X-COM Enemy Unknown - Season 3 - JOURNALS

[Teaslurper]

Name: John Cooper
Rank: Trainee

Non Combat log 6:

The camera shows John currently jogging through the corridors of Xcom.

"So I've been thinking about our training facilities lately, mostly about how the armoury and range could be changed to further suit our needs. As it currently stands, the only place we can even consider to fire guns is the range. Now don't get me wrong, the range fucking marvelous, one the best I've seen actually. But its only good for firing when completely stationary with all the targets being in the same rough direction which, as most of the battle recordings show, is a rare occurrence. So I've be-"

John narrowly dodges another person in the corridor, leaving them behind with a quick apology.

"erm...so as I was saying I've had look around base and found half a dozen empty storage rooms near the armoury. And I thought we could turn it into some kind of live fire room clearing simulation, so we could practice with the weapons in a combat situation. I'll admit it needs some work for it to come into reality. First I'll need to talk to one of the army guys to see if this would work for training, so I guess I could see Big Farmer, Joel or Leon for that. Then Actually building the damn thing will take some manpower, though I guess I could recruit some of the recruits for that. I would imagine that I could get Anna Stone to help, especially considering that apparently Zhang stopped her from helping out in Engineering, I assume Ayame and that other girl would follow in tow as well. Steve would also be a great help for setting up camera's to record the runs considering his IT background. Well if I could get him in on this as well."

"Mind you before I can do that I'll need to email the commander to get permission, I don't think secretly building a live fire training room would go down well with the suits. haha. Or Zhang for that matter, speaking of which is it him I need to email now? I guess it is now since its him and not the commander that is dealing out the punishment around here. I'll attach the email to the log for records sake, though for now I need to go and eat as well as possibly recruit some guys if I can get permission. John signing off."


FROM: JohnC@XCOMHQ.net
TO: ShaojieZ@XCOMHQ.net

Greetings Captain Zhang

I am writing in concern of our current weapons training facilities. I believe that I could be able to construct a live fire room clearing course in order further prepare Myself and comrades for combat conditions. However this could only accomplished If I was able to get Xcom's permission as well as providing suitable materials for targets and monitoring equipment in addition possible obstacles.

Thank you for Reading this letter,
Trainee John Cooper.

 

[Grelite]

FROM: ShaojieZ@XCOMHQ.net
TO: JohnC@XCOMHQ.net
SUBJECT: Re: Use of Firearms

Rookie John Cooper,

This place you are talking about already exists. I see in my notes that you seem to have managed to miss every single session I have been supervising regarding field-training. Because of the... underground nature of this facility, it is limited to close quarters training. From breach-and-clear to hostage situations, it's all there. The only thing is: live rounds cannot be allowed in these situations. I have seen more than once a moment where lack of communication led to a trainee shooting another trainee when startled. We used blanks, so no one got hurt badly, but you understand my point.

Beside that there is the paintball track and the range for everything else concerning the discharging of weapons. Hope to see you at training at 06:00, soldier.

Regards,
Captain Shaojie Zhang

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Name: Ayame Kasagi
Rank: Trainee
Sex: Female
Age: 20
Place of Birth: Central China
Nationality: Chinese/Japanese
Height: 150 cm (4 ft, 11in)
Weight: 42 kg (94.5 lbs)
Hair Color: Black
Hair Length: To the small of her back
Eye Color: Heterochromia (One Dark Brown, One Hazel)
Known Relatives: None (All Deceased) [Update: One Possible]
Place of Residence before joining X-COM: None

Audio Log [Logged in English]

Ahem...My first log I try...am going to try in English. I feel as though I have a...good grasp of English, and I thank Anna for this help. Also, John told me that if I wanted help advancing my knowledge through a native speaker, he will help. Anna is a good teacher, but it is not her native language, so she is not familiar with certain dialects, and I have embarrassed myself more then once by getting an id.....uh, i-idioms wrong.

As always, I am deeply sad...um, saddened to see Anna in low spirits. She is very angry because she was kicked out of engineering by Zhang, and I can see why she is so upset. I admit, I have avoided Zhang myself. I was planning on talking to him, seeing as he is one of the few Chinese men on base that does not seem to look down on me, but when I found out he was in the Triads, I chose...decided against this. I had dealings with the Triads few years ago that went down...um, went s-south, and while he might not be with them now, I have no way over knowing if I caused him some grief he would want payback for.

Still, I am unsure...I find it hard to be mad at him, as I feel he was only doing his job, as ordered by his superiors. The engineers that left Anna...um, biǎodá shénme? They left her...dry? Whatever, the point is, Anna said she told them she was a soldier, and they said it was okay, and Anna does not lie. Either they somehow did not know the rules, which I doubt, or they had no problem breaking the rules for their own benefit until they were discovered, and they...through her to the wolves.

...Zhěnggè shíjiān dàgài huāle tuō yīfú, tā yòng zìjǐ de yǎnjīng, tài, zhū.

I feel that Persephone is upset about something she does not wish too share. If I had to guess, I would think it is because of her mother. She said she died of heart failure, and the way she hesitated tells me she died recently. If this is true, I am not sure what to say. I can not think of anything that is not Chéncílàndiào...uh, cliche. What is more, she sounded as though her sister was a great source of in...inspiration for her. I can symp....um, empathize with her loss, as even after all these years, I would give anything to have my mother or sister back.

I am also worried about the relationship between Persephone and Anna. Anna has very little trust for Americans, even more then I do, and I know she has good reasons, reasons she has told me, and a few she has not. But from the little time I've known her, I can tell Persephone is a good person, and I would hate for Anna to not see this because of her prej...um, xenophobia. I...no, no, Anna is a good person, she would not let something like this control her actions...

Anyway, now that I chū guì...how is it said, coming out of the closet? Now that I talked to Anna, I am feeling more bold. I really only cared about about what she thought, so I have no problem telling anyone else, though perhaps this made me too bold, as I almost asked Persephone a very personal question. Maybe I'm just too eager to make friends. Really, besides Anna and Elizabeth, this is the first chance I've ever had to connect with people.

Too bad it took an alien invasion and the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people for this to happen. (Sigh) Xiànzài wǒ zàicì yùmèn. Maybe I will see if Anna wants to spend some time at the shooting range me. If not, perhaps I'll go see if Joel wants to try sparring again. It would be nice to see which one of us would win if we took out any blood-lust. For that matter, I have a score to settle with...Aaron as well. Shì Aaron? ...... Shì a, wǒ yě zhème rènwéi.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name: Axton Van Dam

Status: Bored

Journal entry 12#


Man nothing has been happening around here lately,it's boring here,I mean I no we have a lot of down time here but with out something to fight or fix thing here are dull.







But hay something happened a few days ago,Anna gave back my weapons and I gotta say they work a lot better then they did before,but some unfortunate news Anna is no longer an engineer,damn that sucks I can tell she is good at what she does because my weapons work better then ever,makes me want to take a bounty again. Any way I wish Anna luck in finding something else to around base.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Name: Ayame Kasagi
Rank: Trainee
Sex: Female
Age: 20
Place of Birth: Central China
Nationality: Chinese/Japanese
Height: 150 cm (4 ft, 11in)
Weight: 42 kg (94.5 lbs)
Hair Color: Black
Hair Length: To the small of her back
Eye Color: Heterochromia (One Dark Brown, One Hazel)
Known Relatives: None (All Deceased) [Update: One possible]
Place of Residence before joining X-COM: None

Memory Log #3

If the first seven years of my life were Paradiso, then the next seven years were an Inferno. Just replace my teachers with the Centaurs guarding the Phlegethon, my schoolmates with a bunch of Malebranche, my fellow martial arts students with the fallen angels outside the city of Dis, that damn cat with Cerberus, and my uncle with the big man himself. There was even a placard outside of my uncle's training school that said "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate". I wish I was kidding.

Of course, it doesn't help one's situation when your new legal guardian makes it clear from the day he takes on this role, the day he meets you for the first time, that you are unwanted. "You are an embarrassment to my family," he said, with no hesitation in his voice. "Why my father approved of your xiǎo Rìběn father to marry my sister, I will never know, though I suppose it says a lot about of her character for choosing him. In any case, know that I care nothing for you, and that you are only here for our mutual benefit. I keep you out of an orphanage, and in exchange, I will unlock whatever hidden potential you possess for my own benefit. If I did not think I could use you, I wouldn't have given you the time of day, either." A warm welcome, I'm sure.

...hm, did he really say "either"...must be remembering it wrong.

He made it very clear to everyone he knew that I was an "undesirable", and the children at school cared little for the "quiet, introverted half-Japanese brat." The level of prejudice was staggering, and my uncle was the worst. I remember, when I was little, that one of the few times my mother ever struck her children was when one my brothers said an unsavory remark about a foreigner, and my mother gave him a light but meaningful slap across the cheek. Her brother, on the other hand, was completely open with his bigotry, particularly when it came to the Japanese, Russians, Americans, and, of course, women.

My uncle demanded perfection in my schooling, caring little for how behind I was, having not received a" tradition education" growing up on a farm. He didn't really care about my intelligence, of course. He only used it as another reason to belittle me. In a similar fashion, I ended up excelling in my academics, not because I cared about learning, but so I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of bad grades.

Of course, while my high marks at school kept him quiet in that regard, he was my martial arts instructor, and there was little I could do to make him happy there. I plowed through basic techniques, was better then all my fellow students with advanced techniques, and everything he thought would stump me, I could get a handle of with time, and still he was disappointed. And as bad as he was, the other students made it worse by bullying me to no end. At one point, as four of them ganged up on me after our daily session, I questioned why my uncle let them get away with this, and one let it slip that my uncle was encouraging it, much to the shushing of the other three. When I confronted my uncle about this, he told me it was to push my supposedly slow development forward, and I attacked him in a rage.

I was thirteen, and he kicked my ass, right in front of all the other students. As he left me beaten, just enough to leave me writhing on the floor, but not enough so he couldn't pass it off as training injuries, he told how pathetic I was, how I would never beat him, how my non-developing body meant I'd be lucky if I could ever stand my ground against a child martial artist, and that he made a mistake adopting me, and would make sure I paid for my failings for the rest of my life.

From then on, I trained with the single-minded goal of leaving him as beaten and humiliated as he had left me. In a way, this goal would likely have consumed me, if not for her. At the age of fourteen, having lost my Virgil when my family died, I found my own Beatrice, or as I knew her, Elizabeth Ashford.

 

[thef]

Name:Thef Rebell
Age:23
Nationality: Irish

The base has Ben quiet lately no one talking much or even the sounds of training have died down of late I should talk to some of the people and see what's Ben going on and I should see the commander and see when he will pit more of us into active duty or at least get some cable.

 

[Altaranalt]

Name: Daniel Oudwater
Current Rank: Rookie
Mission Name: none
Mission Objective:none
Kills This Mission:
Total Kills since joining XCOM:
Status: Healthy

The soldiers from the previous mission returned savely. Apperantly everything went well. Germany is safe, however the rest of the world seems to be in a bit of an uproar. However I think the commander has another trick up his sleave for that.

Man, Booker, Farmer and Jorn all went on that last mission. I had met Farmer and Jorn before, but only met Booker a few nights ago. Decided to hold a movie night. Snuck a tv into the med-bay and we watched Men in Black.

I should really meet some of the other guys here at the base. You don't know when one of them will be covering you in the thick of the fight.
Anyways, life on the base goes on. Guard duty is driving me nuts, but atleast it keeps me busy.

That's all for now. Daniel out.

 

[Sharkdragon96]

Name: Persephone
Date: 4/8/15
Current rank: Recruit
Status: empathetic
Mission: Off duty


I feel like I've been getting more and more comfortable around my new acquaintances, especially Ayame. This morning while we were at the shooting range the two of had this sudden discussion about our personal lives. I went into great detail about my past, I told her about Rose, about my home life and even that embarrassing story about the pomegranate incident in seventh grade. Ayame was a bit more vague about her past but she did mention Anna being the only family she's had for the past few years, which leads me to believe that she's gone through more traumatic experiences in her life then mine. A part of my mind is still weary about getting too close on a personal level to anyone here, but I feel I'm just going to have to suck it up for her sake. It's not like she can guarantee Anna's safety anymore then she can guarantee her own, especially since we're dealing with an enemy we barely even know anything about (other then the fact that they're certainly not indigenous to our own galaxy). She may seem to have trust issues with some people not to mention a hell of a napoleon complex, but she is a really nice person once you get to know her, and if anything happens to Anna I will make sure I to keep her company.


Speaking of which I should probably consider getting to know her on a personal basis too, but Ayame says she has trust issues with Americans, also since Zhang booted her out of engineering she's been a bit on the moody side, so I'm thinking I'll wait.

 

[AaronBryant]

X-COM Surveillance Video #593448-33845

Gymnassium

*The gymnassium is packed, people training hand to hand combat lifting weight running the track, Aaron picks up a pair of heavy bag boxing gloves proceeds to wrap his hands and stuff the gloves with his hands. He then proceeds to use combos on the heavy bag quickly. The bag begins bouncing up and down with direct uppercuts. A scowl forms on his face, he continues uppercutting the beam that the heavy bag is on which begins producing a creaking noise. He then hits with a huge straight punch and the beam cracks and breaks the heavy bag landing on its side. The room is now silent most paying attention to what happened. Aaron calmly sits down and takes his gloves off and unwraps his hands. he drags the heavy bag to a corner and leaves it there exiting the room*

Hallway

* In the hallway Aaron pulls out a chain and yanks it off throwing it on the ground*
Aaron: F&*CKING A
* Aaron opens his bunker room and slams it shut*

 

[PrismaCube]

OOC: (Something new I'm trying right here, just came up with the idea randomly, hope you all like it and it's alright, I try to stay with the story here, only teaching about stuff that has been figured out.)

Location: Officer Training School
Subject: Sectoid
Teacher: Extraterrestrial Doctor & Scientis Selena Sprous

I recently started going to the Officer Training School that was build not to long ago, I mean its a free option if you go there or not, but I want to know more about the opponents I will be facing. I like it so far, they sure teach good things to know.

Lesson #1
Sectoid's

Selena (Teacher): "The Roswell alien or what we call the "Sectoid", being the first alien we have encounterd are small and weak, therefore being nothing but what we assume to be an infiltration unit and/or a scouting unit, also there identical genetic's show us that these are what we belive to be "Clones", they resemble the Dover Demon description from the old 77's legend, showing us that they could possible have been here longer than we thought. Although easy to kill they do posses the ability to "Aid" other sectoids in battle through merging there minds together. We simply call this "Mind Merge". This can be dangerous for our soldier's out there since recent studies show that this increases there chance to survive shots and it also increases there combat effectiveness. We have however figured away around that during a battle. If you shot the Sectoid that is "Mind Merged" with another Sectoid, it seems to kill both. We have not yet fully figured out how this can be. That is all for today. Remeber this when you are out there battleling against them. Also could the following Soldiers that attented this go about and maybe tell the other Soldiers to join, it would be best for those who have not seen battle yet or want to learn more about there opponent. Next time we will be going over the "Thin Man" and yes we will return to the Sectoid once we know more about it, we plan to try to invent something with that we could capture alien's, we just have not found anything yet. Alright enough said, if you have missed out on the important stuff you can always read them up on the Research Archives, until next time Class.

Research Archives:
Sectoid Autopsy
We've found no discernible genetic variance between any of the small humanoid aliens that have been examined thus far. They are perfect genetic copies, each and every one of them. The subject's brain is quite sizable with respect to its body, and appears to have been augmented even further with cybernetic implants of some kind. Considering the...fragile nature of this creature's physical form, it is safe to assume that these implants were intended to somehow improve the combat effectiveness of the species. Dr. Shen and the engineering team have already developed several theories as to how we might be able to adapt these implants for our own use. Additional tactical information may be available in the field when viewing hostile targets in the Unit Analysis View.

Dr. Vahlen's Personal Note: Cloning, genetic manipulation, biomedical implants... the implications of this technology and the alien's motives are not reassuring.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Name: Ayame Kasagi
Rank: Trainee
Sex: Female
Age: 20
Place of Birth: Central China
Nationality: Chinese/Japanese
Height: 150 cm (4 ft, 11in)
Weight: 42 kg (94.5 lbs)
Hair Color: Black
Hair Length: To the small of her back
Eye Color: Heterochromia (One Dark Brown, One Hazel)
Known Relatives: None (All Deceased) [Update: One possible]
Place of Residence before joining X-COM: None

Memory Log #4

Elizabeth Ashford came to my city when her father's job required them to move from England to China. She was the first Caucasian my own age that I had ever met. Her fair skin and long blond hair made her stand out like laboratory mouse in a room filled with black cats. As I've said before, prejudice ran rampant in my city, and my schoolmates enjoyed the new white girl who barely knew any Chinese, for all the wrong reasons.

The bullying followed the natural pattern; light hazing at first as the bullies tested the adults to see what they could get away with, then full on bullying, followed by the rest of her peers completely abandoning her so as not to receive the same abuse due to association. I myself avoided her, not having a problem with her, but having no reason to worsen my reputation by talking to her. It all came to a head when she made the mistake of telling a girl who was being uncharacteristically nice to her that her mother had bought her a new dress, and she was going to wear it the following day. The next day, as she left school, she found herself facing a barrage of tomatoes. She stood tall, yelling and cursing at everyone in broken Mandarin. She looked directly at me as she she told us how shameful we were. One of the girls, the same one she had confided in I believe, told me, "Are you going to let her let her talk to you like that when you haven't even thrown anything," and handed me a fairly aged tomato. As I looked at the fruit, I realized this was my chance to do something that might get me excepted with the others. So, of course, I smashed the tomato in the girls face and stood in front of Elizabeth, blocking her from any further attacks.

...this...is what I wish I could say, with every fiber of my being. The truth, however, is much more grim. I chucked the tomato at Elizabeth as hard as I could. Worse still, I tried to hit her in her already ruined dress, but she bent down just as I threw it, and I nailed her in the face hard enough to send her glasses flying. As the other students congratulated me on a great throw, Elizabeth picked up her glasses, flashed us another angry look, and with a quivering lip, she ran off.

Still unsure how to feel about the situation as I walked home, I surprisingly found her in standing outside her home, never realizing she lived only a few blocks away from me. Her defiant face at the school was replaced with with the wailing moans of a broken heart, looking down at her once beautiful dress. As she saw me approaching, she somehow stifled her tears and stared daggers at me. When I reached her, I suddenly blurt out an apology, desperate to get her forgiveness. I told her I didn't want to do it, but I was afraid what the others would think if I didn't. This only made her madder, as she yelled, "Then that makes you a bully and a coward," and I had no response, as she was completely right. I left her in there, but watched her from around the corner. She stayed outside of her house crying for over an hour, until her worried father came out to look for her, and had to convince her to come inside.

I spent the next week avoiding eye contact with her, trying to think of something to say to her but coming up with nothing. Then, just as I was about to give up on ever finding the right words, I happened to be walking by an alley way when I heard a shriek. Running inside to see what was going on, I found Elizabeth being hassled by five boys from school, and they were getting violent. I ran to her defense without even thinking, and the boys laughed, asking me if I really thought I could take all of them, but I just stood there, poised to attack. They told me how much of an idiot I was being, that I would never recover my image in the eyes of the other students, all because I defended some stupid little guǐlǎo, and I hesitated. I realized that I was about to destroy any chance I had making friends with anyone else at school, all to stick up for a girl that probably wouldn't forgive me for my earlier actions anyway.

But as I started to lower my fists, I thought about her bawling outside her house, telling her father she didn't want her mother to see her ruined dressed. My choice made, I walked over to the leader of the group and swept his legs out for under him, and dropped an elbow onto his stomach. I was awarded with a quick kick to the chest. I held my own as best I could, but I was too outnumbered. In the end, I was left with two black eyes, a broken ankle, a cracked rib, and bruises, scrapes, and scratches all over my body.

Oh, and a puncture wound. Lets not forget about that one. Irritated that I wouldn't give up even after the beating I was receiving, one of the boys pulled out a small knife, much to the surprise of even his friends. As he threatened us with it, the klutz actually tripped, falling towards Elizabeth. I jumped on her as quickly as I could, and the knife was plunged into my left thigh. No permanent damage was done, save for a small scar, but at the time it was the worst pain ever. I'm sure some people would say I should have "manned up", but I was a fourteen year old girl who had never been stabbed before, so shut up. As the knife wielder ran off in fear, his friends following suit, I fell to the ground and howled in pain. It was nothing compared to what I would experience later in my life, but at the time, I thought I was going to die, and I couldn't stop crying. Elizabeth ran off screaming, I wasn't surprised, but what did surprise me is when she returned a minute later with an adult, who upon seeing me pulled out a cell phone and called 120.

Elizabeth dropped to my side and grabbed my hand, and wouldn't let go until we reached the hospital and they forced her to.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Name: Axton Van Dam

Memory log #2


So, the last time I did this I was four years old and made my first kill, that kill was the first of many and the beginning of my trial to be the perfect bounty hunter.



so lets fast forward a year,i'm five years old my mom and dad send me to Russia to spend time with my uncoil John,I learned a lot from my uncoil,he made it clear the second that I landed in that county "I'm gonna break you boy" and man did he ever for three years he tough me how to make weapons,such as aka s smgs and pistols and showed me how to use them,and during my breaks I would for as far as my legs would take me,and if I were to stop running or sprinting he would shoot near my feat,and yeal at the top of his lungs "I said sprint little wolf"now i'm five years old i'm scared out of my mind so if any one was in my shoes they would run like a manieack to,and he made me do push ups and sit ups,about fifty push ups and ninny sit ups, and this lasted about,five years,and after living there for so long I did pick up on how to speak Russian and my prize for strengthening my resolve an old revolver yea five years of being shot at,running for miles and and working out that was my reward yea but that training was nothing compared to what happened in china.



So in China i'm about ten years old I was sent there to train with my aunt and uncoil and there children,now these four years I spent here in china was tough,I learned about honer,respect and pain,yea pain I learned martial arts there and they did not pull any punches,they told me to block out the pain to block out your injuries and to never under estimate your opponent because if you do your dead, and that training was nothing and I mean nothing compared to what happen in roam,roam the training that happened there will break the toughest Asian Russian and any military person.







In roam the training I had was brutal,Gladiator training,this is the most brutal the most vicious training in the world hell of all time, I remember one thing in particular it's called the vicious cercoal, this is what you do you grab a piece of wood it ways about thirty pounds you put it on your back and hold it there all night,and by all night I mean till the sun comes up. that's just a taist of it and this lasted me none six years and when I got back home I was the perfect worrier one that feels no pain no regret no mercy,showed loyalty and respect for my fallen comm rads that is what I was meant to be.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Name: Ayame Kasagi
Rank: Trainee
Sex: Female
Age: 20
Place of Birth: Central China
Nationality: Chinese/Japanese
Height: 150 cm (4 ft, 11in)
Weight: 42 kg (94.5 lbs)
Hair Color: Black
Hair Length: To the small of her back
Eye Color: Heterochromia (One Dark Brown, One Hazel)
Known Relatives: None (All Deceased) [Update: One possible]
Place of Residence before joining X-COM: None

Memory Log #5

If nothing else, I enjoyed the time off from my constant training, my uncle's constant belittlement, and I'm sure he enjoyed seeing me in pain too much to complain. Elizabeth stayed by my side while I recovered, which was something he did whine about. The only thing that kept him from kicking her out was the fact that her father was a top executive in a well-respected corporation. I told her it wasn't necessary for her to be there, but she would only ask me if I had a problem with her being there, and once, when when I got flustered, she asked if it would be easier if I had a tomato. I was mortified until I saw she was smiling, and we burst out laughing.

I feared that Elizabeth, my first true friend, was only my friend out of guilt, and would leave me the moment I was better. To my amazement, she had the same fear. The first day I was better, as we reached her house and I said goodbye and headed home, she burst into tears, and said she believed I was only her friend because of what I did to her, and because I wouldn't get any other friends because I helped her. She actually started to hyperventilate, and I had to talk her down.

From then on, we were inseparable. Every minute I had off of school and training, I was with her, and it was never enough. I would occasionally express my concern that I was monopolizing too much of her time, but she would say the same thing to me. We shared our hopes, our dreams, and our secrets. I loved brushing her long, flowing blond hair, and I started growing mine out to be just as long, much to my uncle's protest, and she said she loved my different-colored eyes.

I really loved her as a friend, but by the age of fifteen, I found I was actually in love with her. I remember the exact moment, in fact. I was confiding in her about how I had no interest in boys my age, how I felt that there was something wrong with me. She took me by the hand, looked me in the eye, and assured me that the was absolutely nothing wrong with me. As I gazed into her eyes, my heart skipped a beat, and I knew exactly why I didn't care about boys. Of course, it took me another month to get up the nerve to confess my feelings, and I fully expected her to pull a "I'm fine with them unless they hit on me", but instead, she pulled me towards her and planted her lips on mine.

I don't know how two people get closer to each other then "inseparable", but we found a way. I started calling her "my Lizzy", stupid I know, but she thought it was cute. We weren't completely open about our relationship, afraid of the homophobic taunts of our peers, but we loved each other too much to actually try to hide it, nor did we ever deny it when accused. Lizzy's parents knew, and were completely supportive, and while my uncle never said anything, as I said, we weren't exactly hiding our love, and I got the impression that he had his suspicions and was too ashamed to say anything.

Then, on my sixteenth birthday, we were sitting in Lizzy's room celebrating alone, her parents out of town for the weekend, and my uncle,..yeah, like he cared about my birthday. She was making me wear some ridiculous pointed hat, and asked me to blow out a candle on a cupcake and make a wish. When she asked me what I wished for, I said something corny like "I already got my wish", and we laughed at how stupid that sounded. She insisted I really tell her, and as a joke, I told her, "There's only one thing I could possibly wish for right now," gave her a wink, and leaned forward. I gave her a quick kiss, and we looked at each other for a moment, and she leaned forward and kissed my again, this time holding longer. Staring into each other's eye, we both leaned forward, passionately locking lips for several seconds. As we pulled away, she gave me a questioning look, and I nodded.

It wasn't like something out of some perverse adult film. I would say it was more like something out of a cheesy American romance novel. We stripped down, and just studied each other for a few minutes. As I gazed upon her tall, lean body, her beautiful skin, and a bosom that was much larger then someone as skinny as her had any business having, I suddenly felt so inadequate, and covered myself in shame. She immediately pulled my arms away from my body in frustration, and told me to never be ashamed of such a beautiful figure, and laid me down on the bed. She began slowly kissing me all over, starting at my neck and working her way down. Kneeling at the foot of the bed, she told me she needed to do something that was going to hurt, but it would make it easier if I got it out of the way now. She was right about it hurting, but better it be from her then anyone else.

We spent the next two hours exploring each other, experimenting, poking and prodding, stroking and rubbing, finding all the right places to make each other squirm in delight. In the ended, we were so exhausted, sweating and panting, we fell asleep in each other's arms. We awoke the next morning to the sound of Lizzy's mother yelling "We're home." She leapt from the bed and quickly but quietly shut the door, locking it moments before her mother tried to open it. She asked why the door was locked, and Lizzy told her, in English (which she had to translate for me), "Ayame slept over, and she's getting changed. We'll be out in a moment." We stared at each other, wondering if she was going to buy it, until she finally said, "Okay. Hurry up so she can eat breakfast before she leaves. Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, Ayame." After we heard her walk down the hall, we burst into laughter, and continued to laugh so hard, we didn't even realize we had mixed up our clothes, and when we did notice, we just laughed harder.

This was my first time. And my...only time, sadly. It was the happiest day of my life, and once again, it was a cruel tease before the sorrow that would follow.

 

[Majora098]

ACCESSING ARCHIVE. PURPOSE: REVIEW.
BEGIN
ACCESSING FILES...1, 6, 7. DATE: 3/13/02, 3/19/02, 3/20/02
LAUNCH

[The screen shows a young girl of around eleven or twelve anxiously examining the the camera, she's pretty for her age, and there's a worried yet hopeful expression on her face, her large chocolate eyes flicking over every detail of the small device.]

She nervously looks at someone off screen, and sets the camera down. "I don't know Mom, do you think he'll like it?" A feminine, maternal sort of voice answers back laughingly, "I think John will love it. Nina." "I know he will, I picked it out of course, I'm just worried that he won't appreciate it" She looks down timidly, "And the person who gave it to him..."

A chair scooting back is heard and a woman walks into the shot, she is utterly stunning, and practically radiates motherhood. She gives her daughter a reassuring hug, "You know very well how much he appreciates you, I hate to say this,but you are his only real friend." "I wish he might look at me more though." "Just give him time, sweetie, just give him time." with that she reaches over and turns the Camera off.
/

[The camera returns to life, this time showing a sandy haired boy looking at it with amazement, behind him is Nina, looking on nervously for the assessment of her gift, and behind her is two parents sitting below a banner reading "HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY JOHN!]

Nina speaks up, her voice struggling to suppress her nervousness, "How do you like it?" He grinned setting the camera down before , turning around and hugging her, "I love it Nina!" He releases her, and turns back around to continue his examination of his new device, in the process revealing Nina's face, who looks like she might swoon, "I'm going to be able to document everything now Nina, I really can't thank you enough!" He says as he looks over his shoulder, to see Nina radiant smile. Almost nervously he returns it, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

/

[The video is fast-forwarded though a mundane school day, it stops it speeding at a hallway, showing Nina walking along happily alongside, talking animatedly with another girl, who occasionally looks uncomfortably at the camera.]

"HEY NERD!" A sigh is heard, followed by Nina exclaiming, "Oh not this idiot again." The other girl however quickly clears out. The camera turns to reveal an utterly stupid looking individual. He grins in a way that he assumes is winsomely, but really only makes him look like more of an idiot. "Hey Nina, way do you till hang out with this loser, just dump him and come over to experience a real guy." Nina puts on a fake adoring expression, and in the girlyest voice she can muster responds, "Oh my, of course... Do you know where I might find one?" Her tone changes to deadpan, "Cause all I see is an immature idiot." It takes him a second but he gets what she was saying, and his face become angry, "OH so clever... well I don't care, you ugly... uh.. thing! Well hows about I just beat up you boyfriend instead then we'll see who's da man around here.

He turns to face the camera, "Oh look, the Nerd's got a new toy, I'll just have to break that too. " With that he rushes towards the camera. Only to have John sidestep, causing with to ram his hand into the brick wall. He howls with pain, however John deciding its not enough knocks his legs out from under him and step on his chest, leaning down to deliver a message, his voice lacking its characteristic timidness. "Don't. Insult. Nina. Again." with that he removes himself, and walks back towards his slightly confused companion, as he comes closer she asks, "Normally you just walk away after they make an idiot of themselves, why didn't you?" "Oh...uh...well he insulted you... I didn't want him to think he could get away with that." Nina's expression melts into happiness, and before he can react she's hugging him. After keeping there several seconds she pulls back, blushing profusely, "Umm... Let's get to class."

END

 

[Teaslurper]

Name: John Cooper
Rank: Trainee

Non Combat log 7:

John is currently sitting on the floor with his back pressed up against the metal wall. The surroundings seem almost too quite to be part of the base.

"uh...hey. Me again, and I come with news. Remember that plan I had to create a live fire training arena. Well it turns out we already have something like that. It just happens to be on the opposite side of the base, not marked like the range and gym, and practically impossible to find unless the suits told us or gave us map, which they didn't. As it happens the first time I even hear about this existing is when Zhang emailed me about my plan.... Oh well, its not like this is the first time that Bureaucracy has failed me. Haha. Well I decided to check it out, and...."

John pans the camera around, showing the small armoury attached to the arena. Guns and blank ammunition line the walls almost completely covering the back wall, however their is a distinct lack of people.

" ....It's completely bloody empty. I can't say i'm surprised really. Though I must say Zhang was right, It's exactly like I planed my training arena to be like."

John pans the camera back to himself.

"That's all there is to say for today, John signing off"

There is Jump in the recording. John is in the same location still sitting against the wall, however his face now slightly crimson. He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck and starts to talk.

" Uhh...a-actually I'm not signing off just yet. I've seen few of the others talk about their memories in the canteen or when i'm supposed to be sleeping, a-and I thought I might do one now since no one here... I'll guess I'll start with just a small one for now."

John quickly looks around to check the room, and pulls out a small circuit board attached to a strap that is hung around his neck. The circuit board is clearly homemade with the components seemingly being soldered onto the board by a beginner. There is also small, but noticeable antennae and speaker which has been soldered by someone who was much more experienced.

" So...So this is the earliest circuit board I made as a kid that I kept. I made it with dad, I remember It was something to do with showing me how we are exposed different frequency's on electromagnetic spectrum every day just by walking around. If just turn it on...."

John turns the device on, and the silence is broken by the quite hum of the speaker as it quickly changes frequency's, sounding not unlike a radio being tuned.

" hmm...It still works...erm...well what it does is pick up radiowaves and microwaves used in modern communication and converts them to be audiable. The higher the frequency picked up, the higher the tone. Dad soldered on the antennae and speaker since I couln't do it without breaking them at the time. Heh, I remember showing this to mum and annoying the shit out of her day and night keeping it turned on. *sigh* they broke up shortly afterwards, but that's another story for a different time."

John quickly turns of the device and returns it under his shirt before wiping his eyes.

" Shit...why am I crying? Its not like they're dead or anything. Though I should really talk to them "

John brings his knees up to chest.

"a-and shit that was stupid idea. Its not like they're going to talk to me now, not since they found out I was also selling guns last year. I-I tried to explain my reasons but they didn't listen. "

John stays as he is for short while before wiping his eyes and getting up.

"Well I guess that's it for now on the memories front. I know my memories aren't what you would scarring and they probably don't need to be hidden. But what can I say, Any possible weakness you show is bound to be thrown back at you at some point....Um, well I can't stay here forever so I best be going to tell the others that this place exists. John signing out. "

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Surveillance Video #859-87982

Project X-COM Gymnasium/Physical Fitness Center

Joel Freeman repeatedly strikes a training dummy with earnest. He swings his fist rapidly, his precise strikes those of a skilled fighter, yet his face betrays the deep thoughts of a troubled mind that is barely paying attention to what he is doing. A solid right jab causes the dummy to rock back, before suddenly swinging forward and bumping into Joel. He reels back for a solid, angry punch, but simply drops his fist, shaking his head, saying, "Finally found a decent sparring partner, and I..."

"What is wrong?", Ayame Kasagi asks, standing behind him, "The dummy beating you up?"

Joel swings around, surprised at first, but quickly regaining his composure. "No, I just remembered someone once saying that the problem with getting mad at an inanimate object is there is no rational way to get even...how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you need a better challenge," Ayame answers, tossing him a pair off MMA gloves and slipping on her own.

Joel looks down at the gloves in silence for several moments, finally saying, "I'm getting the distinct impression of Déjà vu."

Ayame smiles, saying, "You want to spar or learn French, because I'm still working on English." But Joel keeps his solemn look. "It will be fine. It was a one time thing. I trust you, so you should trust yourself. Besides, this time, once I get a hold on you, I'm not letting go."

Finally cracking a smile, Joel slips on his gloves, saying "Like I'll give you that chance this time." The two jump into the ring, touch gloves, and square off.

Suddenly, Ayame springs forward, throwing a left jab. Joel swats it away, and Ayame responds with an immediate high kick with her right leg. Joel is able to block it too, but Ayame wraps her leg around his arm and lifts herself up. Joel buckles his left leg and falls towards his side, and Ayame is barely able to push away in time. As Joel hops back to his feet, Ayame leaps forward, unleashing a flurry of punches, but Joel blocks each one. As she throws a solid left punch, Joel uses Ayame's momentum to spin her around. Expecting a punch to the back, Ayame continues her spin and delivers a round-house kick, but Joel catches her leg and scoops against his side. As Joel rears back his fist, Ayame hops slightly to use her free leg to kick Joel in the stomach. Instead, he releases her other leg, and she is barley able to catch herself, landing on her hands and springing backwards.

With a frustrated huff, Ayame springs forward yet again, this time diving at the last second and rolling under Joel's legs. She hops to her feet and throws a back-fist, but Joel has already turned around and catches her arm with one hand. Again rearing a fist back, Ayame leaps forward, pushing off Joel's shoulder to hop over him, forcing him to release her arm to avoid having his dislocated. He spins around, and the two slowing circle the ring panting heavily, Joel's face looking tired but focused, Ayame's frustrated, yet with a slight smirk. "i think I know why I am having so much trouble with you," Ayame says.

"Do tell," Joel responds, wiping sweat from his brow.

"I am so used to fighting someone who underestimates me, I have forgotten what it is like to fight someone who treats me as an equal."

"I can see why that would be a problem."

"But I have noticed you give up easy hits many times now. In fact, you have been almost entirely defensive. Are you still scared you will lose control?"

"You're mistaken. What may have seemed like easy hits might not have been so. You are quite the skilled opponent, and I don't know every trick you have up your sleeves. Also, and please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not used to fighting someone so much shorter then me. I feel it is usually better to give up an attack, even one that will likely succeed, for a guerenteed defense."

"Yes, but you will never win if you never attack!" Ayame runs head on, and unleashes another flurry of punches and kicks.

"You don't (ah) have to...always beat someone...down to (argh) obtain victory. When you focus on defense (uh) and purposely ignore...openings for the sake of an...even (uh) balance, you can deny the opponent..." Ayame lets loose a quick right jab, but Joel catches her fist. She follows with a left jab, but again Joel catches her. He quickly places his feet over hers, completely immobilizing her. As she tries to jerk away, he finishes his thought, saying, "Sometimes its more important to stop the opponent from winning then to get the win yourself, such as when little good can come from beating them, or if stalling them is more important. You'd be wise to remember that not everyone you fight will always be going for the victory."

"L-let me go, please!" Ayame yells suddenly, violently jerking away.

"I'm not going to fall..." Joel begins, but seeing the panic in Ayame's face, quickly releases her. She falls back, landing hard on her rear. She wraps her arms around her body, and breaths heavily as Joel kneels down at her side. "Breath slowly, Ayame. In and out. In and out." Ayame does as he says, and a few moments later is able to regain her wits. Joel stands up, and extends his hand, asking, "Are you okay?"

Ayame's face turns red as she excepts his hand. "Yeah, I am okay. I am sorry I freaked out, I just...I..."

Joel smiles, saying, "There's no need to apologize. We all have our burdens to bare, our pasts that haunt us. But maybe we should call it a day."

"Yes, I agree." Ayame smiles, and bows towards Joel, who returns the gesture. "You are a pretty good teacher. I look forward to our next bout." As she makes her way out, she flashes one last smile towards Joel, saying, "And next time, your little defense trick will not work. I will be prepared."

"I look forward to it." Joel responds. Ayame exits, and Joel returns to the training dummy with renewed vigor.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Name: Anna Stone

Memory Log 1 :

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, 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 children in the neighborhood would joke about the fact that my mother never let me out of the house and prevented anyone from talking to me, they would call me the Princess in the Tower and they would call my Mother the Dragon that guards me, they would always try to get me out of the house one way or another, some simply asked my mother is I could come out and were met with a door slammed in their face, others tried to be a bit more sneaky and break into my house at night but ran away When they tripped the Alarm...
I never really had anyone to talk to when I was a kid...

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, 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 I did he left me with so much knowledge, but when they died I hated them so much, 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 better saved for later.

*End of Recording*

 

[Dahlexpert]

]Surveillance Video #876-87932

Project X-COM Shooting range



Ayame is firing her weapon and land countless head shoots


Whistle wow is that the only place you can shoot, Axton Van Dam says behind her,"you no there are more vital areas the head is not the only vital place on the human or alien body".

Ayame turns around and sees Axton (ou great this guy again,and he is again questioning my aim) "that's the only spot that counts"

Axton starts to laugh "whats so funny Ayame says with some anger in her voice"

"If you think that then you are a fool for aiming for the head"

Ayame starts to growl "And why am I wrong for aiming for the head"

"Because head shoots are hard to nail even on humans, and you will mostly miss your target then hit them"

"Are you saying i'm a bad shoot" Ayame says with some anger in her voice

"Well since you don't no any other vital shots other then the head,I would say yes you are a terrible shot.

Ayame face starts to turn read with anger "YOU THINK YOUR BEATER THAN ME"

"ou I don't think i'm better than you,I know that i'm better than you and I can prov it to"

"Relay" Ayame hands Axton a pistol "Prov it"


"You do't want this,you don't want me prove to you that i'm better than you".

"Yes,Yes I do"

Axton puts down the gun "ill tell you what lets make a game out of this if I win nothing happens,but if you win I will apologize to you."

Ayame smiles "deal hope your ready to apologize to me,so how does this work"

"Well we go two rounds we fire twelve bullets head shots are fifty points,the center of the body is another fifty points and the yellow is twenty points".

"That sounds good what weapon do you want"

Axton looks at the weapons and picks up a pistol and a sniper rifle

"A sniper rifle relay no big weapons

"Girly shut up and fire the guns or do you think a sniper is to big of a gun for you"

Ayame eye starts to twitch "no a sniper rifle is just fine.

Both Axton and Ayame walk up to there target

"Ladies first Axton says to Ayame with a smile on his face

Ayame picked up the pistol and fired her shots,all landed in the head

"well thats about seven hundred points beat that

"Ok you asked for this"

Axto walkes up to the stand and seven of his bullets it the head,five hit the body and one hits the yellow.

'Ayame smiles "wow you missed one"

(go ahead and smile the next round will be a little different)


"Ok next round sniper rifles,which is some thing i'm pretty sure your good with,ou and by the way I want to apologize to you for calling you a bad shot you are pretty good with pistol but other weapons well i'm gonna assume your good with it.

"wow um thanks I guess,why are you apologizing to me''.

"It felt like I touched a nerve and i'm sorry"


"Um thanks"

"OK next round snipers only one twist" Axton pushes a butten and the targets started to move





Ayame has a nerves look on her face "the targets move"


"Yes they move,and guess who's up first"


Ayame steps up to the range and fires her shots five of them hit the target "Damn


"Wow that was not that bad,but not to good ether".


"OK your up next"

Axton walks up to the range and fires his gun eleven hit the target and one missed.

"wow your a pretty good shot who tought you military"

"No I been around guns my hole life,cant remember a time I never had a gun,any way I win the game you were pretty good hopefully this will rebuild your reputation with guns".

"Um thanks for the game Axton"

"You no my name"

"Anna mentioned it when you came to my room to get her,remember.

"Ou right so I guess the only question is what is your name".

"It's Ayame,Ayame Kasagi"

"Well Ayame Kasagi it has been a real fun shooting with yea hell maybe we can do this again"

"Sure Axton well go again some other time"

Axton leaves the room.

 

[Sharkdragon96]

Name: Persephone
Date: 4/9/15
Current rank: Recruit
Status: bored
Mission: Off duty

I've been contemplating on the subject of what to do with my spare time, if I'm not training or staying up late chatting with Ayame I'm mostly just spending time in my bunk writing entries in this journal. I'm really happy to have it with me, I've discovered that just sitting down with a pen and paper and writing whatever comes to my mind has a very zen-like appeal to it, a zen-like appeal that will hopefully keep me sane when I'm finally out in the field gunning down sectoids. However I can't escape the feeling that I could be doing something more with my time. Days seem to lazily trudge by without any exciting activity happening within the base, not mention my multiple encounters with the ferocious beast that is writers block, a monster that only seems to get stronger the more you try to fight it! I'm caught in the middle of an intergalactic arms race between all of mankind and a nebulous foe that we have barely even begun to scratch the surface of in terms of understanding their motivations and what I'm I doing? Just sitting on my ass with a pen and paper writing about how I feel about the whole experience! Ayame has seen just about as much action around here as I have and yet her personal knowledge about these creatures is vastly superior to my own. I wonder if Dr. Vahlen is looking for any more volunteers in the research labs, if I started volunteering there it could fill up some of this free time and being surrounded by so many alien specimens brought in from the field could help me gain a better understanding for what I'm up against.

 

[Emil B. Hansen]

Name: Toni Szanches
Rank: Skyranger Pilot

*cough*

Well, back in my own room again. Home sweet home? Sure...
I don't know why they needed me to stay at the infermari that long... It's was only a mild cold *sneezes and coughs* Well, I'm back and ready to fly my baby once again!

*coughs and leave the audio log running as he runs of to the hanger*

((Been away for 2 weeks couse of issues. Toni been with a cold in the meantime))