Undefined Fantastic Object: Enemy Unknown (Let's Play X-COM!)

[Mr_Bob]

If we have a need of a designated medic / support, Mr. Bob volunteers to fulfill those duties, unless Mr. Bob would be best put to use elsewhere.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The month of May had barely began when we spotted a large craft on the radar. Despite our best efforts, it evaded interception, eventually landing in the African city of Kinshasa.




We were able to intercept a second, smaller ship, but all efforts must currently be focused on halting the alien attack. Our best personnel and equipment has been deployed.



PURVIS: Okay, we've arrived. Get ready to move out.



ANTHONY: Spotting one... this is new. It looks like some... snake... man... thing.
PURVIS: I'm backing you up on this one.





ANTHONY: Spotting a blast crater, looks like one of them botched trying to throw a grenade.



ANTHONY: We've got another one over here!



PURVIS: Got it.



DOLL SOLDIER: Enemy off to the side!



PURVIS: Grenade... that was close. Everybody all right?
DOLL SOLDIER: Yes.
ANTHONY: HWP seems to be fine.



PURVIS: Okay, got the son of a bitch who threw that grenade. We're clear.



ANTHONY: I'm spotting a black alien on the other side of the building. It doesn't look like it's carrying a weapon, we can probably ignore it for now.



ANTHONY: Spotting another Snakeman down here.



CHAORE: I've got this one.



CHAORE: Do I ever.



KUSANAGI: My god... that... thing, it's attacked somebody. It just bit down and turned that guy into a zombie or something...



DOLL SOLDIER: There's two of those things over here!
KUSANAGI: Get back! Put some distance between you and them!



ZENGAR: That black thing's down. What do we do about the civilian?
PURVIS: We'll worry about that later. Just focus on the aliens for now.



ANTHONY: One of those things is attacking the HWP.



ANTHONY: Sorry, pal. No meat in this can.

KUSANAGI: Uh, remember that civilian? I think it's... hatching.




PURVIS: ...fuck.



CHAORE: It's down.



ANTHONY: We've got another Snakeman here.
DOLL SOLDIER: I've got this one.



CHAORE: We've got another of those things.



MADNESS CHASER: It's down.



ANTHONY: HWP's taking fire. The armor's holding up fine for now, but can somebody get whoever's shooting?



MADNESS CHASER: Got it.



ANTHONY: Great, yet another of those things, and it looks like it already got somebody.



ANTHONY: It didn't work last time, it's not going to work now.



ANTHONY: Take that, you half-assed facehugger.



ANTHONY: Two infected? This isn't good. We're going to have to find a way to stop them before they hatch.
PURVIS: We might be able to burn the eggs or whatever these use up... try incendiary rounds.
ZENGAR: Too late, one of them's already hatched!




CHAORE: It's down, focus on the other one!



?MUSCLES?: The other one's lit up... this better work.

[END TRANSMISSION]



This mission was only successful by the narrowest of margins. While we experienced no casualties on our side, the alien force wiped out almost all of the civilians in the area.

Our momentum against the enemy has been suddenly brought to a halt. Just as we were starting to obtain a significant technological advantage, new alien variants have emerged. The so-called ?Snakemen? are merely more durable than our previous enemies... but the black aliens that accompany are more threatening than anything we have fought before.

[Hanzo K.]

.......I'd say that the shit's pretty much hit the fan, eh guys?

[ES-Anthy]

FFFFFFF ZOMBIES

Either way those zombies are gonna go down even harder now.

[Hanzo K.]

Agreed.

...We need a Super Robot or something.
Like Mazinger Z or something.

[ES-Anthy]

...We need a Super Robot or something.
Like Mazinger Z or something.

If we needed mecha that'd already happen :VV:

Also with that, we now must dub our HWP really awesome.

like, The alpha striker, or something like that.

[Hanzo K.]

Hmm...Alpha Striker and Beta Striker.......I like that.

[Kasu]

Oh yay.  Snakemen and Zombie-makers.  This just keeps getting better and better.

At least the HWPs are doing well.

[Hanzo K.]

Perhaps we need more of 'em then?

[Kasu]

Perhaps we need more of 'em then?

Nah.  I'd say we're good where we are right now.  Might wanna keep the money for base upgrades and the stuff that the R&D department come up with anyway.

[Doll.S CUBE]

> We'd need better armor just in case things get dicey, also better weapons wouldn't hurt

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Perhaps we need more of 'em then?

We can only fit up three HWPs on a Skyranger when deploying on a mission, and in addition, they require significant expenditure and storage space, both for the vehicles themselves and the ammunition.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

After returning from Kinshasa, a brief rotation of staff was made to allow more fatigued agents to rest. The HWPs were swapped, and the mobile rocket launcher, christened ?Alpha Striker? by the remote operators, was loaded.

Once dawn broke, the Skyranger was deployed to the crash site of the medium-sized craft we intercepted.



PURVIS: Okay, we're landed. Anthony, what's our situation?



ANTHONY: We've got one Gray.



ANTHONY: Perfect shot.




ANTHONY: We've got two more Grays. Take this nice and slow, wait for me to give the all clear.



ANTHONY: Okay, that's one down.



ANTHONY: Hmm, where'd that other one come from?



ANTHONY: Okay, we seem to have an extra body there...



ANTHONY: Oh, sorry, I forgot to knock...



ANTHONY: Knock, knock.

Large portions of the tape are missing, but what I have heard is extremely troubling. Shortly after entering the ship, ?All Muscles? was shot and killed by Purvis. After the ship was cleared out, he was found curled up and incoherent next to the body.

We have lost agents in the field before, but never before have we lost one to another agent. Interviews conducted during the debriefing describe Purvis as ?possessed?, as if he were under some sort of mental control. I do not know which is more troubling; that our highest-ranking officer could attack and kill another agent, or that he could be forced to do it against his will. He has been placed under watch at Firstlight until we complete our investigation into the incident.

I will make this clear right now; the situation is getting worse, and now more than ever you are at risk when you go out into the field. I will not hold it against any of you if you decide to leave. You may request to be transferred to security duty at Pacific Watch or Americom, or to leave the agency altogether. In either case, the Firstlight staff will see to it that a suitable replacement is found.

[ES-Anthy]

I demand to have my seat upgraded, and my HWP controller extend to the entire globe, also I demand a cooler be installed next to said seat cause I'm not leaving till all them aliens are dead.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Our investigation into the shooting during the previous operation continues; efforts are hampered by the loss of the mission recording. Preliminary reports imply that Purvis was under alien control when he fired on the other agents. Until we can find a countermeasure to whatever method of control is being used, agents who appear to show signs of vulnerability to it will be equipped with nonlethal weaponry only.




Construction at Pacific Watch and Americom continues unabated. The short-range radar systems have been completed, and work is now starting on long-range detection.




We've also received two new Interceptors, one for each of the new bases. This means our detection and interception capacity now extends to the Western Hemisphere.





The research division has finished analyzing the alien craft navigation. We may now start on replicating the design and function of alien craft.





Three new agents have been brought in to replace our losses. Strongarm shows exceptional physical strength, Longshot shows extreme proficiency at shooting, and Unbreakable scored extremely well on her physical and psychological endurance tests.

[Zengar Zombolt]

OH FUCK CHRYSALIDS

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The duty roster has been rotated again. Command has been returned to Kusanagi until our investigation into what happened with Purvis is complete.





We spotted a small craft over the southern United States. The interceptor from Americon was sent. The alien ship was shot down over Cuba, but landed in the ocean and can not be recovered.




Research division has completed work on an Elerium-powered armor. It provides roughly twice the protection as our existing armor, with no impediment to mobility.



They believe with what we're learning from the reverse-engineering of the alien craft, we should be able to refine the armor's reactor to provide flight capability.





Manufacturing has started production of the armor, using our metal and Elerium stockpile.




Radar spotted a medium-size craft over the Iberian peninsula.




Shortly after that craft escaped radar range, another craft appeared.





We were able to relocate the first ship, and both were shot down over the Sahara.

[Kasu]

Oh God.  The aliens can possess now?  That ain't good.

[Hanzo K.]

This just keeps getting better and better, eh comrades?

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

A team was sent to one of the crash sites at daybreak.



KUSANAGI: Okay, we're landed.



ANTHONY: We're right next to the ship, and we've got two Grays here.



ANTHONY: One Gray down.
KUSANAGI: I've got a perfect line of fire to get the other one.





ANTHONY: Looks like the hull held up. We're going to have to go in the old-fashioned way.



?WILL KILL?: I've got a team ready to go here.



?WILL KILL?: Damn it!




?WILL KILL?: We walked right into an ambush!



ANTHONY: Another Gray outside the ship.



?UNBREAKABLE? Okay, we're in the center of the ship and ?




ANTHONY: Are you still there?



?MORE MUSCLES?: This is bad... she just snapped and open fire and... there's a Gray coming in... damn, it's spotted me!





KUSANAGI: This is bad... it looks like we're going to have to abort the mission.



?WILL KILL?: Wh... where am I?



?WILL KILL?: What's going on?



KUSANAGI: You were under mind control... we're preparing to abort the mission. Recover everything you can and prepare to retreat.





This is the largest failure we have ever had during a field operation. Even when outnumbered, X-COM agents have been able to succeed with minimal casualties. The fact that our enemy now seems to be capable of mind control forces us to completely redefine our tactical doctrine.

[Kasu]

CRAP.

Who all died?

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

CRAP.

Who all died?

Longshot, More Muscles, Not Acidus, and Unbreakable. Mostly rookies.

[Kasu]

Longshot, More Muscles, Not Acidus, and Unbreakable. Mostly rookies.

Great.  So all of the newbies and a regular got themselves killed.

[Hanzo K.]

Well, this is just ducky now isn't it?

[ES-Anthy]

God drat these aliens I'm tempted to just ride right into their base on top of a HWP going rambo :V

[Doll.S CUBE]

Darn it, this is bad

[Mr_Bob]

It sucks, but you really had a good naming intuition for Will Kill Us All, Colossal.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

We've decided not to go after the second crash site. After the failed operation at the first, we have neither the manpower or equipment to risk on another boondoggle. Several of our backers were satisfied that we at the least shot down the craft; they will neutralize the site in a few days.



Manufacturing has been ordered to produce some new laser pistols to replace the ones we lost during the failed recovery mission. While this is slowing down the production of the new armor, these pistols are a mainstay of our arsenal.



With it obvious that our advantage is gone, the decision has been made to expand the research division at Firstlight. A second laboratory is under construction, as well as additional living quarters for staff. It will be a month until the lab is ready, but once it is we should be able to develop new weapons faster.

[Kasu]

Good.  The thing we need right now is better equipment.  Maybe we can get something to neutralize the possessors?

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Radar at Americom picked up a massive craft over the United States. An attempt was made to attack it, but our weapons were outranged by those of the alien ship and the interceptor was forced to disengage.




We then detected two more craft, at which point we realized the true gravity of the situation.

Alien ships had landed in Dallas and New York. Unlike before, the aliens were not attacking the population. Without any reports of civilian casualties and no idea what the aliens were trying to accomplish, we had no choice but to wait and watch.



A few days later, an aerial patrol spotted an alien base on the Florida panhandle.

The conclusion we have to draw from this is that the aliens have somehow secured the cooperation of the United States, either through manipulation or intimidation.



The United States provides over a tenth of our funding. If they have abandoned us, this will severely affect our ability to hire personnel and procure equipment.

With us now facing enemies capable of using our bodies as hosts for reproduction, controlling our minds, and sabotaging our political and financial support, this may be our darkest hour.