X-COM Season 2 - Journals

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sunscent

New Member
Name: Madelei 'Maddie' Jones
Current Rank: N/A
Status: Psych. Healthy / Phys. Healthy

March --, 2015

Mer,

I just read that last letter you sent--congratulations!

You're an XCOM pilot, now! That's just... well, it's amazing. And, yes, I heard about the alien craft you shot down. Again, amazing. And, again, I can't even put into words how good it feels to have a friend in XCOM to talk you--and, yeah, that means I haven't made any lasting friendships yet. I know I promised you I'd get to know everyone, but I'm still settling in. And, you know me. Anxiety.

I did pass a few people in the halls, though. A suspicious-looking rogue named Riki, who, while well-mannered, looked like he had somewhere important to get to. I have no idea where, though--none of us are allowed leave yet, as far as I know. There's a drinker named Lerwick--I could smell it on him--and a great bear of a person named Jesse, too, mumbling something about missing real meat, and bacon. I agree.

I tried talking with another new recruit named Rick but he was busy eating and listening to recordings. I think he's a fan, though. I heard your voice on one of the tapes. It was during your flight. Along with him, I met someone named Trevor who didn't even look at me when he told me his name. But, it looked like he was worried, watching the tv. I hope his family's okay. I know we're all a little stressed and preoccupied with things.

There's someone named Zatch, too, who I think I could get used to. We didn't say much, just watched people walking by, until I had to use the washroom. When I came back, he was gone. Later, someone named Svenska. We bumped into each other, but he kept walking. I got a quick glance at him, though. I've seen those eyes before. He's definitely been put through the wringer.

And, surprisingly, there's even a farmer and someone whose name I don't think I'll ever be able to pronounce. He even spelled it out for me. Lid-ah-ran beet viewer. Something like that.

I wonder who my bunkmate is going to be, though...

Anyway, you've probably already heard this by now, but the craft you shot down was still intact when it landed. We sent a strike team in to investigate, and they had an encounter. Aliens. Well, 'Sectoids' as the medical staff around here are calling them--short for 'Insectoids'; it's the whole 'bug-eyed' thing. Large, black, compound eyes that stare into your soul... like us, with pupils. They even have arms and legs. It's funny how alike we are, isn't it?

I only got a glance at the corpses they brought in for autopsy, though. Apparently Dr. Valen thinks I'm a grunt, someone who couldn't understand physiology. I tried to give her my medical credentials, but she simply dismissed me and said she had work to get to. I guess that means I'll have to visit the labs when she's not around.

Probably the most interesting thing is the ship, though, and what they designated as the 'Outsider'. A being of pure energy? Imagine the implications--for medicine, clean energy... the possibilities are almost endless. And, with the materials we salvaged from the ship, we might even be able to plan out our own space construction and travel now. We might be able to use their weapons against them, mount a counter-attack on their own world, one day.

One of the other recruits even mentioned the aliens using some sort of mind-meld. Imagine what the world would be like if we developed powers like that. It's an inspiring thought, and a terrifying one as well.

Missing you. I'll have to come by the hangar once they give us some leave time.

Love,
Maddie
 
Name:Tyler Prohaska
Current Rank:Trainee
Mission Name: Devil's King
Mission Objective:N/A
Kills This Mission:N/A
Total Kills since joining XCOM:0
Status: Watching mission replay


June 9th

As I watched the footage of the downing of the alien craft by some beautiful shots on the UFO by the interceptor and heard the clapping in the background from the op center I couldn't help but feel a flicker of pride in the operation as a whole. I watched as Scruffy, Daven, Aribeth, and Huey all hopped on the drop ship and sped out to the craft. The mission went fairly well with good use of cover and a great shot by Scruffy right off the bat. As the mission continued I saw more and more of the aliens ..... and I started to lose focus becoming more intent on them dying than on the success of the mission itself. When I saw Aribeth get hit it snapped me out of my funk a bit and I watched as the commander positioned her for a great throw of a grenade which took out a target that seemed linked to another one in some way. With the mission over and everyone heading home in one piece for the most part I now sit mulling over what do do.


With Huey and Aribeth getting promoted the situation facing me is the very real possibility of being called up to be a recruit rather than a trainee. This brings two thoughts to mind blind joy to get a guy in my hand so I can finally kill those aliens that I hate with every part of me and a bit of fear that the few people I have become close to will die before me which was a possibility that I had not thought of until recently. I guess it is time to go and find Anna, Ayame, and Joseph because when our time comes to go out into the field it will be us and not the commander in some ways we can rely on. It will be out bullets, our blood, our hope, our fear and our luck on display for another round of trainee's who sit and watch the video replays of us.

With that I leave you for the moment but with one more thing that I have neglected lately



Anna memory

I won't write a long memory this time but rather write on a feeling. It is the feeling I got when I looked into Anna's eyes and in them I found .......peace. Such a beautiful and simple word it swept away all doubt and fear from me when I looked into her eyes and it seemed for just a moment, a beautiful blind moment that I was truly free........


Now it is time to put back on the mask and corner my bloodlust for the night. For some reason it feels like someone or something is with me when I think of violence encouraging me..........goading me on...but fuck it. Tonight it is about finding my team mates, giving Aribeth a drink or I don't know cake or something and continuing to work myself into a machine of death that my commander can use to kill every last alien that walks, crawls or .......hovers or something.


END
 

Hueyk

New Member
Name:Huey Kruthas
Current Rank:Squadee
Mission Name: Operation Devil's King
Mission Objective:Clear out the alien ship
Kills This Mission:1
Total Kills since joining XCOM:1
Status: Relaxing after a successful mission


Well, it's good to be writing this in good health. I wish I could say the same for Dusk... I originally doubted how effective fighting alongside women would be, but she really proved herself out there. I don't know if I could have made that same throw in her shoes, and my arms are twice her size. The docs say she'll be fine within the week. They must have the good stuff down here.

When we approached the alien ship, I wasn't sure what to expect. When the situation unfolded it was us behind shoddy rocks and trees for cover and them behind their spaceship walls. Just as I was starting to consider flanking them I got a call on the comms. "Huey, what do you think? What do you think your odds are of getting a grenade over there?".

I couldn't believe it. All I could think of was my old Seal Team playing hot potato with that plasma grenade. It was all I could do to grimace, nod, and let instinct take over. I was barely thinking when I threw that grenade, but it hit right on the money! I took one alien out and blew the cover out from another, allowing Scruffson to clean it up.

The next thing I knew I was going for the flank solo. My heart was thumping, but luckily Davin showed up behind me to cover me. I think he could tell I was nervous, because he took the lead. Not to be left behind I followed and we were spotted. We began to approach to get their attention so Scruffson could finish the job when Dusk came sprinting into the middle of the room.

"Get to cover!" I yelled to her. She was too far to lob a grenade and the aliens were already turning toward her. She sprinted over to me and Davin sharing our cover. I began to scold her for almost getting herself killed when she ran out into the middle of the room again yelling "Catch!" as her grenade landed directly next to the alien.



I don't know if she was trying to prove something, but if she was it worked. I can't wait to work with her on further missions.
 

Nukey

Member
guys a few off topic questions.
1) can we agree on using 1 timeline plz. either we use real time or we use ingame time and use the periodes time between each episode . cuz it gonna get really confusing otherwize
2) and how are we gonna name our squad, prefferably not something clichee like SG1 or team alfa
 

Meaningofbread

Well-Known Member
guys a few off topic questions.
1) can we agree on using 1 timeline plz. either we use real time or we use ingame time and use the periodes time between each episode . cuz it gonna get really confusing otherwize
2) and how are we gonna name our squad, prefferably not something clichee like SG1 or team alfa


1. Not sure on timelines. I just roll with whatever previous posts say, or don't include date at all.

2. I don't really think we should name it anything. Might be some arguments. You can call it anything though.

3. Could people please work on spelling and grammar? I'm a bit of a Grammar Nazi, but I don't want to chide anyone.
 

ZombieSlayer85

Active Member
1. Not sure on timelines. I just roll with whatever previous posts say, or don't include date at all.

2. I don't really think we should name it anything. Might be some arguments. You can call it anything though.

3. Could people please work on spelling and grammar? I'm a bit of a Grammar Nazi, but I don't want to chide anyone.

1) I agree. Trying to follow such an unpredictable timeline would get confusing, so I'm just going to number my logs from now on.

2) Again, I agree. Everyone would have their own opinion of what we should call ourselves.

3) The grammatical issues do make some posts difficult to read.
 

404GamerNotFound

New Member
Jasper's survivor's log
part 1

I don't know where we are but i do know that we are stuck. The plane broke in 3 separate pieces when we crashed, the X-com soldiers who where send to pick us up are all dead and worst of all we lost contact hours ago so nobody knows where we are. Chloe is severely wounded and Jeff's kids are realy scared, they told me that they heard voices and saw a little grey man walking around. I hope they are just imagining things but to be sure lily is on the lookout for the meatbags, if they do come she can use the equipment from the dead soldiers to hold them off. Me and Jeff are going to look for meds because Chloe is not going to make it like this, if we find any other survivor's we will bring them along. We will set up camp as close to the crash site as possible but if the meatbags attack we might have to move. Jeff's son said he would try to build a radio but we don't think it is possible with what we have right now. We have already spotted one of the meatbag pods but no meatbags yet. We hope they don't know where we are but i fear the worst. We need to find a way of communicating with X-com because if we don't get out quickly the meatbags might get us. I have to go now, Jeff want's to get the meds. I will write again as soon as we return, if we return.

ps.
rest in peace:
Daniel, Nathan and Max soldiers of X-com
 

ChristopherOdd

Commander
Staff member
1) I agree. Trying to follow such an unpredictable timeline would get confusing, so I'm just going to number my logs from now on.

2) Again, I agree. Everyone would have their own opinion of what we should call ourselves.

3) The grammatical issues do make some posts difficult to read.




Commander's Secretary Reporting...

1) Try to follow the X-Com dates. Each mission is time stamped with a date and you guys can use that.

2) Team name, don't sweat it for now. Let the team gel. For now, it's X-Com.

3) Not everyone speaks english as their first language. That being said, if you'd like to offer someone help, please send them a PM and see if they are interested.

To answer a question that I've heard second hand from Dr. Shen, Yes, the commander is watching everyone and their actions very closely. He is very impressed. With most of you.
 

Frostlich1228

Well-Known Member
Commander's Secretary Reporting...

1) Try to follow the X-Com dates. Each mission is time stamped with a date and you guys can use that.

2) Team name, don't sweat it for now. Let the team gel. For now, it's X-Com.

3) Not everyone speaks english as their first language. That being said, if you'd like to offer someone help, please send them a PM and see if they are interested.

To answer a question that I've heard second hand from Dr. Shen, Yes, the commander is watching everyone and their actions very closely. He is very impressed. With most of you.

So we have to keep our journals in actual time?

But how does that work because the next mission was so soon after the last (The span of a few In game hours)
Do we have to wait until Sunday to make more of the up to date journals?
 

ZombieSplitter53

Game Master
Staff member
So we have to keep our journals in actual time?

But how does that work because the next mission was so soon after the last (The span of a few In game hours)
Do we have to wait until Sunday to make more of the up to date journals?
I don't think he would limit us like that, because it would take away from the role-playing experience. I think he just wants us to keep the timeline in mind, so we shouldn't do things that takes days when we are only dealing with a few hours.
 

BMPixy

Well-Known Member
All right everyone, HUP TWO. Time to spread 4 hours over 144.

(If anyone needs help with spelling and/or grammar, don't hesitate to PM me for a check.)

: D

37497938.jpg
 

twistingwagoo

New Member
And now, back to your regularly scheduled RP.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

"You are to remain compliant with international law. Refrain from asking any questions of world security. Please report in your dedicated station, to avoid any and all potential leaks. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination of your position, and deportation to the Republic of Scotland. Any questions?"

"Yeah. What happens if these buggers take notice of XCOM? Won't that mean we all might get under attack? "
"You did read your contract, right?"
"… right."
"Now, would you like a recorder, or pen and paper?"
"The former, but how come?"
"To keep records. Please put inside what happens every day for you. These historical records may be important."
"If there's- let me guess, your sub-orbital VTOL craft is coming in, ain't it?"
"Yes. Now, please follow me to your quarters. Your broadcast to the BBC is in 4 hours."
"Got it. Uptight Filipino…."
"Pardon?"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Alright, this thing should be working alright now. Testing, 1, 2. Yeah, it works. *Clears throat*. Hello, this is Amelia Cade. You are currently listening to a daily audio log that I hope will be declassified at some point. Seriously, why is it parts of XCOM are WAY too open, and others absolutely secret? Have they not figured out how the line is drawn? Ay. Anyways, I am the BBC's liaison to the XCOM project. I will currently be XCOM's mouthpiece to the news organizations everywhere, unless I get replaced; as long as it's not Piers Morgan, I really don't care. Once per day, I am going to broadcast a report that will be seen by all. Not just the B******* Broadcasting Communism, but CNN, Der Spiegel, Times of India, and any sort of print or telly outlet. And Fox News, but I suppose some might be left out of the loop otherwise. Bloody Americans, can they not decide?
Anyways, I woke up, left my apartment in Edinburgh ready to be rented out, and went to the airstrip. I was flown in all hush-hush, really silent. Yet their VTOL sub-orbital aircraft is a box with wings that is ridiculously loud; who the funk designed it?
I just received word that the head of Engineering, some Canadian of Chinese descent, named Raymond Shen, noticed that. Brilliant.
Anyways, as I entered the base, I passed by a girl on a stretcher. Oddly enough, she was wearing a mohawk. Why a mohawk, I will never know; that pretty much goes against worldwide armed forces regulations. I don't think bad hairstyles had anything to do with the injuries though; burns and scars on her chest where the Body Armor had melted. Not going to lie, that was disturbing. Naturally, I got vetoed automatically by Second Officer Bradford, the bloke in charge of the paperwork around here. I can see his reasons, but I honestly think that knowing what would happen to those in the line of fire might help people get the idea to stay out of potentially targeted areas. The last thing I want is to go back to Edinburgh, only to find everything burnt into crisps. *Munching sounds.*
At least, Bradford is letting me use a picture of one of their little grey men. I don't know what it's officially dubbed, but the world will at least see what we're up against. Their actually a little cute apart from the bullets in their bums, but it is something to see. At least being stuck in this UN façade will do some good with informing the public. Honestly, I don't think XCOM has a chance. If everyone funded immediately off the ground, I could see this working. As of now, this is a Japanese-run operation with a lot of loaned goods. I hope the Isles get coverage soon; I do want to go back, but this is ridiculously high-paying.
And on that note, I have to get going. My first broadcast is in an hour. It's straightforward, but I do hope I can include interviews with some soldiers later on. Their sob stories can always garner good ratings. Amelia Cade, out.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Good day or evening world, this Amelia Cade of the BBC, reporting live on location at XCOM headquarters. Today, I hope to show- what's with that alarm, turn it off! Wait- abductions!? I repeat, there have been abductions sighted in various countries worldwide. Lock your doors, stay out of sight, and do not alert any extraterrestrial to human presence! Someone get the newsfeed to display the attack locations, and send this to all networks and publications, cluckin' bell!"
"What?"
"AY! JUST DO IT AWREADY!"

"Yes maam!... Mad Scotswoman…."
 

ZombieSlayer85

Active Member
Name: Joseph Andrews
Rank: Trainee:
Status: Depressed

Written Log #10
63 minutes after Operation Devil's King

Shortly after the mission was over, Tyler came up to me for seemingly no other purpose then to tell me he had my back, and he hoped I had his. I could see in his eyes that he was shaken up, probably over Aribeth's injury. It worried me to no end. In the short time I've known him, I've come to respect him. He seems so troubled by his past, and yet that never stops him from listing when I or the other recruits want to talk, and he's wise beyond his years. He's like Enkidu, here to rid the soldiers of XCOM of their ignorance. It troubles me to see him shaken so.

More then ever I wanted to wish Aribeth good health, but I was hoping for a gift. My sister suggested flowers, but that obviously wasn't happening. Then I remember when Jessica became deathly ill when she was seven, and I entertained her in the hospital by learning origami. It took me over half an hour, but I was able to make a bouquet of origami flowers. I rushed over to the infirmary, but stopped when I reached the doorway of her room. All around her, there were soldiers laughing, complimenting her on her victory, asking to see her "battle scars", I even think one of them snuck in a drink (I hope she doesn't drink it until she's recovered). I placed the flowers on the chair outside her room, and quickly ran back to my room, hoping she didn't see me.

I'm so stupid! What the Hell is wrong with me? Aribeth just took a hit for the team and blew an intergalactic invader up with a grenade. Why would she want a bunch of stupid paper flowers?! I do this every time. That's why everybody probably thinks I'm a joke; because I am! Why would Aribeth want me to visit her, anyway? She's a soldier. Tyler has experience. Anna has experience. Even Ayame, who looks even younger then me, has shown through her martial arts and intuition that she has seen some action. Me? The only experience I have is two months in the Marines before I turned tail and deserted like a pussy, and needing to be saved by that big-headed freak by a nine-year-old girl. I don't belong here. Tyler says he's counting on me, but he gives me too much credit. How can I hope to protect him, or any of the people I don't deserve to call friends, when I couldn't even protect my family?

I had a new nightmare last night. It was the night I lost everyone, only this time I was the one holding the gun, and the oversized sectoid was closing in on Jessica. I tried to fire, but nothing happened. I tried a again and again, but when I looked at my hand, the gun disintegrated into dust. I ran to save my sister, but I knew I wouldn't get to her in time. Then, I heard a voice in my head. "You can save her. You have the power." Where? How? "It is a part of you. You need but to unlock your potential. You must do this, to gain the power to overcome the creature before you." But won't that make me just like it. "You must do this, if you wish to save the girl. Or, perhaps, you would rather she gained the power, instead." Then the oversized sectoid grabs Jessica, and I can see these waves of energy going from it's head to hers as she screams, and I wake in a cold sweat.

I feel I've avoided to doctors for long enough. I can't go on like this. I was afraid I'd be taken out of training, but I'm no good to my friends like this. I'm going to see if they can see me right away.

-----

Medical Log of Chief Psychiatric Officer James Parker, PHD
Psychiatric Evaluation of Joseph P. Andrews

Subject came in discussing serious doubts of his capabilities to perform, based primarily on past experiences. It took some time to get him to open up, but he has deep seeded regret over his past failings, both real and imagined, that go back to his childhood. Evidence of intense bullying during childhood as apparent.

My diagnosis: I need to spend more time with him, but Joseph shows signs of severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, particularly in terms of mental contamination and intrusive thoughts, brought on by past mental scaring and exacerbated by current stresses, particularly the loss of his mother and two of his siblings. Symptoms include intense feelings of anxiety, paranoia, depression, and guilt. If I could, I would prescribe him antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication, possibly clonazepam or escitalopram, but Chief Medical Officer Medvedev refuses to order any, saying our funds need to go to more important medical applications. I feel the true reason is that he, like many higher ups, don't believe low level grunts like Joseph will live long enough for their mental health to matter. I will be filing a complaint with Commander Odd in the morning. In the meantime, I was able to get Joseph some Trazo-done to at least help with his sleep. I suggested he allow me to request his withdrawal, but he refused, saying he "isn't going to run away again". I will honor his wishes. For now.

He also noted frequent recurring nightmares tied to the death of his family. In them, he is spoken to by a mysterious voice encouraging him to "unlock his potential", though he is unsure what this means. I am troubled by this, not only for his sake, but because I have heard similar accounts from other soldiers whom I have examined. There are two common trends with all of them. Either they have had close contact with an alien life form, or they have substantial memory loss from some point in time in the last several months. I fear that the psychokinetic abilities displayed by our enemy are effecting our men long after contact is broken. I fear for their mental well being

I shall request a full medical investigation of this matter ASAP. In the meantime, I have put in a request that Joseph be allowed more frequent video-chats with Jessica Andrews, his only surviving sibling. She seems to be a great source of encouragement for him, and talking to her more often will help with his depression and anxiety.
 

Frostlich1228

Well-Known Member
Name: Anna Stone

Memory Log 1 :

Date: March 1st, 2015

I was born to a average Russian family living in Moscow, My father was a 38 year old Veteran in the Russian army for 20 years, My mother was 40 and lived at home and took care of me until I turned 18, I never did see much of my dad, sometimes he would get a few hours of leave to come and visit but those days were few and far between.

I Grew up as an only child, and my mother expected me to do all the work, she would say "Anna, Do you not want to help your old mother?" or "Anna, I am so exhausted, can you please do the work around the house for me?" that's about how it was until I turned 18.

Sometimes my mother would beat me if I did even the slightest thing wrong, she would tell me I was a "Worthless sack of meat that does nothing but take up space" and I hated her for it.

Sometimes she would lock me in the basement for fun and I would stay there for hours on end, until she felt like letting me out of course, the longest I had ever spent down there was 6 days, 6 days of no food other than scraps of bread she would sometimes slide under the door, and no water except the water that dripped out of the leaky pipes

The only break from this would be the days my father would come home, he would tell me of his adventures, we would draw, and carve these cute little figurines out of wood, one day he told me "Anna, I need to tell you something very important, I have learned through the years that you need to always have a plan, for everything, always be ahead of the curve, if you are not, the problems of the world will take you by surprise, weather it be Americans or Taxes, you always have to be prepared", that lesson has stayed with me all my life.

My parents died when I turned 18, My mother, after a long battle with Lung Cancer, and my father was killed by a road mine while traveling through Iraq escorting a Russian dignitary.

The Only one I really miss is my father, even though I never saw him much, the few times he did he left me with so much knowledge, but when they both died I hated them both, my mother for mistreating me, and my father for never being there to stop it, so as soon as they died I left to go on a honeymoon with a boyfriend that my parents had forbidden me to see.
I would later regret going on that trip with him, but that story is for another day.

*End of Recording*
 

Meaningofbread

Well-Known Member
Name: Aribeth Dusk
Status: Wounded
Non-combat log 06:

(Hour 1)

Log format: Video

VIDCHAT ENABLED.

Hey Mom! Hey Dad!
....
Yes I'm doing fine.
...
That? Don't worry about that.
....
No.
....
The Mohawk isn't going Mom!
....
I'm 31 Mom. I'm pretty sure I can decide.
....
Oh that? That's my uniform.
....
Yeah, yeah. I know. I don't like monocolour either.
....
I don't think its even possible to tie-dye the thing.
....
What's around my neck?
....
It's a peace medallion Dad. How long has it been since you wore yours?
....
My friend Anna made it for me.
....
Yeah, its really nice.
....
You know what? Take a look at this. I don't know who made these origami flowers, but I really like them. It reminds me of the doves you guys always make.
....
You too!

VIDCHAT DISABLED

(sigh)

I really wish these calls didn't cost as much.

As always, Aribeth out!
 
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