Fenn Vs X-COM

[Fenn]

Part 12 - UFO Recovery

China's getting a new Interceptor plus equipment to arm the garrison. You never know when the aliens might come calling...

As mentioned, a party of rookies clears out the other Floater Battleship with only a few losses. Sending sorties after the remaining four UFOs is considered, but quickly abandoned once the alien ships suddenly take off and flee into space. The capture of two Battleships may have spooked them.


The two operations combined brought in over four million dollars to X-COM, and a surfeit of alien loot.


Flush with cash, X-COM finances a new listening station in South America; after this facility is up and running, only South Africa, Antarctica and Hawaii will lack radar coverage.


Even after transferring as much Elerium and Alien Alloys to Canada the HQ's stores are overflowing; two more General Stores are put on order.


Really, with all this stuff one might consider having a single place to store it all.


But enough of that, here's the new Heavy Laser. Though it lacks the autoshot of the Laser Rifle, costs more TUs to fire and is much heavier (18 vs 8), it does over half again as much damage per shot, which will come in handy against heavily armored aliens.


However, the true purpose of researching the Heavy Laser was to allow research into Laser Cannons. These will be particularly useful to X-COM.

China's Interceptor also arrives during this interval. It's going to roll with dual Avalanche missiles, and go up against the larger UFOs when needed.


Later, a Small Scout buzzes European airspace and runs off; once again the alien craft prove too fast for Interceptors to keep up with.


Finally a small UFO is detected in India. Send in the troops!


A Skyranger/Interceptor pair head for the landing site.


Before they can make it, the UFO is alerted to their presence and takes off to the south. The Interceptor follows for a while, but eventually has to retreat for lack of fuel.


A few days later, Canada base picks up another UFO flying northeast.


The Interceptor catches up to the ship over the Atlantic, but holds fire until the UFO can pass over land.


Once it does, it's shot down over Hungary. Now we can send in the troops.


Montezuma is rechristened Mardoc. Very good Stamina and Reactions but his Strength could use some work.


Fresh-faced Old Harry is coming along for an easy first mission.


After waiting for sunrise, the Skyranger sets out.


Landed in the northeast corner this time. As usual, the rocket tank will do the scouting.


Nothing so far...


With the area around the Skyranger safe, Bobchillingworth and Dreylin step out and throw their smoke grenades.


The rest of the squad begins to deploy, but then Old Harry sees a Floater in the second floor of the barn. Could be bad news if it grenades the squad, so Harry moves to the wall and the tank blocks the entrance.


The plan works; the Floater heads downstairs but, apparently confused by the tank, freezes in place.


His loss.


Bobchillingworth finds his way blocked by a fence. Attempts to shoot it out prove unsuccessful.


Covered by a to-be-detonated smoke greande, Mardoc moves up and finds the UFO, but no Floaters.


Everyone else lines up by the barn.


Turn 3: Lots of barn doors opening, but no action during the alien turn. Further scouting doesn't reveal the source of the noises.


At least Bobchillingworth conquers the dastardly fence (The trick is to shoot mostly parallel to it).


Turn 4: A shot at the tank came from over here. Bob and rho hide behind a hedge, thinking to ambush whatever's out there next turn. Mardoc goes south through the wheat field, but can't see anything


Moving towards the UFO, an unseen Floater fires from above the craft at the tank. Turning to try and find the shooter, the tank discovers a Floater right next to itself.


It's beyond me how he escaped Mardoc's notice, but might as well deal with this nuisance first.


Molach's got it under control.


And there's the other one! This should be an easy mark.


haphazard misses (that was on 85% too)...


Molach misses...


But Lewwyn lands a 33% shot from his Heavy Laser. Alright then.


Turn 5: This part of the map is thick with barns and stables. These doors don't seem to have been opened at least.


The tank finds the remains of three Floaters...and a live one too.


Dreylin and Quagma Blast try for a grenade throw over the UFO, but both come up short. It's a tough angle to make.


Turn 6: Luckily the Floater stayed where he was. The tank misses a close range rocket, but Molach lands a grenade just past the Floater. Dreylin opens up the front door to check for hostiles and finds not a soul.

We did hear another barn door open, so Bob and rho's work is not yet finished.


Another Floater? Good thing the tank has more rockets.


Tank, we need to talk about your aim. This time Dreylin lobs a High Explosive over.


An open door! The Floater must be near. Bob and rho creep closer.


Turn 8: This house is up against the edge of the map; the Floater is surely inside.


Turn 9: The tank (after two tries) blows a hole in the side of the house for the rest of the squad to enter through.


It turns out to be unnecessary - the Floater shoots at rho as he passes by a window, who brings it down in a flurry of laser fire.


Meanwhile in the UFO, Old Harry finds and exchanges fire with a Floater in the command room. Both take a hit, but OH gets the worst of it and starts bleeding out.


Molach takes his place and...fails to hit the Floater at all with four shots.


The Floater is too stupid to get out there and shoot him during his own turn, so it all works out in the end.


These are getting pretty easy, there weren't even any casualties. Where the Snakemen at?

[RefSteel]

These are getting pretty easy, there weren't even any casualties. Where the Snakemen at?

Ha - yeah! They're probably afraid of us, is what! They're probably picking up some friends to protect them for their next terrorist mission or something! And what kind of friends do Snakemen even have?

...

Really?

...

Uhhhhhh ... doctor, I think I just came down with a relapse or something! I'm not going to be ready to fly the next terror mission, right? Right???

[Old Harry]

Looks like waiting for decent armour before volunteering is the best way to preserve clones.

[haphazard1]

Whew! Managed to exit the skyranger without immediately dying! That's a relief. Now if only I could hit those 85% shots.....

Nice work on clearing the battleships! Lots of loot, the cash and materials will be extremely helpful to the X-COM cause. That many landed UFOs at once is pretty ridiculous -- wonder if the aliens have cut a deal with one of the European nations?

[Fenn]

Nice work on clearing the battleships! Lots of loot, the cash and materials will be extremely helpful to the X-COM cause. That many landed UFOs at once is pretty ridiculous -- wonder if the aliens have cut a deal with one of the European nations?

That's probably the case - I don't think UFOs on retaliation missions land anywhere. We'll see.

Part 13 - I Can't Believe it's not Floaters

X-COM is building a new base with a wholly inappropriate codename to store supplies and Scientists.


Another day, another UFO.


This one doesn't make it too far before being shot down in the Himalayas(?).


Well, whichever mountain range it is, here comes the RB-Team to do away with the aliens.


Sectoids! I've missed you. This guy tried for three snapshots against the tank as it left the ramp but hit zilch.

Unfortunately, so does the tank.


Bobchillingworth is a little more accurate; after dropping his smoke grenade, he drops the Sectoid too.


The terrain around here is very rough, lots of narrow valleys. Hard to see very far in any direction.



We can manage, at any rate. Molach and El Grillo find and kill two more Sectoids hanging around.


A little later, the tank crests a hill and finds the UFO. haphazard sets up on his hill to watch for any more Sectoids while Bobchillingworth presses on.


Sadly, Molach finds plasma death while wandering through a tunnel system.


Dreylin sorts out the Sectoid at least - that's why you never go alone.


West of the UFO, rare footage is captured of the tank hitting a target!



Lots of Sectoids out and about. Good thing they're only moving in ones and twos or they could be dangerous.


Sectoid at the south side of the UFO - how can the team handle this?


haphazard's sniper rifle, of course. Had to stand up first to get an angle, but his aim was true.

With that, all the Sectoids outside of the UFO are finished. Time head inside and wrap this up.


The engine's detonation has turned this ship into one big chamber, with poor visibility.


Perfect conditions for a rocket tank. The ship's navigator is even so kind as to show himself.


That was a nice change of pace. Well except for Molach, he probably found dying very unpleasant.

Part 13.2 - Supply Ship Raid

Back at base, an important development: Laser Cannons. They make a fine craft weapon - superior to the regular Cannon, and losing to Stingray missiles only in range, they're perfect for the smaller UFOs. Six cannons for our own use are ordered immediately.


That done, research on Hyper-Wave decoders finally begins. This will take a while with just 42 scientists, but the benefits are well worth it.


Speaking of benefits - after finishing the six home-use Laser Cannons, the engineers are ready to demonstrate their second use - money. These babies are the most profitable item to manufacture in the game, and they'll form an important part of maintaining X-COM's budget as its expenses begin to overtake its nominal funding.


Soon afterwards, Canada detects another UFO - a Large one this time.


It lands in Europe before the Interceptors can catch up. Looks like the ground troops will have to take care of this one.


Well, there's the UFO. The tank can't see anything (rather, nothing can see it!), so it's probably safe to send out a few agents.


El Grillo and a few others spread out and throw around some smoke grenades.


At this point the brave soldiers realize none of them have any flares on hand for the night mission. haphazard will be the first to pick one up, and over the next couple of turns everybody in the Skyranger will scramble to grab some flares before they leave.


Turn 2: Moving west, the tank sees two Sectoids. No way it can fire into the barn, so its rockets are directed towards the Sectoid in the open fields.


A miss, and - good lord, it's a Sectoid party in there!


Thinking quickly, Bobchillingworth fires his Laser Rifle through the walls; after the first burst the bricks give way, and a second burst eliminates two of the Sectoids. Nice shooting.


haphazard deals with the last one.


Everyone else piles out of the Skyranger, picking up and throwing as many flares as they can.


During the alien turn, a Sectoid strolls down the stairs, past the bodies of his comrades and disappears behind the west wall of the barn.


Turn 3: The tank blows him up nicely, but there's another one a little farther away. Dreylin primes a frag grenade and passes it to haphazard, who throws it...


...Right behind the tank. How unhelpful.


Time for plan B: Mardoc and rho knock out some holes in the wall...


...And Lewwyn finishes the job. Well done. Some miscellaneous positioning takes place, and the turn is handed over to the aliens.


Suddenly, a Sectoid bursts in from the south and guns down Bobchillingworth IV! And he was doing so well too.

haphazard and the tank take fire too, but avoid any damage; at least three more Sectoids can be seen skulking about in the darkness.


Like this one. A rocket puts him out of our hair.


haphazard takes out his pistol to deal with Bobchillingworth's killer; one burst is enough.


He finds another Sectoid while trying to take cover in the barn. There certainly are a lot of them out and about.


With the southeast part of the map finally clear of aliens, the squad can begin moving west, lead by the tank.

Is 'lead' the right word? I suppose it depends on if HWPs are robots or just remote-controlled.


Turn 5: Whatever it is, tank spots another Sectoid in the second floor of a barn. That's going to be an awkward position to shoot at.


RefSteel's making sure there's nobody hiding behind the UFO. Never know where these aliens have themselves holed up.


haphazard enters the barn to try and flush out its occupant, but then I have a better idea.


El Grillo blows the wall apart, and Quagma Blast blindly tosses in a grenade - just to the side of the Sectoid, as it turns out.


Dreylin takes the first look inside the UFO; nothing so far.


Turn 6:Then, Quagma Blast takes a hit from a Sectoid to his side. It didn't manage to get away, and vengeance is swift.

[Fenn]

Part 13.3

Turn 7: Dreylin finds a Sectoid standing at the far end of this hallway. It's not in ideal range for his shotgun, so he steps back out and to the side.

During the alien turn, the Sectoid leaves the hall, notices Dreylin, and runs back inside.


Turn 8: Dreylin gives chase but finds more than he bargained for, with another Sectoid at the far end firing two reaction shots. Both miss.


In the end, he can't stop Dreylin shooting his buddy and running back out the door.

RefSteel and the tank have been checking the north side of the map while this was all going on, and find it empty. With the outdoors taken care of, the squad can now enter the UFO in force.


Over a dozen shots ring out during Alien turn 8 - their morale must be in tatters.


Not this guy though - he gives rho a hot burst of plasma to remember him by. One burst of laser fire does for him, but rho's in bad shape. Fortunately El Grillo looted Bob's belongings in the process of taking his Rifle, and he can bring a Medikit around shortly.

Quagma Blast moves in and ducks into the power hallway, in case anything comes down the elevator.


That was a fatal mistake. Quagma Blast is shot in the back...


...And Dreylin is riddled with plasma by the eastern elevator; he quickly dies of his wounds.


The wounded rho hears the commotion, barges in and returns the favor.


The remaining six agents assemble and prepare to assault the upper floors. How many Sectoids are waiting for them?


Turn 12: Lewwyn is about to head up the elevator when he sees the shadow of a Sectoid two floors up. Both shoot at each other, but neither can land a hit.


rho finds a Sectoid at his elevator too, but has better luck shooting him.


But the Sectoid had a friend; rho's skull is no match for plasma bolts.

There are only five agents left to clear out the rest of the alien craft. They'll have to be enough.


Mardoc hunts down rho's killer next turn.


The others start heading up; the western elevator stops at the second floor while the eastern one goes straight to the third; the two squads will be separated from each other.


Next turn, haphazard finds a Sectoid standing just above him. He kindly introduces his lasers to the alien's underside.


Lewwyn, El Grillo and haphazard huddle on the third floor, eyeing the door nervously.


Down on the second floor, RefSteel and Mardoc find nothing alive - just collections of tubes holding a mishmash of organs and flesh of indeterminate origin.


Here, the path splits two ways - El Grillo and haphazard will sweep the left side while Lewwyn watches the right-hand hall.


El Grillo opens the door on this unfortunate Sectoid.


Next turn, he runs up the hallway to find another Sectoid behind the next door. If he misses a snap shot things could get ugly, so El Grillo instead hides next to the door.

During the alien turn, he hears a door opening - probably coming from the last unchecked room. Is the hallway clear?


Not on this side. Lewwyn's faster on the draw than this Sectoid, and walks away unscathed.


The three creep closer to the command center, hoping to catch its occupant by surprise.

Can you spot the problem with El Grillo's and haphazard's formation?


The last Sectoid runs out of the command center and fires wildly; in the close quarters, El Grillo and haphazard have nothing to hide behind.

Future commanders, take note: if an alien can shoot one guy, it can probably shoot the guy right behind him too.


Lewwyn shoots the exulting Sectoid from behind, finally putting an end to the mission.


Still, it's always a good day to capture such a prize intact.


The survivors receive commendations for their bravery under fire.


Losing such decorated soldiers as Dreylin and El Grillo is never easy, but X-COM must persevere in the face of any adversity.

[RefSteel]

Haha what an easy mission for my first time back from the infirmary! I searched everywhere and didn't see a single alien! Can't wait for the post-mission party with haphazard and Quagma Blast; us third-generation clone sergeants are the best! Haven't seen 'em around though. I'd ask Captain Bob or Captain Rho, but I can't seem to find them either! What's going on?

...Wait, I'm a captain now?? Gosh, Colonel Dreylin must've put in a good word for me! I'm so glad! I'll have to thank him! Or maybe Colonel Grillo? Anybody seen them? ... Where is everybody?

...

Oh no.

[Dp101]

Thank you so much for getting me injured so I don't have to go on missions like this. Let's just hope that I'm still in the medbay for when the next terror mission occurs.

[El Grillo]

Darn, I was hoping that keeping quiet would mean surviving longer :D

[ReallyEvilMuffin]

PURCHASE POST!

This writeup has made me rather interested in the XCOM series. All on offer on steam currently 75% off or 80% off the pack which ends up being like £2.50!