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 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Love the write-ups. I think the Exalt storyline in this thread is much more interesting than the game actually! That's why some people IRL have asked for an Exalt campaign.

Glad 2nd Platoon could slaughter some traitors. Sad to see 2nd Platoon disbanded but the Commander seem to be saying we "officially" don't exist anymore....does that mean we...unofficially exist in some way? Has 2nd become the Black Ops team of the already Black ops Xcom?


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Righteousrob wrote:
This is cool. Wish I had gotten in on this. If you need cannon fodder to be molded sign me up

We always need more Cannon fodder!

It would seem that 2th has become the absulte definition of black ops, witch is kinda cool

Quiet Canuck. No such thing as 2nd platoon. It no longer exist. They've been taken by the Dark Side. They are not located at the end of Gruber RD in the fenced compound there.

I guess now we will be seeing issues with the XCOM budget, like staplers costing 100 credits... After all, money to feed the totally doesn't exist secret projects has to come from somewhere.

The intent will eventually be to provide each squad and each individual with a narrative hook. Canuck and company are the commander's deniable asset. They'll still fight aliens, but they're primary focus will be more.... Terrestrial

Sgt_Scruffy wrote:
The intent will eventually be to provide each squad and each individual with a narrative hook. Canuck and company are the commander's deniable asset. They'll still fight aliens, but they're primary focus will be more.... Terrestrial

I wouldn't have it any other way.

"There's nothing so wretched or hated in all the world as a traitor. The Alien's mind is unknown, who knows why they do what they do. But we know the traitors all to well for they are human and for them there can be no forgiveness and no mercy" -attributed to Kamikaze Canuck upon hearing Canada's fall was due was in part due to collaborators


(bit of a spin on a 40K quote)


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 Trondheim wrote:

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Love the write-ups. I think the Exalt storyline in this thread is much more interesting than the game actually! That's why some people IRL have asked for an Exalt campaign.

Glad 2nd Platoon could slaughter some traitors. Sad to see 2nd Platoon disbanded but the Commander seem to be saying we "officially" don't exist anymore....does that mean we...unofficially exist in some way? Has 2nd become the Black Ops team of the already Black ops Xcom?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Righteousrob wrote:
This is cool. Wish I had gotten in on this. If you need cannon fodder to be molded sign me up

We always need more Cannon fodder!

It would seem that 2th has become the absulte definition of black ops, witch is kinda cool

2nd Platoon: darker than black!

OPERATION DEFIANT NIGHT: 15 June 2015. Norilsh, Russia


"SFC Jihadin, prepare your skyranger for seats out operation. We're going to cram as many civilians as we can into the skyranger. Check with QC for updated 365-4 forms. Tell them to max it out."
--Major Illifan delivers orders to the maintenance wing.

"Russia is not like Canada. There was no sudden defection. No sudden capitulation. The Russians fought like cornered bears the entire time. By the time the Asian air wing arrived in their bases in Germany, the Russian air force was a smoldering wreck and the Russian strategic missile forces were buried in their bunkers. The aliens didn't even bother targeting Russian military bases outright, they simply retaliated against attacks with devastating efficiency. Still, the Russians fought and they did all they could. The Russian representatives in the Council hurled invective, threatened, pleaded with, and eventually cursed the Council for their inaction. The Commander, who so many people viewed as this unfeeling monolith at the center of XCOM, struggled daily with the decisions on her shoulders. The Asians were insisting that they would withdraw en mass if immediate resources were not allocated to the defense of their land masses. The United States was screaming for help with the border defense along their Northern border, and the continued Exalt activity in South America was making the Council nervous. Sensing an imminent Russian defeat, the aliens piled on the pressure throughout June - to an unbearable degree. Some people still blame the commander for what happened in the aftermath, but I know she tried everything she could think of.
--Personal log, Major Bradford

I've never been to Russia and I don't even think I can personally point out Norilsk on a map. It was, in truth, a bleak town in the middle of nowhere Siberia. The Russians were desperate though. They had nothing left to throw at the UFOs so the aliens were just picking towns and slaughtering the people there. It was horrible. We had to help. I wanted to help. Then we got to Norilsk, and all I wanted to do was get out of there."
-- Attributed to Specialist Adept Sister, 4th squad medic

Dominique Le Penne strode down the halls of The Parliament Francais quite quickly, but not so quickly as to draw notice. This was important and the opposition leader, Guillaume Leveque would be ecstatic! This would surely tip the balance of power in the Council. The Russians were going to leave, she was sure of it, and with that, the last major obstacle to moving ahead with the genetic augmentation initiative would be removed. The Asians would get some concessions, of course, but the South American model would be pursued. Her sources said the Commander was already vacillating and the removal of a powerful voice for the strategic air model would tip the scales more towards genetic manipulation. Perhaps this would convince others to listen to Leveque's more... ambitious ideas.

XCOM HQ: Underneath Gashaka Gumti National Park

"Lieutenant Trondheim, your only mission is to save as many civilians as possible. Is that clear? The Russians are leaving and there's nothing we can do about it. We have a window of 12 hours to get our people out of their borders or they will consider us hostile. In that time, you will save as many of the people of Norilsk as you can. The Russian members of the Council may have lost faith in our endeavor, but already the legend of XCOM is spreading. We will do everything we can to bolster the flagging morale of the Russian people before we must move on to battles we can win. We will win this war one town at a time, even if we have to fight for every town, village, and hamlet on Earth. Get to your Skyranger, and don't come back until every alien in Norilsk is dead.
-- The Commander to Lt. Trondheim moments before liftoff for Defiant Night.




"I don't know why, but there seemed a sense of defeat about Defiant Night before we even lifted off the ground. The briefing seemed almost perfunctory. It basically amounted to "kill the aliens, save the civilians." In those days, all the news out of Russia was bad. We'd win every battle we fought there, but we'd only fight 1 out of every 20 battles. The aliens were relentless. Canada had been almost merciful by comparison - a quick shutting off of the lights and then silence. Russia was loud, drawn out, and above all heart-breaking."
--Adept Sister

4th Squad storms down the ramp. The Skyranger had stripped as much fuel, armor, and ammo as possible in order to haul civilians away from the fighting.


"They charged us immediately. They always do now. XCOM is now on the aliens radar, of that, I'm sure. We are dangerous enough to be noticed. Maybe that's reassuring, maybe that's scary. I don't know. The thought that something as apparently mindless as a Chryssalid will stop what it's doing and attack us at the mere sight of XCOM uniforms keeps me up at night."
--Adept Sister



Orlanth finishes off an alpha 'lid as 4th squad stand firms against a chryssalid charge


"I think they're getting bigger."
--Observation made by Adept Sister. Definat Night

Demented Wombat finishes off a 'lid as 4th squad struggles to even make it off the LZ


"Have you ever had to call in rocket strikes on civilians because you knew that the poor woman's life would buy the lives of 5... 10.... 100 other civilians. Is 100 enough? 100 has to be enough, right?
-- Adept Sister
CPL Malfred shredder rockets a pack of zombies


"We were efficient. I don't believe we missed a shot the entire mission. The aliens and their vile zombie incubators were cut down like wheat to the scythe. The guys who had been around for a while seemed particularly grim as they cleared out the alien. They told me later they'd seen it all before. They knew how this song played out. No matter what we did, those aliens were going to have their pound of flesh."
--Adept Sister

CPL Motyak slaughters yet more zombies


Adept Sister finishes off a zombie


"Sometimes I don't know if what we did saved lives or cost lives. Sure, we killed aliens, but I can't help wondering if we inadvertently drove civilians away. Filling the air with explosions, the screams of aliens, and the constant zap of laser rifles probably drove some civilians right into the 'lids arms..."
--Adept Sister

Civilians cower before the assault of XCOM. They are caught between the immovable object of XCOM and the irresistable force of the alien terror attack.


"I've never seen marksmanship like I saw that day. A 'lid in full gallop will run down a cheetah - at least, that's what Dr. Shen's engineers tell me."
--Major Bradford comments of Defiant Night.


"[static].... I see 'em. preparing rocket. Cover me....[inaudible].... ROCKET AWAY!
....hit! We have a hit. Okay, they're still coming. Firing line on my mark.... and MARK!
..... This is 4-3, I'm green/green/red! Reloading!.....
... X-ray down, I'm out. ...
..... Okay, fire team alpha, advance. fire team bravo, base of fire...."
--Sample 4th Squad squad channel audio. Defiant Night.

CPL Malfred softens up zombies


CPL Wombat and Malfred have become quite proficient as a team


"Slowly but surely, they were surrounding us. Worse yet, we were so swamped in aliens that the aliens were starting to veer off to kill civilians..."
--Adept Sister

Motyak and Legion 11 deal with a flanking 'lid


Malfred finally gets a kill of his own - he has wounded over a dozen aliens in this mission


Orlanth finishes off the last of the 'lids


"We were low on explosives and resorting to blinding zombies just to slow them down even more... at this point, as much as I am terrified to admit it, they were smart enough to ignore us and just focus on doing as much damage as possible... The implications that a dead human could strategize...I don't want to think about it."
--Adept Sister

Adept Sister continues the grim work of 4th squad as yet another zombie horde shuffles towards them


Demented Wombat uses his last grenade on the never ending hordes of zombies


LT Trondheim, out of ammo, uses his pistol to take down another zombie


"By the end of Defiant Night we were dumping anything we could off the Skyranger. All the crew had dumped their body armor. I'd already dumped the MCU overboard. Basically we were doing anything to save weight. I made all the XCOM soldiers dump their armor - but LT Trondheim wouldn't let anyone dump their Phalanx armor. He said it was too valuable. I could see his heart breaking as he said it. We crammed 18 people in a ship made to transport 8...."
--Jihadin







The order to withdraw is given. Just over 60% of the town is saved by the actions of 4th squad.


"I'm almost ashamed to admit that I watch every mission live in the CIC. Call it morbid curiosity, call it professional interest, but no one in the Combat information Center that day was dry eyed. For all we knew, we were watching the dying gasps of an entire culture. I know I never expected to see Russia again. The aliens were merciless and watching 4th squad wade through an ocean of blood to save the last few civilians was simultaneously the proudest and saddest moment of my life."
--Dr. Shen.

4th Squad comes back - untouched... at least physically


First Lieutenant Trondheim learns the improtance of suppressing fire


Long hours in the gym have made Motyak the fastest man in XCOM


Legion 11 becomes quite the predator, preying on weakened aliens


"I worked on Viktor Korotayev for what seemd like forever [the flight took 2.4 hours -- Jihadin]. Massiave internal injuries, severe lacerations across the abdomen and he was deep in shock. I use the contents of my entire medical bag on him and he still spent a month in a coma in XCOM's medical ward. Eventually he was transferred to the US and last I heard, he was being granted asylum with all the other Russians out of the country when the Russains went dark. I think that's what I'm most proud of from Defiant Night.... I saved Viktor."
--Adept Sister


The Council delivers the official news. The Russian delegation has walked out and no amount of convincing will make them stay. The Russian governement will officially sever contact with The Council and XCOM. Russian airspace is closed and the Russian withdraw from the UN the next day.


"Of course it was bitter. We'd moved heaven and Earth to prepare for a Russian defense. Projects had been postponed, personnel and funds reassigned, and the genetic enhancement projects put off to crash build a Russian air defense plan. Just as it comes online the Russians break. In the closing hours, we promised them satellites and a full air wing! Nothing worked. They surrendered... I think. No one is quite sure. Unlike the Canadian border -t he Russian border was almost impenetrable. None of our UAVs returned. I think Russia might be hell on Earth."
--Major Bradford

Dominique could not stop smiling. Her work was going swimmingly. Leveque was most pleased and all reports out of Gahaka Gumti pointed to the military arm going forward with the genetic project. Leveque was a genius. He'd managed to slow down the distress calls coming out of Russia just long enough for XCOM's response to be too slow. The Commander was untouchable and so were the members of XCOM itself. The commander's unique nature made tampering with them out of the question. Control their flow of information however.... well. It was turning into a wonderful summer. You could say an exalted summer.

Feth. Russia is lost. For now. It sucks because I truly made a concerted effort to save it. I hadn't planned on putting that much money towards the air wing when things like armor, genetic research, weapons research, and the foundry were all crying out for attention. The last terror attack was the nail in the coffin. Lesson learned. I had been holding off on launching the satellites until I was sure I could defend them. It may have been a better option to put them up early and hope the available interceptors could defend them. Of course, thematically I think it couldn't have gone any better - XCOM is at it's most interesting when things seem darkest. The developing rift in the Council is super exciting from a stroy telling standpoint for me. I hope it is for you as well. Stay tuned. June is just getting started (even though we're halfway through). The aliens are feeling confident and the enemies of XCOM are on the march. Can XCOM hold out?

Gotta work on my last hit timing.

 malfred wrote:
Gotta work on my last hit timing.

You're an enabler, really. On this mission you got plenty of kills - really everyone did. I use you as the opening salvo.. .mostly because a rocketeer is salvo unto him(or her)self.

Good stuff. I like where this is going.

 Hordini wrote:
Good stuff. I like where this is going.

Thank you. That's encouraging to hear.


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Sgt_Scruffy wrote:

 Hordini wrote:
Good stuff. I like where this is going.

Thank you. That's encouraging to hear.

Quick question for all the readers out there. Does the Commander make sense to you all? I know I keep referring to her/him through different pronouns. There is a story there - at least there's the beginnings of a story. I want to try to make a narrative out of the absolute control the player has over the game world. I'm wondering if the assembled audience is actually interested in it.

INTERLUDE: XCOM Barrack: Underneath Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria



Sgt_Scruffy slammed her hand down on her alarm clock... again. "Dear God, please give me the strength to be the woman XCOM thinks I am." She murmered to herself as she slowly got out of bed. Another night of heavy sleep. She was sleeping a lot lately. Maybe if she could sleep long enough, the war would be over and she could go back to a world that made sense. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this. Maybe everyone knew she wasn't cut out for this. Maybe Jeanette knew she wasn't cut out for this. God, what if she was laughing at her too? She always seemed so confident - fearless even- on missions. Meanwhile she couldn't stop shaking.

"I'm only here as a concession for Jeanette." she thought to herself - not for the first time. Jeanette had always been special. IDF through and through and a tough girl even by military standards. She'd loved her as soon as she saw her, of couse. Surprisingly, she'd loved Sgt_Scruffy back. Oh.. most of the world would consider her a well trained soldier. 3rd SGF(A). ODA 3336. That was her. Of course, that was about par for the course around here. Some of these peole hailed from units she'd never heard of - and they were American units! It added to her sense of insecurity.

She shuffled back to her bunk. Maybe just five more minutes....

Good stuff. I like where this is going.

I second this, I a big fan what you are doing. Makes me really want to start up another long war, but so many games and so little time.....I must resist the temptation for now.

Quick question for all the readers out there. Does the Commander make sense to you all? I know I keep referring to her/him through different pronouns. There is a story there - at least there's the beginnings of a story. I want to try to make a narrative out of the absolute control the player has over the game world. I'm wondering if the assembled audience is actually interested in it.

In a sense, yeah I can understand the commander. It's had to personalize a distance all controlling figure, but as long as the Commander tries and show a little humanity I think it works. I mean when you have the job of controlling a organization like XCOM while dealing with the council, aliens attack, money and research constraint's and Exalt shenanigans it takes a special person to really be able to do that. You really do have to be kinda abnormal to begin with, I mean look at history a lot of great generals where kinda weird or at the very least not normal at all. Not really a job for anyone with a normal personality to handle, or that is how I see it.


++++++++++

..55,56,57..
Gallia mentally grunted out each rep, all the while doing his best to maintain perfect form. He was supposed to be taking it easy, resting from the last mission it was just......Operation Defiant night got under skin.
..58,59,60...
What happen to Russia was...awful no doubt about it. Part of him was secretly glad it was Russia and not the States, another was disgusted that he would even feel that way. The emotion where conflicting and a he needed to burn off the energy.
..60,61,62..
It was just to see a nation to go out like that; struggling to fight back, to give everything and anything to be back the horde and for it still not to be enough to win.
..63,64,65..

I mean 4th squad did great, kicked ass and everything....it's just feels so sour, so pyrrhic a victory. Really we kill some aliens and they take out a nation.....so much....Pressure

There was a word that was perfect to describe this whole thing. Pressure. Pressure from the alien attacks, pressure from Exalt, pressure from watching those people we could not save die, pressure from the damn screaming council for XCOM to do the impossible, hell even the damn weight he was lifting was pressure. Pressure, pressure,pressure. Slowly and inevitability grinding us down into the dirt. It was not enough to kill us, but they wanted to break us. In that moment Gallia could see it. The Muton he had killed in his first 3rd sqoud mission was here, grimy clawed hand holding on to the weight. Pushing him back down; dull eyes a glitter with joy. Joy of watching someone put so much effort into a task that he knew he would fail at. Pathetic So there he was fighting not a weight or even gravity but a figment of his own mind. A struggle which seemed impossible. So many things just kept stacking up, his own made gave him a army of enemies to force him back down. Aliens, Exalt, even his own limitations where there. All trying to crush him.

So much to hold the line. God, so much effort and blood just to hold everything up. XCOM and the World. A near endless swarm of things to hold back, Aliens, Exalt, f*cking reality it seems......Just...Just so much to hold.....hold.....Hold.....That all we are doing, and yet..... I got threw my mission by holding out. Beating those bastards. 4th squad held out against the odds in Defiant Night and 2nd squad defies the odds all the time. Against all that we held, we pulled threw.

Just like that the weight felt lighter.The pressure lessened and the Muton went back to being what it was, dead and gone.All we have to do is hold out, weather the storm and we can do this. Pushing of the ghost of the mind, Gallia set the weight back up on the wrack and basked in the pain of his soar arms. He really gonna feel that one tomorrow. Stretching out for a moment, Gallia made his way to the showers. He had gotten what he wanted, he felt much calmer. Maybe not a peace or even feeling good but he new what he needed to do now. All he had to do was hold out. Weather the all this crap and get to the other side and we can win.

I just have to endure....endure and I can win-no XCOM can win. God,I am glad I am nothing but a glorified grunt. I can't even imaged what the officers have to deal with......or damn the commander. Can't imagine what that is like. I mean.....Geez if it hard like this...It must be....Like trying to hold up the whole world. The whole wide world on you. You and you alone....I can't imagine, but if the Commander has not had a break down then I sure as hell will keep on going.

Reinvigorated, it was only until he got to the showers that Gallia thought he could imaged what it was like. The Commander was Atlas. A single person holding the whole world on his shoulders. It was a terrible, hard and thankless task to do, but it only made Gallia smile.
Atlas commander has a nice ring to it.

Sgt Scruffy, love what you are doing so far. Have no complaints. Wish I could be useful to you in the narrative aspect. I'm no writer, but I like what you have done for my character. The whole endurance feeling I get when you write about him. I feel he's like an unmovable mountain. If that's not what you were going for then I'm wrong in some aspect then lol.

Keep up the good work. Looking forward to your next posts and the fate of Xcom.

Grim tidings indeed, sad to see that we lost Russia in this manner. Even after wading trough hordes and hordes of aliens and their reanimated hordes of darkness.
Hope that we get to pay them back fo this sad loss of both civilian and milletary support.

---------

Trondheim sat silent on his bed, his equipment disgarded on the floor and said bed. The things had had seen just hours ago still played over and over in his mind, the endless hizz of laser fire and the woosh of rockets alongside the sickeing sounds of the aliens. As one of his calloused hands found the amulet he always carried around his neck tears started to drip down his face.
He had failed those whom needed his help the most, he had not managed to save them all. But Odin willing the next time he came face to face with one of these devils thre would be hell to pay.

OPERATION SACRED RAIN (The stupidest random name yet). 18 June, 2015. Chicago, Illinois, United States.

LCPL Eddie Azrael was getting coffee when the call came in. The Skyranger crew had just finished scrubbing the blood off the floors of the ship and the maintenance people had just put the ship back in order after the mission. Alien abductions again. 1st Squad hadn't been on call for more than a few hours. No one was on call for more than a few hours anymore before attacks came in. You could set your watch by them it seemed. Even as Eddie scrambled to the briefing room, thoughts of coffee forgotten, he couldn't help but notice the look of resignation on the faces of the maintenance people. One more long day for them.

What's this? Usually the brass weren't here for what was fast becoming a routine mission. Something was strange. Dr. Vahlen seemed more creepily excited than usual and Dr. Shen was looking particularly proud of himself. Everyone else was already here strapping on their armor. Ah.. new Phalanx armor. 2 new sets. That would help. No, the technicians seemed to clustered around Silver MK2 trying to help her with some sort of bulky contraption. She was complaining about something...

"What do you mean I have to reconfigure it? I can't just point and shoot?"
"Ma'am, no. We are dealing with vastly different alien species. If we want any chance at taking them alive you have to apply just the right amount of neurological shock to incapacitate them. A muton will require a much greater charge than a sectoid."
"And I'm supposed to do this under fire?" The LT didn't seem happy.
"Yes, Ma'am. You'll have to close to point blank range to give it a chance to work. Try taking a wounded alien first. Most combat footage shows some common alien life forms are susceptible to trauma shock and this will weaken their neurological resistance to the chemical tipped electrode dart.."
"Yeah, just give it to me. How many rounds do I have?"
"Just one, Ma'am..."
"ONE! What if it doesn't work?"
"We're working on another one. We suggest having a squad mate provide back up. Work in a team of two."
"Thanks for the suggestion. May I run my own squad now?"
"Of course, Ma'am it was onl.."
"Shup up. Legion! Get over here. The engineers can't be bothered to mass produce anything around here so we only get one of these things."

Maybe things weren't going to be so routine this time Eddie thought as he hefted his new phalanx armor over his shoulder.




1st Squad prepares to cover Legion 20 as the initial testing of the arc thrower begins



"You could always tell when command was worried about resistance. They'd send in the robots with us. Simultaneously reassuring and terrifying. The SHIVs may not have looked like much at the time, but they were real life savers. They always drew a lot of attention and The adaptive AI Dr. Shen's people had programmed into them seemed to be pretty good at prioritizing protecting the squad. I sort of liked the little guys. I guess they were the closest thing XCOM had to a guard dog."
--LCPL Azrael

"We're going to conduct seveal false insertions to try to drive them south towards the highway before we take insert you. We need to get close. Remember people, we only have room for one of these things. I need everyone to clear out opposition for Legion until there's one left. Walrus! Shoot to wound! I know. I know. It's stupid, but the Commander thinks it's important."
--LT. Silver Mk2



The squad touches down outside First National Bank and Trust. LT Silver forgoes the usual bold assault in hopes of luring the aliens as close as possible.


"The thing about thin men is that they're fast and they don't particularly like being close to you. Accurate too. Advancing on thin men is dangerous work."
--Azrael


1st Squad found itself in a difficult position for most of Sacred Rain. For all their ferocity, most aliens aren't stupid. Through months of sustained combat with XCOM, they had come to take us seriously. All but the most barbaric aliens seemed to prefer prolong long range combat where their plasma weapons still held a distinct advantage. Advancing under fire would be yet another skill XCOM would master in the coming weeks.
--Excerpt from Inside XCOM: The Long War Project

LT Silver pulls the plug on attempting a capture of thin men. Walrus is given the go ahead to shoot to kill.


Dakka-Dakka 2 draws fire as the sole remaining thin man starts to fall back.


The tactical situation proves impossible to safely effect the capture.Legion 20 is forced to defend himself as the alien charges him..


With the thin men dispatched, Lt Silver is immediately faced with a new threat. Floaters and Seekers are advancing on her left flank. Luckily, she'd spotted the Seekers before and the squad is already in the process of coming on line to meet their attack.


"I'd been preparing my rocket all mission, just waiting for the chance to shoot it. I got the weapon's clear command from the LT. Checked my back-blast and let loose. Direct hit. It's satisfying having one of these POS rockets fly straight and true."


"What the hell are they doing!" Majro Illifan was furious as he watched the screen. "The Commander ordered them to capture an alien, not blow them all up!"
"The LT knows what she's doing, sir." Lt. Morton was somewhat in awe of the direct action platoon.
"Lieutenant, 1st squad is not even trying. Legion 20 shot that thin man after being ordered to capture it. That's disobeying a direct order! Lt. Silver is doing the same when she ordered LCPL Azrael to blow up those Floaters."
"Sir, we're not there maybe..."
"Shut up, Lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir."

Walrus deals with a Seeker as 1st squad tries to find an avenue to advance on the last Floater.
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o624/Sgt_Scruffy/Bleeding%20Fist/Defiant%20Night/Sacred%20Rain/2015-03-12_00028_zpsjzbj1b4q.jpg" border="0" />

Seeker Ambush! Legion 3 tries to defend Walrus from a strangle attack

Dakka-Dakka 2 shoots the seeker off Walrus. Although Walrus would need a minute, his armor has saved him from a crushed larynx.


"I'm not sure when the LT saw the opening. Things were still pretty intense. We were winning, yes, but there was still a lot of plasma coming out way. All of sudden, Legion 20 and hers just got up and sprinted through it. I don't think the Floater quite expected it. Legion was still fiddling with the settings as he ran. He actually had to vault off a park bench and attempt the stun in mid-air as the floater was hovering at about 10 feet. Damnedest thing I've ever seen. The Floater hit the pavement like a ton of bricks - some sort of paralytic shock [the Arc Thrower floods the alien nervous system with commands - inducing a rigid seizure as all muscles tense for prolonged periods of time --Dr. Shen]. With that, it was over... just seemed to end abruptly. I don't think the aliens expected an abduction to happen to them."



"See sir, mission accomplished!" Lt. Morton couldn't help but have a slight gloating tone in his voice.
"I see that, Lieutenant." Illifan looked simultaneously pleased with the outcome of the mission and sour at the fool he'd made of himself. "Make sure the alien containment center is ready, Lieutenant. 1st Squad managed not to screw up, let's see to it that we don't either."
"Yes, Sir!"



"We trussed up the Floater pretty good on our way back to XCOM HQ. I think a lot of us would have preferred beating the gak out of the alien right then and there, but orders are orders. Dr. Vahlen has something special all ready for this guy and I know it will be worse than whatever I could inflict. Almost wish I could be there to watch it."
--Eddie Azrael

Cthulu Spy continues to develop as the squad's heavy firepower


The squad captures a floater captive and recovers an alien carbine.



Dr Vahlen's Science Lab.
[i]The Commander observed the trapped Floater as it tried fruitlessly to find a weak point in the containment center's armor. Up close and stripped of their weapons, Floaters were sad specimens. Pinched, necrotized flesh crudelystrapped into powerful cybernetics made them horrifying to look at. The look in their eyes - madness, violence, and pain mixed in equal measure.
"A fascinating specimen, Commander. We have already identified 4 different organs that have no terrestrial equiv..."
"Is it what you need?" The Commander wasn't in the mood for a science lecture.
"Yes! More is needed though! We must capture one of the sectoid's commander. The psychic powers of the small aliens may be key to understanding or communicating with them! You must instruct the men to continue..."
"I'll take care of commanding XCOM, Doctor."
"Of course, forgive me. The men and women have done an outstanding job. Please convey my thanks."
"Do you know what this is, Dr?" The Commander turned to her.
"Of course, Commander. It is a Floater class Xeno-soldier. Primary purpose seems to be ..."
"I'm sure it is all that, but what this Floater represents is the first true offensive operation XCOM has under taken. We have now struck back. I intend to keep striking back. We are going to take the fight to the enemy. Prepare your team doctor. You will be busy."
"Yes, Ma'am." The Doctor looked pleased.

Docta deth looked in the containment room window as the floater circled the room, time and time again. Her eyes were distant, she remembered the blood, the acid, the plasma raining down on her squad, her attempt to cut away the seared flesh as her squadmates screamed. she looked at the floater, and smiled, a smile without cheer or humor.

She fingered the remains of her old life, the family photo, her son's dog tags, the lucky coin her husband had given her the night he had died, and began the walk to the armoury. The flames of her memories would be reborn in alien flesh, and alien blood.

Grats on a successful capture! Also grats on grabbing a functional plasma weapon. That'll help add some firepower to those teams that are still using assault rifles...

Next time we're throwing out the Kevlar armored floors in the Ranger.

Hope the Doc can remove that wad of used shop towels out that Floater mouth..or was that the used baby wipe?.....see if Supply has more 550 cord

Excellent work glory squad. Legion 20 stuck to the playbook and bagges us our first alien, which I am very much looking forward to seeing the debrief of.

Lt Trondheim watched in morbid facination as the skyranger unloaded its inhuman cargo, he felt a strange tingeling deep within him and smiled.
There was perhaps justice to be found, for all those dead and lost civilians.
he would invest heavily in aquiring any recording of the interogation

"Shoot to wound?!" The Laser Sniper Rifle is probably strong enough to punch through the armor of a tank, that's like shooting to wound with a mortar!

On a side-note, didn't Walrus level up too?

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
"Shoot to wound?!" The Laser Sniper Rifle is probably strong enough to punch through the armor of a tank, that's like shooting to wound with a mortar!

On a side-note, didn't Walrus level up too?

Submit a pay inquiry

He did! I forgot to post a picture! I will find a picture when Ifer home!

I just love how people lead by example!
It is now the great hunt!
Who gets to bag their first of each creepy-crawly?
(...and not get their face blasted off...).
Wait a minute, we won't be spitting acid and flying around with jets attached to our backs will we?
Oh Dr. Valen!
If I get you nice undamaged specimens I won't be modified to grow anything weird, right?

That Legionaire needs needs a name. He's earned it.

Well, it seems the Aliens like the cold. They've captured the entire North of the planet...

Love the characterisation of AdeptSister! Thanks for doing this. All she wants to do is help get humanity through this.

Chaos stared blankly at the floater in containment, but her mind was elsewhere. Russia had collapsed and gone dark, she could only wonder what had become of her family and childhood friends, and her comrades from her time in the service. She hadn't been able to even look at her stash of Vodka since she had heard the news, for all she knew those were the last bottles of Youri Dolgoruki and Pyatizvyozdnaya left on the planet. The tyrannical clarity of mind brought about by prolonged sobriety had made her quiet and introspective, and generally inattentive to the world around her.

Even still, she could feel the eyes of the nearby security personnel boring into her. They had searched her when she had entered the containment area, 'standard procedure' they called it, but she knew better. She knew that they had been given special orders to watch her, Valen and Shen were seemingly convinced that she would somehow find a way into the floaters cell and torture it to death. The image of how ridiculous that notion was almost brought a smile to her face, the truth of the matter was that she was almost positive that the most torturous thing that could be done to the Floater was to hold it in captivity and subject it to whatever tests and experimentation the science staff intended for it. In a way she almost felt an unwelcome degree of empathy for the creature. Just as it was trapped, powerless to affect anything in the ongoing war, she too was powerless to do anything for her Russia.

She would shrug that thought off by slaughtering some more aliens on the upcoming mission.

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
That Legionaire needs needs a name. He's earned it.

Well, it seems the Aliens like the cold. They've captured the entire North of the planet...

What Legionnaire? That man is known as Righteous "Zim" Rob, first human to ever capture an alien.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Talizvar wrote:I just love how people lead by example!
It is now the great hunt!
Who gets to bag their first of each creepy-crawly?
(...and not get their face blasted off...).
Wait a minute, we won't be spitting acid and flying around with jets attached to our backs will we?
Oh Dr. Valen!
If I get you nice undamaged specimens I won't be modified to grow anything weird, right?

I have been personally assured by the Commander that no XCOM operatives will be forced to undergo genetic, cybernetic, psychological, or physical ... alteration wihtout their express written consent. Yet.

AdeptSister wrote:Love the characterisation of AdeptSister! Thanks for doing this. All she wants to do is help get humanity through this.

I'm trying to differentiate the Dakka Corps. We've got our in house drunks, our immovable mountains of reliability, and our gung-ho Rambos. Hell, I've even got one who struggles with inadequacy, cowardice, and maybe a little bit of jealousy. It's nice to have someone fairly altruistic who doesn't hold some sort of personal grudge against the aliens.

chaos0xomega wrote:Chaos stared blankly at the floater in containment, but her mind was elsewhere. Russia had collapsed and gone dark, she could only wonder what had become of her family and childhood friends, and her comrades from her time in the service. She hadn't been able to even look at her stash of Vodka since she had heard the news, for all she knew those were the last bottles of Youri Dolgoruki and Pyatizvyozdnaya left on the planet. The tyrannical clarity of mind brought about by prolonged sobriety had made her quiet and introspective, and generally inattentive to the world around her.

Even still, she could feel the eyes of the nearby security personnel boring into her. They had searched her when she had entered the containment area, 'standard procedure' they called it, but she knew better. She knew that they had been given special orders to watch her, Valen and Shen were seemingly convinced that she would somehow find a way into the floaters cell and torture it to death. The image of how ridiculous that notion was almost brought a smile to her face, the truth of the matter was that she was almost positive that the most torturous thing that could be done to the Floater was to hold it in captivity and subject it to whatever tests and experimentation the science staff intended for it. In a way she almost felt an unwelcome degree of empathy for the creature. Just as it was trapped, powerless to affect anything in the ongoing war, she too was powerless to do anything for her Russia.

She would shrug that thought off by slaughtering some more aliens on the upcoming mission.

Well done! I think we'll be returning to Russia eventually.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
I've been doing some tinkering under the hood... Here's a sneak peak.

He'd heard the call go out, fourth was headed to Russia to take part in an evacuation.

For some reason second still wasn't slated for a drop, causing no small amount of frustration on Frankenberry's part - especially when it came to dealing with the E.T. bastards that were busy burning his homeland.

He watched as fourth dropped into hell.

"On the right, drop that thing!"
*explosions, alien screams*
"Jesus christ they move so fast!"
"Get them off that guy! The civvie, THE CIVVIE!"

The aliens killed and killed, butchering defenseless men and women. They charged fourth repeatedly and he was sure that there would be an eventual call for another squad to go and save fourth. But the call never came, they stood their ground and killed every freak that came at them.

And then? The Russian government ran away. His homeland went dark, no news feeds, no intel from drones or satellites - they even refused aid. The cowards consigned the death of every single civilian because they were scared.

Frankenberry punched his locker hard, again and again, breaking the latch and a hinge, the door lazily swaying open. He grabbed the door in both hands and pulled hard on it, the metal groaning in response, if only for a moment before the final hinge gave out and it was ripped away.

Frankenberry stood there, broken locker door in hand, breathing heavy, staring at the floor. "It doesn't matter, does it. What we do." he said quietly.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Chaos stared blankly at the floater in containment, but her mind was elsewhere. Russia had collapsed and gone dark, she could only wonder what had become of her family and childhood friends, and her comrades from her time in the service. She hadn't been able to even look at her stash of Vodka since she had heard the news, for all she knew those were the last bottles of Youri Dolgoruki and Pyatizvyozdnaya left on the planet. The tyrannical clarity of mind brought about by prolonged sobriety had made her quiet and introspective, and generally inattentive to the world around her.

Even still, she could feel the eyes of the nearby security personnel boring into her. They had searched her when she had entered the containment area, 'standard procedure' they called it, but she knew better. She knew that they had been given special orders to watch her, Valen and Shen were seemingly convinced that she would somehow find a way into the floaters cell and torture it to death. The image of how ridiculous that notion was almost brought a smile to her face, the truth of the matter was that she was almost positive that the most torturous thing that could be done to the Floater was to hold it in captivity and subject it to whatever tests and experimentation the science staff intended for it. In a way she almost felt an unwelcome degree of empathy for the creature. Just as it was trapped, powerless to affect anything in the ongoing war, she too was powerless to do anything for her Russia.

She would shrug that thought off by slaughtering some more aliens on the upcoming mission.

You need a butterfly knife now

chaos0xomega wrote:Chaos stared blankly at the floater in containment, but her mind was elsewhere. Russia had collapsed and gone dark, she could only wonder what had become of her family and childhood friends, and her comrades from her time in the service. She hadn't been able to even look at her stash of Vodka since she had heard the news, for all she knew those were the last bottles of Youri Dolgoruki and Pyatizvyozdnaya left on the planet. The tyrannical clarity of mind brought about by prolonged sobriety had made her quiet and introspective, and generally inattentive to the world around her.

Even still, she could feel the eyes of the nearby security personnel boring into her. They had searched her when she had entered the containment area, 'standard procedure' they called it, but she knew better. She knew that they had been given special orders to watch her, Valen and Shen were seemingly convinced that she would somehow find a way into the floaters cell and torture it to death. The image of how ridiculous that notion was almost brought a smile to her face, the truth of the matter was that she was almost positive that the most torturous thing that could be done to the Floater was to hold it in captivity and subject it to whatever tests and experimentation the science staff intended for it. In a way she almost felt an unwelcome degree of empathy for the creature. Just as it was trapped, powerless to affect anything in the ongoing war, she too was powerless to do anything for her Russia.

She would shrug that thought off by slaughtering some more aliens on the upcoming mission.

Frankenberry wrote:He'd heard the call go out, fourth was headed to Russia to take part in an evacuation.

For some reason second still wasn't slated for a drop, causing no small amount of frustration on Frankenberry's part - especially when it came to dealing with the E.T. bastards that were busy burning his homeland.

He watched as fourth dropped into hell.

"On the right, drop that thing!"
*explosions, alien screams*
"Jesus christ they move so fast!"
"Get them off that guy! The civvie, THE CIVVIE!"

The aliens killed and killed, butchering defenseless men and women. They charged fourth repeatedly and he was sure that there would be an eventual call for another squad to go and save fourth. But the call never came, they stood their ground and killed every freak that came at them.

And then? The Russian government ran away. His homeland went dark, no news feeds, no intel from drones or satellites - they even refused aid. The cowards consigned the death of every single civilian because they were scared.

Frankenberry punched his locker hard, again and again, breaking the latch and a hinge, the door lazily swaying open. He grabbed the door in both hands and pulled hard on it, the metal groaning in response, if only for a moment before the final hinge gave out and it was ripped away.

Frankenberry stood there, broken locker door in hand, breathing heavy, staring at the floor. "It doesn't matter, does it. What we do." he said quietly.

So I got two crazy Russians hell bent on killing everything. Looks like I'll have to temper the rage into a keen blade of vengeance some how.