT LAW: 2:39 AM, 28 May 2015 Hamburg Germany
COVERT EXTRACTION MISSION

Okay, covert extractions are my least favorite Exalt missions. First off, you are limited to 4 squad members, and secondly, they rarely give you much in the way of reward. Exalt in Long War is incredibly dangerous due to their sheer numbers alone. You will be heavily outnumbered in all missions. There are pods everywhere and they aren't afraid to use grenades, missiles, sniper rifles, and healing mist. This will be a challenge.

"THAT BITCH!" Scott Rasmussen was furious. His files were gone, his computer was destroyed, and all the cell's information on Ms. Silver (if that was even her real name) was deleted. She couldn't have gotten far, he'd been keeping tabs on here ever since he'd chanced here making that dead drop at the railway station. Pure coincidence that he'd been there too. Things didn't quite add up after that. Had he still been in corporate he would have called his boss for instructions, but the cell had to take care of it's own issues here. Their work was too important. First things first. Call Takashi and Dementyev and get the cell's response force together. He wasn't going to take the blame for this. He'd see to it personally...

"Commander, can I see you for a moment?" Bradford never seemed to sleep. The Commander was fairly sure Dr. Vahlen was plying him with some sort of (no doubt highly experimental) stimulant. Bradford had that slightly jittery quality he always got when things were happening -especially bad things.

It's LT Silver MK2 isn't it?" The Commander had a knack for know what was going on.

"Yes Sir, apparently someone stumbled on to her identity and she had to cut things a little short. Her last communique stated she had vital intelligence on this EXALT organization and that she needed immediate extraction. The Skyranger crew is saying they'll have head winds all the way to Germany and that we need to cut the payload down to four combat-equipped crew members. Fourth squad is next up in rotation and I already have LT. Trondheim ..."

"That won't be necessary. First Squad will retrieve the LT. I need my squad's whole. Anyone on a covert mission will be picked up by their own squad."
"Yes, Sir."

"Oh, and Bradford?"
"Sir?"

"Get some sleep."
"Yes, Sir."
--Audio recording 0135, 28 May 2015
--The Long War Project



The short-handed 1st squad is given the mission. Although this would upset the normal rotation, it would become a standard operating procedure that the squad would always retrieve it's own covert operative. CPL Elemental would command the mission until LT Silver could officially take command.


A circling squad surveillance drone captures 1st Squad disembarking the Skyranger. Aviation enthusiasts and aerospace industry analysts would speculate for years on just how the skyranger was simultaneously fast, quiet, stealthy, and possessed most of the capabilities of a helicopter such as prolonged hovering and VTOL/STOL capabilities.


So the key I feel in extraction missions is to not activate too many pods/squads at once. Individually, I don't feel the EXALT soldier is that dangerous, but they tend to come in numbers that make them quite hard to handle. Early Exalt missions give you nothing in the way of captives or advanced weaponry so you'll notice that I am quite liberal with the explosives. On this mission I need to hack two communications relays and get LT Silver back to the extraction zone. The squad can then either kill everyone left or extract. Usually you are dealing with between 16-20 Exalt members on these missions so I doubt I'll be able to hang around and kill everyone without getting someone killed so I'm not going to go for it.

The squad takes cover immediately as the skyranger departs as quickly and silently as possible.


The good LT Silver MK2 hunkers down on the roof she's taken cover on. The Exalt patrols control the streets for now.


Two Exalt operatives stumble on our exfiltration team


CPL Eusbius "Vulture" Walrus seriously wounds the first Exalt agent XCOM encounters.


CPL Cthulu Spy lays down such a barrage as to panic the wounded exalt into jumping into the open.


Eddie Azrael makes his mark in first squad as he claims his first kill and wounds the other exalt agent with a well placed grenade


LT Silver MK2 takes cover behind a decoy Exalt server stack. The final bits of intelligence needed are somewhere in the vicinity.


"Luckily, Exalt was too concerned with trying to capture or kill LT Silver that they forgot to yank her server access. If we could get her into their communications net, we could probably stall their search..."
--COL Bradford on Patient Law

More Exalt operatives appear on 1st squads right flank.


Even more operatives rush to corner 1st Squad.


Exalt deploys explosives and Specialist Azrael is wounded.


LT Silver's rushes to hack the Exalt communications network. It seems to slow them down more than anticipated (all their guns stop working)


SPEC Azrael quickly rushes the lone Exalt operative and dispatches him at point blank range.


Esubius claims an Exalt kill as the human fanatics mill about in confusion.


Exalt falls back to regroup - giving LT Silver time to rush the last encoder.




"I don't think I've ever seen such a bizarre fire fight. LT Silver was running around in the middle of the enemy. I think most of the Exalt didn't know exactly who they were looking for and were just responding to our attack. Maybe some of them considered her an ally. After all, she hadn't shot anyone... yet."
--CPL Elemental marvels at Exalt's lack of reaction to Silver.

The firefight descends into chaos as 1st squad throws flashbangs and AP grenades to whittle the EXALT forces down enough for LT Silver to make the withdrawal.


LT Silver MK2 turns on her erstwhile allies at the critical moment.



Grenades are thrown danger close in order to clear the LT for her run. All Exalt weapons are operational at this point but all visible Exalt agents are flashbanged.


CPL Elemental breaks what has thus far been a run of catastrophically bad luck and finally claims an Exalt kill. (Seriously, he had missed 2 90% shots in a row and a 74% shot).


A blinded Exalt operative sprays the room with fire... slipping a round past CPL Elemental's chest plate and puncturing his lung.


Cthulu Spy and Esubius Walrus enacts swift vengeance and allows LT Silver and CPL Elemental to make their withdrawal.



Eddie Azrael, who has been covering the left flank (3-5 Exalt operatives have been seen dropping in but so far have not entered the fight) begins his withdrawal while maintaining overwatch.

Which promptly pays off as the Sniper tries to sneak up to cover the extraction route


Exalt, although fanatically zealous and insanely ambitious, are not too tactically sound. Genetically enhanced operatives drop right into the overwatch fire around 1st squad.




LT Silver dashes towards the extraction zone but refuses to leave until the rest of the squad can join her.


LT Silver is the last one on the skyranger


"What happened, Rasmussen?" Demntyev was hurriedly packing up what was left of the equipment along with Rasmussen and the remaining members of the cell. Takashi and his men were dead - killed in that raid by whomever those people were.
" We were betrayed by that whore, Silver." Once we get evacuated, I'll go to HQ personally and make sure this is all taken care of... I am not going to let this...
Scott Rasmussen was still telling anyone who would listen how this was not his fault when Demenyev put a bullet in his head.


Well done first squad. the random number generator was not on our side this time (we missed A TON of shots, but we still pulled it off. Elemental will be in the ICU for a month and Azrael is out for almost two weeks, but you guys pulled it off. While 1st squad has dominated the story-line thus far, this makes for a good opportunity for the other squads to step forward and take up the plot.



Eddie Azrael has proven himself 1st squad material and is promoted to LCPL. 4 kills in one mission! Good job Azrael



So next time we'll get back in the rotation with 4th squad. Stay tuned!

Excellent extraction technique Glory squad. Could not have asked for better backup to pull my buns out of the fire. I will make sure medical have something good to put in your IV's Elemental and Azrael.

Well done 1st, would have liked to see some captives or at least useful intel beside the main catche retrived. But stellar work non the less I dare say.

So it seems that just attempting to keep up with the rest of 1st Squad put me in the ICU! Glad I didn't let the rest of the squad down though, and I seem to have earned my stripes - literally!

Tonight on XCOM: The Dakka Diaries: How many flaoters can 4th Squad battle at once? If your answer is 10 and a muton, you've bet too low.....

Really? really? Now this I need to see/read this, and is there any fallen?

And that's why untrained fanatics make horrible military forces. Lots of enthusiasm does not make up for lack of combat experience! Good job 1st squad.

I find the fact that certain humans actually want to join with these aliens disgusting. I've seen enough of what they can do to know that negotiating isn't on the table. Admittedly there isn't much information floating around since stuff is still pretty classified, but I don't know what these crazies could possibly hope to gain from this arrangement.

Agreed, that someone is willing to barter their humanity away is rather.... revolting to say the least

I will tell you about it when I have finished washing the smell of the guts of traitors against humanity out of my hair.

 dementedwombat wrote:
And that's why untrained fanatics make horrible military forces. Lots of enthusiasm does not make up for lack of combat experience! Good job 1st squad.

I find the fact that certain humans actually want to join with these aliens disgusting. I've seen enough of what they can do to know that negotiating isn't on the table. Admittedly there isn't much information floating around since stuff is still pretty classified, but I don't know what these crazies could possibly hope to gain from this arrangement.

IIRC, Exalt doesn't want to actually join the aliens as much as utilize their technology to force human evolution forward. Think the Illuminati but with aliens.

 dementedwombat wrote:
And that's why untrained fanatics make horrible military forces. Lots of enthusiasm does not make up for lack of combat experience! Good job 1st squad.

I find the fact that certain humans actually want to join with these aliens disgusting. I've seen enough of what they can do to know that negotiating isn't on the table. Admittedly there isn't much information floating around since stuff is still pretty classified, but I don't know what these crazies could possibly hope to gain from this arrangement.

"Exalt wants one thing - personal power. They believe that now is their time. They are the visionaries who will guide humanity forward into a new golden age. Of course, they will be at the helm as is only correct for such men (and no few women) of vision. Men like Scott Rasmussen are petty little foot soldiers in Exalt's quest for world domination and evolutionary apotheosis. The Rasmussen's of the world provide Exalt with a perfect package of discontent, ambition, and petty viciousness. They are given the crumbs of personal power and sent out into the world to sow panic, spread misinformation, and ruin the lives of millions.

Ultimately, Silver's work is only a small part of this new front in the campaign to defend Earth, but an important one. Exalt must be found and soon. Defeating the alien will mean nothing if Earth is lost in the meantime."
--Personal diary, Col Terry Bradford

Just found this and its great!

Squall018, reporting for duty!!!

Excellent extraction.
Funny to see how confused Exalt gets with an infiltrator in their midst.
I MUST find out how weapons can be hacked to shut down... that was AWESOME!!!
Low tech shotgun is looking like a good backup "just in case".
The group in recovery is getting awfully big for comparing scars.

Great job first squad!

Awesome job Sgt_Scruffy, I have been XCOM fan sense the start and this thread is just another reason to love it more. That all being said time to get off the bench and into the action.

Gallia_Comata reporting for duty sir
I don't really care where or what I look like so go nuts with that. I would like to to either be a Gunner(LMG) or Rocketeer. Either a rate of fire higher then the collective IQ of man, or the ability to explode all of man is my calling. Also I am down with any gene/MEC/Psi mods you are willing to cram into me, because I love mods and transhumanism and not because disdain the officer class at all.......at all...*Coughblue bloodsCough*

OPERATION BURNING THORN: 31 May, 2015

By the end of May, the squads were beginning to form their own identities. 1st squad, the so called "Glory" squad had gained a reputation for professionalism and perfectionism only recently tainted by their forays into cover actions. 2nd Squad was still struggling to shed it's reputation as the Cursed Squad, but their May had been a good one with few casualties. 2nd Squad seemed particularly eager to do whatever it took to destroy the alien and spent many long hours with Vahlen and Shen testing new tactics, techniques, and technology in hopes of gaining an edge. 3rd Squad was still the solid heart of 1st Platoon. They also enjoyed a reputation as the "guinea pig" squad that always fielded new weapons, items, and technology. Already Dr. Vahlen was briefing 3rd squad on expected xeno-neurological weaknesses. 4th Squad, 1st Platoon and 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon were developing a burgeoning rivalry as XCOM's premier shock assault squads. Where 4th squad accomplished this with disciplined fire and steady advances, 2nd platoon had thus far accomplished it with lightning assaults. Both approaches had their adherents and detractors, but both styles definitely worked.

4th Squad would have a particularly interesting encounter in the closing hours of the Month. Exalt's operation in Hamburg had drawn the attention of the already active aliens in the area. A heavy alien abduction raid hit Cologne like a sledgehammer in the middle of the night on the 31st of May. Resistance was expected to be heavy so the Commander made the decision to elevate a member of the Legion to 4th Squad's roster. Although more snipers would have been preferable, the sniper school was having a hard time churning out the recruits needed for XCOM's needs. Instead, the Commander gave 4th squad it's first gunner in the form of the newest Dakka Corp member Orlanth.



The coming hours would see one of the fiercest fire fights of the war.
--The Long War Project
--Edited by C.G. Spender

A successful Exalt mission and the council mission means I'm sitting on some cash. I've decided to spend it on a new satellite and a new interceptor. Russia's panic is rising so fast that I don't think I'll be able to stop it even if I get a satellite up in time. Instead, I'm going to focus on Asia to prevent the fall of another contitnent bonus. We'll take back Russia and Canada at some point, I swear. Orlanth, I didn't have any male snipers available for you to take or I would have given you one. Instead, I assigned you to a gunner who I eventually want to make into a light machine gun squadsight, holotarget, shredder build.

The Squad assembles just prior to boarding.



"Okay, listen up. I'm not one for big speeches and I'm not going to pull any punches. This is a heavy engagement. You all have done this before - either here or in the legion. Do your job, don't feth up, and watch your lane. Orlanth is our new squad member, but save your introductions for later. We've got a job to do. PCIs in 5 minutes."
--LT Tronheim prior to Burning Thorn


Demented Wombat and Motyak take point as the squad lands at the LZ



"I've never seen the aliens charge us at the LZ. Maybe they were testing new tactics? Regardless, we came across five of them less than 30 seconds into the mission."
--Motyak


As the squad spreads out, LT Trondheim faces a dilemma. He can stand in the open to gain maximum firepower and hope to wipe out 5 Floaters before they can return fire, or he can dive for cover and sacrifice the chance for the quick kill in return for better survival. Either course of action has risks, but Trondheim tells his men to dive for cover. Here, Adept Sister displays her incredible speed by scaling the drain pipe while the rest of the squad takes defensive positions on the ground.


Tronheim, Motyak, and Malfred are the front line with Orlanth, Legion, and Wombat in support I mis-clicked Wombat and ran him into the open so I had to scramble him back into cover or this engagement may have been over a lot faster


An embryo of a plan forms as the squad watches the Floaters scramble for cover


Crucially, the floaters don't seem to notice Adept Sister above them.


"I swear there was a stand-off moment between the 12 of us. 7 on our side and the 5 of them just seemed to stare at each other. Neither side quite sure what to do. Then the LT shot one of them in the face..."
--Malfred on Burning Thorn.
Trondheim downs the Floater with the aerial advantage.


CPL Malfred's rocket goes long, but still bags a Floater


"These new scatter guns were amazing. I loved it"
--CPL Motyak describing his impressive Burning Thorn kill count.
Motyak scores his first kill of the mission


With three Floaters down, Trondheim signals Adept Sister to blind the other two. The engagement has swung decisively in 4th Squad's favor.


Things were going okay when Wombat spots 5 more enemies coming in hard on the left flank. There are 4 floaters and a Muton. Totaly enemy count at this point = 7.


Another view of the tactical situation as Wombat is in dager of getting outflanked.


Meanwhile, Adept Sister discovers one of the original Floaters had decided to not take cover... tsk tsk.
Unfortunately, laser rifles aren't quite strong enough to bring the Floater Squad leader down.


CPL Wombat, meanwhile, decides to reduce the Muton's cover with a well placed grenade.


"This Muton shrugged off the shrapnel peppering his body and just thumped his chest and roared so loud I could smell his breath from 20 yards away. I'm ashamed to say I panicked a little."
--CPL Wombat


Feth. Wombat is one of the best troops in the squad and now he's out of action for a while. There are other Floater pods nearby, I can hear them

Legion 5 secures Wombat's flank with a well placed shot.


"Wombat was trapped. I'm not sure what was going on there, but I knew he would get flanked so we were going to have to pin these new aliens until he could move. I would flashbang while Orlanth would overwatch. He was well back but hopefully that would prevent them from charging up.
--Trondheim


More aliens join the fight on the left....


Another pod of Floaters rockets into view on the front bringing the total enemy count to 11. 10 Floaters remain and a Muton. Things look bad.


"This is my first mission and all, but I've been the Legion for a while. I've never dropped with 4th squad though. The scuttlebutt was they were a heavy assault unit so it made sense to send a medic on over, but man, they weren't kidding. I saw more aliens in 3 minutes than I'd seen in my entire operational history on Burning Thorn..... What did we do about it? Oh we murdered them!"
--Adept Sister in archival interview
CPL Malfred opens the slaughter by catching an entire pod in a rocket blast.

CPL Motyak gets three kills with one grenade as the pod disintegrates under grenade and rocket fire.


Adept Sister drops down to check for survivors and spots on lone Floater. She pins it in place with an overwatch.


"I heard a lot of explosions behind me, but Motyak was still calmly calling out targets and they didn't seem to be in distress. I had my own issues here trying to rescue Wombat. 2 floaters and the Muton were still active. First things first. I could see an alien grenade hanging on the Muton's armor and I knew he would use it if we tried to get too close. Legion 5 would have to take down the Muton. Thank God she's a decent shot."
--LT Trondheim


LT Trondheim downs an already wounded floater.


Return fire from the remaing floaters seriously wounds our Legion sniper who has been the focus of alien attack for the entire mission.


Shrugging off her wounds, Legion 5 delivers swift, but not fatal retribution.


Specialist Orlanth, having gotten back into position, scales the pipe and prepares to secure the roof.

Orlanth secures his first kill since joining the Dakka Corps.


"Orlanth had a stroke of genius. I knew there were more Floaters to our left but I wasn't sure how I was going to tackle them... our squad was dangerously split. If we could secure the roof, we could potentially react to whatever the aliens threw at us."
--LT Trondheim

CPL Wombat rejions the squad on the roof


CPL Malfred secures a commnding spot on the ground floor.


"The alien clearly knew we were watching him. I could almost see him on the verge of panic. It's nice to know they feel fear. Anyway, he was holding up the proceedings so I ran forward an killed him."
--CPL Motyak describes kill #5 on Burning Thorn.



Most of the Squad has regrouped, reloaded, and reoriented for the final assault. Not pictured is Motyak (still in the alley killing the wounded Floater) and Legion 5 who is making her way to the roof for treatment.[i]


FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU,,,, I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS GUY



Thank you Jesus, Buddha, Shiva, and all the lucky rabit's feet on the planet. A Floater misses a point blank flank shot. I actually leaped out of my chair and had to pace around the room for about 30 seconds...

[i]Motyak, not quite believing his luck, does not make the mistake of missing. That's kill #6


Meanwhile, the squad continues to regroup - oblivious to Motyak's life and death struggles behind them.


LT Trondheim finds another pod of Floaters. Do they ever end?


CPL Wombat redeems himself from earlier and wounds the squad.


Adept sister is potentially caught out of position as she is busy working on Legion 5. Legion 5 deploys a smoke grenade to conceal them.

LT Trondheim manages to just spot one wounded floater for an easy kill.


Motyak was out of round for his scatter gun, but that wasn't going to stop him. Here Motyak finishes off another Floater from the pod Wombat wounded.This brings his kill count to 7.


The squad spread out trying to find what happened to the last 2 Floaters in the pod. They are nowhere in sight.


I got this... premonition... a hunch. I don't know what you want to call it, but somehow I just knew the aliens were hiding off to our right. [color=red](Actually, I tried to run Wombat there and the game would let me)



CPL Malfred drop down right on top of the last wounded Floater and kills him (her? it?) at point blank range.


Final Score: XCOM: 17. Aliens: 0


Specialist Orlanth and Legion 5 are both promoted LCPL.


LCPL Orlanth would go on to pioneer a new (for XCOM) form of gunner tactics. He would now take the longer ranged, heavier LMG over the standard SAW.


In addition to all their kills, 4th squad nets a substantial haul of alien goods.


Requests for alien materials in exchange for scientific expertise have been pouring in as the month draws to a close.


"The Council thought they still had control, although I think in their private fears they already knew they were largely irrelevant. Their ridiculous hearings and bureaucracies they had brought with them from their previous lives and legislators and businessmen were old habits that needed to die. XCOM was already moving beyond their petty politics and securing the loyalties of those whom they needed. For now, though, The Commander humored their "report cards."
--C.G. Spender on the Political Situation.


[color=red] So here you see the dire situation Russia is in. They get bombed every day or so and there is no way I will be able to stop that short of transferring the entire air wing to Europe. Even then, it's a losing battle. No. We'll focus on Asia. The Foundry should be coming online soon and the Asian bonuses will be crucial as the Foundry is much more extensive. Overall I'm pretty happy with how the month went. I know I'm somewhat gimping myself by spreading out the experience SO broadly. It would really help if I could get some guys up to Master Sergeant for eventual base assaults and what have you, but we still have time. The war goes on. Hope you enjoy.[/colo]

There's still time to join people! Do your part! Join the Dakka Corps!

Holy cow 4th, way to go. I bet you all have sore necks from aiming up at those floaters now

Are there plans on what to spend the council cash on base wise?

Stunning work 4th, you always make me proud to be your LT! Its an honour to serve with you all

Don't know what happened there, my head was just not in it that mission. First I run out into the middle of nowhere instead of grabbing cover (communications breakdown there, I swear I heard "rush them"). Next I let Big Ugly intimidate me into grabbing cover while the rest of m squad has to haul my butt out of there.

After staring down `lids charging at me you'd think I'd have handled that a little better, but the guy was just so big, and it's hard to explain, but the obvious intelligence and deliberation they show gives you time to think. With the `lids you just have to shoot them, you can't think about what you're doing until after it's over. You know?

I'll do better next time. Humanity is counting on me!

Whew, glad that I could be of service! That could have gotten really bad very quickly!

4th squad will continue to do our part!

Way to go, 4th Squad! Keep on performing missions like that, and you might start to be thought of as the second 1st Squad!

It's with great sadness that I must report the first death among the members od the Dakka Corps. Details are still coming in, so it would unwise to speculate at this time. Alert the medical bay and the morgue. Skyranger inbound...

A sad day indeed. If the rotations are still in order this would be in 2nd platoon, first squad? :(

A sad, sad day indeed

The padre told him not to be a hero, but he bought the farm on this drop, and we'll never forget [insert name here]

"It's never easy, you know? We circle the battlefield and monitor the squad channels as they ply their deadly trade. Sometimes we swoop in on a hot LZ to extract. Sometimes we're ordered to stand by and loiter while the squad gets shot all to hell and back. I was trained in the best insertion and extraction teams in the world. 160th SOAR, Flight Concepts, and outfits you've never heard of. That's probably what got the attention of XCOM in the first place. Crewing for the Bin Laden raid was exciting, but crewing for XCOM? It's mostly just sad. Men and Women coming in bleeding and crying for their mommas.... and Command calling it a victory.... I've never met the Commander, but I hear he's a @(#&$(# bastard.
--Jihadin
-- Crew Chief, Skryanger 1

OPERATION SWIFT ENGINE. 6 June 2015.Harbin, China
"You think you've got the whole plan figured out, and you think you've accounted for every possibility, every contingency, and every possible catastrophe; but you forget that the enemy has a vote, and it counts for just as much as yours."
-- Unknown staff officer, XCOM Central Command

The day dawned bright enough. Squall018 and Galia_Comata would both be elevated out of the Legion. Both Legionnaires hailed from the United States and the 6th of June was a particularly auspicious day in their military history. Squall018 in fact hailed originally from the 82nd Airborne before making his way up through the ODA, and eventually Delta Force. He would join 2nd Platoon, 1st Squad as another element of their shock assault squad.


Galia_Comata got drafted in from federal law enforcement although he orignally learned his skills in Marine Force Recon. Galia's particular penchant for excessive force made him a bad-fit for hostage rescue and crisis response teams - however his exceptional lethality drew the interest of the Council recruiters.


"The month of June started off fairly quietly. The first week was almost totally devoid of contact. This rare week of relative calm left some members of the staff fairly jubilant while it left others worried..
Dr.Shen dsplays his new plans for expansion XCOM HQ


Dr. Vahlen was particularly pleased as her team made a reproducible combination of the alien alloy and conventional Kevlar. The Commander would immediately order an initial production run of 2 sets of the expensive armor.


The Commander finally gave the order: XCOM was expanding into Asia. Russia would have to fend for itself. CPL Chaos0xomega would have to be restrained at the news. LT. Dean "Rascal" Tompkins would take command of the newly formed Asian Air Wing of XCOM Air and Space Command


Senator Duncan Wilson (R-AZ), chariman of the United States Senate Armed Services Committee leaned back in his chair. He hadn't felt this young in years. Things were finally moving.Let that idiot Jack Reed blather on about readiness postures in response to extra-terrestrial threats and how much the Canada crisis should affect base realignment and closure hearings in the coming sessions. Of course, he would play the game, for now, but if things played out as he expected then he wouldn't have to worry about what his caucus or what that simpering idiot in the White House did. The latest news out of Russia was... disturbing, true, but Lockheed Martin's (a valuable campagin contributor) stock had risen 23% on the news. Their vaunted (although absolutely useless) F-56 high altitude intercepter was pure pork, but it got him votes and it sold well in the press. The Dreamland boys probably had something better, but he wasn't in on the secret... yet. He thought the F-56 project would succeed about as well as his country's continuing efforts to pacify the Middle East.. not at all. Of course, none of that mattered

No, what Duncan Wilson needed was success of a different sort. If his latest gambit worked, than he wouldn't have to worry about New York TImes OP Eds or the weekly Gallup Polls. Actually, he wouldn't have to worry about much at all if Argentina worked out as he planned and as he hoped. He picked up the phone..

"Get me The CEO of Lockheed Martin, Marilyn Hewson, please"
"Right away, Seantor Wilson."
Of course, his call was answered as it was at all defense industry companies.
"May you be exalted among women, Mrs. Hewson."
"What can I do for you, Senator."
"Let's Talk about Argentina..."
"Everything is on schedule..."

Senator Wilson smiled a rare, unpracticed smile. Argentina would work out just fine. The future was lookng up.


"Sir, I think you should look at this." Bradford had that shrill voice he got when he was on the hunt.
"What is it Major?" The Commander seemed particularly somber today - uncharacteristically, as if expecting something bad to happen.
"The Clarin, it's an Argentinian Newspaper. Basically, it's their New York Times and they just published the article claiming that a secret council is controlling the planet's response to the alien crisis."
"It's the truth - more or less."
"Yes Sir, but not the way they're portraying it. It all read very Illuminati and Free Masons-like, if you catch my drift..."
"I do. I'm guessing it's quite the scandal."
"It is. They have "evidence" or so they claim. We've checked and it's all bogus, but it looks credible enough... Credible enough to force our Argentinian Council Member's hand."
"They'll withdraw?"
"If it gets worse, yes."
"Then see too it Major."
"Yes, Sir."



It's shaping up to be a dark month. Music for this month is Skyfall by Adele. Listen to it in the context of XCOM and it's quite fitting I think.




Look for Operation Swift Engine tomorrow in it's entirety tomorrow

Glad to see myself get in there. Now let's see if I can survive the first mission!

Sgt_Scruffy wrote:

Well done first squad. the random number generator was not on our side this time (we missed A TON of shots, but we still pulled it off. Elemental will be in the ICU for a month and Azrael is out for almost two weeks, but you guys pulled it off. While 1st squad has dominated the story-line thus far, this makes for a good opportunity for the other squads to step forward and take up the plot.

"A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down, I guess. When you're lying on a bed with tubes in your chest, you get a lot of time to think, and I kept going over all those good clean shots that I'd missed--and why. When it's human against alien, there's no hesitation--and even less after I'd seen the footage from the Newfoundland battle. But fighting humans after so long battling monsters from the skies? That hadn't felt right. Oh, we were still fighting to the best of our ability, and no false modesty, the team are all damn good soldiers, but in the heat of battle, it's those tiny distractions that make the difference between a live enemy and a dead one.

"Time to come back down to earth--I don't mean we stop needling 2nd and 3rd about 1st being the best of the best, that's a proud tradition! But we've gotta remember at all times that this is war, and wars can get really ugly, really fast."

--Personal journal of LCPL Elemental