Let's Play X-COM: UFO Defense

[Rekkon]

I feel like a member of one of those other teams sent along to help SG-1 with dangerous missions by absorbing casualties.

[Vendetta]

Welcome to X-Com, where the only colour of shirt is red, and the only good alien is one spread in bits over fifty metres of countryside.

[CaiusWickersham]

The "Me and My Big Fat Mouth" Installment

Director's Log: Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 01.11.1999 0800 GMT

We finished the psionic labs on the 6th of October, but we can't put troops through training before the first of the month according to certain "delicate settings" according to the Bear. Apparently, we need a calender month to determine who has psionic potential.
We got two more aliens studied on the 12th. We have a necroscopy of the "floating kidney" or "Celatid" according to the science team. We also let the Bear do a live study of a Chryssalid. Sadly, the Bear survived the encounter.

On the 15th, the Bear did a live study on a Snakeman soldier. This gave us some more information on the alien invasion as a whole. It seems all of the species we've encountered so far are under the thrall of a greater intelligence that we have yet to truly encounter. The only other race we haven't truly dealt with are "Ethereals" that have occasionally popped up on UFO intercepts. Everything seems to point to them: the Sectoids, Floaters, Mutons, Snakemen, all of them.

We also got the specifications for the "abductor" ship we encountered long ago from an interrogation of a Snakeman engineer. We have plenty more engineers among the Mutons for more ships, but at this time, it seems like an academic point.

UFO activity picked up in the middle of the month, this time around the USA. Two battleships and a supply ship were picked up on "alien infiltration". We haven't been able to get details on this from the navigators, but we figured it must be serious if they send out battleships to do it. Phred launched in his Firestorm and was able to bring down one with only some damage. He nearly got killed by the second and we decided to let it land to take it. We needed Elerium anyway. The supply ship set down in Mexico.
This battleship was our first encounter with the Ethereals. Physically, they don't seem like much, not taking more than a solid heavy plasma hit to bring down. However, they are psionic like the Sectoids. Bluewolf and John Stewart became favorite targets of the Ethereals for mind control. Because of this, we lost John Stewart after bringing down the final Ethereal. He just wandered off not recognizing anyone or anything. Joviwan was wounded and is currently recovering in sickbay.

The Ethereals also have a bipedal tank-like construct. JonB was able to destroy one for further study. We also have a live Ethereal commander for live interrogation.

About this time, communications with the USA civilian government became strange and then silent completely. We did a sweep and found a base in western USA. It was manned by Ethereals and was quickly brought down by the soldiery team. The psionic assault was not as bad, but still tough as Ethereals collected in the central command area.
After the base operation, I got a high priority tele-com call from Caius.
LOG ADDENDUM -- TELECOM TRANSCRIPT
Caius: Amaya, have you seen the news yet?
Amaya: We've been on operations for the past several hours. What's going on?
Caius: President Clinton signed a treaty with the aliens. The Senate is expected to ratify it by the end of the month. In exchange for an end to hostilities, the United States is cutting off all its funding to X-COM.
Amaya: What? What is even going into this decision? We've kept them clear of alien intrusion since the Dallas terror mission. We set up a base in the USA so we could cover that area effectively. They were one of our top funding members.
Caius: My guess, psionic persuasion of some sort. Maybe a Floater posed as a fat chick.
Amaya: Caius, I have people in the USA who are at risk if they're operating in a hostile environment. We did make a deal with the USA for one of their old bases.
Caius: I did take some steps on that. I proposed a number of abandoned bases for lease to X-COM, but I never gave a final decision; we just set up shop. My contacts in DoD already saw what was going on and shredded all DoD records on our activities. We've done the same here. Still, tell your people to lock down tight. Keep all communications encrypted and only as necessary.
TRANSCRIPT END
There is a significant monetary loss with America's defection, but it's not crippling. Australia and South Africa have been contributing almost as much money and we have been supplementing our income with under-the-counter sales of alien technology we had no intention of using and surplus corpses to hospitals, universities and the like.
The only other events to note are the necroscopy of the "moving rock pile", or "Silicoid" on the 24th and the removal of a fifth alien base near Egypt. We found it like we did the one in Baja: watching supply ship traffic on the hyperwave decoders.

We have made more progress with the interrogation of alien leaders. We have reliable intelligence that the main alien staging area is on Mars. Where on Mars is the important question as none of our astronomical data shows any unusual activity from Mars. We are now shifting our focus onto the alien commanders. We have several already from base missions and battleship captures. We're also emphasizing further research into new craft.

[OmegaChief]

Personal Log:

Well this sure isn't a good sign, I somehow get the feeling we'll need to watch out for the yanks attacking us too now, ah well at least when the movies of all this get made they can't appear as the big saving the world heroes anymore.

[Lord Relvenous]

Oh hey, I know I volunteered for the infantry earlier, but seeing as how I haven't been assigned yet, I'd totally be all over psionic powers. If you need any volunteers.

[RecklessPrudence]

To: Mum & Little Bro
From: Reckless

Well, I made Sergeant guys, so more money to send back to you guys, although also more... sorry, can't talk about that. I'm pretty sure I got promoted because we helped stop an attack in [REDACTED], and I think [REDACTED] put pressure on the higherups to promote at least one more Australian. Some of the guys are making fun of me for the amount of fire that went into targets other than the enemy, like mailboxes and streetlights, but I've seen how they shoot, and they can't talk - plus, all the near-misses kept on spooking the bad guys, keeping them from actually hitting me in return. Those "foolhardy" shots were carefully judged, and that stupid board of inquiry is going to get put on a few "carefully chosen" mailing lists, I can tell you that!

The even better news is, I'm out of interrogation, although Alex, I'm afraid I did let some things slip about your younger years. Anyway, I think that the others and I convinced our superiors that there's not some great, Queensland-wide conspiracy, but if you see any guys in either black suits and sunnies or really stupid-looking full-body body armour, please, just cooperate with them and don't piss them off. Although if they say they're going to send you to someone called "The Bear" or anything like that, run like the fucking wind!

Hope you guys are doing well, and keep safe.

P.S. Mum, I should have another lot of money for you soon, there's not much for us to spend it on on base, and my hazard pay's coming in soon. Hope it'll be enough.

P.P.S. Alex, keep out of trouble until I get back there, hey?

There, that should make it nice and cliché when I get killed, and if I get resurrected the content should change substantially...

[JonB]

WHAT THE FRAK IS AMERICA DOING? I've slagged the Xeno's myself, and I know they are bad news. I swear, I'm going to ask, once we've kicked the frikking Xeno's out, to 'borrow' a couple guys from here in X-COM and go back to Canada to prepare to teach the Americans a frikkin lesson.

[CaiusWickersham]

Director's Log: Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 01.12.1999 0800 GMT

We were all still reeling from America's defection from X-COM when we caught an Ethereal supply ship on hyperwave. Thanks to a combination of mind control and ambushes, we suffered several wounded soldiers. Bluewolf and Karrick are still in recovery.
Research into advanced craft is a priority, so the science team took the original Firestorm specs along with the practical data we gathered and made a larger variant to be a fighter-transport. Codenamed "Lightning", it performs neither role exceptionally well. The team is back at work on another craft, one that is promised to be even better. We finished our research into the UFO functions with the equipment from the dubbed "examination room". What is exceptionally gruesome is that the "patients" are conscious during all procedures, from extraction of genetic material to impregnation.

Tracking supply ships turned up a sixth alien base. This one was on Borneo and staffed by Ethereals. Thankfully, this mission went a lot easier than the last. A quick cleanup and plenty of recovery materials for sale and use.
On the research front, we got the specs on another alien ship, the harvester. This is the one that is extremely poorly designed that we have seen before. We also learned about the purpose behind these alien bases. They're local centers of operations for the alien abduction and other activities.
All roads lead to the Ethereals it seems. The Mutons are indeed a client race of them and they seem to be in control of all other species in this invasion. The Bear has been cleared for the interrogation of all remaining alien captives and to do whatever he sees fit for the final answers we need.

November was an excellent month for us in research, combat, and psionic research. We have identified a number of strong psionic personnel for further training to help handle the aliens. Of particular note is wautd, with a very exceptional psionic resistance.

[White Haven]

Aww, did I die at some point?

Of equally significant note is Weemadando. Four, buddy. Four. Have fun being some Ethereal's personal loveslave, man.

[Eleas]

Aww, did I die at some point?

I feel with ya, man. I didn't get picked either. Then again, that's likely to be due to the difficulty of getting me to leave the fetal position, but there you go.

[CaiusWickersham]

Aww, did I die at some point?

Yeah, you died back in August in the Snakeman base where Dave got a faceful of Chryssalid wing wong.

And Eleas, you're in the X-COM USA listing. Your number is right under the pointer. You got a 52.

[White Haven]

Ah well, I suppose I'll have to live vicariously through the Clan McSoldier.

[consequences]

Must...find...expendable redshirt... for my restless spirit to possess... so I may die again... Honor demands it!

[weemadando]

Aww, did I die at some point?

Of equally significant note is Weemadando. Four, buddy. Four. Have fun being some Ethereal's personal loveslave, man.

Yeah. Ow. Just ow.

[CaiusWickersham]

Well, Ando, you're in good company. Vendetta has the massive psi-strength of 5.
On other business, typically I make a monthly log report as things have been moving that slow. I'm shooting down all UFOs so there are no missions. The only other thing to do is research and we're just about at the end stage. This means I have a question to ask of the crew:
Do you want me to lump all the months between here and the end into one entry and then do the final battle in one final log or continue with the monthly?

[weemadando]

Keep us posted of only hte big news.

[JonB]

Holy Carp! My Psi score is so high, I broke the scale! See? I'm the only unknown listed!

((Yes, I know there's a limit to the number of testable soldiers a month. I just had to have fun at being the only person untested.))

[Torben]

Personal Diary entry #15

Got our test results back from the lab today. Appears all those hours practicing personal electro-shock therapy hardened my brain. Either that or the implants they gave me when I signed up...Least they could have done was given me some anesthesia. Bad news about Weemadando though...When Old Ben was talking about Jedi tricks and the weak-minded, must have been thinking about him. Guess we'll just have to keep an eye on him during the missions, make sure some mind-bending fucking Xeno doesn't use him as their personal remote-controlled XCom slaughter machine. Maybe we should try tinfoil hats...works on the crazies, might block out brain waves. Nah, thats just silly foolishness. Anyway, time to hit the rack, on call tomorrow. Until next entry.

Torben

[Eleas]

And Eleas, you're in the X-COM USA listing. Your number is right under the pointer. You got a 52.

Hm? Oh. I didn't notice.

*turns back to what he was doing*

What the...-

Foolish slave! When I said "caviar", I wanted the Beluga! Bad slave! *slaps Michael*

[CaiusWickersham]

Running my own firm keeps me busy, everyone.

Director's Log: Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 01.02.2000 0800 GMT

It's been a while since I've made a log, mostly because nothing that interesting happened all through December. The aliens were sending scout ships everywhere and we just shot them down. There was one terror ship shot down, but that was the highlight of the month.
On the research front, we did make some breakthroughs. The Ethereals are definitely the race behind the entire invasion. They are extremely powerful telepaths, but are physically weak, requiring other races to do the grunt work.

As a Christmas present, we figured out the operation of a rather large gun we confiscated from our base destruction mission. It's basically a guided missile launcher that shoots football-shaped charges that have a damage output comparable to a Maverick missile warhead.


December was an excellent month for us, despite not much happening. It seems the calender software have a problem with year transitions, marking it as December 2000 rather than December 1999.
January led to our biggest breakthroughs. From what we learned from the base commanders, we have pinpointed the alien base of operations in our solar system as Cydonia on Mars. A successful assault on this main base will shut down the invasion permanently. The problem is, we don't have a craft capable of the trip. The science team assures me their current research on a new ship will produce a craft capable of the trip.

With this being the crucial information we needed at long last, all other alien prisoners are effectively redundant. I have ordered the Bear to liquidate our remaining prisoners. There are a couple navigators and engineers we can pump for extra intelligence, but that is gravy. Any scientists not assisting on an interrogation are being assigned to the ship research.
All of the species we have ever run into have had necroscopies performed.

We picked up a supply ship headed to Antarctica and I decided this was a good time to get our psi-capable soldiers a field test of their abilities after months of training.
ADDENDUM -- MISSION TRANSCRIPT
Hawkwings: There's Snakemen out here.
Joviwan: Remember the plan, we're here to try to get control of their minds. Now, let's get some payback.
wautd: Okay, Hawkwings, keep an eye on that one. Whoa . . . I think I did it. Wow, this is trippy. I can make him do whatever I want. I think I can even understand his language.
Joviwan: Nice, let me try on that one by the ship. Wow. I got him. And there's another one right by him.

Hey, I got an idea.
Snakeman: ::unintelligible:: TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Joviwan tells me he made the Snakeman say "For the Emperor" before having it shoot the other. I don't get our soldiers' humor at times.

Joviwan: Hey, we really don't have to search the whole ship ourselves. We can use the aliens to do it for us. We just need spotters to find them. Hawk, you and the low men on the psi totem pole are doing that. You see one, radio in and we'll take turns on taking control of it. Before we're done with it, we'll make it drop its gun so it won't shoot you when the control wears off.
TRANSCRIPT END
The mission is now the blueprint of all psi operations from here out. As the soldiers improve their skill, we can be more assured of using aliens as proxy scouts.
January 20th brought good news and bad news. The good news was the finalized blueprints of our ship to Mars -- the Avenger. It can carry more personnel than the Skyranger, and is faster and has weapon hardpoints. The fabrication will be done in a month.

The bad news is that the aliens finally found our USA base. Whether a scout got lucky, the aliens had enough circumstantial evidence to deduce the location, or there was a snitch, they sent in a Sectoid attack party. Why did it have to be Sectoids?
The USA base has a number of psi-weak personnel, including Colonel Vendetta. He killed two other soldiers under psi influence. The big hero was Michael, who killed 5 Sectoids in the access shaft with a grenade.
I feel particularly vindicated with my choice of base layout in the USA attack. Only one Sectoid got past the access shaft; the rest died in the shaft thanks to the grenade or in the hangar.

On the 26th, we located another alien base in Antarctica thanks to watching supply ships land there. We decided to get some payback for attacking the USA base and get in some more psi training. It was a Snakeman base, so naturally there were Chryssalids. Only two and they were easily mind-controlled. Joviwan nailed it and compared the experience to watching a tentacle hentai anime. That particular Chryssalid was not killed by X-COM forces, however, but rather by a Snakeman. Apparently, the aliens can tell if one of their own is under foreign mental influence. I'm having the medical team review the psi soldiers for physical and psychological damage from psi use.

((Author's note: Photo for proof I did it. Anyhoo, we're in the real home stretch now. Once the Avenger is built, it's off for Mars. I will create a final full mission transcript for it. In the meantime, think of what you want your first words on Mars to be. And no "sic transit gloria mundi" -- GuavaMoment used that one in his LP.))

[CaiusWickersham]

Ghetto edit -- send your ideas to me in PM please.

[JonB]

Famous first words on Mars?

JonB submitts: "Welcome to Mars. We come not for glory. Not for greatness. Our names will probably never be known by mankind. They will never thank us, for they will never know. And in that not knowing, we become true heroes. So let's go out there, and end this."

[CaiusWickersham]

Director's Log: Toyotomi, Amaya
Timecode: 16.02.2000 2200 GMT

It's time. The Avenger is completed and stocked, the crew selected. They will be heading to Mars and ending this invasion once and for all within the hour. We picked up some more Ethereal battleships in North America. Whether they were there to make a new alien base or deprive us of more funding by turning Canada, I don't know. And it won't matter if this mission succeeds. We engaged the Ethereals to further hone the crew's psi skills and I am now confident the psi soldiers can handle just about anything the aliens can throw at them. Edi and Joviwan show the most potential, controlling Ethereal leaders and commanders respectively. All we can do is send them up there. And hope.

Crew listing:
Joviwan
JonB
Karrick
Darkdrium
MKSheppard
wautd
Coalition
Torben
Dave
Edi
consequences
Tanks: Hawkwings & weemadando

[Dave]

I'm going to MAAAAAAARS!!!

On a related note, I'm getting mildly drunk tonight.

[JonB]

/me does the Happy Dance!

Maa~ars! Maa~ars! Maa~ars!

But, if we get there, and find that some person named 'Steve' got there ahead of us, heads will roll.