BMPixy
Well-Known Member
[The same message as previous logs applies here. Second post of my big update, two entries.]
May Ninth, Two Thousand and Fifteen
Dear Onkel,
The aliens seem to be taking their time with their ground assaults. They have the advantage of technology and manpower, why are they not abusing it? The largest group we have encountered in the field was squad-strength, but reports mention that they can come in groups as large as three squads, such as an abduction in Sao Paulo, Brazil that we did not respond to, prioritizing the United Kingdom instead. In fact, why are they even fighting us on the ground? Why can they not just shell the entire planet from orbit, then capture any living civilians? Or better yet, bombard XCOM HQ, considering that they likely can track where our Skyranger is deploying from! Something is peculiar with this invasion, I must say.
Aside from that tangent, the mission today was quite a success. Our combat team is becoming quite strong, especially with six members. Makes me wish that the Commander would hurry up with the next round of recruitment, so I can say to the next generation of Germans that yes, I did indeed serve mankind in our darkest hour. That is, if I survive. Though, with the recent development of laser weaponry, and rumors that the Commander is considering telling the research team to start researching stronger armor as soon as the next project finishes, we are beginning to level the playing field. But even without the fancy gear, the casualty level is surprisingly low, with only two people having died so far. This stands in stark contrast to national army responses to alien attacks, sometimes with several platoons being killed. What is it that we have, but they do not? Even if we are the best of the best, there are still the great of the best or the good of the best in the other armies, and they have a lot more of them. Even if we do catch the aliens with their figurative pants down, we still face numbers of aliens that can kill squads with ease. Yet another thing to ponder.
Writing this letter seems to bring up more and more questions. For instance, why did the United Nations Security Council even have a contingency such as X-COM seriously considered, let alone having a base and hangars set up, with the latter being placed across the world, and soldiers being marked down for future reference? So many strange things involved with this war, so many secrets. But, unless such matters become important, we shall focus merely on survival. As the adage goes, “Shoot first, ask questions later.” A fair bit more literal than intended, but it still holds true.
Well, perhaps now comes the time to end this letter. Perhaps some shooting will clear my mind.
May we meet again as I pass the veil,
Leon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Limited Biographical Information In Use. To change this, go to the Options menu!
Name: Leon Ensslin
Internal X-COM Rank: Trainee
Age: 39
Height: 1.91m (6’ 3”)
Weight: 90 kg (198 lb)
Nationality: German
Past Memories #3
After Onkel died, I was passed around between various relatives and friends of the family for the next four years, some kind, some harsh, but none of them were ever like Onkel. Eventually, at the age of seventeen, I was conscripted the year after I left Hauptschule. After I finished my six months, I re-enlisted, and eventually even managed to begin officer’s training. However, then I got this scar.
It was the end of my first year at the University of German Federal Armed Forces, the one in Munich, and me and several friends had decided to celebrate with some alcohol. We were all in uniform, and a bit intoxicated. Then, some fool decided to take offense at some perceived slight I performed, and an argument broke out. It became rather heated, and I was asked to leave, in the fool’s case he wasn’t asked, merely removed. As I exited the establishment, the man suddenly leapt upon me, knife in hand. He took a slash at my eye, but managed to miss the actual organ. I shoved him off, and gave him a good beating. Then, in a fit of drunken rage, I took the fool’s knife, and showed him how to blind a man in one eye. The demented cry of pain caught the attention of those inside, and they came out to find me cleaning a knife, and the fool clutching his bleeding eye.
If the tavern didn’t have a security camera on the outside, I would have likely been dishonorably discharged, instead I was kicked out of officer training, and reassigned as the quartermaster to a platoon stationed in Munster, part of Mechanized Infantry Battalion 92. I served there until those men came to my office, and told me I was being recruited for the X-COM Project. I accepted, and here I am today. And with the way promotions work in this unit, I stand a chance of becoming an officer again. Funny, how things can turn around like that. How mistakes in the past can become opportunities in the future.
-End recording.-
May Ninth, Two Thousand and Fifteen
Dear Onkel,
The aliens seem to be taking their time with their ground assaults. They have the advantage of technology and manpower, why are they not abusing it? The largest group we have encountered in the field was squad-strength, but reports mention that they can come in groups as large as three squads, such as an abduction in Sao Paulo, Brazil that we did not respond to, prioritizing the United Kingdom instead. In fact, why are they even fighting us on the ground? Why can they not just shell the entire planet from orbit, then capture any living civilians? Or better yet, bombard XCOM HQ, considering that they likely can track where our Skyranger is deploying from! Something is peculiar with this invasion, I must say.
Aside from that tangent, the mission today was quite a success. Our combat team is becoming quite strong, especially with six members. Makes me wish that the Commander would hurry up with the next round of recruitment, so I can say to the next generation of Germans that yes, I did indeed serve mankind in our darkest hour. That is, if I survive. Though, with the recent development of laser weaponry, and rumors that the Commander is considering telling the research team to start researching stronger armor as soon as the next project finishes, we are beginning to level the playing field. But even without the fancy gear, the casualty level is surprisingly low, with only two people having died so far. This stands in stark contrast to national army responses to alien attacks, sometimes with several platoons being killed. What is it that we have, but they do not? Even if we are the best of the best, there are still the great of the best or the good of the best in the other armies, and they have a lot more of them. Even if we do catch the aliens with their figurative pants down, we still face numbers of aliens that can kill squads with ease. Yet another thing to ponder.
Writing this letter seems to bring up more and more questions. For instance, why did the United Nations Security Council even have a contingency such as X-COM seriously considered, let alone having a base and hangars set up, with the latter being placed across the world, and soldiers being marked down for future reference? So many strange things involved with this war, so many secrets. But, unless such matters become important, we shall focus merely on survival. As the adage goes, “Shoot first, ask questions later.” A fair bit more literal than intended, but it still holds true.
Well, perhaps now comes the time to end this letter. Perhaps some shooting will clear my mind.
May we meet again as I pass the veil,
Leon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Limited Biographical Information In Use. To change this, go to the Options menu!
Name: Leon Ensslin
Internal X-COM Rank: Trainee
Age: 39
Height: 1.91m (6’ 3”)
Weight: 90 kg (198 lb)
Nationality: German
Past Memories #3
After Onkel died, I was passed around between various relatives and friends of the family for the next four years, some kind, some harsh, but none of them were ever like Onkel. Eventually, at the age of seventeen, I was conscripted the year after I left Hauptschule. After I finished my six months, I re-enlisted, and eventually even managed to begin officer’s training. However, then I got this scar.
It was the end of my first year at the University of German Federal Armed Forces, the one in Munich, and me and several friends had decided to celebrate with some alcohol. We were all in uniform, and a bit intoxicated. Then, some fool decided to take offense at some perceived slight I performed, and an argument broke out. It became rather heated, and I was asked to leave, in the fool’s case he wasn’t asked, merely removed. As I exited the establishment, the man suddenly leapt upon me, knife in hand. He took a slash at my eye, but managed to miss the actual organ. I shoved him off, and gave him a good beating. Then, in a fit of drunken rage, I took the fool’s knife, and showed him how to blind a man in one eye. The demented cry of pain caught the attention of those inside, and they came out to find me cleaning a knife, and the fool clutching his bleeding eye.
If the tavern didn’t have a security camera on the outside, I would have likely been dishonorably discharged, instead I was kicked out of officer training, and reassigned as the quartermaster to a platoon stationed in Munster, part of Mechanized Infantry Battalion 92. I served there until those men came to my office, and told me I was being recruited for the X-COM Project. I accepted, and here I am today. And with the way promotions work in this unit, I stand a chance of becoming an officer again. Funny, how things can turn around like that. How mistakes in the past can become opportunities in the future.
-End recording.-