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What's the current status of everyone in sickbay? I'm eager to know when I can be back into the thick of things.

 Elemental wrote:
What's the current status of everyone in sickbay? I'm eager to know when I can be back into the thick of things.

There are ALOT of people in sickbay (including you), I plan an end of June wrap up but I've got more missions to cover as yet. My posting will slow down a little as my college work has picked up.

More questions about Long War:

What are your preferences for Officers, MEC troopers and PSI?

As for officers, I have no real preferences as I choose from the needs of the day. MEC troops are a absolute must for the later stages, same goes for Gene mods and Psi troopers to counter the hardest foes such as Muton beserkers, and the likes

 malfred wrote:
More questions about Long War:

What are your preferences for Officers, MEC troopers and PSI?

well, seeing as this is as far as I've gotten in Long War, I don't know! It's a journey of discovery. Officer's a vital though as they buff the entire squad. I take one on every mission if possible.

Prioritizing is hard.

The three lieutenants you start with aren't enough to keep up
with the missions. I'm saving up to blow 200 dollars on getting
2 captains and 2 more lieutenants.

 malfred wrote:
Prioritizing is hard.

The three lieutenants you start with aren't enough to keep up
with the missions. I'm saving up to blow 200 dollars on getting
2 captains and 2 more lieutenants.

Yeah, prioritize having more soldiers in Long War over having particularly awesome soldiers (you'll want awesome soldiers too, but you need bodies). My 'red line' for know I don't have enough soldiers if it ever drops below 40. Even then, I would much rather have closer to 50. When your genetics lab, mech lab, and psi lab come online, you'll be losing soldiers to that - In the Dakka Diaries, I'm losing soldiers quickly enough that I'm struggling to get 2nd platoon off the ground. I had planned to have 2nd platoon have at least another full squad by now. At the end of the day, you want more laser rilfes/missiles/grenade/whatever on the field because there are so many enemies. The nice to have stuff is just that, nice to have. Don't worry, there's plenty of time in long war to slowly build up to all the cool stuff.

Get some more rookies in. I will teach them how to shoot.

Well, I've got captaincy. Turns out I don't have enough veterans to promote to lieutenant

INTERLUDE: XCOM HQ: Gashaka Gumpti National Park, Nigeria

SPC Legion 17 nervously walked down the corridors of the unfamiliar central command wing. She didn't often venture into what was often referred to as officer country. Most of the squaddies stayed out of officer country and none of the Legion ventured there unless summoned by Captain Wu or Lt. Morton. Maybe she would be promoted to the Dakka Corps - that's where the real opportunities (and dangers) were. To tell the truth, Legion 17 was convinced that staying in the Legion was tantamount to a death wish. The Commander sent them on dangerous missions with the Dakka Corps, but they all had little doubt that they were expendable. "Prove yourself in the Legion, and you'll be granted access to the elite of the elite," they said. Once you were in, you got access to all the best training and all the best gear. Legion 17 hated being a second stringer.

She arrived at the command wing and presented her pass to the stone-faced guards. She was here to see Bradford and she was expected. They took no chances - even with someone in an XCOM uniform. Fingerprints, retinal scans, x-ray, and bull body scans were mandatory for anyone - even the commander it was claimed. The rumors of human traitors had everyone on edge in addition to the scary thought that shape-shifting aliens may well exist. After the extensive screening she entered the wing - which looked suspiciously like any other tactical or joint operations center she had seen if it weren't for the giant holographic display which dominated the room. The Corporal manning the desk quickly pointed her to the large office at top of the sloping amphitheater-like situation room. Bradford had impressive digs.

As she approached, a strange sense of foreboding came over her. Legion 17 sensed her life was going to change.. perhaps for the worse. She'd had these feelings ever since she was young, and had learned to trust them. As she was admitted into the room, her intuition was proven correct as she was greeted by the sight of the Commander herself. Legion 17 swallowed the lump in her throat and reported.

"Ma'am, Legion 17 reporting as ordered." It felt odd not to salute, but XCOM really didn't go in for the formalities - much.
"At ease, Squidhills. Do you mind if I use your name?"
"Uh.. no, ma'am. You may use my name ma'am."
"Good. Because you are fired from the Legion and the Dakka Corps. Turn in your official uniform, turn in your rank, and your military ID card." The commander's face was unreadable even as squidhills' spirits sank.
"Ma'am, permission to speak freely? Squidhills didn't even wait. "What did I do, my scores are good, I don't have a ton of experience but my combat record is good. I'm not Silver Mk2 yet but I kno....."
"I'm reassigning you to our special civilian consulting team. You'll be working for Dr. Vahlen in the Strategic Studies Research Division. You'll be a junior researcher."
"Ma'am, I'm flattered, really, but I'm a soldier and I have no scientific background. I would prefer to stay with the Legion."
"Noted, you will report to senior research consultant Kamikaze Canuck for orientation. Here is your packet with your orders and your travel arrangements have already been made. Dismissed."

Squidhills left the command wing in a daze. All she'd ever wanted to be was a soldier - the best of the best and now that was over. She said goodbye to her legion buddies in a daze and paid her respects in the memorial chapel and in sick bay. It was almost 2 hours before she opened her packet and got her true orders.

Specialist Squidhills,

Welcome to the Dakka Corps. Specifically, welcome to 2nd platoon. I'm sorry for the cloak and dagger secrecy but we have reason to suspect that Exalt has infiltrated XCOM HQ and possible the Council. I know you have no idea what Exalt is, but all will be explained. At least, all that you need to know will be explained. You are to report as ordered to Kamikaze Canuck and Dr. Vahlen. Assume that no one outside your squad, the doctor, Colonel Bradford, and myself is to be trusted.Things are more complicated than they seem. For now, continue with your cover as a recently fired XCOM operative. Good luck on your new assignment and follow those instincts of yours.

Sincerely,
The Commander

"That's funny," thought Squihills. "I've never told anyone about my hunches."



I'm truly sorry that things have slowed down a little bit, but I want to assure everyone that I am still very much committed to this AAR. Things have been busy lately on the home front, but I feel like this recent flurry of activity will slow down soon and I can get back to a more regular posting schedule.

OPERATION FIRST SWORD: 24 June, Western Sahara*, Africa

The below report was set to appear in the The Long War Project: An Official History of the First Alien War, but never made it into print. There are several stories behind why this chapter was cut, but it is presented to you members o fhte Council in it's entirety along with Mr. Spender's speculations.

*Author Note: It is clear that operation First Sword did not take place in the Western Sahara as noted in official XCOM mission logs. The mission still photos and images indexed under "First Sword" do indeed show XCOM members of the unit known as the Legion fighting various alien threats, but most of those pictures have since been proven to be pulled from smaller, less well publicized operations deemed inconsequential to the outcome of the war. Speculation abounds that First Sword instead took place somehwere in the Northern Hemisphere and may have taken place in Canada as several members of the mysterious Strategic Studies Initiative (also known as the Strategic Research Division) are known to have participated. Extensive data trawling through XCOM's labyrinthine servers has uncovered several images data tagged First Sword that do not appear in the official First Sword Archives. Whether this is the result of clerical error or intentional cover up is not known at this time. Research into the discrepancies is still on going.
--C.G.B. Spender, Editor

Official radar data intercepts show a Raider-class UFO landed in the Western Sahara


Cross-referenced logs from the officer of the day notes that the Foundry comes online just as the UFO is detected.


Interestingly, the official photo of the members of First Sword shows a unit comprised almost entirely of Legionnaires - a here-to-for unheard of deviation from policy. I forgot to take a photo of 2nd platoon on missoin . What is clear from what is believed to be the real photos of the mission is that un-wounded members of third squad, first platoon were brought along on the mission. CPL Talizvar, and Carlos13th were OPCONed to the Strategic Studies Initiative for the assault. Speculation among XCOM historians points to 3rd squad being taken out of rotation in the wake of Brutal Serpent until convalescent leave could be completed. Additionally, several XCOM operatives appear to take part in the mission, but do not appear anywhere in XCOM's personnel archives. This discrepancy will appear several times throughout XCOM's official mission logs and is sometimes blamed on the alien attacks on XCOM throughout the war.

Three unknown operatives equipped to XCOM standards storm down the skyranger it's Hordini, Canuck, and Squidhills!


At this point, XCOM tactical operations officers had speculated that the aptly named "Mechtoid" was some sort of bio-mechanical defense unit assigned to guard especially sensitive ships and facilities. This was immediately proved a lie as mechtoids would become a frequent sight in missions throughout the war. The soldiers would quickly grow to hate the sectoid-tanks and a variety of creative kill methods were devised.


"We were lucky this time in a way. The mechtoid showed up immediately. We were fresh, and the unit was in a good position. The firefight was no less intense, but it was over mercifully quickly."
--CPL Talizvar in a redacted interview

Author's Note* There are many images tagged as First Sword images and sorting through the data stacks has become a full time job. Below is a snipped of the fight between the mechtoid and his confederates and the unknown XCOM squad sent to neutralize the aliens.

CPL Talizvar engages the mechtoid


Unknown operative (Kamikaze Canuck - Commander) deals devastating damage to the mechtoid as the alien behemoth charges the assembled operatives.


"Look, we all knew who these guys and girls were. No, I won't tell you who they were - I'm not stupid. I know it was a long time ago, but old grudges die hard and those men and women had to do some horrible things. Let's drop it shall we?"
-Talizvar, upon questioning about the identities of the mysterious XCOM operatives

Operative [Hordini- Cmdr] is heavily wounded by the suicidal charge of the mechtoid.


Operative [Bromsy] and [Canuck] destroy the rampaging mechtoid.



Bereft of their mechtoid and drone support, the sectoids are easy meat for quick incapacitation.


"No comment."
--Carlos13th on being interview about the events of First Sword.



Kamikaze Canuck dumped her carry-on suitcase on the floor and flopped onto the bed. Her civilian clothes were still in the closet and the maid had thankfully not entered the room - as per her request. Although Bradford had asssured her that the staff of the Novotel, Budapest were especially discreet regarding Council matters, she had developed a keen sense of paranoia. It was a bad enough that she had to do this cloak and dagger stuff, but they kept getting orders to handle white missions as well. Hopefully, the staff hadn't noticed the sweat and grime under her business wear. Wow, she could use a shower, but she was so tired. God, she could sleep for a month, but she had the luncheon with the Budapest Chamber of Commerce tomorrow and Istvan Nagy was going to be there. It was vital she make contact. Canuck was asleep before her head hit the pillow - all thoughts of a shower forgotten. Her dreams were marred by visions of plasma fire and roaring monstrosities from the nightmares of mad men and visionaries.

Operative Kamikaze Canuck engages thin men as the squad makes for the Meld canister


Kamikaze Canuck woke with a stiffled scream, her hands flying to her face - half expecting to feel the skin on her face dissolving. A dream... just a dream. Of all the aliens she had faced, the thin men always frightened her the most. The acid cloud and the eerily human proportions were the stuff, quite literally in her case, of nightmares. She looked at the clock face. 3am. Damn. Sleep would not come again - she knew from long experience. Kamikaze shuffled to the shower and washed First Sword away - at least physically.

Thin men acid clouds poison Squidhills and Canuck


Author Note* This is the first recorded instance of the so-called "meld market crash" as members of the XCOM Dakka Corps would come to coin it. Analysts at XCOM HQ had determined that the amount of meld found in canisters could be directly correlated to how the alien's war effort was proceeding. The loss of a terror ship had apparently set them back substantially as the meld hauls mission throughout the rest of June were fairly light. It's unknown if this is the first instance of this phenomena coming to light, but it is known that several XCOM junior officers began an unofficial "alien market report" as a joke in their off-time.

CPL Talizvar retrieves meld


Unknown operative wounds the last remaining thin man


CPL Talizvar standing over a recently stunned thin man. Speculation that this takes place during First Sword is officially denied by XCOM HQ, but the image found is data-tagged First Sword


Kamikaze Canuck pounded down the stair of the Novotel lobby and out the door. She was aware of the half-asleep concierge's eyes on her as she started her pre-dawn jog, but paid them no attention. XCOM had already confirmed that he had no Exalt connection. Her muscles ached, but running had always cleared her mind and focused her on the task ahead. Focus was important. She needed to be clear-headed and focused for the day ahead. All the physical pieces were in place, she just needed to prepare her mind. Preparation was vital...

...Kamikaze Canuck assembles her squad for a breach of the UFO raider.

The breach is anti-climactic. There is no one in the "foyer" area of the ship


Kamikaze fairly flew down the streets as she made her way through the largely sleeping city in the pre-dawn light. Her feet pounded pavement in a soothing rhythm reminiscent of the pulsing of an alien power source. She turned on to the Margit hid - Margaret Bridge and crossed halfway before turning north again and running onto Margaret Island. Focus. Patience. Decisiveness. Ruthlessness. The concept pounded into her head with the same relentless rhythm as her feet hit the pavement.

"CONTACT RIGHT!" Canuck screamed as Floaters and Mutons crashed headlong into the her squad. Instantly the narrow halls were filled with the dueling red and green of laser and plasma fire. Visions of disaster briefly flickered through her head she envisioned the death of the squad in a close-ambush, but everyone responded with commendable skill. Even as peole scattered for cover, a ruby red spear of light flicked between them and speared a floater as it sought cover. The fight was just beginning, but XCOM already had the advantage. Canuck grinned savagely, these aliens were fethed. "Bounding overwatch on my mark..... MARK!" Canuck sprang from her cover and advanced on the doomed aliens.

Carlos once again initiates the battle


Inneffectual fire meets the squad's advance


Fire pours in on the muton and his floater allies


*Crump!* The sound snapped Kamikaze out of her reverie and almost made her dive for cover, but it was only the sound of garbage truck emptying a dumpster in the early light of the morning. Her stride carried her out onto Arpad Hid, named for the Grand Prince Arpad, hero of Hungarians. She had already gone a few miles, but she was just getting started. However, it would not do to draw too much attention to herself. Already she could feel herself slipping into her role as representative for a New York hedge fund. The cover identity suited her. Focused,determined, and ruthless. Kamikaze was all of these.

Bromsy shreds the Muton

And Hordini finishes him off.


She would have to be prepared. Istvan Nagy was thought to be a major arms dealer for Exalt - as well as several Council security forces. Every contingency would be covered. She hoped so at least, there was no telling what a wily enemy would throw at you.

4 Mutons await 2nd platoon as they breach the alien inner sanctum


flashbangs disorient 2 of the brutes


Kamikaze Canuck flahbangs another muton.


Squidhills severely wounds a muton


The alien mutons forget to account for Hordini's quick trigger finger.


"Feth." Someone had been in her room while she went for a run. Certain minute alterations in the arrangement of her things tipped her off and Kamikaze Canuck made a conscious effort to keep her normal routine. They would not have found anything - she wasn't stupid enough to keep her gear or information in her room. Maybe Nagy was just covering his bases - checking up on anyone he didn't know at the luncheon. Perhaps her cover was blown. Only time would tell. With an effort of will, Kamikaze slowed her racing heart and resumed Helen Fairchild's normal morning activities.

Heavy muton fire critically wounds Bromsy. 2nd platoon is out of medkits. We have 3 turns to finish this mission or Bromsy dies.


"All thoughts of finesse left us after Bromsy went down. We were not losing another soldier so quickly. If we were going in, we were going in full throttle."
--Squidhills
Talizvar downs a muton


"The mutons were down and we had a couple of minutes to deal with the outsiders or Bromsy was going to bleed out on the way back to HQ. We popped the door and immediately were greeted with two of those crystal entitiies. Luckily, they ran right into our guns."
-Squidhills



"Bromsy, stay with me... you'll make it. Skyranger is inbound. MEDIC!"
-Kamikaze Canuck

[i]Bromsy is saved as 2nd platoon completes the mission in time for evac.



Carlos and Talizvar are over-fatigued and join the rest of 3rd squad on convalescent leave


Squidhills becomes a sapper

Sergeant Talizvar is now particularly quick


The unknown operatives bring in a particularly good haul.





Author Note* Several unexplained skyranger flights are recorded in the logs of 24 June, 2015. Although logged as training flights, they are of unusual duration and specificity. One flight has skyranger 1 on a full stealth super-cruise to Budapest, Hungary. Another sees a traning recon flight to the Canadian border. Whether this has anything to do with the events that would transpire over the next few weeks is unknown.

Okay, kind of a departure for me story-telling wise. 2nd platoon has an interesting narrative hook, but I still need to obey the mechanics of the game and give them experience. I've brought in the redacted missions and flashbacks (flashforwards?) as a way to recount the stories of 2nd platoon's missions while also making it clear they are primarily engaged in various cloak and dagger operations against Exalt operatives. You'll notice I skipped over 4th squad and went right for 2nd platoon. There are a few reasons for this, but don't worry 4th squad. You will have your moment in the sun in the near future. To make it clear, the rest of the Dakka Corps is aware of Exalt, but they are not aware of the full extent of the threat - yet. Only 2nd platoon, Vahlen, Bradford, and the Commander suspect someone in XCOM is a traitor.

Bromsy lays out on the medcart, significant portions of his/her pelvis sublimated during the mission, and could only think - is there a more unlucky handle than "Sunny"?

 Bromsy wrote:
Bromsy lays out on the medcart, significant portions of his/her pelvis sublimated during the mission, and could only think - is there a more unlucky handle than "Sunny"?

"It could be worse soldier", Silver quipped as Bromsy was wheeled to the hospital wing "you could have got 'bono' instead!".

That is one of the few things that breaks the immersion of the game for me, everywhere looks pretty much the same. Dropzone in Egypt, North American woodland. Dropzone in Russia, North American town. Dropzone in the north of Scotland, North American City.
Its a shame as just having a couple of extra landscapes would have made this game a 10/10 for me.

Great write up BTW, but I dont think Ill be indulging in Long War any time soon, i struggle with the game as it is.

 Bromsy wrote:
Bromsy lays out on the medcart, significant portions of his/her pelvis sublimated during the mission, and could only think - is there a more unlucky handle than "Sunny"?

I know you want it changed. I have to catch up to the point where I can change it. Soon.

Thanks for including me, Boss! I haven't played Long War, so I don't know what a sapper does/is for (vanilla XCOM only had snipers, assaults, and heavy gunners) but I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of it... whatever it is, now that I'm in the super secret black ops division!

Also, a bit surprised to see that I'm A) a woman, and B) a Brit. I think I'll be able to make the best of it, though. I should have a in-character reaction blurb typed up a bit later today.

squidhills wrote:
Thanks for including me, Boss! I haven't played Long War, so I don't know what a sapper does/is for (vanilla XCOM only had snipers, assaults, and heavy gunners) but I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of it... whatever it is, now that I'm in the super secret black ops division!

Also, a bit surprised to see that I'm A) a woman, and B) a Brit. I think I'll be able to make the best of it, though. I should have a in-character reaction blurb typed up a bit later today.

Yeah, gender and nationality are the two things you have no control over in XCOM. I have long since run out of American men.

So you skipped 4th? Hmmm not pleased, but we will await our time to strike at the foes of man.
Lovely AAR by the way, loving this cloak and dagger stuff

Sgt_Scruffy wrote:

squidhills wrote:
Thanks for including me, Boss! I haven't played Long War, so I don't know what a sapper does/is for (vanilla XCOM only had snipers, assaults, and heavy gunners) but I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of it... whatever it is, now that I'm in the super secret black ops division!

Also, a bit surprised to see that I'm A) a woman, and B) a Brit. I think I'll be able to make the best of it, though. I should have a in-character reaction blurb typed up a bit later today.

Yeah, gender and nationality are the two things you have no control over in XCOM. I have long since run out of American men.

That's why I use facebook to name my soldiers. Whoever is online at any given moment is fair game.

 Trondheim wrote:
So you skipped 4th? Hmmm not pleased, but we will await our time to strike at the foes of man.
Lovely AAR by the way, loving this cloak and dagger stuff

4th is currently undermanned, and I 2nd platoon has been skipped before. I needed them to catch up. Don't worry, you'll be fighting in no time.

Sgt_Scruffy wrote:

 Trondheim wrote:
So you skipped 4th? Hmmm not pleased, but we will await our time to strike at the foes of man.
Lovely AAR by the way, loving this cloak and dagger stuff

4th is currently undermanned, and I 2nd platoon has been skipped before. I needed them to catch up. Don't worry, you'll be fighting in no time.

Oh i dont worry, seeing how capabal you are in leading Xcom, I fear not. And good to hear

 Bromsy wrote:
Bromsy lays out on the medcart, significant portions of his/her pelvis sublimated during the mission, and could only think - is there a more unlucky handle than "Sunny"?

"Drink water
Also here's two Motrin's. Make sure you drink water. Think they might give you Tylenol later at the TMC. "


For those who do not know TMC its Troop Medical Center
Otherwise known as Tylenols, Motrins, and Crutches

 Jihadin wrote:

 Bromsy wrote:
Bromsy lays out on the medcart, significant portions of his/her pelvis sublimated during the mission, and could only think - is there a more unlucky handle than "Sunny"?

"Drink water
Also here's two Motrin's. Make sure you drink water. Think they might give you Tylenol later at the TMC. "


For those who do not know TMC its Troop Medical Center
Otherwise known as Tylenols, Motrins, and Crutches

I can not agree enough with this, lots of water. But make sure to get something that also provides you with enough karbohydates too. Helps your body

OK, here we go: my attempt to write a thing. First part is pre-operation, and second part is post operation.... enjoy, and use responsibly.

Squidhills shuffled nervously at the supply quartermaster’s desk. Six hours ago she had been another faceless, nameless member of the Legion and now she was a member of X-COM’s top-secret counter-infiltration team. That was exciting and worrying in equal measure. Exciting, because now she had the opportunity to take a far more active role in the battle to defend Earth, but worrying in that she hadn’t earned the transfer due to exemplary action on the battlefield. In fact, she’d only been on two missions prior to the transfer. That hinted at the Commander’s inability to trust more established team members, or the far more likely murderous losses that such a unit was suffering. Given the kind of luck X-COM was having, Squidhills figured the murderous losses thing was the reason for her transfer.
“Better to feed the meat grinder someone that won’t be missed…” she grumbled to herself, in an accent far more posh than would be expected of a stereotypical squaddie.
“Did you say something?” the quartermaster asked as he staggered up to the desk and dumped a load of equipment onto it. Squidhills’ eyebrow cocked at an angle in disbelief. The Quartermaster, a man with the curious nickname of “Crapgame” anticipated her question and laughed. “New kit for you. You’re out of the Legion and get to play with the cool toys.” He shoved a stack of papers at her, along with a pen. “Sign for these,” he ordered.
Squidhills insisted on reading everything before signing; she’d dealt with her share of dodgy supply clerks before. Most of the equipment was standard fare; uniform, boots, webbing, multitool, and so on… the new armor was reassuring, though. She’d heard how effective it was against the lower-end alien small arms. Anything that could turn a fatal wound into a mere crippling injury was a plus in her book. She was especially thrilled to see a laser rifle on the list of allowed weaponry.
“I can’t wait to get qualified on that,” she said cheerfully. Maybe being fed into a meat grinder wasn’t going to be so bad, after all…

* * * *
Squidhills slouched down the Skyranger ‘s ramp; she clutched her laser rifle by the sling. The weapon itself dangled scant inches from the deck. Her armor was discolored by the acid cloud she’d run through after that Thin Man had been flatlined. The paint was bubbled and peeling, and the exposed metal had been stained a rainbow’s worth of colors. Her exposed skin was bright pink, both from the reaction to the airborn acids and to the salves the medic had slathered onto her. Her hair was noticeably unkempt, which was something of a feat considering how little of it there was. She looked bone-tired and she felt bone-tired. A corpsman met her at the bottom of the ramp and hit her with a volley of questions about how she was feeling and was she in any pain and how many fingers was he holding up. Squidhills answered with as few syllables as possible. A tech came by and secured her laser rifle, and another took her armor in for repairs. She paid them as little notice as possible.
“You’re okay,” the corpsman announced. Squidhills turned her head to look at him.
“Are you sure? I’m bloody exhausted,” she asked. “I mean really, very, well and truly, bloody exhausted.” She’d been on two missions prior to this one and they hadn’t left her in this state. The corpsman shuffled a bit before replying.
“That’s a… err” he swallowed before continuing, “…mild allergic reaction to the medicines in the medkit. Totally not life-threatening or anything, but you’re excused duty for the rest of the week.”
“I’m allergic to the bloody medkits?” she asked incredulously. The corpsman nodded sheepishly. “Well,” Squidhills laughed, “I guess I better not get shot, then.” The corpsman laughed weakly and then hurriedly moved to examine the rest of the squad. Having been released from duty, Squidhills trudged through the base to her quarters. She fell onto her bunk and managed to roll onto her back, without too much difficulty.
Her first mission as a ghost within X-COM had been a great deal more lively than her last two, more conventional, missions had been. The plan was to hit the aliens on the ground as they met with human collaborators, but it had all gone pear-shaped when the human traitors hadn’t bothered to show. She’d run headlong into an operation with XTs she hadn’t been properly briefed on, with a weapon she’d barely had time to qualify on, gotten a face full of acid, and Bromsy had gotten himself badly shot up. Still, Bromsy was alive, as was the rest of the squad, a second UFO had been captured on the ground, and a sectoid had been brought in alive. All in all, she had to admit, it had been a good day.

Except for the allergic reaction to the med kits.

 SilverMK2 wrote:

 Bromsy wrote:
Bromsy lays out on the medcart, significant portions of his/her pelvis sublimated during the mission, and could only think - is there a more unlucky handle than "Sunny"?

"It could be worse soldier", Silver quipped as Bromsy was wheeled to the hospital wing "you could have got 'bono' instead!".

"Or it could be a joke" laughs Talizvar pushing the cart, "I got Stalker for running right at the enemy and getting noticed by every alien on the field, what can I say: I like attention."
...
Bromsy sure set a "deadline" for wrapping up the mission.
If it needed to be a run-by shooting to get it done: Bromsy deserved no less.

Pulled a double shift... exhilarated and crashing all at the same time.
That's what I get for not getting shot... under the watchful eye of Carlos it makes it easy not to be.
I think the guy has my dodging figured out: he keeps shooting the enemy closer to me when I am almost sure I am blocking a shot.

2nd squad ARE a lightening strike kind of group, they actually keep up.
Managed to see a few cool clearing procedures: I think I could do all this even faster.

Time to hit the bunk before the floor hits me.

Poor Bromsey, and looks like Hordini got it pretty bad too.

I think this was the best write up yet Scruffy. Not just an AAR, we're getting into some actual fiction being written here. This is what I do on my lunch break now. It's like an ongoing book! Also, appreciate you've found a way for 2nd to keep spilling alien blood. Was worried we fall far behind otherwise. It's hard to do more than one Exalt mission a month.

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Poor Bromsey, and looks like Hordini got it pretty bad too.

I think this was the best write up yet Scruffy. Not just an AAR, we're getting into some actual fiction being written here. This is what I do on my lunch break now. It's like an ongoing book! Also, appreciate you've found a way for 2nd to keep spilling alien blood. Was worried we fall far behind otherwise. It's hard to do more than one Exalt mission a month.

Yeah, I don't lose too many soldiers (I think I'm doing okay in that regard), but man, do I get them shot up. Thanks for the encouragement!

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Poor Bromsey, and looks like Hordini got it pretty bad too.

I think this was the best write up yet Scruffy. Not just an AAR, we're getting into some actual fiction being written here. This is what I do on my lunch break now. It's like an ongoing book! Also, appreciate you've found a way for 2nd to keep spilling alien blood. Was worried we fall far behind otherwise. It's hard to do more than one Exalt mission a month.

+1 I now find myself awating each update with a mixture of dread and anticipation.

Ouch! At least we made it out alive...

 Hordini wrote:
Ouch! At least we made it out alive...

Continued on through medical.
Glad to see Hordini was ok, I KNEW the hit he took would have dropped me.
Tough guy, can't get enough of the new armor out there.
I hope I get to see these guys again, maybe not without lucky Carlos...