Let's Play X-COM: UFO Defense

[CaiusWickersham]

Clerical error. I do have you on the Central team. I must have skipped your name while posting.

[RecklessPrudence]

And due to that clerical error, sorry JonB, you haven't been paid since you transferred to X-COM. And the computer system won't let us back-date your pay, so you're out a couple months of normal and hazard pay.

[Torben]

Also, as I understand it, since you weren't officially on the X-COM payroll, when you transferred to the new base, they wouldn't allow the expense of shipping your personal items, nor would they allow storage of said items for non-personnel. They burned your shit, man. Sorry to break the bad news to you. Tell you what, though, since you are about as destitute as the Cratchets, come on down to the pub with me and I'll buy you a drink.

[The Yosemite Bear]

raises Nit while the other members of the X-Com Senior scientists/technitions poker night. Of course we use everybody's lost luggage, and missing payroll cheques for this.

[JonB]

And due to that clerical error, sorry JonB, you haven't been paid since you transferred to X-COM. And the computer system won't let us back-date your pay, so you're out a couple months of normal and hazard pay.

That's alright. This is X-COM. I'll just shoot you, and take all your money. Blame the next Sectoid that shows psychic powers, and they'll promote me!

[Vendetta]

And due to that clerical error, sorry JonB, you haven't been paid since you transferred to X-COM. And the computer system won't let us back-date your pay, so you're out a couple months of normal and hazard pay.

Paid? Man I just came in here to get off the streets. You mean we get hooch money as well?

[CaiusWickersham]

Director's Log -- Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 17.08.1999 0800 GMT

We finished following up the communications data from the alien navigators and have designed the prototypes for a hyperwave decoder. These systems will allow us to determine ship type, crew, mission and destination as well as provide slightly greater range than our radar.

All of our bases are building decoders and they should be online by month's end.
To deal with the possibilities of bases in the Arctic and Antarctic beyond our scanning ranges, we've built small radar bases in those locations. We did find a third alien base in the Arctic by sending the Skyranger to patrol that area. We still have not found the original base.

This third base was occupied by Floaters and their Reaver terror units with nothing to really comment on other than wautd stunning himself while stunning a Floater engineer.
Shortly after destroying this alien base, the aliens reciprocated in kind, destroying the fledgling Arctic Eye base. Rather than rebuild, I've decided to concentrate efforts on finding the original base. We're going to search Australia next because of the high activity in the past.
Pilots Starglider, phred and Edi have shown the Firestorm's capabilities with the Plasma Beam, shooting down more crafts this month so far than our past months combined. Commendations are being entered into all of their records.
Research into more alien materials has concluded. We found these glowing panels in the bases and battleships and it seems to be their form of amusement. The effects on human neurology is similar to hallucinogenic drugs, but much less effective. This is theorized to be due to species incompatibility or lack of psionic talent.

We have also finished review of the surgical equipment from the ships encountered in Indonesia. Their purpose is extraction of various portions from cattle and other animals. Likely for food. We have found the aliens eat a primarily carnivorous diet. They take the organs extracted by surgery and process them with enzymes to create a meat slurry that is consumed. This meat is not only bovine, but also human along with other animals.

I let the Bear interrogate more of the aliens and the science team reviewed the data he extracted. It seems the aliens have a staging base somewhere in our solar system. The aliens we have interrogated have been very vague about the location, either from true ignorance (most likely given the Bear's thoroughness) or evasion. I've decided to let the Bear at some of the higher ranked aliens we have, "leaders" captured from terror missions.

One engineer volunteered schematics of one of the larger ships we have engaged recently. This is their supply ship and typically flies missions to bases. If we see them in the area, then we likely have a base nearby. This may help narrow down where that first base is.

[consequences]

Diary of consequences:

Killed a floating kidney. With the street value of a normal kidney, have to wonder what the black market price of one that might grant the recipient the power of flight might be.

[weemadando]

To: X-COM Worldwide HQ [Codename: Sheila]
From: Bruce
Re: Possible STRAYAN alien base.

I strongly suspect Queensland of harbouring these dirty fuckers. I recommend that we commence interrogations of the whole populace immediately.

[RecklessPrudence]

To: Bruce
From: Bruce

Oi! I'm from Queensland! Personally, I think we should look more closely into New South Wales - I mean, just because our state sporting emblem is an introduced (alien) species, that's no reason to be looking at us more closely!

...If anyone, shouldn't we be investigating the Tasmanians? What if the inbreeding was an excuse to explain the two heads and tentacles and what-have-you that are really from long-term alien experiments? Get the sympathisers!

[JonB]

From: Jon
To: Everyone

Alright, they can't seem to agree who has the Alien Base. There's only one solution.

NUKE THEM ALL.

[Lord Relvenous]

To: Bruce
From: Bruce

Oi! I'm from Queensland! Personally, I think we should look more closely into New South Wales - I mean, just because our state sporting emblem is an introduced (alien) species, that's no reason to be looking at us more closely!

...If anyone, shouldn't we be investigating the Tasmanians? What if the inbreeding was an excuse to explain the two heads and tentacles and what-have-you that are really from long-term alien experiments? Get the sympathisers!

To: Bruce
From: -Unknown-

How's you get out of the interrogation chamber? Get back in there!

[wautd]

other than wautd stunning himself while stunning a Floater engineer.

I'll continue research on headbutting techniques. Sure, it may be stupid, inefficient and dangerous but that doesn't weigh against the sheer amount of manliness.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Ok, who implanted floater parts into a marsupial?
ha,ha now you've damn aussies have built your own drop bear.

It got ahold of one of those septiod navigators I was going to interrogate.

well at least we know that after eons of using cloning for reproduction, they have no resistance to venerial disease. now how do I write up "Subject died of necrotic clymidia prior to interview."

[CaiusWickersham]

Director's Log -- Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 01.09.1999 0800 GMT

We've encountered an eighth craft on the 18th. It's the same size as the Borneo craft on radar, but it's just as strangely put together like the supply ships. There are two entrances, one of which leads to a lift that allows people into the rest of the ship. That lift goes up and there's another lift that leads directly to the reactors. The rest of the first level is accessible only from another door in the craft. Airborne engagement may cost us the elerium in this ship, but it makes the layout much more sane.
Interrogation of the captured aliens continues. We have gleaned more of their purpose on Earth, though it really just confirms what we theorized from other discoveries.
The aliens are abducting people for various experiments and other purposes. We already knew about this, however, we just got the why out of the navigator.
Medical busied themselves with another necroscopy. This time, the Reaper terror units. These things were either engineered or evolved to be efficient predators, with redundant vital organs that allow functioning with even severe injuries. I've told Dr. House that barring urgent patient care, he was free to sign out the other corpses for study as wanted. It seems many of the doctors on staff are on their third or fourth articles with what we've brought in, to say nothing of the main science team. Once this is over, and we get declassification, they'll be free to publish their findings to many willing journals.
Speaking of the science team, they've constructed a new suit of armor thanks to the research into elerium and just plain making it thicker.

I was going to authorize manufacture when Vehrec told me he was getting an improved model together and to hold off until he was finished. Last I checked, it should be this week when he has complete blueprints and a prototype.
We confirmed our thoughts about the large ships that seem to be used for heavy attacks by the aliens. This "battleship" is a true beast of a craft and can destroy our fighters even at Plasma Beam ranges. The rules of engagement with this craft is to let it land and take it on the ground. It carries a bounty in elerium and other materials so it's best to have it intact anyway.

The hyperwave decoders are up and running as of August 27th and function fantastically. We have ship types, species on board, mission and destination area. We can plan interceptions better and can decide whether to engage in air or on ground.
In one of their early successes, we detected a supply ship landed in Baja California. We didn't catch the ship, but I realized that I've seen a number of supply ships there in previous months. I sent the Skyranger to get a better look, and I am happy to say we found the original alien base.

This base was another Snakeman construction. We lost several people and our tank. White Haven, consequences & Rekkon were all shot while Dave was incubated by a Chryssalid. Dave was then shot, hatching his Chryssalid which proceeded to destroy the tank.
To make up for this loss, I have sent for more rookies from the bases. Replacing these four are MKSheppard, Coalition, RecklessPrudence, Ryan Thunder and John Stewart. Somehow, we got him and Patrick Stewart at Australia in our recruiting. We need soldiers and they fit the criteria.
August ended well for us, with another million dollars in extra funding. We have been selling spare pieces of artifacts and extra corpses to various dealers and we are quite flush with cash at the present time. I'm keeping the extra for any new bases we may need as well as major improvements.

[wautd]

I call dibs on the first power suit.

[Coalition]

Yay, I just got promoted to annon-fodder status. Hope I get enough time to earn armor of some kind (or psionics so I get to stay on the transport and be guarded).

Of course, I'll likely be on the transport, the main guys go elsewhere, and one alien with a blaster launcher spots me. My last sight is a purple pod heading straight to me, followed by a bright light.

[Edi]

If soldiers are needed, I'm requesting transfer out of the Firestorm squadron and into the ground combat teams.

[CaiusWickersham]

I'm going to be recruiting to fill in the gap left by the shuffle, so you're top of the list of that, Edi. Everyone already has personal armor and that will be getting upgraded in the very near future.

[montypython]

I can volunteer as a Firestorm pilot if needed.

[CaiusWickersham]

Perfect. Then we'll just a swap next update.

[consequences]

Personal diary of consequences(written by spooky telekinetic ghost powers):

Well, this sucks. Didn't even manage to get a funny story out of my death. Going to see if I can possess one of the new recruits later. Would attempt to take possession of one of the aliens, but am worried I would wake up on the Bear's operating table, and have no interest in volunteering for Hell when I seem to have ducked it so far.

[CaiusWickersham]

Director's Log -- Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 01.10.1999 0800 GMT

The whole month of September has been rather slow, namely thanks to our Firestorm pilots shooting down UFOs like flies. Edi requested a transfer to the ground-pounders and was replaced by montypython. He's now with the Australian base.
We have finished what is likely our ultimate armor -- the flying suit. It's the power suit with an anti-grav unit. Vehrec certainly delivered with thicker armor along with the power of limited flight to the soldiers. It's in production in batches and being distributed to the soldiers. Thing is, this all takes Elerium along with our Firestorms and Plasma Beams. We need to get some intact craft soon to keep up. With all the bases destroyed, supply ships are not showing up and most of the battleships we see are looking for us and not landing. Thankfully, they seem fixated on the Sahara desert and haven't found us yet.

The Bear got results out of a Sectoid leader we had in containment. We're following up with other leaders and analyzing the data. One of the side benefits of this was further refinements in a side project the science team worked on since the cracking of the mind probe. We now can test soldiers for psionic ability. The final pieces fell into place on the 12th and we can now build laboratories that can allow for psi testing. All bases are getting these installed and should be up later this month.

Further research has come up with a psionic amplifier to help us close the gap with the Sectoids in psionically gifted soldiers. This is currently being held until soldier testing is finished.

We've got two more autopsy results in. The Snakemen are much like their Chryssalid allies in being fecund and tough. What makes the Snakemen more alarming is their asexual reproduction. A Snakeman invasion could just outbreed humans and take over on numbers.
The Mutons are like tougher Floaters -- they are bionically and likely genetically augmented aliens likely a client race to another species. Their "skin" is really biological armor and they have no reproductive ability. They're likely cloned like the Sectoids and later enhanced through surgeries and gene therapy.

The only other major discovery was getting another mission profile from a navigator. The aliens see their taking of humans and animals as a "harvest" and imply they may have had something to do with life's advancement on Earth. This part of their involvement is still shrouded in mystery with disturbing hints -- shared psionic potential, genetic compatibility, the almost perfect tuning of alien subversion to human physiology.

The ruling council has determined we have done an excellent job as pretty much usual and we have even more base funding. I'm gladdened that we have done so well so far, but I still realize there is much to do and the aliens are not letting up on us soon.

((Author's note: This is the longest I've gone without an infiltration mission happening and picking off one of my smaller funders. Wow!))

[CaiusWickersham]

Should mention, we did get another terror mission. Snakemen in Canberra, no civilian casualties amazingly. Reckless Prudence made Sergeant.

[Coalition]

Should mention, we did get another terror mission. Snakemen in Canberra, no civilian casualties amazingly. Reckless Prudence made Sergeant.

I'd argue for instead:

Reckless Prudence Shooting made Sergeant standard operating procedure.