The squad arrives in Brasilia just after dawn.
We get equipped and get moving, commencing Operation Amazon Sunray.
From the moment we land and the Skyranger opens up we're thrown right into combat.
Stroheim-II blows a hole in a nearby house, catching a Floater in the blastwave.
The other Floater takes some shots at the tank, but it's in vain; Stroheim-II remains completely undamaged.
The HWP takes a shot back, but overshoots with the rocket.
Reapers start swarming towards the exit ramp, attacking Stroheim-II. Fortunately, we avoid a repeat of what happened to our HWP last time we had an encounter like this.
We take a calculated risk; firing at this close a range could damage the HWP, but we're surrounded by Reapers and have no way of pulling back. A single rocket blast takes a few out, and the armor holds up.
More reapers surround the ramp. The squad starts opening fire from the exit of the Skyranger.
The reapers continue to advance, and another one comes out of the woodwork.
It's time for Stroheim-II to sort things out again.
We spot yet another one coming down the road. The laser pistol's rapid fire isn't very accurate at long range, but we're dealing with a big target here.
Laroyenne spots another Reaper after the wall and nearby Floater get blown away by another rocket from Stroheim-II.
We see a Floater moving in the shopping center, but don't have a good shot at it yet.
The squad spots another Floater coming from the other direction. It tries firing a stun bomb at the group, but misses by a large margin. Unfortunately, even Stewart can't get a shot in with that position.
We spot some civilian survivors.
We start moving forward, through the smoke left from HWP fire and alien explosives.
More of the squad fans out, setting up an ambush for the alien to the southeast.
We spot yet another Floater.
Stroheim-II detects another Floater in a narrow alley. It fires its last rocket to blow away the wall and clear the way for someone else to take the shot.
However, it draws counter fire, and the armor isn't able to hold up.
With that final shot, however, the wall is gone, and Laroyenne can snipe the Floater.
Another Reaper comes out of the alley. Laroyenne pulls back to a safer position.
From that position, he's able to take out the hostile.
We spot one of the Floaters we were pursuing hiding a house. It'll be too dangerous to pursue directly, so we consider an alternate plan of attack.
We have someone throw a grenade at the wall.
With the wall destroyed, we get a clear line of fire.
Stewart misses two aimed shots in a row, a rare occasion.
A shot from Steinbach is right on target, however.
Laroyenne is ambushed while passing the broken walls and entering the blasted alleyway. While he was lucky enough to survive with moderate wounds when he was shot on his first mission, this time he isn't so fortunate.
We spot the party responsible in the alley shortly afterward... and it's coming right for us.
Kolotov takes a shot. It ends in a brief firefight, with neither side hitting.
As if this wasn't bad enough, we see two Floaters, side by side.
This is where Captain Sharpe and HE rounds come in. After a few shots, both of the hostiles are taken down... the body of one of the Floaters is blasted to bits, leaving it beyond recovery.
Unfortunately, a rookie gets hit during the ensuing firefight.
We maneuver carefully, searching for the enemy.
Another Floater is spotted in the smoke.
To keep it from advancing, we set down a proximity mine. No explosions, so it must have moved back.
A rookie moves out into the street to the northeast, and is taken by surprise by a burst of alien fire.
Kolotov moves out elsewhere, but is similarly ambushed.
A Floater comes out of a warehouse.
Sharpe switches to the pistol, and prepares to advance slowly, using the buildings as cover to get to the far side of the street.
The far side of the street is where more hostiles happen to be lurking, so we have to move carefully.
The floater tries to throw a grenade at us. Tries to.
Robinson moves up against the wall, but not out into the street. We can't risk more reaction fire.
Sharpe is nearly out of the shopping center, which gets her about halfway to her target.
We spot the Floater by the warehouse again. Sharpe's fire isn't able to hit it.
However, an unlikely long-distance pistol shot from Voronin does the trick.
Robinson spots a Floater in a doorway.
Robinson's lucky enough to avoid getting hit, giving him a chance to get up behind the Floater and let loose a burst.
Result of Operation Amazon Sunray:Andrea Sharpe: 2 kills, not promoted
Jane Bailey: 0 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Sarah Stewart: 1 kill, not promoted
Frank Robinson: 2 kills, promoted to Squaddie
Dmitriy Voronin: 1 kill, promoted to Squaddie
Masaharu Yamanaka: 0 kills, not promoted
Stroheim-II: Destroyed
Rene ?Berserk? Laroyenne: Killed in action
Otto Steinbach: Killed in action
Damien Wright: Killed in action
Grigoriy Kolotov: Killed in action
11 civilians killed by alien forces
1 civilian killed by collateral damage
2 civilian survivors
14 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
2 aliens captured alive
This was a brutal battle; aliens attacking a city forces us to engage on their terms. Even then, this operation could have been handled better. Blind corners are proving to be deathtraps for our forces; we lost a number of our squad to ambushes while scouting. We will need to adapt our tactics to reduce our casualties in urban combat.
