X-COM Season 4 Role-Play Journals

[Thenlar]

Ryan Chen, Squaddie.

(( Collaboration with Gahlo in his post here. ))

Personal Log, April 6th.

Well, that was friggin' crazy and shit.

I'm still alive, hooray! But turns out there's more than just those crazy gray aliens. We ran into two new ones yesterday.

First it was just the gray guys. I had the jitters, and when I took my first shot at 'em, I whiffed. Bad. It sucked. Damn bugger didn't get us, so I got another shot at him. Hit and kill. Felt good.

Then we ran into these dudes. At least, they looked liked dudes. They sure as hell didn't move like any people I'd ever seen though. Really.. slick, like. Too smooth.

The Commander was looking at just blowing them all up, but Vahlen requested that we try to retrieve them intact. He gave the order to try with our rifles. Once I got a bead on my guy... It just clicked. It felt like it was just at the range. Shoot the silhouette, punch holes in paper. I sent two right through its head. Down it went. Fuck yeah.

We also hit these flying half machine half alien things. It... it reminded me a lot of Arsene. I'm a little freaked out now with what we're doing, but, I just gotta trust the Commander knows what the hell he's doing. I hope these sacrifices are worth it.

The rest of it wasn't too bad... oh, except that Largo FIRED A GODDAMN ROCKET TEN FEET FROM ME. I was deaf all fucking night, all the way back to base.

I didn't even get any good loot, stupid UFO went down in the woods. Well, except for this weird ball I found on the UFO. I don't know what the hell it does. It just kinda... floats. Like, you let it go, and it doesn't fall. Super neat.

Personal Log, April 7th.

What? I'm an assaultman now? Shit. I wanted to shoot from like 50 yards away, and now I'm running up in their faces with a shotgun. We already had Robinson doing that, and she was doing it well, I might say. She's crazy enough for it, for sure.

Personal Log, April 8th.

Looks like the hot dog cart is a hit.

Bradford's on to me now, though. I gotta be shifty... or bring him in to my op. I'm sure he can see the value in what I do.

... damnit, another alert. I'm up again. And... and so is Lamarque. I really thought I was gonna be backup for Robinson, but the Commander liked my work in my first op, and I guess he wants to see how I handle close up fights. I'm not looking forward to it. Though I hope Arsene liked the DVD he got, because damn that minigun is friggin' big. It'd be easy to "accidentally" walk a couple bullets across my back during a big burst while I'm close with my shottie. I'm off the UK. Hope I can get some good fish and chips while I'm there.

 

[Hokucho]

Log Entry #6: 09:00 April 10th 2015 of Squaddie Hokuchiyo "Hoku" Ritofuto. Sniper Division.

First thing to get out of the way immidiately: The aliens are getting tired of us I think. We ran into another type of alien when we were sent to the UK. This one decided to look like a terrible dream I had one night after eating sushi past closing at a friend's place of mine back home. They float, like the Floaters do, but these ones can turn invisible, in fact, they seem to capitalize upon that every time we saw them, that is, until they showed up right in our faces. We never got to see what they actually -do- yet, are they even combat effective? They hadn't shot us with anything and we didn't wait long enough to find out. Maybe the science team wil lgive me their research notes, I'm still waiting for approval or denial of my last request regarding the notes of what we know so far. I'll have to ask the Doctor and Shen if they have anything again, remember to send email after recording this journal.

Now, back to the general recap: Lemarque, Chen, Kuklinsky and myself were sent to the UK for a 'typical' abduction situation. Things in transit went fine and I asked a few questions about Chen's background before focusing on Kuklinski finally before we touched down. When we hit the ground we were stationed next to some kind of convenience store, maybe the aliens wanted a snack between harrasing the public and shooting at their imminent dimise. We at first began to head around the eastern side of the store but immidiately doubled back when we heard noise coming from the other direction. Lemarque's suit is quite a thing to take cover next to, large and terrifying, even if he is on our side. The only downside, and I use only in a very loose term in way of severity, is that the comm-chatter between us, Leeroy, and the Commander back at base was very difficult to decipher. There was much static, and after a while we began to simply act on our own. We have done this enough times to know what to do, and Chen is a fast learner.

We encountered a total of six Sectoids and if I recall correctly... four of those Squid Things, which the retrieval team is calling Seekers. We lost one can of meld and secured the other, so it wasn't lost on us completely. I find it odd that there is always two of these canisters or none at all wherever we touch down. Do they come in pairs and break apart or something? Everyone handled one of the early Sectoids well enough and Kuklinski wounded another from afar. Learque decided to try out his new toy after that and made a car into bomb, killing the alien and the one near us that was melded to it. The move burned his reserves and he had to reload however, so he played standby for a moment when we found the first two of those Seekers and three more Sectoids. Kuklinski, always apt for going bigger, took two of them out with another rocket blast. Maybe he should work in the field of pyrotechnics when he gets out of this. The third was shot down and we all were able to hear the Commander's suggestion to cluster up and wait for the Seekers to reappear. It was a potentially dangerous tactic but it worked out in the end. When they revealed themselves, we were able to handle it effectively and eliminated them quickly, save about half of them, when the Seekers decided to appear somewhere else and we would essentially trip over them before they would vanish again. Then it was a simple task to wash, rinse, repeat. I sadly wasn't able to hit anything myself, but id my best to provide support fire to the team. As a side note on the last Seeker we engaged, be sure to -NEVER- ask Lemarque for an arm wrestling contest of anything involving his left arm... That thing seemed rather painful when that flying squid turned into an inkstain and flaming debris a few yards away after Lemarque throttled it with his rocket-arm.

When the operation was over, I decided to wait for just a moment and swung by the convenience store before meeting up with everyone. The store seemed to have a large liquor section and I grabbed a few different bottles and put them in some conveniently located gift boxes, and placed them on the counter. I went ahead and got together a rather interesting set for the retrieval team to pick up. It consisted of an Egyptian Zythos, which I justified as also being useful for any soldiers having 'problems' back at base, a Reisling Wine to help ease down the stuff at base that isn't a hot dog, a Kentucky Bourbon for American traditions sake, 'pardner and yee-hay' and all that, Banana Beer for the sake of making jokes and giving the other soldiers at base something to mull over, and finally for myself admittedly enough, a Junmai-shu bottle of sake. What can I say, I appreciate a good, fruity taste when it comes to my alcahol. The array the store had was actually rather impressive. I tried to make it obvious for the retrieval team to pick up on the way back from scavenging, it' be a shame to let it go to waste!

And now we are at the point where I am writing this journal. To get my schedule out of the way I'm going to help the retrieval team unload whatever they found that they will let me handle, and help anyone else out who needs a low-clearance hand around the base, then it's back to the range for more shooting lessons for those who want it and some self practice. Maybe stop by the Mess to see if that booze made it in. Kuklinski, Lemarque, and Robinson are heading out with Goreest for the next operation. I think the Commander needs to give Kuklinski a break at least. He has been on every op since the 'bad' one we had early on. I do not know how Lemarque is faring, but am assuming his robotics gives him more endurence then the rest of us.

 

[Rosen0x5]

Name: Richard Kuklinski
Class: Heavy
Rank: Sergeant
Confirmed Kills: 12
Journal Entry #5 / April 10th, 11:50 AM

So, im a Sergeant now. Its quite an honor actually, wouldnt be here without the fine men and women serving here. I think there might be a nickname floating around for me but Im not quite sure if there is one. However, im just a soldier like everyone else, and no amount of kills, missions or titles will change that.

Speaking of missions, the last one was pretty crazy. Never thought a piece of sushi could give me a scare like that. Ritofuto, Chen and Lemarque were with me on that one. On the way, Ritofuto was asking a few of us about our backrounds, when he got to me we were already landing, I told him I would slip a copy of my backround under his door so that he can have a look for himself.

Lemarque's suit came in pretty handy out there. I just wonder... how much was his body modified to allow him to wear that suit? Cant say I'd want to be put in a tin can like that, as powerful as it may be. Anyway, once we set down we began heading to the nearest Meld deposit.

On the way, the commander was pretty concerned about the "disruption field", he called it. Im no scientist, so its not my job to worry about that. Upon arriving to the Meld deposit, we encountered 3 sectoids and a few moments later, 2 flying squids. The next thing you know the squids vanish into thin air. Thats when we started huddling together, we couldnt let them pick us off 1 by 1.

After successfully dealing with the first squad of sectoids, a SECOND squad of sectoids rush at us from the store on our right. We still didnt know where the squids were so playing it safe, I managed to send 2 flying to the heavens with my rocket. Unfortunately we didnt manage to secure the Meld. After neutralizing the last sectoid, we proceeded to the next Meld deposit very slowly and clumped up, taking out a squid on the way thanks to Lamarque, we managed to get the deposit just in time. It was already starting to fade away.

Shit, im running short on time. They want me on the next mission, so long story short we spent a lot of time chasing invisible flying squids. No one got hurt. I've slipped a copy of my backround under Ritofuto's door and if I come back from this alive, we can have a good chat about it.

 

[Thenlar]

Ryan Chen, Squaddie.

Personal Log, April 8th, continued.

Holy hell, now there's vanishing flying squids? I've seen some... err.. movies about things like that. I don't like where this whole alien invasion thing is going now.

Now I'm glad I got a shotgun. These suckers like to sneak up on us and a blast of buckshot to the face is just the thing for fending off tentacle grabbiness. They haven't latched on to anyone yet, but there's no way they're going to cloak and close in on us if they weren't planning on doing the tentacle grape business. It's not hard to use the shotgun, but I'm still not really comfortable with it. Did manage to blow away a few grays out there, though.

Also, Arsene? Total fucking badass in his giant mech suit. He punched one of those squids like 30 feet!!!

Personal Log, April 9th.

Bwahahaha! I found out the recovery crew snagged up a nice boxed up set of booze from the liquor warehouse we hit yesterday... and I didn't even set that up! Good, someone else can draw Bradford's attention for a little while.

Personal Log, April 10th.

I had just started screening some Japanese .. uh.. "films" in the bar when the alert sounded.

The Commander took me off the active roster and put Robinson in. Apparently, it's some special mission from the Council, and he wanted his most experienced troops in for this one.

I'm... okay with this, actually. People kinda drifted off with the mission on, so I'll do the showings later. I think now would be a good time to hit the range and practice with the shottie, get familiar with its operation. Just in case... whatever the squad just went to do, I got a bad feeling about it. Hopefully, I don't get left as the only one specialized into assault.

At the range

(( RP Collaboration with Meaningofbread ))

The shooting range was a brightly lit place. Adorned with targets on the far wall and several whiteboards near the back, apparently for tactics, but really used more for graffiti. The newest mission had just been called, and the skyranger was gone. Ryan was the only one in the range, still experimenting with his new shotgun. The door clangs open, and a rookie jogs over to Ryan holding a clipboard

"Yo! You Ryan Chen?!?"

Ryan pauses from loading the shotgun and turns to look at the speaker. He quirks an eyebrow up and nods at the clipboard. "Yeah, that's me. What, you running range qual? I didn't even think we did that."

The woman disregards his statement completely and waves a clipboard in his face. "XCOM Range Testing and Scores. For Administrative use only." "Look at your name this sheet. Look at my name. Comprende?"

He glances at the board. "Oh damn. I knew I was a good shot, but I didn't think I was right up at the top there." Ryan sets the shotgun down and glances over at her. "I'd look at your name if I knew what it was. But I take it you want some tips or something?"

"The name is Elizabeth, and yes. Yes I would like to learn how not to shoot like a Storm Trooper." She pauses for a few moments and looks at the gun in his hands. "They gave YOU a shotgun?"

He sighs. "Nice to meet ya. And yes. A goddamn shotgun. The only weapon in the arsenal that takes the least aiming skill." He gives a helpless shrug. "But I heard the Commander had considered assigning rifles to us assaulters on a case by case basis, so really, that just means I have three weapons to practice with now." He throws up his hands in disgust. "How am I supposed to get drunk if I'm shooting all the time? Sorry, random bitching. You wanted help. Did you ever get formal instruction on marksmanship?"

Awkward silence. "Not really. I mainly just a combination of ad-libbing and pure luck. Honestly, I'm not sure how I made it this far.

She pauses for a few moments and stares at the clipboard again. "Wait, did you say get hammered? I didn't think alcohol would be that free around here"

"Well, they don't keep the bar well-stocked, but.. uh... I occasionally get ahold of some alcohol and put it there myself. Or just share it with people that really seem like they could use it."

"Ok. I know some people who know some people. If you give me lessons, I'll keep you supplied. Or do you not need it?"

He just gives a big lopsided grin. "You can never have too many suppliers. You got a deal." He sticks out his hand to shake.

A careful eye twitches over the palm, and she hesitates. "Sorry, remnants from the past. Deal."

Elizabeth walks away from the range, noticably happier, but still somewhat concerned. Forgetting to put the clipboard back in its rightful place, she jogs back out the door.

Ryan chuckles to himself, mentally reviewing the lessons he first learned in the Marines so he can pass them on. He turns back to his shotgun, picking it up and getting back to work.

 

[PrismaCube]

Soldier Name: Caroline Southway
Rank: Rookie
Class: None

None of you know who I'm, sometimes I don't know who I'm either, yet if you are reading this there are possibilities, either aliens have conquered this earth and learned about the fallen once who fought for their planet and now I'm writing an alien book on these Soldier, or we won and I'm recording history for the future to read about this. Either way are we not all monsters in the end?


Alexander Southway married Elisabeth Southway not for her riches but simply for her kindness, he meet Elisabeth in the hospital while she was taking care of his father Daniel (Caroline's grandfather fathers side). He was dying out of old age. But before he died he got really fond of Elisabeth, and being a great wing-man for his son Alexander, always saying how the too make a great pair and telling Elisabeth stories about Alexander. Alexander was amazed, never has he meet a girl in his life as beautiful and kind as Elisabeth. But not all was well, after his father's death Alexander didn't come back to the hospital for quite a while. Simply staying at home grieving over his father's death. Alexander has never gotten used to death, his father wasn't the first, and later on after Elisabeth died he simply couldn't take it anymore, he slowly broke down and became more and more sad over the years. Not even spending time with his daughter anymore and raising her to be a nice and royal daughter. Caroline took her life into her own hands. But let me tell you more some other time between Alexander and Elisabeth. We still got Caroline to talk about. The main reason why you and I are here. I hope.


Rebecca and Caroline are having a fun time together, epically since Caroline still hasn't gotten a second key to her room, now she always has to wait outside her room for Rebecca who takes 30 minutes extra longer in the shower. One day while waiting outside pissed as usual she meet the Pilot Leroy Jenkins, she demanded him to pick open the door but Leroy failed to do so, Caroline was disappointed and sickened by him for he wouldn't stop looking at her, but apparently not for standing there with only a towel covering her body but because he knew Caroline. Well he knew she was that soon to be crowned Queen. It was a rather short conversation, but the too seemed to get along well. After a while Caroline decided to go yell at Rebecca for taking too long so she said her goodbye to Leroy and headed back for the showers.


Now I know Caroline is not the nicest girl on this planet, and it's all just a nice act that she is doing, but sometime I believe that she really means the nice things she says. Could it be the people? They are all so different from what Caroline usually knows. Rich and stuck up people like herself, here it's just Soldiers, Scientist and Engineers with some others mixed into it. It's that or she is really a great actress, which I highly doubt since she never been into drama class. Then again it could be a hidden talent.


Speaking of which Caroline meet that James guy again, you could tell she was defiantly acting there. playing all nice and helpless in order to get James to like her. Another friend for her to take the bullet when the time is right? Who knows Caroline is a mysterious and strange girl, sometimes I don't understand her either and heck I'm ... Never mind let's get on with the Story.


Entering the gym where all the weights were Caroline meet Dennis Largo, and boy did they talk, all about Caroline and being soon to be crowned Queen, all about the lines of succession and stuff like that, I might have to explain that to you guys next time, so you know the exact reason why Caroline is soon the be crowned Queen. I think most of you are already waiting for an explanation on that so the story makes a bit more sense, but like I said all in time. Anyway Dennis now knows more about Caroline then probably anyone else in the base, which is funny, because Caroline hasn't gotten any wiser over Dennis, he seemed rather, absent, strange to explain but I think that the alien blast can be dangerous for humans. He seemed to even pass out at one point of the conversation.


While walking around base Caroline meet Hokuchiyo in the hallway, he simply said hello to her and continued on his way, although it was clear he was happy to see her again. Caroline stopped him and talked a bit. She wanted to know everything, and Hoku told her everything. New Aliens, how England has been looking, it also seemed he was a little disappointed because Caroline didn't show up for training one day. She tried to make up an excuse, or was it one? I mean she does know her way around a gun. Either way it was a long talk for just a meeting in the hallway.


Well that's all for today, let me tell you what I will be talking about next week. Well let's see, there is explanation of why Caroline should be Queen, also some more about Caroline's past. Some meetings between Caroline and the others. And much more surprises. So stick around for it won't be long till the first sacrifice will come. I would love to tell you how Caroline reacted to the first death of an X-COM soldier.

 

[Suryce]

Corporal Rebecca Robinson (Assault), Journal 06, recorded on April 8th, at 08:08am

… I want to hold Stan.

If there is one thing you can always count on, it’s a good weapon that doesn’t get jammed. Back in those days, it’s because I had Ackermann with me that I never died. All I have with me right now is Arsène’s locket, but she isn’t mine, I have to give her back to him.

When all seemed in flames around me, small and pitiful creature, paralyzed by fear to the point of being barely able to breath, he is the one who saved me. I thought I was alone, but Ackermann had been there all along, in my clumsy hands. I had no need of a mother, a father or a sibling to protect me, as the smallest of child can face anything with the company of their friends. With Ackermann, this battleground became our playground.

I paid no mind anymore to who wasn’t in some ways useful to me and my little circle of friends. I was so self-centered that I expected nothing from anyone and other expected nothing from me other than deep troubles. The world was scared of me, but I paid no mind to it.

A few years went on like this. Winter was blowing and war was still raging when I met the girl who took the name of Jeanne as a grown woman. At the time, she was a petite teenager carrying a sniper rifle that looked twice as big as her. I think I laugh the first time I saw her like this, but apparently she didn’t took offense for it, and instead she came to ask me counsel. What a weird girl… Anyway, I knew from the start that she had to be a good shooter if they had bothered to give her something like that. Most children just carried AKs. But they didn’t assign someone to spot for her, so half of her talent was wasted because she had a hard time picking her targets.

My fellows were usually afraid to even talk to me, but that girl gave apparently no heck to that. People were looking at us as if they were expecting me to snap the girl’s neck for daring to bother me, but their eyes got even wider when I actually answered to her normally and tried to help her. Hey, she was asking, and I didn’t really have any reason to refuse her… I was assigned to the front lines though, so I couldn’t stay with her in battle, so instead I gave her my radio frequency. I would pick targets from up close and she would cover me. It was a clumsy system but it worked well enough in an actual battle. That night, we slept in the taken city.

More exactly, she slept with me…. and I meant that literally. Though from what I gathered over time, I don’t think Jeanne would’ve minded the other meaning. When she asked if she could sleep in my couch because the night was cold, I asked her if she was not afraid of what the others were going to think and say. Well, she wasn’t. In her own way, Jeanne was a courageous woman.

The next days, we found someone to act as her spotter, and later that same spotter found someone eager to provide me support in the front line. That’s how the team was born. Once they saw that I wouldn’t eat them alive if they approached me, more and more fellows joined us, and in the end we became a family.

I owe a lot to Jeanne and I feel sorry I couldn’t reciprocate her feelings.

I have received several things yesterday: my wage, with an extra for the promises Ferdinand couldn’t keep, and a letter from her explaining what happened. Our country is in chaos, worse than ever before. Ferdinand tried to extract all the people from the Ranch in a more secure area, but XCOM has stopped investing resources in African countries and she was only able to save a handful of children, whose she is going to take her of. She managed to confirm the identity of most of the dead, and Jeanne is on the list.


… This almost feel nostalgic, the feeling of losing everything. I thought I had forgotten it, like with any trace of memory from before, before everything. You had imagined that someone living in complete desperation would feel heavier than ever, but strangely, you actually feel very light. And you realize that this is because since you have nothing to lose anymore, failure becomes inconsequential. You can do whatever. This country was a prison made of the past, and now I’m out of it. I can do whatever.

And right now I want to hold Stan. Polish him, and tell him I love him.

 

[Grelite]

Name: Tarrmis Gorefest
Rank: Squaddie

Tarrmis had been curious to see Lamarque in action ever since he had seen the Canadian lifted into the MEC suit. As such, there was a sense of disappointment when Ritofuto was sent out as squad-leader instead. The stories from their return, however, weren't to be jealous of; a stressful mission full of uncertainty with a new type of enemy appearing and, more terrifyingly, disappearing on the battlefield. Around the base they called them Seekers and were being described as flying robots that go invisible, reappearing elsewhere, firing their plasma weaponry from completely unpredictable angles. With no way to detect where they went, Seekers made the last mission an extensive exercise in hide-and-go-seek.

Otherwise, life on the base was as usual. The strict schedule Tarrmis had set for himself left him with little time for leisure, every minute of which was planned, too. It dawned on him, however, that perhaps a more proactive nature was needed of him to keep ahead of the aliens. He had always made time to talk to his fellow soldiers when they were to ask him about his experiences, but perhaps he would soon have to start actively sharing his experience through formal classes and education about first-hand experience with the extraterrestrial threat. For now, however, he would have to wait for the facilities to catch up with the demand for such training.

 

[PrinceZarek]

Personal Log 006
Name; Arsène Lamarque
Rank; Corporal
Current Status; Deployed
Confirmed Kills; 10 Sectoids 2 Seekers


What a day, that mission was hectic, but it was a learning experience for all of us. The first time I piloted the MEC into battle, and I must say it handled pretty well, hats off to Shen and his crew. When they made the MEC, they sure thought of everything. If only they had chosen a different color. Yellow is kinda vibrant on the battlefield. Perhaps a dark red or black, maybe with stripes would be better.

Enough about that, how about the new enemy we encountered? It was a metallic creature with tentacles like a octopus, and they can cloak for a short while. It reminded me of certain "videos" that Chen had let me borrow. When we first saw one he gave me a smirk. He probably couldn't see it through my helmet, but I just rolled my eyes. He and Kuklinski helped me eliminate the first group of Sectoids. I used the minigun's alternate fire mode to take down two of them that were doing that strange mind meld thing. That uses up an entire ammo belt, so I shouldn't activate it too much.

We formed a small group, with everyone staying within range of the Distortion Field. The Commander had concerns about it interfering with our communication systems. I'll make a note to discuss it with Shen. We kept playing tag with the enemy, making contact before they cloaked again. When we did find them, I put my new "toy" to good use. Ah... the Kinetic Strike Module. I don't know why, but I always feel the urge to say the name of an attack when I use it. Like "Burning Finger" or something similar.

When I returned back at base, I went to the bar. I noticed that they had placed a piano in the room. Maybe I could take requests, anything to help me get used to my new body. I can't really practice right now though, I'm being sent out again. This time in France. I haven't sat foot on French soil since Véronique's death. Rebecca still has my locket, I'll ask for it back after we return. Here's hoping we make it back in one piece.

 

[Taugaunt]

April 10th 2015
Personal Log
Name: Abbygail Penhallow
Position: X-COM Mechanical engineer

Wow who knew I sing when I am drunk. I should probably delete the evidence of that.

O well in current news the MEC performed wonderfully so that is deffenently a good thing to put on a future CV. Hmm I should probably ask if we can actually talk about this stuff after we beat the aliens. Well we will se what happens but other then that the new generator was built and we are still working on the other facilities as well.

Lamraque is going off on another mission today (being our only MEC he will probably be on most of them from now on). There are some potential upgrades I have been thinking of for it. Although I don't think the rocket armed tail would work because of the needs to be close to human physiology to avoid it being to complicated to use.

There is one more thing I have been able to learn from this experience. Its a little upgrade I am giving to twitchy (using spare or unused parts that no one would mind me tacking).

Well I will get to work on that surprize so until next time.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Name: James Nightingale
Rank: Rookie
Status: Active Reserves

Audio Journal 6

I remember the day I first shipped out for basic training, I also remember seeing the look on my parents faces when I came home with my brothers in coffins. I am haunted day and night by images of the past and I can't seem to stop them from coming. I am taking up my old habit of drinking again. I am at the bar constantly now and I always keep looking over my shoulder at the people who talk about me behind my back. I am not mad, but when they say, "What is that dudes problem?" I remember the images in my head and order another whiskey.

I have all but halted all my workshop time now. All the projects get overwhelming at times and I am afraid I will saw my own hand off if I am in a buzz. Caroline has come to see me but I have been brushing her off. I am just not in the mood. Maybe I need someone else to talk to but everyone else seems to busy to pay attention to a drunk like me. I am just a reserve, I am not that important. I am just a grunt. Huh, I like that nickname, "Grunt". Well that's me.

The only good thing I remember from Basic that was more my style was hand to hand combat. There is a certain adrenaline rush you get in the ebb and flow of battle. The talent is basically useless against aliens but it is still something to do right. Hell if any of the other guys want some sparring practice I would more than likely do it.

I still sneak off at night to do some jam sessions in the bar early in the morning. Some of the scientists and engineers come hear me play my old acoustic guitar though I can't say I see any I recognized. Hell maybe some recruits get up to listen to me and I don't even notice. I think tonight I will do a cover of Five Finger Death Punch's "Tragic Truth". Sounds about right for myself.

 

[ACisHere]

((In celebration of a successful Progeny mission, I wrote up Annette's side of the mission. I tried really hard to make it fit in 10,000 characters, but in the end I think bbcode ruined my chances, and even after paring it down, I was a thousand characters over.

I know actual XCOM personnel can't experience this entry, but on the other hand we already know about meeting Annette. I want to look at some of what came before that...

Due to these reasons, I decided to make reading it optional by uploading it to fanfiction.net.))

(( https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10118232/2/Uptown-Girl ))

 

[Suryce]

Sergeant Rebecca Robinson (Assault), Journal 07, recorded on April 15th, at 19:12pm
Hunting collection: Sectoid, Thin Man

I feel lighter than ever.

And true to myself.

There never was any chance of somebody recognizing me here, so I have neglected the tinting of my hair this past month. It turned out okay since I have then decided to cut them up to the black roots. I never had it cut so short, it’s a nice change of pace. People who know me were surprised to see me with this new look, but since my scar is more visible than ever now that the damaged roots are uncovered, nobody had too much trouble recognizing me. My body is light, yet complete. My true hair color and this scar are here to remind me of my past.

I was finally sent on a mission again and it was similar. When we descended from the Skyranger, I could immediately smell the familiar scent of blood and flames, but the vibrations and noises coming from every step taken by Arsène’s huge metallic body were a new experience for my senses. I’m not afraid of losing my limbs anymore - now that I think about it, it’s pretty reassuring to see they can be replaced so easily – but I would regret the lack of discretion. That’s an obvious downside of fighting inside a giant Mech suit. Arsène took as much place as three of us in the Skyranger, at least. I’m already surprised it was possible to cram him inside.

And it’s not like having all of that junk on his shoulders did much good to him. From what I have gathered, he was hit thrice by those “Thin Men” plasma guns, and that was it for him. Though I have to admit that these weird guys’ guns are bigger and probably more dangerous than those used by the Sectoids, and that says a lot. When I went to see Arsène at the medbay, he was still unconscious. I was supposed to give it back to him after the mission, so I put the locket on his bedside table. I hope this bad experience didn’t also break his spirit, and that this can help him if necessary.

At that moment, when Arsène went down, I really thought we were going to lose him. I’m not the one who checked his pulse since I was instead charging the last Thin Man who creeped on us from behind just after delivering the survivor, holding my breath before I made his head explodes as his poison poured on me. That was smelly too, some people gave me weird stares back at the base, and just to be safe I asked people to not touch me until I took a shower. I was afraid of getting sick myself but I went fine the next days.

After hearing so much about them, it was the first time I met another kind of aliens outside of the Sectoids. Those Thin Men are the only other thing we encountered though, but I guess they are pretty cool in their own right. Hum, actually they are pretty creepy, but what I meant to say is that they are more challenging than the Sectoids, and also more… intriguing? Obviously, they have those bigger guns, but they are also more resistant and agile both at the same time. They look like men, which gave a false sens of familiarity to killing them, but they were clearly monsters, spouting clouds of greenish gross stuff, jumping around like kangaroos to try to take us from behind, and one of them survived my shotgun blast at close range, and Gorefest had to finish him. Funny name by the way, I had to hold a chuckle the first time I heard it.

It makes me wonder though… are there Thin Women? Do those aliens have genders? Maybe they have even more than our standard two! Those guys from space are so mysterious. I have been hearing rumors about the engies and the nerds discussing methods for capturing the aliens. Hunting and killing is fun, but getting our hands on one alive sounds fun too! Imagine attaching one of those little Sectoids to a chair for some “interrogation”. Haha, that sounds hilarious, I would love to do that!

Ah! I need to catch my breath, diary… Anyway, I can’t believe I was feeling so down before when things are just getting more and more interesting around here! I want to meet and kill all of those different aliens. For Science! And good fun!

Until they figured that out, maybe we can torture that survivor for now? He didn’t seem super talkative, I already had to kick his butt to motivate him to move to the Skyranger. What an unpleasant fellow, putting him back in his place could be amusing... Don't get me wrong, those aliens are marvelous, but killing a man feels a bit nostalgic sometimes.

 

[Hokucho]

Log Entry #7: 07:00 April 12th 2015 of Squaddie Hokuchiyo "Hoku" Ritofuto. Sniper Division.

I don't want Lemarque fighting anymore.

My entries don't start so out of order or bluntly, but I am saying this now in case anyone is reading my logs (will explain shortly). The man is not fit for combat, robotics or not, and I don't say that in a competancy sense, I say this in the sence that the man has had enough. He's been hospitalized more then any of us, had his limbs removed to leave no more then moving metal and a stumpy torso with a head on it, and already he is in critical care, AGAIN. Unless I see what is so good about these MECs soon I am beginning to wonder how wise a decision it was to make the steps and sacrifices to use them.

Now... Now with that out of my system I feel a lot better... Here is what was happening around the base since my last entry.

The facilities around the base are being put up, as a matter of fact, they are finishing the last parts on one of the sattelite uplinks downstairs as I write this. It's nice to know we are expanding. Even if we can't all walk around all we please in some of the zones it's nice to get some leg room. On the topic of expansion I am forwarding a proposal to Dr. Shen to see if any of his build team can repurpose our shooting range. Paper targets aren't cutting it anymore, we need to be working in a three-dimensional space, simulation-space as it were. I am hoping he sees the value in this as I think a simulation setting would prove better for us in the long run, not only for the new recruits to learn about what we are fighting beforehand, but also to help sharpen the old veterans like myself. Shooting targets on a moving conveyor belt and videos just aren't going to always cut it.

With that in mind, my request to the science team was replied to by the head of the science team herself. At the expense of me being under lock-and-key more or less, they were willing to ivulge autopsy and other documentations and findings on the objects and aliens we bring back. This means no more special deliveries from me to the base sadly, but I think knowing this information proves more valuable in the long run then a shotglass full of rum.

Speaking of the Doctor, I was busy moving some freigt around the hangar in my offtime when the team returned... With one extra in tow and minus one functioning robotic suit (the thing had to be carted back in). Apparently the man was found on the mission and was being sent in for interrogation. I had sent Vahlen an email to ask her if she would like some 'assistance' in interrogating him, seeing as I do have a background in policing and vice, making me a rather good candidate. She unfortunately declined my request at this time. I left the option open.

There was a young man that wished to speak with me about potential Ellerium exposure. He asked me a few general questions and was on his way. He wanted to know if I was sick or in any sort of pain or grew any new body parts or whatever. I told him I was fine, just a bit worked up with the current situation was all.

I also had time to read Kulkinsky's file that he slipped to me in my room before leaving... I have mixed feelings about this. Half of the team I initially set out with seems to be the kind of people I at best, arrest, and at worst, have to kill due to their behavior, at least, that's how it was before joining this project... I have been through enough with Robinson, Lemarque, and Kulkinsky however that... I can forgive anything they any of them may have done, just as long as they don't do anything in my town when this is all over and we all get to go home.

Finally, with my shooting-range training still on the table, I also started to hang around the OTS when avalible to help recruits at the base learn more about our enemy. There are some things I can't say as per my agreement with Vahlen, but there are some general strategies, tactics, and questions I can answer in case we send new men out. I was glad to see that Southway had visited me and decided to sit in and learn a bit from me. We did a little shooting at the range and I told her about the aliens we had encountered in a more first-hand style then reading it from a vid-doc or something. It was nice to just see her again as well since our quick little talk in the hallway recently, it was a lot more comfortable to talk to each other when we weren't just idly passing by one another.

 

[Zain Shah]

Leroy Jenkins

Skyranger Pilot

It's been a while since I've written in here. I had a small chat with that British girl and it turns out she was royalty so I'm still not sure why she's willing to risk her life; if it was me, I would just stay there until we (hopefully) win. Another thing, she might think I'm a pervert or something but it's understandable if you stare at someone who is just wearing a towel and then follow with saying you don't mind if they wear a towel or armour. Also, these guys are taking this stuff way too seriously; CYBORGS! That guy, Lemarque, is a death machine now. He is literally taking those aliens out by punching their brains out. He managed to make quick work of those invisble, tentacle squid-things but they look like they are ready to strangle and maybe even go down south (I've watched enough of it to know what happens).

On our latest mission, we got a report that a French military convoy had been ambushed and we had to check it out. All the signs led to us thinking that it was not the aliens . Seriously! We're at war with aliens; some guys are trying to weaken us even more and they might even have some alliances with the aliens. Anyway, we found a survivor of the attack and he jumped onto the skyranger so I decided to have a little talk with him. He clearly wasn't a fan of chatting because he'd just sat in the corner and didn't respond when I asked him the simplest of questions "What's your name?" "Do you know who did this?" "Are you with the aliens?" The crew got back soon after to break the awkward silence that had been common for the last 15 minutes but the last person to get on board was Lemarque. He'd had most of his metal suit disintegrated and the little flesh he had was burned into a bloody mess. He was struggling to breathe as well so I stepped on the gas (not literally) and we got him into the med bay as soon as possible.


Letter reply from Leroy's Girlfriend:

Hi Leroy,
I'm sorry I took so long but I just couldn't believe that even while doing this top secret thing, you'd still have time for me. Everything at home is going fine and your mum called to check up on you so you should probably write to her as well. As for me, I really need to tell you something but I want to see you when I ask so e-mail me when you can video chat. My job is going fine but it's even harder knowing that you won't be back for months rather than the couple of days when you were just an ordinary pilot but I know you enjoy it so I won't stop you. When you go out doing whatever you're doing, please remember me.

Miranda

This is a collaboration between Zain Shah as Leroy Jenkins and PrismaCube as Caroline Southway

Caroline stands in front of her room drying her hair, covered only by a towel, she seems to be very angry & waiting for someone, probably her roommate who locked the door. You can hear her say something about a second key request.

Leroy is about to enter his room where he once again sees that British girl he knew from somewhere, he finds himself staring at her for about 15 seconds trying to remember where he's seen her.

Caroline notices Leroy and calls over to him
"Hey you there, engineer looking guy. Can you open this door for me?"

Leroy instantly stops staring at her like he has just woken from trance "Who? Me?!" Leroy points at himself. "I'm no engineer but I might be able to get someone to look at that."

Caroline looks at him with anger.

"Look at me, do you think I have time to wait out here? Already bad enough that you see me half naked. Now get over here and pick the lock or something!"

"I'm no expert but I'm sure that you need some stuff to pick locks." Leroy tries to open door by barging his shoulder in but after three tries, he gives up and sighs.

Caroline sighs in disbelieve.

"Alright screw it, your no good to me. I will just wait til Rebecca is done. So tell me who are you? And why are you always starting at me? Kinda creepy..."

Caroline covers her breast's some more with the towel

"Don't worry, I'm no perv or anything but I have definitely seen you somewhere." Leroy examines her head to toe while rubbing his stubble "Do I know you?"

Caroline acts a little surprised to that remark.

"I don't know! There is are only three possibility that you might have heard of me, either you saw me on TV winning Gold in the Olympics, or you went to Oxford University with me, or you heard on the news that I'm the official heir to the throne of England. You tell me, or do you know any other ginger out there with clouded eyes?"

"You have clouded eyes!" Leroy clumsily finds he didn't see her eye colour and looks at her eyes "Oh, you're that British princess person." Leroy clicks his fingers in success "So what are you doing risking your life, fighting aliens?"

"Ah figured as much I couldn't keep my identity hidden for long, you're not the only one who is noticing me."

Caroline rolls her eyes

"I'm here because of many reasons. Mostly because being here risking my life is saver than staying out there where it is not so save. Now I could stand here all day and tell you tons of reasons and explain a ton of stuff, but to be honest I already did that this week and it's rather a pain in the arse."

"Ah, well it's been nice chatting with you...Oh wait, I didn't get your name."

"You can call me Caroline, Caroline Southway, and you are?"

"It's Leroy Jenkins, your friendly, neighborhood skyranger pilot."

"Huh funny, think I heard that name somewhere before."

Caroline whispers to herself

"Leeeeeeroy Jeeenkins..."

"Well, then I hope we will meet again soon, and next time I will hopefully be dressed in some battle armour and not a towel. Unless the Commander likes a sexy Soldier team that is."

"I really don't mind." Leroy thinks over what he said "Oh no, I don't mean... What I was trying to say was... Oh shit." Leroy smacks his forehead in stupidity.

Caroline laughs

"Alright you silly, now get outta here. I'm going to go search for my half naked roommate with the fricken key."

"Alright, I'll see you soon I guess." Leroy storms off into his room.

 

[BMPixy]

[A/N: This log combines both this week’s log and last week’s, as my power was out at the time of the deadline.]​

Personal Log of Dr. Raymond Shen, Chief Engineer of the XCOM Project
Date: 2015-04-09
Time: 2345 Local Time

Hmm, seems like it has been quite a while since I have last written in this log. Must be a testament to how busy the Commander has kept the engineering crew. The Officer Training School is almost up, another Satellite Uplink is on the way, we’re working on producing a secondary Power Generator to power additional base facilities, and now we’re beginning to probe the depths of the Earth with an Access Lift, with plans for expanding down there as well. With all the engineers scattered across the base, I shall have to draw up some plans for promoting some engineers to supervisory positions, as I can’t be everywhere to manage all the projects.

Speaking of managing projects, the Dreadnought Project is producing results that even astound me! Lemarque seems almost natural in the MEC suit, and the distortion field is very useful, though I will have to see if I can lessen the communication errors. It seems the distortion field deflects everything, even EM radiation. And speaking of Lemarque, I have heard he has decided to... call his attacks with the Kinetic Strike Module. He calls it ‘Burning Finger’ or something similar. Not sure why he does it, as it would merely alert the aliens to his presence. But, I suppose as long as he doesn’t go into a whole speech about his right hand burning red, it won’t be as stupid as the ‘chain-sword’ idea one of the newer engineers decided to pitch to me. His having to perform emergency night maintenance in the alien morgue was merely a quirk of fate.

For the first time since the beginning of the month, things are starting to look up a bit regarding our chances on surviving the invasion. Well, best I get some sleep now.

-Shen

Personal Log of Dr. Raymond Shen
Date: 2015-04-12
Time: 0358 Local Time
-NONSTANDARD LOG: VOICE RECORDING-

Perhaps I should have knocked on some wood after I finished writing the last log. Yesterday was... a disaster, nearly. Lemarque nearly died on a mission to investigate an attack on a French military convoy that had to possibility of alien presence. We located a survivor, but he seems to have no inclination to recognize the sacrifice our soldiers made to save his life. And now, our biggest force multiplier, Lemarque and his MEC, are out of the picture for nearly two weeks. For some reason, I expect the aliens to prepare another assault soon, while we are weak. Perhaps, just a thought, I could recommend for the Commander to augment another so- Dammit Shen! Remember, we cannot throw away our humanity, especially just to have a spare! Janice, even with all her pro-transhumanism, would not have gone this far. Alright Shen, deep breaths, you know what the doctor said about getting agitated.

Let’s... get away from that topic. Anyhow, more fruits have come from the labs of Dr. Vahlen, specifically a method to capture the invaders. That leaves the housing to me, and I have some ideas, after I put out some feelers to the XCOM Liason in Brazil on how certain leaders on the continent house high-danger ‘criminals’. Eight inches of plexiglass, laced with carbon nanotubes eight nanometers thick, for the viewing window. Submarine rated steel bulkheads, four meters in depth apiece, above and below the chamber, electro-plated with titanium-48 4.5 centimeters thick, and a last layer of depleted uranium-238 measuring .25 centimeters. I shall have to ask Vahlen for the schematics of how she plans to interrogate the aliens, so I can incorporate it into the master plans for the Alien Containment.

Alright, better get to work now, Engineering won’t run itself.

-Shen

 

[Johnny Asakawa]

Name: Buster Bradford
Rank: Central Officer
Time Stamp: 0900 11.4.2015

This is the audio log of Central Officer Buster A. Bradford regarding Operation Empty Vanguard, in France. This audio log is to be accessed only by those who have the necessary clearance and on base. Any attempts to download this audio log to an external source will carry an automatic ten-year sentence in a federal prison.

I recorded an audio log about the previous mission but it seems that the log has been lost. I won’t be able to make it up; it’s not terribly time-efficient and its really not my fault that the log got lost in our email system. You’ll have to look at the other soldier’s reports and I think one of the guys in Operations filed a report with the outcome of the previous mission.

As you are aware, the Council has contacted us about a situation brewing in France. Apparently, there was a French military convoy that was attacked by hostile forces; the strange thing was that many of the convoy dead had bullet wounds rather than plasma burns which seems to suggest conventional weapons fire. Could Commander Straker been right about some sort of shadow operation?

The squad managed to return with one survivor, whose’ general hatred of our soldiers seems to suggest that he was part of the team that hit the military convoy and was left behind after being attacked by alien forces. I’ve sent him off to be questioned by Dr Vahlen and given her expertise, I don’t expect this mysterious man to remain silent for very long.

Unfortunately, LeMarque was seriously wounded in the fight to retrieve this survivor; he’ll be in the infirmary for the next two weeks or so. It is without a doubt in my mind that he would be dead if he had not undergone the surgery to become our MEC trooper. The sniper on the mission panicked after seeing LeMarque go down after sustaining one hit too many; I’ve sent Corporal Tarmis Gorefest an email about visiting our resident shrink for a chat.

Are our soldiers up for this task? I can’t keep sending soldiers to the psychologist every time they panic; at best, it's a temporary solution. The soldiers’ mindsets seem to be frail; I don’t want to see what their panic will look like should they see a fellow soldier go down. I’ll ask the recruiters to look more at their mental capability than physical strength should we need to hire new soldiers.

It appears that the contraband ring is much bigger than I expected; I got a preliminary report from Williams and Nakajima just a few minutes ago. It’s fairly detailed and lengthy, so I’ll summarize it here. The basics are that there is somebody with serious connections either on the outside or with people who leave base regularly enough to make a smuggling ring viable. I’m not sure who is in charge exactly, but it seems like I’ll need to have a good chat with Pilot Jenkins and Specialist de Fries to find out if they know anything about a smuggling ring and importantly, who’s in charge.

<End of Audio Recording>

 

[Grelite]

Name: Tarrmis Gorefest
Rank: Corporal

I panicked out there. Sure, the endless hordes of Thin Men, resulting poisonous gas clouds and strew of bodies splayed throughout the city had everyone on edge, but I was the one who panicked. Given I was almost crushed by the Giant Death Robot known as Lamarque it might seem understandable, but since my psychiatric evaluation I am unsure what to think. Sure, I had felt fine once we got back to base, slept like a baby, maintained the schedule. It was not until I was recommended psych-eval by the Central Officer that I started thinking about what really went down. Whether being that close to who-knows-how-many tonnes of metal would ever cross my mind again, or if I'd stay away in repressed fear.

That psych has a way of getting to you. Suddenly everything you thought was fine is messed up and you start doubting yourself. But then you're not blamed; no, it is some mental condition with a fancy name. I am starting to think indulging Bradford in his request was the worst plan I have had yet. Hell, now that the Commander has seen Robinson in charge and me going insane on the field, I feel it will only become less likely I am ever put in charge of the squad again.

Yet, I am stronger than that. Hell, I can still show those Rookies the ins and outs of shooting aliens. With the Officer Training School in place I can, once more, teach those less experienced than myself to handle situation beyond anything I have even faced before. At some point we all have to face the unknown and it is best to know how to be prepared for that. I know that sounds insane to some, but there's a difference between preparing for a possible different aliens with unseen abilities and tactics, and preparing for a unicorn rain-shower. Heh, I'll save that one for class.

 

[PrinceZarek]

Personal Log 007
Name; Arsène Lamarque
Rank; Sergeant
Current Status; Wounded
Confirmed Kills; 10 Sectoids 2 Seekers 4 Thin Men


When I first left the Skyranger, I was apprehensive. A attack on a French military convoy, I hoped that no one from my days in the Legion were involved. Seeing the bodies, they weren't killed by alien weapons, but by their conventional weapons. We did find alien contacts at the site. Some of the other guys had seen them before, but it was a first for me. The guys at base called them Thin Men. They seemed humanlike from afar until you get up close.

Apparently, I got too close. One hit me pretty bad. The HUD starting blaring "Armor down to 50%", I probably shouldn't have ran in all Rambo like. I may be a walking death machine, but at the MEC's current state its more like a glass cannon. I managed to eliminate one using the KSM. Soon after that I got hit again. This time the plasma went through the MEC suit and hit me as well. It was Shanghai all over again. "Armor down to critical levels. Advise withdrawal". I turned off the alarms. I had to support my squad, I wasn't dead yet. I could still protect them.

We made contact with more Thin Men, but I had problems finishing the enemy off. Thankfully, Rebecca was there to take care of them, otherwise that would've ended badly. We managed to find a survivor, who was being quite uncooperative. We escorted him back to the LZ, taking care of the new contacts we found along the way. The last remaining enemy however, managed to shoot me again.

The MEC's HUD went haywire "Critical System failure. Initiating Emergency Protocols." The pain was overwhelming, what was left of the MEC's armor took most of the hit, but some of it hit my torso and face. I don't remember much after that. I know I dragged myself back to the Skyranger before collapsing. I was fading in and out of consciousness. My thoughts were going haywire. I regained a moment of consciousness when we returned back at base. The doctors all around me yelling orders. I could only get snippets of what they were saying. I remember having my limbs removed and being pulled out of the base augments. I faded out soon after...

 

[MarineAvenger]

Name: James Nightingale
Rank: Rookie
Status: Active Reserves

Audio Journal 7

So far this week's schedule is as the following:
0430- Wake up
0500-Shower
0600-Eat
0630-Gym
1000-Range Practice
1200-Eat
1230-Gym
1400-Range
1600-Bar and Eat
1700-Gym
1730-Workshop
2000-Sleep

That is basically my life right now. By the time I am done training I will have enough muscle mass to sink a battleship. Things get stale here real quick. Well not for the front-liners that is. Someone finally got promoted high enough so now five guys go out instead of the usual four. Chances of me getting on a squad 1 in 5,000,000. So now anyways, we are fighting aliens that look like my old high-school math teacher. I always thought that guy was out of this world. *Chuckling* Anyways I heard rumors that a soldier wanted to get a simulator to replace the old range. All I can say in the matter is... Hell Yeah.

 

[PrismaCube]

Soldier Name: Caroline Southway
Rank: Rookie
Class: None

It's been a while since I have written one of my own personal Journal entry. To be honest I do not have the time to do these. But boy there has been so much going on around base that I decided to write a Journal entry so I can get my mind cleared. First of all that stupid James man has been ignoring me, I'm rather mad at that, but if he wants to play hard to get then fine be that way, he chose the wrong woman to mess with. Guess I will just go out of his way next time he needs something from me.

Anyway I recently found something to do around this base, and that is go to the new officer school that was build, you can do pretty much anything there, mostly you will learn about the aliens but it isn't that bad since I love to learn. You can learn a ton of stuff there, recently I learned to measure distance while in the battlefield without having any kind of measuring gear, it was complicated but I think I got the hang of it. Guess I'm going to spend most of my days there, I'm getting sick of the range and I don't like the bar.

Rebecca and I haven't talked recently maybe I should ask her if we can have a girls night out, although how do you do that 500 feet underground? I will think of something. I hope she will like it. Kind of strange that I care about her, I do not usually feel that way. Maybe I'm ga... nah nope, moving on girl think of something else.

I spend some more time with my friend Hoku, this time it wasn't just a small meeting in the hallway, nah we spend more time together and talked about life so far in the base, and he told me all about the battlefield and the aliens, he gave me tips and strategies. I have to remember to thank him for that, usually people aren't this kind to me. Then again usually people know who I'm and most of these people here know who I'm.

Sadly I haven't gotten around to seeing my buddy frenchy yet ever since he became a Cyborg... Termafrenchy...nah I will have to think of a better nickname for him now. But I do want to see him again, I kind of miss him. I do hope the commander doesn't turn me into one of those Cyborg, I mean that isn't a look for a proper queen.