X-COM Season 2 - Journals

[BMPixy]

Name: Richard Foulke
Current Rank: Trainee
Mission Name: N/A
Mission Objective: N/A
Kills This Mission: N/A
Total Kills since joining XCOM: N/A
Status: Recovering
Promotion?: N/A
Journal Entry:

--March Seventeenth, Two Thousand and Fifteen, 0529 Local Time--

Oh deity, it is boring. Least the Doc left to catch a few Zs, ‘fore the team comes back from the mission going out, so now I can dictate these logs verbally rather than risk Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with this clunky touch-screen interface. Oh well, least the Doc said I’ll be out of here in ten hours or so, just gotta let the meds finish their job. Amazing how far medicine has come recently. We can heal fractured ribs inside a day, and a person can be brought back from the brink of death in a couple weeks. SCIENCE! And then boredom strikes again. Hmm, I wonder if he’d mind if I stretch my le-GAH, ribs jutting into diaphragm, back to lying down.

Man, never really appreciated the ability to sit up until now. And believe me, I will take advantage of it when I get out of here. Probably should compile a list of things to do when I get out of here. Sit-ups, talk to the Freud, get to know people, thank Ayame for pulling me out of that corpse locker and give her the gun lessons, and type up a stereotypically British strongly-worded letter to the Commander about his negligence causing my brother to be abducted.

Oh, hey there. Doc’s out if you were here to see him. Wait. You didn’t happen to hear that last last part, did you? Dammit.

Log deactivation.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Name: Anna Stone

Memory Log 3 :

Like I said before, I spent four years serving those bastards, four years that I blocked out of my memory on purpose, and now I can't remember it even if I tried, so I guess you won't be hearing that story.
But, I will tell you how I escaped from captivity.

It was the year 2012, only three days or so after that whole "Mayan Apocalypse Scare" (Witch I had actually hoped would happen, because I just wanted my life in slavery to be over) I had just finished doing my chores for the day (Cook, Clean, and various Other things that I won't go into detail about) and I was heading back up to my cage (it was about as big as a German Shepherd's cage with floors padded with hay)
I slowly crawled in and as usual, they shut the cage door behind me, I lied down on the floor of the cage and closed my eyes, when I heard a strange noise, a noise I had never heard before, the sounds of gunshots cut through the silence of that night, I sat up in my cage as Russian soldiers rushed past me, one stopped, looked at me, and promised me he would find the key to my cage, I remember that this was the first time in four years that I had smiled, I sat anxiously, awaiting the soldiers to come back and rescue me as I heard fewer and fewer gunshots as time passed, eventually the soldier came back and opened my cage, he gently rubbed his hand on my bruised face and told me that everything will be okay, and I believed him, I leaned on him as he helped me to my feet and carried me out of the building, I looked around, it had been so long since I had seen the outside that I could not even tell where I was despite living in Moscow my entire life, he took me to a large jeep, slowly put me into the back seat then sat next to me, he put is arm around me all the way there, when we got to the military base in Moscow all the slaves were escorted to the Medical Area, we stayed there for about a week or so before they said we could go home to our familys, I was the only one who volunteered to join the soldiers as soon as I was better, (Because I had no family left in Moscow at the time, really had nothing to go back to, and wanted to repay them for saving me)
They said yes and I joined the manufacturing team on base, they man who saved me, Viktor Kerrilov, was estatic to see me join the army with him (Even though he was a soldier and I was a engineer/manufacturer)
I spent the next four years of my life in manufacturing supplies for the military, until the day when disaster struck, and I was forced to join X-com.

But that story will have to wait until another day.

*End of Recording*

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name alex shock rem
status health more or less
Audio journal
Beep.....beep hello

Kris tearrean: hay Alex its me Kris tearren

(as) what the fuck do you want
(kt) all right chick this out i need about twenty thousand dollars for this new auction
(as) have you lost your mind filth after that shit you did in 2008 there is no way in hell i will ever give you that money

(kt) look you gave me the girls name

(as) because you were sapose to give her to us so we can give her support not put her through hell you sick bastard

(kt) look i thought

(as) no you didn't think what you and your little friends did was sick and disgusting and that's why I called the Russian army there and free all those women
(ks) but ......
(as) but nothing o and guess what that girl Anna is here with X-com and if you call me again i will send my people to get you and drag your sorry ass to x-com and let Anna do what ever she wants to you and i bet if she ever saw you agin shell tear out your thought goodbye slime ball

audio journal: logging off

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name Alex shock rem
Status pissed no just pissed



I can't believe that little thug try to get money from me (sigh) should I tell Anna that its my fault that she went through hell and gave her the worst four years of her life well maybe a norther time. sigh damn you no siting her in the med bay talking about my past it got me thinking when i said what did it mean to be human after what i did i'm probable no diffident then the aliens.


Alcatraz....Alcatraz .....Alca sigh i cant even say my last name any more it doesn't even fell right to say that any more after what i dead do i even deserve life or love do i even ...even .....even [a tear drops on Alex hand] huh heh tears i haven't cried since i was a child do i even deserve my kid.



wait NO! I deserve my child i will change and i will tell Anna what happen to her both the bad and the good and what was suppose to happen she my hate me the rest of her life hell she may kill me but in order to move on with my life and make up for all the wrong i dead. (except my mother i don't regret what i did to her ) i need to tell the truth this may be my last trans mission if Anna kills me if not and she some how beyond reason forgives me then things will start looking up for me.

 

[Meaningofbread]

Name: Aribeth Dusk

Non-combat log 13:

Physical Status: Healthy
Mental Status: Concerned

Log format: Text

It's been four days hasn't it? Four days since I (expletive deleted) up.
Maybe I ought to call my parents. Nah. Later.

The origami has been going quite nicely. Fold, fold, fold. Flip, flip, flip. In. Out. Perfect.

Maybe not.

To make sure that I don't fall into some sort of physco-depression, I think i might want to write about the other troops, just to simulate human contact.

Now, about this Shock-Rem guy. I first met him on an operating table. What a dork. Didn't keep his eyes open and BAM. Straight in the gut. Anyways, he wouldn't stop talking in run-on sentences so I had to get him some of those fancy sedatives we keep. Quite a talkative guy.

Now that I think about it, not many people here are from English-speaking parts of the world. I try not to rag on people for having perfect English (It's hard!), but it is nice to have lots of personalities from across the globe.

Also there seems to be a new debacle between Ayame and someone else. Don't know who it was this time but i'm sure it didn't end too pretty. To bad I missed it, I probably was in the memorial at that time. She needs to control herself around liquor.

Can't think of much else. I hope can redeem myself in front of the C.O next mission.

Oh well,

Aribeth, off

 

[Scruffy]

Name: Sean Scruffson
Current Rank: Sergeant
Mission Name: Operation Flying Dirge
Mission Objective: Escort the V.I.P to the extraction point alive and unharmed, Eliminate all resistance
Kills This Mission: 2
Total Kills since joining XCOM: 8
Status: Healthy
Promotion: Sergeant, Gunslinger
Journal Entry:

Today was a sad day in Xcom. So sad that the Commander opened the bar for the rest of the day. I sat at a table with two other soldiers that went on the last mission. The third one, well, let['s just say he got into a bit of trouble. Here's how the day went.

It started out as a normal day here at Xcom, which means nothing was normal here at Xcom. Everybody got e-mails from the Commander informing us that an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) mysteriously got on board. I don't think anyone knows where it came from, but I'm guessing it probably was the work of Dr. Valhen, which worries me. I don't know what that thing is, but I'm assuming that it is some type of weapon. I'm not very comfortable giving my baby to a woman who makes (or designs whatever she does) weapons of mass destruction. I don't want Locorojo growing up living in a world where blowing things up is "cool".

Later in the day, (or night, it's hard to tell what time of day it is underground) the Commander called us to the hangar to get ready for a mission, which was strange because there are usually alarms that go off when there is a mission. Commander Odd picked out a usual squd of four: Thomas Witowski, Huey Kruthras, Luis Carlos Silva, and me. He then briefed us on the extremely imporant mission in which we were about to partake in.

When we landed in China, we hurried out to the supposed V.I.P. He was holding a briefcase which the Commander told us was more important than our lives, and did not say what was in there. When we approached the strange man, he scoffed at us and told us that if we wanted the briefcase, we would have to get him to safety first. Before we could even say anything he pulled out a sidearm and pointed it in my direction. I was about to open fire at him but he turned his gun next to me and shot a sectoid right in the face behind us. He dropped the empty pistol and told us to get moving. I instantly did not like him.

As we moved up to what looked like a cemetary, Some thin alien things started dropping out of the sky. We immedately started to open fire on the first one we saw, which was all the same one. the thing went down and exploded into some sort of gas cloud, which I do not want to go into. Huey quickly turned in a blink of an eye to kill one of those things that appeared behind me, which I did not see. I must have been out of focus or something bcause I would have had no idea that thing was there.

The squd moved up as I stayed back, being a sniper and all, and yet another human-like thin alien dropped out of the sky, and onceagain everyone opened fire. I was a little late on the shot though, and I mentally kicked myself realizing that I was out of focus again. I did notice Witowski pull a gernade and throw it foward, and a sectoids body flew up into the air. I, once again, did not notice it.

Things got wild after that. I moved up to get in a better position. Bullets flying everywhere. Thin men started dropping down everywhere into flanking positions. Next thing I know, Central Officer Bradford was warning us that an unknown contact dropped down and was moving fast. Witowski pulled out his rocket launcher, and blew apart a thin man into pieces. I noticed a spider lokking alien moving fast in our direction, and I took a shot at it... and missed. My first shot in a mission that I missed point blank. I was so angry with myself, I forgot about the thin man flanking Kruthras. The alien swung its little rifle and shot at Kruthras killing him instanly. I quickly hurried behind cover so that thing couldn't take a flanking shot at me. The spider thing got blown to pieces beside me by the rookie Silva. Zhang took cover behind a tomb as well. The thin man moved to get into a better position, I pulled out my pistol to shoot it. Yet another miss. I saw him raise his gun to take a shot at me. I kept behind cover. Thomas moved up to help me out. The thing took more shots at me. Silva moved Zhang out of range. I took yet another shot at the thing and hit him in the arm, blowing it off, but not killing him. Witowsi took a shot, and it hit him in the chest, still the thing was alive. The thing was tough. Eventually, I didn't want to risk anymore miss anymore shots and chucked a gernade at him, blowing it apart.

The mission was not over after that however. We still needed to get Zhang to the extraction point. I moved up behing a tree while more hostiles started dropping in. Thomas took out a thin man while a sectoid shot Silva injuring him. I didn't want anymore soldiers killed so I focused on the sectoid's head, and blew it off. We covered Zhang while he sprinted to the extraction point.

We all got promotions, except for Huey of course, whose died in battle. I became a sergeant, but more importantly, Silva became a sniper. I was happy for him of course, but something was bothering me. My barely acceptable proformance this mission put me in a situation. Silva may be lower than me in rank, but he is younger and did an amazing job last mission where my proformance was rookie grade and we lost a soldier because of it. Once he gets out of the medbay, will he replace me as a sniper? Would that be a better choice for me to spend more time with Loco and get focusd. I have no idea. I heared that construction of an officer training school is taking place, which means that I will probably be training the new recruits considering that I am currently the highest ranking soldier in Xcom, other than that Zhang character who is supposed to be a soldier of Xcom now, and apparently outranks me as a Lieutenant. He may be a higher rank, but I do not know how much the Commander, the other soldiers, me, and frankly anyone else at Xcom actually trusts him enough to train the new recruits. The guy mentioned killing a man before and I don't think as in a self defense way either. I guess Commander Odd will have to find out what to do with him.

 

[ZombieSlayer85]

Name: Joseph Andrews
Rank: Trainee

Off Base Two-Way Video Feed, Audio Log #3

Video Feed [1]: (Joseph Andrews) Hey Jessie! I, uh, missed you yesterday.
Video Feed [2]: (Jessica Andrews) I-I'm sorry. I g-got in trouble yesterday and t-they said I couldn't talk to you.
[1]: Trouble? What happened?
[2]: I.....I-I punched Brian in the face.
[1]: Oh! I, uh, I know I should be impartial, and a responsible brother, but....I, what, uh, why did you punch him?
[2]: He said y-you didn't want to talk to me, and you left, you left me h-here because you d-didn't want me around.
[1]: He did, huh? Uh.....ahem, you, you shouldn't solve your problems with violence, it just brings you down to his level.
[2]: O-okay, I'm sorry.
[1]: .....did, (Chuckle) did you draw blood?
[2]: (Snicker) A little bit.
[1]: Haha!...ahem, we said we'd talk about you this time. How's school?
[2]: Well, I got an A on my math test, but I'm having problems with this book for English class.
[1]: What book?
[2]: The, um, the Epic of Giga, Gigla, uh....
[1]: Gilgamesh?
[2]: Yeah, that one.
[1]: Why the heck would they assign that to 4th graders!?
[2]: I-I asked if I could read it.
[1]: Please don't take this the wrong way, but isn't that a bit above your reading level?
[2]: The d-doctors said reading is good stim, un, stimiation, and I-I wanted to ch, uh, challenge myself. Its just hard to understand.
[1]: Hm, can't argue with that, I guess. Ask Dave and Martha to get you a copy by Stephan Mitchell, its the best version I've found.
[2]: Okay.
[1]: How are your friends doing?
[2]: McKayla is doing fine, but Angel.....
[1]: What's wrong with Angel?
[2]: His mom is on an archy, archil...
[1]: Archeological?
[2]: Yeah, she's in Egypt, a-and the news said the m-monster are attacking there right now.
[1]: Oh, well, uh...I'm sure...
[2]: She's okay?
[1]: Huh?
[2]: E-everyone keeps saying "I'm sure she's okay" a-and "I'm sure sh-she's fine." I-it feels like a lie.
[1]: Well, I don't want to patronize you, so to be honest, I'm not sure she's okay. All we can do is hope.
[2]: A-are you going to fight them there?
[1]: I don't know, I missed it when the soldiers were sent out. I...I had problems last night.
[2]: A-are you okay?
[1]: Yeah, I just made Ayame mad again.
[2]: Again? W-what did you do to A, uh, Ayama now?
[1]: Its complicated. Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll handle it.
[2]: .....
[1]: Trust me, I can't tell anyone, not just you. I didn't even tell my new friend, Fou...uh, Richard.
[2]: Okay, I t-trust you. W-what is Ri, uh, Richerd like?
[1]: He's cool. He's kind of cold at first, but he's a nice guy if you give him a chance. We bonded a bit when I visited him in the med-bay. I accidentally heard the aliens hurt his family, and told him about...our family...ahem, anyway, he's pretty cool, and its nice to have a guy to talk to, considering how much I keep screwing up with the women here.
[2]: What?
[1]: Nothing, nothing. Anyway, we've gone over our time again, and we started talking about me again.
[2]: That's okay. I like t-talking about you.
[1]: Thanks. And I just like chatting with you in general.
[2]: Heh. I'll talk to you soon, Joey. I love you.
[1]: And I love you more.

*End Transmission*

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name Alex shock rem
Rank trainee
Status a little loopy

journal entry
Dang doc and her drugs , sigh well i'm technically healed now and I gotta thank the dock for helping me, she's actual pretty good a what she does fixed me up in a day well specking a bout here she comes now


Audio journal


(as) hay doc
(ad)well your finally moving huh
(as) yea I ow you for that you gotta be the best doctor I ever met
(ad) aw thanks your still a dumb-ass
(as) yea i know i cant believe i thought there was an animal in thous bushes
(ad) wait you though you heard an animal in a alien war
(as) yea like i said total dumb-ass,you know doc you remind me of some one
(ad) o yea who
(as) my former wife you have all her traits kind,soft heated pretty to
(ad)are you flirting with me
(as) what no i'm just saying you remind me of her and that's all, o yea and if you ever drug me again i will punch you.
(ad) you really hit a girl
(as)Na i respect we men to much for that any way thanks ugh what was your name again
(ad) Aribeth
(as)all right thanks Aribeth

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Name: Ayame Kasagi
Rank: Trainee

Historical Account #6:

There probably isn't much of a point in a chronological account at this point. Honestly I've been through so much, I can barely remember the order of everything myself. I know that, immediately after my revenge trip was over, I was unsure what to do with my existence. I believe it was famed English Science Fiction writer Douglas Adams who wrote in the 1982 book Life, the Universe and Everything, "Most of those who are born immortal instinctively know how to cope with it," but an individual with it thrust upon them would eventually find themselves incredibly bored with it. I expected that would happen from the beginning, so I've taken great strides to ensure that it wouldn't . It has worked so far, but its only been 500 years, so we'll see how I feel after a millenium.

...pff, listen to me, ONLY 500 years, makes me sound so arrogant...

Soon after my death, I tried to reconnect with Miao, figuring my best friend would be the one person I could talk to. I can't believe how naive I was. I used the assassin skills they'd taught me to sneak into her room late at night, so I wouldn't be caught. I sat by her bed side, staring at her for over an hour, running m hands through her hair, and thinking about how great it would be to talk to her again. But when she woke up, and realized it was me, she screamed, and lept out of her bed, running for the door. I cut her off, trying to stop her from calling the guards before I could explain myself, but she wouldn't listen. She just cowered in the corner, holding her hand over her eyes to avoid looking at me. She kept yelling "Jiangshi, Jiangshi!" and begged me not to take her qi, saying that she loved me and was always kind to me. It took me a while to understand why she was trying to tell me how much she loved me while simultaneous acting like I was about to kill her, but I now realize that she was told I killed myself, and she thought it had turned me into a vengeful monster that was blaming her for my suicide. As I heard the guards running to the room, a quickly jumped out the window, and I never saw Miao again. It was a terrible mistake going to her, and I never wanted to hurt her again.

One of my, ahem, "former employers" informed me that there was quite the large secret being kept for me: my sister had actually survived the attack on my farm. They had never told me because they were afraid I would try and seek her out (and because they refused to adopt and care for a girl they couldn't use for their own purpose). They only planned to ever tell me about her if they needed something to blackmail me into cooperating with. Of course, after what happened with Miao, I was too afraid to make contact with Guì yīng. She probably wouldn't have recognized me after nine years anyway. So instead, I watched her from afar, making sure she was safe on the streets, taking out muggers and bandits that would target her from the shadows before she even knew they were there, and doing what I could to make her happy without her ever knowing I was there. Two years later, though, after her husband, to put it bluntly, beat the crap out of her, I pulled him into a dark alley and paid him back double, warning him about what would happen if he ever hurt her again. My scare tactic backfired. In a subsequent fight, he hit her hard enough to draw blood, and his fear of my wrath led him to strangle her, as he was worried she would contact me. He tried to flee from me, but I tracked him down, and beat him to within an inch of his life. But then, as I was about to deal the finishing blow, I realized I was just as much to blame for her death as him, if not more so. It was my violence that led to greater violence, and if I had watched my temper, Guì yīng may have still been alive. I left him alive, as killing him wouldn't bring Guì yīng back. I...I don't know what became of him after that.

China held such sad memories for me that, after I left, I avoided the entire country like the plague for over a century. There was nothing left for me there, anyway. I spent over two decades wondering across Japan, getting in touch with the Japanese heritage I inherited from my father but never really learned about in my youth. Despite almost never using it as a child, Japanese became my first language, though as I traveled the world, I made it a point to become fluent in every language I could. Just another means to push off boredom.

Problem is, I've invested so much time in being perfectly fluent in every language, I sometimes start talking in a language that's different from the one I'm supposed to be talking in without realizing it. Some people get irritated with it, but most just laugh and think its cute.

I can't really say there is one country I call home, or even one I like more then the others. Japan, England, Germany, Russia, Australia; everywhere I've been has varied from being a great country to the worst place you can be, depending on when I was there. America has been the strangest by far. I found my opinion of it could change in only a matter of decades. And for every strive they've made in the right direction, they keep falling back and repeating past mistakes.

Of course, nowhere's perfect. Pain, prejudice, chauvinism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and profit obtained from the suffering of the weak seemed to be the name of the game where ever I went. Humanity has gotten better, but not as quickly as one would hope. If there is one good thing that comes from an alien invasion, it is that it will encourage us to come together against a common foe. I just hope it doesn't end like Ender's Game, where the end of the war leads to the entire planet immediately going back to one another's throats.

Hm, another pretty depressing account. I'll have to be sure to make the next one more positive. Perhaps I'll talk about some of the happier times with my Elizabeth next time.....

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name Alex shock rem
Rank trainee

off base video feed
[1] alex shock rem
[2] veto shock rem

[2] hay son you there
[1] yea dad i'm here here what do you want
[2] aw what makes you think i want some thing
[1] because you thought me that every one wants some thing
[2] heh i thought you well ,OK its about this x-com thing you joined
[1] what about it
[2] your organization is currently making alien weapons right
[1] i don't think that's any of your business
[2] son you and I both know that me and the government put a lot of money in this, it is my business
[1] fine we haven't made any new weapons yet
[2] all right all right you know whats gonna happen once this is over right
[1] yea the government is gonna take take all the weapons,vehicle,and ships get sloppy some of our rivals will take them, sell them to every major crime syndicate,and it will be the biggest public gang war of all time.
[2] that's right and if we had those weapons
[1] then the government will think the aliens stuck around investigate, find out that we have the weapons put us in prison,take the weapons and do what i just said earlier

[2] good boy so this is what i want you to do after this is over
[1] if i live
[2] WHEN THIS IS OVER! you will burn all the weapons and vehicles and burn them
[1] what about the ships
[2] they can keep those, i don't give a damn about the ships just burn the weapons and vehicles.
[1] yes sir
[2] great now that business is done how have you been
[1] good... good
[2] you ah you hesitated there what happen
[1] i got shoot a few days ago
[2] WHAT!
[1] don't worry about it was patched up by this amazing doctor
[2] o yea who
[1] her name is not important just know that she fixed me up
[2] sigh fine,now how is that daughter of yours
[1] shes doing fine for know
[2] you worried
[1] yea i moved her to china when the invasion started
[2] ow i see then why worry
[1] just a fathers gut
[2] alright look i have business to handle is there some thing i can send to x-com
[1] yea a bunch of medical supplies, o and if you can get some of the other countries to play ball that will be great
[2] ha ha that's my boy

end transmission

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

(OOC): To pass the time until the next video, I thought I'd provide some much deserved clarification. I've gone into great detail about who Ayame is, but I've been incredibly vague as to exactly what Ayame is. This was meant to to represent how unsure Ayame herself is about the nature of her being, but I realize that it has likely made me look indecisive, as though I'm just making things up as I go along with little regard to whether or not I'm consistent.

In reality, Ayame is a character I've put great thought into, having created her years ago for a role-playing game I run. Starting as a simple NPC, only there to act as an intermediary for the players to get information, but I wanted to give her more of a personality. As I put more and more detail into her past, I ended up loving her character so much, she started crossing over into my other games in different incarnations, kind of like the different versions of Cid throughout the Final Fantasy series. She's been an eighteen year old martial artists during Feudal China trying to avenge her murdered Master, an escaped experiment in my Resident Evil inspired game, and a Power (the third choir of the second sphere of angels) who has become human after her wings were removed by demonic torturers in my Four Horseman game (and please don't anyone get pissy about that, I'm agnostic, I didn't make the game to push any Christian beliefs).

For the XCOM story, Ayame is based primarily on her original design (I was going to use the angel version, but again, I didn't want anyone to accuse me of pushing religious beliefs). Though much of her post-death story is original (it was actually a hell of a lot darker, if you can believe it), her pre-death story is mostly the same (though still with some changes). I feel it is unfair not to explain the nature of her un-life, especially to individuals like Frostlich1228, ZombieSlayer85, Meaningofbread, and BMPixy, who have been so cool with her. So, tomorrow, I'll briefly discuss what Ayame is and the nature of her resurrection. If anyone has any questions they'd like me to answer, please leave me a post directly on my page and not here. If no one has any questions, I'll assume you either only want a quick explanation, or you don't care either way.

Thank You.

 

[BMPixy]

Name: Richard Foulke
Current Rank: Trainee
Mission Name: N/A
Mission Objective: N/A
Kills This Mission: N/A
Total Kills since joining XCOM: N/A
Status: Recovering
Promotion?: N/A
Journal Entry:

--March Seventeenth, Two Thousand and Fifteen, 05XX Local Time--

Hmm, well, that came out better than I expected. No sudden flight, no utter confusion, just a nice simple conversation resulting from an overheard statement. Or, at least, as simple as a conversation about family can be. Right, probably should mention who that was that caused me to cut the recording earlier, for all you future folk and/or spies listening in. 'Twas Joseph Andrews, fellow Trainee here. As I said, we had ourselves a nice little chat ‘bout our respective families, as well as some other stuff. He was a nice guy, hope nothing else happens to that family of his, they been through enough. And I thought I had it bad with the back-story.

Despite sounding a bit like a broken record, I still can’t believe I decided to go in that corpse locker, was pissing stupid of me. Seriously, that act alone would probably have me up for a psych evaluation and possible discharge in any other outfit. Says something about X-COM that I all I get in response is med treatment and a recommendation by the Doc to talk with the local Freud. Guess desperation requires you to overlook certain aspects of a soldier for their skills or experience. Which, fittingly enough, I lack the latter due to cowardice, and the former leaves me at inopportune times because of fear. Yeah, probably should move seeing Freud up to first thing I do after I get out of here.

Alright, let’s try again to get some damn sleep. Probably will fail, but still gonna try. Foulke, out.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Name: Anna Stone

Memory Log 4 :

After I joined the manufacturing team on base, my CO showed me to my desk, it was in this huge room, filled with machinery, he walked me to the back of the room and pointed to a desk that was a little bit bigger than the rest of the desks, he told me not to lean back because of the giant machine behind me, he told me I had to head to a lesson on how to actually build this stuff in a few hours, I nodded, and he left the room.
I sat at my table, thinking...
About my family, about myself, and about the life I had finally escaped from.

Throughout my life, I have been scared of something, its something most people cherish having, and something others take for granted, I am scared of Freedom, because every time I am truly free to do whatever I want, something terrible happens, like when I was free of my parents, I spent a day with my boyfriend and he sold me...
Had me kidnapped, abused, raped, and tormented for four years of my life, I feel like if I make my own choices that I will always end up screwing myself over, that's one of the biggest reasons I immediately joined the military after I was freed from captivity, I thought that if I tried living my own life, that I would not know what to do, and therefore would get myself hurt or worse.
I guess I was just under the rule of so many people, my government, my mother, those slavers, that I just became scared of taking care of myself, I never knew what it was like to make my own rules, I have always wanted to be free, but every time in my life I experienced freedom, I got hurt, physically and mentally.
Did how I explained that even make sense?
Probably not, its not easy to explain what one is feeling in depth now is it?

After I was done thinking, I placed a small picture of my father of my desk, my father had given it to me at a young age, to remember him by if he ever died in combat, the back read "Fight for your home, Anna, do everything in your power to make sure it is safe, and be ready to give everything for it, even your life".
My father always told me that home is the most important thing, it doesn't matter if its your house, the country, or the whole world, home is what means the most, home is what my father fought for every day of his life until he died, home matters, it matters because every one you ever loved or will love is there, I was raised to care about people that I had never even met, so even if my life has fallen apart and everyone I love is dead, I still have something to fight for, home, and all the people and Their family's that live there.
I will never betray my home, the people that count on me to keep them safe, to feed them when winter arrives, the only way I would ever even think about doing something as evil as that would be if someone reached into my mind and Made me do it, and even if that happened you better believe that I would do anything in my power to stop him and fight his control.

Sigh...
This kind of got off topic didn't it?

Where was I...Oh yes!

During my four years of work in manufacturing, I sweat and bled, to keep the soldiers armed and armored so that they could fight for their homes better, the CO would allow us 2-3 hour breaks, and for those 2-3 hours he would shift us out with some of the other manufacturers, most of the other people that I worked with spent that time getting drunk or talking to their friends, I spent those hours helping the community, I picked up trash, used the money that I earned working to buy food for the people who could not afford it, I even spent the time making figurines for all the children who couldn't afford toys.
Some days if I was lucky I would only get ten or twenty minutes for lunch and have to start working again.
But it was worth it...I enjoyed making my home a better place for everyone that lived there, to see the smiles on the faces of everyone as I brought them food.
There was this one particular family that I met while helping people, there were two sons, a daughter, and a mom and dad, they were so nice, they always seemed so happy to see me everyday, they were so skinny and had nowhere to live, but every time I saw them they had on the biggest similes, I never knew how they could always be so happy, one day I asked the father, and he just told me that even though they were poor and had no food, they still and each other, and they still had their relatives.
But one day they didn't come in, this was odd, because they normally showed up every day, the next day, they didn't come again, I waited and waited to see their smiling faces come through that door, but there was nothing, the day after that, they came in, but only the father and the kids, they walked up to me, smiled and asked for food, I said "Where did you wife go?", the father look up from his soup bowl and said "She died of cholera a day ago." and as his eyes started to fill with tears, he wiped his face and smiled, I was speechless, he told me not to worry, that there is no reason to be sad, because she told us before she went, to keep smiling for her, and never stop, she told us that she did not want to see us hurt, that's why we are still smiling, he said as he left with his kids, he never came back.

I like to think they are still out there somewhere, with their big smiley faces, living on, and staying happy despite the loss of his wife, its really uplifting for me, because whenever I think of my dad, I smile, so if he is indeed looking down on me, he won't have to see me cry.

Anyway...I guess I will write more of my past some other time.

*End of Recording*

 

[Dahlexpert]

name Alex shock rem
video log

(as) Anna stone
(ar) Alex shock rem

(as) were is he
(ar) ah you got my message
(as) yea were is he
(ar) hes right here [Alex opened the closet] and there he is
(as) you actually brought him wait how do you know him
(ar) well that's a story, you see this slime ball i sent him to you
(as) you what
(ar) sigh well when i was eight teen, i told your boy friend to take you to a bar offer you a trip to new York, and take you to my family's restaurant when he left a friend of mine, would have offered you a job if you took it, you would have gotten paid tons of money and have your own home,and if you didn't well we would have sent you on your way, but this bastard had his own plan and you now what happened
(as) heave breathing
(ar) now be for you punch me in the face, let me say this i'm the one who sent the army to get you
(as).............
(ar) yea i know its allot to take in but before i leave, i have one more thing to add i read your recent memory log
(as) you read my log
(ar) yea and let me tell you something i'm gonna give you something that you fear a choice that's right the freedom of choice,now for this ass wipe you can kill him and now won will ever know,or you can chose to let him go those are your choices for this ass clown.
(as)gulp
(ar) now as for me [Alex loaded a pistol] now you can very easily shoot me, or beat the ever living crap out of me, or we can spare and talk and if you want to find me ill be waiting in the target practice room. (as) why are you doing this

(ar) you think your the only one that has a mess up past o and killing me means my dad will swear vengeance on you and kill you but heel think thaat the aliens did it so ill be waiting

 

[Frostlich1228]

(ar) you think you're the only one that has a messed up past oh and killing me means my dad will swear vengeance on you and kill you but he'll think that the aliens did it, I will be waiting...

AS : You idiot...This isn't him...

AR : Of course it is...

AS : Do you think after all these years he would just let you capture him?
I have been looking for this guy for four years, and I know he has changed his name since then...

AR : No....This has to be him!

AS : this man is innocent, let him go now....

(Alex releases him)

AS : Now I don't want you to talk to me ever again...got it?

AR : ....

AS : Good... now that we understand each other I suggest you escort him out.
Oh and about me shooting you, that bullet is far too expensive to waste on trash like you...

(Anna leaves the room)

 

[Lethbridge_Gin]

Name:Trevor Conan
Status: off duty
Journal Entry: March 17 2015
8 hours Before Alien Abduction

after what happened today and when i was done having my drink to honor Huey's death even if i never meet him on any mission. I went to train on the treadmill just to focus on something else in the meantime i did a good run for a few hours so i am making this Entry then getting some sleep and if i get some time off and not going on a mission i may just help out in building the training school and more treadmill training and then see a bit of T.V. oddly Commander Odd have not made anything since the drink cutbacks i hope he taking Huey's death well.

End Of Recording........

 

[Meaningofbread]

Before the wake starts, Rick decides to check on the memorial. Inside, he sees Aribeth, studiously folding paper.

Aribeth: Hey, whoever it is, could you get me more paper? I seem to be running out.

Rick takes a breath as he gathers his thoughts before sitting against the opposite wall of the memorial room. To avoid direct eye contact he sits, resting his forearms on his knees, off-center from Aribeth, keeping forward sight parallel.

Rick: What do you need, letter, legal, carbon, construction, wrapping, and I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find sand paper?

Aribeth: Ha Ha, very funny. Anything will work nicely.

She seems to snap out of a trance.

Aribeth: Oh, hey Rick. Listen, I need to ask you a question.

A small smirk adorns his face at the laugh, glad that his humor was taken well, but at the same time stopping himself from making another.

Rick: No time like the present, shoot away.

Aribeth takes a quick look around, in some attempt to create security.

Aribeth: Listen, how long you been on base? I need to ask you a question.

Rick: I was transferred here a day or two before you played "catch the grenade" with the Sectoids.

Sensing her apprehension, he crosses the room and plops down next to her. Nudging her with his shoulder.

Rick: Now come on, lets hear it.

Aribeth sighs and thinks hard for about a minute.

Aribeth: What would you do - if you believe - that you might have just killed someone?

Rick: Is this about Kruthas?

Aribeth: No! Not at all! Well..maybe. Ok, Kinda. Fine. Yes.

Rick: You can't blame yourself for that. You made the call on not being ready and that takes guts. The Commander did the same by sending Scruffson out again and holding Nukey back.

Turning his head and placing his arm around Aribeth's shoulders, making sure he makes eye contact.

Rick: I don't blame you and I don't think anybody else does.

There is a long silence before Aribeth can collect her thoughts.

Aribeth: Thank you. Now I need to finish these folds. Could you get me more paper?

He stands and makes his way to the door before looking back.

Rick: By the way, you never answered my question.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of Rick's lines were written by Gahlo, and all of Aribeth's lines were written by me.

Hope you enjoyed

C:

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name Alex shock rem
Status relieved

journal entry

you know what i gotta thank Anna for calling me trash, because you know what shes right i'm probable the most trashy scum est person here but you know what i accept it.

It took Anna punting her foot in my ass to make me realize something i'm tired i'm tired of my past i'm tired of trying to fix my past by apologizing to to people i all ready helped Anna escape that hell hole I helped people off the streets trying to give them a better life only to go back to there old live of being mistreated, unappreciated ,scum so you know what i'm gonna help people with there current problems.

and you know what i'm done i'm done with the mob,i'm done with being a murderer, i'm done being a gangster, from know on the only things in my life that matters are my kid and the people of x-com but before i go there's something i want to give Anna which i'm gonna put on her night stand this is a forty five page book that has every face merchant and there faces and new faces and were they are, and i don't care what she does with them but my part is done,now i'm gonna get my, Daugherty bring her here and after that i'm gonna go to engineering and work on that officer training school.this is. Alex shock rem wait no no no no this is Alex Alcatraz logging off

journal entry logging off

 

[VulnusHarrow]

Name: Johnathan Harrow
Rank: Trainee
Status: Healthy

Audio Log 1
Well I'm here. I don't know what kind of training this is, but it isn't boot camp. Guess I better explain how I got here.
I was out chopping wood when a couple of suits walk up and ask for my name. I tell them and they explain they're from X-Com, and that my request has been granted.
When I arrived one of the doctors called me into his office. Apparently someone at X-Com did their homework, because the doc had all of my military medical and psychiatric files. He starts asking me about an incident that occurred in during my third year in the army. He informs me that there may still be problems, and then he told me to keep this log of my day to day thoughts.
Of course there are problems, I was tied to a chair and tortured. Those (Expletive removed) made me watch as they killed the rest of my squad. Of course that going to leave scars in my psyche, scars to match the ones on my body.

End of Audio Log 1

 

[zatch]

Name: Zatch vilochev
Rank:Rook
Status: Psy State/ jetlagged Ment : state/ thinking
well i'm back from my long leave i went to go climb up in new mexico at philmont. I noticed that someone added me in their video log. that was amazing. i love being talked about. ( not in the bad way though). It took a long time for me to go through every ones video journal and find if people were talking about me, so i was wondering if we could highlight all the names of people that we're talking about. any way i was walking around base and i don't know what the hell was happening, but it sounds like its some pretty intense stuff and i want in. but i am too shy to actually start a conversation , so please include me in your video logs if possible. I was told some one died i didn't know him that well but it was still a huge loss. i sat there for a couple hours and someone called Ayame comes and sits by me. doesn't say much and leaves. hmm there was something about her....... but i mean what do i know she seems like a O.K girl i wonder if we can be friends. but i won't pry into her and try to get info and stuff i just want to have a first "friend". anyway i got back into base just as it was lunch time down at the mess hall. i usually sit by my self. but if only someone would invite me to there table maybe i could get more friends. entway i was shocked to see Abrith in the infirmary i was going to go visit her but i don't really know her.........I don't really know anyone. I need to get out more and meet some people. I also saw a guy name Joseph talking on the phone his eyes furrowed in concentration. wonder what his problem is. i hope it's nothing to hinder his performance on the battle field. entyway i just got back and i was thinking so i'm going to go ask Nukey if he wants to play pool or something.