Fenn Vs X-COM

[Fenn]

Can X-COM keep funding itself, since the report mentioned the main reason it was staying in the black was due to sales of laser weapons? And I thought Chryssalids only showed up on terror missions, but clearly I was mistaken. I know that you can shoot down retaliation battleships (but they'll keep sending more). Missile-equipped fighters can't do that, but what kind of firepower is required to engage alien battleships?

I still have some workshops and Engineers in the main base, so I can keep on producing Laser Cannons. And simply raiding UFOs and selling their stuff can provide about 1-3 million per UFO, so there's no immediate danger financially. Obviously losing the base and everything in it is a setback, but we're established enough that it's not crippling. Losing the HQ would have been really devastating.

With Battleships, the problem isn't doing enough damage - a pair of Laser Cannons can shoot down three before they need a reload - but surviving long enough to do it. Interceptors get mulched in just a single shot, so a better fighting craft is needed before I can think about taking them on. Longer-ranged craft weapons like Plasma Cannons would also help with that.

[ReallyEvilMuffin]

Loosing everything is brutal... It stated they had been evacuated I would have thought you could have got them back? And perhaps the base ransacked, but able to be brought back online for some cost but less than building from new?

[RefSteel]

Loosing everything is brutal... It stated they had been evacuated I would have thought you could have got them back? And perhaps the base ransacked, but able to be brought back online for some cost but less than building from new?

I mean, the aliens just took over a base being used by our organization which is devoted to alien-killing. Did you expect the results to not be brutal? It's also brutal when you lose your most capable squad members to a stray shot from your own rocket. This is X-COM!

(The engineers were "evacuated" only far enough to stay out of the line of fire during the base assault, and were surely rounded up by the aliens once they took control of the operating theater. Real evacuation - enough to save the engineers - would have required an actual commitment to doing so: Living space available at other bases, and the decision to transfer personnel there in advance of the attack.)

[David Corperial]

Cool to see this, put me down as another name and body for you to throw out there.

[Fenn]

Good to have you!

I found some time to work on the next mission. It was, uh, exciting.

[Fenn]

Part 18 - Now What?

Losing the Chinese base was a significant setback - millions of dollars up in smoke, and a hefty score penalty too. Also a bunch of people died.


No time to cry over it - I need a base in this area, so a replacement goes up immediately. I can hold my finances stable for now by churning out Laser Cannons in Crete and raiding UFOs for cash.


Speaking of which.


Europe seems to be a favorite of these infiltration attempts, isn't it? At least a Floater Battleship will be a profitable and relatively easy mission.


Soon enough, a Supply ship and a second Battleship appear as well. There's not enough Avalanche-armed Interceptors around to handle them (one reason I'm researching the new Plasma Cannons), but the Battleship has helpfully touched down close to home. The RB Team heads out on another sortie.


These aliens sure like their farms. Well tank, how's it look out there?


The area is mysteriously empty. The customary conga line out of the Skyranger and smokescreen setup begins. You can see DaveV hiding by the landing gear to the left. Now that Dp101 has perished, he's the longest-living original agent.


During the alien turn, some barn doors open and this Reaper wanders by. Looks like a nice target for the new Quagma Blast and his rockets.


Too bad he fires directly into the tank. Really should have moved that out of the way.


In any event, Quagma's unfortunate aim takes out himself, Whosit II, and Bobchillingworth V, as well as seriously wounding rho.


While Dp102 attends to rho's injuries, the tank takes care of the Reaper itself, finding another Floater in the process. AdrienIer gets the kill.


Next contact comes on turn 3 with this loitering Floater. DaveV shoots it once; the tank goes for a rocket but it flies out of the map.


Dreylin ends up taking the killing shot.


El Grillo scouts around the center of the Battleship and spots another Reaper; too few people have an angle so it lives for now.

Next turn, it comes into view again; AdrienIer shoots it down with an accuracte laser burst.


After Dp102 and DaveV combine fire to take care of another Floater, the tank runs into this.


A rocket blast from the tank and a laser shot from Adrien leave this Reaper still standing, so rho finished the job with his Heavy Laser.


Dreylin and El Grillo check out the rest of the landing zone in the meantime.


During the alien turn the tank gets nibbled on. Good thing tanks are armored against teeth. Lewwyn zaps it.


Further exploration reveals nothing and nobody. Time to head inside?


Not quite; DaveV finds himself alone against this Floater, but it presents no trouble for the experienced Commander. That must be all of them, right?


Nope: a Reaper runs out of the UFO and savages AdrienIer - augh! I was getting used to that 68 Firing Accuracy...


Also a Floater outside shot up the tank's radiator. A rocket puts it to rest.


Lewwyn avenges Adrien. NOW we can head inside. I'm sure six soldiers can storm a Battleship by themselves, right?


As usual, I have no idea how to really get into these things safely. Dreylin shoots a Floater from here but takes a little scratch from a second.


Luckily it doesn't follow us out. Let's take another look.


Oops, there goes Dreylin. Didn't think anybody could reaction fire at him.


Sending up the tank results in its destruction at the hands of an assailant from the south - probably the same one that gunned down Dreylin.


It's not all bad news. El Grillo vaporises this Floater on the top floor...


...And Lewwyn does the same to one on the first floor hallway. Alien turn now.


A Reaper walks out of the UFO...straight into DaveV.





Luckily, rho and Dave let off a flurry of laser shots in response, and either that confuses the Reaper or it was out of TUs already. DaveV escapes death by narrow margins again.

At this point everybody (all five of them) takes a couple of turns' break to stand outside the cloud of smoke hanging around and pass the stimulants from rho's Medikit. Then it's back into the thick of things.


While trying to shoot at a Floater on the top floor, rho bites it when it shoots back. I really need to figure out a better way to breach these Battleships, aside from 'not at all'.

Lewwyn shoots that Floater, and another on the following turn, but then:


That Floater in the south corridor claims a third victim. Farewell Lewwyn.

Now I'm down to three soldiers, once Dp102 wakes up from his smoke-induced nap. That's probably enough. I mean there can't be that many Floaters left.


In a good omen, El Grillo finds and slays the Floater who gave us so much trouble. Maybe things will turn out alright!


So many aliens still! Well, DaveV and El Grillo can probably handle them.


Then on the next turn, El Grillo is knocked unconscious in a shootout with what must be the eigth Floater on the top floor.

Dp102, it'd be real handy if you woke up sometime...


Wow, and there he is in the nick of time! He dusts off his Medikit and stumbles to El Grillo's aid but sees yet one more Floater above.

DaveV is on point with his Laser Rifle yet again however, and Dp is able to stabilize El Grillo before it's too late. Seven agents have died, but I think things are looking up!


Turn 20 has arrived, and with that all aliens on the map know where we are - a gameplay conceit to keep missions from dragging on for too long. Dp, newly armed with a Plasma Rifle, carries El Grillo out of the elevator well to keep him away from the firing line.


Good thing too, because Dp finds a Floater sitting in it on the next turn! He fires an auto burst, killing it. DaveV throws a proximity grenade up the west hallway - the aliens are going to be coming for us, not the other way around, and with only 2-3 agents left I can't afford to go on the offensive.


On the very next turn, the proximity grenade trips, blowing up an unfortunate Floater. DaveV blasts another one crossing over the elevator while DaveV attempts to revive El Grillo.


It takes four doses to bring him around, but he's up now.

By this point the alien turns have become extremely short; there's probably no more than one or two left.


El Grillo takes up a Laser Pistol and DaveV's old motion scanner. He picks up only a single signature; Dp101 goes up to check it out.


Turns out there was a Floater in the usual place. Dp manages to stun him:


Finally, a Leader! And it's a lucky thing he never fired that Blaster Launcher or we'd be toast.


El Grillo's only detecting one more alien around, off to the west. This might be it.


Off we go...

Next turn, El Grillo detects the Floater to the northwest, but can't find anything at that spot on the top floor. Just in case, Dp goes to check the first floor:


Well, there he is. I don't like the look of that Heavy Plasma he's carrying though, so Dp is going to keep away from that door for a turn.


Happily, the alien panics instead of doing something useful with his time, and Dp102 rushes in to stun him. The first jab doesn't take, so Dp stands on his gun to stop him from picking it back up.


Next turn, he bags our first Commander - nice! Note the grenades; this takedown could have gone pretty badly if there was more room in here for the Floater to throw.


And that's a wrap! With a Commander and Leader in hand, we actually have everything we need to research towards the final mission, though it will take some time to get everything done. Hopefully we'll see the other alien races too, having so many Floaters is unusual.

I was not looking forward to losing everyone right after China base got destroyed, but Dp102 and DaveV pulled through in the end.


Lots of dead dudes, but their sacrifice will not be in vain. Not that all those people blown up by Quagma Blast died for anything in particular, but you get the idea.

[El Grillo]

Whew, glad I lived through that. 4 doses of stimulants, you say? Hope my X-COM health insurance policy is better than my real-life one

[RefSteel]

Dear Diary,

Woe is me! Command sent off a loaded Skyranger to recover massive tons of alien loot, and I didn't even get to go with them! I should totally file a complaint! I'll try to be a good team player though; I can hear the Skyranger coming back now, so I'm going to go congratulate them and pretend like I'm not disappointed. I'll be right back!

...

So like I was saying, I'm thinking I should maybe send Command a thank-you note or something, or I dunno a gift basket? Would that be too much? If the record says my accuracy is so poor that it's not worth sending me on battleship missions, I can only applaud X-COM Command's wisdom in benching me when they come up. Preferably every time they come up forever.

Wait, there's another one out there, isn't there? And we just lost like 70% of the last squad, plus there's the matter of injury. I ... we totally got all the stuff we needed from that last battleship, right? We totally don't need to go for another one, do we?

Yours in Abject Terror,
Colonel RefSteel (clone #3)

[Dp101]

The reincarnation of the old soldier fights alongside the new oldest original. Great narrative there.

[Bobchillingworth]

I have to say, of the many deaths suffered by the "Bob" line of clones, this was one of the less glorious.